At that moment, he felt as if his spirit had crumbled.
"Today, there aren't any women you like around, so it doesn't matter how badly you embarrass yourself!"
Chiba's words still echoed in his ears.
And then—
"Asuma, where did you rush off to just now?"
It was Kurenai's voice.
Worried, Kurenai Yuhi had followed him.
She wasn't worried about Asuma himself, though. She was worried he might actually go and take revenge.
But when Kurenai Yuhi saw Asuma in such a sorry state, with injuries on his face,
she knew.
Asuma had gone after him after all.
And it seemed he'd been defeated again.
At the same time,
the young man named Asuma Sarutobi had completely crumbled inside.
To kill the body was one thing—to destroy the spirit was another!
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Chapter 14
Asuma didn't want to remember how he had escaped from Kurenai Yuhi.
Even now, the only thing that still echoed in his ears was Chiba's offhand remark:
"Today, there aren't any women you like around, so it doesn't matter how badly you embarrass yourself!"
Unfortunately, Kurenai Yuhi had still found out.
It was so humiliating.
Asuma had never been this humiliated before. He felt so mortified that he wished he could find a crack in the ground and disappear into it.
The double blow from Chiba and Kurenai Yuhi had completely broken him.
And the one who delivered the final blow to Asuma
was his father.
An Anbu Ninja suddenly appeared in front of Asuma.
The cat mask was proof enough.
"Asuma, Lord Hokage requests your presence at the Hokage Building!"
At that moment, Asuma was still reeling from the psychological shadow Chiba had left him. He was prepared to put the whole thing off with a cursory response.
"Got it. I'll go later!"
But the Anbu Ninja blocked his way.
Asuma was very annoyed.
"I said I'll go later!"
"Sorry, but my orders are to bring you to Lord Hokage immediately. Please don't make this difficult for me."
"Hmph! That damn old man is sticking his nose into everything!"
The Anbu Ninja had no interest in listening to Asuma complain.
He sprang into action, swiftly restraining Asuma's arms and legs before slinging him over his shoulder.
"What are you doing? Put me down!"
"Sorry. I'll have to ask your forgiveness."
With that, the Anbu Ninja carried Asuma, formed Hand Seals with one hand, and used the Body Flicker Technique to disappear in an instant.
When they appeared again, the Anbu carrying Asuma had arrived at the Hokage Building.
After passing through a hidden door, the Anbu Ninja released Asuma's restraints and shoved him into the Hokage Office.
Asuma was furious.
"Just you wait—!"
It was the same threat as before.
But coming from Asuma now, it didn't sound nearly as fierce.
Asuma cursed under his breath. When he looked up, he saw the Third Hokage standing by the window, gazing into the distance. He was also Asuma's biological father, Sarutobi Hiruzen.
Though Asuma and his father didn't get along,
he still felt intimidated when he was actually standing in front of him.
After all, Sarutobi Hiruzen had warned him not to go looking for trouble with Chiba.
He also knew that when Sarutobi Hiruzen fell silent, that was when he was angriest.
The silence now felt like death, leaving Asuma in agony.
Sarutobi Hiruzen remained still by the window, gazing at something in the distance.
With a pipe in his mouth, he took puff after puff. Smoke filled the office.
The longer the silence lasted, the angrier Sarutobi Hiruzen seemed to be.
Asuma knew that this time, his old man was truly furious.
"Asuma..."
At last, Sarutobi Hiruzen's voice broke the silence.
He turned around and took the pipe from his mouth. The tobacco had burned out. He tapped it against the ashtray, then sat down.
"Do you remember what I told you before?"
"I do!"
"What was it?"
"Don't go looking for trouble with Uchiha Chiba!"
At that, Sarutobi Hiruzen leaned back with a cold smile.
"So you do remember... Then what did you do?"
"I went anyway."
"And your reason? I'm willing to hear you out."
"I couldn't let it go."
"So, have you let it go now?"
Asuma fell silent.
How could he have let it go?
Not only had he failed to put the matter behind him, but Chiba had left him with a psychological shadow.
Now, whenever he thought of Chiba, he felt an inexplicable fear.
An unavoidable shiver.
"I've told you this before."
"If you want to accomplish great things, you need to keep your composure. You let a woman cloud your judgment. Have you really not noticed the difference in strength between you and Uchiha Chiba?"
Had I not noticed?
Asuma asked himself.
Perhaps he hadn't. Perhaps he had, but just couldn't admit it.
"You made three mistakes this time!"
"First, wanting to impress the woman you like isn't wrong, but you went too far!"
"Second, you badly misjudged the difference in strength between you and Chiba. You should have realized it the first time, at the Dumpling Shop!"
"Third, after I warned you, you still went looking for trouble with him. That was a fatal mistake."
"You embarrassed yourself, and you created trouble for me!"
That was bad news for Sarutobi Hiruzen, who wanted to bring Chiba over to his side.
Still, this incident had at least shown Sarutobi Hiruzen how strong Chiba really was.
It only made Sarutobi Hiruzen want him even more.
Even without the Sharingan, Chiba was a peerless genius among the Uchiha Clan.
And a genius couldn't be allowed to remain with the Uchiha Clan.
To Sarutobi Hiruzen, that was practically common sense.
"Maybe I've been too good to you all these years. Maybe I've let you get away with too much!"
The moment he heard this, Asuma's pupils contracted, and his eyes widened as far as they could.
"After this incident, you'll—"
Before Sarutobi Hiruzen could finish, Asuma exploded.
"What do you know?"
"What do you mean, you've been too good to me? When have you ever cared for me?"
"In your world, it's always the village, always the Uchiha. Is the Uchiha Clan really that special? You don't know anything! You think finding me the best ninjutsu teacher means you've been good to me? Screw that!"
"I've had enough of you, old man!"
Asuma's words made Sarutobi Hiruzen furrow his brows.
"Asuma, you'd better not make me angry."
"I'm the Hokage. I'm responsible for the entire village, for all of Konoha—"
"Is that so? Then you can take good care of your village... I'll handle my own affairs!"
With that, Asuma stormed out.
The blows from Kurenai Yuhi and Chiba had already been more than enough.
Then his father, Sarutobi Hiruzen, had delivered the final blow.
This was what they called...
the last straw that broke the camel's back.
Watching Asuma storm out, Sarutobi Hiruzen sighed.
He was his son, after all. Turning to the Anbu hidden in the shadows, he said,
"Keep an eye on him. Don't let anything happen to him!"
More importantly, don't let him make things worse between himself and Uchiha Chiba.
"Asuma... One day, you'll understand!"
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Chapter 15