Hard Work! The Ability to Surpass Talent

Training Ground 21.

It had been abandoned for many years, but with Asuma's team training here, the place had once again filled with lively, cheerful energy.

"Boom!"

A smoke bomb burst open, and Shikamaru and Ino quickly moved away.

"Partial Multi-Size Technique!"

A gigantic hand came crashing down.

The impact made the ground tremble!

"Get back!"

Neji warned them, and Tenten quickly retreated with him.

Rubble clattered across the ground.

"Hey, you've improved a little, Choji!"

Asuma, still fighting barehanded, stood on a tree branch once the smoke had cleared, looking down at his three students.

"Teacher Asuma's so sly. He knew the ground was to his disadvantage, so he ran up into a tree."

Choji narrowed his eyes and muttered.

Though his eyes were so small, they always looked narrowed anyway.

"Hey, is this really all three of you can manage together? Your combined attacks weren't even as good as Tenten's just now!"

Asuma had barely finished speaking when he froze.

"This..."

A dark shadow had spread beneath his feet, as if it had glued him in place and left him unable to move.

"Shadow Possession Jutsu—success!"

Just then, the Shikamaru who had jumped out of the smoke disappeared with a puff.

Shikamaru poked his head out from behind the tree trunk at the other end of the one Asuma stood on.

"So the smoke bomb was just to give you a chance to get close to me? I never saw that coming from you, you little brat!" Asuma said with a wry smile, struggling to look back at Shikamaru, who was straining to maintain the jutsu.

Shikamaru gritted his teeth and muttered, "As I thought, holding down a Jonin is too much for me. Ino! Hurry!"

"Right!"

Ino's lips curled into a smile. "Teacher Asuma, next time, make sure you can tell the Clone Technique apart from the real thing!"

With that, she finished forming her hand seals.

"Ninja Art: Mind Transfer Jutsu."

She aimed at Asuma, but...

A moment later, she frowned.

"What's going on? Why didn't the Mind Transfer Jutsu work?"

A laugh rang out.

"Haha, the Clone Technique was just a feint. You wouldn't use such a low-level clone in a real fight."

Asuma had appeared behind Ino, his hands in his pockets and a cigarette dangling from the corner of his mouth.

The cigarette bobbed up and down as Asuma spoke.

"That's enough for you three. Take a break."

Asuma finished speaking and walked away.

Ino stood frozen, still caught up in the heart-pounding moment.

Choji blinked his sleepy-looking eyes and glanced up at the tree. The Asuma who had been there had turned into a gust of wind.

"Whoosh..."

It wasn't just the sound of wind. A visible hurricane gradually dissipated into the air.

Shikamaru lowered his head with a sigh.

"What a pain. Three Genin going up against a Jonin—there's no chance of winning."

After the basic tests were over, everyone gathered around again. Asuma took a pen to the writing board and scribbled on it.

When he reached a difficult point, he stopped and pinched the cigarette at the corner of his mouth between his fingers.

"In terms of overall ability, Shikamaru is still the best..."

At that, Shikamaru lowered his head, not looking happy at all.

Ino and Choji also pouted, looking resigned.

"Right now, all five of you have combat smarts beyond Genin level, but you may lack real battle experience. More than anything else, what you're missing compared to a Chunin is training."

"Training?" Tenten asked, puzzled.

Asuma nodded. "Except for Neji, all of you have too many flaws in your movements and footwork. You're all eager in battle, but your techniques are far too basic. At this rate, you can't become Chunins."

"By the way, Neji has only trained with Ino so far. Next, I'll test you myself."

Asuma put down his paper and pen on the grass.

He stood up empty-handed and spread his arms.

"We'll trade a few blows. I need to get a basic sense of your stamina. For the first week, I'll give you basic physical training. The week after that, I'll teach you more advanced chakra control."

"Neji, you're up."

Tenten glanced at Neji, looking dazed.

Neji also froze for a moment, then stood up expressionlessly, seeming perfectly willing to accept.

Tenten was watching the test closely, too.

Asuma was different from Guy. Guy only took them through basic exercise and training, and he was a teacher with a severe imbalance in his skills. But Asuma was different.

Ninjutsu, Taijutsu, genjutsu, chakra control, nature transformation—and even the Wind Style clone from earlier had involved shape transformation.

"He's an all-around teacher, Neji. Do your best," Tenten said quietly.

"Let's begin!"

The others cleared the area. Neji activated his Byakugan and charged at Asuma with all his might.

"I don't need to go over the rules again, do I? Your goal is to fight me and find a way to restrict my movements! Give it everything you've got!" Asuma said, lowering his head as he waited for Neji to charge.

"Right!"

Neji gave a low shout and suddenly disappeared.

"Where did he go?" Asuma said, surprised. The next instant, his eyes widened.

He glanced to the right. Neji was behind him on the left, bringing down a palm strike.

"What was that?" Ino exclaimed, astonished.

Asuma was just as shocked. He dodged the strike and fled forward.

Neji pursued him with ghostlike footwork, his palm strikes so fast they were almost invisible!

"Ha!"

"Whoosh—!"

Asuma managed to dodge, but the force of the strike sent his clothes billowing.

The others watched, impressed and astonished.

Was this really just a test?

If they hadn't known the two of them, they would have thought they were watching two Jonin spar!

Neji's every movement was perfectly measured and swift. Even his footwork was steady. As he fought Asuma, he wasn't being suppressed in the slightest.

"Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm!"

Neji seized his chance and struck with his palm, but Asuma had already used Wind Style chakra to lighten his movements. At such close range, it was easy for him to dodge.

"I see... When he fought Neji, he really wasn't trying to hit me. The final blow that knocked me down was just the force of his palm strike."

Ino realized this, and her scalp prickled.

That supposed dead-last? No. In Ino's mind—and in the minds of everyone there—the answer was clear.

Neji was a hidden genius ninja!

"Wind Release: Gale Blade!"

Asuma quickly formed three hand seals with one hand and met Neji's palm strike with his own.

A clash of opposing forces sent Neji flying. Asuma simply drew back his hand and quietly let out a breath.

"Without a doubt, Neji has the best footwork among you all. He's a whole step ahead of the rest of you."

After the practice, Asuma seemed to have finally found a direction. He started scribbling on the paper again.

"But when did Neji suddenly get so strong?" Choji asked, puzzled.

Everyone sitting nearby looked at Neji.

Neji paused, then smiled. "I don't know. I just practice every day. I learned all those moves through practice."

Watching Neji's sheepish smile, Asuma thought, Talent? No. This kid is very talented, but talent isn't what makes him so impressive.

His greatest strength is how hard he works. Every move he made just now showed how much he'd trained. Even as a Jonin, I can't say I've trained harder than Neji, a Genin.

What Neji had was the ability to surpass talent.