At this moment, Asuma felt utterly disheartened.
Regarding the reason Kurenai left the Leaf, he already had some vague suspicions in his heart.
Regardless, he could only force himself not to believe it.
Now, he only wanted to rush to the Hidden Gento Village to check on Kurenai's situation.
Still, he was also afraid that his delusions would shatter the moment he saw Kurenai.
He only felt that his heart was in agonizing torment right now.
He returned to the Sarutobi clan compound like a walking corpse.
When his clansmen saw him, some lowered their heads to avoid him, while others hesitated to speak.
Several young male cousins also gathered around, clamoring and complaining.
They said that after Tsunade recovered the embezzled funds, the Sarutobi clan's life had taken a sudden nosedive, with their shops confiscated and their funding slashed.
But Asuma just listened without uttering a single word, smoking one cigarette after another.
In his eyes, the people in front of him were merely reaping what they sowed.
Besides, could they possibly be in as much pain as he was?
In this agonizing state, Asuma passed an incomparably long three days.
The day of departure finally arrived.
The grand procession set out from the Leaf, passing through the official roads of the Land of Fire and heading all the way toward the eastern port of the Land of Fire.
Two hundred Genin were led by four Jonin.
These Genin were the outstanding elites of this year's batch.
Some were descendants of shinobi clans, while others were exceptionally talented civilian geniuses.
They were full of curiosity about the Hidden Gento Village they were about to visit, chattering endlessly along the way.
"I heard that the Hidden Gento Village is even more prosperous than the Leaf, and there are hundreds of ships coming in and out of the harbor every day!"
"The Uchiha shinobi are incredibly powerful; even the Raikage can't defeat them."
"My father said that if I can learn a technique or two in the Hidden Gento Village, I'll be able to become a Chunin when I return."
"Hmph, return? My parents told me not to come back and to just stay in the Hidden Gento Village. There are more missions and higher rewards there, and I can bring them over to enjoy a comfortable life later."
Asuma walked in the middle of the procession, the cigarettes in his mouth burning one after another.
He had no heart to listen to the children's discussions, nor did he have any interest in looking at the scenery along the way.
His mind was in utter disarray.
...
Two days later, the fleet arrived at Cerulean Harbor.
The moment the Leaf shinobi stepped off the gangplanks and onto Cerulean Harbor, everyone was shocked by the scene before them.
The harbor was vast, with a forest of masts.
The entire harbor was bustling with activity, brimming with the aura of prosperity.
"Wow! What a huge harbor!"
A Genin exclaimed.
"It's much bigger than the Leaf's commercial street!"
"Look at that building, it's so tall!"
Kakashi rarely closed the book in his hand, his right eye narrowing.
Guy clenched his fists, fire burning in his eyes:
"Youth! This is the city of youth!"
Yugao just stood at the edge of the procession.
Asuma, on the other hand, appeared somewhat restless.
His gaze constantly searched through the crowd.
Even though he knew this behavior was futile, he could not control himself.
Kakashi had already contacted the Hidden Gento Village reception personnel who came to meet them.
A young ninja wearing an Uchiha Anbu uniform walked over and nodded to Kakashi:
"Kakashi, please follow me. The reception room has already been prepared over at the Ninja Academy."
The procession then began to move in the direction of the Hidden Gento Village's Ninja Academy.
Asuma followed in the procession, still looking in all directions.
His gaze swept past the dango shops, ninja tool shops, and teahouses along the street...
Suddenly, his eyes froze.
At a street corner, in front of a flower shop, stood a woman, looking in all directions as if searching for something.
She wore a light purple kimono of soft fabric, with a deep purple cord tied around her waist.
Her jet-black long hair was draped over her shoulders, the ends slightly curled, highlighting her increasingly gentle face.
Almost instantly, Asuma confirmed that the woman in front of the flower shop was indeed the Kurenai he constantly longed for!
And she was even more beautiful than in his memory.
The Kurenai in his memory was the most beautiful kunoichi in the Leaf's Ninja Academy.
At that time, there was always a kind of girlish innocence unique to her.
Yet the woman before him possessed a touch more maturity.
Asuma's heart suddenly tightened.
He disregarded the mission and the procession, walking toward that direction almost subconsciously.
He desperately wanted to know about her recent situation!
Step by step, his feet approached the figure he had been dreaming of day and night.
However, just as he was about to walk up to her, a little boy of about three years old rushed out of an alley by the street.
The child wore a small, dark blue kimono, with pitch-black hair and delicate facial features.
He ran in front of the woman, looking up with his little face and opening his arms.
The woman did not dodge either, bending down to scoop him up in her arms, a kind smile blossoming on her face.
"Mirai, where did you run off to again? You had me searching all over!"
The woman's voice carried a hint of reproach, but it could not hide her doting affection for the child.
The little boy hugged the woman's neck and said in a babyish voice:
"Mom, I didn't go to play, I went to train!"
The woman laughed, gently pinching his little cheek:
"Training? You're so small, what are you training? Did you just run off somewhere to play again?"
The little boy shook his head with a serious expression:
"It's not playing, I was really training!"
The woman burst into laughter from his antics, her eyes full of doting affection:
"Alright, alright, training indeed. Our Mirai is the most amazing."
Asuma's steps froze in place.
Mom?
He heard the word "mom."
That word was like two iron hammers, slamming heavily against his chest.
The thing he least wanted to see had happened, and it seemed even worse than he had imagined!
He finally walked up to the woman, his lips trembling, yet unable to speak.
The little boy was the first to notice him.
Those bright black eyes swept over Asuma with a scrutiny that did not match his age.
Then he tilted his head and asked in a babyish voice:
"Mister, is there something you need?"
The woman turned around, following the child's gaze.
When she clearly saw the tall man in front of her, she was a bit startled.
"You are... Asuma?"
Suppressing the turbulence in his heart, Asuma squeezed out a smile that looked uglier than crying:
"Long time no see, Kurenai."
Kurenai shifted the child in her arms to a different position, resting him in the crook of her arm, and looked at him with some surprise:
"Why are you here? Weren't you serving as a Guardian Shinobi at the Feudal Lord Mansion?"
"My term ended."
Asuma's voice was somewhat dry.
His gaze, however, involuntarily fell upon the child in her arms.
The child was sizing him up with a pair of cold eyes, lacking any of the curiosity or shyness toward strangers typical of children his age. Instead, he carried an indescribable... indifference.
"This child is...?"
Asuma still could not help but ask the question he both wanted to know and feared knowing.
Kurenai looked down at her son in her arms, and a smile immediately washed over her face.
She kissed the child's little cheek, her tone filled with pride:
"This is my and Gento's son, named Mirai Uchiha."
She looked at her son again:
"Mirai, say hello to Uncle Asuma."
In his mind, Mirai quickly searched through the memories of his past life.
However, he had absolutely no impression of the name Asuma.
This meant that the person in front of him was merely an insignificant minor character in the future shinobi world.
Originally, he would not have even bothered to pay attention to such a person.
After all, as a reincarnator, his time was very precious.
Even so, since his mother had spoken, he still had to show some respect.
He squeezed out a forced smile and said in a babyish voice:
"Hello, Uncle."
Hearing Kurenai personally admit to this matter, the last sliver of hope in Asuma's heart vanished without a trace.
Gento?
How could he not know about this man who shook the entire shinobi world?
Guided by some strange force, the utterly disheartened Asuma said to Kurenai:
"Kurenai, could I... treat you to a meal?"
Hearing this, Kurenai's face, which had been full of smiles, suddenly turned cold.
She understood Asuma's intentions right away.
To tell the truth, as former classmates, her relationship with Asuma had indeed been quite decent.
That said, it had merely stopped at a relatively warm classmate friendship.
If Gento had not appeared by her side… perhaps this classmate friendship between her and Asuma would have developed into another relationship.
But that was only an "if."
And there were no "ifs" in this world.
She already had Gento by her side now, and that was enough.
In her eyes, having a husband and a child and still going out to eat with another man would already be crossing the line.
Thus, she directly and sternly refused:
"Forgive me, but I cannot agree to this."
Hearing this, Asuma wanted to say something more.
Kurenai, however, did not wish to entangle with him any further, stating immediately:
"Furthermore, don't come looking for me in the future. I'm afraid Gento will misunderstand."
Having said that, she walked toward the palace holding Mirai, without casting another glance at Asuma.
"Mom, who was that mister just now?"
Mirai's voice drifted over from the distance.
Kurenai paused, appearing to ponder.
Then her voice carried over, light and casual:
"That was Mommy's former classmate. In the future... he is irrelevant."
Irrelevant!
Asuma felt as if his chest had been heavily struck by something.
His legs went soft, and he collapsed onto the ground.
"No!!!"
Asuma slammed his fist onto the ground, letting out a wail.
---
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