Ch.3: A C-rank Mission
Six weeks had passed since Naruto, Hinata and Chouji had passed their sensei's grueling test to become true shinobi. At the moment the three genin and their jonin sensei were making their way through the streets of Konoha, heading back to the Hokage Tower after another successfully completed mission. Another frustrating, ridiculous, soul-crushing D-rank mission.
On the third day after passing their genin exam, the genin of Team Nine and Asuma had gathered at the Hokage Tower to receive their first mission from the Third Hokage himself. Naruto had naturally been beside himself with anticipation, and even Hinata and Chouji had seemed excited. The looks on their faces when the Hokage had informed them that their first official mission would be babysitting had been priceless. Asuma wished someone would have taken their picture right at that moment, he would have gladly made that his team's official team photo.
As it so happened today's mission had also been babysitting, for a mother with infant triplets, and Naruto was no more enthused by the task today than he had been six weeks ago.
"Babies are just the worst!" Naruto griped. "They're loud, annoying, always hungry, and constantly crying about something!"
Asuma looked down at his orange-clad student. "Welcome to my world," he said dryly.
"What's that supposed to mean!?" Naruto shouted back at their teacher.
What followed was fast becoming a common scene for the team, with Naruto angrily shouting at their sensei to take them seriously, and Asuma only half paying attention easily parrying his student's words with sarcastic comments when not ignoring him outright. Fortunately, with Naruto's short attention span, the argument only lasted a couple of blocks, before Naruto was drawn into a conversation with Chouji.
Walking just behind his three students, Asuma looked over his charges once again, and thought about the team's current situation. After a month and a half together, he was beginning to get a much clearer picture of his student's strengths, weaknesses, and potential.
As he had suspected, the ultimate potential his students possessed was far beyond what their academy scores would indicate. This wasn't to say that they deserved better scores, of course. They each had their own unique potential, and at the same time they each had something that was holding them back.
Naruto's problems were the most obvious, and these stemmed mostly from neglect. Asuma was beginning to suspect that Iruka Umino, the only academy instructor known to occasionally speak up for Naruto, was also the only instructor to put any serious effort into teaching him. While he doubted that any of the other instructors had gone so far as to actively work against the boy (such behavior would definitely have been caught and punished by the Hokage), it was still possible for them to indirectly sabotage his growth by not correcting his mistakes, or helping him improve when he fell behind. For example, his taijutsu form was full of bad habits that had been allowed to become ingrained, something no responsible instructor would allow. At the same time, Naruto's own loneliness and childish need for attention had driven him to focus on the flashiest and most noticeable parts of being a ninja, often at the expense of the more mundane but extremely important fundamentals.
Fortunately, Naruto did have several good traits that would benefit his growth. Foremost among these being a deep hunger to learn, and a determination and willingness to work as hard as necessary to master something. Naruto typically didn't learn anything at a particularly fast rate, but his incredibly good work ethic would still enable him to improve rapidly, when paired with instruction and guidance.
Chouji's problems were of a completely different nature. At first, Asuma had been mystified as to what the boy's problem was. At times Chouji would show flashes of potential and strength, but then when Asuma tried to get the boy to put his abilities into action, he would suddenly hold back. Asuma had begun to become frustrated with the boy's reticence, until he had finally realized what was really going on.
It had been while Asuma was having his students practice throwing kunai that he had finally come to understand. The targets for the training session had been human-shaped dummies. Hinata had been quite skillfully and consistently hitting the target's center-of-mass, as they had been trained to do at the academy. Naruto, of course, was trying unsuccessfully to hit the target right in the head. Chouji, though, was actually landing all of his kunai, but only on the legs and arms, none on the torso or the head. Even with a training dummy, he was only going for disabling blows.
It was at that moment that Asuma understood. Chouji's problem was actually that he was too gentle. He had the skills, but he shied away from the more aggressive aspects of shinobi life. On the one hand this was a serious problem. While not every mission involved violence, it was still one of the hallmarks of their profession, and Asuma didn't see Chouji switching to a supportive or subterfuge role. At the same time though, it wasn't necessarily a career ender. Some of the greatest, and most dangerous, shinobi in Konoha's history had also been among the most gentle. When a gentle warrior was roused to fight for what he held dear, he could become a fearsome force to be reckoned with. If Chouji could figure out the way to turn his gentleness into strength, he could become one of the village's greats.
Of course, the problem with this was that turning gentleness into strength was not a lesson that could be taught. Ultimately, Chouji would have to figure it out on his own, all Asuma could do was try to point him in the right direction.
This, of course, brought him to his final student, and Asuma held back a sigh.
As he had feared, the problems facing his only female student were by far the most severe. Hinata's perpetual self-doubt and lack of confidence were quite frankly crippling to her potential as a shinobi. While for the average child such problems could result in social awkwardness and low self-esteem, for a shinobi they were potentially deadly.
The simple fact of the matter was that when it mattered most, Hinata almost always faltered. Though she worked hard in training, when the time came for her to put her skills into practice, she consistently underperformed, freezing up whenever her mind started to tell her she couldn't do something. Whether it was taijutsu sparring, or catching a runaway cat for a mission, whenever Hinata spotted an opening to take action, she hesitated, agonized over her decision, and ended up doing nothing and missing her chance. When she inevitably failed she always criticized herself harshly, further reducing her self-esteem and locking her into a vicious cycle of self-defeat.
It was a cycle Asuma wasn't sure how to break, either. The trouble was that, as with Chouji's issue, the solution to Hinata's problem would ultimately have to come from within herself. Asuma could only cheer her on and try to build her up, which he did at every opportunity, but even that could only do so much. At the same time, he couldn't afford to take it easy on her forever, not when her reticence could endanger the team. He would have to start to push her at some point, or else she could potentially become a liability.
It was a shame too, because if Asuma was honest Hinata was probably the most technically proficient of all of his students. Her taijutsu, from what he could see, was smooth and graceful, and bespoke hours of strenuous, focused practice. Her weapon usage, while nothing uncommon, was still far more precise than either of the boys. She had full mastery over the academy level ninjutsu, and of course, her chakra control was as fine as one would expect of a Hyuuga. She was by no means a genius, but at her current level she should have easily outpaced her male counterparts, instead of often being the one who struggled the most.
All the same, she did have one exceptional trait, which surprisingly was the same as Naruto's. Hinata almost always put her all into her training. She was more than willing to put as much blood, sweat and tears as was necessary, and then some, into her efforts to improve. Her work ethic even rivaled that of the orange-clad idiot (and reminded Asuma a bit of a couple of neon-green-clad idiots he knew). If she could just find a way to overcome her own inhibitions, she could stand to grow just as rapidly as the other two.
Yet, all things considered, even with their difficulties he was actually quite happy with his team, and pleased with their growth thus far.
Just as important, he was really starting to feel like he was coming into his own as a sensei. When it came to training and motivating his students, Asuma's philosophy was anything goes. Whatever it took to help his students overcome their hindrances and improve, no matter how unorthodox, he was willing to do. Even using tactics he knew his fellow sensei would look askance at, like bribery and blackmail, Asuma didn't hesitate. In fact, he had found such techniques to be among the most useful, in his own opinion. He preferred to think of it as "positive and negative reinforcement techniques".
For example, unlike his two more driven teammates, Chouji actually had a tendency to be a bit lazy, Asuma had discovered. Whether this was due to his own laid-back nature, or his longtime friendship with a Nara, Asuma wasn't sure. Regardless, the solution to this had of course been rather obvious: food. All it took to motivate Chouji was the promise of some kind of food as a reward. A well-timed bribe, and Chouji would go just as all out in training as Naruto and Hinata.
At the same time, Asuma had discovered an equally effective tool for motivating Hinata: Naruto. From the beginning, Hinata's admiration, and perhaps even affection, for Naruto had been rather obvious. The few times when Hinata really seemed to perk up and show a bit of will almost always seemed to involve Naruto. He seemed to be perhaps the only thing that could cause Hinata to set aside her own self-doubt and really make progress. While Asuma couldn't vouch for Hinata's taste in men, her latching on to Naruto as a source of inspiration actually made a bizarre kind of sense. Naruto, being the dead-last in his class, naturally received a lot of criticism, and of course his status as jinchuriki made the negativity directed at him even more toxic and vicious. Regardless, Naruto never seemed to lose faith in himself, and always pushed forward with a force of will that even Asuma could admit was impressive. For someone like Hinata, Naruto must have represented the type of person she wished she could be.
Upon realizing this, Asuma had decided to take a gamble, and have the two of them work together in the hopes of improving both.
One of Naruto's most glaring deficiencies was his taijutsu. Sloppy, half-improvised, and riddled with bad habits, it would take serious time and effort for Naruto to relearn this most basic of shinobi skills, and bring it up to an acceptable level. While in spars Naruto was able to compensate with creativity (and occasionally spamming shadow clones), having a better understanding of taijutsu would ultimately only be to Naruto's benefit, and seeing as it would also improve the effectiveness of his clones, stood to exponentially improve Naruto's ability to affect a fight.
Of course, a major obstacle to this was that learning the basics of taijutsu was actually quite dull. It required running through a series of forms, stances, and katas, receiving increasingly minute corrections, doing the same series again, and repeating this process over and over and over again, until his body had memorized the correct methods. With Naruto's flighty personality and short attention span, it was incredibly difficult to get him to focus on this rather boring and highly frustrating task.
And that was where Hinata came in. Asuma had decided to have Hinata teach Naruto taijutsu, and had assigned them both to work together on it for a couple hours every day. While Hinata's primary taijutsu style was, of course, the Hyuuga Gentle Fist, she nonetheless had learned the basic style taught at the academy, and performed it with the same precision she applied to the Gentle Fist.
Deciding to raise the stakes even further, Asuma had informed the two that Naruto would face a punishment if his improvement in taijutsu failed to reach certain milestones within a given amount of time. Just Naruto. The pathetic look on Hinata's face when she realized that if she failed to teach Naruto properly it would result in punishment for him had made Asuma feel like a real ass. Nonetheless, Asuma believed it was necessary to place both of them in this tough situation.
Fortunately, thus far his gamble had paid off positively. Naruto honestly excelled in this type of situation. Give him a time limit and a consequence for failure, and he almost always managed to pull success out of his hat. This had the dual effect of steadily improving Naruto's taijutsu, and also giving Hinata a small confidence boost every time Naruto succeeded. The look of pride on Hinata's face each time Naruto accomplished something was definitely a good sign, even if the pride was more for Naruto than herself, it was still something.
At the same time, the time the two spent together was also helping to improve their teamwork and reduce some of the awkwardness between them. Hinata, of course, with her shyness, had trouble interacting with everyone on the team, but Naruto most of all. Naruto also, for his part, seemed to have no idea how to deal with someone on so completely different a wavelength from himself, as Hinata was. Now though, the two were able to speak together far more easily than they had that first week.
It was Asuma's hope that eventually the two would rub off on each other, in the long run. Not that he expected them to change all that much, but if Hinata could become a little bit more bold, and Naruto a little more circumspect, it would ultimately be to the benefit of them both.
While Asuma mused the team drew steadily closer to the Hokage Tower, eventually arriving at the front entrance to the broad crimson structure. Going straight in, the three genin and one jonin made their way to a large open room that was currently being used for dispensing missions.(*1)
Within the room the Third Hokage sat at one end of a long table, flanked by a chunin and a pair of non-shinobi administrative workers. As it happened, the chunin who was working that day happened to be none other than Iruka Umino, who had been the genin's primary teacher during their time at the academy. He flashed a smile at his three former students as they entered the room.
"Team Nine reporting after successful mission completion, Hokage-sama," Asuma stated, walking up to his father and handing over a small scroll containing his report. Mission reports were really a formality when it came to D-rank missions, nonetheless the village preferred to maintain a standard.
Opening and briefly scanning over the scroll's contents (which were really just a couple of sentences Asuma had written on the walk to the tower), Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded and handed the scroll over to Iruka. "Good job taking care of the Takayama triplets," he said in his gravelly voice. "Now let's see… Team Nine's next assignment will be to help Mr. Morita clean out his attic…"
"Nuh-uh! No-way! Not happening!" Naruto's shouted exclamations interrupted the Hokage. "We've done enough of this menial junk! It's time you gave us a real mission old man!"
Asuma cringed and held back another sigh. Yeah, I figured it was about time for this kid to lose his cool.
Iruka was on his feet immediately, slamming his hands down on the table he shouted at Naruto, "Idiot! Show some respect! You're still the dead-last of a brand new batch of rookies. In the beginning everyone works their way up with simple missions. Don't act like you've earned some special consideration yet!"
"But come on, Iruka-sensei! All the missions so far have been so lame!" Naruto whined.
Rolling his eyes, Asuma smacked Naruto on the top of the head. It was a light blow for Asuma, but was enough to send Naruto sprawling to the ground. "Cool your jets, skippy," he said to his obnoxious student.
"Naruto!" The Third Hokage spoke up. "It would seem it's necessary to explain to you what a mission is," the Hokage said before launching into an explanation. "Every day missions pour into the Hidden Leaf village, ranging from assassinations to babysitting. These missions are divided up based on difficulty into A, B, C, and D rank missions. Likewise, the shinobi of the Leaf are divided up into jonin, chunin, and genin ranks based on skill level. Missions are distributed based on the ninjas whose abilities and skill levels match up with the requirements of the mission. If the mission is successful, a fee is paid from the client to the village. That said, you all are still fresh genin. D-rank missions are about the best you can handle right now."
As he wrapped up his explanation, the Hokage looked down to where Naruto was sitting on the ground, to find that Naruto already had his back to him and was talking to his team.
"So Chouji, what are planning to have for dinner tonight?"
Chouji grinned widely. "Tonight is the weekly Akimichi clan potluck dinner! You guys should come, there's gonna be loads of food!"
"Hm, maybe. Friday nights are usually when I make miso ramen…"
"Pay attention!" the Hokage roared, causing all four members of Team Nine to jump and turn back to the front.
Asuma sweatdropped. Crap, I got distracted by the talk of food too. Man, I'm gonna get lectured again. "E-excuse us, Hokage-sama," he apologized.
Naruto, of course, couldn't just leave it there. "Man, you're always lecturing me, old man. But just so you know, I'm not that same bratty little prankster I used to be anymore!" he said, crossing his arms and pouting.
Well, you're not a prankster anymore, anyway. Asuma thought to himself, trying not to groan aloud. He had a feeling his father was really going to ream him later for his team's lack of decorum. Please shut up, Naruto. The more you act out, the worse things get for me, you know.
Instead, the Hokage's next words caught Asuma off guard. "Alright, fine! If you insist, I have a C-rank mission that's perfect for a team that's particularly…driven." Much to Asuma's surprise the Hokage's expression behind his pipe was pulled into a small grin that held amusement, warmth, and just a hint of mischief. Asuma wasn't completely sure whether to be relieved or more worried.
Naruto was on his feet in an instant. "Really!? A C-rank mission? What is it, what is it!?" Naruto was practically hopping up and down with excitement. "Will we be guarding a lord, or maybe saving a princess!?"
Sarutobi chuckled. "Now, now, calm down while I explain the mission. This mission request comes to us from the Lord of the Land of Greens. He wants Konoha to provide protection for a caravan of merchants as it makes its way out of his land. You depart tomorrow morning. The exact details will be in the mission scroll."(*2)
"Aww, are you sure we can't save a princess or something?" Naruto pleaded.
"Naruto!" Suddenly the Hokage was completely serious. His tone of voice even managed to silence Naruto and make him straighten up where he stood. Next to him Hinata and Chouji, still startled that Naruto's tantrum had actually worked, also straightened up and came to attention. Sarutobi continued, trying to impress the solemnity on the three genin. "Understand this. The moment you step beyond the walls of our village, you will be representing Konoha to the world. Make sure that whatever your mission you treat your clients with respect, and behave with the honor and dignity expected of a shinobi of the Leaf. Is that understood?"
"Y-yes Hokage-sama!" The three genin replied, Naruto even throwing in a salute.
"Good. Very well then." The old Hokage rose slowly from his chair. Turning to the side he addressed the others sitting at the table, "I think that's enough for today. Iruka, if you would wrap up things here."
"Of course, Hokage-sama."
"Excellent. Asuma, please dismiss your team, and then meet me in my office."
Asuma grimaced. Ah, that'll be the lecture, then. Damn, almost thought I was home free. "Alright kiddies, you heard the Hokage. We assemble tomorrow morning at 8 am at the main gate. Bring standard gear and supplies for at least a couple weeks. We've got a long way to travel, so get plenty of rest tonight. That means going to bed early, not staying up late and then oversleeping," he said while staring straight at Naruto.
"Yes, Asuma-sensei!" his two more respectful students responded promptly.
"Geez, a guy oversleeps one time…" Naruto grumbled as they made their way out of the room.
"Three times." Chouji quipped.
As his students left, Asuma turned to follow his father to the Hokage's office.
"I see Naruto is having no trouble making himself heard on your team." the Hokage remarked to Asuma as they walked down the hall.
Internally Asuma braced for the worst. "Er, yes. Well, Naruto is definitely my most...outspoken student."
Somewhat to his surprise yet again, the Hokage chuckled. "Outspoken? Yes, Naruto has always been that. But believe it or not there was a time not so long ago when Naruto could only really express himself with pranks. I'm glad to see he's doing well on your team, Asuma."
As the two approached the Hokage's office, Asuma began to realize that he hadn't been called in for a lecture. His father seemed to be in a good mood, and didn't have the traditionally grave look on his face he usually had when he was about to read Asuma the riot act.
But if the Hokage hadn't summoned him to discuss his team's poor behavior, it most likely meant that this meeting was to discuss the mission he had just been assigned. While it wasn't unheard of for the Hokage to speak one-on-one with a team leader to review an upcoming mission, it hardly seemed necessary for a mere C-rank mission, especially one as simple as caravan protection. As he thought back to the description of the mission his father had given to the team earlier, one detail stuck out to him as odd.
"Is it typical for the feudal lord of an entire nation to hire protection for a single merchant caravan, especially one that's not even from his country?" Asuma began to probe his father for answers.
The Hokage smiled and answered, "It's not as unusual as you might think, for the Lord of the Land of Greens anyway. He has always been a most kind and generous man, and I understand that this particular merchant caravan did very good business in his land, which is most beneficial for a poor land like Greens Country. He probably wants to give them every reason to return to his country in the future. And I mean to help him in this endeavor."
Asuma arched an eyebrow at that statement. His suspicions that there was more to the mission than immediately met the eye were increased, but for the moment he remained silent as they walked through the doors to the Hokage's office. He decided he would wait and see if his father had more to reveal about the mission before interrogating him.
Upon entering the room Asuma moved to stand in front of his father's desk while Hiruzen himself walked around behind it. However, instead of sitting down as Asuma expected the Hokage knelt down and retrieved something from beneath the desk. Standing up, the Hokage placed a medium-sized wooden box on the desk before Asuma.
"Now then," the Hokage began, "before you leave tomorrow I wanted to make sure you take this with you. This mission will require some…special equipment...for your students."
Asuma regarded his father quizzically. "What kind of special equipment?" he asked. What manner of special equipment could be required for a merchant escort mission, he wondered.
Gesturing towards the box, the Hokage replied enigmatically, "See for yourself."
Stepping forward, Asuma lifted the lid from the box and revealed the contents inside, what looked like clothes. Taking one of the objects from the box he saw that they were plain, grey-colored overcoats that looked about big enough to fit one of his students. Flipping the garment over he saw that there was brightly colored lettering stitched onto the back. Reading what it said, his eyebrows began to rise. Asuma lifted his gaze back to his father, to see that the Hokage was smiling, once more with a mischievous glint in his eyes.
"Once you arrive at the mission location I want you to distribute these to your students. I think you understand what they need to do from there," the Hokage said.
Asuma let out a snort of laughter and smirked. He had to admit, he was already looking forward to seeing the expressions on his student's faces when he gave these to them. It was bound to be hilarious.
Still, this only raised more questions in his mind about the mission. Placing the garment back in the box, Asuma decided it was time he started getting answers from his father.
"All right old man, level with me. What exactly is all this? Why is the Leaf Village going so far out of its way for the Lord of the Land of Greens?"
His expression sobering slightly, the Hokage replied, "To be honest, this isn't a village matter, precisely. It's more of a personal issue. The truth is, I owe the Lord of the Land of Greens a great debt."
Asuma's eyes narrowed a bit. That didn't sound right. "You mean, a debt of gratitude, or…?"
Hiruzen nodded. "Yes, indeed. Also, a very large sum of money."
That took Asuma by surprise. When it came to finances, either the village's or his own, the Third Hokage had always been highly fiscally responsible. He made a point to never accrue a debt that couldn't be paid off quickly if necessary. In fact, the only times he was ever really troubled by debt were when…
Suddenly the pieces fit together in Asuma's mind. He voiced his suspicions out loud to his father, "...The Slug Princess?"
Seeming to deflate a little, the Third Hokage let out a long-suffering sigh, and nodded. "It seems Tsunade passed through the Land of Greens a few years ago. While there, she quickly amassed debts with nearly every creditor and gambling den in the country…"
Asuma rolled his eyes. "Of course."
"Yes well, in any case, the Lord of Greens Country was kind enough to take on Tsunade's debt. Since then, I've been looking for an opportunity to repay him for the kindness he showed my student, but there hasn't been a good chance to do so. At least until now. That's why I'm adding the additional objectives to the mission, and why the Leaf Village will not be accepting any payment from Greens Country. I'll be paying for it from the finances of the Sarutobi clan instead. It doesn't even begin to repay the full amount that I owe the man, but it's a start at least."
Asuma sighed in response. "I really don't see why you should be on the hook for Tsunade's debt anyway."
The Hokage chuckled dryly. "To be honest, the Lord of the Land of Greens himself said the same. He has insisted in the past that I do not need to repay him for someone else's debt. Regardless, I mean to do so anyway, as a personal matter. After all, Tsunade's failings are also my failings as a teacher."(*3)
Asuma had to force himself not to cringe. It was well known that one of Hiruzen Sarutobi's biggest hang-ups was with regards to his students. Of the three shinobi he had trained as genin many years ago, only one was still truly loyal to Konoha, though he could rarely be found in the village itself and was a well-known degenerate. Another, Tsunade, was essentially a vagabond at this point, wandering from place to place with no goal, racking up huge gambling debts wherever she went. Though of course even she paled in comparison to the third member of the trio, who was a wanted fugitive and murderer.
Without exception though, the Third Hokage always seemed to hold himself responsible for his student's mistakes. Asuma knew that his father blamed himself for the way two of his three students had fallen away, which hardly seemed fair to him, given that the Sannin had been adults for years when they had all gone their own ways.
Asuma sighed internally. It wasn't right that his father should have to feel guilty for the actions of people who hadn't been under his tutelage for decades. Unfortunately, he knew his father wasn't likely to listen to anything he had to say about it. For that matter, his formerly "prodigal" son was probably the last person he would be willing to hear it from. Regardless, Asuma felt like he had to say something.
"Old man…"
The Hokage held up his hand to forestall what Asuma had been about to say. "Enough, Asuma. I know what you want to say. Rest assured I have heard much the same from multiple other parties. Regardless, my decision is, as I said, a personal matter. I have made certain that this will not negatively impact the village in any way, and as such, this is my prerogative. That will be all."
Asuma held back another sigh, and restrained himself from saying any more about the matter. Instead he simply replied, "Understood Hokage-sama." Stepping forward, he took a moment to seal the box of clothing into one of the storage scrolls he carried, and stepped back at attention.
The Hokage nodded. "Very good. Best of luck on your mission, Asuma."
Recognizing the dismissal for what it was, Asuma responded, "Sir." Turning around, he left the Hokage's office, his father lighting up his pipe behind him.
Asuma made his way through the halls of the Hokage complex. The bit of drama aside, he was actually looking forward to the coming mission. It would be relatively relaxing for him, doing some simple, straightforward shinobi work. And while he was sure that his students wouldn't be thrilled with the "extra objectives", it would still be a good experience for them as a whole. Besides that, he decided he would teach them all a new technique to make up for it.
Hm, now that his taijutsu is starting to improve, next up for Naruto is chakra control. He nodded to himself. Yeah, now seems like a good time to teach them all that.
As Asuma made his way toward the exit, suddenly another shinobi came into view, coming around a corner down the hall. The shinobi was about a head shorter than Asuma, though in many other regards they looked similar. The other shinobi was dressed in the standard Jonin attire of blue pants and shirt under his standard Konoha flak jacket, the one unusual item in his outfit being the large, oversized bo staff he wore strapped to his back. His face was square and chiseled like Asuma's, and was framed by a beard that ran down the sides of his face and ended in a triangular point beneath his chin. His face was locked into a perpetually grim, humorless expression, though it may have twitched briefly into a frown when he spotted Asuma.
Asuma had to stifle a groan as he and the other man's gazes met, and he realized he wouldn't be able to avoid meeting him. Of all the people in Konoha, here was one who could always find a way to ruin his good mood.
The other jonin walked resolutely forward, seemingly neutral. Also continuing forward, Asuma schooled his features into an easy grin, deciding to be dismissive and nonchalant.
When the two came into close proximity to one another they stopped a few feet apart. The shorter man nodded to him. "Asuma."
Relaxing into an easy slouch, Asuma casually returned the nod. "Yo, big brother."
Frowning at his younger brother's flippant attitude, Gendo Sarutobi turned to regard the much taller man. Unlike Asuma, Gendo had inherited more of their father's height, being only slightly taller than the Hokage himself.(*4)
"I heard you've been assigned to teach students. I just passed a group of genin leaving the building a moment ago, were those them?"
Taking a cigarette out of his pocket, Asuma shrugged, "Depends. Were they alternately too quiet, too fat, and too loud? Then yes." As he lit up the cigarette and began to smoke, Asuma didn't fail to notice his older brother's hand twitch in the direction of his flak jacket pocket, where Asuma knew he kept his cigars. Nevertheless, Asuma knew his elder brother wouldn't light up until after he had delivered his report to the Hokage.
Ever the dutiful subordinate, eh big brother?
Unamused, Gendo responded, "That's not a very charitable way to speak of one's own students."
Asuma waved away his brother's words. "Oh relax, I'm just kidding. They're good kids, really. Besides, when has teaching shinobi been about charity, anyway?"
"All the same, I hope you're taking your responsibilities as a teacher seriously, Asuma. Your students can't afford for you to be lax."
Asuma rolled his eyes. Oh really, big brother? And here I was just gonna hand them each a single kunai, throw them out the gates of the village, and wish them all the best of luck. He thought sarcastically. Out loud, though, he replied, "Well if I was that would be my business, wouldn't it? They are my subordinates after all."
Gendo was no longer trying to hide his disapproving frown. "I'm serious Asuma. Training students is one of the most awesome responsibilities you can undertake in this village. The things you teach them can determine whether they survive or die. It deserves your full attention and effort."
Asuma smiled down nastily at his older brother. "Don't you worry about my kids, Gendo. Instead, spare a little more time for your own."
Gendo visibly winced at that statement. Asuma's elder brother had a son, Konohamaru, that he unfortunately rarely got to see. Both Gendo and his wife were very important retainers of the Hokage, answering to him directly and often carrying out his most important objectives. Together they were often referred to as the left and right hands of the Third Hokage. Unfortunately, the downside of this was that the two were often kept constantly busy, and didn't get to spend nearly as much time with their child as they wished. The boy, as a result, spent a great deal of time under the guardianship of various tutors. And while he was of course very well looked after, nothing could truly replace the attention of a parent. In recent years this had begun to manifest in the form of wild and outlandish behavior from the young boy. It was well known at this point that Konohamaru made regular forays into the Hokage tower to try to challenge his grandfather to a fight. Challenges that ended in the boy hurting himself more often than not.
It was a low blow, and Asuma knew it. But he just didn't care at the moment. He was just beginning to really take pride in being a teacher, in the accomplishments of his students. And Gendo, in his usual fashion, decided to come along and spit on it. Well, screw him.
Gendo scowled. "Everything I do, I do to protect what's most important," he replied stonily.
"Yeah yeah, I know. Gotta protect the 'king', right?" Asuma gestured over his shoulder, in the direction of the Hokage's office.
Gendo grunted, "Are you still going on about that? Your inability to understand something so simple isn't my fault."
Asuma shrugged. "I just think it's a bit of a shame is all. But I guess if you really want to protect the king, you gotta sacrifice a few pawns, am I right?"
Gendo's eyes glinted with anger. "Why you…"
"Enough!" A strong voice cut sharply into their conversation. Asuma and his brother turned to see their father, the Hokage, walking down the hall toward them. "Do I have to separate the two of you, like I did when you were children?" he chastised.
"Forgive me, Hokage-sama." Gendo bowed to his father in respect. Next to him, Asuma muttered out an apology and inclined his head to the elder shinobi.
"Gendo, Asuma has been doing a fine job as a sensei. In any case, it was I who entrusted him with part of our village's future, and his performance is my concern."
"Sir," Gendo responded, remaining bowed to his Hokage.
"Good. Now go wait for me in my office. I will be there momentarily to receive your report."
Gendo straightened up. "Yes, sir." Not sparing his brother another glance, Gendo strode past their father, swiftly disappearing down the hall.
When the two of them were alone, father and son stood silently for a while. Asuma turned his head away, not looking at his father nor meeting his gaze.
The Third Hokage said nothing for a while. At long last, he spoke up, "That...was beneath you, Asuma."
When Asuma turned back to look at his father, he saw his expression was pulled into that oh-so-familiar look of disappointment. He scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. He knew that he had gone too far. He just couldn't stand to let his brother say whatever he pleased without hitting back. He tried to think of something to say to respond. "I…"
His father held up a hand to stop him. "It may be true that your brother willingly misunderstands you. But you willingly misunderstand him as well." The Hokage paused, taking a puff from his pipe. "One day you'll understand what drives your brother forward. On the day you learn what it truly means to protect the king."(*5)
Asuma sighed internally. So you're saying I still don't get it, even now? Great.
The Hokage shook his head and let out a sigh, seeming suddenly old and tired again. "Well, you won't learn standing here. You have your orders."
"Sir." Asuma's heels clicked together as he snapped to attention. Turning around, he resumed making his way out of the Hokage complex.
His father was right about one thing. He had a mission to prepare for.
Chapter End
A/N:
*Re-uploaded to correct errors*
Thanks as always for reading. Please leave a review, even just a few words are highly appreciated.
These scenes ended up being a bit longer than I initially anticipated. As a result this chapter ended up being more about Asuma than I originally planned. Rest assured, the story will still be primarily about Naruto, Hinata, and Chouji, and I plan to focus on them again next chapter. That said, I've been really inspired with a storyline idea for Asuma, so I'm setting him up for some character development in future chapters.
(*1). I am aware that in canon this scene occurred in a room at the Academy. For this story, I have altered the location of the room to the Hokage Tower, as I just can't figure out why the Hokage would be dispensing missions from the Academy building.
(*2). I had decided pretty early on that I didn't want to bother rehashing the Wave mission in this story. While coming up with alternate ideas for Team Nine's first C-rank mission, this arc from the original series ended up jumping out at me. I liked the idea because it happens to be the only mission from the show to feature Naruto, Hinata, and Chouji on a team together. Obviously this mission happened a few months later in the show, but I consider that a relatively minor change. In any case, while I generally like to justify any changes to the story, I'm not dead-set on remaining locked into canon either. (Also the mission was D-rank in the anime, but it really should be C-rank at least, in my opinion)
(*3). People with addictive personalities tend to have someone who enables their bad habits. Based on how he behaves with Orochimaru, the Third Hokage strikes me as someone who would be an enabler for Tsunade.
(*4). My first semi-OC. Obviously, Konohamaru must have a father, so this character must technically exist in canon, but we never really see him. It is stated somewhere that Konohamaru's father and mother are both in ANBU, along with their nickname "the hands of the Third Hokage", but all other aspects of this character are my own invention. I thought it would be interesting to introduce him as the dutiful son, whereas Asuma was sort of the wild child in the family. While Asuma has issues with his father, his relationship with his brother is even worse. Where Hiruzen has his pipe and Asuma his cigarettes, Gendo is a cigar smoker.
(*5). If all this talk about the "king" is confusing you, go check out some of Asuma's backstory scenes from the anime. It refers to the king piece in shogi, which is basically Japanese chess.
Regards,
MD