64 Genin (4)

"You have been requested for a mission." The Hokage started before sliding a scroll across the desk towards the standing Asuma.

The jounin furrowed his brows in surprise and some discontent at the statement. Was his father expecting him to leave his team in the village while he went off to participate in a mission? Did he truly think that lowly of him? 'No, calm down, listen to what the old man has to say first.'

"I am afraid I won't be able to take up any individual missions while my squad is still under going training." Asuma replied respectfully, though with a slight edge to his voice.

As if expecting such a response, Hiruzen continued unimpeded, "You misunderstand me. It is you and your team that have been requested."

Asuma tilted his head in confusion, "My team? How is that possible? They have barely graduated from the academy, who could be the one requesting them? It couldn't be Lady Shijimi, could it?"

The Hokage chuckled, "No, no of course it is not Lady Shijimi. The mission requester claims he is an old friend of yours; a merchant based in the Capital city. One Kurokawa Yoshiro."

The jounin gained a look of understanding, "Ah yes, he is indeed an acquaintance I had made while I was in the Capital. He's here in Konoha now?"

The Sandaime nodded, "Indeed. He has requested you, and by extension your team, to escort him back to the Capital city. For old times' sake, he claims. A simple C-ranked escort mission, it shouldn't take longer than two weeks travelling back and forth. Of course, that is only if you judge your team to be ready for a C-ranked mission… are they?"

Asuma donned a contemplative look. It had only been a month since his team graduated from the academy, and for any other greenhorn, wet behind the year genin team, it would have been a resolute no. But if he was being completely objective, there was only a little difference between Team Ten and other veteran genin squads.

Their individual skills were solid, without a single weak-link between them. All three could hold their own against a threat not surpassing chuunin level, aside from his pride and joy Shinji who could probably fend off even chuunin level opponents for a period of time. Their team work was also commendable given the short time they have been working together.

He tacitly approved of the inter-team training sessions his protégé had been organizing with Team Seven since it not only sharpened their teamwork, but those sessions also honed their combat instincts. Sometimes he would drop by and watch them from a distance, impressed with the maturity and foresight Shinji displayed in organizing and during these sessions.

Asuma knew that Shinji held himself back during the inter-team spars, and for a young, rookie genin with a chip on his shoulder and looking for something to prove, holding back showed incredible restraint and self-control. Already, the Rookie of the Year was proving himself to be a one-in-a-generation talent that would one day find himself amongst the ranks of other monstrous geniuses.

At times, the jounin even felt apprehensive teaching the boy. Shinji had an unbelievable ability to comprehend his teachings. No one would believe that the kid, using just a couple shadow clones to amplify his training, picked up Nature Transformation in just a few days as though he was picking up tree-walking. His combat instincts and physical capabilities were being sharpened so quickly Asuma could often see the changes with his own eyes.

Yet, at the same time, there was also a certain amount of pride the came with being the sensei of a prodigy. Just as his father could boast that he was the mentor of the legendary Sannin, so too could Asuma boast that he was the mentor of the legendary figure Shinji were sure to become in the future. Such a thought also gave Asuma some pressure, since a grave mistake on his part could ruin the boy's future, but the man could only worry about that when the time came.

Other than Shinij, both Hinata and Shino were also shaping up to be competent shinobi in their own right. Asuma could tell that Shino had been galvanized by Shinji's overwhelming talent. Although the Aburame never outwardly expressed such a sentiment, Asuma could recognize that feeling of inferiority and subsequent ambition to overcome the complex. It was a feeling all too familiar for the man.

As such, Shino gave a hundred and twenty percent during every training session, and from what he heard, even back at his clan compound his efforts did not diminish. In fact, his diligence further intensified when he was training his clan's techniques. His progress could not be compared to Shinji's own freakishly fast development, but he was certainly heads above the rest of the graduating class.

Similarly, Hinata also displayed the expected Hyuuga excellence. Though her personality outside of battle was something that should be worked on, during combat however, her attacks could get downright vicious. The Gentle Fist was a deadly taijutsu style, and in the hands of someone who knew how lethal it was and could use it to a frightening degree of proficiency, it was a devastating martial art that would render an unsuspecting opponent suffering from their negligence.

She seemed to have been working on slowly altering the usual Gentle Fist style to suit her own personal fighting style and physique, modifying the usually hard and fast Gentle Fist style into a more agile and flexible one.

Plus, her crush on Shinji only motivated her more than it distracted her. Oh, it was so obvious the girl was infatuated with the young genius – it baffled Asuma to no end that the usually perceptive and sharp Shinji appeared to be completely oblivious to the Hyuuga's rather conspicuous display of affection. Not that he would ever deign to get in the middle of the whole thing by telling the boy. He wasn't a meddlesome person by nature, and it would be too troublesome to do in the first place. Not to mention the team dynamics might be affected if the relationship between the two got awkward.

All in all, if Asuma was being truly objective, then yes, he would conclude that his team was ready for a C-ranked mission.

"They are ready." Asuma answered with conviction.

The older Sarutobi leaned back, troubled that his son was convinced of his team's readiness. That, to him, was a sign that the man was not ready to be a jounin squad leader. He only asked his son if he thought his team was ready as a test. No genin team was ready to undertake a potentially dangerous mission only a month from graduation, no matter how gifted they were.

It was not just a matter of combat readiness. For genins who were to embark on their first mission outside the village, it rested solely on how prepared they were to face the realities of being a shinobi. And something like that took time for the jounin squad leader to slowly but surely mentally prepare and condition the young genins to be ready to potentially risk their lives for the village.

Freshly graduated genins who got sent on missions they were not mentally prepared for was a recipe for disaster. At best they would come back learning a valuable lesson. At worst, they might freeze in the middle of a dangerous situation and lose their lives. Mostly, these unprepared genins would come back traumatised or scarred for life. With what was at stake, mental conditioning was not something that could be rushed.

Hence, what else could he think but that Asuma was in over his head when his son claimed Team Ten to be ready for a C-ranked mission with just the slightest hesitance after barely a month of the required conditioning. But the duty of the father was not just to admonish, rather it was to let the son realize it on his own. Though such a philosophy when dealing with this wayward son of his often contradicted with the duty of a Kage to discipline his soldiers, which only resulted in more conflict between the father and son.

"Are you sure?" Hiruzen prompted, earning a look of dissatisfaction from the jounin.

Asuma furrowed his brows, slightly offended that his father was second-guessing his judgement. He could guess what his father was thinking, but he knew his team best. If he said they were ready, no one else was entitled to say otherwise.

"I am." The younger Sarutobi answered, his eyes narrowing in a challenge.

Hiruzen sensed the oncoming conflict, and contrary to what his son thought, he never relished the bitter words they traded on a regular basis. But, it was his duty, both as a father and his Kage, to educate Asuma – even at the expense of their relationship.

"You say they are ready, even though they have only recently graduated the Shinobi Academy? You leave me questioning your judgement, Asuma."

"I know my team best. They are not like other genins. All of them have the potential to be great, especially Shinji. He-" Asuma shot back without hesitation, only to be cut off by his father.

"Do you know what the greatest cause of death for a shinobi in the field is?" The Sandaime spoke, slowly and softly without hurry. Only a man plagued with insecurity had to shout and scream to prove himself right. He who announced to the world that they were a king was no true king. One with true authority need not proclaim to the world that they had authority for the world already knew.

Asuma fought back the temptation to roll his eyes. Here it comes, the wise old man routine again, he thought to himself. "I don't know, carelessness? Arrogance" He answered flippantly.

"No. Carelessness and arrogance is only a symptom of the true condition that kills the shinobi. The true reason is assuming one is special. That they weren't like all the other shinobi out there; that they were the protagonist of their story. Thus they needn't be cautious because of just how special they thought they were."

The Sandaime hardened his gaze as he continued, "And then they die, their last thought being the realization that they weren't special after all. The same goes for a leader who, believing that their subordinates are special, overestimates them and as a result leads them to their death. Tell me, Asuma, do you think your team is special?"

Asuma gritted his teeth, "I know what you're trying to say; that I have overestimated my team and am making a mistake overestimating them and sending them into danger. However, have you considered that maybe, just maybe, sometimes you don't know everything? Perhaps, I, who spent the last month with this team could possibly know more about them than you?"

"You sit there in your ivory tower looking down on the rest of us, pitying our ignorance, while wielding the 'wisdom of the elders' like a club. But don't pretend like you have been the greatest teacher in history when your own disciples have been scattered in the winds. I am different from you. Spare me the lecture old man."

The Hokage inhaled sharply, before removing the Kage's hat atop his head and setting it down next to him on the table. "What you call an elder's wisdom is just the accumulated lessons we have learnt after a lifetime of failure. You see this hat? It is a heavy object. The weight I feel, the worry that I can never quite pinpoint that never goes away. That, is the burden of responsibility. It is both a blessing and a curse that I have learned to live with since the first day I started wearing this hat. It is a constant reminder that I am now responsible for every single soul within Konoha."

"You who have never once shouldered the burden of responsibility can never understand what it is like in my shoes, yet you dismiss my words as hypocrisy. I had assumed that your immaturity would change after you became a jounin sensei. Alas, I have been proven wrong. You have yet to understand that as a jounin squad leader, you are no longer only responsible for yourself – you are also responsible for the three genin on your team."

Asuma took an indignant step forward, his chakra flaring in his anger and frustration, though the pressure was easily repelled by the old man's own aura. The hidden ANBU bodyguards in the corner of the room looked at each other, unsure whether or not to intervene. They knew Asuma was the Hokage's son, so they could evaluate that the man was not truly a threat. Furthermore, they already felt like outsiders listening in on what should be a private family affair.

"You don't know anything about me! You never did and you have never tried to! All you do is sit there judging me and looking at me with disappointment in your eyes like I am not worth even one second of your time. Be honest, this was never about my team. You just don't trust me nor my judgement!"

The Sandaime sighed, already tiring of this argument. It was always the same damn thing over and over again with his son. Miscommunication was the greatest impediment to any restoration of a healthy relationship between the father and son, this Hiruzen knew to be true. But knowing didn't mean anything when every time the two spoke, tempers would flare and pride took precedence over a peaceful resolution.

"Enough." One word quietly spoken, and a flare of his own chakra, akin to the hand of God brushing away a hurricane, was all the Hokage needed to extinguish the rising tension and remove the pressure from Asuma's chakra flare. "If you believe so strongly that you are right then nothing else I say can change your mind. Take the mission. You are dismissed."

The jounin stood there, the anger and frustration still bubbling and threatening to spill over the edge. Even if his father had relented, he still felt like he was ten years old again, being chastised by his disappointed father after throwing a temper tantrum. He stalked forwards and grabbed the mission scroll.

"It was never about being right…" Asuma muttered under his breath as he turned to walk away.

The Sandaime's breath hitched in his throat as he watched his only living son exit the room. What would it take for reconciliation, he wondered, his death? Might the metaphorical hatchet have to be buried with him for his son to make peace with his failed parenting?

"I apologize for that embarrassing scene you two had to witness." He offered to the seemingly empty room.

"…we apologize for intruding, Hokage-sama." The ANBU bodyguard responded awkwardly.

Hiruzen pinched the bridge of his nose with his eyes closed, trying to sooth the encroaching headache. 'Biwako would have known how to reconcile us…'