Not only that, he had even resumed his regular training. Just watching him spar with his teammates, you'd never think he was a ninja who'd lost both eyes."
"Is that so? It seems that even losing his sight can't hide that young fellow's brilliance. Such adaptability, such talent—it would be a real shame to let it all fade away."
The Third Hokage gazed out the window, apparently having made up his mind.
"Go. Tell Yuhi Shinku to get to the mission desk early tomorrow morning. He might come across a suitable assignment."
"Yes, sir." The masked Anbu answered respectfully, then used the Body Flicker Technique to leave.
After the Anbu departed, Sarutobi Hiruzen began searching through the various reports for a mission.
Although he had decided to try to protect the young fellow, Sarutobi Hiruzen couldn't simply let the Yuhi Shinku Squad leave the village and do as they pleased. That would be a waste of shinobi resources, and Asuma needed proper training, too.
For a shinobi, in addition to great strength, extensive mission experience was essential.
An escort mission for a large international caravan, heading to the Land of Lightning? No, no. Those brutes didn't care about reason. If they learned Asuma's identity, who knew what they might do?
A mission to eliminate spies within the Land of Fire? Those people had been under surveillance for some time, and their movements were nearly mapped out. But Sarutobi Hiruzen had specifically reserved that mission for Shinnosuke, and it was also too short to be suitable.
An investigation into a mysterious organization in the Land of Rain? That mission seemed promising, but the area was Hanzo of the Salamander's territory. The old man had learned a lot from the last Shinobi World War, but there was no telling whether his overweening ambition might flare up again. Better to leave it undecided for now.
Oh? Here was another one: infiltrate the Land of Wind and meet a spy returning from Sunagakure.
Sarutobi Hiruzen remembered that he had personally issued this mission. Sunagakure had indeed been acting strangely lately, so he had ordered the spy stationed there to gather information.
However, the reports that had come in over the past few days suggested that Sunagakure's activity was intensifying. He had no idea what they were up to.
Perhaps the Yuhi Shinku Squad could meet the spy and then find a way to station themselves along the Land of Wind's border.
It wasn't that Sarutobi Hiruzen wanted to send Sarutobi Asuma on a mission as dangerous as spying.
Rather, he wanted them to stay in the Land of Wind long-term, specifically to meet spies returning from Sunagakure.
That was right. The Five Great Shinobi Nations were practically one big happy family, and planting spies in one another's villages was an old tradition. Konoha had more spies than anyone else, without a doubt. What could they do? They had more shinobi than the others.
Normally, meeting one of their spies wouldn't require an entire squad's attention. But Sunagakure's situation was clearly unusual.
Sarutobi Hiruzen had already decided to activate several more spies hidden in Sunagakure and find out exactly what they were doing.
In that case, stationing the Yuhi Shinku Squad there wouldn't be a waste.
But just as Sarutobi Hiruzen was making his plans, a surge of additional memories flooded into his mind.
Sarutobi Hiruzen froze for a moment, then immediately understood. The Shadow Clone he had assigned to stand watch in the office had dispelled itself. It was, without a doubt, the fastest way to transmit information over a short distance.
After carefully sorting through the new memories, Sarutobi Hiruzen's expression was no longer relaxed.
"Sunagakure... What are they up to? Are they trying to start a war?" Sarutobi Hiruzen's voice was unusually calm and grave.
His Shadow Clone had just received an urgent report from the border patrol shinobi.
They had found signs of numerous Sunagakure shinobi operating along the Land of Wind's border. Reports also indicated that Sunagakure appeared to be deliberately moving large numbers of shinobi toward the border.
They hadn't done anything too blatant, but this behavior was already dangerous.
As for why Konoha's border patrol shinobi had spotted Sunagakure reinforcing the border from the Land of Wind's side, well, those who knew, knew.
In an instant, Sarutobi Hiruzen thought of the order he had just given to notify Yuhi Shinku.
He also thought of his younger son, Asuma, and couldn't help feeling hesitant.
He wanted to give the squad a different mission, but after thinking it over, Sarutobi Hiruzen ultimately decided against it.
No matter how carefully you protected a fledgling, one day it would have to spread its wings and fly on its own. Could he, as a father, really protect Asuma for the rest of his life?
Having lived through two Shinobi World Wars, Sarutobi Hiruzen knew what the right choice was.
He thought of his eldest son, Sarutobi Shinnosuke, who was only a little better than an ordinary Jonin. He had been a genius, too, but to this day, his strength had only barely reached the level of an Elite Jonin.
Was it because he hadn't worked hard enough? No. Sarutobi Hiruzen had simply protected him too much, and his personality made it difficult for him to achieve anything great.
So, was he going to let Asuma follow in his brother's footsteps?
"Asuma... If you could decide for yourself, what would you choose?" Sarutobi Hiruzen murmured. Then even he laughed.
After watching him for the past few days, the answer was already obvious, wasn't it?
"And besides, it really is time to let the fledgling learn to spread its wings." Sarutobi Hiruzen was in the prime of his life—or close enough to it—and his strength was still at its peak. With his eldest son still alive, he also had the resolve to take this step.
Once he had finalized the Yuhi Shinku Squad's mission, Sarutobi Hiruzen began preparing to deal with Sunagakure.
If Sunagakure was only making trouble within its own village, as before, then having spies investigate would be enough.
But now that the other side was making such a major move, Sarutobi Hiruzen had no choice but to prepare for the worst. As he made arrangements in case war broke out, he also had to send out several Jonin teams to find out what Sunagakure was up to.
The Third Hokage left the Sarutobi Clan Compound and headed to the Hokage Building in person. It was going to be a sleepless night.
Early the next morning, Yuhi Kurenai arrived at Kawaki Aoba's home and told him that their squad had a long-term mission outside the village.
"A long-term mission? Understood. I'll pack my things, and then we can leave." As usual, Kawaki Aoba began gathering the ninja tools he would need, just as he would for an ordinary mission.
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