Asuma spent more than a week moping around the house after the trauma of the final exam.
It was only after repeated pressure from his older brother that he finally pulled himself together.
The first thing he did after leaving home was look for Kurenai.
He had heard she often trained at one of the nearby practice grounds, so he headed straight there.
Before he even arrived, however, a painfully familiar voice drifted through the trees.
“That’s it, Kurenai!
More power—put some force behind it!” “Good!
You’re improving!” “Trust your strength.
Don’t hold back—aim straight for my chest…” Asuma stopped dead.
Kurenai was sparring with Ren.
Why was Ren looking at her like that?
And what had happened to Kurenai’s eyes?
They were focused, sharp, and almost fierce.
‘What the hell did he do to her in one week?
Where did my sweet, gentle Kurenai go?’ Asuma hid behind a large tree and desperately tried to convince himself this was a coincidence.
Maybe they had simply run into each other.
There was no reason they could not have run into each other by accident.
Once the spar ended, Kurenai took out a handkerchief and wiped the sweat from her face.
Then, right in front of Asuma’s eyes, she held it out to Ren.
‘What?!’ A moment later, Kurenai started pulling it back after realizing Ren had not sweated at all.
Ren’s hand moved faster.
Before she could fully withdraw it, he snatched the handkerchief and began wiping away the sweat that did not exist.
Asuma watched in horror as Ren somehow produced more sweat with every pass across his perfectly dry face.
His fists clenched so tightly they trembled.
‘Shameless!
You absolute bastard!
You weren’t even sweating!
What are you wiping?!’ As the Hokage’s second son and the young lord of the Sarutobi clan, Asuma had enjoyed nearly everything he wanted since childhood.
Aside from being unable to defeat Kakashi, he had never suffered a blow like this before.
He could only watch as the two finished training and began discussing where they should go for dango.
Ren and Kurenai had already walked some distance from the training ground when a faint cry emerged from the trees behind them.
“No…
Nooo…” Kurenai glanced back.
“What was that?” “Nothing,” Ren replied casually.
“Just the sound of young love dying in a bush.
Somebody’s having a terrible day—and green really isn’t his color.” Ren had noticed Asuma hiding among the trees long ago.
The poor boy was probably in there cursing the heavens and waiting for the weather to match his heartbreak.
…
Asuma tossed and turned throughout the entire night.
At dawn the next morning, he returned to the training ground and waited for several hours before Kurenai finally arrived.
“Kurenai, I heard you’ve been sparring with Ren lately.
Has this been going on for several days?” “Yeah.
Training with Ren is really effective.
I can feel myself improving, just like Ebisu did.” “You know what kind of person he is!” Asuma protested.
“He spent the whole semester insulting everyone he saw.
Why would you willingly train with him?” “But I asked Ebisu about it.
He said Ren made his life miserable, but he also admitted that he improved a lot.” Kurenai was still too young to recognize Asuma’s feelings for what they were.
She glanced toward the path leading into the training ground.
“Asuma, you should probably leave.
I don’t want Ren to misunderstand.” Asuma’s pupils contracted.
A moment later, he forced a calm expression onto his face and walked away.
The instant he left the training ground, his entire body collapsed.
His features twisted together as tears began spilling down his face, leaving him looking utterly miserable.
‘What did she just say?’ ‘She doesn’t want Ren to misunderstand?’ ‘And she called him Ren!
Just Ren!’ [A nearby shinobi has suffered severe emotional damage.
The Emotional Damage System is now activating…] Ren was still on his way to the training ground when the notification sounded in his head.
‘What did I do?’ ‘I’ve been perfectly well-behaved today!
The system is framing me!
Who did I even insult?’ [Asuma has suffered emotional damage.
Extracting abilities associated with Asuma.
The host may select one of the following three rewards.] [Option One: Wind Release chakra nature.] [Option Two: Shuriken-throwing techniques.] [Option Three: Basic kunai-throwing techniques.] It was only when Ren saw Asuma running away from the training ground with his head lowered that he understood.
Asuma had just suffered his first heartbreak.
‘Poor bastard.’ Ren selected Wind Release.
From that moment onward, he possessed affinities for both Fire and Wind Release.
Asuma barely remembered how he returned home.
He collapsed onto his bed and sank into another miserable depression.
More than a week passed, and even after New Year’s Day, he continued stumbling through life in a daze.
After the holiday, Nara Saku, Akimichi Takashi, and Yamanaka Ichigo came to visit him.
“Asuma, I heard Ren was still racing around Konoha with Might Guy on the morning of New Year’s Day,” Saku said.
“We can’t afford to slack off.” His voice gradually faded as he noticed Asuma’s empty eyes and lifeless expression.
Saku already understood what was troubling him.
“Asuma, the road of a shinobi is long.
We’re only six years old.
There’s no reason to lose hope just because Ren is ahead of us right now.
“Konoha has seen plenty of children who looked brilliant when they were young but never amounted to much as adults.
And how many talented shinobi have died before reaching their potential?” He paused.
“Even the White Fang of Konoha took his own life at a young age despite all his strength.” Saku’s expression became determined.
“Pull yourself together.
One day, we’ll surpass Uchiha Ren.” Asuma slowly began to respond.
Perhaps Kurenai had only been temporarily fooled by Ren.
Maybe she would soon recognize what kind of person he truly was.
“Next semester, I intend to deal with Ren systematically,” Saku continued.
“His presence keeps disrupting our plans and throwing the entire class into chaos.
We can’t allow that to continue.” The moment the conversation turned toward dealing with Ren, Asuma’s exhaustion vanished.
“But in the end, shinobi settle things with strength,” Saku added.
“We can’t waste this break.
We have to become stronger than him.” Asuma nodded firmly.
That was right.
He had to surpass Ren.
The four boys left the Sarutobi compound together, their motivation restored.
Along the way, they encountered Shikaku Nara and greeted him in unison.
“Clan Head Shikaku!” Shikaku watched their retreating backs with satisfaction.
The Nara, Akimichi, and Yamanaka clans had long served as close allies of the Sarutobi clan.
Saku and the others maintaining a strong friendship with Asuma continued that tradition.
Shikaku proceeded deeper into the compound.
He was there to meet Lady Biwako Sarutobi.
Ever since Tsunade left Konoha, Elder Koharu and Lady Biwako had been regarded as the village’s finest medical-nin.
Shikaku wanted to discuss the medicinal herbs cultivated in the Nara clan’s protected forest.
The Third Shinobi World War had suddenly intensified, and the demand for medicine was beginning to outstrip their supply.
He hoped Lady Biwako would approve a substantial grant for the Nara clan so they could expand their herb fields.
Minato Namikaze, who belonged to the same generation as Shikaku, was already becoming famous.
Rumor had it that he had completed numerous A-rank missions on the front lines.
Shikaku could not afford to fall behind.
…
Asuma, Saku, Takashi, and Ichigo arrived at a training ground and began their exercises.
Before long, they saw Ren and Kurenai walking together toward another practice field.
Asuma, who had been training seriously only moments earlier, immediately darkened.
Saku watched him thoughtfully before lowering his voice.
“Asuma, we have several ways to deal with this.” “This year, I’ll have Takashi occupy Ren’s attention so you won’t have to worry about him interfering with your training.” He glanced at the broad, cheerful Akimichi boy.
“Takashi is easygoing and almost impossible to provoke.
With some additional training from me, Ren’s insults should be completely wasted on him.” Asuma still looked miserable.
“More importantly,” Saku continued, “we have one final option that would remove Ren from the Academy entirely.” “What option?” Asuma asked weakly.
Saku leaned closer and whispered, “The Academy is selecting students for early graduation.
With a little influence in the right places, we could get Ren approved and sent to the front lines.” Asuma’s eyes brightened for a moment.
Then his expression became conflicted.
“We shouldn’t use that unless we have no other choice.
Ren is infuriating, but he’s nowhere near Kakashi’s level.” He looked toward the other training ground.
“If he goes to war this young, he’ll probably die.”