Hikawa Is a Good Kid

The abruptly ended battle left everyone shocked and confused.

Hikawa's genjutsu had targeted only Sarutobi Asuma.

From their perspective, the fight had seemed utterly baffling.

Sarutobi Asuma had stopped in his tracks and stood frozen in place.

Holding a kunai, Hikawa walked up to him and won with ease.

They had imagined two possible outcomes.

One was Sarutobi Asuma winning overwhelmingly.

The other was Hikawa hiding his true strength, with the two fighting to a standstill.

But no one had expected this result.

"So strong!"

Rin Nohara said with a look of amazement.

Among all ninjutsu, aside from Kekkei Genkai, Medical Ninjutsu and genjutsu were the most difficult to learn.

For Hikawa to master genjutsu, he was undoubtedly a genius among geniuses.

Hatake Kakashi nodded slightly at that.

He was genuinely interested now.

Before this, after defeating Sarutobi Asuma, he had been unable to find another opponent, so he had already been preparing for Early Graduation.

Now, he had another goal.

That was to defeat Hikawa before graduating.

"Just genjutsu!"

Seeing Rin Nohara's expression, Obito Uchiha immediately said indignantly, "No genjutsu means anything before the Sharingan!"

"Talk after you awaken it."

Hatake Kakashi said casually.

"I'll definitely awaken it!"

Obito Uchiha's face flushed red with anger.

Unlike the Byakugan, the Sharingan required a certain degree of talent to awaken.

Yet he still showed no signs of awakening it.

"I believe in you, Obito."

Rin Nohara hurriedly tried to smooth things over. "Your talent is no worse than theirs."

"Hehe!"

Obito Uchiha instantly went from heroic to idiotic, revealing a foolish grin.

"Let's go."

Hatake Kakashi withdrew his gaze and said, "I'll treat you to a meal, Rin."

Obito Uchiha instantly turned to stone.

He had forgotten about the bet.

Damn it!

Obito Uchiha felt his heart ache.

This time, he had lost more thoroughly than anyone.

"Obito."

Rin Nohara turned back and said gently, "Come with us."

"I don't mind."

Hatake Kakashi said indifferently.

"Rin!"

Obito Uchiha was deeply moved.

As the battle ended, the students who had gathered to watch dispersed one after another.

Only Yuhi Kurenai ran over with an excited expression.

Who said genjutsu ninja weren't any good? Genjutsu ninja were amazing!

"Hikawa!"

Yuhi Kurenai's little face was red as an apple.

Hikawa came back to his senses and smiled.

He had just been looking at the newly triggered entry.

E-Rank Talent Entry: Shippuden

Trigger Condition: Defeat the young Sarutobi Asuma.

Effect: Wind Release talent increases by 10% on top of its original level.

The new entry was beyond Hikawa's expectations.

He had not expected entries could be triggered this way.

Although it was only 10%, it gave him quite a few ideas.

If he defeated Hatake Kakashi, would he gain Lightning Release talent?

If he defeated a stronger version of Sarutobi Asuma, would the Wind Release talent bonus be higher?

"Asuma."

With an earnest expression, Hikawa said, "You're very strong. If you had held on a little longer, I would have lost the match after running out of Chakra."

This was a lie.

He needed Sarutobi Asuma to keep challenging him in order to trigger more entries.

So, the best method was to give him hope.

Make him feel that he could win if he just worked a little harder.

Sarutobi Asuma froze.

What did he mean by that?

Was he taking the initiative to make peace?

But... there was no way he could accept that!

"I'll be back!"

Sarutobi Asuma glanced at Yuhi Kurenai, then turned and left.

A world where only he got hurt had been achieved.

Today, my hands trembled. Today, my heart ached.

Sarutobi Asuma returned home in silence.

He pushed open the door, changed his shoes, and headed straight for his room without a care.

"Asuma."

Sarutobi Hiruzen's voice rang out. "Why aren't you greeting anyone?"

Sarutobi Asuma ignored him without even raising his head.

"..."

Sarutobi Hiruzen's expression stiffened at once.

Usually, it was one thing for his son to give him no face, but there were guests today.

Right now, he wanted to reward him with a belt.

"Old man, it's been a long time since I last saw you get shut down like that. What a rare sight."

A somewhat gleeful laugh rang out.

"Sorry you had to see that, Tsunade."

Sarutobi Hiruzen said awkwardly.

As the Ninja Hero, when had he ever embarrassed himself so badly in front of a student?

"It's nothing. Kids are all like that."

Tsunade changed the subject and said, "But Asuma looks like something happened to him."

Sarutobi Hiruzen recalled Sarutobi Asuma's behavior just now. Something had indeed been off.

After thinking for a moment, he ordered, "Haru, investigate it."

Tsunade was his student, and since things had already come to this, he could not be bothered to hide anything from her.

"How are Minato's injuries?"

While waiting, Sarutobi Hiruzen asked.

"They're no longer serious."

Tsunade smiled confidently. "With me treating him, you have nothing to worry about."

"That's true."

Sarutobi Hiruzen frowned and said, "But I didn't expect Minato's injuries to be so severe."

"When the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki goes berserk, any injury is possible."

Tsunade shook her head and said, "Thankfully, there was the Flying Thunder God Technique. Otherwise, the losses would have been even greater."

A lingering fear appeared on Sarutobi Hiruzen's face.

If Kushina Uzumaki had reached Konoha, the situation would definitely have spiraled out of control.

"Lord Hokage."

A knock sounded at the door.

The Anbu ninja Haru pushed the door open and entered, presenting a scroll with both hands.

It was undoubtedly the results of the investigation into Sarutobi Asuma.

Sarutobi Hiruzen opened the scroll with some curiosity.

Let's see what happened.

Given Sarutobi Asuma's status and strength, he should not have been bullied at the academy.

Sarutobi Hiruzen could not help letting out a soft sound of surprise.

He had actually lost to Hikawa?

That was simply absurd!

Sarutobi Asuma's talent was not top-tier, but it was not bad either.

More importantly, he had begun studying over half a year earlier.

Before entering the academy, Sarutobi Asuma had already been receiving guidance from a Special Jōnin.

And Hikawa?

He had only studied for a week.

The only explanation was that he was indeed a rare genjutsu prodigy.

Besides that, his temperament was quite good as well.

After defeating Sarutobi Asuma, he had not become smug. Instead, he had comforted him.

Sarutobi Hiruzen's heart stirred.

This was an opportunity.

An opportunity for him and Sarutobi Asuma to repair their relationship.

"Old man, are you done reading?"

Tsunade held out her hand and asked.

Sarutobi Hiruzen casually handed her the scroll.

"He learned genjutsu in his first year?"

After scanning it, Tsunade said in surprise, "Looks like another genius has appeared."

"Indeed."

Sarutobi Hiruzen stood up and said, "I'll go see Asuma."

"Mm."

Tsunade put down the scroll and said, "I'll go see how Master's wife's cooking is coming along."

She was referring to Sarutobi Hiruzen's wife, Sarutobi Biwako.

"Asuma."

Sarutobi Hiruzen knocked on the door to Sarutobi Asuma's room.

"I'm not here!"

Sarutobi Asuma was still wallowing in misery.

"Don't you want to defeat Hikawa?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen paused, then said, "I can teach you how to break genjutsu."

Silence fell over the room.

A moment later, the door was pulled open.

Sarutobi Asuma kept a straight face. "Talk. Now!"

Seeing this, the corners of Sarutobi Hiruzen's mouth curved into a smile.

Hikawa really was a good kid.

Kushina Uzumaki going berserk, injuring Namikaze Minato, and Tsunade treating him came from the official side-story manga, Minato's Story. P.S. Today is Tuesday. Whether this can make it through the first round of recommendations depends on today's read-throughs, so please remember to read to the end. There will be another chapter at noon.