Night fell.
Sarutobi Asuma and the others finally finished their busy work.
First, they dismantled the original traps, then chose new locations to set them up again.
Not only that, but they also had to replan the patrol routes.
Returning to the underground base, Hatake Sakumo said, "Tonight, Asuma and I will be on patrol together. Kurenai and Shizune, you two will be the backup. We'll go back to our previous pairings tomorrow. Asuma, make the most of this time to rest. We depart in an hour."
Asuma, Kurenai, and Shizune immediately nodded in agreement.
Sitting in his spot, Asuma took out dried rations and water to replenish his stamina.
However, his attention was on the system panel.
The reward for this first kill was basically the same as the previous two times: one attribute point, one skill point, and a skill pack.
Asuma, now experienced with the process, directly opened the skill pack.
[Congratulations on obtaining Level 4 Wind Style - Wind Cutting Technique, Level 3 Wind Style - Oppression]
Two Wind Style ninjutsu were directly implanted.
However, Asuma wasn't as overjoyed as he was when receiving rewards before. With his Level 10 Chakra Control and Level 8 Wind Release Chakra Nature Transformation, he wasn't very interested in these two ninjutsu. He also didn't have the time to study them right now.
"However, the experience points required will only increase in the future, and the experience gained for each ninjutsu will decrease as they advance. If I want to continuously gain a large amount of experience, I'll need to master more ninjutsu to keep my character's level rising and obtain attribute points and skill points."
Thinking this, Asuma's joy diminished slightly.
Giving him Level 3 and Level 4 Wind Style ninjutsu directly – how much experience would that waste? Asuma was acting ungrateful after receiving a benefit.
His gaze shifted to his attribute panel. After some thought, Asuma allocated the newly acquired attribute point to Agility. With his current Constitution of 62, the amount of chakra he possessed was already superior among many Jonin. He wasn't much inferior even to a strong individual like Hatake Sakumo.
It could be seen that in the Ninja World, aside from those with special physiques, strong individuals like Hatake Sakumo, Sarutobi Hiruzen, Namikaze Minato, and Jiraiya would likely have stats in the 60-70 range if digitized. Tsunade might exceed 70. As for Uzumaki Kushina, whom he had yet to meet, she might even break 100. People like them, along with the First Hokage and the future Naruto, would probably be in this category.
"Without breaking 100 in Constitution, I doubt I'll qualify to clash with Six Paths level beings, even if I master Six Paths level ninjutsu..." Asuma mused inwardly.
His goal was to break 100 in Constitution.
However, Agility was also very important. As long as one's reactions were fast enough and their body was strong enough, enemies couldn't hit them. Furthermore, Agility was more difficult to increase compared to Constitution. But once Constitution increased, the upper limit of Agility would also be implicitly raised.
Putting aside his thoughts, Asuma glanced at his experience points. The previous battle, plus dismantling and re-setting traps afterward, had earned him a total of 12,000 experience points. It wasn't a wasted effort.
"Currently, combat and studying ninjutsu knowledge are the fastest ways to gain experience. The experience gained from various basic training sessions is already negligible," Asuma sighed inwardly.
However, he had no intention of abandoning basic training. Even a mosquito's leg is still meat; he wasn't picky!
An hour passed quickly. Asuma got up and left the base with Hatake Sakumo to begin their patrol rotation, essentially deploying every half hour. During his rest time, Asuma didn't let up, dedicating it to theoretical knowledge study. He carried a small sealing scroll with him, which contained the training notes and insights from his older brother, Sarutobi Shinya, and his father, Sarutobi Hiruzen.
He hasn't been practicing ninjutsu because combat could break out at any moment.
He couldn't allow himself to be in a weakened state.
Therefore, Sarutobi Asuma wasn't even using Shadow Clones.
This scene caused Hatake Sakumo to sigh inwardly with emotion.
His son, Kakashi, was already a highly disciplined genius, but Sarutobi Asuma was even better.
His attitude towards learning was so good that Sakumo felt it would be unnatural for such a person not to succeed.
The night passed without incident.
After the mission ended at dawn, Sarutobi Asuma returned to the outpost. He first created a Shadow Clone to practice ninjutsu while his main body went into a deep sleep.
At 4 PM.
Anbu ninja arrived from Konoha.
Asuma recognized one of the three-person team members as his older brother, Sarutobi Shinya.
Sarutobi Shinya, who was five years older than him, was now 14 years old. He had joined the Anbu directly under the Hokage last year and was also promoted to Jonin.
Without any greetings, after undergoing the Anbu's routine questioning about yesterday's battle, Sarutobi Asuma and Sarutobi Shinya went aside to catch up.
"Asuma, you've really grown up!"
Sarutobi Shinya said with a smile after removing his mask.
He had been shocked when he heard the news in Konoha, and then he was astonished after reviewing the details of the autopsy.
His disciple's strength was far greater than he had known.
That's right, the three ninja Sarutobi Asuma had killed yesterday had been brought back to Konoha by another team using sealing scrolls shortly after the battle.
He had arrived in Konoha that evening and immediately tried to gather intelligence and perform an autopsy throughout the night.
Ninja corpses carried a lot of information.
"I'm only 9 years old, I still have a long way to go before I've grown up!"
Sarutobi Asuma laughed, "And you, brother, you're only 14. Don't act like you're thirty!"
Sarutobi Shinya couldn't help but chuckle.
After chatting for a while, Sarutobi Shinya left.
After seeing off the Anbu team, Yūhi Kurenai couldn't help but ask, "Teacher Sakumo, about yesterday's events, was our border deployment leaked by a spy?"
Hatake Sakumo didn't hide anything and nodded, "That's right!"
"It was a spy from Sunagakure who had been planted in the village for many years."
Upon hearing this, Sarutobi Asuma immediately recalled a quiet young man from the squad that had previously handed over the mission to them.
Estimating his age, he was likely placed here as an orphan during the Second Great Ninja War.
That young man was also a medical ninja.
"A medical ninja is indeed a very good way to conceal one's identity!"
Sarutobi Asuma sighed inwardly.
Shizune asked nervously, "Teacher Sakumo, is Sunagakure planning to attack us?"
It had only been five or six years since the end of the Second Great Ninja War.
Her parents and uncle had all died in that war.
Hatake Sakumo's expression remained unchanged as he nodded, "That possibility is very high."
"Otherwise, they wouldn't have deployed a piece that had been lurking for so long."
"But you don't need to worry. Ninja World Wars don't just erupt out of nowhere."
"Sunagakure failed this time and lost an important piece. More importantly, we detected them, so they won't succeed."
Listening to Hatake Sakumo's words, Sarutobi Asuma thought of the death of the Third Kazekage.
He couldn't help but wonder, "Could Sasori of the Red Sand's departure from Sunagakure for several years and then return to kill the Third Kazekage actually be related to the Third Great Ninja War?"
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