Earth Release: Headhunter Jutsu!

Although Asuma had indeed wanted to test Uchiha Hui's abilities.

He had never intended to hurt him.

So.

When he saw Uchiha Hui fall so easily to his Ninjutsu, worry still welled up inside him.

Because of that.

Asuma was already preparing to call for help.

This Ninjutsu was one he had only recently learned. It was the first powerful Ninjutsu he had learned after becoming a Chunin, and its astonishing power made it almost impossible to guard against.

Just when the enemy thought it was meant to obscure their vision, it turned into a Fire Release explosion...

Perhaps Uchiha Hui had thought the same thing just now.

Was that why he hadn't dodged?!

Crack!

Asuma forced his somewhat weakened body to move, ready to go over and check.

After casting Ninjutsu one after another.

He still had some Chakra left, but not much. He had essentially pushed beyond his limits.

Still, he couldn't just stand by and leave Uchiha Hui injured.

But just as he was about to take a step.

A sudden sound came from beneath his feet.

He instinctively looked down.

Then...

Whoosh!

Asuma's expression changed drastically. Someone clamped tightly around his ankles, and an irresistible force instantly dragged him into the earth.

"Well! Looks like your senior still has the edge, huh?!"

Uchiha Hui emerged from the ground nearby and shook off the light dusting of dirt on his clothes, restoring his dashing appearance as a Uchiha ninja. He murmured with a smile.

At ground level.

With only his head exposed, Asuma stared wide-eyed at the completely unscathed Uchiha Hui, both shocked and unwilling to accept defeat.

His earlier concern had been entirely unnecessary.

Uchiha Hui was considerably stronger than he had imagined.

There wasn't the slightest sign of injury on him. He had even managed to counterattack with Earth Release: Headhunter Jutsu while dodging Ash Pile Burning.

And Asuma hadn't noticed a thing!

"Do you admit defeat?"

Seeing that no reward had dropped after all this time, Uchiha Hui knew Asuma still hadn't conceded, so his cheat ability had ruled that the battle wasn't over.

So.

He crouched in front of Asuma and lightly tapped the Hokage's son on the head with the kunai in his hand.

That gesture proved even more devastating than he had expected.

Sure enough.

Asuma, who had only been gently wriggling in an attempt to escape, froze when his head was tapped. Then his entire face rapidly flushed red, and he began rocking violently.

"Damn it!! You... this is downright humiliating!!"

Never in his life had Asuma suffered such humiliation.

Ever since his days at the Ninja Academy, he had been among the best of his peers. Even against the likes of Kakashi, he had never felt there was much of a gap.

Add to that his status as the Hokage's son.

It was fair to say he had always lived in the glow of prestige.

But now.

He was being humiliated by an obscure Uchiha Chunin. The man was even crouching right in front of him, his crotch facing Asuma, tapping his head with a kunai as though playing whack-a-mole.

And he.

Asuma Sarutobi.

Didn't even have a chance to dodge. All he could do was grit his teeth and endure it.

Damn it!

Those evil Uchiha!

At that moment.

A phrase he had heard from some of his father's friends when he was very young sprang into Asuma's mind.

It was a derogatory name for the Uchiha.

But he had never agreed with it.

"You actually came close to hurting me just now, but you took too long to cast your Ninjutsu. Under these eyes, it looked countless times slower, so there's nothing unfair about your defeat..."

Watching Asuma continue struggling, Uchiha Hui tapped his head a few more times with the kunai, then stood up and put it away. He loosened up his body a little, as though he had just finished warming up. "Since you lost, I don't have to fulfill your earlier request. Still, you're welcome to come spar with me again. If you win, I'll still agree to your request!"

While Uchiha Hui had been repeatedly tapping Asuma's head just now.

His cheat ability had finally ruled that he had won.

So.

The rewards had naturally dropped.

Two of them at once, no less.

Thus, Uchiha Hui stopped bothering with Asuma and stood up to leave.

However.

Before leaving.

He made sure to provoke Asuma some more.

He liked challengers with such high drop rates, so he welcomed Asuma to seek him out again.

With that said.

Uchiha Hui headed home without looking back.

Left behind, Asuma gritted his teeth as he watched Uchiha Hui's retreating figure. He was already thinking about when to challenge him again, and next time, he wouldn't be as careless as he had been today.

But as he thought it over.

He suddenly realized something else.

Uchiha Hui still hadn't pulled him out of the ground.

With only his head sticking out, he had no way to get enough leverage to free himself. That bastard!

"Hey! Uchiha Hui! You still haven't let me out! Did you forget about me?!"

Asuma shouted at Uchiha Hui as he walked farther and farther away.

"Someone's coming. You'll be out in a moment."

Uchiha Hui glanced in another direction out of the corner of his eye. Smiling, he waved and continued walking, leaving Asuma shouting with only his head above the ground.

Asuma was utterly exasperated.

He, too, had heard someone approaching.

But he didn't want anyone to see him like this!

As the Sarutobi Clan's "young genius" and the Hokage's son, he had an image to maintain. How could he let anyone see him looking like a mole?

Unfortunately.

Uchiha Hui ignored Asuma's shouts.

He soon disappeared from Asuma's sight.

Less than two minutes after Uchiha Hui left.

Two figures appeared on a nearby branch.

They were two masked Anbu ninja.

The fight had caused quite a commotion, especially Asuma's Ash Pile Burning, which had been astonishingly loud. Besides, few people knew that jutsu, and the Hokage's son was one of them.

So.

The Anbu soon came to investigate.

"Chunin Asuma?"

One of the Anbu quickly noticed Asuma Sarutobi's exposed head. Startled, the ninja instantly appeared on the ground and asked him, "Did you encounter an enemy?"

Recently, the village had experienced quite a few spy infiltrations, including several attacks.

So.

The Anbu's first assumption was that Asuma had been attacked by a spy.

Asuma looked at the Anbu before him.

The animal depicted on the mask wasn't one he was familiar with.

He didn't know this Anbu.

He wriggled a few more times, only to find that he still couldn't escape on his own.

Finally.

He silently accepted his situation.

"It wasn't an enemy. I was just sparring with a friend, and he caught me off guard and buried me here. Sorry for the trouble, but could you pull me out...?"

As he said those words.

Asuma's face involuntarily reddened.

But admitting outright that he had been defeated was truly hard for him.

After all, when Uchiha Hui had used the Double Suicide Decapitation Technique just now, there really had been an element of surprise, hadn't there?

At the time, he had been worried that his ninjutsu had seriously injured a fellow village ninja and had been about to go over and check. Yet his opponent had fought dirty and launched a "surprise attack."

"Is that so?"

A hint of doubt flashed through the Anbu ninja's eyes as the ninja glanced around.

Then.

The ninja pulled Asuma out of the ground anyway.

"Chunin Asuma, the village hasn't been very peaceful lately. Please be more careful. If an enemy attacks you, I hope you'll send a signal immediately."

The other Anbu watched Asuma and confirmed that this really hadn't been an attack. Deliberately glancing in the direction Uchiha Hui had left, the ninja continued, "Since there's nothing else here, we'll be leaving."

With that said.

Before Asuma could speak.

The two vanished, darting elsewhere like a pair of ghosts.

"Uchiha Hui, huh?"

Asuma brushed the dirt off himself and looked toward the Uchiha Clan Compound, then clenched his fists.

He would definitely challenge Uchiha Hui again.

He felt he had lost this time entirely because he had underestimated Uchiha Hui's strength.

If he had another chance.

He absolutely wouldn't be so careless!