"Third, do you know where Teacher Asuma went?" That day, the three youngsters from Team 10 came to hand in a mission and asked where their teacher, Asuma, had gone.
"Asuma, hmm..."
Sarutobi Hiruzen stroked his beard, a meaningful smile curling his lips. The wrinkles at the corners of his eyes seemed to hold something unsaid, but he took his time speaking.
That leisurely smile drifted over, making Hyuga Seigo's hands itch. Who's this Old Monkey taking a dig at?
Wang Defa! If this old geezer weren't still useful for drawing fire, I'd have killed him ages ago. Right now, he wanted to throw the practice kunai in his hand straight at him.
Apparently, the lesson of being turned into a woman for three days last time still hadn't sunk into his bones.
As Qingwu ground his back teeth, Sarutobi Hiruzen turned to the three children beside him. "Shikamaru, Choji, Ino, practice on your own for the next few days. Asuma has... something to take care of."
Barely two days after those words, Konoha's Training Ground erupted with chatter. Everyone in Team 10 was stunned when they saw that figure.
"Is that Asuma?" Shikamaru forgot to move the mouth holding his blade of grass, pointing at the figure nearby with a deep frown.
Asuma Sarutobi stood before a target, his olive-green vest wrinkled like pickled vegetables, his messy hair sticking every which way. Dark stubble covered his chin, and the circles beneath his eyes looked as though someone had punched him twice.
He raised a hand and threw a kunai so far off course it could have hit the next target, yet forced a smile uglier than tears. "Morning, kids..."
"Whoa, did Teacher Asuma get struck by lightning?" Choji's potato chip fell from his mouth. "Wasn't he telling us a