As Asuma suddenly lunged to attack, Naraku remained unshaken.
Calmly, he drew the long sword strapped to his belt and held it horizontally in front of him.
"It's useless!" Asuma sneered.
"My trench knives are infused with chakra-conducting metal. Their sharpness is second to none. Your average sword won't stand a chance."He imagined Naraku's blade being sliced in half effortlessly.
He was already imagining himself forgiving Naraku—if the boy bowed down.Kurenai, too, would surely admire his strength and stand by his side.
But Naraku didn't even flinch. His blade met Asuma's attack head-on—and held firm.
"What?!" Asuma froze in shock, forgetting to retreat.
"How can an ordinary blade block chakra-infused steel?" Just as the thought hit him, a powerful force surged through Naraku's sword, throwing Asuma several steps back. He crashed to the ground, stunned.
"Damn it!" Asuma cursed, now furious at Naraku's unreadable expression.
Infusing wind chakra into his trench knives, Asuma rushed forward again.
But once more, Naraku's blade—made of some unknown material—effortlessly deflected his strikes.
"This can't be happening!" Asuma's eyes burned with anger and disbelief.
He noticed a visible scratch on his trench knife—yet Naraku's blade remained unscathed.
"What kind of sword is that?" he asked reluctantly.
Naraku didn't answer.
The blade in his hand was the Kusanagi Sword, a weapon shrouded in myth. Orochimaru had once wielded it against the Third Hokage. Sasuke had used a similar blade, although his lacked the same mystical properties.
Whether stretching unnaturally or slicing through nearly anything, the true Kusanagi was a weapon unlike any other.Naraku's sword shared that lineage.
But Naraku had no intention of revealing this—especially not with Orochimaru labeled a traitor.
"This fight is pointless. Let's stop here," Naraku said calmly.
But Asuma roared and lunged again.
If he won, Kurenai would know he was stronger—and the better man.
Naraku's lip curled into a faint smirk.
The sound of metal clashing echoed endlessly as he effortlessly weaved between trees, defending with precision.
After a particularly fluid parry, Naraku muttered, "How did you even become a jonin? Your swordsmanship is full of holes."
With that, Naraku's sword slipped beneath Asuma's guard.
"What?!" Asuma saw the blade sweep toward his ribs. At the last moment, he twisted his body, narrowly dodging the fatal strike.
Stumbling back, he watched as Naraku flicked his sword aside and stepped back.
"With such a difference in skill, continuing is meaningless."
"Shut up!" Asuma roared and attacked again, wildly swinging.
Naraku raised the Kusanagi Sword slightly and slashed forward—knocking one of Asuma's trench knives out of his hand.It flew into a thick tree, pierced the trunk, and shot out the other side before embedding in the ground.
[Victory over Sarutobi Asuma. Points +25]
The system message appeared before Naraku's eyes.
Naraku's lips curled slightly.Asuma was classified as a Special Jonin, the same level as the Kumogakure envoy who had taken his own life yesterday.
"So, that's all he is…" Naraku thought.
Then, he sensed the presence of three others nearby.
"They're finally here," he thought. "Sent by the Hokage or the Council to kill me… are they Anbu or Root?"
But Asuma wasn't finished.
Furious, he formed a series of hand signs. "Fire Style: Burning Ash!"
A cloud of thick, chakra-infused ash burst from Asuma's mouth, engulfing the area.
This was a lethal Sarutobi clan technique. The ash served as both a smokescreen and an explosive trap, ignitable at will with a small spark created by a flint between the user's teeth.
In the Shinobi Alliance war, Asuma had used it to kill several ninja.
But against someone like Naraku, the technique was flawed.
Even in the original timeline, Temari had deflected this attack easily.
Naraku didn't wait.
Before the ash could be ignited, he quickly performed hand seals."Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"
"What?!" Asuma's eyes widened as a massive fireball surged forward and collided with the ash cloud.
BOOM!!!
The explosion tore through the forest. From the edges of the blast zone, three masked figures finally emerged—no longer able to stay hidden.
"Wind Style: Vacuum Sphere!"