The sudden end of the battle left the crowd both shocked and confused. Hagawa's genjutsu had only targeted Asuma Sarutobi. From their perspective, the fight was bizarre. Asuma had stopped in his tracks, standing motionless. Hagawa then walked up to him with a kunai and won with ease.
They had envisioned two possible outcomes. The first was a one-sided victory for Asuma. The second was that Hagawa was a hidden expert, and the two would be locked in a stalemate. No one had expected this result.
"So strong!" Rin Nohara exclaimed in awe. Among all ninjutsu, aside from Kekkei Genkai, medical ninjutsu and genjutsu were the most difficult to master. For Hagawa to have learned genjutsu, he was undoubtedly a genius among geniuses.
Kakashi Hatake nodded slightly at her words. Now he was truly interested. Before this, after defeating Asuma, he could no longer find a worthy opponent and was already preparing to graduate early. Now, he had a new goal: to graduate after defeating Hagawa.
"It's just a measly genjutsu!" Obito Uchiha retorted, seeing Rin's expression. "Any genjutsu is meaningless in the face of the Sharingan!"
"Wait until you actually awaken it," Kakashi said casually.
"I will definitely awaken it!" Obito's face flushed red with anger. Unlike the Byakugan, awakening the Sharingan required a certain degree of talent, and he had yet to show any signs of it.
"I believe in you, Obito," Rin quickly said to smooth things over. "Your talent is no less than theirs."
"Hehe!" Obito immediately performed a heroic face change, breaking into a goofy grin.
"Let's go," Kakashi said, retracting his gaze. "I'll treat you to a meal, Rin."
Obito was instantly petrified. He had forgotten about the bet. Damn it! Obito's heart ached. This was his most crushing defeat yet.
"Obito," Rin said, turning her head. "Come with us."
"I have no objection," Kakashi said nonchalantly.
"Rin!" Obito was moved beyond words.
As the fight concluded, the spectating students began to disperse. Only Kurenai rushed forward, her face flushed with excitement. Who said genjutsu users were weak? Genjutsu users were awesome!
"Hagawa!" Kurenai's little face was as red as an apple.
Hagawa snapped back to his senses and smiled. He had just been looking at the new Trait that had triggered.
[E-Rank Talent Trait: Shippuden]
Activation Condition: Defeat the young Asuma Sarutobi.
Effect: Wind Release talent increased by 10% from its base level.
This new Trait was unexpected. He hadn't thought he could trigger Traits this way. Although it was only a 10% boost, it gave him a lot of inspiration. If I defeat Kakashi Hatake, will I gain a Lightning Release talent? If I defeat a stronger version of Asuma, will the Wind Release talent bonus be even higher?
"Asuma," Hagawa said with a sincere expression, "you're very strong. If you had held on for just a little longer, I would have lost due to chakra exhaustion."
This was a lie. He needed Asuma to keep challenging him in order to trigger more Traits. The best way to do that was to give him hope—make him think he could win if he just tried a little harder.
Asuma froze. What does he mean? Is he extending an olive branch? But... there was no way he would accept it!
"I'll be back!" Asuma declared, glancing at Kurenai before turning to leave.
The world where only he is hurt had been achieved. Today, my hands tremble; today, my heart aches.
Asuma walked home in silence. He pushed open the door, changed his shoes, and headed straight for his room without a word.
"Asuma," Hiruzen Sarutobi's voice called out. "Why didn't you say hello?"
Asuma didn't even look up, completely ignoring him.
"..." Hiruzen's face stiffened. It was one thing for Asuma to disrespect him in private, but they had a guest today. He now felt like rewarding him with a Sevenwolves belt.
"Old man, it's been a long time since I've seen you look so thwarted. What a rare sight," a gloating laugh echoed.
"I've made a fool of myself in front of you, Tsunade," Hiruzen said, a bit embarrassed. As the God of Shinobi, he had never lost so much face in front of a student.
"It's nothing. All kids are like that," Tsunade said, then changed the subject. "But it looks like something happened to Asuma."
Hiruzen thought back on Asuma's behavior and agreed that something was very wrong. He thought for a moment and instructed, "Haru, go investigate." Since Tsunade was his student and things were already like this, he didn't bother being discreet.
"How is Minato's injury?" Hiruzen asked while they waited.
"He's out of danger," Tsunade said with a confident smile. "With me on the case, you have nothing to worry about."
"That may be true," Hiruzen said with a frown, "but I never expected Minato to be so seriously injured."
"When a Jinchuriki goes berserk, any kind of injury is possible," Tsunade said, shaking her head. "Thanks to his Flying Thunder God Technique, otherwise the losses would have been much greater."
Hearing this, a look of fear appeared on Hiruzen's face. If Kushina had rampaged inside Konoha, the situation would have certainly spun out of control.
"Lord Hokage." A knock came at the door. The Anbu ninja Haru entered and presented a scroll with both hands. It was undoubtedly the report on Asuma's situation.
Hiruzen opened the scroll, curious. Let me see what's the matter. Given Asuma's status and strength, he shouldn't be getting bullied at school.
Hiruzen let out a small sound of surprise. He lost to Hagawa? This was simply absurd! Asuma's talent wasn't top-tier, but it wasn't bad either. Most importantly, he had been training for over half a year before even enrolling, under the guidance of a Tokubetsu Jōnin. And Hagawa? He had only been learning for a week.
The only explanation was that he was truly a rare genjutsu genius. On top of that, his character was also excellent. After defeating Asuma, he wasn't smug; instead, he comforted him.
An idea sparked in Hiruzen's mind. This was an opportunity—an opportunity to mend his relationship with Asuma.
"Old man, are you done reading?" Tsunade asked, holding out her hand. Hiruzen casually passed her the scroll.
"He learned genjutsu in his first year?" Tsunade said with some surprise after scanning it. "Looks like we have another genius."
"Indeed," Hiruzen said, standing up. "I'm going to see Asuma."
"Mm," Tsunade said, putting down the scroll. "I'll go to the kitchen and see how my master's wife is doing with dinner." She was referring to Hiruzen's wife, Biwako Sarutobi.
"Asuma." Hiruzen arrived at Asuma's room and knocked.
"Not here!" Asuma was still in a state of "yuyu."
"Don't you want to defeat Hagawa?" Hiruzen said after a pause. "I can teach you how to break genjutsu."
The air fell silent. A moment later, the door was pulled open. Asuma's face was stern. "Hurry up and tell me!"
Seeing this, the corners of Hiruzen's mouth curved up into a smile. Hagawa really is a good kid.
-------
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