The Emotional Damage System activated, but once Ren saw the available rewards, he found himself getting annoyed with Asuma all over again.
Asuma really had been the textbook definition of a useless privileged brat as a child.
Ren almost felt justified for insulting him.
Just look at the garbage attached to him.
[Asuma has suffered emotional damage.
Extracting abilities associated with Sarutobi Asuma.
The host may select one of the following three rewards.] [Option One: Wind Release chakra nature.] [Option Two: Shuriken-throwing techniques.] [Option Three: Supercompensation—break through one physical plateau.] There was little point in choosing Wind Release.
Ren was only five and would not turn six for another month.
He was still at the stage where building a strong foundation mattered far more than collecting additional chakra natures.
As for shuriken-throwing techniques…
He might have been interested if the system had offered the forbidden Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique.
But the Uchiha were already famous for their skill with shuriken, far more so than the Sarutobi clan.
Ren would learn more by going home and reading his father’s old training notes.
His parents had died on a mission in the Land of Waves, but their ninjutsu journals remained at home.
Those notes were one of Ren’s most important sources of advanced shinobi knowledge.
That left the third option: supercompensation.
It seemed Asuma’s relentless training this semester had also pushed him through a physical plateau.
Humiliation had motivated him to improve, though apparently not enough to produce anything beyond the same kind of breakthrough Ebisu had experienced.
Ren selected the third option.
Once again, a strange mixture of numbness, soreness, and itching spread through every muscle in his body.
His muscles and ligaments both grew stronger.
It felt as though someone had pumped his entire body full of performance-enhancing drugs.
Ren quickly reached up and felt the top of his head.
‘This weird growth isn’t going to turn me into some lumpy mutant, is it?’ After checking twice, he relaxed.
Still normal.
Under the standard eight-category shinobi evaluation system, Ren estimated that his Strength, Stamina, and Speed had all risen from roughly four points to five.
That was around the physical level of an ordinary Konoha genin.
In the original story, many members of the Konoha Twelve had physical scores near five when they graduated.
If Ren applied for early graduation now, he would probably pass since Konoha desperately needed manpower during wartime.
But he had absolutely no intention of doing that.
The Third Kazekage had disappeared, Sakumo Hatake was dead, and the other hidden villages had reacted like sharks smelling blood.
Iwagakure, Kumogakure, and Kirigakure were all eager to tear chunks out of a weakened Konoha and Sunagakure.
Only an idiot would graduate early right now.
Ren planned to remain safely inside Konoha—and more specifically, inside the Ninja Academy—for as long as possible.
At his age, nobody cared much when others harassed him, but that also meant nobody stopped him from harassing them back.
It was the perfect environment.
The physical growth granted by supercompensation was especially valuable during the foundational stage of shinobi training.
Taijutsu formed the basis of nearly every kind of battle.
From now on, Ren only needed to identify which of his classmates had recently broken through a plateau and give them some careful encouragement.
Or, as less enlightened people might describe it, verbally destroy them until the system paid out.
By the time he graduated from the Academy, he could afford to lag behind in other areas, but his taijutsu had to be exceptional.
The White Fang had been terrifyingly powerful, yet the foundation of his fighting style had been remarkably simple: the Body Flicker Technique combined with Lightning Release kenjutsu.
Both depended heavily on physical ability.
Instructor Yamano ordered them to form the Seal of Reconciliation.
Asuma climbed to his feet in a daze.
The first thing he saw was the disgust in Ren’s eyes.
Ren truly believed he was worthless.
That contempt was not part of the performance.
…
Asuma looked toward the Academy rooftop.
Nothing had changed.
The Third Hokage was still staring down at the older students sparring near the building.
None of the people on the rooftop—the Anbu, the headmaster, or the Academy instructors—were looking in Asuma’s direction.
They had been watching earlier.
They must have hoped that Asuma would perform well and give them a chance to impress the Hokage through his success.
Now everyone had silently agreed not to look at him.
How considerate.
Asuma turned toward his classmates.
Their expressions varied, even Ebisu looked disappointed.
He had spent months drawing Ren’s attention away from Asuma, enduring constant insults and beatings so Asuma could train without having his confidence repeatedly torn apart.
Facing Ren had placed Ebisu under enormous pressure.
The only reason he had not completely broken was that he had managed to improve through the hardship, which gave him something to hold on to.
Now those months of suffering seemed meaningless.
Obito looked furious, his sense of injustice written plainly across his face.
Nara Saku was frowning, probably thinking about some new troublesome obligation.
Akimichi Takashi was so shocked that he had forgotten to remove the shells from his roasted chestnuts and was chewing them whole.
As for the girls, Rin was leaning close to Kurenai and whispering something in her ear.
Asuma did not dare to look at Kurenai.
Farther away, several older students stood in small groups and pointed toward the arena.
Perhaps they were laughing at how easily the Hokage’s son had been defeated.
Nothing entertained people more than watching someone important fall flat on his face.
When Sakumo’s mission had failed, many of the people cursing him had never lost anyone because of it.
Some had simply been jealous of the White Fang and enjoyed seeing a famous hero disgraced.
That was human nature.
Everyone wanted strength because the weak were rarely allowed any dignity.
Asuma swallowed with difficulty and looked toward Kakashi on the wall.
Kakashi was not watching him either.
His gaze was fixed entirely on Ren.
Of course it was.
Who bothered watching the loser?
Kakashi’s mask concealed most of his expression, but beneath it, he was deeply surprised.
Ren’s taijutsu looked remarkably similar to the basic fighting style Sakumo had created.
When Sakumo was young, he had developed the technique of explosively releasing chakra through selected tenketsu.
It had been proof of his extraordinary talent.
Kakashi had never expected Ren to discover a similar method on his own.
Ren might have been an infuriating Uchiha who knew exactly how to get under his skin, but his talent was impossible to deny.
For the first time in weeks, Kakashi felt a sense of urgency.
He needed to train harder and master his father’s techniques.
After Sakumo’s humiliating death, Kakashi had briefly believed everything associated with his father was tainted.
He had refused to learn the fighting style Sakumo left behind.
But watching Ren changed his mind.
There was no reason to reject his father’s taijutsu.
More importantly, he could not allow an Uchiha to become the true successor to Sakumo Hatake’s technique!
Kakashi would begin training the tenketsu-burst method again.
Ren extended his hand, raising his index and middle fingers.
Asuma was simply grateful that Ren had stopped insulting him.
They formed the Seal of Reconciliation and left the arena one after the other.
From the rooftop, Black Ape watched his younger brother trail behind Ren with his head lowered.
The sight filled him with frustration.
He wanted to speak to his father, but this inspection was meant to evaluate students being considered for early graduation.
It was not the right time to discuss Asuma’s training.
Judging by Hiruzen’s expression, he had barely noticed Asuma’s match.
His father cared too deeply about his responsibilities as Hokage.
Beyond the village, his position, and the authority that came with it, almost nothing seemed capable of holding his attention.
If Asuma continued growing up like this, his potential would be wasted.
At best, he might become an ordinary jōnin.
Black Ape felt a growing sense of urgency.
He could not allow his brother to fall behind!
Somehow, he needed to direct far more of the Sarutobi clan’s resources toward Asuma.