"Uchiha... is it? Go, but be careful." Shinku ultimately didn't say much, giving a brief reply.
The Third Hokage pairing Kiyoshi Uchiha and Asuma Sarutobi was essentially a signal that he thought highly of them.
"Okay." Kurenai was delighted that her father didn't object. She quickly put away her cloth, put on her shoes, and hurried out.
She was going to see Kiyoshi today.
Asuma had suddenly declared a while ago that he would spar in Taijutsu with Kiyoshi, and she wanted to check in on the situation.
It wasn't that she was worried about Kiyoshi being defeated.
She was worried that Asuma would lose face if he were defeated.
Since Asuma Sarutobi's current temperament wasn't exactly mild, Kurenai decided to go and mediate to prevent any conflict.
"Oh, Kurenai, are you going out too?" Asuma's face lit up when he saw Kurenai leaving her house, and he was pleasantly surprised.
He had been hovering at her door, wondering what excuse to use to call Kurenai out if he ran into Senior Shinku, but Kurenai just happened to come out.
'Could this be the legendary meeting of minds?'
"What a coincidence, Asuma." Kurenai said, "Didn't you say you were going to spar with Kiyoshi today? I came out to watch."
"Of course! It's also to ensure that our squad stays in shape before facing future missions, isn't it?" Asuma offered a clever excuse.
His true purpose was to test Kiyoshi in Chakra Flow.
He hadn't seen a single classmate in their class who knew this technique!
Except for the White Fang, known for his sword skill; perhaps his son, Kakashi, knew it.
It was said that the White Fang's short sword would emit a white chakra glow during battle, which might be some form of Lightning Release Chakra Flow.
Asuma Sarutobi subconsciously felt the Chakra Blades, which resembled knuckle weapons, in his pocket.
The hilt had four small holes for his four fingers (excluding the thumb), and the hilt and blade were integrated, with a serrated outer edge.
The weight of this weapon made Asuma much more confident.
He didn't believe Kiyoshi had the money to buy the same weapon as him!
The two walked together in the direction of Kiyoshi's house.
"Let's hurry." Kurenai tucked her slightly red, chilled hands into her pockets.
"Oh... alright!" Asuma was overjoyed, his heart pounding. He felt like he was floating.
Kurenai was wearing such beautiful clothes for their spar with Kiyoshi today, which filled him with confidence, feeling that his efforts were finally paying off.
***
Kiyoshi's house.
"It's at 99%."
Kiyoshi closed the Trait panel.
Just as he had estimated, a new white Trait appeared while he was training in the Manipulating Shuriken Technique.
He would likely master this Trait tonight.
Once he did, Kiyoshi would be able to attack and defend.
Even when his chakra was insufficient to use Ninjutsu, he could still maneuver with shuriken and kunai against the enemy, giving himself a chance to catch his breath.
This was an excellent life-saving method.
He currently only had one long-range Ninjutsu, the Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu, which Mikoto had taken him to receive after his graduation.
Although it was C-rank, it was a mid-range offensive Ninjutsu, effective within a range of five to ten meters.
Any further, and the power would diminish or even dissipate.
The only ways to improve this were to increase his Ninjutsu stat, which meant improving his proficiency and mastery of the technique.
Or, to infuse more chakra to enhance the technique's power.
Both options required a high investment of energy and cost, making them unsuitable for Kiyoshi at the moment.
On the contrary, for someone with superior Taijutsu and high natural talent like him, throwing shuriken would be more cost-effective at this stage.
This is because the speed and distance of a thrown shuriken are determined by physical strength.
"Kiyoshi, we came to see you."
A sound came from outside the door.
Although Kiyoshi's house wasn't a single-story building and had a courtyard, it was quite small. Therefore, whenever someone called out to Kiyoshi or knocked on the door, he could hear it immediately.
"I'm coming." Kiyoshi went and opened the main door.
"Kiyoshi, you two need to be careful today." Kurenai said with concern.
Although she was a ninja, as a girl, she didn't like fighting.
"Kurenai, don't worry. I'll go easy on him." Asuma took out his Chakra Blades and flaunted them in front of Kiyoshi, putting them on and swinging them a few times in the air.
Almost two months had passed since he resolved to spar with Kiyoshi in Chakra Flow.
During this time, apart from the two D-rank missions he performed, he had been diligently training at home, all for the sake of stunning Kurenai today with his sudden display of skill!
His older brother, seeing his hard work and prodigal son turning over a new leaf, even took time out of his complex Anbu work to instruct him.
This gave Asuma immense confidence.
He didn't think he would instantly defeat Kiyoshi.
But taking him down in a few moves would be simple.
This was his specialty.
He hadn't even seen the so-called elite Uchiha ninjas use this technique much.
'Does he think he's back in the game?' Kiyoshi thought to himself.
A smile appeared on his face.
'It's perfect. I wonder if the recently matured Asuma can drop a Trait.'
Kiyoshi's house was too small to fight in.
The three of them went to one of the fifty-plus training grounds where there were fewer ninjas.
*Poof.*
White smoke billowed.
Kiyoshi summoned his ninja sword.
The Chunin Exams were just a few months away, so this was a good opportunity to gauge Asuma Sarutobi's abilities.
Teamwork was an indispensable part of the Chunin Exams.
The exams were divided into three stages.
The first stage was a written test.
The second stage involved entering a training ground for a trial, testing the squad's teamwork ability.
The third stage consisted of one-on-one matches between individual ninjas and was the only part exposed to the public.
During the third stage, not only villagers would come to watch, but feudal lords from various countries, including Kage and high-ranking ninjas from other Hidden Villages, would attend as official guests.
This was essentially a process of flexing the village's muscles, showcasing its new generation of strength.
*Voom!*
After Kiyoshi took out his ninja sword and drew the blade, a layer of pale blue Wind Release chakra attached itself to Asuma Sarutobi's Chakra Blades.
"Kiyoshi, if your sword breaks, I'll pay for it." Asuma said confidently, expecting Kiyoshi's shocked expression after his sword was sliced in half.
In the distance, Kurenai looked worried.
This was the first time she had seen Asuma use such a technique, she had never seen it before at the Ninja Academy.
Her initial belief that Kiyoshi would win now shifted to concern.
This clearly seemed to be an advanced application technique involving chakra nature and control.
One had to admit, Asuma was, after all, the son of the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi.
And Hiruzen Sarutobi was known as the Teacher, the strongest Hokage who mastered all five basic nature transformations!
"His speed is much faster than before."
A crimson light appeared in Kiyoshi's black eyes.
His ninja sword, which had been held low, instantly rose to block Asuma Sarutobi's Chakra Blade.
Not only that, a pale red flame spread upward from the hilt of his sword!