At the sparring field, Ren looked across at the girl standing opposite him.
“Kurenai, you’re the only person I don’t want to hurt…” Kurenai had a large round eyes as a child, and the ends of her curly hair curled upward in a playful way that made her look almost painfully adorable.
Ren gazed at her while speaking in the gentlest voice he could manage, though the corner of his eye was fixed firmly on Asuma.
The children of Konoha matured far too early.
Asuma clenched his teeth, visibly irritated.
What did Ren mean by ‘the only person’?
And what was that supposed to mean about not wanting to hurt her?
Kurenai had inherited her father’s talent for genjutsu and possessed strong Yin Release chakra, but the Yang chakra that strengthened her body was much weaker.
As a result, she was rather slender, and her taijutsu was nothing special.
Obito shouted from the sidelines, “Kurenai!
Beat the hell out of that beanpole!” Kurenai threw a small fist at Ren, only for him to shift his shoulder aside and evade it.
She attacked again and again, but he slipped past every strike with ridiculous ease.
Between how effortlessly Ren dodged and the indulgent smile he wore the entire time, the match looked less like a spar and more like two children flirting.
Asuma grew even angrier whenever Ren caught Kurenai by the wrist or stopped one of her punches in his palm.
After observing her habits for a while, Ren prepared to end the match.
A month had passed since the turmoil surrounding the White Fang’s suicide, and Ren had spent every day training White Fang–Style Taijutsu.
The technique revolved around gathering chakra inside one or more tenketsu before releasing it in a sudden burst.
Right now, Ren concentrated chakra into several tenketsu around his waist and lower back.
When Kurenai swept her leg toward him, he twisted sharply and dropped into a crouch.
To everyone watching, the movement seemed to accelerate without warning.
Ren spun into a low sweep, knocking Kurenai’s supporting foot out from under her and sending her sideways into the air.
Before she could fall, Ren reached out with one arm beneath her shoulders and hooked the other beneath her knees, catching her in a bridal carry.
“Don’t be afraid, Kurenai.
How could I ever let you fall…?” The usual cocky expression vanished from Asuma’s face.
As he stared at them, a soft breeze stirred the training field.
A leaf drifted from a nearby tree and landed gently on Kurenai’s shoulder.
Then that damned Uchiha actually leaned closer and blew it away!
Ren waited but nothing happened.
No system notification.
‘Seriously?
I put on that entire performance and Asuma still hasn’t broken?’ Kurenai remained frozen in his arms, too stunned to move.
Several seconds passed before she finally came back to her senses and began struggling furiously.
As everyone knew, an angry girl and a pig being held down for New Year’s slaughter had one thing in common—they were both nearly impossible to restrain.
Ren had no choice but to put her down.
Kurenai covered her burning face with both hands and fled back toward the other students.
Asuma thrust his hand into the air.
“Instructor!
I challenge the Beanpole!” Instructor Yamano frowned.
“Do not call your classmates by insulting nicknames!” “I challenge Uchiha Ren!” “Ren, do you need a break?” “No, Instructor.
But Kurenai still hasn’t formed the Seal of Reconciliation with me.” Yamano turned toward Kurenai.
Looking thoroughly aggrieved, she reluctantly returned and hooked her index and middle fingers with Ren’s.
A vein pulsed on Asuma’s forehead as he fought to contain his anger.
The moment Kurenai stepped away, he hurriedly formed the Seal of Confrontation and charged at Ren.
As one of the four jōnin instructors who would eventually lead the Konoha Twelve, Asuma was not exactly weak, but he was still clearly a level below Kakashi and Guy.
After exchanging a couple of probing blows, Ren quickly realized that Asuma’s childhood talent was fairly ordinary.
Asuma also had an older brother who was rumored to be extremely gifted and already being groomed as one of the Third Hokage’s closest subordinates.
When a major clan raised an heir, it usually poured most of its resources into one child.
As for the rest, keeping them fed and alive was apparently considered good enough.
No matter how wealthy a clan was, it could not survive forever if every generation divided its property and resources evenly.
Concentrating everything in one successor was the only reliable way to preserve its strength.
The Sarutobi clan was a perfect example.
Who would inherit the summoning contract with Monkey King Enma?
Hiruzen’s answer appeared to be no one.
He intended to keep Enma for himself until the day he died and had never passed the contract to anyone else.
The man was astonishingly stingy!
“Asuma, Kakashi has already become a genin, and I’m sure your brother was much stronger than you at this age.
Why don’t you admit it?
You’re nothing but a useless second son whom nobody cares about, hiding behind the title of the Hokage’s child!
I don’t know who Kurenai will like one day, but I can promise you she’ll never choose a worthless loser.” Asuma thought about how his mother always spoiled him while treating his older brother far more harshly.
A sudden realization struck him.
Maybe she had always cared more about his brother.
She spoiled Asuma because she expected nothing from him, while her strictness toward his brother came from placing all her hopes on him.
As for his father, the mighty Hokage, Asuma barely saw him two or three times a month.
His older brother, meanwhile, was constantly at Hiruzen’s side.
His concentration faltered for a split second.
Asuma threw everything into a sweeping kick aimed at Ren’s ribs.
Chakra erupted through the tenketsu in Ren’s arm, hardening the limb like iron as he blocked the kick head-on.
He immediately struck Asuma’s supporting leg with his foot, knocking the boy down onto one knee directly in front of him.
“Accept reality.
That pride you show off in front of Kurenai isn’t worth a damn.” Ren leaned down and whispered like a devil in his ear.
“Asuma…
your father doesn’t love you.” [A nearby shinobi has suffered severe emotional damage.
The Emotional Damage System is now activating…] ‘Got him!’ Ren drew in a quiet breath.
He might have gone a little too far.
Asuma had truly broken.
His eyes were filled with helpless confusion and pain, as though Ren had ripped open a wound the boy had never known was there.
[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: Chakra reserves equal to 0.1 Kakashi.] [Option Three: Basic kunai-throwing techniques.] ‘Nani?!’ Ren was dumbfounded by the rewards.
No wonder Asuma had broken so easily.
If Ren were in his position, he might have given up on life already!
As the Second Son of the Third Hokage, had this boy learned absolutely nothing?
He did not even know a single Sarutobi secret technique!
Where was the Five Release Great Combo Technique?
What about the summoning contract with Monkey King Enma?
Thinking about it more carefully, adult Asuma’s entire fighting style had almost nothing to do with Hiruzen.
Hiruzen had managed to teach the Legendary Sannin because the three of them had already possessed incredible talent.
You could have tied a dog to their instructor’s chair and they still would have grown into the Sannin.
Hiruzen’s actual ability as a teacher was highly questionable.
Just look at what had happened to his second son.
The first reward, a Wind Release chakra nature, was not completely useless, but Ren had no need for it yet.
His natural chakra affinity was Fire Release, and there was no reason to rush into collecting other chakra natures.
As for basic kunai-throwing techniques…
Did the system think he could not throw a kunai?
He had only been in this world for a few days, and he was already quite good at it.
Ren chose the chakra reserves.
The original body had possessed roughly 0.2 Kakashi’s worth of chakra.
With this reward, that amount rose to 0.3.
Since chakra was created by combining physical and spiritual energy, Ren immediately felt both his body and mind strengthen to varying degrees.
He turned toward Instructor Yamano.
“Form the Seal of Reconciliation!” Asuma rose unsteadily to his feet and hooked his fingers with Ren’s.
Then he wandered back toward the other students in a daze.
‘Does Dad really not love me?’