After finishing the barbecue, Asuma left to visit Kurenai's house and properly say goodbye.
The next morning, everyone gathered at the village gate to see him off.
Biwako and Shinnosuke were there too.
She tidied up her son's collar and reminded him,
"Take good care of yourself out there. Don't eat random things. Stay away from shady places, and keep clear of the three taboos for shinobi."
"Mom, you've said this a dozen times already at home. I get it!"
Shinnosuke said,
"Watch your back. The Daimyō's court isn't as simple as it seems."
"Yeah, I got it."
He glanced behind Shinnosuke, clearly searching for a certain someone, but didn't see the person he hoped to.
With a snort, Kiyosuke tossed him a package and said,
"Snacks from Konoha. Don't eat them all at once. If you want more, send a letter and I'll make sure they get delivered."
"Thanks."
Asuma accepted the package and opened it, only to find it full of Kiyosuke's favorite snacks. His face darkened.
"Why is it all the stuff you like?"
"Well duh. How would I know what you like? I just bought the stuff I like."
...Fair enough. Fair enough!
Bastard! I know what you like, though!
You don't even know what I like to eat. Are you really my best friend?
Kurenai stepped forward and handed him a small pouch.
"This is a medicine kit I put together. Take care of yourself, okay?"
"Mm. I'll treasure it."
Asuma gave an awkward smile. Their farewell the previous night… how should he put it? He was so embarrassed he'd practically scratched out the floor with his toes—might as well have carved out a three-bedroom apartment.
"Alright, time for me to go."
He waved to his friends and family, then joined the Konoha shinobi assigned to protect the Daimyō.
"Be careful on the road! Write if you get homesick!"
Biwako shouted after him.
"Got it!" Asuma called back, his figure growing smaller in the distance.
...
Hokage's Office
Sarutobi Hiruzen stared silently out the window, lost in thought.
Kiyosuke walked in, took one look at him, and said,
"Hokage-sama, Asuma's been gone nearly half a year. No matter how long you stare, you won't see him out there."
"Ahem. I was just checking on Konoha's reconstruction efforts," Hiruzen coughed, trying to cover up his awkwardness. No way he'd admit he was worried about his son.
An old father who couldn't express his feelings properly, paired with a son in his rebellious phase—of course things would get messy.
Still, once Asuma's rebellious streak passed, the two would surely reconcile.
It would just take time.
"I called you here for a mission," he said, pulling out a scroll and handing it to Kiyosuke. A large "S" marked its cover—it was an S-rank mission.
Kiyosuke's eyes lit up. It wasn't often he got assigned to an S-rank.
Hiruzen explained,
"You'll head to the Land of Hot Water. Yugakure was attacked by an unknown force and suffered heavy losses. Most of the casualties were killed by taijutsu. They also found strange markings at the scene. Yugakure couldn't handle it, so they've requested aid from Konoha."
Yugakure had declined significantly over the years. Unable to handle the threat alone, they had no choice but to ask for help.
"I understand. Looks like they're really in trouble. They can't deal with this themselves anymore, huh? S-rank, is it? I'll take it."
He accepted the scroll and opened it. The objective was to identify those responsible for injuring Yugakure's forces—and wipe them out completely.
Photos were attached.
"Hm? This is…"
He noticed the dead shinobi were all lying inside blood-drawn circles.
And beneath each circle, a triangle was nested inside.
"You recognize it?"
"Yeah. The Jashin Cult in Yugakure. Rin and Kurenai were once kidnapped by them. I encountered them alongside Minato-san and the others. I didn't expect they were still around… dangerous bunch."
He shook his head.
"Their powers are unusual. I might be the only one suited for this."
"Then I'm leaving it to you."
"Mm."
Kiyosuke pocketed the scroll, went home to pack a few clothes, then left Konoha.
"Once this is done, I'll take a few days off in Yugakure. Might as well turn it into a vacation."
With that thought in mind, he darted from tree to tree.
After several days of travel, he finally arrived in the Land of Hot Water.
Waiting for him was a shinobi from Yugakure.
"Thank you for coming, Konoha's envoy."
"It's nothing. Just following the Hokage-sama's orders."
Kiyosuke shook his head, keeping his usual cool and aloof demeanor. He kept a distance from the Yugakure ninja—not that the guy was a threat, being weak as hell—but one could never be too careful. Even a Genin could poison and take down a Jōnin.
"Um… is it just you?" the Yugakure shinobi asked, surprised.
"One of me is enough."
The Yugakure ninja looked annoyed, feeling Konoha was belittling them. Even if Yugakure had declined, they were still a shinobi village—how could Konoha send one person?
Someone tugged on his sleeve and whispered,
"That's Konoha's ultimate weapon. He's said to be as powerful as a tailed beast. If he wanted to, he'd already be the Fifth Hokage. The fact that he's here at all shows Konoha respects us."
"What?! He's that powerful?!"
"Of course. You know about the Third Mizukage, right? He was killed by this guy. That one death helped end the Third Great Ninja War. He's a legend, on par with the Fourth Hokage."
Several veterans explained Kiyosuke's achievements to the rookies, transforming their doubt into awe and respect.
If you're strong enough, people will respect you—no matter where you go.
"Take me to the site of their most recent attack. I want to finish this quickly."
Then I'm going on vacation.
This S-rank mission comes with a generous bonus. I'll be getting a solid cut.
"Understood. Please follow us."
A few Yugakure shinobi led Kiyosuke into a nearby forest.
Dried blood stained the ground, forming the Jashin Cult's ritual markings. This was clearly one of their ceremonial sites.
"Have you tracked them at all?"
"No. They're very good at hiding," the Yugakure ninja replied with a shake of his head. "And their killings follow no pattern. It's not just our shinobi—they've murdered civilians too. We've sent multiple squads to hunt them down, but none have returned."
"So their numbers must be significant."
Even if Yugakure had grown weak, they still had numbers. For their squads to be wiped out so thoroughly meant the cult had grown significantly over the years.
Thanks to the Jashin's power, their taijutsu users were monstrously strong. And with Yugakure in decline, most of their shinobi were weaklings.
Among the group that came to escort him, even their so-called Jōnin could be handled by a strong Konoha Chūnin. As for their Chūnin? Some weren't even as good as Konoha's Genin.
Yugakure had forgotten war—and with that, their combat ability had decayed. No wonder they asked for Konoha's help.
Forget them. I'll deal with that cult first.
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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