"It's you, Teacher, who wasn't going all out!"
Sarutobi Asuma was very humble in response to Hatake Sakumo's praise.
Of course, his heart was already blooming with joy.
After a battle, Charm +2, Experience Points +150, Fire Style: Flame Bullet progress bar +0.1%.
Of course, Sarutobi Asuma was also speaking the truth.
Although that Wind Style: Shadow Clone move was unexpected and not weak, it actually wouldn't be able to trap Hatake Sakumo, whose Lightning Style was equally powerful.
Wind Style does counter Lightning Style, but it requires the user to be stronger, or for the power levels to be equal.
However, in terms of Lightning Style Chakra Nature Transformation, Hatake Sakumo's mastery was clearly no less than Sarutobi Asuma's mastery of Wind Style Chakra Nature Transformation.
Furthermore, there was also the difference in chakra reserves.
"While I didn't use my full strength, your tactics were very successful."
Hatake Sakumo smiled and said, "Smoke bombs to obstruct vision, setting up traps during the confusion, effectively using Shadow Clone Technique and Transformation Technique, with the medical ninja as a trap – your minds were very clear."
"If you can be this calm on the battlefield and bring out your full strength, then even when facing Jonin, you won't have to fear them!"
This was high praise!
Yūhi Kurenai and Shizune both showed joy.
However, Hatake Sakumo immediately changed the subject, looking at Yūhi Kurenai and Shizune, and said, "However, the two of you were too passive."
"Kurenai, you are a ninja specializing in Genjutsu, so you need to possess sharper insight to seize opportunities, disrupt, or even control the enemy, allowing Asuma to deliver a decisive blow and conserve his stamina and chakra."
"Asuma performed well just now, but he wasted too much chakra. You can't predict when the next wave of enemies will arrive on the battlefield, so battles must not only be resolved quickly but also at the minimum cost."
"This minimum cost includes injuries, as well as the depletion of stamina and chakra."
Sarutobi Asuma and the other two immediately nodded in unison.
Yūhi Kurenai quickly said, "Teacher Sakumo, I will conduct specialized training for this next."
Hatake Sakumo nodded with a smile, then looked at Shizune.
Shizune looked on with a serious expression.
Hatake Sakumo said, "In the past, medical ninjas rarely operated on the battlefield; Tsunade was a great exception."
"However, with the changing times, especially after Tsunade proposed equipping squads with medical ninjas, it will gradually become commonplace for medical ninjas to be on the front lines, which requires medical ninjas to possess stronger self-protection abilities."
Shizune nodded quickly.
It was obvious.
During the Second Great Ninja War, Sarutobi Hiruzen, or rather, Konoha's high command, had rejected Tsunade's proposal.
But in reality, it wasn't that they disagreed.
It was that the conditions at the time didn't allow for it.
Sarutobi Asuma hadn't experienced that era, but he knew that Tsunade's proposal was unprecedented.
At that time, not only were there far fewer medical ninjas than now, but their self-protection abilities were also very poor.
In the midst of the fierce war, deploying medical ninjas, who could be said to have very little combat power, onto the battlefield would likely result in immense losses.
From Tsunade's perspective, it was incredibly infuriating.
But from Sarutobi Hiruzen's perspective, or the perspective of Konoha as a whole, rejecting Tsunade's proposal was the correct and unquestionable decision.
And after the Second Great Ninja War ended, Tsunade's proposal began to be quietly implemented.
Hatake Sakumo continued, "Studying Ninjutsu will delay your progress in Medical Ninjutsu, so the best direction for improvement would be Taijutsu, shuriken throwing, or combining it with Medical Ninjutsu to enhance your ability to kill and defend yourself, for example, using poison."
"Tsunade is an expert in detoxification, and during the Second Great Ninja War, Chiyo of Sunagakure, was not only a puppeteer but also a medical ninja and a master of poison!"
Shizune listened and quickly nodded.
Taijutsu, shuriken, poison – three points.
Hatake Sakumo continued, "We can't help you with Medical Ninjutsu and poison, but with Taijutsu and shuriken, Asuma and Kurenai can assist you, which will also help cultivate team synergy!"
"Yes, Teacher Sakumo!"
The three of them said in unison.
"Alright, next, the training will start with Taijutsu."
Hatake Sakumo announced with a smile.
Thus, the training began.
And Hatake Sakumo's training method was very simple: practical combat.
Sarutobi Asuma sparred with Kurenai and then Shizune, after which Hatake Sakumo would review and point out their shortcomings one by one.
Then they would continue.
After that, the three of them sparred with Hatake Sakumo individually.
After this round, the three of them teamed up to spar with Hatake Sakumo.
This process was entirely taijutsu, not even using a kunai.
Furthermore, Hatake Sakumo didn't hold back his punches.
After a morning of training, the girls Kurenai and Shizune were fine, only appearing a bit disheveled. However, Sarutobi Asuma had it rougher, with bruises all over his body and his handsome face bearing the marks of his training.
Fortunately, with Shizune, a medical ninja, present, they wouldn't have to endure their bruised faces for too long.
At noon, Hatake Sakumo, as their teacher, treated Asuma and the other two to yakiniku. Coincidentally, they ran into Namikaze Minato's team at the barbecue restaurant.
As expected.
Kakashi was indeed with Uchiha Obito and Rin.
"Destiny!"
Asuma sighed, watching them.
It seemed his influence as a "butterfly" was far less than he'd imagined.
"Never mind, I'll focus on changing myself first. As for Uchiha Madara and Black Zetsu, I can't touch them yet. Thinking too much is pointless!"
Asuma suppressed his racing thoughts.
"Senior Sakumo, why don't we all eat together!"
Minato greeted them with a smile.
Hatake Sakumo nodded, "Sure!"
And so, the two teams sat together.
Asuma hadn't seen Kakashi in a while. After greeting him and sitting down, he asked, "Kakashi, how's your Lightning Release Chakra Nature Transformation coming along?"
At his question, everyone's gaze turned to Kakashi.
"I've basically mastered it."
Kakashi nodded calmly, maintaining his usual cool demeanor.
Of course, it was much better than his dead fish eyes.
"Basically mastered?"
Asuma smiled, "So that means you're proficient. It looks like you've already started developing that ninjutsu!"
"Huh? What ninjutsu?"
Obito immediately asked.
The others were also very curious.
Hatake Sakumo chuckled, "Kakashi, if you don't mind, you can tell them."
Kakashi glanced at Asuma and said, "Dad, Asuma was actually the first to suggest this technique."
The ball was kicked back to Asuma.
Seeing everyone looking at him, Asuma said helplessly, "The idea originated from Teacher Sakumo!"
"When you came to the Ninja Academy and learned about your proficiency in Lightning Style Sword Technique, this idea suddenly came to me."
"It's a combination of Lightning Release Chakra Nature Transformation and Shape Transformation."
Minato was incredibly surprised, "You were already considering Chakra Nature Transformation and even combining it with Shape Transformation to develop ninjutsu back then?"
He remembered that Hatake Sakumo becoming a teacher at the Ninja Academy was around the second year Asuma and the others enrolled, when they were about six years old.
Rin, standing nearby, quickly explained, "Teacher Minato, Asuma has actually mastered at least four types of Chakra Nature Transformation."
This time, it wasn't just Minato who was surprised; even Hatake Sakumo was astonished.
Asuma shook his head, "I'm only proficient in Fire Release and Wind Release Chakra Nature Transformation. The others are just at the introductory level."
"That's still incredibly impressive!"
Minato exclaimed.
Hatake Sakumo smiled and steered the conversation back, "Let's talk about the ninjutsu you're developing. Perhaps Minato and I can offer some advice."
"Especially Minato, he has extremely high talent in ninjutsu!"
Minato quickly and humbly replied, "You flatter me, Senior!"
"However, I will do my best to offer advice."
Asuma had achieved his goal.
Although he understood techniques like Chidori, Raikiri, and Chidori Flow quite well, it was only on a superficial level.
Even with memories from his previous life, developing them would still be very difficult.
It wasn't like the Rasengan, where the original work presented a detailed training process.
Of course.
The current Namikaze Minato might have already developed the Rasengan.
"By transforming the Lightning Release nature, the Lightning Style chakra is concentrated in the palm. This not only enhances the palm's penetrating power but also affects the body, stimulating cell activity and greatly increasing speed!"
Sarutobi Asuma explained the basic principles of Chidori.
Hatake Sakumo and Namikaze Minato both nodded in unison.
According to Sarutobi Asuma's design, it was feasible.
Hatake Sakumo spoke first, "To concentrate Lightning Style chakra intensely in the palm, one not only needs proficiency in Lightning Style Chakra Nature Transformation, but also powerful Chakra Control to restrain the inherently difficult-to-contain power of Lightning Style chakra!"
As a master of Lightning Style Sword Technique, he understood the difficulty of mastering Lightning Style very well, and his words were to the point.
Namikaze Minato continued, "After the ninjutsu is developed, one also needs strong physical constitution to master it perfectly, otherwise, there will be significant flaws."
"For example, keen insight and nerve reaction speed."
"One's own speed being too fast can also lead to an inability to notice the enemy's movements during combat, causing one to expose weaknesses, especially when unable to land a decisive blow."
Again, to the point!
These were just macroscopic suggestions.
Next, Hatake Sakumo and Namikaze Minato provided guidance. One explained how to master Lightning Style Chakra Nature Transformation more deeply and shared various techniques for mastering Lightning Style chakra, while the other imparted experience in ninjutsu development.
It wasn't just Sarutobi Asuma and Kakashi who were captivated; even Kurenai and the others listened intently.
Before they knew it, the meal was over.
After leaving the barbecue restaurant, both Sarutobi Asuma and Kakashi felt they hadn't had enough.
With the guidance from Hatake Sakumo and Namikaze Minato, Sarutobi Asuma felt that it could save him and Kakashi at least half of their development time.
Moreover, during this one meal, he gained 1000 experience points, +1 Intelligence Stat, and his Lightning Style Chakra Nature Transformation progress bar increased by 20%.
If his Chakra Control hadn't already been upgraded to level 8, it likely would have seen an increase as well.
"Should I upgrade the level of Lightning Style Chakra Nature Transformation first? With my current Chakra Control, I should be able to quickly develop Chidori, and even Chidori Flow and Chidori Spear, a series of ninjutsu."
Sarutobi Asuma hesitated.
But after thinking about it, he set aside this idea.
Even though he still had 22 skill points unused.
However, there was still significant room for improvement in Lightning Style Chakra Nature Transformation, and he could reach level 3 or even level 4 within one to two years on his own.
"Instead of wasting skill points on Lightning Style, it's better to develop Wind Style: Rasenshuriken first..."
"I just wonder if there are any achievements for developing ninjutsu."
...
In the afternoon, the training continued as it had in the morning, ending at five o'clock.
After Hatake Sakumo left, Sarutobi Asuma continued his daily physical and agility training, with Yūhi Kurenai and Shizune joining him.
During the agility training, Kakashi and the others also arrived.
At seven in the evening, everyone returned home.
For three consecutive days, Sarutobi Asuma and the others spent their days like this, exhausted every day, more tired than when they were at the Ninja Academy.
On the fourth day after graduation, Sarutobi Asuma and the others finally received their first mission.
"Patrol the border of the Land of Fire?"
Hearing Hatake Sakumo announce the mission objective, Yūhi Kurenai and Shizune exclaimed in unison.
Hatake Sakumo nodded and said, "Specifically, the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Rivers."
"The activities of the Sand Ninjas have been a bit frequent lately."
Sarutobi Asuma's heart stirred upon hearing this, "Is it because of Sasori of the Red Sand's defection?"
"Or has the Third Kazekage gone missing?"
He knew that the start of the Third Great Ninja War was due to the disappearance of the Third Kazekage. Sunagakure, to divert domestic conflicts, or because the new leadership needed merit and authority, coupled with the lingering disputes over benefits from the previous Ninja World War, led to the outbreak of the Third Great Ninja War.
However, Sarutobi Asuma wasn't sure exactly when the Third Kazekage went missing.
But based on his understanding of the Ninja World.
The Third Great Ninja War, from its beginning to its end, would not have been short in duration.
If Namikaze Minato becoming the Fourth Hokage marked the end of the Third Great Ninja War, then it wouldn't be unusual for this impending war to last five or six years.
"Go back and prepare. We'll gather at the village entrance in half an hour!"
After speaking, Hatake Sakumo disappeared.
Sarutobi Asuma and the other two immediately split up to go back and pack their things.
Half an hour later, the group gathered at the village entrance, then left the village, their figures leaping through the dense forest, heading directly southwest.
At this time, Sarutobi Asuma, in addition to the Arm Guards given by his mother, was wearing armor similar to that of the First and Second Hokage. On his back, besides the Chakra Blade he named Wind Sickle, he also carried a large scroll.
Being within the Land of Fire, there was no need to be overly vigilant, so while traveling, Sarutobi Asuma focused part of his attention on his system skill panel.
Character: Sarutobi Asuma
Level: 33
Age: 9
Affiliation: Konohagakure, Land of Fire
Experience: 1256 / 301,800
Achievements: [Savior (1/10)], [Konoha Ninja Academy Top Graduate]
Distributable Attribute Points: 1
Distributable Skill Points: 23
Over the past few days, the fastest progress has been in ninjutsu, specifically Fire Style: Flame Bullet, as well as Sword Technique and Lightning Style Chakra Nature Transformation.
His experience points also surged as a result, finally allowing him to level up again.
For his first mission, with a master like Hatake Sakumo present, there was a high probability of no significant danger, but Sarutobi Asuma felt it was best to prepare for the worst.
Sarutobi Asuma didn't save the single attribute point he just received; he directly allocated it to his Constitution stat.
This brought his Constitution to 62. Between the two stat increases, he had only improved by 0.2.
While a single point of Constitution didn't offer much at his current level, it did provide a slight increase to his maximum chakra.
Next up was improving his skills.
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