Chapter 121: You Don't Even Dare to Say 'Like,' and You Call It 'Love'?
"Lord Asuma, this is a private room. You are not allowed to enter."
Akiyama Makoto was polite but firm. Asuma's eyes, however, filled with impatience.
"We know each other so well. I just want to come in and sit down. Aren't you giving me any face at all?"
As he spoke, Asuma slung an arm around Makoto's shoulder, intending to forcibly drag him inside.
However, Makoto remained as if his feet were rooted to the spot, unmoving.
Asuma hadn't used his chakra yet, but as a primarily taijutsu-focused ninja, there were few people who could resist his strength, let alone a young man who theoretically hadn't even attended the Ninja Academy.
He stared at Makoto in shock, his alcohol-addled brain unable to process the situation for a moment. Did I drink too much? Can I not even control my own body?
Makoto shook his head slightly. "Lord Asuma, it seems you've had too much to drink. Let me get a room for you so you can rest."
There was no way Asuma couldn't control his own body. The truth was that Makoto had used Body Pathway Derangement on him, interfering with his body's electrical signals. The jutsu could be used to completely incapacitate an opponent, but it could also be used to simply make their body disobedient. It all depended on his mastery. With his current Hand Seal stat of 9 and his advanced medical knowledge, doing this was effortless.
This was also him giving Asuma a chance to back down gracefully, as repayment for him helping to solve the Shimura Taiji incident.
Unfortunately, Asuma clearly had no intention of accepting this kindness.
He was here, reeking of alcohol, precisely because he was prepared for a conflict. He was going to make this boy understand that no matter what his intentions were, he had to stay away from Kurenai Yūhi.
Asuma tensed, his powerful taijutsu strength flaring as he drove his elbow toward Makoto's head. If this blow landed, and since Makoto was not an ordinary person, he would most likely be spending a long time in the Konoha Hospital.
However, the next second, a kunai pierced through his chest.
Asuma looked down in disbelief, then turned his head to see... Kurenai, holding a kunai, her face a mask of utter heartbreak.
"The man I love... would never be as dirty, smelly, and petty as you."
"This one cut is our farewell."
With that, she pulled the kunai out, rushed to Makoto's side, and cupped his face in her hands.
"Little brother Makoto, are you okay? Did he scare you?"
"It's okay, come here..."
She pulled him into her embrace, comforting his "injured" heart with her own warmth.
As for Asuma, he collapsed softly to the ground, blood pouring from his wound as his life came to an end— "DISPEL!"
Asuma roared, and a powerful burst of chakra erupted from his body. The genjutsu he was under was broken with great difficulty.
At this moment, Makoto was still holding the hand seal for the jutsu.
It turned out he had just used the Demonic Illusion: Hell Viewing Technique. It was only a D-rank ninjutsu, with a low learning difficulty, and its effects weren't very good. It would show the target what they feared most, but this "fear" would often appear so suddenly and illogically that any trained or mentally stable ninja could quickly see through it.
The problem was, Asuma was not in a normal state. He was mentally exhausted and emotionally unstable. Coupled with Makoto's Genjutsu stat of 10 and his Advanced Yin Release talent, a single, simple jutsu had been enough to catch him.
Although he had broken free quickly, Makoto's goal had been achieved.
Rage flooded Asuma's face. Since his chakra was already flared, he didn't bother to retract it, instead grabbing for Makoto's neck. He would use his strength to make this boy understand just how dangerous it was to use such a genjutsu on an Elite Jōnin. He attacked me first, he reasoned, so it doesn't matter if I fight back, right?
But the moment he decided to strike, the next person to attack him was not Akiyama Makoto.
A large tree grew from beneath Asuma's feet, binding him. Kurenai's figure emerged from the trunk. It was the real Kurenai, awakened by Asuma's roar, and she had immediately taken action.
"Asuma, what are you doing! This is not the place for you to act wildly! Go home, sleep it off, and come back!"
Asuma stared at her, his eyes flashing with suspicion. Was this another Hell Viewing Technique? But then he saw from her micro-expressions that this was the real Kurenai.
"Kurenai, I was just worried about you, so I came to see you. But this guy wouldn't let me in..." Asuma said, his face suddenly changing as he realized his mistake.
Sure enough, Kurenai's expression turned ugly.
She had already had a massive fight with him yesterday over this very issue. She had told him more than once that she and Makoto just had a "big sister, little brother" relationship. It was bad enough that he didn't believe her, but to now imply that she was sleeping in his room... this was an insult to her character.
"Kurenai, listen to me, I was just drunk—"
"Enough!"
Kurenai bit her lip, holding back the urge to cry. "We're over. Not that we ever even started, did we?"
"Kurenai!"
"Call me Yūhi. Thank you."
Asuma's face was dark. He was at a complete loss. This was not the ending he had wanted.
Kurenai dispelled her genjutsu, and then walked out of the room next door to Makoto's, followed by Anko. She looked at Asuma coolly, on guard in case he exploded in anger again.
Asuma didn't dare to meet her gaze. His eyes, however, fixed on Makoto, his heart filled with an anger that had no outlet. He was not a good-tempered man; he had just learned to endure. But now, facing this boy, he felt his endurance wasn't enough.
Finally, he couldn't take it anymore.
He pulled out a cigarette. Under Kurenai's disapproving gaze, he lit it. "Nice genjutsu, little bro," he said. "Who did you learn it from?"
"I don't recall you attending the Academy, nor do I recall you redeeming any jutsu for merit at the Hokage's Office. Did you steal it?"
"That's not a small matter. Why don't you come outside and chat with me about it?"
Before Makoto could speak, Kurenai stepped in front of him.
"I taught him. That was the Hell Viewing Technique, wasn't it?"
"Sarutobi Asuma, you were actually controlled by that? It seems you've gotten far too sloppy."
The anger on Asuma's face became harder to control. "I just want to talk to him. I promise I won't hurt him. Is that not enough?"
"I recall you promising yesterday that you wouldn't bother me again until I had cooled off. And then what?"
A vein twitched in Asuma's temple. Just as a conflict was about to break out, Anko said, "Um, Senpai, can't you just say what you need to say here?"
"Yes," Kurenai added. "Is there something you can't let me hear?"
Asuma was silent for a moment, then finally decided to lay his cards on the table.
He looked at Makoto. "Akiyama Makoto, you're not a kid anymore. I can't treat you like one, especially when you're this close to Jōnin Kurenai."
"Right now, I need you to give me an answer. What, exactly, is Kurenai to you?"
"I just want one sentence. A man-to-man, honest answer."
Kurenai's eyebrows shot up. She was about to say something, but Makoto put a hand on her arm to stop her.
Since Asuma had requested a "man-to-man" conversation, he naturally had no reason to refuse.
"Since you want to hear it, Lord Asuma, I'll tell you."
"I am mesmerized by Big Sister Kurenai's gentleness and beauty. I like her, and I want to become the person she loves most."
"I wonder, Lord Asuma, if you are satisfied with this answer?"
Asuma stared at him, dumbfounded. He seemed to have never expected that he would say such a "shameful" thing so directly. If it had been him, he would have stammered and choked countless times.
Kurenai also felt her face burning. Although he had said similar things to her before, this was in front of Asuma and Anko! She had been trying to cut ties with Asuma, but not like this! And on Anko's side, she had only just started to mend her relationship with him, and now her best friend was...
In short, Kurenai felt like she could just die.
Anko, meanwhile, stood there, crestfallen, feeling that her joy and hope from yesterday made her look like a clown.
And in a corner no one was paying attention to, Moegi was also receiving the greatest cultural shock of her life.
Asuma thought he was the most wronged person in this, but how could he know that while he was in a three-way love triangle, Makoto was already in a five-way one?
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