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Accidental Gamer Hero by Knowing Autumn
 Anime » Naruto Rated: M, English, Fantasy, Hinata H., OC, Words: 161k+, Favs: 2k+, Follows: 3k+, Published: Dec 5, 2020 Updated: 1h ago1,185Chapter 12: Asuma's Test
A/N: I think one of the biggest issues people have right now is the dense protag Shinji being unaware of Hinata's feelings. Let me explain my rationale for why that is: 1) Shinji is still deeply rooted in his canon knowledge, thus can't see Hinata liking anyone else but Naruto; 2) Right now Shinji doesn't even care about romance, especially not with a 12 year old, so he's not paying particular attention to girls; 3) It's not like Hinata is holding an 'I love you' sign, it's not that obvious, right?
This chapter was shorter than I intended it to be, but I've been busy preparing and celebrating Chinese New Year over the past week. For those of you who don't know, it is the biggest holiday for my people (I'm half Chinese) that is celebrated for 2 weeks. Gong Xi Fa Cai to everyone!
P.S. We reached 1k reviews, gang! Let's gooooooo!
The BBQ lunch was pretty uneventful. Asuma shared with us some stories from the capital and his time as a genin, although it was an entirely different era back then. He became a genin during a time of great strife, during the Third Shinobi World War. I could tell that he was heavily censoring his experiences and hardships he faced during that time out of consideration for us, glossing over the details of fighting a war as a child soldier.
We occasionally joined the conversation, asking some relevant questions but were mostly content with just listening. What was on our minds weren't the riveting experiences of a jounin, but the oncoming test that we had to pass.
Our team was one composed of relatively level-headed genins, unlike the other two teams that had hotheads and loudmouths galore. Yet I could sense my teammates were still restless in their seats, barely touching the grilled meat that I had volunteered to be in charge of. Kind of rude, but I could understand their unease.
Whilst Asuma assumed a friendly, older-brother type attitude, there was no denying the raw skill and experience imbued in his every movement. Even the way he held his chopsticks had a sense of expertise that seemingly portrayed the ease in which he could use them to take a life. A freaking pair of chopsticks.
"…then I told the noble; Namahage is a man of focus, commitment and sheer fuc- I mean sheer freaking will. He once killed three man in a bar with a pencil. That kizoku pig looked like he was about to shit his pants HAHAH!" Asuma burst out laughing at his own story, while the three of us just chuckled along politely.
The jounin wiped a tear from his eyes, his laughter dying down, "Man you guys are too serious. Lighten up. Well, looks like we're about done eating. I guess it's time for me to explain your test."
The three of us sat up straighter in our seats, leaning forward so as to not miss a single detail.
"It's simple. All you have to do is track me down, and take this-" He began, holding up an Omamori charm, a palm sized amulet wrapped in red brocaded silk with floral designs, "-from me. I will strictly be somewhere inside the village boundaries, and you can use any method to find my location. Once you find me, you will have to try and either steal the amulet or take it from me by force. Of course, I will be holding myself back, but don't expect an easy challenge. It wouldn't be a test if I made it too easy, right? Any questions?"
Shino raised his hand, "Asuma-sensei, do we have a time limit?"
"Ah, right, the time is around… 1pm? You have until sunset to get the amulet which will be kept strapped to my waist, so you don't have to frisk me or anything haha. And I won't try to run away if you manage to find me, so you don't have to worry about that too. Anything else?"
Quest Alert!
[Asuma's Test]:
Successfully pass the real graduation test!
Accomplish the task given by Asuma
(Bonus) Complete within 1 hour
(Bonus) Complete within 3 hours
?
?
Rewards:
+10000 EXP
New Title
(Bonus) New Title
(Bonus) +5 Points
?
?
Failure:
Relegated to 'genin corp'
REP significantly decreased with Konohagakure
New Title
New Title
Accept? (Y/N)
"Has the test already started?" I asked while mentally accepting the quest and narrowing my eyes while tensing up my body. At this distance, even if I were seating down, I could probably get a half-decent flash step in and snatch the amulet before he could react.
Asuma shrugged, "Yeah sure."
With a burst of speed, I jumped out of my seat and used [Flash Step] to get next to him in the next instant, a hand outstretched reaching for the amulet he was holding.
To my surprise, however, Asuma vanished from my sight and reappeared behind me chuckling. I looked back with my eyes widened in shock. So this was the speed of a jounin, huh? Was he still holding back or what was that it? Regardless, it was still impressive.
"Good plan, but I forgot to tell you. I am just a shadow clone, the real Asuma is already hidden somewhere, so there's really no point trying to get this charm from me right now." The jounin blankly stated before openly attaching the amulet to his waist on the other side of this Guardian sash.
"Oh, and don't worry about the bill, I've already paid. Well then good luck!" With that, the Asuma shadow clone disappeared in a plume of smoke.
Tsk, I knew it wasn't going to be that easy. I looked back at my teammates, who were both surprised at the unexpected turn of events, "Was that his shadow clone eating the whole time? What a waste of food. Shino, your kikaichu got his scent?"
The Aburame nodded almost imperceptibly, "Insects don't have noses that can smell, but yes, ever since he told us about the test I have had my kikaichu memorize the chemical composition of his scent and chakra signature."
"Alright, let's get started then. Hinata-"
"On it. Byakuugan!" The Hyuuga heiress announced while activating her dojutsu, already scanning the streets and building interiors to find their jounin squad leader.
"What's the range of your dojutsu and how long can you hold it?" I asked, inwardly impressed with her decisiveness. A far cry from the original Hinata.
"60 metres, and I have no problem leaving it on for 2 hours straight. A-any more than that I'll start getting tired quickly." She answered.
I placed a hand over my chin, "The village is roughly 3 square kilometres, if we systematically scan each area with kikaichuu and Byakuugan, it's going to take too long. If we leave out certain areas and narrow down our search radius to the most likely locations, it should take probably three hours or so to find him. Hmm, this might be difficult… Let's get moving."
"Oh, the shadow clone released itself. Mm, what an interesting team." Asuma mused while seated at the bar as the memories from his shadow clone . With one last gulp, he finished his beer and slammed it on the countertop, wiping away the remnant foam at the corners of his mouth. "Ahh, that hit the spot."
He was currently at one of the few shinobi-only bars in Konoha, establishments where shinobi could take a load off and talk about their troubles without worrying about any civilians overhearing things they weren't supposed to know. You had to have an official forehead protector to be able to even get in through the front door. It was one of the last refuges for ninjas to be themselves without having to uphold the reputation of a glorious shinobi of Konohagakure.
"Interesting? You lucked out, Sarutobi." A young woman next to him with purple hair styled in a short, spiky ponytail commented, "The Rookie of the Year, a Hyuuga talent and one of those super serious, no nonsense Aburame. That's a solid team comp if there ever was one. You must've pulled some strings didn'tcha?"
Asuma rolled his eyes while pulling out a cigarette and lighting it, "Oi, I'm just a good jounin alright? No strings were pulled, Anko."
"Hah!" Anko scoffed, "You sent a damn shadow clone in your place to meet the team, what are you even talking about?"
"It was part of the test." He answered, lazily exhaling out a cloud of cigarette smoke.
The tokubetsu jounin made a dismissive gesture while waving away the second-hand smoke, "Right, your test… what was it again?"
"Hey, weren't you listening when I told you like a minute ago?" Asuma frowned.
Anko shrugged innocently, taking a sip of her own alcoholic beverage.
"Sigh, forget it. They have until sunset to track me down and get something from me." He explained helplessly, "Should be pretty simple, given that they have a Hyuuga and an Aburame on their team."
She raised an eyebrow, "Heh, isn't that kinda harsh? Finding one person in the middle of an entire village is like finding a needle in a haystack, not to mention they only have a couple hours to do so. And they can only pass if they take something from you. You're one cold motherfucker, Sarutobi."
The jounin shook his head, "Nah. I've already given them a couple of clues. If they're at all like what the Academy reports said, they should be fine. Plus, I never said anything about them having to take it from me to pass."
Anko looked back wide-eyed, "Huh. Didn't expect you to have put that much thought into it. Not bad, Sarutobi."
Asuma's eyebrow twitched, "Like I said, I'm a damn good sensei."
"Sure, sure… so what do ya think about your team?" She asked dismissively.
The Sarutobi pondered for a moment before speaking, "Mm, it's a little too early to tell right now but they seem promising. Hinata is still slightly lacking confidence, but she can be decisive when she needs to. And that kind of stuff can be developed over time, so I'm not that worried about the girl. Hiashi can be abit of a hard ass, but he gets results."
"Hah, hard ass sounds about right. You can send her over to me if she needs some confidence-building training." Anko offered.
Asuma immediately declined, "Ah no thanks, you might break her."
"Hey, I resent that!" She pouted while playing with a senbon in her other hand.
The jounin eyed the weapon in her hand and inched away slightly, "Shino is, well, a typical Aburame. Quiet, stoic, and hard to read. His clan has a history of producing capable, albeit understated ninjas, and his academy records tells me his aptitude is all but assured. My only concern with him is his specialization in Aburame clan techniques, so I won't have much to teach him apart from the fundamentals. Shinji on the hand, hah… that kid's going to be a headache."
"The Rookie of the Year? Why, he some kind of troublemaker? I love troublemakers."
Asuma pulled out his wallet and took out a couple of ryo notes placing them on the counter and signalled the bartender while he continued talking, "Nope, the opposite. You heard about the Scroll of Seals incident, about a week ago?"
Anko perked up, chuckling at the memory, "Course I did. That Uzumaki brat stole the Scroll of Seals and led a couple dozen chuunins on a wild goose chase. That was pretty fucking funny. Why?"
"Then you probably should know about his traitor sensei who tricked him into doing it right?"
"Oh yeah, that happened. That guy died didn't he? Too bad, I would've loved to get my hands on him. Treasonous scum are my favourite toys to play with, hehe." Anko answered with a wistful look to her and a hint of bloodlust.
Ignoring the sanguine comment, Asuma continued, "Yeah? Well, that very same Rookie of the Year was the one who did him in."
The tokubetsu jounin widened her eyes at the information, "No shit. How did that happen? I heard that Mizuki guy was a solid chuunin."
"Turns out, the kid had been hiding his abilities for the past four years. Kenjutsu, advanced chakra control, medical ninjutsu, the works. Official story is, he got the drop on Mizuki and stabbed him down through the shoulder and from then on the fight, if you could call it that, was a foregone conclusion. They fought for abit, with the kid displaying real advanced stuff like chakra enhancement and chakra flow. He even cut off that traitor's arm at some point." Asuma elaborated.
"Woah, that's one scary kid." Anko gaped before smiling, "I like him. Wait, so no one knew about any of that?"
The Sarutobi nodded, taking another drag of his cigarette. "Yep. Makes you wonder what those chuunin at the academy are being paid for. My dad asked me to treat him like any other genin, but to keep an eye out on the kid, see if there's anything else he is still hiding."
She titled her head, "What, the Hokage thinks he's a spy or something?"
"Nah, we don't have any evidence of that. There're records going all the way back to when he was just a baby. He's an orphan, born and raised in Konoha. No foreign affiliation whatsoever. We've questioned the caretaker of the orphanage, the person who taught him medical ninjutsu and all the academy staff. Nothing suspicious stands out."
"So what's the deal with watching him?"
Asuma shrugged, "I'm supposed to watch him for a few months and if nothing else weird happens, then I can drop the surveillance. The kid says he hid his abilities because he didn't want the attention or to graduate early. My dad doesn't buy it. But if you asked me, I'd say he's just getting paranoid in his old age. We all know what happens with child prodigies who graduate early; that shit ain't healthy."
Anko waved a fist at him, "Hey you're talking to one of those child prodigies who graduated early!"
Laughing, the Sarutobi teased gesturing to her outfit, "Yeah? And look what happened."
She looked herself up and down, her body scantily clad in a tight fitting mesh bodysuit paired with an equally tight mini skirt that did little to hide her figure. Not exactly a practical outfit even for a kunoichi. "…okay you've got me there."
Asuma got out of the stool and made to leave the bar, "Alright, day drinking is fun and all, but I've got to go. See ya."
"Huh? Weren't you waiting for those genin of yours?"
He turned back and smirked, "I didn't say I wasn't going to move around, make it a little more difficult for them."
"You're outta luck, he left like an hour ago." The barkeep answered, nonchalantly wiping down a glass.
"Crap." I cursed while my teammates looked slightly dejected.
"Sorry Shinji-kun, I thought that his self-introduction contained some clues to where he was going to be. I must've been wrong." Hinata self-deprecatingly apologised.
I waved away her apology, "You weren't wrong. It was a good catch. We just didn't think he was going to be moving all over the place. Check if he is in the immediate vicinity with your Byakuugan. Shino, let your kikaichuu track down his chakra signature."
After wandering around for some time, Hinata had realized Asuma possibly could have intentionally left us some clues when he had been talking to us. We went to the hot springs first since he had mentioned liking baths in hot springs. Asking Hinata to scan through the bath where presumably fully naked grown men were bathing seemed inappropriate, so we had Shino search the area with his kikaichuu. There were remnants of his chakra signature, but not the man himself.
Next, we came to the bar where we were at now, only to receive the news that he had been here but already left.
I thought back to everything he had said at the yakiniku place. Ever since I got my INT up to a hundred, the perk that I received worked brilliantly in sharpening my mental acuity. [Quicken Thoughts] functionally improved my memory and increased the speed at which I could formulate ideas, process information and even strengthening my cognitive stamina. Meaning not only could I think faster, but my brain also wouldn't be as tired during mentally draining situations.
It was a perk that proved crazy useful in fights. Firstly, it augmented my Sharingan's incredible dynamic vision by letting my mind keep up with what I was looking at. Second, I could very quickly form strategies against enemies while I was fighting them. It even applied to situations outside of combat, namely times like right now when I had to think my way out of a deceptively simple task.
"Wait, he mentioned he had his own graduation exercise at training ground thirteen when he was a genin! I bet that's where he is now!" I exclaimed, remembering Asuma's words when he had been sharing about his genin times.
"But training ground thirteen is outside of Konoha's walls. Asuma-sensei said he would stay inside the village boundaries, he wouldn't have lied, right?" Hinata refuted.
Shino adjusted his shades, "I agree. It would be illogical for the squad leader to lie to his own team."
I gave a knowing smile, "We as shinobi engage in deception and subterfuge daily. Expect the unexpected right? We're not in the academy anymore, we can't expect everyone to be playing by the rules. There are no more rules. I wouldn't be surprised if every other information he volunteered were just red herrings while the truth was hidden underneath a lie. Besides, training ground thirteen isn't far. At most it's a dead end and we come back to the village to look for other clues."
Hinata and Shino looked at each other, unable to refute my logic.
"Well, the chakra signature does lead in the direction of training ground thirteen…" Shino hesitantly offered.
"Then it's decided! Come on!"
.
.
.
As we sped through the forest, approaching the clearing of training ground thirteen, Hinata suddenly spoke, the veins around her eyes bulging in the tell-tale sign of her doujutsu being activated, "I see him. In the middle of the training ground."
I smiled at my theory being proven right before griding to a halt along with the other two who stopped as well. "Wait. Before we go in half-cocked and reckless, we should formulate a plan."
Shino nodded, "That only seems logical."
Hinata looked taken aback, "A plan? What for?"
"Remember what he said. We either have to steal the amulet or take it from him. Both would require some planning. Seeing as how this is a test, I'm pretty sure he's not going to just hand it over if we asked nicely." I explained.
"Indeed. We are three genins against an elite jounin," Shino added, "If we were to succeed, thorough planning is necessary."
She hesitantly agreed, "Oh, okay… then what should we do?"
"For now we need to be familiar with what each of us can do. Only after taking our strengths and weaknesses into account can we formulate a fool proof plan of action." I suggested.
"Uhm, I am proficient in my clan's Gentle Fist style. I can inflict internal damage by attacking the chakra's pathway system using my Byakuugan. Other than that, I am also confident in my shurikenjutsu. As for ninjutsu… other than the basic three I am unfortunately lacking. " Hinata offered first, before shyly looking away as though embarrassed by her admittedly sparse skillset.
"I too am proficient in my clan's unique techniques. My kikaichuu is primarily used for reconnaissance but can also be utilized for both offensive and defensive purposes. They can consume a target's chakra upon making contact, although it will take quite awhile to complete deplete their reserves unless a large enough swarm descends upon them. Apart from three basic academy jutsus, I can utilize perform the insect clone technique which is formed by a mass of thousands of kikaichuu. However I can only make one of them. My hive is not yet large enough to support more than one clone without leaving me defenseless." Shino volunteered, before looking at me, silently prompting me to go next.
I took a moment to formulate my thoughts, wondering just how much to tell them. But there was no point in hiding everything that I could do now. We were going to be a team, so I had no reason to continue hiding my abilities from them. Not that I would ever reveal the gamer system and its associated abilities; I would only show them what they needed to know. I was sure Asuma already knew that I was holding back in the Academy, so it wasn't like I could continue pretending. It would only be more suspicious if I did.
"Thank you for sharing, Hinata, Shino. As for me, I can be… considered to be well versed in ninjutsu, taijutsu and limited genjutsu." I started, struggling to share what I could do without seeming like I was trying to brag. "I know several katon jutsus, and as for taijutsu, well I am pretty fast."
Shino shifted in place. It was a subtle gesture, but I knew him well enough to know that it was meant to convey dissatisfaction. "From what we saw in the restaurant, Shiji-san, you have been holding back during taijutsu spars." He accused in the same monotone voice as always.
I winced at the accusation. It wasn't like Shino to so openly express displeasure. He must be pretty vexed for so much emotion to show. "Yes… we don't really have time to get into all that right now, I promise to explain further once this is over."
The Aburame didn't seem content with the non-answer, but took a step back in reluctant acceptance before glancing at Hinata, "Hinata-san, you don't seem surprised?"
The Hyuuga oddly flinched before waving out her hands in denial, "H-huh? I mean, what, you have been hiding your abilities, Shinji-kun?!"
I looked at her weirdly, unsure of what to make of that but ultimately just wrote it off as the girl behaving strangely as usual. "I apologize for the deception, but for now let's come up with a plan first before proceeding."
"Very well. What do you suggest, Shinji-san." Shino asked calmly, but the agitation in his voice was discernible.
"I thank the both of you for your understanding. Alright, here's what I would suggest: I will go in alone first to draw his attention. He will be holding back, so I should be able to distract him for some time. After awhile, Shino, you will send in your insect clone. But not openly, make it appear as though you are trying to ambush him. Make it believable. He will think that there is our trap, but that's where he will be wrong."
"He will definitely predict we would try to trap with him with your kikaichuu insect clone, and that's where you will come in, Hinata. While the insect clone and I are keeping him busy, I want you to sneak up on Asuma-sensei and strike him while he is distracted. Of course, you will probably fail, and that's fine, a jounin won't be caught with just that. But while you are doing that, the real Shino will come in with his own sneak attack. Cover your shuriken or kunai with your kikaichuu and throw them from afar."
"At that point I will try to hold Asuma-sensei down so that your projectiles or kikaichuu can land. It's a multi-layered strategy with contingencies after contingencies. What do you think?"
Shino raised an eyebrow, "Seems awfully complicated, Shinji-san. Are all those steps really necessary?"
"Against a jounin, no amount of preparation will be sufficient." I firmly insisted.
Thankfully, Hinata seemed supportive of the plan.
"I agree with Shinji-kun." She added.
Shino went silent for a moment before nodding, "It seems I am outvoted. Very well then, we will go with that plan. Shall we begin?"
.
.
.
Asuma's eyelids flicked open, tilting his head towards the forest as Shinji sped into the clearing. "Oh, pretty quick. You're earlier than I expected."
Shinji ignored the jounin's comments and unsheathed the wakizashi strapped to his back.
"But it doesn't seem like you're in the mood for talking. Alright, let's begin then, shall we?" Chuckling the Sarutobi added before readying himself.
The genin infused chakra into his legs, speeding up before acquiring yet another boost of speed with [Whirlwind Steps]. Right before he reached Asuma however, he unexpectedly veered to the left and sent a handful of chakra infused shuriken at the Sarutobi instead.
Asuma slipped through the volley of shuriken, however, as he did, he realized that the obvious opening through which the jounin had went through was left there on purpose by the thrower. Just as Asuma evaded the thrown projectiles, Shinji vanished and reappeared where he knew the Sarutobi was going to and swiped at the older man with his wakizashi.
The jounin whose face was still calm and collected, though now tinged with a hint of amusement, narrowly leaned away from Shinji's slash, letting the blade swing barely an inch away from his chest ineffectively.
Shinji didn't relent and continued his kenjutsu combo, guided by the techniques of [Myriad Armament Fiend] as well as the [Intermediate Kenjutsu Mastery] skill which had been created after the boy read through some kenjutsu scrolls stored in the Uchiha Clan's jutsu depository.
Those skills did not serve merely as damage boosting effects, there was also an auto-correction that steered the movement of his sword. In terms of individual agency in manipulating his blade, it was a ratio of 8:2 between Shinji's control of his movements versus the system's guidance of his kenjutsu forms. That is to say, Shinji contributed roughly 80% to the expertise shown in his kenjutsu techniques, whereas the remaining 20% could be attributed to the system's auto-correct functionalities.
His sword parted the air repeatedly and harmlessly, with every attempted slash or stab effortlessly evaded by the more experienced jounin. Asuma watched Shinji's movements carefully – not out of necessity as if he needed to pay full attention to the techniques of a genin to avoid being cut. Rather, he was focused on analysing the extent of Shinji's displayed skill; mentally evaluating and wondering just how the boy in front of him had been capable of taking down a chuunin.
Asuma could see how the Rookie of the Year truly deserved his position. Compared to the baseline combat capabilities of an average genin, Shinji exceeded that standard with ease. Yet, it was still a far cry from the abilities of an elite chuunin like Mizuki. Which could lead to two assumptions:
Either Shinji was a natural born assassin capable of eluding the honed senses of an elite chuunin in a heightened state of awareness and thus managed to deal a crippling blow that severely debilitated said chuunin's own combat capabilities; or the boy was still holding back even during his own graduation exam. Which didn't really make sense to Asuma since the man assumed Shinji had to have known that the Sarutobi, as his jounin squad leader, would definitely have been informed about the Scroll of Seals incident.
'Unless, the kid just wants to lure me into a false sense of security…?" Asuma concluded, just as Shinji's movements was suddenly turned up a notch. The genin's movements blurred, even in the eyes of an elite jounin like Asuma, and the wakizashi that had thus been evaded suddenly pierced through the jounin flak jacket of the Sarutobi.
Shinji showed no expression of any emotion, not fooled by the last minute kawarimi the jounin had employed to fool him. Even without the Sharingan that could see through illusions, his [Heightened Senses] perk informed him of the minor henge illusion layered over the log.
As expected, the 'Asuma' he had stabbed disappeared in a plume of smoke and in its place was a log.
The real Asuma reappeared behind Shinji. "Don't get complacent," he commented before delivering a solid chop to the back of the genin's neck, only for Shinji to similarly be replaced with his own respective log.
"Katon: Gokakyuu no jutsu!"
From a distance away, Shinji expelled out a stream of orange-yellow flames that formed a large sphere of fire, shooting at the jounin who looked slightly surprised at the advanced ninjutsu being performed by a genin. He might have been aware of Shinji's capabilities with physical combat involving his blade, but no one told him about advanced ninjutsu.
The fireball continued sailing towards Asuma, threatening to burn him to a crisp if he were to do nothing to stop it. In response, the jounin who initially wanted to just move out of the way, weighed his options and decided to show off just a tad. He was a jounin after all and displaying the difference between a genin and himself could also serve as a teachable moment for the promising genin as well as the other two who were presumably watching.
Gathering wind-natured chakra to his palms, an overwhelming amount in fact, Asuma forcefully swung the loosely accumulated bundle of chakra at the approaching fireball. In a display of astounding control over nature transformation as well as formidable quantity and quality of chakra, the gathered wind-natured chakra with just pure force and despite being weak against fire, tore apart the sphere of flames, dissipating it into mere embers upon contact.
Wind and flames met, and instead of strengthening the fires like one well versed in nature transformations and it's circular diagram of elemental weaknesses would assume, the wind instead blasted apart the fireball like it was a candle in a storm.
Even Shinji, who had been preparing for his next move was slack-jawed at the sight. No handseals had been used, nor was it a chakra manipulation technique like the Rasengan; what Asuma did was a demonstration of pure, unadulterated mastery over wind-natured chakra. Or at least mastery at a level of an elite jounin. At the hands of an expert such as he, even wind chakra could triumph over its natural weakness which should have been fire.
Asuma turned to look at the caster of the katon jutsu, with a smile that contained neither arrogance nor humility. It was an expression that conveyed 'look, this is the difference between us' without the need for spoken words, as though such an exchange was as natural as the sun rising in the east and setting in the west – nothing out of the ordinary occurred. Thus was the difference between an elite jounin and a genin, no matter how talented or promising they were, Rookie of the Year or not.
The genin could give a bitter, self-deprecating chuckle, before fixing his gaze right into Asuma's own eyes as a near feral grin emerged. He glanced at the wakizashi he had left behind still embedded into the log Asuma had used for his kawarimi.
Not wanting to take out another weapon from seemingly out of nowhere and revealing his inventory ability, Shinji settled for imbuing more chakra into his hands, strengthening the bones, skins and what little muscle there were in his fingers, before briskly but confidently approaching the jounin in front of him.
Shinji had recognized the opportunity that had been presented before him. The chance to go all out against an elite jounin without fear of fatal repercussions would be an invaluable contribution to develop his own skills and fight IQ. Fighting against a stronger opponent was rare for Shinji. Most of the time he trained against his peers who were of no match to the Rookie of the Year. Thus, much of time he had to hold back to minimize both physical and mental trauma against his opponents.
However, the opportunity to hone his edge against a much stronger warrior were few and far between. Excluding his own personal forays into dungeons and challenges against the bosses or hidden bosses of said dungeons, the only other worthy opponent he had fought was Mizuki - a chuunin who posed little challenge in terms of being pushed to the limit of his ability.
Shinji tensed his hands, fingers straightening and the veins underneath the skin of them bulged, to which Asuma saw and raised an eyebrow. He had never seen such a strange art before and wondered what the genin was planning to do with it. Although he didn't have much time to ponder over it before Shinji charged forward.
Asuma exhaled slowly before settling into a martial arts stance of his own, "Huu, taijutsu now hm? Let's see what you've got."
The genin thrusted a spearhand towards the jounin, batted away with ease, before launching into a series of stabs, chops, jabs, and clawing swipes. Asuma quickly found small cuts and grazes on his own limbs as he blocked or parried away the strikes. His own reinforcement through chakra enhancement, while effective in bolstering his strength and speed, was never really designed to harden his skin.
The Sarutobi felt more and more perplexed by the child before him, puzzled by all the tricks and techniques Shinji was pulling out of his sleeves. One had to realize that the shinobi arts weren't like skills such as painting or cooking. It took years of dedicated training and commitment to even come close to proficiency in just one branch of this discipline. Yet, the genin that was currently doing his utmost to tear out chunks of flesh with just fingers seemed to be accomplished in multiple.
It didn't make sense! Someone who had only begun training just four years ago shouldn't have had the time to be as adept as Shinji was with everything he had thus far displayed. Even medical ninjutsu, a discipline that required years of devotion and commitment to study was what seemed like just a side project to this person.
If there were truly no other explanation for this ridiculous speed of comprehension, then this Rookie of the Year had a frighteningly monstrous talent. A talent that was on par with equally monstrous individuals like Hatake Kakashi or Uchiha Itachi. Even then, those individuals were never as well-rounded as this boy when they were his age.
Furthermore, the boy was smiling. He found this entire exchange enjoyable. It took a real hunger for battle for such an expression. It was a look Asuma had seen many times before – on men who thought too highly of themselves and too eager to seek death.
And as Shinji continued swinging and swiping ineffectively, what Asuma truly felt was… 'a pitiable waste.'
Asuma had enough of Shinji's demonstration and gripped his wrist before taking it and twisting it behind the genin's back. The genin refused to capitulate and tried to deliver a back kick, only for the jounin to grip the very same leg and throw Shinji to the ground before pinning down his back with one knee.
"You're good. Too good to just have graduated from the Academy." He praised.
Shinji, who was lying face down in the grass, smiled and cranked his neck to look back at his captor, "You still got me, Asuma-sensei."
Asuma in return frowned, "However, you have a strange way of fighting. You came at me as though you were trying to predict my movements, which isn't wrong. But… what was puzzling was that you weren't fast enough to be able to react to my movements, yet you still moved like you could. That, to me, screams inexperience. You have always fought against people who you have been able to see through, so it has never been an issue for you trying to predict another's movements. As a result, when you fought me, you tried doing the same thing but ultimately failed because of the simple fact that I am just that much faster than you. At least, that is my theory."
The jounin had no idea how close he came to the truth, Shinji thought as he tried his best to remain unperturbed, "I never realized I had such a habit…"
"Not only that, your natural strength and speed is superior to possibly anyone your age. You have either worked extremely hard on physical conditioning or you were naturally blessed with a heaven-sent physique. Or a third possibility is that your chakra is just incredibly potent and thus chakra enhancement for you has double the effectiveness that it has for everyone else; but I'm no sensor nor am I a Hyuuga like your teammate, so I wouldn't be able to confirm that." Asuma continued.
"You are already at a level very far ahead of your peers, which I commend you for. However, don't get complacent. You are still far from the strength you need to be able to look down on the world. Other than that, you did well, Shinji." It was a mixture of criticism and praise, but what was left unsaid however, was the frustration Asuma was feeling.
Asuma dearly wanted to shake the genin's head, and yell at him, 'why are you wasting your talents!?'. Not because Shinji was at all disappointing – not at all. Shinji had already more than demonstrated his prowess and prodigal talent. What Asuma found frustrating was that Shinji had seemingly been content wasting this genius in the Academy.
The jounin was no proponent of early graduation, especially at the young age of 5 or 7 like Kakashi and Itachi respectively graduated. Nevertheless, even if Shinji didn't have to graduate at age 8, he could have at least revealed his talents to the Academy instructors and sought personal apprenticeship while still remaining in the Academy.
Instead, the boy spent four years in the Academy, learning how to use the Bunshin technique when he was already able to throw around C-ranked fire jutsus.
Asuma was vexed, incredibly so. Simply because after exchanging blows with the genin, he realized that had he been the one in charge of Shinji's growth from the get-go four years ago, the heights the genin could reach would have been ludicrous. High chuunin level or even low jounin level at age 12 would not have been a farfetched accomplishment under his tutelage.
Yet, the Sarutobi also understood, rather contradictorily, how important mental health was to a shinobi; especially one as young as the boy he had pinned down. They say the brightest candle also burns the fastest. As such, the jounin could recognize what an impossible predicament it was.
Asuma was shaken from his thoughts when Shinji reached back with his one free hand to grip the jounin's wrist attached to the hand holding him down, hard. With a self-confident smirk, the pinned genin spoke, "Thankfully, I have teammates to make up for my shortcomings. Right, Asuma-sensei?"
The Sarutobi's eyes lit up in amusement as he sensed Shino trying to sneakily run out of the thickets in the periphery towards the pair. He could also feel the strength in Shinji's grip, with chakra coursing through his digits. The genin was sincerely and genuinely trying to crush his wrist with as much force as he could muster.
Of course, the genin could not compare to his own chakra in terms of robustness and resilience, not to mention the jounin's own physical conditioning, thus Shinji's intention of crushing his bones was unsuccessful. Although, Shinji was able to succeed on his secondary objective which was to hold him in place while Shino joined the fray.
At this point, Asuma was already quite delighted with his genin team's plan so far. Shinji's decision to be the bait and his self-sacrificial attribute were praiseworthy. Yet his act of holding Asuma only worked as long as Shinji could maintain his grip. The kid was in a vulnerable position, being pinned down and only having one hand to work with. Yet, because he trusted Asuma wouldn't hurt him too severely, he was willing to risk his own safety to restrain the jounin.
Asuma had to applaud this line of thought. It wasn't as courageous as one would be led to believe, but it was clever. Although, there was a difference between something being clever and it being effective.
The jounin jabbed a thumb at Shinji's shoulder, pressing on to an acupoint that sent a wave of pain surging through the genin's arm. It was perfectly harmless with the exception of the momentary pain and loss of control in motor function which forced Shinji to release his grip.
This gave enough time for Asuma to turn towards the Aburame who was running at him and land a kick at the genin.
The figure of 'Shino' immediately dissipated and burst into a swarm of kikaichuu, which did not seem to surprise the jounin. Just as the swarm of kikaichuu descended on Asuma, a kunai appeared in his hand out of nowhere and a blindingly fast swipe at the swarm sent a wave of wind-natured chakra through the swarm which opened up a vertical hole through which he jumped out of.
The swarm chased after the escaping jounin, while Shinji who was freed from Asuma's restraint also went after him.
The unlikely pair, a swarm of insects and a non-Aburame genin, worked together in an unsurprising lack of cooperation in an attempt to trap the jounin. Often times, when Shinji went forward to land an attack, he would find the swarm of kikaichuu getting in his way and vice versa.
While Asuma was reluctant to be too heavy handed on his genin, he held no such hesitance towards the kikaichuu. One had to realize that kikaichuu had extremely short lifespans the moment they exited an Aburame's bodyhive. As such, every time an Aburame did battle, they accepted the fact that many members of their hive would perish.
For the Aburame who cherished their insect companions, to be willing to send them to their deaths in service of their clan and village was a tremendous sacrifice that no one other than another Aburame could relate to. Their cold and stoic demeanour was one that had been conditioned in the Aburame members from a young age to reduce their attachment to the short-living kikaichuu and hence be more willing to sacrifice them.
Nevertheless it was never an easy decision, even if logic and rationality dictated an Aburame's mentality. The greatest insult to an Aburame would be if the kikaichuu died for nothing. At the very least, if their insect companions died in service, fighting for some noble purpose or cause, it would be a comfort to their owners.
Asuma understood the Aburame clan's commitment to serving their village. This was not the first time he had fought against or with a member of the Aburame clan. He knew that every single kikaichuu sent out were essentially sentenced to death. The jounin respected the resolve; thus he would never disrespect Shino and his clan by avoiding the killing of the already doomed swarm. As a result, he held no qualms in destroying the kikaichuu that were chasing him.
Even then, he held back from simply breathing fire on the bugs. Such ruthlessness was not a show of respect but an act of contempt or scorn. He would have to teach Shino how to get around this huge weakness in his kikaichuu techniques, Asuma mentally noted.
The jounin danced around the swarm and Shinji, while simultaneously swinging his kunai wrapped in wind-natured chakra occasionally to tear apart the kikaichuu and to keep the genin at bay.
Shinji once again used [Flash Step] to appear at what he presumed to be Asuma's blindspot but was unable to succeed in his spearhand which was aimed at piercing through the jounin's kidney. Asuma caught the extended hand and tossed him away, but the moment Shinji landed on his feet, he vanished again. This time, he reappeared next to Asuma, on opposing sides of the kikaichuu swarm.
Without hesitation, Shinji threw himself at the jounin. Clutching on to one of Asuma's arm before twisting his body to get into an armbar position. Shinji's small body and nimbleness, in comparison to the jounin, was extremely helpful in orienting himself around the Sarutobi's larger frame.
Shinji immediately started pulling, using his legs across Asuma's chest as a fulcrum to either break or dislocate the man's elbow. His abnormally great strength thanks to the gamer system allowed for a stronger hold than the jounin would have expected from the small size of Shinji's physique. He had to admit, the moment he loosened the tension in his arm, Shinji might very well break it.
When Shinji's STR exceeded 100, he had received another perk – [Bull's Strength]. Its effects were simple: Once an hour, Shinji was able to increase his STR stat by 20%. This was an ability that scaled well since it gave a percentage increase. It was also an ability he had activated the moment he got Asuma into a flying armbar.
Asuma could've easily slammed the genin into the ground or even something more vicious like reaching over with his other arm and tearing out the boy's throat; but it wasn't as though the jounin was in a life or death scenario, and there were alternatives to getting out of the death grip Shinji had on his arm.
The jounin swung the genin locking his arm at the swarm of kikaichuu, using the genin as a makeshift club. It wasn't intended to kill the kikaichuu, more to irritate the boy and get him to release his arm himself. However, he underestimated Shinji's determination to hold on to him. Because the genin knew that there were more in the works than just himself and an insect clone.
Right on time, Hinata who had been under a henge illusion of grass and slowly crawling towards the fight, showed herself and launched a series of jyuuken strikes against the troubled jounin. Asuma of course was not the least anxious, easily deflecting her palm strikes with just a leg and an arm.
Though he might have been as in trouble as he might appeared, the jounin was getting annoyed – especially with the swarm of kikaichuu flying around irritatingly, the tiresome armbar Shinji had on him and the skilful display of Gentle Fist by the Hyuuga heiress. Not to mention he was also fully aware that the third member of their team had still not appeared. A knife in the shadow was ten times more threatening than one in the light.
Irked, Asuma brought Shinji down and landed a knee on the genin's back. The impact was heavy enough to knock the breath out of the genin, but not so far as to leave an internal injury. Another knee saw Shinji releasing his grip from the impact of the attack.
Hinata saw that act and glared at Asuma in a cold fury, staring daggers into the eyes of the jounin. Her hands trembled, not in fear or hesitance, but rather from an uncontrolled rage that threatened to spill over into a rampaging frenzy. Her pupil-less Byakuugan eyes, under the influence of her wrath, pinpointed the tenketsu points on Asuma and her surprisingly quick movements managed to close off two of them before Asuma backed away.
Asuma raised an eyebrow at her seemingly unprovoked anger, but nevertheless carried on evading or deflecting her Jyuuken strikes. Seeing the ineffectiveness of her techniques, Hinata ducked down to sweep Asuma's legs from below. The jounin responded by lifting up one leg to avoid it while landing a relatively gentle kick that landed on Hinata's shoulder.
Before he could continue however, he was forced to deal with the slashes that came from Shinji who had recovered his wakizashi. The blade, layered with chakra, swung dangerously past Asuma's face, even managing to take off a few strands of his beard.
The jounin leaped backwards, to give himself some space away from the two deceptively dangerous genins. Eyeing the Jyuuken stance of Hinata and the more lethal, chakra infused wakizashi of Shinji, Asuma decided he needed to take it up a notch. Reaching into the pouch strapped to his thigh, he fished out his pair of trusty trench knives – forged with the highest quality chakra metal imported from Tetsu no Kuni and crafted by the number one master blacksmith in the Capital city.
Similarly, Shinji upon seeing Asuma put on his trench knives, realized that the jounin was getting serious. Even though his Sharingan was not activated, the mass of chakra being pumped into the trench knives by Asuma was still visible to the naked eye. When compared to his own [Chakra Flow]'s reinforcement of his wakizashi which could only be seen with chakra sight, the difference was massive and an indication of the potency of Asuma's chakra as well as his mastery in the advanced chakra technique.
"I think I have seen enough from the three of you that I can confidently say it is already enough to pass my test even if you don't get the amulet," Asuma began speaking, smiling at the two genins with some satisfaction,
"But, from the looks of you two, I don't think you will be satisfied if we end this here. So… come at me with the intent to kill!" He declared with a roar that seemed to have been infused with chakra in some form of sound-based ninjutsu. However, the reality wasn't as complicated. The pressure and killing intent that slammed into Shinji and Hinata was purely the result of Asuma's desire to not just demonstrate his superiority, but also a desire to see how far he could push these little geniuses.
Before anyone moved, however, five separate kunais flew towards Asuma, the edges of the knives wobbling as though covered in a layer of black goo. The jounin extended the chakra on his blades, lengthening the edge of his knives and swiftly shredded the kunais as well as the kikaichuu attached to them into pieces.
Shinji shared a glance with Hinata before they both moved at the same time, targeting Asuma with their respective skillsets. What seemed odd to the jounin, however, was how well the pair seemed to work with each other. Actually, Shinji was the one who was lacking in teamwork and cooperation. It was Hinata who seemed more than comfortable and familiar with Shinji's abilities. She was the person whose movements accommodated Shinji's own, acting and reacting according to how the boy would move.
It was a strange sight, but not one that Asuma had the time to pay much attention to as a third person, Shino, finally joined the bout. At the same time, a swarm of kikaichuu burst out from the ground beneath Asuma, buzzing angrily and immediately flocking towards his chakra blades to consume what must have looked like a decadent meal to the insects.
The three of them worked together, albeit clumsily and awkwardly, to the best of their abilities to take him down. Asuma had to recognize Shinji's massive contribution to the endeavour. He was starting to recognize how exactly did Mizuki get taken down by this green horn, still wet-behind-the-ear genin. A chuunin-level target would have already succumbed under their continuous assault, and even a lesser jounin might be given a run for his money.
The jounin smiled, with what might seem like misplaced pride filling up his chest in the genins who had yet to even spend a single hour under his tutelage. The pride he was feeling was not in the accomplishments of himself as a sensei. Of course not. Rather, it was an admittedly rosy and optimistic outlook on the future of the village if these genins were the new generation who would replace himself as Konoha's elite shinobi.
As much as he would want to deny it, the patriotism and genuine love he felt for Konoha instilled in him by his father the Sandaime Hokage outweighed whatever cynicism or jaded perspective he had developed which ultimately drove him towards the Capital city in the first place.
It was at this moment, that Asuma made a binding resolution to himself… Even if it was at the cost of his life, he would make sure these three would be given the opportunity to grow, flourish and thrive. No matter who would threaten them, as long as he still lived and breathed, he would ensure they reach the peak of their potential. They would be the new generation that would inherit the will of fire even if he himself never did.
And the first step to grooming them to become elite warriors; the bedrock foundation of this village's military might like Hatake Kakashi and Maito Gai that he knew they would become, was to utterly crush them in this graduation exercise.
'And I was still looking forward to being a laidback jounin instructor', Asuma mused before infusing his muscles with chakra, much like Shinji's [Chakra Enhancement], except at a level that his movements would have looked like a blur even under the dynamic vision of Shinji's Sharingan.
In a flash, Asuma deflected Shinji's wakizashi with his trench knife and landed a powerful punch right at the genin's sternum before Shinji could even react. The Rookie of the Year was sent flying away.
He then swung back and sent a flying kick at Hinata who had crossed the distance with surprising speed and stealth, attempting to send a spike of chakra through his heart with her Jyuuken. The kick soared through her open guard and landed on her side. Similar to Shinji, the Hyuuga heiress was sent flying away from the force of the kick.
Finally, Shino who had been coordinating the movements of his kikaichuu swarm also found himself being cracked in the gut with a fist from Asuma before his collar was grabbed and his body thrown away forcefully.
Where there had been a busy fight between three genins and one jounin just moments before, now remained a single elite jounin triumphant.
Shinji had not yet yielded, however. Even without the aid of his teammates, he had yet to sustain enough damage or depletion of chakra to just roll over and surrender. He had fought in more desperate straits than this before, so a mere bruise or two did nothing to curb his fighting spirit. Furthermore… he was enjoying this.
Seeing that the field was now devoid of his teammates, he could finally pull out his ninjutsu which had been previously hindered by the presence of the other genins or kikaichuu.
"Katon: Ryuuka no Jutsu!" Shinji unleashed a torrential wave of fire at the jounin who looked at the approaching stream of flames unfazed.
"You want to compare fire with me? Hahaha!" Asuma laughed before speeding through his own set of handseals, "Katon: Goryuuka no Jutsu!"
An even bigger, thicker and hotter flood of fire burst out of the jounin's mouth before quickly forming a dragon-headed fireball that clashed in an impressive display of explosions that would make a pyromaniac drool.
The fire-dragon tore through Shinji's own fire jutsu with ease, and crashed into where Shinji had been standing. Asuma wasn't worried, however. He had already sensed Shinji moving away the moment he fired off the jutsu.
Sparks flew as Asuma's trench knife met Shinji's wakizashi. The genin had used [Flash Step] consecutively to move around the now burning field of fire and attempted a sneak attack.
The two of them exchanged blades, faster than what the other two genin who had been watching could perceive.
Shino watched them contemplatively, only now realizing the extent of the difference between himself and the Rookie of the Year. He might not look like the type, but he too held certain ambitions and goals. One of them being surpassing Shinji. It was partly demoralizing, but at the same time inspiring. If an orphan his age could reach such a level, what could Shino achieve with the full support and backing of an entire clan?
Hinata's Byakuugan eyes remained activated as she watched the fight.
'Shinji-kun… so thick…' She mused to herself under the x-ray vision of her doujutsu. This was not the first time she had observed Shinji with her Byakuugan. And it never ceased to amaze her the difference between Shinji and everyone else in her class. His chakra pathways were thicker and denser than nearly everyone their age, with the only exception being Naruto. And they grew more and more bulbous with every passing day it seemed.
Hinata had to force down her blush while admiring the boy's chakra pathway system. His biology was… odd. It wasn't something anyone else would notice unless they had been observing Shinji daily like she did. A person's chakra pathways didn't grow like he did. Not to say that they could not be developed by the average shinobi. They could, with years of training, conditioning and straining their chakra system, augment their chakra pathways.
However, Shinji's chakra pathways would grow to become thicker and his chakra denser even when he was just reading a book at the library. It was a sudden occurrence that had no business happening to a person who was leisurely reading, yet it did. There was no obvious change, the alteration being subtle enough to convince even the most astute Hyuuga that they had been mistaken if they only saw it happening once.
Hinata saw it happen dozens of times throughout her four years in the Shinobi Academy.
Even puberty could not explain the phenomena. If it had been a pressing, medical issue, she might have raised a concern to their chuunin instructors or even to the boy in question. But upon doing some research into her clan's medical texts, she understood that it wasn't something that would threaten his wellbeing. Thus Hinata didn't question the boy nor reveal this secret to anyone.
Just like she wouldn't ever tell anyone about Shinji's eyes. The red eyes of the Uchiha. The Sharingan. Hinata had seen them being used regularly when Shinji trained with the Sasuke. For some reason, he wanted it kept a secret. She didn't understand his reasoning behind it, but complied with his decision, regardless if he knew about her knowledge or not.
Not that she would even let him know that she knew in the first place. What was she going to say, 'hey Shinji-kun, I saw you use the Sharingan when I was watching you from afar with my Byakuugan'? She would look like a total crazy psycho stalker. Thus, she was content with simply watching from a distance. The knowledge that only she knew his little secret was thrilling, and Hinata was determined to keep it that way. Oh, her and Sasuke of course but he didn't count.
'One day, you will trust me enough to tell me your secret yourself. And then we will…' Hinata fantasized, her eyes glazed over and cheeks reddening in her daydreams.
Back to the genin and jounin showdown, it was quickly reaching its climax. The fight wasn't particularly brutal, but Shinji looked to be exhausted. This whole time, Asuma wasn't fighting back with the intention of ending the bout. Rather, Shinji had quickly realized the jounin was actually teaching him. Not through words of instruction, but through guiding his movements.
Asuma pointed out the holes in his technique by exploiting them, rewarded his carefully planned attacks by letting them connect, albeit blocked, and corrected his movements by landing quick kicks to an overextended leg or two.
Shinji was learning how to fight without the Sharingan. Not that Asuma knew that was the outcome of his guidance. To the jounin, he was only developing the genin's combat experience and fighting sense. Of course, he would not be able to pick up in just a day or even two. But this method of tutelage seemed promising to Shinji.
Because the genin was constantly having to correct his movements while simultaneously analyzing Asuma in order to gain an upper hand in their exchange, it was a mentally exhausting endeavour. Even with his new INT perk, it proved to require a herculean effort to focus and adapt at the same time, which explained the mental fatigue that was quickly accumulating.
"Not yet, not yet, not yet!" Shinji proclaimed, doubling his efforts in taking down what he perceived as a stimulating challenge. He felt as though every cognitive muscle in his mind was firing on all cylinders, and for a moment, he fell into what he could only describe as 'the zone'.
For a single instant, Shinji felt like the world stood still as he became perfectly aware of every minutiae, every detail, every subtle signs down to the tiniest micro-movements in Asuma's muscles. It was not a novel experience; it was something he had felt before fighting against the Hidden Boss in the Rank F dungeon. A feeling of transcending his biological and mental limits and awakening the killer instinct buried deep down in every person that had laid dormant ever since the advent of humanity as a civilized society.
It was the instincts of an apex predator.
Shinji's movements blurred, pushing his [Chakra Enhancement] to the limits and with one swift strike cut into Asuma's flesh. A long but shallow gash opened up along the jounin's thigh and Shinji;s wakizashi might have opened up another one, this time somewhere much more fatal, before a sense of urgency and self-preservation overtook Asuma's rationality.
The genin exploded backwards from a full powered punch launched by the jounin, crashing right into Shinji's face. The boy's face sunk in, his skin folding inwards from the force of the blow, while a stream of blood from Shinji's nose followed after the genin as he flew back. Asuma's trench knife that was still on his hands acted like a knuckle duster that amplified the concussive force of his fist.
Shinji fell back to the ground, rolling like a rag doll before the momentum died and inertia made way for motionlessness.
Asuma panicked, rushing to the side of his genin and fearing for the boy's life. The force of that punch was enough to punch through the torso of a regular civilian, or if aimed at the head, turn the insides of the cranium into scrambled jelly.
"SHINJI!" Hinata screamed, dashing towards the boy while Shino followed after – quietly but no less concerned. Even they could see the might behind that punch, what with the sound of the impact and the speed at which Shinji flew through the air limply.
Before they had arrived by his side, Shinji, still awake, took a moment to look at the sky above him and the clouds drifting by. He couldn't help the smile that graced his battered face, 'That was… so fucking fun.'
To their combined relief, the boy was still conscious and smiling even, albeit his face and nose looked crumpled up from the power of an all-out, no holds barred, 'I'm about to die' punch empowered with butt loads of chakra from an elite jounin specializing in close quarters combat.
"Damn it, my bad, Shinji. My body moved before I even knew what I was doing, I didn't mean to attack you so heavily." Asuma apologized, getting down on one knee and examining the extent of his student's injury.
Hinata burst into tears, repeatedly muttering, "I'm so glad you're okay", while wiping away her tears.
Shinji sat up, looking around at the people by him, "I'm fine, I'm fine. Don't worry about it, Asuma-sensei. I left you with no choice, I know."
Asuma reached down and pulled Shinji up to his feet, "We need to get you to the hospital."
The Rookie of the Year shrugged off his concern, "It's alright, I can treat myself." Raising a hand over his face, he first cast a diagnostic jutsu to assess the seriousness of his injury. Although the system showed no debilitating status effects, it was better to be safe than sorry.
From what he could see however, that previous punch just took a chunk out of his HP and that was it. Thankfully, his enhanced durability from his high VIT stat, the protection [Chakra Enhancement] provided, as well as his numerous passive skills that reduced damage taken absorbed much of the impact.
The jounin watched what proved to be his most promising and talented genin infusing green medical chakra into his injury with some disbelief. He had heard of Shinji's proficiency in medical ninjutsu, but to see it action right after that excellent display of the genin's combat skills… it was humbling to say the least. Asuma chuckled at the memory of how he himself was like when he was Shinji's age.
"You're one crazy kid, you know that?" The jounin commented.
Shinji smiled at the statement, knowing it be a praise rather than a critique, "Yeah well, how else were we going to succeed in the test?"
Asuma raised an eyebrow, "I already told you. You guys already passed the test as far as I was concerned."
The genin shook his head, "I couldn't accept that. Which was why I had to get this."
Shinji held up his other hand before opening the clenched fist, revealing the red silk Omamori charm that was the objective of their test in the first place.
Asuma looked down at where he had fastened the charm only to find it missing. He turned back to Shinji's victorious smirk, eyes widening as he realized, "That last exchange…"
The genin nodded, "Yep. The sword was misdirection. My real goal was the amulet."
The jounin paused for a moment, before bursting into laughter, "You were crazier than I thought, kid. You pass! All of you pass! HA HA HA!"
Quest [Asuma's Test] Completed!
Successfully pass the real graduation test!
Accomplish the task given by Asuma (√)
(Bonus) Complete within 1 hour (X)
(Bonus) Complete within 3 hours (√)
(Hidden) Force Asuma to not hold back (√)
(Hidden) Work together with team (√)
Rewards:
+10000 EXP
New Title: [Asuma's Disciple]
(Bonus) +5 Points
(Hidden) New Perk: [Natural Wind Affinity]
(Hidden) New Perk: [Teamwork Makes the Dream Work]
(Bonus) New Title: [Are You Cheating?] (X)
You have levelled up!
[Natural Wind Affinity]: You have acquired an affinity towards wind nature chakra.
-50% CP cost to all wind-related skills
+100% EXP gain to all wind-related skills
+100% effectiveness of all wind-related skills
+100% CP cost to all fire-related skills (cancelled by [Natural Fire Affinity])
-100% EXP gain to all fire-related skills (cancelled by [Natural Fire Affinity])
[Teamwork Makes the Dream Work] +10% to all stats when working with Team Ten
[Asuma's Disciple]: +30% EXP gain to all skills and stat growth when being taught by Sarutobi Asuma
Like I mentioned above, pretty short chapter dedicated purely to Team Ten's graduation test. A large chunk of it were fight scenes, which I understand some of you aren't very into. Gotta say, it's just a tad bit upsetting to see comments saying you just skip fight scenes because it does nothing for the plot. But you do you. I'm down with whatever makes you happy.
Chapter Breakdown
A little John Wick reference there if anyone noticed it. And Shinji has a complex regarding his cooking haha.
The conversation between Anko and Asuma intended for expository purposes and to reveal some of Asuma's first impressions of his team. As you have read, Asuma doesn't share the same concern Hiruzen has towards Shinji. Part of that is due to his strained relationship with his father, another part is general lackadaisical attitude.
Asuma's test was not designed to test the combat prowess of his genins. It was meant to test their analytical minds, intelligence and ability to, as cheesy as it is, look underneath the underneath. They weren't meant to take the amulet from Asuma, nor did he expect them to. It would have been enough for the genins to make a solid attempt in working together to get the amulet after they found Asuma through the various clues he left them during a conversation that they would have been punished for if they weren't listening carefully or not situationally aware enough.
I hope I represented the disparity between a jounin and Shinji well enough. Asuma is a deadly fighter; one that is really understated in the anime. Sure he probably can't face off against an Akatsuki member, but I think there could've been more to explore with his abilities.
Shinji can be judged as a low-chuunin level without the Sharingan. Although a more accurate summation of all his stats, skills and items would be a solid chuunin level. The only thing holding him back is still his inexperience, although the fight with Asuma wasn't an accurate reflection either. Against such a strong opponent, there was really nothing much Shinji could have done to gain an advantage aside from using the shock factor of his Sharingan to surprise Asuma or something.
If Asuma went all out with the intent of taking Shinji's life, I think he could have killed him in just a few seconds. The chakra blade + with his elite jounin speed = headless Shinji.
But Asuma accurately deduces Shinji's bad habit of fighting as if he always has his Sharingan active. Which I thought was fitting since Shinji has mostly fights with his Sharingan activated, be it with Sasuke or in the dungeon. He never really learned how to fight without it, so the handicap is a noticeable difference for someone as perceptive as Asuma.
He then compares Shinji's talent to be equivalent of Kakashi and Itachi. I've always questioned the portrayal of Kakashi's promotion to jounin at age 12. Was he legitimately as strong as the average jounin when he was just 12 years old or was it a battlefield promotion and he was closer to chuunin level? If he truly was jounin level at 12, then does that mean his growth stagnated for over a decade afterwards, leaving him 'only' at elite jounin level at the start of canon? It's weird.
I was rather fond of my description of the Aburame clan. I imagined Aburame children being taught to be emotionless and to emphasize logic as a way of numbing them to the pain of losing their kikaichuu companions during battle. Though desensitized, with every battle they are forced to sacrifice thousands of their hive all for the sake of serving Konoha. It's an admirable loyalty that is not known to the majority of the village.
Hinata knows!? I figured it only made sense for her to have once or twice followed Shinji after school only to come upon him sparring against Sasuke with his Sharingan activated. And there has to be some kind of observable change every time Shinji gained an INT stat point or levelled up, which would increase his max CP. Not noticeable for a one time observer, but Hinata who regularly checks up on Shinji with her Byakuugan had to have noticed it. 'So thick…' lol
I gave Shinji [Natural Wind Affinity] through the quest reward. Idk, I admit I didn't put as much thought into this. I did it because I wanted Shinji to have both wind and fire affinity, like Asuma does. Kind of hammering home the whole 'Asuma's disciple' concept.
That's about it, not much to breakdown this chapter.
This week's question: How should I handle jutsu names vis-à-vis their Japanese-english translations. For example:
"Katon: Gokakyuu no Jutsu" versus "Katon: Grand Fireball" versus "Fire Release: Grand Fireball".
I think the English takes away the, for lack of a better word, impact of the jutsu. But I wouldn't want to (bracket) the English translation of techniques I come up with that are hard to translate to Japanese, like for example, "Raiton: Kaminari Kotei no Shogekiha (Thunder Emperor Shockwave)".
Let me know what you think!
Like always, thanks for reading my story and if you liked it, smash that like button and hit subscribe for more content!
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