Take Away, Next One

That's right, Yue's opponent was Asuma Sarutobi.

His father, the Third Hokage, was present today, and Asuma couldn't afford to lose this spar.

He longed to prove himself to his father.

Asuma had always felt looked down upon by his father. Despite his own excellence, his father, as Hokage, always considered him 'inferior.'

His father had even once asked him if he knew the meaning of 'jade.'

This father-son dynamic had made Asuma quite rebellious.

But his desire to prove himself was serious.

This was a rare opportunity!

He was close in age to Yue, unlike Kakashi and the others who were younger, making him the perfect opponent for Yue.

In fact, it wasn't just the Third Hokage who was present; his older brother was also there.

Asuma could only win this battle, not lose!

Staring at Yue, who he felt looked down on him, Asuma's eyes filled with fighting spirit. He readied his kunai and assumed a combat stance.

The referee standing between them, seeing that Yue had no intention of closing his book, didn't bother saying anything further and simply dropped his arm.

The battle began!

Almost the instant the arm fell, Asuma used the explosive power of his legs to charge at Yue.

He wanted to teach the arrogant Grass Village kid a bloody lesson.

"Go Asuma!"

"Beat him for me."

Cheers from other young boys echoed from the stands surrounding the arena.

"An opening!"

Seeing that he had already closed the distance and Yue's gaze was still fixed on his book, Asuma's eyes lit up.

Raising his arm, the sharp kunai instantly stabbed towards Yue's wrist.

Yue's hands were occupied holding the book, making his movements naturally inconvenient.

Furthermore, it was only a spar, so he couldn't go for a killing blow. Thus... since Yue was being uncooperative, Asuma decided to make him suffer.

However, with the sound of a book closing.

A light snap.

Asuma finally saw Yue's raised, cold gaze.

An indescribable, invisible aura immediately spread out like a tide.

As the aura washed over him, Asuma felt a tangible sting on his skin, his limbs grew cold, and his movements momentarily froze.

In that brief opening, Asuma's kunai-wielding hand was caught by Yue's fingers.

His fingertips suddenly exerted force, like iron pincers.

Asuma cried out in pain and tried to pull his hand away, only to find his strength utterly unable to match Yue's.

He wanted to twist his body and use Taijutsu to resolve his predicament.

But despite their similar builds and physiques, Yue moved Asuma as if he were a paper doll. Just as Asuma was about to launch his second attack, Yue gave a strong pull, disrupting his movement. He was instantly pulled close, almost touching, their eyes meeting.

From Asuma's posture, it was clear he was completely under Yue's control, utterly off-balance.

"Ugh!"

Immediately after, Asuma spat out saliva.

His abdomen had been hit hard.

Yue's knee strike seemed to make him vomit his stomach acid.

Yue wouldn't hold back just because the Third Hokage was present.

His goal this time was these future 'pillars' of Konoha.

However, as expected of the Sarutobi clan, his strength was quite outstanding for a ninja of his age.

Despite such intense pain, Asuma managed to remain conscious and, in the blink of an eye, stabilized himself. As Yue bent down to smash him with his book towards the back of his head, Asuma keenly sensed the loosening grip on his fingers and instantly broke free.

Then, like a startled bird, he quickly created distance.

Yue's hand, which had been holding the book, missed its target.

After dodging, Asuma didn't even think; his hands rapidly formed hand seals.

He realized... he couldn't engage in close-quarters combat.

Fuma Yue's Taijutsu ability and skill were terrifying.

Not only was he fast, but he could also perceive the openings in his attacks at unexpected moments.

The best way to deal with an enemy like this was from a distance.

However, just as he finished forming hand seals and channeling his chakra, a strong gust of wind appeared above his head.

Yue spun his body, his face expressionless in mid-air.

A palm precisely landed on Asuma Sarutobi's head…

"How is this possible?"

Asuma Sarutobi felt the touch on his scalp, his mind going blank.

From his perspective, after shaking off Yue, he had already positioned himself… even if Yue kept up with him at an extraordinary speed.

His vision should have been able to capture it and react.

However, at this moment, his eyes saw the entire combat arena as empty.

Yet, Yue had appeared above his head out of nowhere.

There were only two reasons for this outcome: first, even though he moved first, his speed was not as fast as the opponent's.

Second, and most importantly.

Yue had already predicted his escape direction and landing spot in advance.

This was indeed the case. To the others watching, Asuma had indeed moved first, but as he jumped, his vision wavered with the motion.

Yue, with a speed that allowed him to arrive before his opponent, had burst from his blind spot to Asuma's position above.

The location and tricky angle of his appearance made it difficult for Asuma to defend against, and even harder to detect.

A dull thud.

Yue pulled down mercilessly, slamming Asuma's face into the incredibly hard ground.

Instantly, Asuma's face was covered in blood, several of his teeth had chipped, and he was disfigured on the spot.

His eyes rolled back, and he lost consciousness.

Finally, his body collapsed at Yue's feet.

Yue slowly stood up, reopened the closed book, and said indifferently, "Next."

"..."

Silence…

It was over too quickly.

No one had expected this turn of events.

All the Konoha genin realized that Yue's strength was likely far beyond Ryuga and Yoshitaka, but they never expected him to display such overwhelming dominance against Asuma.

From the start to the end of the battle.

Although there were subtle details in the exchanges between Yue and Asuma, the entire fight lasted at most less than ten seconds.

Asuma was 'instantly killed' without even using any ninjutsu!

The children who had been cheering for Asuma moments ago widened their eyes, all falling silent.

"This kid!"

While the younger generation of Konoha was bewildered, the observing ninjas saw the reason. The reason for Asuma's crushing defeat was the killing intent Yue released in an instant!

It caused a considerable psychological shock to the latter… frankly speaking, killing intent like that was not something a kid of this age should possess.

The only explanation was that Yue had killed many people… a great many.

Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes opened and closed, a faint smile on his face.

He wasn't angry that his son was beaten so badly… instead, he felt it was an opportunity for Asuma to grow.

However, his eyes also flashed with irrepressible surprise. Even someone who had weathered many storms, like himself, felt a sense of wonder when looking at Yue.

That killing intent… the moment it appeared, not only the referee in the arena but even the Ninja Academy teachers watching almost instinctively reacted.

This was enough to show how intense Yue's killing intent was.

Moreover… this Fuma Yue gave Hiruzen Sarutobi a familiar feeling.

A ninja with this kind of potential did not seem like someone who could be nurtured in this era.

He seemed more like someone who had grown up through constant battles and bloodshed from a young age, treading on blood and flesh.

A man-eating ferocious beast!

If not for Yue's physique and appearance, which clearly showed he was a youth, he might have mistaken Yue for someone from his own generation.

In the history of the ninja world, ninjas of each era had distinct characteristics… although two Ninja Wars had passed, and the world was still not entirely peaceful, compared to the past, the current ninja world was considered relatively 'stable,' at least in Hiruzen Sarutobi's view.

Therefore, although ninjas from various villages had received some training, without years of battlefield experience, they were still somewhat like flowers in a 'greenhouse.'

Let alone the Warring States period before the existence of ninja villages, where children as young as a few years old had to step onto the battlefield, be baptized in blood, and defend their clans.

Even when he was young, the 'chaotic, dark' ninja world environment was something these juniors could not imagine.

At that time, many rules were not yet perfected, and the constraints on people naturally became very weak.

And Yue was more like a ninja from that era.

The only thing Hiruzen Sarutobi couldn't understand was that, as a Genin from Grass Village, and given Yue's age.

How could he possibly have this kind of experience?

Grass Village didn't have the conditions for it, and it was even less possible for a child to go through numerous life-or-death battles… Killing intent, this 'thing', could only be awakened and honed by frequently walking the edge of death and being in perilous situations.

It wasn't accumulated through petty skirmishes.

There was also a certain level of practical combat experience.

"This child... is a bit special."

After thinking about it, Hiruzen Sarutobi finally said something to Minato Namikaze.

The phenomenon that occurred with Yue, the 'thing' that Hiruzen Sarutobi saw, was something that even with his experience, he couldn't explain.

"Heh heh... I told you, you'd be surprised when you saw it with your own eyes."

Minato Namikaze chuckled.

Grass Village absolutely could not cultivate a 'genius' like Yue.

Yue's genius wasn't about how monstrous his talent was, but rather that his combat power was clearly the crystallization of experience and growth.

It was a solid feeling forged step by step, walked out by himself.

Back then, at the border of the Land of Grass, Minato had already noticed.

How old was Yue?

This phenomenon that defied common sense and was incomprehensible was the most bizarre.

Let alone Grass Village, even Konoha couldn't cultivate someone like Yue.

But now... Yue was standing right before his eyes.

"Don't you find it interesting?"

Suddenly, Minato smiled, "As long as you live long enough, you'll see all sorts of people."

"This world has never lacked geniuses... so-called geniuses are merely relative, and even among geniuses, there are some special existences."

After speaking, Minato realized his words might subtly allude to the Third Hokage's age.

He couldn't help but show an awkward expression.

"Mmm... I think you're right."

Unexpectedly, the Third Hokage nodded in agreement.