Asuma Starts Getting Carried Away

"What was that sound?" Inside the Hokage's Office, the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, raised his head with a slight frown. His gaze passed through the window toward the Ninja Academy, where waves of cheers reached his ears.

"It sounds like cheering from the Ninja Academy. And it seems they're cheering for the Uchiha Clan." Utatane Koharu walked to the window, staring solemnly toward the school, a hint of unease in her voice.

"What are the Uchiha up to now?" Mitokado Homura also walked over, his brow tightly furrowed, his tone carrying both confusion and wariness.

"We'll know if we take a look." The Third spoke in a low voice. He picked up his crystal ball from the desk, formed hand seals, and began using the Telescope Technique. Before long, an image of the Ninja Academy playground appeared within the crystal ball.

"This is... a game?" Seeing the Uchiha Clan's Stilt Football, the Third, Utatane Koharu, and Mitokado Homura were all stunned.

At that moment, the image in the crystal ball showed an Uchiha player passing the ball back to Obito.

"Hey, hey, hey, what are you doing? You're kicking toward your own goal?" Asuma shouted from the sidelines, hopping in agitation, his voice full of disbelief. He had become completely absorbed in this game of Stilt Football and could not help worrying over the Uchiha Clan's tactics.

Obito sent the ball flying with one kick, then explained to Asuma, "That's not kicking toward our own goal. It's a strategy. We were being pressed too hard, so we kicked it back to create space."

"Obito, you actually know strategy?" Rin Nohara was stunned as well, her eyes filled with admiration.

"Hehe, of course. I'm the man who'll become Hokage." Obito declared proudly, his face brimming with smugness.

Yet inside the Hokage's Office, the Third, Utatane Koharu, and Mitokado Homura wore extremely ugly expressions.

"Those evil Uchiha Clan members are trying to change their image by starting with tempting children." Mitokado Homura gritted his teeth, his voice full of anger.

"Hiruzen, we must ban this game. It distracts people from their proper pursuits and will make the students lose focus, affecting their training." Utatane Koharu immediately stated her position, a cold glint flashing through her eyes.

The Third fell silent for a moment before shaking his head helplessly. "That will probably be difficult. If it weren't for the stilts they're wearing, we could accuse them of wasting their time. But with the stilts, they can claim it's training. You noticed it too, didn't you? Playing football on stilts is far harder than playing without them. It can even train the techniques for tree climbing and water walking."

Of course Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu had noticed. They were not blind. But if they brought it up, they would have to figure out a way to counter it. The Uchiha Clan had truly become aggressive lately, laying trap after trap without giving their opponents any breathing room.

"Evil Uchiha Clan members! No wonder they agreed so quickly. So they had another move waiting. This must be their backup plan." Utatane Koharu gritted her teeth, her voice full of resentment.

"That's right. Just as we wanted to use their younger generation to eliminate their older generation, they want to use our younger generation to eliminate us." Mitokado Homura said coldly, a chill flashing in his eyes.

"Hmph. I know all that. The only question now is how we respond." The Third spoke gravely, his gaze heavy.

Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura immediately fell silent. What the Uchiha Clan had done recently had completely exceeded their understanding. They had no idea what the Uchiha Clan's next move would be, leaving them full of apprehension and helplessness.

Seeing the two remain silent, the Third could not help falling silent as well. Unless he admitted defeat and truly acknowledged the Uchiha Clan, he did not know how to respond next either.

At that moment, the atmosphere on the Ninja Academy playground had reached its peak. Cheers and shouts crashed over the field like waves, and the entire school seemed immersed in the carnival of Stilt Football.

"Uchiha! Uchiha! Go! Go!"

The students were fired up, and even the teachers could not resist stopping to watch. Some were so caught up in the atmosphere that they joined in the cheering. No one dared stop the match, because everyone had been captivated by this novel and challenging game.

The match had entered its final decisive stage. With their seamless coordination and practiced skills, the Uchiha Senior Team gradually gained the upper hand. A precise long pass was followed by a beautiful header, and the ball sailed steadily into the opposing goal.

"Damn it, we lost again! This is ridiculous!" Obito stomped his feet in fury, his face full of unwillingness. He had thought his strategy could turn things around, yet they had still lost to the senior team.

"Our turn!" Asuma, who had already formed the Sarutobi Team, jumped out impatiently, battle intent flashing in his eyes. He had clearly been completely drawn in by the match and could not wait to take the field and show what he could do.

"Hmph, take it." Obito unhappily tossed the goalkeeper gloves to Asuma, clearly still brooding over the previous loss.

"I don't need this stuff. I'm going to be the striker scoring goals!" Asuma proudly handed the gloves to a teammate beside him. "Here, you be the goalkeeper."

"Yes, Lord Asuma." The man respectfully accepted the gloves, clearly having no objection to Asuma's command.

"Asuma has joined the match too, and all his teammates are from the Sarutobi Clan." Inside the Hokage's Office, the Third, Utatane Koharu, and Mitokado Homura witnessed the scene through the crystal ball as well.

"Damn it, even Asuma couldn't resist this game's temptation?" Utatane Koharu gritted her teeth, clearly dissatisfied with Asuma's actions.

"Sigh, let's watch for now." The Third sighed. Though he remained wary of the Uchiha Clan's actions, he had to admit that the game's appeal was indeed extraordinary.

Before long, the match began. As the challengers, the Sarutobi Team kicked off first. However, since it was their first time on stilts, Asuma kicked the ball straight over to the Uchiha Senior Team.

"Hey, Asuma, are you a spy for the other side? Can you even do this?" Obito immediately shouted mockingly when he saw it.

"Shut up! I lost the ball, so I'll take it back!" Asuma refused to be outdone and charged fiercely toward the Uchiha Senior Team. However, he had clearly underestimated the difficulty of moving on stilts. Before he had taken more than a few steps, he fell to the ground with a smack.

"Attack!" Seeing this, the Uchiha Senior Team showed no mercy. Their entire team pressed forward, instantly forcing the Sarutobi Team back into their own half.

"Damn Uchiha Clan members! They're taking advantage of Asuma and the others being unfamiliar with stilts!" Inside the Hokage's Office, the Third immediately gritted his teeth upon seeing this, clearly displeased with the Uchiha Senior Team's actions.

Within the crystal ball, the match continued. Relying on polished skills and seamless coordination, the Uchiha Senior Team quickly scored their first goal.

"Uchiha! Uchiha! Uchiha..." In an instant, cheers across the playground rose again like a tsunami.

"Asuma, get up and fight back!" Seeing this, the Third immediately cheered for his son. Members of the Sarutobi Clan at the scene also shouted, "There are still more than forty minutes left! We haven't lost yet! Go, Asuma!"

"That's right, we haven't lost yet! Sarutobi Clan, counterattack!" Asuma quickly got back on his feet and declared the counterattack. However, due to their lack of proficiency, the Sarutobi Team's attacks repeatedly failed. Their kicks either sent the ball flying or knocked it off course.

Before long, the Uchiha Senior Team scored a second goal.

"Damn it, we haven't lost yet!" Asuma roared, clearly dissatisfied with his teammates' performance.

However, to conserve their stamina, the Uchiha Senior Team began focusing entirely on defense. Though the Sarutobi Team fought with all their strength, they could never break through the opposing line.

"Damn it, what are you doing? We still have time!" Asuma shouted angrily, clearly unwilling to give up just like that.

"They're all defending. We have no chance. Give it up, Asuma." The Sarutobi Clan teammates wore bitter expressions, clearly having lost their fighting spirit.

"They've already played one match and they're out of stamina, yet you still want to give up?" Asuma said in exasperation, his eyes full of disappointment.

"No, I won't give up! I refuse to believe that if we keep going, we won't get a chance!" Asuma roared, clearly unwilling to admit defeat so easily.

"Good, good, good! Now that is the Will of Fire!" The Third revealed a gratified smile at the sight, clearly pleased by Asuma's unyielding spirit.

Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura were speechless, unable to stop themselves from reminding him, "Hiruzen, do you still remember our objective?"

"Since we have no way to strike back at the Uchiha Clan for now, we might as well let them integrate into the village like this. That would actually be a good thing." The Third said slowly, clearly having made some sort of decision.

"How can the evil Uchiha Clan be trusted? Hiruzen, you really have grown old." Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura widened their eyes, clearly finding the Third's attitude unbelievable.

"But I have no choice either." The Third helplessly shook his head, clearly powerless in the face of the current situation.

Only then did Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura fall silent in resignation.

In the end, Asuma's Sarutobi Team was thoroughly defeated due to their lack of proficiency, insufficient experience, and incomplete tactics.

"Uchiha! Uchiha! Uchiha..." In an instant, cheers once again surged across the playground like waves.

"Damn it!" Asuma looked thoroughly unhappy, yet there was nothing he could do. Although he had lost the match, his eyes still gleamed with defiance.

"Next time, I'll definitely win!" Asuma clenched his fists and silently swore.