"It wasn't easy, taking half a year to level up!"
Sarutobi Asuma chuckled lightly.
This was like a double blessing; he'd just used a skill point and gotten one back.
His attribute points were still allocated to Constitution.
Combined with his training and natural growth over this time, his Constitution attribute had reached 73.
Constitution: 73
Agility: 63.8
Intelligence: 86
Charisma: 79
Sarutobi Asuma glanced at his status screen, very satisfied.
Moreover, he discovered something.
Creating ninjutsu yielded far more experience points than learning one.
If he hadn't synthesized Scorch Release and figured out Wind Release Chakra Mode and Lightning Style Chakra Mode, leveling up would have taken over a year.
After all, regular training now provided him with very little experience.
The frequency of missions hadn't been as high during this period either, and without much combat, his experience gains had also decreased.
"Constitution over a hundred, a long road ahead!"
Sarutobi Asuma sighed.
But then, a flash of inspiration struck him, and he suddenly thought of a divine ability.
Yes, a divine ability, not ninjutsu!
The Nine Dragon Divine Fire Cover!
Of course, its prototype was a magical artifact.
But it could absolutely become a divine ability!
And this world did have the concept of divine abilities.
"Let's do it!"
"We have to do it!"
"If I can create it, this will be a powerful ninjutsu, no, a divine ability, that combines offense, defense, and barriers!"
Sarutobi Asuma was incredibly excited. After calming down, he began to consider the knowledge required to complete such a divine ability.
After thinking for a moment, he immediately started gathering the necessary information.
For example, he needed to go to the Hokage's office to trade for the Four Red Yang Formation, a barrier-type ninjutsu, and also collect knowledge about barriers.
Fortunately, barriers and fūinjutsu were often intertwined, and he had learned a lot of related knowledge when studying fūinjutsu previously.
However, while developing this divine ability, Sarutobi Asuma hadn't forgotten about his Sensory Ninjutsu.
He knew that truly creating the Nine Dragon Divine Fire Cover would be extraordinarily difficult and time-consuming, so he couldn't dedicate all his focus to it.
Especially now, when Konoha could be drawn into a quagmire of war at any moment.
Sensory Ninjutsu would be extremely important then.
Spring turned to summer.
Sarutobi Asuma found himself constantly on missions.
This was because the Sand Ninja and Mist Ninja had reached a ceasefire agreement.
And the Sand Ninja had then engaged in a decisive battle with the Stone Ninja. Although it wasn't a complete victory, they had managed to drive the Stone Ninja back into the Land of Earth.
The war seemed to have ended abruptly.
However, the undercurrents of the ninja world were becoming more turbulent.
Judging by the missions alone, Sarutobi Asuma felt like he was being targeted.
The Sand Ninja suffered losses, wouldn't they want compensation?
The Stone Ninja also suffered losses, wouldn't they want compensation too?
The Cloud Ninja suffered even more; the Third Raikage himself died, so they'd definitely want compensation?
The Mist Ninja fought the Sand Ninja and didn't fare well either, being brutally killed by Scorch Release Pakura, so they'd want compensation too?
Compensation from whom?
Only the Land of Fire and its allies!
Year 44 of Konoha, July 21st, 9 PM.
The border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Rivers.
Beneath a tree, Sarutobi Asuma sat cross-legged, his eyes lowered, his chakra spreading outwards.
It was like drops of ink blooming in the air.
Bang!
A sudden explosion startled Sarutobi Asuma. He flashed to the treetop and looked up. A signal flare had burst in the sky.
It was a signal from the first defensive line ahead.
"Asuma!"
Yūhi Kurenai and Shizune appeared.
They were positioned on the third defensive line.
This was also because, over the past month, Sand Ninja had been frequently probing Konoha's deployment at the Land of Fire's border.
All three had arrived seven days ago to carry out their mission.
"Those damn Sand Ninja are testing us again. It looks like they'll attack before long!"
Kurenai frowned.
These attacks and infiltrations had become too frequent lately, clearly indicating that the footsteps of war were rapidly approaching.
This was also why Konoha had begun deploying a large number of personnel to the border.
Sarutobi Asuma was about to speak when he saw signal flares rising into the sky, one after another.
"Something's wrong!"
"This is a large-scale surprise attack!"
All three of them changed expression.
The signal flares were distributed across a wide area, indicating that the Sand Ninja were targeting Konoha's entire defensive line.
"Kurenai, Shizune, immediately report to the border troop strongholds behind us!"
As Sarutobi Asuma shouted, he had already created two Shadow Clones, one being a Wind Style Shadow Clone and the other a Lightning Style Shadow Clone.
Leaving the two Shadow Clones behind, his main body vanished from the treetop.
However, after advancing for just over a minute, signal flares rose into the sky once more.
"So fast!"
Sarutobi Asuma was startled.
The first defensive line had been breached so quickly.
Zzzzt!
Lightning Style Chakra Mode activated. In the pitch-black dense forest, lightning flashed, and Sarutobi Asuma's speed increased further.
Two minutes later.
Sarutobi Asuma suddenly stopped, looking at the purple mist that was spreading towards him.
"Poison gas!"
And it was large-scale poison gas warfare.
"No wonder they broke through so quickly!"
Sarutobi Asuma immediately took out anti-poison pills from his ninja pouch and swallowed them.
These were specially made by Tsunade, antidote pills he had specifically asked her to prepare earlier.
The poison gas spread very quickly, and Sarutobi Asuma could feel the rapid flow of air.
Clearly, there was Wind Style involved, accelerating the spread of the poison gas.
"Since that's the case..."
Sarutobi Asuma brought his hands together. The moment he deactivated Lightning Style Chakra Mode, a white-eyed golden dragon emerged from his body and lunged forward.
Immediately after, he puffed out his cheeks, opened his mouth, and exhaled.
Boom! A gale swept out.
Fire Style - White Eye Golden Dragon!
Wind Style - Suppression!
The wind fanned the flames. The fire dragon, already over ten meters long, rapidly expanded under the boost of Wind Style, and with a boom, it engulfed a width of forty to fifty meters.
Wherever it passed, towering trees were sliced into fragments, and simultaneously ignited by the high-temperature flames, burning into ash.
Naturally, the purple poison gas was also instantly incinerated by the high-temperature flames.
Moreover, Sarutobi Asuma's Wind Style and Fire Style were too powerful, and their coverage was vast.
Within the poison gas, the first wave of Sand Ninja, who were wearing gas masks, were engulfed by the high-temperature flame storm before they could even react. Their screams lasted only three seconds before their skeletons fell to the ground.
"Watch out!"
The ninja behind him let out a sharp roar.
Immediately, seven or eight people stopped in their tracks, simultaneously forming hand seals and casting their jutsu.
It was also a large-scale Wind Style, accompanied by the roar of air currents rubbing together, colliding with the surging flame storm.
The high-temperature airflow immediately surged to both sides. Some Sand Ninja who had intended to flank and attack were caught directly in this airflow, screaming as they were swept away.
Before they even hit the ground, they had already turned into charred corpses.
One Fire Style plus one Wind Style, and the Sand Ninja had lost a total of seven bodies.
The shockwaves had yet to dissipate.
Swish, swish, swish, figures began to descend.
Some landed on the ground, others on branches.
Some stood, some crouched.
With fierce gazes, they all stared intensely at Sarutobi Asuma, their killing intent boiling.
It's just a kid!
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