The sudden silence that fell over the training ground caught everyone off guard.
From their perspective, the battle had been utterly bizarre. Asuma Sarutobi had simply... stopped. Then Hanekawa walked up with a kunai in hand, and it was over.
Two outcomes had seemed possible: either Asuma would dominate, or they'd be evenly matched. This? This was unexpected.
"Wow," Rin breathed, her eyes wide. "That was incredible."
Among all ninja disciplines, medical ninjutsu and genjutsu were notoriously difficult to master—second only to bloodline limits. For Hanekawa to have learned genjutsu in his first week of training? That marked him as a prodigy among prodigies.
Kakashi nodded slightly, his expression shifting. Before this, after he'd defeated Asuma, he'd been ready to graduate early—there was no one left to challenge him. Now, things had changed.
"It's just an illusion," Obito said loudly, his face flushed. He'd noticed Rin's expression and didn't like it one bit. "Illusions mean nothing against the Sharingan!"
"Once you actually open your eyes," Kakashi replied casually, "you can talk."
Obito's face turned crimson. "I will open them!"
The Sharingan wasn't like the Byakugan—it required a specific talent to awaken. So far, Obito had shown no signs of it.
"I believe in you, Obito," Rin said gently, trying to smooth things over. "Your talent is just as good as theirs."
"Heh-heh!" Obito's expression brightened instantly, his embarrassment forgotten.
"Let's go," Kakashi said, already turning away. "I'll treat you to dinner, Rin."
Obito froze mid-smile. The bet. He'd completely forgotten about the bet.
His face went pale.
This defeat was the most thorough yet.
"Obito," Rin said softly, turning back to him. "Come with us?"
"...Sure," he mumbled, his heart sinking.
As the other students filtered away, only one person approached Hanekawa with genuine excitement.
Kurenai bounded over, her ruby eyes shining. "Hanekawa! That was amazing!"
Who says genjutsu users aren't cool? she thought fiercely. Genjutsu is awesome!
Hanekawa smiled at her, though his attention was elsewhere. A notification had just appeared:
[E-Rank Talent Entry: Wind Style]
[Trigger Condition: Defeat young Asuma Sarutobi]
[Effect: Wind Style talent increased by 10% from current baseline]
[Note: Can be synthesized]
Interesting. This was unexpected. The Ability System could be triggered through combat victories. His mind immediately began calculating possibilities. If defeating Asuma granted Wind Style talent, what would defeating Kakashi yield? Lightning Style? And if he fought Asuma again at higher strength, would the bonus increase?
"Asuma," Hanekawa said sincerely, turning to where the other boy stood. "You're very strong. If you'd held on just a bit longer, I would have lost due to chakra depletion."
It was a lie, of course. A calculated one.
Asuma needed hope. He needed to believe that victory was possible if he just tried harder. That way, he'd keep coming back for rematches, triggering more entries, more bonuses.
Sorry, kid. But you're too useful to let go.
Asuma stared at him, processing the words. Was Hanekawa... being kind? Offering him encouragement?
He couldn't accept that. Not today.
"I'll be back," Asuma said flatly, his gaze flickering toward Kurenai before he turned and walked away, his shoulders tense.
---
Asuma didn't speak a word on the walk home. He opened the door, changed his shoes, and headed straight to his room without acknowledging anyone.
"Asuma." His father's voice came from the living room. "You could at least say hello."
Asuma ignored him completely, not even looking up.
Hiruzen's expression froze. It was one thing to be disrespectful in private, but they had a guest today. He'd been about to praise Asuma for his efforts.
"The boy's in quite a mood," Tsunade observed with amusement from her seat. "Rare to see you so flustered, Hiruzen."
"I apologize for his rudeness," Hiruzen said, somewhat embarrassed. As a legendary ninja, he rarely found himself in such an awkward position in front of his own students.
"Don't worry about it," Tsunade said, waving a hand. "All children act out sometimes. But something's clearly bothering him."
Hiruzen considered Asuma's behavior. She was right—something was wrong. He paused, then called out, "Aoi. Investigate."
If Tsunade was here anyway, there was no point in maintaining pretense.
"How is Minato recovering?" Hiruzen asked while they waited.
"Perfectly," Tsunade said with confidence. "You don't need to worry. I'm handling his treatment personally."
"That's reassuring," Hiruzen said, though his expression grew troubled. "I didn't expect his injuries to be so severe."
"When a jinchuriki loses control, any kind of injury becomes possible," Tsunade replied grimly. "We're fortunate Minato has the Flying Thunder God Technique. Without it, the casualties would have been catastrophic."
Hiruzen's face paled at the thought. If Kushina had made it to the village proper...
A knock interrupted his dark musings.
"Enter," Hiruzen called.
ANBU operative Aoi stepped inside and presented a scroll with both hands. The report was straightforward enough, but Hiruzen's eyebrows rose as he read.
Asuma had lost to Hanekawa?
Completely?
That was... unexpected.
Asuma's talent wasn't exceptional, but it was solid. More importantly, he'd been training for half a year before entering the academy, receiving instruction from a special jonin. Hanekawa had only been studying for a week.
The only logical explanation was that Hanekawa was a genuine prodigy in genjutsu.
But there was something else in the report that caught Hiruzen's attention. After winning, instead of gloating or being arrogant, Hanekawa had comforted Asuma. He'd even suggested that Asuma had nearly won.
A good kid, Hiruzen thought. And an opportunity.
"Finished?" Tsunade asked, holding out her hand.
Hiruzen passed her the scroll.
"Genjutsu in the first week?" Tsunade scanned it quickly, her eyebrows rising. "Another genius, then."
"Indeed," Hiruzen agreed, standing. "I'm going to speak with Asuma."
"I'll check on how dinner's coming along," Tsunade said, heading toward the kitchen where Hiruzen's wife was preparing the meal.
---
Hiruzen knocked on Asuma's door. "Asuma?"
"Go away!" came the muffled response.
"Don't you want to defeat Hanekawa?" Hiruzen asked, pausing deliberately. "I can teach you how to break genjutsu."
Silence.
Then, slowly, the door opened. Asuma's face was carefully neutral, but his eyes burned with determination.
"Tell me everything," he demanded.
Hiruzen smiled. Yes. This is what I wanted to see.
Hanekawa was a good kid. The kind of kid who, without even trying, could help others find their way forward.