Chapter 15 (Patreon)

“Kurenai, let’s go shopping today. My treat.”

Sarutobi Asuma smiled the moment he saw Yuhi Kurenai.

Kurenai frowned.

“Sarutobi Asuma. Please call me by my full name.”

Recently, Asuma had been bothering her constantly.

Even during missions, he would always find some excuse to get close to her.

It had been the same back at the Academy.

But because Sarutobi Asuma was the Third Hokage’s son, Kurenai had been holding back.

Yujiro quietly observed him from the side.

Asuma took a lighter from his pocket and lit a cigarette.

“Kurenai, we don’t have any missions these days. Just come with me.”

He took a drag, acting as though he looked cool, then slowly exhaled the smoke.

The moment Yujiro saw that, the faint interest in his eyes disappeared.

Sarutobi Asuma.

No matter how Yujiro looked at him, he could not find anything worth noting.

As the son of a Hokage, he only knew how to throw his weight around.

He was weak, yet still full of himself.

Not only had he failed to learn anything useful from Sarutobi Hiruzen, he had even copied that smoking habit instead.

Konohamaru, who was also a descendant of the Sarutobi clan, was far better than him.

At least later, during Pain’s invasion of Konoha, Konohamaru managed to take down one of Pain’s bodies.

As for Asuma…

Because of his own pride, he lost his life and left Kurenai with pain that would follow her for the rest of her life.

Yujiro shook his head lightly.

In his eyes, someone like this was not even worth comparing to the ordinary villagers of Konoha.

“A Genin wearing a Chūnin combat vest…”

Yujiro spoke calmly.

“My nee-san already told you. Call her by her full name.”

His eyes narrowed slightly.

“And before you try acting cool, why don’t you look in a mirror first? Walking around with that middle-aged face at your age… you actually have the confidence to show up?”

Yujiro’s tone remained flat.

“I’ll give you three seconds. Leave.”

His words were not polite at all.

If Kurenai had not been standing beside him, Yujiro might have already used his fists from the start.

Besides, he also wanted to see how Minato would handle this afterward.

“Hey, brat.”

Asuma’s face darkened.

“Don’t think you can act arrogant just because you’re Kurenai’s otōto.”

Sarutobi Asuma was only thirteen or fourteen years old right now.

Naturally, he could not swallow Yujiro’s words.

“One.”

Yujiro’s voice remained calm.

“What? You planning to hit me?”

Asuma suddenly laughed.

He was a Genin.

Was he supposed to be afraid of a kid who had not even entered the Academy?

“Two.”

Yujiro smiled faintly.

Behind him, Kurenai looked worried.

She was not afraid that Yujiro would lose to Asuma.

She was afraid of Asuma’s identity.

After all, he was the Third Hokage’s son.

“Hahaha!”

Asuma laughed mockingly.

“Go on, then. Count it for me.”

He looked at Yujiro with open provocation.

Yujiro rolled his wrist once.

“Three.”

The moment the word fell—

His figure vanished.

Asuma’s expression changed instantly when Yujiro disappeared from his sight.

Fast!

No wonder this brat dared to act so arrogant!

But before Asuma could react—

A heavy impact smashed into his face.

Boom!

Yujiro’s fist landed cleanly.

Asuma’s body flew backward and crashed hard onto the ground.

“You—!”

Asuma gasped from the pain, but before he could say anything else, another fist struck his face.

For the next ten seconds, Asuma no longer knew how many times he had been hit.

By the time Yujiro stopped, Asuma had been beaten all the way into the street.

He lay on the ground, his entire body aching as he gritted his teeth and struggled to breathe.

The street had already drawn a crowd.

Among them were shinobi and ordinary villagers alike.

“Isn’t that the Third Hokage’s son?”

“Yeah… how did he get beaten like that?”

“No idea…”

The surrounding people began whispering among themselves.

At that moment, a young boy dressed in black slowly landed in front of Asuma.

Yujiro rested the black blade on his shoulder and looked down at him.

“Remember this.”

“This time, I used my fists.”

His voice was calm.

“Next time, I’ll use the blade.”

After saying that, Yujiro turned and walked away leisurely.

Sarutobi Asuma?

Yujiro was not afraid of him.

If the Third Hokage decided to make things difficult for him over this, then that would only prove the old man’s level.

More importantly—

Yujiro wanted to see whether Minato could properly deal with this matter.

There were some things Yujiro did not plan to interfere with directly.

Whether Minato could truly change depended on Minato himself.

Would he finally act according to his own will?

Or would he continue being a puppet Hokage controlled by the Third?

“Too cool…”

Not far away, several figures had been watching the scene.

The one at the front was a girl with light-purple hair.

Her eyes sparkled as she looked at Yujiro’s departing back.

The faces of the people beside her twitched slightly.

At that moment, Kurenai also caught up.

She had been afraid Yujiro might accidentally beat Asuma to death.

Yujiro stopped when she arrived.

“Nee-san, don’t worry. He won’t die.”

“Hah…”

Kurenai let out a breath of relief.

“That’s good.”

“Huh? Yuhi Kurenai?”

The light-purple-haired girl suddenly blinked in surprise.

“Anko?”

Kurenai followed the voice and immediately recognized Mitarashi Anko.

“So this is the otōto you always talk about?”

Anko walked up with a grin and looked Yujiro over.

“Yeah.”

Kurenai nodded.

“What happened just now? I saw your otōto beating up Asuma like he owed him money.”

Anko moved beside Kurenai and lightly tugged at her sleeve.

Kurenai had no choice but to explain what had happened.

“Huh?”

After hearing the story, Anko immediately crossed her arms and nodded with righteous anger.

“Good. He deserved it. I told you before, didn’t I? That Asuma guy is no good.”

“Nee-san, you two talk.”

Yujiro glanced at Anko, then waved casually.

“I’m going to train.”

“Hey, Kurenai.”

Anko tilted her head and watched Yujiro walk away.

“Your otōto is seriously cold.”

Kurenai gently pressed her lips together.

“My otōto has always been like that.”

But as she watched his back, a faint light flickered in her eyes.