Asuma's Provocation

After Chiba sat down in the front row, he pulled a small sealing scroll from his robes, unscrewed the cap, and took out a tea set.

A white porcelain teapot, two cups, and a small tin of tea leaves.

Anko watched this whole process from behind him, her lips twitching.

"You carry a tea set with you when you go out?"

"It's a Senju Clan tradition. Wherever we go, we have to drink something hot."

Tsunade reached out, picked up one of the cups, and turned it in her palm. The Senju Clan's diamond-shaped crest was fired into the cup's surface.

"You dug this set out of the old ancestral residence's storeroom?"

"On a shelf on the third basement level. It had twenty years of dust on it, and I had to wash it three times before it was usable."

As Chiba placed the tea leaves into the pot, the sound of chairs scraping came from three rows behind him.

Asuma stood up.

He stubbed his cigarette out against the armrest, leaving behind a black scorch mark. With both hands in his pockets, he walked down the stands toward the front row.

He stopped two meters behind Chiba's seat.

"Well, well. The Senju Clan brat came to the genjutsu exchange too. What's a Wood Release user doing here? Planting a tree to entertain everyone?"

Chiba was pouring hot water into the teapot. His hands did not stop, nor did he turn around.

Asuma's lips curled. He raised his voice another notch, making sure everyone within three rows could hear him clearly.

"I'm talking to you, Senju Chiba. You're just a recently reinstated chunin, yet you're sitting in the special invited guest seats. Isn't that a little inappropriate? These seats are for jonin and special jonin."

Anko poked half her head out from behind Chiba's chair and glanced at Asuma.

"Jonin Sarutobi, the Senju Clan head is officially classified as a special bloodline contributor and enjoys jonin-level conference participation rights. You didn't know that?"

Asuma's gaze swept over Anko, lingering half a second too long at her chest before he spoke.

"Mitarashi Anko, since when did you become part of the Senju Clan? Orochimaru's disciple working as the Senju Clan's watchdog—that's quite a fresh combination."

Anko's eyes narrowed, and her right hand had already reached for the kunai at her waist.

Chiba's voice came from the front. It was not loud, but it was clear.

"Anko, don't move."

Anko's hand stopped on the kunai. She did not draw it, but neither did she let go.

Chiba put the lid on the teapot, rose to his feet, and turned to face Asuma.

Less than two meters separated them. Asuma was half a head taller than Chiba and broader by a full build, his posture radiating the condescension of I'm the senior, and you're the junior.

Chiba looked at him for two seconds without responding to a single thing he had said.

His gaze shifted away from Asuma, passed over Asuma's shoulder, and landed on Yuhi Kurenai three rows behind.

Yuhi Kurenai sat in her seat with her hands folded on her knees. Her red eyes met Chiba's gaze. She did not move, but there was an almost imperceptible tension between her brows.

Chiba took a step.

Not toward Asuma. He went around him, climbed three rows of steps, and stopped beside Yuhi Kurenai's seat.

Asuma's expression changed. He turned and stared at Chiba's back, his mouth opening and closing.

Chiba stopped in front of Yuhi Kurenai and looked down at her, a smile on his lips that was not exaggerated but was more than lethal enough.

"Miss Kurenai, a place filled with cigarette smoke like this doesn't suit you."

Yuhi Kurenai's pupils shifted. Her lips parted slightly, but no words came out.

Chiba extended his right hand, palm up, his fingers naturally spread as he held it before Yuhi Kurenai.

"The seats in the front are more spacious, and the tea has just been brewed. Come sit with me."

The entire venue fell silent.

Not the deliberate kind of silence, but the vacuum created when everyone's attention was drawn to the same action at once.

Yuhi Kurenai looked at Chiba's outstretched hand, then raised her eyes to his face before turning her head to glance at Asuma standing three rows below.

Asuma's expression could no longer be described as merely ugly. The muscles at the corners of his mouth twitched, his hands clenched into fists inside his pockets, stretching the fabric out of shape.

Yuhi Kurenai drew her gaze back and lowered it to Chiba's palm.

She stood up.

Her right hand rested on Chiba's palm. Her fingertips were cool, and though the contact was slight, it was enough for Chiba to feel the temperature of her fingers and their faint tremble.

Chiba closed his fingers around the outside of her wrist, neither too tight nor too loose, and led her down the steps toward the front row.

As they passed Asuma, Chiba did not even shift his gaze a single degree in Asuma's direction.

Asuma stood where he was, the color on his face shifting from red to green to white in less than three seconds.

Genma Shiranui covered his mouth with one hand in the back rows, his shoulders trembling. Hayate Gekko buried his face even deeper.

Anko watched Chiba lead Yuhi Kurenai over, the curve of her lips growing dangerously wide. She turned to glance at Tsunade.

Tsunade was drinking tea with her cup in hand. Her gaze passed over the rim, fixed on Chiba and Yuhi Kurenai's joined hands, and the teacup let out another ominous crack in her grip.

Chiba led Yuhi Kurenai to the front row and sat her down in the empty seat beside his. He poured her a cup of tea and handed it over.

"Miss Kurenai, please."

When Yuhi Kurenai accepted the cup, her fingers brushed Chiba's knuckles. Her hand recoiled slightly, but she did not let go of the cup.

"Thank you, Lord Senju."

"Just call me Chiba."

Asuma stood in the third row for a full ten seconds before dropping back into his chair. The chair legs scraped across the floor with a piercing screech.

He pulled out a fresh cigarette, put it in his mouth, and struck his lighter three times before it finally lit. After taking a drag, he blew smoke from his nostrils onto the backs of the front-row seats.

The jonin beside him silently scooted farther away.