Asuma's Romantic Misfortune

Lu Yu and the others watched the Third Hokage recite the mission details, and curiously gathered around.

Lu Yu knew that this was just the beginning, and the missions wouldn't be high-level. They were basically odd jobs, but asking him to do these dirty and tiring tasks was worse than killing him, given his lazy nature.

Lu Yu quickly scanned the missions on the Third Hokage's desk, his eyes lighting up slightly as he already had an idea. He eagerly spoke up:

"Teacher Asuma, I think this cat-finding mission for Mrs. Murakami is good. It can train our observation skills and test our teamwork. How about we take this one?"

Asuma was slightly taken aback by Lu Yu's suggestion. He had originally intended to take a weeding mission, but after Lu Yu's analysis, he thought about it and felt it made a lot of sense.

So, Asuma nodded to the Third Hokage:

"Then let's help Mrs. Murakami find her cat."

The Third Hokage nodded and handed Asuma a form.

Next, Asuma took the four of them through the process of receiving the mission.

Afterward, Asuma led the four of them to the home of a wealthy person. They were greeted by a woman with a rough appearance – Mrs. Murakami.

Looking at Mrs. Murakami, let alone Asuma, even the usually calm Lu Yu was stunned.

The amount of white powder on the face of this rich woman, if scraped off, would probably weigh at least two pounds. The lipstick on her lips was truly eye-searing, and the most terrifying thing was her figure.

140-140-140!

She was simply a water tank...

At this moment, everyone suddenly understood the lost cat. With such a terrifying owner, if they were a cat, they would also run away.

Mrs. Murakami looked at Asuma's rugged physique and the manliness that made her heart flutter, her eyes couldn't help but shine.

Then, the rich Mrs. Murakami, with her plump body, walked towards Asuma with 'alluring charm'.

Lu Yu and the others couldn't help but twitch their mouths as they watched the fat on Mrs. Murakami's body shake violently with each step...

The next moment, Asuma, with a dark expression, watched as Mrs. Murakami approached him, delicately saying with a flick of her wrist:

"Esteemed ninja, my ex-husband passed away early, leaving only A-Hu to keep me company. Now A-Hu is lost, and I am truly worried. I wonder if..."

Asuma watched as the rich Mrs. Murakami winked and flirted with him. His eyebrows twitched violently, and he was so intimidated by her presence that he took several steps back. After she finished speaking, he stammered:

"Madam, please... please don't worry. Could you give me... give me a portrait of A-Hu? I'll go... go find him now."

"No rush, no rush..."

Rich Mrs. Murakami grabbed Asuma's wrist and said with a 'flamboyant' smile:

"Ninja-sama, you've traveled a long way to my humble abode. You must be tired. Why not come in for a cup of tea and rest a while? We can look for him later..."

Lu Yu and the other three looked at Asuma, whose face was filled with a plea for help, with sympathy and shrugged innocently.

This scene had a strong resemblance to spider demons catching Tang Monk – "Holy Monk, come here..."

Half an hour later, the beaming rich Mrs. Murakami waved goodbye to them reluctantly:

"Mr. Asuma, please be careful. If you can't find him, it's okay to look again tomorrow. I'll make a big meal tonight, so remember to come and eat..."

Asuma, with a look of grief and indignation, trembled violently at Mrs. Murakami's words and then fled as if escaping.

Choji, while crunching on potato chips, looked at the fleeing Asuma in confusion:

"What's wrong with Teacher Asuma? I think Mrs. Murakami was quite nice to us..."

The other three shook their heads speechlessly, patted Choji's shoulder, and quickly followed Asuma.

Ten minutes later, Asuma led the four of them to the area where A-Hu might have gone missing. He glanced back with lingering fear and, upon confirming that Mrs. Murakami was nowhere in sight, said to the four of them:

"The target is A-Hu, Mrs. Murakami's pet. It's a relatively fat brown tabby Garfield cat with a bow tied behind its right ear. Remember the physical characteristics."

Lu Yu nodded and suddenly said:

"Teacher Asuma, I'm good at finding animals. Why don't you leave this animal-finding mission to me? In the future, for grass-cutting missions and such, cough, cough, cough, you know..."

"Oh? Lu Yu, are you sure? Mrs. Murakami gave us a search radius of a full ten kilometers. If you can really find it, then I've decided you can participate less in physically demanding missions from now on."

Asuma looked at the other three nodding in agreement, then turned to look at Lu Yu expectantly. He didn't want to do this damn mission for another second.

Rich Mrs. Murakami, to make things difficult for him, had expanded the search area to ten kilometers.

Finding a small cat in a ten-kilometer forest? It would be a miracle if they could find it...

Moreover, Asuma suspected whether the location she gave him was even correct.

Now that this miraculous kid, who could instantly defeat Kakashi, was volunteering to help, Asuma naturally supported him with both hands and feet.

Lu Yu nodded and smiled at Asuma:

"Alright, it's a deal. Give me ten minutes."

With that, Lu Yu quickly disappeared from their sight.

Then, in a corner invisible to the others, Lu Yu's speed instantly surged.

Swish, swish, swish...

In order to continue being lazy, Lu Yu was really going all out.

At this moment, his speed was like lightning. He had scouted the vast forest in less than a minute.

When Lu Yu reappeared, he was holding a shivering brown-striped Garfield cat in his hands; it was none other than the missing Ahu belonging to the wealthy Mrs. Murakami.

By evening, after Asuma delivered Ahu to Mrs. Murakami, he fled as if escaping a disaster.

Mrs. Murakami watched the unromantic ninja with a resentful expression, the corners of her mouth curling up slightly as she murmured:

"To be able to find Ahu so quickly over such a large area, what a capable and formidable ninja he is. No, I simply cannot give up like this..."

Time passed, and two months went by.

Since the formation of Team 10, they had not been performing missions frequently.

To date, Asuma had led Team 10 to complete ten D-rank missions.

They consisted of finding a cat, finding a cat, finding a cat, and finding a cat...

That Mrs. Murakami seemed to have fallen for Asuma at first sight. Ever since the first time she lost her cat, she had become relentless, specifically demanding that Asuma be the one to help her find it, and threatening to cause a scene if Konoha did not comply.

If it were an ordinary person, Konoha would have ignored her entirely.

However, this Mrs. Murakami was a powerful and influential figure who seemed to have connections to the Daimyo of the Land of Fire.

As a result, Asuma suffered, being repeatedly harassed by her under the guise of searching for the cat, leaving him quite helpless.

Fortunately, after the first time, Mrs. Murakami stopped making things difficult for them and provided the exact location of Ahu's "disappearance," so it usually didn't take long to find him.

Later on, Lu Yu would just let out a whistle, and Ahu would come running over happily.

Aside from completing the cat-finding missions, the remaining time was split between letting the four of them rest and Asuma teaching them.

Of course, Lu Yu was an exception, as Asuma had nothing left to teach him.

In this way, Lu Yu returned to his comfortable, lazy life.

This kind of lifestyle was quite good for Lu Yu; whenever he felt like being a couch potato for too long, he would go to Mrs. Murakami's house for a big meal and catch the cat while he was at it.

But for Asuma, every day felt like a year. One morning, Asuma hurried to the meeting point, and the four of them looked at his smiling face with suspicion.

Lu Yu asked curiously:

"Asuma-sensei, looking at that smile, have you been conquered by the wealthy Mrs. Murakami with money?"

Asuma's face darkened at these words, causing the others to burst into laughter.

After the brats finally stopped making a ruckus, Asuma announced:

"Considering the leap in your strength over these past two months, I am taking you on a new mission today!"

The four of them didn't take it seriously at all and complained subconsciously:

"Is it weeding or cleaning the riverbed? I still prefer catching the cat..."

"Yeah, at least Mrs. Murakami treats us to a big meal."

"Mhm, and Ahu has gotten used to us too. My brother just whistles and it's done. Why do we need a new mission? It's thankless work."

Asuma looked at the four unmotivated students with a black line on his forehead and barked:

"I don't care! I've already accepted it! And it's a C-rank mission! The four of you go back and pack your things right now! We leave this afternoon..."