[Kotetsu Hagane and Izumo Kamizuki's coordination was indeed impressive, but Kakuzu was no pushover. After using his Earth Spear to harden his body, he only had his headband torn.]
[Then, Kakuzu leaped onto the roof to snatch Asuma's corpse for the bounty, engaging in a few exchanges with Kotetsu, revealing only a glimpse of his true strength.]
[As a result, Pain contacted them remotely, instructing the two to hurry and hand over the tailed beast mission.]
[Kakuzu, though not a good person, was a man of principle. He left with Hidan, who wanted to linger, and before departing, he threatened to return for the corpse.]
"Phew~ Fortunately, Kotetsu Hagane and Izumo Kamizuki arrived just in time. Shikamaru and the others should be safe now."
Seeing Kakuzu and Hidan begin to retreat on the screen, Asuma felt a wave of relief wash over him.
To be honest, since becoming a ninja, Asuma had accepted the possibility of sacrifice.
In the footage, he died at Hidan's hands, which only showed that he was still weak; he couldn't blame anyone else.
However, Shikamaru, Ino, and Choji were still so young. With their family's secret techniques, they were meant to have bright futures, yet they found themselves in danger because of him.
If the three of them ended up like him, dead at Hidan and Kakuzu's hands, Asuma would never forgive himself.
Fortunately, reinforcements from Konoha arrived. Without concrete intel, they engaged the immortal duo, and Asuma was the only casualty. That was something he could accept.
Asuma could accept this, but Kurenai could not.
From the appearance of Shikamaru and the others on the screen, it was clear that the battle had happened only two or three years in the future.
Hadn't she just started dating Asuma? Now, just two or three years later, he was dead?
How could she accept that?
"Asuma, I think the Third Hokage is right. You need to train harder."
Kurenai's resentful gaze made Asuma uncomfortable, as if he were a heartless man.
"Uh, alright."
Asuma awkwardly agreed.
Seeing this, the Third Hokage sighed and said, "It seems you've forgotten your old man now that you have a wife. I said I'd supervise your training, but you kept making excuses. Yet, when your wife says to train, you immediately agree with a smile. Tsk tsk, it seems this old bone of mine is no longer useful."
Asuma and Kurenai: "."
[A few days later, the Two-Tails was extracted, and its Jinchuriki perished.]
[Kakuzu brought Hidan to Konoha to find the tailed beasts and take their corpses, but things didn't go as planned.
[After leaving, the two shared a moment of warmth.
[Kakuzu found a forehead protector for Hidan to cover the scar on the back of his head.
[Though he often complains about Hidan, he still cares for him like a concerned parent when necessary.
[As they walked, Kakuzu sensed that they were being watched and became more alert.
[Then Shikamaru appeared, surprising them with explosive tags and chakra-infused shadow knives that immobilized them.
"Ha, is this Shikamaru coming to take revenge for me?" Asuma exclaimed, surprised.
The projection didn't show the battle between him and Hidan, so they were unaware of Hidan's information.
Seeing Shikamaru suddenly attacking Hidan and Kakuzu caught him off guard.
"It seems you have a good relationship with Shikamaru. You just 'died,' and he's already here to take revenge for you," Kurenai commented.
Hearing this, Asuma smiled proudly. "My bond with Shikamaru is indeed strong. For someone who hates trouble, he often comes to play shogi with me."
Shikamaru's laziness was well-known throughout Konoha.
During his time at the ninja academy, if he wasn't sleeping in class, he was napping on the rooftop.
Even after becoming a genin, he often slacked off during missions.
The most outrageous moment was during the Chunin Exam when he had already won against Temari from the Sand Village but chose to forfeit.
His excuse was that he had exhausted all his chakra, clearly insulting the audience's intelligence.
He only used shadow imitation techniques a few times and ran out of chakra?
Whether others believed it or not, Asuma, Kurenai, Kakashi, and other jōnin certainly didn't.
From Asuma's understanding of Shikamaru, he suspected he didn't want to participate in the next round of fights.
Little did Shikamaru know, there was no next round. Gaara overturned the chessboard while fighting Sasuke.
Wanting to slack off, he had no choice but to painfully join his friends in attacking the enemy.
"Things don't always go as planned, haha."
Shikamaru: "What a drag!"
"Do you think Shikamaru helped you get revenge in the end?"
Asuma thought for a moment, then shook his head and replied, "I don't think there's much hope."
Hearing this answer, Kurenai was taken aback. "Why not?"
"In the battle where I died, Shikamaru and the others only managed to figure out some combat information about Hidan. But don't forget, Hidan has a teammate, and they still don't know anything about Kakuzu."
Kakuzu's strength goes without saying; without knowing his abilities, anyone would suffer a huge loss.
After all, who would expect that guy to have five hearts?
"I wonder who the jōnin leading the team this time is? If it's Kakashi, even if they can't win, he should still be able to retreat safely."
At this point, Asuma put his arm around Kakashi's shoulder and uncertainly asked, "You should be able to lead Shikamaru and the others to retreat successfully, right?"
Kakashi twitched the corner of his mouth, glanced at Asuma, and said, "Maybe."
"Haha, you're too modest."
Getting the answer, Asuma nodded with satisfaction and then said to Kurenai, "Besides Kakashi, if it's Guy or you leading the team, it would probably be a disaster."
"Hey, you think I'm weak, Asuma?"
"No, no, no." Seeing Kurenai's anxious expression, Asuma quickly waved his hands and continued, "I wouldn't look down on you. You're a master of genjutsu in our village; I just think genjutsu wouldn't have much effect on Kakuzu."
Asuma's thinking was quite reasonable.
Kurenai is a ninja primarily skilled in genjutsu, lacking a bit in taijutsu and ninjutsu.
If Konoha were to rank jōnin by strength, Kurenai might not be at the very bottom, but she would likely be among the weakest.
Her shortcomings are too obvious, and someone as experienced in battle as Kakuzu would hardly lose to her.
"Hmph, when we get home, I'll show you just how strong I am."
Upon hearing this, Asuma instinctively touched his waist, sighed, and responded firmly, "Who's afraid? Let's fight until dawn!"
Kakashi thought: "Damn, why do I have to sit next to these two? This is so frustrating."
Pakkun: "Kakashi, don't come over here!"
*********
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