Sarutobi Asuma's Head is Green

This was already the countless time Chiya had flirted with her.

At first, Yuhi Kurenai hadn't paid much mind to it, dismissing it as a prank between kids, but as Chiya grew more mature.

During one mission after another, he would step in front of her.

Quietly, the heart of this inexperienced girl, which had been sealed away for years following her father's death, began to show signs of melting.

Just as Yuhi Kurenai was feeling flustered, a mellow voice drifted from afar, "Hi, Kurenai."

Yuhi Kurenai gave a sudden start, like a cat caught stealing cream, her pretty face flushing instantly. She averted her gaze from Chiya and looked toward the source of the sound, seeing three young men wearing Konoha jonin vests walking over.

The leader bore a slight resemblance to the Third Hokage, a cigarette dangling from his mouth as he puffed away.

Behind him followed two other young men.

One of them wore a green skin-tight bodysuit, his forehead protector tied around his waist, sporting a bowl cut and thick eyebrows. He would occasionally shout slogans about youth; at a glance, he was the type with well-developed muscles and a simple mind.

The other appeared slightly more normal compared to the first two, and in terms of looks, he was a rare, handsome man.

However, he looked a bit roguish, with his ninja forehead protector embedded in a bandana wrapped in reverse around his head, and a senbon needle dangling from his mouth the entire time, giving off an air of arrogance.

They were Konoha ninjas of the same generation as Yuhi Kurenai and Kakashi: Sarutobi Asuma, Might Guy, and Shiranui Genma.

"Looks like your friends are here, so I'll see you tonight." Chiya glanced at the trio, immediately guessing their identities. He gave a wave to Yuhi Kurenai and, without lingering, used the Body Flicker Technique to vanish from her sight.

At this moment, Sarutobi Asuma and the others arrived.

"Kurenai, was that person just now also a Konoha jonin? How come I've never seen him before?" Sarutobi Asuma looked at the spot where Chiya had disappeared with an unfriendly expression, his brows slightly furrowed as he asked, feigning indifference.

Yuhi Kurenai let out an "Oh," and replied somewhat distractedly: "He is the student I told you about, Fujiwara Chiya. He just finished his assessment and has now been promoted to jonin by the Hokage as a special exception."

Upon learning that the other party was Yuhi Kurenai's student, Sarutobi Asuma's brows relaxed slightly, and he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, secretly congratulating himself that he had overthought things.

How could Kurenai have a boyfriend so quickly? And he was so young!

"Jonin." Shiranui Genma was stunned, his eyes widening in disbelief: "Hey, hey, is that for real? He's not even twelve yet, right? Are the kids these days really that terrifying? Even Kakashi only promoted to jonin at twelve, right?"

One had to know that even he himself was only a special jonin.

And Yuhi Kurenai had only been promoted to special jonin a year ago.

To have spent less than a year and already trained a jonin—this was simply too hard to believe.

Might Guy, who suffered from face blindness, looked completely bewildered and asked with a blank expression: "Teng... Yuan... Qian... Ye... who is that?"

"The facts are as they are, whether you believe it or not." Yuhi Kurenai ignored the single-minded Might Guy and sighed: "In any case, Chiya's strength has truly surpassed mine."

"Doesn't that mean he promoted to jonin even earlier than you, his teacher?" Shiranui Genma wore a playful smile.

"Sorry, Genma, the Hokage also promoted me to jonin not long ago. So, among our generation, only you, Ebisu, Namiashi Raidō, and Tatami Iwashi remain at the special jonin level." Yuhi Kurenai said with a touch of pride.

"Nani?" Hearing this, Shiranui Genma instantly petrified on the spot.

"Kurenai, is your disciple really that amazing?" Sarutobi Asuma tried to find a topic to discuss with her.

"His opponent for this assessment was Kakashi. Whether he's amazing or not, you can ask Kakashi later," Yuhi Kurenai said. "Speaking of which, why are you guys so free today? Is there something you wanted to see me about?"

"The three of us just got back from a mission, and Asuma wanted to invite you to a party tonight," Might Guy said, bluntly revealing the purpose of their trip.

"Hey, Guy!" Sarutobi Asuma's old face turned red, and he glared fiercely at Might Guy before casting an expectant look at Yuhi Kurenai.

"I see..." Yuhi Kurenai realized. She didn't think too much of it; her mind was currently filled with the scene of Chiya flirting with her just moments ago. She took a deep breath and replied: "Sorry, I already have plans. I promised a few students that we would celebrate Chiya's promotion to jonin tonight. Maybe next time."

After speaking, Yuhi Kurenai turned her back to the three of them, gave a wave, and slowly disappeared at the end of the street.

She left behind a dull-looking Might Guy, a dejected Sarutobi Asuma after being rejected, and Shiranui Genma, who had been petrified by Yuhi Kurenai's words.

News travels fast.

With Konoha's push, the news of Chiya's exceptional promotion to jonin quickly spread through the streets and alleys of Konoha, becoming known to all the villagers.

In fact, to hype up Chiya so that he would be valued by the Uchiha higher-ups sooner, the Konoha leadership even used his proficiency in genjutsu to create the title of Illusion God Chiya, calling him a genjutsu ninja with the potential to rival Uchiha Shisui.

It could be said that they were sparing no effort to build momentum for Chiya.

Of course, Chiya knew nothing of this.

Even if he did, Chiya wouldn't care.

Based on his understanding of Sarutobi Hiruzen, it was nothing more than wanting him to use his relationship with Uchiha Izumi to monitor the Uchiha clan and act as a mole.

As for that old geezer Danzo, the reason he supported his promotion to jonin so strongly this time was, without a doubt, to build him up only to destroy him later.

This was a man who never knew what trust was; he would sacrifice anything to protect Konoha according to his own principles.

He constantly kept "ninjas need self-sacrifice" on his lips, yet when it was his turn, he could never do it himself.

He was always thinking about how to become Hokage.

To put it bluntly, he was just afraid of death and obsessed with fame and fortune.

From the moment Chiya formed a bond with Uchiha Izumi, he had been branded with a label of distrust in Danzo's heart.

When the night of the Uchiha massacre arrived and Chiya lost his utility, that would be the moment of reckoning.

He would erase everyone related to the Uchiha.

It was like that for Uchiha Itachi and Uchiha Sasuke in the original work, and it would be the same for Chiya.

If not for Uchiha Itachi killing those two Root ninjas responsible for attacking him and threatening them with the leak of Konoha intelligence to enemy nations, the Second Pillar would have died long ago, or been trained into a killing tool for Root.

Where would all those later scenes of him comparing genjutsu with Itachi, playing with blades against the Eight-Tails, comparing lightning style with the Raikage, and comparing eyes with Uchiha Madara come from?

Though he got beaten up every single time.

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