Chapter 224: Asuma, You’re Worse Than Useless!

Understanding doesn’t necessarily mean agreement. The current Hatake Kakashi was clearly different from his past self and from the original timeline. He didn’t think the White Fang was wrong. But at the same time, if there was a mission that would cause great loss to the country and the village, sometimes even sacrificing oneself was worthwhile. Hatake Kakashi smiled and added another sentence. "However, to make such a decision in that era actually required great courage. I still think my father was very remarkable!" He sat down on the side, very relaxed and casual, not like he was facing a superior, but like he was chatting with Ryoho Kyohiko as a partner, as before. "Let’s get back to the previous question. You mentioned the Daimyo and the Hokage. Do you think some people will feel the Daimyo is more important?" Ryoho Kyohiko asked back. "The previous Guardian Shinobi, although they were used by Danzo, wasn’t this the root cause of it all?" Hatake Kakashi pondered for a few seconds, then nodded lightly. That was indeed the case. Regardless of the process or the result, the root cause was that the Daimyo’s descendant and a portion of the nobles believed that the capital was more important. He thought for a long time. "I feel that, in essence, it’s a question of who has the final say." Ryoho Kyohiko nodded. "That’s right. The right to speak." In essence, the reason the Kyoto noble faction wanted to create the Guardian Shinobi was a matter of authority. The nobles, led by Yoshi Enji, believed that they were the core of the Land of Fire, not Konoha or the Hokage. Anyone could train ninjas; it didn’t necessarily have to be Konoha. Of course, the Daimyo and nobles of the Land of Water also thought the same. However, they had no idea what ninja combat was like. When the ninjas of a hidden village truly came to attack, all they could do was hope that the opponent wouldn’t be so cruel and would leave them a little leeway. Ryoho Kyohiko explained. "The Land of Fire’s Daimyo still understands. He knows very well what should be done. As for the Guardian Shinobi this time, to put it bluntly, it was a lesson." Although the current Daimyo wasn’t old, he was getting on in years. At most, he would be in power for another twenty years or so. If he didn’t cultivate his successor, what would happen after those twenty years? While he was still capable, he could teach a lesson, take a small loss, and still be there to clean up the mess. It was better than having Yoshi Enji come to power later and play a big hand that blows up the Land of Fire. Speaking of which, Ryoho Kyohiko paused. "In a sense, Sister Tsunade is also doing something similar. It’s just that I’m more stable and haven’t done anything out of line for the time being." Compared to Yoshi Enji, Ryoho Kyohiko felt he was far more stable. But... clearly, Hatake Kakashi didn’t think so. He started to speak, then stopped. Ryoho Kyohiko glanced at him. "What do you want to say?" Hatake Kakashi was at a loss for words. "Uh, I don’t think ’stable’ is the word for you. People like the Sandaime-sama and Jiraiya-sensei back in the day were stable. But now, Jiraiya-sensei has been influenced by you and has become completely different." Ryoho Kyohiko chuckled. "You call that stable? That’s called being a coward! Cowardice and stability are not the same. If four or five people want to beat me up, is begging for mercy useful? You have to grab one or two of them, beat them until they’re in pain, until they’re scared. Only then will they not dare to bully you!" A trace of a smile appeared in Kakashi’s tone. "Mm... I’ve never experienced such a scene growing up." This was the truth. From a very young age, he was a famous genius in the village. Even if others wanted to gang up on him, they would still be beaten black and blue by him. However, he knew that Kyohiko’s reasoning was correct. Strike one punch to avoid a hundred more! Cowering would not solve the problem. Only by fighting, fighting until the other party was in pain and afraid, could one truly achieve their own security. Otherwise, peace in one moment, and the opponent would be back the next. Kyohiko had talked about this kind of reasoning before. He stood up. "As for the others, I can go and ask them. But Asuma, I think... it would be more appropriate for you to go." Hatake Kakashi scratched his head. "You know, the current Asuma is, honestly, a bit difficult to get along with, and I’m not good at heart-to-heart talks. How about we let Shinnosuke-senpai go?" Even Might Gai thought Sarutobi Asuma was not focused and didn’t have much promise, let alone him. It wasn’t that Kakashi disliked him, just that he was unwilling to put in the effort in this area. Ryoho Kyohiko nodded. "Then I’ll go." A mere Asuma, isn’t that a piece of cake? --- In the current outskirts of Konoha, along the outer village road, a special path had been built. From jounin and chunin to children, a group of people ran along the village road. At the very front, a man shouted loudly, his morale high. Even the children could keep up at a steady pace. But behind them, Sarutobi Asuma walked forward unhurriedly, a dazed look on his face. "Asuma!" A shout came from behind. Then, a figure quickly caught up. "What are you thinking about?" "Nothing. You go on ahead. I’ll catch up soon." Might Gai was speechless. "I’m already a lap ahead of you." Sarutobi Asuma was stunned for a moment, then didn’t answer, just ran forward in silence. Gai shook his head, said a few words, and then continued to run forward on his own. He still had to finish his run quickly and then go to practice taijutsu! Asuma sighed, then simply sat down on the side, watching the noisy crowd in front disappear, not speaking for a long time. He didn’t know what he was thinking either. It was just... he didn’t quite know what he was working hard for. Just then. "Feeling lost?" A voice came from behind him. This voice... Sarutobi Asuma was startled and instantly stood up to look behind him, a look of disbelief on his face, followed by a trace of vigilance. "What are you doing here?" A brilliant smile appeared on Ryoho Kyohiko’s face. "I heard some things, so I came over to see what someone who has admitted defeat looks like. As expected, very decadent. A waste like you still wants to surpass me?" Bullying a child is truly satisfying! No matter how angry the other party got, they couldn’t do anything to him, just like the current Asuma. And their thoughts were so easy to guess. The Uchiha Sasuke of the original timeline was like this, and so was the current Sarutobi Asuma. Sarutobi Asuma gritted his teeth and stood up to run forward. From behind, a voice came unhurriedly. "I’ll give you a ten-second head start. I’ll catch up to you soon." Asuma stopped in his tracks and turned back angrily to glare at Kyohiko. "You!" "You’re stronger than me, you’re better than me! Alright? Is that enough? Don’t bother me anymore! I don’t want to see you!" As he spoke, he directly threw the trench knives at his waist. Wind Release chakra was attached, and sharp air blades pulsed on them, but in the blink of an eye... Ryoho Kyohiko caught them between his hands. The trench knives caused him no harm at all. Ryoho Kyohiko’s gaze was icy. "As a ninja who relies heavily on weapons, they are your second life, your partners. Is this how you treat your comrades?" Sarutobi Asuma opened his mouth and lowered his head for a moment. "I’m very sorry!" "I still prefer the old you. At least back then you had a goal, you had drive, not like now... a waste! No, you’re worse than useless!" Ryoho Kyohiko threw the trench knives back. "Come at me if you have the guts." "Hmph!" Sarutobi Asuma picked up the trench knives and immediately rushed at Kyohiko. But as he swung his knives, the Kyohiko before him turned into an afterimage. It wasn’t a clone technique, just that his speed was too fast! Asuma looked up and quickly pursued with the Body Flicker Technique. One in front, one behind. Ryoho Kyohiko didn’t run too fast. Soon, they arrived in a dense jungle. Sarutobi Asuma held his trench knives with both hands. The air blades formed by the Wind Release chakra pulsed, cutting through branches as he quickly came at Kyohiko. His speed... honestly, besides Kyohiko, Kakashi, and Gai, it was quite good compared to others. But compared to the three of them, Asuma’s speed seemed too ordinary. The sound of tearing air was heard beside Kyohiko, but no matter how hard Asuma tried, he could never hit Kyohiko. It was as if... he could never defeat the other party! A sense of dejection rose in Asuma’s heart. He understood. He could never win. The other party was too strong, so strong that one couldn’t see any hope. Even if the other party was severely injured... he could probably still be defeated easily. "If I were your enemy, would you give up just because I’m stronger than you?" Sarutobi Asuma gritted his teeth. "Give up? I haven’t given up! I won’t give up!" How could I give up! He swung his knives quickly, increasing his chakra output, with only one thought in his mind—Fight! Defeat the opponent! Tch! A sound was heard. Ryoho Kyohiko’s clothes were torn, but... the next moment. Bang! With one palm, Asuma was sent flying directly. Wind Style: Beast Wave Palm! "Not bad. Your Wind Style is decent." "..." Sarutobi Asuma held his breath, not speaking for a long time. Wind Style... why! How is this guy even so strong with Wind Style ninjutsu! Is there any ninjutsu this guy doesn’t know? Sarutobi Asuma’s eyes turned red. "I’ll kill you!" He charged up again, but was instantly grabbed by the hand by Kyohiko. As he struggled, his other hand was caught by a sapling, and then he was quickly hung upside down from a tree. Ryoho Kyohiko flickered to the base of the tree. "Very angry? Hard work may not be of much use, but at least it will keep you from falling too far behind. If you had worked harder usually, you wouldn’t have lost so miserably. The current you..." "Is useless! Even Kurenai could beat you, believe it or not?" Sarutobi Asuma struggled with all his might, not wanting to respond at all. Ryoho Kyohiko put his hands in his pockets and walked out slowly. "Alright, hang there for a while. It will automatically release. Then you can go home yourself." "Since you don’t want to win, it’s fine to be an ordinary person for the rest of your life." "What did you say?" "I!" "How could I..." As Asuma spoke, he had already instantly rushed behind Kyohiko. He had used Wind Style to cut the vines binding his hands, but it was useless. The moment he got close to Kyohiko, an invisible stream of chakra sent him flying directly. Grandmaster-level Superhuman Strength didn’t need obvious movements; the whole body could erupt with terrifying impact force. Against a Kage-level powerhouse, it might not be enough, but against someone like Asuma, it was simply too easy, almost like toying with him. However, Ryoho Kyohiko’s purpose was not to drive Asuma completely mad. After sending him flying, he turned back, looking at the other from the corner of his eye. "If you want to become stronger, there’s an opportunity next." "What opportunity?" Ryoho Kyohiko said. "Want to be a Guardian Shinobi? Next, there’s a training for the Guardian Shinobi. If you’re willing, go and participate. A change of environment, more seeing, more practicing, more learning, maybe your mentality will be different." He said faintly. "There, there are no titles like ’Son of the Hokage’ or ’Shinnosuke’s younger brother.’ You are just Asuma, an ordinary Guardian Shinobi." Sarutobi Asuma was stunned for a few seconds, somewhat in disbelief. "You..." He was lost. Besides being completely unable to catch up to Kyohiko, another reason was that he couldn’t find the meaning of being a ninja, didn’t know why he was one. For his father’s and brother’s expectations? He hated it when people added various titles before his name, but others didn’t seem to be able to understand his feelings. What he hadn’t expected was... the one who understood him most was actually Ryoho Kyohiko, the guy he saw as an enemy. He was stunned, not speaking for a long time. Ryoho Kyohiko mocked again. "If you want to participate, you have to work hard. Otherwise, with your current level, if you get in, others will think you got in through connections." "An absolute waste!" Then, he instantly disappeared. Not with the Flying Thunder God, but with the most ordinary Body Flicker Technique. Sarutobi Asuma stood there dazedly. He looked at the trench knives in his hand, not speaking for a long time. Thinking back, for a moment, Asuma was very touched. Kyohiko never mocked him with identities like "son of the Third." He would only think that his ability was poor, his mentality was poor, and he was giving up on himself. "A change of environment, the Guardian Shinobi?" Sarutobi Asuma looked into the distance. He gritted his teeth. "Perfect! I’ll go and see what’s different about the Daimyo and the capital!" During the Third Hokage’s term, at his most annoyed, he even felt that the position of Hokage shouldn’t exist; the Land of Fire only needed a Daimyo. Although he didn’t have similar thoughts now, Asuma did want to see what was different about the Daimyo and the capital. Would a group of ninjas in the capital make the Land of Fire better? At this moment, Sarutobi Asuma seemed to have found his goal. He ignored the pain in his body and quickly rushed along the small path towards the mountain road. Might Gai was running ahead and soon saw Sarutobi Asuma rush past him. He was stunned for a moment, then roared. "Burning hot-blooded youth! Asuma, let’s have a duel! Whoever runs a hundred laps first, the loser runs fifty laps on their hands!" "Come on, let’s fight!" --- In the Hokage’s office. Tsunade was stunned. She had sensed Kyohiko appear within the range of the barrier. Casually monitoring, she saw the scene between Kyohiko and Asuma. Curious, she took a look... and the result. This brat Kyohiko had beaten Asuma black and blue, said something, and actually made Asuma change like a different person, instantly filled with fighting spirit! How did he do it? "Tsunade-sama, what are you looking at? So many documents..." "Shh! Something more important than documents!" Tsunade pointed at the crystal ball. Shizune leaned over to look, and her jaw dropped. "This, this is Asuma?" Sarutobi Asuma and Might Gai were running quickly one after the other, neither wanting to admit defeat, completely different from their previous spirit. If they had changed their clothes, she would have believed it if someone said it was Might Gai. Shizune was extremely shocked. "How could this be? Did someone cast a jutsu on him?" Tsunade muttered to herself. "It’s psychotherapy!" Curing Asuma in a few moves, Kyohiko has really figured out psychology!