After a few seconds of thinking, Asuma realized that the best choice was Sung Jin-Woo's template. By the end of the Solo Leveling story, Jin-Woo had indeed become an invincible being. Only a few characters in the fantasy world are as powerful or stronger than him.
[Ding! Is the host sure about choosing Sung Jin-Woo's template?]
Asuma didn't feel anything strange after confirming his choice. He thought that the reason was that the current progress of the template was 0%.
[Ding! Does the host want to open the starter pack?]
Asuma was a bit surprised by the presence of a starter pack but quickly decided to open it.
[Ding! The host has received 0.03% progress in the Sung Jin-Woo template]
[Ding! The host has received Kasaka's Venom Fang]
[Ding! The host has received Shadow Dimension. Note!! The host can currently only use it to store non-living things]
Asuma felt a strange sensation, as if his bones and muscles were being rearranged. The change wasn't painful; on the contrary, it was comfortable. Even the bruises on his face disappeared in a magical way.
Asuma's body became more flexible, and he grew a bit taller. If someone examined Asuma closely, they would notice that much of his baby fat had disappeared.
Asuma noticed the changes in his body, and a happy smile appeared on his face.
He didn't realize that his black eyes had become even darker and his face had become expressionless, as if devoid of emotions. After adjusting to the changes for a few seconds, Asuma left the classroom and headed home.
At the entrance of the Ninja Academy, a large crowd had gathered. From time to time, people were coming out of the building, some with looks of joy on their faces, others with looks of boredom or fatigue.
Another person came out of the school, casting fleeting glances at people and buildings, with a gleam of curiosity and excitement in his eyes.
The boy had black eyes and spiky black hair, but the most distinctive feature was his slightly shiny olive skin.
After leaving the school, he started walking towards the road leading to his home. The Sarutobi clan was relatively close to the center of the village, so the journey didn't take long.
"I'm back," Asuma said indifferently as he opened the wooden door.
"Asuma, go and change your clothes before your father and older brother come back for dinner," said a woman in her fifties, with brown hair and a few wrinkles on her face.
"Okay, Mom."
Asuma went to the bathroom, took a shower, put on clean clothes, and came out of his room to the dining table.
At a medium-sized table, two people were sitting. One was a short man in his fifties with short brown hair and a short beard, and the other was a young man in his twenties who looked like a younger version of Sarutobi Hiruzen.
"Little Asuma, how was your exam today? Was it hard?" Shinnosuke asked with a smile on his face as he looked at Asuma.
"Good," Asuma said calmly and sat on one of the chairs around the dining table.
Shinnosuke was surprised by his younger brother's calm response, which was the opposite of his usual loud behavior. The expected reaction from Asuma would have been to come and excitedly tell him how easy the exam was.
Shinnosuke was about to say a few words to ask about Asuma's unusual demeanor but refrained after looking at Hiruzen.
Hiruzen didn't react to Asuma's response but sighed and nodded to Shinnosuke to not say anything.
At that moment, Biwako came with the main dish and placed it on the dining table.
Each family member began eating quietly, the only sounds being chewing and the clinking of spoons against the plates.
Biwako wanted to start a conversation after noticing the strange silence, but after seeing Hiruzen's serious look, she remained silent.
After everyone finished eating, Biwako took the dishes to wash them, leaving only Hiruzen and Shinnosuke, who both looked at Asuma.
After a few moments, Asuma decided to speak, his face indifferent, "I want to apply for early graduation from the academy."
Shinnosuke looked at his younger brother in shock. He knew well that his brother didn't want to graduate early to stay with his little friend Kurenai.
Although his younger brother wasn't a prodigy who graduated at five like Kakashi, he had enough talent to graduate in the second or third year of the academy.
For all these years, he didn't want to graduate because he wanted to stay close to the girl he loved.
"And why do you want to graduate early?" Hiruzen asked seriously, looking at his youngest son.
"There's nothing more I can learn there," Asuma said seriously, with a gleam in his black eyes.
Hiruzen sighed in his mind. He was aware of the fight between his son and the boy named Satoru. Although Hiruzen was nominally the academy's director, he knew everything that happened there.
Despite Asuma's loss, Hiruzen thought it was just another childhood fight. Asuma would be sad for a while and then go back to being a troublemaker as usual.
But looking at Asuma's serious face and eyes full of determination, Hiruzen believed that the loud Asuma might never return.
"Okay, but you'll join the Anbu under your brother's command."
Hiruzen couldn't trust anyone with his son's life except himself or Shinnosuke.
"That's fine. I'll go to the yard to train," Asuma said, leaving his father and older brother and walking out of the house.
After Asuma left, Shinnosuke said to his father, "But Dad, isn't it dangerous for him to join the Anbu at these times? We know well that the war is approaching since the death of the Third Kazekage."
"We won't expose him to much danger, Shinnosuke. If necessary, I'll have him work as my guard in the village so he won't go to war," Hiruzen replied. It might be hypocritical of him to urge the village's ninjas and academy students to sacrifice themselves for the sake of the village's peace through his talk of the Will of Fire, but he couldn't expose a family member to danger.
Hiruzen sighed deeply and said, "This change might be for the best. At least, I hope so."
...
So, what do you think of the chapters so far, guys? Tell me your predictions for the future events. I might even take some ideas from the comments.
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