Hey, I have 50 chapters worth of words on Patreon and am mass-releasing, so read these instructions carefully if you're interested in reading ahead: go to patréon.com/eternalyujin and go to Collections —> The Cycle of Hatred.
After that, enjoy your reading!
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We stopped tree hopping after a short while. It was clear we were well out of park territory a good ten minutes ago. Thick, overgrown bushes knotted and intertwined across the tree trunks below and the canopy grew progressively thicker as we continued until the leaves completely blotted out the sky above. But the forest was cast in a light glow as the sun shone through the countless leaves encircling us.
Asuma dropped to the ground abruptly and again, I followed, staying within a metre of him. My ears caught the faint tinkling of a river, the sound only becoming clearer as we travelled. I exited the forest and squeezed my eyes shut at the change in brightness.
"Okay, we're here," said Asuma and, after a moment, followed with, "...Oh. D'you need a moment?"
I wiped my eyes and blinked rapidly. "No, I'm good. Why are we here?"
"See for yourself."
I looked at the barbed fence stretching across as far as I could see. Countless wooden signposts adorned it in a neat line and they all said the same thing.
"...Fishing permit required, no trespassing. If you are caught, you could be fined a minimum of 20,000 ryo—wait." I looked back at Asuma. "We're going fishing?"
He gave me a double thumbs up.
"...I guess I could eat," I muttered to myself. "Do you have a permit, then?"
"Nope. Mine expired years ago and they're a hassle to get your hands on so we're going to jump the fence."
I raised an eyebrow. "That's illegal."
"So?" He shrugged. "Just don't get caught—and before you give me a speech about the law and social order or something, it's fucking fish, kid. We'll grab a few, cook them, and then be on our way, okay?"
"Hey, I wasn't going to give you a speech on social order."
Asuma stared at me dispassionately. "Yeah, somehow, I don't believe you."
I smirked. "I was going to give you a speech on how you should know better—you're the son of the esteemed Hokage, for crying out loud. Have some shame!"
"Don't you start," Asuma groaned, clearing the fence in one leap. "And get over here!"
I did and—after finding a calmer part of the river—we spent an hour wading about, barehanded, taking off everything except our trousers, which we rolled up to our knees. Fishing as a chakra user was surprisingly fun. All we needed to was guide chakra to our palms and then overload it, blasting the water and sending the fish sky-high.
So, why did it take an hour then? Because we made a game out of seeing if we could catch the fish as they fell back down. I learned very quickly that fish were slippery little bastards so I figured out how to catch them before Asuma did—and the answer was chakra adhesion.
I'd caught three fish in a row when he started to realise I'd figured something out.
"Hey," He looked back, wet from head to toe, and frowned, "how'd you catch them?"
I looked back at my row of prone pisces with a satisfied smirk and then directed it back to him. "Not telling—you're the jonin, aren't you? Go figure it out."
And just to be annoying, I blasted a surge of water, drenching him from head to toe. He tumbled into the river, and when he managed to get up, I doubled over.
"What the hell!" I laughed. "You look like a drowned ra—"
I swallowed a mouthful of river water and then some, huffing and puffing as I trudged onto the pebbled bank.
"Okay." I nodded once, locking eyes with Asuma. "If that's how you want to play it, I'm game."
The ensuing water fight went on for twenty minutes until I looked back to see that all my fish were gone.
"...Asuma."
He stopped mid-palm thrust.
"Look at the fish." I pointed back at the bank. "We lost them."
The manic grin slowly faded from his face. "...I really think you should give me your secret fishing technique now, kid."
Given that I didn't have my fish anymore, I did. Another hour later, we were dry and in clothes again, sitting on the bank eating roasted fish on skewers and watching the sunset. The sky was a deep crimson and long orange clouds dragged along towards the horizon.
"Unseasoned fish aside, this was nice," I said. "Thanks for bringing me here."
Asuma grinned across from me. "I thought it'd be a fun farewell. We fight, we fish, and then we eat. I'm glad it was."
I raised a finger. "Bring some paprika next time or something. I'll take anything over unseasoned fish."
He rolled his eyes, peering into the crackling flames of the fire we were using to cook the fish. I was about to pull out another skewer but the way Asuma called my name made me pause.
"What?" I frowned.
He took a breath. "It's time we talk about the elephant in the room—your friend situation."
"Oh," I smiled. "That. Don't worry, it's solved now. We talked and everything's good between us."
"Even then, I still think we should talk."
He looked serious about this so I adjusted my position and nodded. "Okay, let's talk."
"Your two friends—Choji and Hinata? They followed you to the clearing a few weeks ago."
"Wait, really?" I blinked. "I didn't notice anyone following me and I always use anti-tailing techniques—goddamn dojutsu, I swear, man."
"Tell me about it," Asuma sighed. "Anyway, when your training finished, they were going to follow you but I told them to stay."
"Why?"
"Because I wanted to know what you had done that was so bad two other kids decided to follow you around instead of enjoying their weekend. You know what they told me?" He frowned. "They told me about your habit of prioritising training over the people in your life, Naruto."
I winced. "I know, it's not good but—"
"Do you, really?" Asuma wasn't shouting, but his words were charged with some indescribable emotion that I couldn't just shrug off. "I'd like to tell you a bit about myself, Naruto, if that's fine?"
I nodded and he closed his eyes, taking a deep, audible breath through his nose and adjusting himself so he was more comfortable.
"Four years ago, I left the Leaf to become a guardian shinobi in charge of the Fire Daimyo's protection. I left the village behind without looking back because I couldn't stand this place. How it demanded sacrifice from everyone. Not knowing any better, I lived by my father's example and dedicated myself to the village but after almost ten years I wanted… no, I needed to do something for myself."
"So I left." Asuma looked up from the fire, its flames still dancing in his brown eyes. "And to be honest, I was the happiest I'd been in years. I went on adventures, captured all kinds of criminals, stopped the Daimyo from being kidnapped, assassinated, you name it. I've done it all. But one day, I had to return. Guess what I came back to?"
"What?"
"A village that had moved on." He leaned back on his palms and sighed. "Everyone I know and love has moved on with their lives and it didn't take me long to realise that there was no space for me anymore." He shook his head with a wry smile. "You can't have your cake and eat it too. It's not fair to expect everyone else to put their lives on hold while you do one thing or the other, making time for them only when you decide it."
His words hit too close to home and the guilt and regret in his eyes were too familiar for me, so I looked away.
He sighed and cleared his throat. "Here. It's a C-rank support jutsu: Wind-Release: Frequency Disruption. I want you to have mastered it and Breakthrough by the time I get back. Jutsu above D-rank come attached with theory essays that I recommend you read and try to understand." But when I went to grab the scroll, he pulled away. "All I need in return is one thing. Can you do it?"
"I can't make any promises till I know what you want."
He held my gaze for a few uncomfortable. "Can you do it?"
"I… I'll do my best."
There was a searching look in his eyes before he spoke. "I need you to dedicate some time every week to the people you care about. It can be as many times a week as you're able to—but you need to do it, Naruto, do you understand? Don't let them move on or you'll regret it—trust me."
Only then did he give me the scroll and after everything Asuma had shared, it felt heavy to hold. Over the last few months, he'd taught me a lot of things I was grateful for, but above all else, this was the most thought-provoking lesson of all.
As the only one who knew what was coming, I had to sacrifice things for the future. The question wasn't if I had to sacrifice, but what I was willing to sacrifice, like spending time with friends and family.
Did more training today really mean I'd live a happy life tomorrow? The man right next to me was evidence enough to shake my belief in putting all of my time into training.
And yet the future and my foreknowledge remained. They were constant reminders of the threats and all of them were mind-bogglingly stronger than I was right now. But there was only so much that I could train each day.
Was that a valid excuse to neglect everyone who cared enough about me to worry? Nothing was ever that simple. I puzzled between bites of roasted fish, looking over at Asuma every so often. He was completely out of it, a strange melancholy twisting his face—and so I continued to think over his words in silence.
The flames crackled and hissed, slowly dwindling between us as the sky darkened and day turned into night.