"Shhh, keep it down, he's looking over here."
Asuma stood up, staring at the two of them, his eyes filled with rage:
"What did you say? Say that again if you have the guts!"
The two of them were taken aback at first.
One of them, a tall and thin man, sneered:
"So you're Asuma? The Third's son? Is what we said wrong?"
"Your father ruled for decades, driving away the Uchiha, condoning the advisors' embezzlement, and leaving the Leaf in a complete mess. Who in the village doesn't know about these things?"
The other short man chimed in:
"Exactly. When the war was at its fiercest, you were enjoying your life at the Feudal Lord Mansion."
"Now that the war is over and Tsunade has just started to get the Leaf back on track, you run back."
"What, are you in a hurry to come back and transfer the Sarutobi clan's embezzled wealth to another country?"
"You…!"
Asuma's fists clenched, veins bulging on his forehead.
He wanted to rush forward, but forced himself to stop.
Because he saw the expressions in their eyes.
It wasn't malice, nor was it mockery, but... anger.
An anger from losing loved ones, a long-accumulated resentment against the Leaf high council.
He had seen this kind of anger on countless faces before.
He took a deep breath, suppressing his rage.
"Let me ask you, do you have proof for what you're saying: the embezzlement, the condoning, the driving away of the Uchiha...?"
The tall and thin man sneered:
"Proof? The Mitokado and Utatane clans had their homes raided, and tens of billions in illicit funds were seized! That is the proof!"
"Although the Sarutobi clan wasn't publicly dealt with, that's only because Tsunade showed leniency out of consideration for their teacher-student relationship!"
"Everyone in the Leaf knows that the money your Sarutobi clan embezzled is more than both of those advisors combined!"
Asuma's face turned pale, but he couldn't utter a single word.
He recalled the advice Tsunade had given him just now.
"You must have heard about what happened to the Sarutobi clan."
He thought of Tsunade's arrangement for him to leave the village as soon as possible.
He turned around and, under their mocking gazes, left the Memorial Stone in a state of utter dejection.
He walked through the streets of the Leaf, feeling as if everything had changed, yet also as if nothing had changed at all.
The shops along the street were still the same shops; the signs were new, but the owners remained the same.
When people on the street saw him, some recognized him, complex emotions flashing in their eyes before they quickly averted their gaze.
He did not want to return to the Sarutobi clan compound.
He was afraid of seeing his clansmen's faces, afraid of hearing their explanations, and afraid that he wouldn't be able to control his emotions.
He desperately wanted to escape all of this!
Suddenly, he thought of someone.
Kurenai.
He remembered that Kurenai's home was in an apartment building.
As classmates of the same generation, they would occasionally carry out missions together.
He didn't know when it started, but he had fallen in love with Kurenai, whose eyes were always filled with tenderness.
It was just that he had never had the courage to confess his feelings.
He always felt that he would have opportunities in the future to make a decision.
Having returned from the Feudal Lord Mansion this time, it was finally time to take that step.
He walked in the direction of his memory.
Passing through the commercial street and the training ground, he turned into a familiar alley and looked up.
Suddenly, he froze.
The apartment building from his memory was gone, replaced by a row of brand-new shops.
Selling dango, selling ninja tools, selling flowers...
Bustling with activity, people coming and going.
He scanned the area but could not find a single familiar building.
For some reason, seeing this sight caused Asuma's heart to sink.
He walked to the side of the road and saw an old man sitting on the steps, soaking up the sun with a cigarette in his hand, squinting his eyes and looking very comfortable.
Asuma stepped forward, trying his best to make his voice sound calm:
"Old man, does Kurenai Yuhi's family live in apartment 322 upstairs?"
The old man slowly opened his eyes, took the cigarette out of his mouth, turned his head, and looked blank:
"Yuhi who?"
Asuma could only lean closer and repeat:
"Yu! Hi! Ku! Re! Nai!"
"Oh... that kid!"
Realization dawned on the old man as he slapped his thigh.
"They haven't been here for a long time!"
Asuma's heart sank instantly:
"Not here? What do you mean?"
Puffing out a cloud of smoke, the old man said slowly:
"That apartment building was destroyed during the Nine-Tails Incident."
"A fox that huge stepped on it, and the building collapsed, killing so many people."
"When the Leaf was rebuilt later, this land was converted into shops."
He glanced at Asuma and continued:
"As for the kid you mentioned..."
"After the Leaf was rebuilt, she didn't return to live here. Instead, she left the Leaf with the Uchiha and headed to the Hidden Gento Village."
Hearing this, Asuma felt as if his head had been struck heavily by a sledgehammer. His ears buzzed, and his vision spun.
Of course, he knew that the Uchiha clan had left the Leaf en masse while he was at the Fire Country Feudal Lord Mansion.
The Feudal Lord had even been furious about it, saying that Hiruzen had lost the Leaf's strongest fighting force.
But he had always believed that it was only the Uchiha clan's own business.
Until this bad news arrived today.
After all, Kurenai belonged to the Yuhi clan, not the Uchiha.
What on earth did she go over there for?
---
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