"Hm?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi was slightly surprised. That eager already?
"Alright."
He still smiled and agreed, immediately bringing Asuma Sarutobi to the backyard training ground and beginning with the fundamentals.
From the side, Biwa Lake watched with a surprised expression. "Who would've thought these two could actually get along properly? That's good."
She had always been worried about the strained relationship between father and son.
Asuma had been far too rebellious.
…
At the Yuhi residence—
After her father returned home, Kurenai Yuhi immediately approached him.
"Father, I want you to train me to become stronger!"
Looking at his daughter's determined expression, Kurenai's Father was slightly surprised. He reached out and gently patted her head, smiling. "That's fine. But… who motivated my little Kurenai to think like this?"
Had something happened at the academy?
Recently, he had been busy handling ANBU-related tasks and hadn't paid much attention.
"Uh…"
Kurenai's cheeks flushed slightly, her eyes drifting aside. "Nothing… I just feel like I'm too weak and want to get stronger. Didn't you say the ninja world isn't peaceful lately? If I become stronger, you'll worry less."
But could her father not see through her?
This girl… she's fallen for someone, hasn't she?
He thought for a moment, then suddenly asked, "What's his name?"
"Shiro—… huh?!"
Kurenai instinctively answered before snapping back to reality. Her face turned bright red as she glared at him. "Father! You tricked me—that's so unfair!"
"Haha!"
He chuckled, clearly amused. "I just wanted to see which brat managed to steal my precious daughter's heart. So—Shiro what? Which family is he from? What's his character like? His talent? His strength?"
The interrogation came rapid-fire.
Kurenai felt helpless.
But she knew that even if she didn't say it, her father would find out anyway.
So she gave in.
"His name is Shiro Akira. He's my classmate. Not from a big clan—his parents both died. He only started showing talent in the last two weeks. A few days ago, he was accepted as a disciple by Sakumo Hatake. Today, he even defeated Asuma in seconds during combat class!"
"And he's really strong!"
"So… I can't fall behind either. At the very least, I want to keep up with him. I don't want to be so weak that I can't even stand beside him in the future."
Even she didn't notice—
Her eyes were shining when she talked about Shiro Akira.
Her father, however, noticed very clearly.
Ah… my precious daughter has really been taken away by that brat…
"Hmm?"
He raised a brow. "Sakumo's disciple? He actually took a student? That's rare. Seems this Shiro Akira is indeed quite talented."
"Right? Right?!"
Kurenai beamed. "Shiro Akira is the best! So hurry and train me, Father! I can't fall behind!"
"Sigh…"
He felt both proud and helpless.
His daughter had finally become motivated—
But it was because of a boy.
My precious cabbage is about to be taken by a pig…
"Fine. I'll train you."
He nodded. "But be warned—it'll be tough. No quitting halfway."
If she was serious, then so was he.
With the ninja world becoming increasingly unstable, her getting stronger was a good thing.
At least she'd have better means to protect herself.
"Mm!"
Kurenai nodded firmly. "I won't give up! All for Shiro Akira!"
Her father: "…"
For a moment, he almost didn't feel like teaching her anymore.
I definitely need to check out this Shiro Akira kid…
He silently made up his mind while training her.
No matter what, he had to see what kind of person this boy really was.
…
The next morning—
As usual, Shiro Akira was running laps around the village.
Not long after, he heard footsteps behind him—
"Shiro Akira! Good morning!"
Turning around, he saw Kurenai jogging toward him.
"Oh, Kurenai. Morning! You've started morning training too?"
"Hehe!"
She smiled, her cheeks slightly red as she looked at his handsome face. "Shiro Akira is working so hard and getting stronger so fast. I can't fall behind either. I don't expect to catch up… but I don't want to be left too far behind."
"And I have my own dream too!"
She clenched her fist, looking determined. "I want to become a great kunoichi like Tsunade!"
"Is that so?"
Shiro Akira nodded in understanding.
He wasn't blind—he could clearly see Kurenai's feelings.
And honestly… he quite liked this pretty girl too.
"Getting stronger is a good thing. The ninja world isn't peaceful lately. The stronger you are, the better your chances of survival."
He smiled.
"Mm!"
Kurenai matched his pace as they ran side by side. "My father said the same thing! Please take care of me from now on, Shiro Akira!"
"Haha! Of course."
Shiro Akira returned her smile.