A Father's Concern

A gasp interrupted Yūhi Kurenai's reverie. She looked at Asuma with confusion, her face immediately darkening. Her father was still alive and a renowned Elite Jonin in Konoha, so she wasn't afraid of Asuma at all.

"Asuma, what do you mean? Do I need your permission to learn from others?"

"No—Red—let me explain, I'm just—worried that Taiichi doesn't have anything good to teach you, that's right—that's it!" Asuma stammered, his words incoherent, but he managed to come up with a reason.

Taiichi stood to the side, outwardly expressionless, but inwardly he was overjoyed. "Serves him right! Doesn't he know that simps never end well?"

At this moment, Taiichi noticed that Shino Aburame, who hadn't uttered a word from beginning to end, although most of his face was hidden by his high-collared coat, could still be seen from his trembling shoulders. This kid was actually chuckling to himself. He really was a repressed pervert.

Perhaps noticing Taiichi's gaze, he looked up and nodded slightly at Taiichi, but the dark sunglasses reflected a flash, causing Taiichi to squint slightly.

Asuma's words weren't without merit. Yūhi Kurenai's situation was somewhat unique; she excelled in Genjutsu, as did her clan's Ninjutsu, but her father was too busy with official duties to teach her.

Her current instructor is Jonin the Sarutobi Clan, so her Fire Style is absolutely no problem, but as for Genjutsu, it's only passable.

Therefore, since graduation, her progress has been minimal. Seeing her classmates getting stronger Tenten, it's impossible for her not to be anxious. So, today's performance can be described as a desperate attempt to find a solution.

"It's alright. Taiichi is Jonin, after all. He can't possibly be unable to instruct a Genin like me. Besides, I trust Taiichi." Yūhi Kurenai also made up her mind. At this time, there aren't many Jonin with free time in the village. Now that she finally has an opportunity, how could she let it slip by?

Asuma was speechless. His mind raced as he tried to figure out how to solve this problem that could affect his future happiness.

Taiichi didn't care what Kurenai was thinking. Since Yūhi Kurenai had already made her decision, he wouldn't hesitate to waste a little time. At worst, he would just create another Shadow Clone.

"From now on, come to my house at 3 PM every day."

"Okay, no problem. I look forward to your guidance in the future."

The group chatted for a while, but Asuma always seemed distracted, while Shino Aburame would occasionally chime in with a few words.

It wasn't until 8 p. m., when their mission was over, that everyone said goodbye and left. Taiichi also said goodbye to Grandma Keiko and headed home.

Yūhi Kurenai appeared unusually happy upon returning home, a trait that immediately caught the attention of her father, Yuhi Shinku.

He wasn't unaware of the anxiety his daughter occasionally revealed during this time, but with the war raging, his work was simply too demanding. He couldn't even spare a little time to spend with his daughter, let alone teach or train her.

"Kurenai, did something good happen today? You seem especially happy." Yuhi Shinku walked slowly to Yūhi Kurenai's side and asked calmly.

"Father!" Yūhi Kurenai happily grabbed her father's large hand and shook it from side to side. Her father hadn't spoken to her in a long time. In the past, every time she saw him, he was busy with work. She never expected him to pay attention to her today.

"I ran into Taiichi today on a mission to the Orphanage. He's my former classmate, and now he's Jonin." Yūhi Kurenai's face lit up with excitement, a sense of pride and joy about her.

"We talked a lot about the front lines, and later I asked him to guide my cultivation. To my surprise, he agreed and even arranged to meet me at three o'clock every afternoon."

Yuhi Shinku raised an eyebrow upon hearing this Taichi Matsushita— Kurenai had only been in school for a short time when she first heard this name. Later, she heard about him from various Jonin, such as Masasuke Yamaguchi, Namikaze Minato, and Hyuga Hiashi Minato Namikaze, and they all praised him.

He never expected to hear that name again from his daughter's mouth, and that he was even going to guide Hong's cultivation. This was really beyond what a father could do. Was he plotting something against his daughter? Did he even have the ability to guide her? A series of thoughts kept popping into his mind.

It's a pity that Masasuke and the others are all on the front lines right now, otherwise even though it's already dark, he would still pay a visit to find out about Taichi Matsushita's character and strength.

However, considering that he had to report to the Hokage tomorrow, he wasn't in a hurry. The Hokage might not understand ordinary ninjas, but he would definitely understand Taichi Matsushita very thoroughly.

After chatting with his daughter for a while, he let Hong go to rest and then buried himself in his work again.

Compared to Yūhi Kurenai, who returned home happily, Asuma was all gloomy. Coincidentally, Hiruzen Sarutobi had also returned home early today because he was in a good mood, but when he saw Asuma looking so dejected, his curiosity got the better of him, and he immediately called him over to find out what had happened.

"Father, do you think I'm useless? Taichi Matsushita is already Jonin, while I'm still just a Genin who hasn't even been on the battlefield."

Hiruzen Sarutobi's lips twitched, speechless. "You want to compare yourself to Taiichi? Isn't that just asking for trouble? Don't even mention Konoha, in the entire Ninja World, there are probably only a handful of people throughout history who have his strength at his age."

I thought this to myself, but of course I couldn't say it out loud; the child still needed encouragement.

"Everyone has different talents. Taiichi is indeed a bit stronger, but how many people like him are there in the world? Don't even mention you; when I was his age, I was just a Genin, but that doesn't stop me from being the Hokage now! So, you can't look at the present; you have to look at the future."

Asuma's eyes lit up, and he suddenly felt enlightened. That's right, being inferior to Taiichi now doesn't mean he'll be inferior in the future. As long as I keep working hard, I will surpass Taiichi day.

"Father, can you teach me how to train?" Asuma asked eagerly. His father was the Hokage, and his teachings were absolutely unique.

Seeing Asuma's enthusiasm for training, Hiruzen Sarutobi naturally wouldn't spoil the fun. He took Asuma to the Training Ground in the courtyard and began to spar with him personally, teaching him Ninjutsu techniques.

Just over an hour later, Hiruzen Sarutobi felt conflicted. Back then, his three disciples, now the Sannin, were all exceptional individuals. Even Jiraiya, who seemed the dumbest, could be considered wise beyond his Jiraiya. Therefore, teaching him was easy and effortless.

But facing Asuma's performance today, Hiruzen Sarutobi was truly troubled. At the same time, he felt guilty for neglecting to guide Asuma over the years. Asuma's strength was really only at the level of an average Genin, and his talent could only be described as above average. He was far inferior to Jiraiya and the others.

But this is still my son. Since he is willing to learn, as his father, I naturally want to give him the best education. And who can surpass me in this regard?

And so, one studied diligently, and the other taught painfully, and this continued indefinitely.

The next day, when Hiruzen Sarutobi dragged his exhausted body to the Hokage's Office, everyone who saw the Hokage was astonished. Could it be that their Hokage had sprouted new life and experienced a second spring? Otherwise, what could have made him so exhausted?

I never noticed that the Hokage-sama had dark circles under his eyes when I worked late into the night, but today he came to work with two dark circles under his eyes, which is really unbelievable.

Clearly, the Hokage knew he wasn't in good shape; he spent the entire morning smoking to stay awake, which was how he managed to finish all his work.

It was at this moment that Hiruzen Sarutobi up his mind. Teaching the child should be done slowly. If all else failed, he could find a tutor. However, the choice of tutor was questionable; there was a shortage of people everywhere. Where could he find someone skilled and available?

When Yuhi Shinku pushed open the door to the Hokage's Office, the thick smoke that hit him made him cough repeatedly.

How many cigarettes did he smoke? The Hokage-sama used to smoke, but never this much. Was something bothering him? Yuhi Shinku shook his head, banishing these unnecessary thoughts from his mind. He had important business to attend to today.

After giving his usual report on the day's work, Hiruzen Sarutobi noticed that his capable subordinate hadn't left and seemed hesitant to speak, so he asked curiously, "Shinku, is there anything else? You seem so hesitant."

Seeing Yuhi Shinku the Hokage-sama had already asked, Kurenai no longer hesitated and directly stated her thoughts. "Hokage-sama, I would like to inquire about Taichi Matsushita."

At this, Hiruzen Sarutobi frowned. To put it simply, this was very irregular. As a ninja, intelligence was very important, especially since Taiichi was still Jonin. His information was a secret to the village. If he didn't know that Yuhi Shinku couldn't be a spy, he would have suspected that this Shinku was an imposter.

Seeing the Hokage's expression, Yuhi Shinku knew that the Hokage had misunderstood. He quickly explained the situation regarding his daughter to the Hokage, "I just wanted to know Taiichi really had the ability to teach my daughter. After all, you know my family's situation; we specialize in Genjutsu, not anything else."

--

Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded in understanding, his eyes lighting up. Wasn't this the perfect person? It was like finding a needle in a haystack. Who could be more suitable than Taiichi?

He knew perfectly well that Taiichi's Fire Style Wind Style were top-notch, and his Taijutsu was also first-rate, making him the perfect person to teach his foolish son. Besides, there was another person in the same predicament right in front of him, so why not teach both of them at the same time?

"Shinku, if that's the case, then you can rest assured. Taiichi is a genius. Although his Genjutsu may not be his forte, he's more than capable of teaching a Genin. You can be completely at ease about that."

To dispel Yuhi Shinku's doubts, Hiruzen Sarutobi added, "I was just worrying about what kind of teacher to find for Asuma, but your reminder makes me realize that Taiichi would be perfect. I'll talk to Taiichi later and see if we can bring my Asuma along."

Hearing the Hokage's words, Yuhi Shinku was completely relieved. The Hokage's praise of Hokage as a "jack-of-all-trades" was no joke. To receive such an evaluation from the Hokage proved that Taiichi's skill in Genjutsu was at least considerable. Moreover, the Hokage was going to send his son to study with him, so there was even less to worry about.

While Hiruzen Sarutobi and Yuhi Shinku were talking about Taiichi himself was diligently training at his home Training Ground, practicing Taijutsu and Ninjutsu with his Shadow Clone.

Seeing that he only needed a little over 300 experience points to reach Lv7 in both Advanced Taijutsu and Advanced Meditation, Taiichi's motivation to train became even stronger.

At the current pace, it will take at most a month to fill this gap in experience, at which point my skills will reach a new level.

As Taiichi trained diligently, time passed quickly, and the agreed-upon time for the afternoon was fast approaching.

A few hundred meters away from Taiichi, Yūhi Kurenai arrived at the former Senju Clan Grounds, following the address given to her by Taiichi.

The once-dominant clan of Konoha has now disbanded, its members scattered throughout the Konoha.

They abandoned the surname Senju; some married ordinary Civilian, while others changed their names and became other small families.

No one knows how many of the current Konoha civilians have any connection to the former Senju clan.

However, while the bloodline can be preserved, the once prosperous Senju Clan Grounds has been completely transformed. The various residences that originally belonged exclusively to the Senju clan have been extensively renovated and turned into the homes of Civilian.

The only things that reveal its past glory are the stone tablet with the Senju clan emblem and the last remaining properties of the Senju clan.

The Taiichi's address is in that area; it belongs to Tsunade's property in Konoha.

Following the address, Yūhi Kurenai finally found Green Maple Lane. Looking at the antique buildings in front of her, she opened her mouth slightly, amazed by the architectural style that was different from other places.

She followed the street to house number 7, which was Taiichi's house. After confirming that the address was correct, she nervously knocked on the door.

The moment the door opened, the specially set alarm Barrier was triggered, and Taiichi, who was training in the courtyard, sensed the information immediately. He sent one of his Shadow Clone to open the First Gate, while his main body continued his Taijutsu training.

A short while later, the Shadow Clone brought Yūhi Kurenai to the Training Ground. Taiichi had just finished the last movement of his Advanced Taijutsu, adjusted his breathing, stood up straight, and turned to look at Yūhi Kurenai on the sidelines.

The little girl was quite polite, and she was carrying a gift. Taiichi at it; although it wasn't very valuable, the thought behind it was commendable.

Taiichi flashed a sunny smile and waved to Yūhi Kurenai, who was looking around on the sidelines, finally drawing the little girl's attention.

It's no wonder Yūhi Kurenai felt this way. After being led into the mansion by Taiichi's Shadow Clone, she wandered around in circles. The huge mansion was very clean, but it just didn't feel human at all.

After walking for a while, she finally arrived at the place where there was activity. What she saw was five Taiichi training at the same time. She naturally knew that this was the Shadow Clone Technique, but this was the first time she had seen someone use Shadow Clone for training. Out of curiosity, she looked around, but she still couldn't tell which one was the real body.