Should Naruto exist?

This question has been plaguing Asma's heart since very early on.

It is true that as the second son of the Third Hokage of Konoha, questioning the correctness of the Hokage may not only be seen by outsiders, but also by his own people, his ideas may also be full of deviance.

As time went by, this idea did not disappear in Asma's heart, but grew stronger and stronger.

So much so that a few years ago, he and his father, the Third Hokage, had a tit-for-tat confrontation and gave up their destined future of prosperity and wealth in Konoha, devoting themselves to the Daimyo Prefecture and becoming one of the twelve guardian ninjas of the Daimyo of the Land of Fire at that time, just to practice their own destiny.

The legitimacy of the road.

But later, like-minded companions began to kill each other because of different ideas.

Now only he and one other person are left among the twelve guardian ninjas.

The glory was gone, and Asuma's enthusiasm for protecting the Twelve Ninjas gradually cooled down. Frustrated, he returned to Konoha to live a miserable life.

However, after returning to Konoha, what I saw was an old father. The father who had a very tall back in my impression was now just a dying old man.

Asuma, who now feels lifeless in everything he does, has begun to slack off in both his training and his duties as a ninja.

After completing the C-level escort mission, Asuma simply came over to report to his father, the Third Hokage, and explain how the mission was completed.

His casual attitude made Hiruzen very worried as a father.

Although he intended to enlighten Asuma, what Asuma was thinking was, to a certain extent, contrary to Konoha's will, and he could be considered a traitor to the Will of Fire.

If the other party hadn't been his son, he would have been living under the close surveillance of the ANBU.

Now, not only the major events in the village, but also the private matters at home were also what Hiruzen was worried about.

His wife Sarutobi Biwako died in the Nine-Tails Rebellion, and his eldest son Sarutobi Takashi and his eldest daughter-in-law Sarutobi Uruko also died heroically in the recent war in the Land of Wind.

The second son Asuma, who hoped to revive the reputation of the Sarutobi clan, turned out to be a traitor and betrayed the will of fire. He turned around and joined the daimyo's army and became the Twelve Guardian Ninja.

Although the Twelve Guardian Ninja came back disheartened due to internal differences in their ideas, the relationship between father and son has not eased.

Silent silence is the best resistance.

Hiruzen couldn't understand why Asuma, the second son who grew up in Konoha, had trouble with the Will of Fire, and why he doubted the validity of Naruto's existence so much.

As a ninja of Konoha, you should protect the 'jade' of Konoha, not the 'jade' of the Land of Fire.

Although Konoha and the Land of Fire are one, in many cases, the 'jades' of the two cannot be confused.

In Hiruzen's view, Asuma's path was the greatest betrayal against Konoha.

It is also the bitter fruit of his failed education.

This reminded him of Chiba Shiraishi who defected to Konoha.

The other party was also a ninja who grew up under the will of fire. He did not hesitate to abandon Konoha at the critical moment, deviated from the path of the will of fire, and took away some of the Uchiha and Hyuga clans. In the country of ghosts,

Hidden, start anew.

Hiruzen was worried that the same thing would happen to Asuma.

Sooner or later, one day he will become a traitor to Konoha because of this incorrect thought.

His disciple Orochimaru has betrayed Konoha. If his own son also became a traitor to Konoha... Just thinking about it made Hiruzen feel extremely sad.

I feel like my breathing has become difficult.

"Is there anything noteworthy about the mission?"

After receiving the report submitted by Asuma, Hiruzen casually expressed concern.

"No, everything is normal."

Asuma put his hands in his trouser pockets, looking indifferent.

"..."

Looking at Asuma's free-spirited delinquent posture, if he hadn't known that this was his son, he would have thought he was a little gangster who appeared out of nowhere.

"Don't you have anything to tell me?"

Hiruzen took a deep breath.

"The report has been completed, can I go back, Hokage-sama?"

Asuma said without raising his eyelids.

"Although I don't know what you are thinking about recently, but if you continue like this, the situation will become very dangerous."

Hiruzen didn't want Asuma to become decadent, nor did he want to see his son deviate from Konoha where he was.

"Does Hokage-sama even have to take care of this? If there is nothing else, I will resign first."

Asuma frowned, obviously becoming impatient with Hiruzen's meddling.

"I don't want to oppress you as Hokage, Asuma. Can you go home for dinner tonight? I'm asking in the name of my father."

Hiruzen stared at Asuma's back, who had already put his hand on the door handle and turned it.

Asma paused and said without looking back: "There's nothing wrong with me, I'm just a little upset lately. You have so many things to do, so don't waste your time on a pawn like me."

After saying that, without waiting for Hiruzen to speak, Asuma left the office and disappeared from Hiruzen's eyes.

"Ahem."

After Asuma left, Hiruzen immediately coughed angrily, but there was no obvious anger on his face, showing in his heart.

For a long time, Hiruzen's thousands of words turned into silent sighs.

As the Hokage of the village, I was already somewhat unqualified. I didn't expect that as a father, I would also be so unqualified.

He didn't know what Asuma's judgment was based on, and he had doubts about the Will of Fire and Hokage, but if he continued to let this result go on, Asuma would sooner or later embark on a path of no return, and he and his father would probably end up with a sword.

relatively.

This kind of thing must be resolutely avoided.

The best way is to conduct a thorough investigation of Asuma immediately and put all his actions under the eyes of ANBU for surveillance.

But the other person was always his child, and a momentary mistake was not irreversible. He wanted to give Asma a chance to make amends.

If the other party could grasp it, he wouldn't want to do something drastic to his second son and imprison him.

If he couldn't, he would have no choice but to kill his relatives out of justice.

In Konoha, no one will be allowed to deviate from the will of fire.

◎

In a solitary apartment.

This is where Asuma is currently located. Because he had a disagreement with his father, Hiruzen, and to avoid the embarrassment of meeting, he moved out of his original home and rented an apartment outside with the reward for completing the mission.

Life.

Although the space of the house is smaller, it does not have the depressing atmosphere of the original home, and it is very suitable for one person to relax here.

"I thought I had gone somewhere, but it turned out that I was hiding there alone and drinking."

A familiar voice came from the window next to him. He put down the half-empty wine bottle in his hand. Asuma squinted his eyes and saw Kakashi entering the room from the window.

The other party looked over with a smile on his face, as if he had discovered something interesting.

"As the ANBU Minister, you are so busy, why do you come to me at this time? Are you here to be Hokage-sama's lobbyist?"

Asuma seemed to have read Kakashi's thoughts and asked in an extremely calm tone.

He knew that as the head of ANBU, Kakashi had to deal with too many things to count every day, and even gatherings among friends rarely attended them due to work reasons.

In the end, I had time to visit this loser. It was the Hokage's order.

"Don't say that, Asuma, isn't it time for old friends to meet up? And since you became the Twelve Guardian Ninjas, the number of times you return to Konoha every year becomes less and less, and sometimes you only come back once every six months.

, but also left in a hurry.”

Kakashi walked over with a casual attitude.

Asuma clicked his tongue. Just as he thought, Kakashi was indeed the Hokage's lobbyist.

From a father's point of view, I have failed to correct his thinking. Now from a friend's point of view, I am starting to play the emotional card with him.

As for the Twelve Guardian Ninja Warriors, that is an organization in name only.

For companions who had different ideals and killed each other, their determination and hostility before their death still remained in Asuma's mind, as if it would remain for the rest of his life, becoming a nightmare that would never go away in his heart.

"I've also heard about your efforts to protect the Twelve Ninjas. In the end, you probably broke up with your companions just to protect the safety of Hokage-sama."

Kakashi patted Asuma's shoulder and said.

"Ah, yes, in the end I became a betrayer of the organization in order to protect the old man. Now that I think about it, the things in my mind are really confusing."

Asuma smiled bitterly.

He was supposed to be a radical, but at a critical moment, he suddenly betrayed him, causing the plan of the radicals protecting Shinobi to assassinate Hokage to fail.

No matter how much he disagrees with his father, he is still his father. Tiger poison does not eat its children, so Hiruzen's indulgence and protection for him will be remembered deep in his heart.

How could I attack such a father? Wouldn't that be worse than a beast?
To be continued...