Kurenai Yuhi had not expected to see Asuma here, but then she realized that more than a year had passed since her last visit to him. Counting the time, he was indeed due for release.
Only now, everything was different.
Kurenai Yuhi tightened her hold on Hotaru Yuhi slightly. Her lips parted, but she did not know what to say. By then, Asuma Sarutobi had come within about five meters of her.
As Asuma Sarutobi tried to come closer, Kurenai Yuhi felt Hotaru Yuhi's little hands clench in fear in her arms. She hurriedly called out to stop him. "Stay there. Don't come any closer, Asuma!"
Asuma Sarutobi froze, then felt as though a knife were twisting in his heart. Still, he stopped and asked in a near-shout, "Kurenai, who is that little girl?"
No matter how much he refused to believe Konohamaru, the truth was right before him. He had no choice but to believe it; even an outsider like him could feel the maternal love radiating from Kurenai Yuhi.
"She's my daughter, Hotaru Yuhi."
"Your daughter? With whom? Was it Karn?!"
Asuma Sarutobi's eyes blazed with fury. Had he been a member of the Uchiha Clan, he would have awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan by now. But even without the Sharingan, Asuma Sarutobi was still molding chakra.
"It's exactly what you think, Asuma. Now that you're out, live your life properly. Don't contact me again."
Kurenai Yuhi turned her head aside and said this with complete calm. She no longer had any feelings for Asuma.
More than a year ago, Kurenai Yuhi could still have confidently said that she would wait for Asuma to leave the labor camp. Now, however, she only wanted to raise Hotaru Yuhi. Besides, the feeling of playing knight together with Rin Nohara each time