Chapter 36: Asuma's Challenge
"So Kakashi graduated early, huh?" Sarutobi Asuma commented casually.
Considering Kakashi was the son of the White Fang, it wasn't all that surprising that he'd graduate ahead of schedule.
"You know, Kurenai—if I wanted to graduate early too, I could." Asuma turned to speak to Yūhi Kurenai with a confident smile.
His old man had arranged for skilled members of the Sarutobi clan to personally train him. Even though his relationship with his father wasn't the best, Asuma had still picked up a lot from his elders.
His uncle and aunt in the ANBU treated him well too—both were elite jōnin.
"How's your genjutsu, then?" Kurenai tilted her head curiously as she asked.
"Uh… I'm better at Fire Style, actually." Asuma scratched the back of his head awkwardly.
The Sarutobi clan, like the Uchiha, specialized in Fire Release ninjutsu. They even had a secret clan technique—Fire Style: Great Blaze Technique—passed down through generations. And they inherited summoning contracts with the monkey clan.
"I see…" Kurenai sounded noticeably disappointed.
It made sense though—she'd never actually seen Asuma use genjutsu before. He barely maintained a passing grade in the subject during class.
"Seiji's genjutsu is excellent. If he wanted to graduate early, he might be able to—though I'm not sure how well he's mastered the Clone Techniques yet." As she spoke, the conversation drifted naturally to Seiji.
Asuma's brows furrowed. That guy again?
"He's from the Uchiha clan—of course, he's good at genjutsu," Asuma said with a hint of annoyance. "But hey, if you want to learn Fire Style ninjutsu, you should come to me. I've got a few tricks up my sleeve." He thumped his chest proudly.
Most academy students only knew E-rank jutsu. But thanks to his uncle's training, he had already learned a D-rank Fire Style jutsu! He just kept it low-key at school to avoid standing out too much.
"No thanks. I'm more interested in genjutsu." Kurenai shook her head firmly.
After a few more moments of idle chatting, she noticed Kakashi had already walked off and the crowd was dispersing.
She gave Asuma a quick wave and jogged off toward Seiji.
"Hey Seiji, don't forget today's extra lesson, alright? I already paid you." Kurenai reminded him with a light tone.
Lately, she'd felt like Seiji had become more distant ever since he bought that samurai sword.
"Don't worry. I'm not the kind of person who breaks a promise." Seiji replied with a calm shake of his head.
Slow and steady wins the race. He knew that once Kurenai grew older, the real payoff would come.
Hearing Seiji's response, Kurenai finally nodded with satisfaction, a small smile appearing on her lips.
"I-I mean… genjutsu isn't that big a deal! Kurenai, I can teach you too!" Seeing Kurenai run off to Seiji, Asuma blurted out, unwilling to back down.
"Really? Weren't you just saying you couldn't?" Kurenai looked back at him, clearly skeptical.
Under her doubtful gaze, Asuma thumped his chest confidently. "Without using a Sharingan, I'm not necessarily worse at genjutsu."
He turned to look at Seiji. "Uchiha Seiji, how about a genjutsu duel next month? Let Kurenai decide whose genjutsu is better."
Asuma closely observed Seiji's reaction. Of course, he had a caveat in mind: Seiji couldn't use his Sharingan.
He wasn't foolish enough to challenge a dojutsu user in genjutsu head-on. If Seiji did activate his Sharingan, then Asuma could claim victory by default—because others would just see Seiji as some lucky kid relying on a genetic advantage.
"Asuma, is this because Seiji's from the Land of Lightning? Do you have something against him?" Kurenai frowned slightly. Every time Seiji came up in conversation, Asuma had something negative to say.
Sure, Asuma was the Hokage's son—a proper heir to the Sarutobi clan—but she didn't expect him to be this petty or xenophobic. No matter what, Seiji still carried Uchiha blood. He was a comrade of the village, just like anyone else.
"What? No, no—it's not like that! I'm not looking down on outsiders." Asuma quickly waved his hands in denial. But he couldn't say the real reason out loud.
How was he supposed to admit that he felt uncomfortable because his childhood friend Kurenai was spending more time with Seiji?
"I assume Asuma's just someone who enjoys a good challenge and wants to push himself. I accept your proposal." Seiji replied coolly.
At this stage, Asuma still had that unruly, rebellious air—your typical delinquent. He didn't get along well with his father, Hiruzen, and would eventually leave the village to serve the Daimyō, earning the title of one of the Twelve Guardian Ninja.
It was perfectly natural for him to feel jealous over Kurenai. In fact, three-man squads were often designed as two boys and one girl on purpose—village officials believed that adolescent boys would strive to outperform each other in front of a girl, driving growth through competition.
That was something Hiruzen himself had once told Kakashi.
Of course, that wasn't the only reason—but it certainly played a part.
"Alright, you said it!" Asuma was thrilled that Seiji accepted so easily and quickly ran off toward the Sarutobi compound, shouting a quick goodbye to Kurenai.
Seiji figured he was off to cram some emergency training in over the next month. The Sarutobi clan wasn't short on resources, after all.
But that didn't matter. Seiji was confident he could win.
The Sharingan didn't need to be activated to enhance his abilities. Even when dormant, the chakra involved in the eye's formation radiated through his body, subtly boosting his physical condition.
His chakra control alone already surpassed Asuma's. That's why he was qualified to tutor Kurenai—after all, genjutsu involved intruding into the target's nervous system, requiring exquisite precision.
And in that area, Seiji had more than a few tricks up his sleeve.
That alone could decide the outcome of the match.
Not to mention—he also possessed the Uchiha clan's genjutsu-style lightning technique, Lightning Style: Blazing Flash. It was a jutsu Uchiha Hazuki had helped him acquire recently.
"Don't mind Asuma. He's always been like that. He doesn't mean any harm." Kurenai said with a helpless shake of her head.
Once that prince of a ninja made up his mind about something, there was no changing it.
"It's fine." Seiji replied calmly.
Asuma had talent in both Wind and Fire Release. Who knows—defeating him might even yield some rewards.
It was worth setting aside a little time to see if he could gain any useful jutsu perks from the match.
"Let's go. Time for your tutoring." Seiji looked up at Kurenai, then turned and walked away.
Ever since Rin Nohara had taught him the basics—tree climbing, water walking, and the clone techniques—there wasn't much left to learn.
The Academy's chakra-based training content wasn't very extensive.
The rest was mostly theory and shuriken throwing—nothing that required daily after-school training.
"Alright." Kurenai nodded and quickly caught up to walk beside him.
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The sky darkened, the setting sun casting a warm orange glow over the rooftops. Old tree branches swayed in the courtyard breeze, their silhouettes dyed crimson in the evening light.
Kurenai prepared to bid Seiji goodbye, bringing the day's training to an end.