After the barbecue, everyone went their separate ways. As always, Hatake Kusuo went to continue his sword practice. Hinata, due to clan matters, didn't have much free time lately and parted with him reluctantly. Naruto looked around blankly as everyone dispersed, then walked home dejectedly. In just a few short days, he had grown accustomed to following Kusuo, watching his gentle daily interactions with Hinata. Now, he was alone once again.
Hokage Office Building.
Knock, knock, knock!
"Come in," the Third Hokage's steady voice came from within.
Asuma entered, his expression heavy, and walked to the front of the desk.
"Ah, it's you, Asuma. What brings you here for a visit?" the Third Hokage asked, looking at his son with some surprise.
"Father, I've come to report on the situation with my squad," Asuma said, getting straight to the point.
"Mm, you want to talk about that Naruto fellow, don't you? He's a bit mischievous, but..." The Third's words were cut off by his son.
"No, it's not Naruto I want to talk about. It's another child, a genius who is in no way inferior to Itachi or Kakashi!" Asuma's eyes shone as he recalled the battle from earlier that day.
The Third had a moment of realization. "You're talking about Hatake Kusuo?"
"Kakashi has mentioned him to me before. The team assignments were changed largely because of him. Nurture him well. To be able to defeat a chunin at his age already makes him a rare genius. I hope he won't follow in Kakashi's footsteps and will become Konoha's next pillar..."
"It's more than that!" Asuma suddenly interrupted, somewhat agitated. "We've all underestimated him!"
"His... his strength isn't just at the chunin level. He... he can even defeat me!"
"Hatake Kusuo is a genius rarely seen in this world!"
The Third Hokage's expression changed drastically, and he shot up from his seat. "What? You're saying he can defeat you?"
"That's impossible! A twelve-year-old boy who just graduated from the academy, a genin, how could he possibly defeat you, a jonin? Are you not feeling well?"
Asuma shook his head.
"Then were you just being careless?"
"A little at first, but not later on."
Hiss...
The Third sat back down in his chair, puffing on his pipe, pat, pat, pat.
"You're saying that Hatake Kusuo defeated you fair and square, in a head-on battle?"
Seeing the solemn expression on his father's face, Asuma became serious. "Yes, Father. Although we stopped midway, I have a gut feeling that wasn't even the full extent of his strength!"
Father and son looked at each other. The Third could see an unprecedented earnestness in his son's eyes.
"A genius... another genius."
As the Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi could grasp the deeper implications. Kakashi became a jonin at twelve. Kusuo defeated his jonin son at twelve. In a way, the latter's achievement was even more impressive.
"The Hatake clan has truly given us a great surprise..." he lamented with a complex feeling. Konoha's leadership had always remained silent about the White Fang's death, so the Third had always felt he owed the Hatake clan a debt. He never imagined that after the White Fang's passing, two astonishingly brilliant geniuses would emerge one after another. If Kakashi hadn't suffered that major setback midway through his career, his achievements would have definitely surpassed the level of an elite jonin.
So then... what was Hatake Kusuo's future upper limit? A peak jonin? A Kage-level powerhouse? Or perhaps... on par with Lord First Hokage, Hashirama Senju.
Father and son both realized this possibility at the same time.
"Asuma, from now on, you are to strictly protect this child, Kusuo. If anyone with ill intentions attempts to approach him, you must report it to me immediately," the Third Hokage said decisively. "I have a premonition that the future of Konoha may very well change because of this child!"
Asuma immediately committed his father's words to heart. "Yes, Lord Hokage!"
By using the title "Lord Hokage," Asuma was signifying that he no longer saw this as a simple family request, but as a grave responsibility for the entire village.
As he was leaving, Asuma suddenly turned back. "By the way, Father, I've decided to change my path. I will no longer be distracted by learning other ninjutsu. Instead, I will specialize in Wind Style and become a master in that field."
"All this time, I've been living under the shadow of your title as the 'Professor' of ninjutsu, assuming that an outstanding ninja, like you, should master more and stronger techniques. But now I realize that disregarding one's own situation to pursue being a jack-of-all-trades is not only a bad thing, but it can also be self-destructive."
After saying this, Asuma left without a backward glance.
Waves crashed in the Third's heart. Had he not been concerned about his two sons' paths? It was precisely because he had tried to control things too much in the past that his relationship with Asuma had always been strained. Now, Asuma had come to this realization on his own. As a seasoned veteran of the battlefield, the Third understood perfectly that his son had most likely found his own path.
In other words, he had found his true "King."
And all of this had suddenly happened in the short time after the team assignments. Besides a personal epiphany, there was only one other possibility.
A guess had already formed in the Third Hokage's mind.
"Is it... that child?" Hiruzen Sarutobi murmured, standing at the window and secretly watching his son's departing figure below.
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