"Hoo… hoo…"
Asahi put his hands on his knees and panted as he looked at Shikaku, who was standing calmly not far away, preparing to attack again.
"Okay, today's sparring ends here." Shikaku glanced at Asuma and Kurenai who were lying on the ground and had no strength to even stand up. Then, he looked at Asahi and said, "Your improvement in strength is really astonishing. In less than a year, you have already grown to this point. It seems that life for us old guys will be getting more and more difficult."
Asahi glanced at Shikaku speechlessly, "You are still standing there in high spirits. The three of us have already fallen down from exhaustion. In such a scenario, don't you feel guilty for saying this?"
"Don't look at this like that. At your current age, it's already very good to have such strength. Alas! I really can't be careless at all, otherwise, I might get swiped away by my own students." Shikaku looked at the bumpy ground around him and scratched the back of his head, and said sadly.
The Nara clan's Secret Shadow Technique are truly terrifying, and its control ability was second to none in the entire ninja world.
At the last moment of the sparring session, with the cooperation of Asuma and Kurenai, Asahi was almost able to hit Shikaku, but unfortunately he was controlled by Shikaku's jutsu, resulting in the final attack falling short of success.
"It's a pity that it was a failure in the end." Asuma said regretfully.
"Looking back now, it seems that the entire battle just now was under Shikaku-sensei's calculation. We were not just a little bit behind, but fell into Shikaku-sensei's traps from the beginning. If only we could have realized it from the beginning or at some point during the battle, there might still be a chance." Asahi sighed.
"You guys are already very good. At your age, I didn't have such strength." Shikaku said.
"That's right! Asahi, we will definitely win next time!" Kurenai cheered.
"Okay, now I have a general understanding of your progress. It seems that you guys have worked hard this year." Shikaku praised.
"If you want to make progress, you must focus all your attention on improving your strength." Asahi had been practicing since he was a child, and that is why he had achieved his current strength at this age. How much hard work and effort he had put in it was something only Asahi himself knew.
"You are really hardworking, Asahi." Kurenai looked at Asahi and said.
After taking a breath for a while, Asahi sat down on the ground and began to recover his strength without saying another word. If he doesn't practice hard, should he go to the battlefield and wait for death?
"I believe you have all heard that the Iwagakure and Sunagakure have waged war on us at the same time. I'm afraid our team will have to be temporarily disbanded again." Shikaku glanced at the three of them and said, "In three days, I and Asahi will go to Sunagakure's front-line, and Asuma and Kurenai, you both will be temporarily organized into other teams."
"Why?" Asuma said unconvinced when he heard this, "Why can he go to the front-lines, but Kurenai and I can't."
"Yes! This is unfair!" Kurenai also said.
"We adults are fighting desperately on the front lines to protect the future of Konoha like you. You are still too immature now. In a few years, this job will be yours." Shikaku explained, "As for Asahi, he is different from you, he is going to the front-line as a medical-nin."
"I disagree!" Asuma said firmly, "We are also ninjas of Konoha, and we also want to fight on the front-lines and contribute to the village."
Shikaku glanced at Asuma and said in a serious tone, "This is not the time for being whimsical. If you are really for Konoha, then do something within your ability instead of going to the front-line and hold us back."
"Damn it!" Asuma clenched his fist.
Kurenai's expression also showed that she was a little unwilling, but now that the village had made a decision, they could only obey the village's orders even if they were unwilling.
"Asahi, you should make preparations in the next two days and meet me at the Konoha Gate at six o'clock in the morning on the third day." Shikaku looked at Asahi and said, while winking at him secretly.
"Got it!" Asahi nodded, and also gave Shikaku a blink, indicating that he understood.
"Okay, let's disband now!"
As soon as the word "disband" fell, Shikaku disappeared with a *Poof*.
"We should leave too…" Asuma said with a little disappointment.
It could be seen that Asuma was really in a bad mood. Although he was the youngest son of the Hokage and was a bit arrogant due to his childishness, he was generally very warm and friendly to others.
He also wanted to contribute to the village, but the war on the front line was still too far away for him.
"Asahi, let's go and train together." Kurenai suggested, "Sigh, I really want to go to the front line like you…"
"Okay, hold your fists, I'm going to need to prepare some things next, so I won't be able to train with you guys. So, I will be leaving first." Thinking of Shikaku's wink before leaving, Asahi politely declined Kurenai.
After leaving Asuma and Kurenai, Asahi waited for a while and returned to the 8th training ground.
Although Asahi couldn't guess what Shikaku meant by winking at him, Shikaku must have something more to say to him.
"Shikaku-sensei!" Sure enough, Shikaku was waiting for him there.
"As expected, you are here. It seems that we have developed a lot of tacit understanding during this year." Shikaku said with a casual smile.
"Shikaku-sensei, do you have something to tell me?" Asahi asked directly. It would be better to be less pretentious when talking to an old fox like this.
"Let's first sit down, and then we can talk." Shikaku pointed to the ground and said, and then he sat down.
It seemed that he wanted to talk about something important.
Asahi sat quietly next to Shikaku, waiting for Shikaku to speak first.
"You must have guessed the reason why I asked you to come here." Shikaku said in a low voice.
'How the hell would I know?'
"Yes." Asahi nodded, but he was thinking secretly in his heart.
Shikaku's purpose of calling him there should nothing more than about the battle against Sunagakure, but what exactly does Shikaku wanted to say?
"I hope you don't mind this kind of thing." Shikaku said softly, "Although sometimes I am not satisfied with some of the village's practices, it is undeniable that this is all for Konoha."
After hearing Shikaku's words, Asahi suddenly understood.
It turned out that Shikaku was afraid that Asahi would mind the village's arrangements for him, so he deliberately talked to him about it.
While Asahi fought desperately against the enemy on the battlefield, those ninja clan members could stay in Konoha with peace of mind and enjoy the fruits of their desperate efforts… Most people would feel uncomfortable after experiencing these kinds of things.
Asahi immediately thought of Yamamoto, his teacher from the ninja academy. He was a civilian ninja who hated the clan ninjas. At first, Asahi didn't quite understand where his hatred came from, but later, after graduation, Asahi understood.
There was indeed a difference between the village's arrangements for clan ninjas and civilian ninjas, and the differences were very obvious.
"Hahaha, its okay, Shikaku-sensei." Asahi smiled and lightly said, "I don't mind this kind of things at all. Everyone is born different and in different circumstances, and the only thing that is the same for everyone, is death. I believe that in this process from birth to death, what kind of life one wants to have depends on their own efforts."
*****
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