Goals and Training

(Konoha Year 52)

Yumi stepped forward, her posture shifting into one that exuded confidence and expertise, a side of her I hadn't yet seen from her before. She summoned a bow staff from a scroll before asking me to get in a comfortable stance.

"First, let's work on your grip," she began, adjusting the way my hands wrapped around the staff. "A proper grip will give you control and flexibility for both offensive and defensive movements."

She had begun acting like a completely different person. She had a confidence about her when she brought out a staff that gave me assurance that she would train me well.

Under her guidance, I practiced the basics: how to hold the staff correctly, various striking techniques, and defensive maneuvers. Yumi emphasized the importance of footwork, showing me how to move fluidly to maintain balance and leverage power from my whole body.

As we moved through drills, I noticed my initial awkwardness with the staff began to fade. The movements started to feel more natural, and I could execute the strikes with increasing precision. Yumi praised my progress, encouraging me to keep pushing my limits.

"Now that you've got a handle on this stance, let's try some combinations," she said, demonstrating a series of moves that blended offense and defense seamlessly. "It's not just about hitting; it's about moving in a way that keeps you safe while preparing your next move."

We practiced for over an hour as the sun climbed higher in the sky. Yumi's instruction helped me grasp the fundamentals of staff fighting, and I started to appreciate the weapon's versatility.

As we took a break, I turned to Yumi, curious about her past. "How did you become so skilled with the staff?" I asked, genuinely interested in her story.

Yumi smiled, leaning on her staff. "I've been training since I was very young, just like you. My family has always served the Sarutobi, and I wanted to be useful in any way I could. The staff was the first weapon I felt a connection with; it's been my companion ever since."

Her words sparked something in me, a realization of the dedication and commitment it took to master a skill.

"Thank you, Yumi," I said sincerely. "For sharing your skill and your story. I hope I can be as proficient with the Gladius and Staff as you are with the staff."

She chuckled, patting my shoulder. "Give it time and effort, and you'll master any weapon you choose. Remember, it's not just about physical strength but understanding and adapting."

She looked up at the sky, "it looks like it's almost time for you to meet with Lady Tsunade. Let's end it here for now. If you ever need help let me know, okay."

-Hospital Garden-

(4 hours later)

"Finally! I did it!"

It had been four hours since Yumi dropped me off with Tsunade, in that time I was able to get it down. It turned out that the most difficult part was starting. Once I found the correct amount of chakra and kept it flowing at a constant rate, the concentration needed to keep the leaf stuck diminished.

"You're progressing well Asuma, I figured you'd complete it within a day or two."

"Thank you sensei." I replied.

She stood up, "Now that means we can start the next step". She began going through some hand seals followed by a stomp. Three earth walls erected from the ground, one behind me and two on either side. I was boxed in with the only exit in front of me being blocked by Tsunade.

It was still spacious and quite easy to move around in. Looking at Tsunade for an explanation I saw her pulling out a storage scroll. She began to summon dodge balls, getting nervous. I asked, "What are you doing?"

"Preparing of course. Your next goal is to last 30 minutes keeping a leaf on your forehead while dodging my attacks. I won't be using chakra and I'll be holding back of course, but if you want to learn medical ninjutsu from me you need to be able to handle the pressure of healing others on the battlefield."

"Wait! I barely started my training should we really get this serious so soon!"

"Of course, as a future medic you need to be able to avoid attacks. Your life and the lives of your comrades will depend on your abilities to survive til the very end. Healers should always be the last to fall, they are the most important person in any battlefield. They have the ability to change the outcome of any conflict." She said.

I stuck a leaf on my head, and without any warning she began launching balls at me. That's when I first felt it, my first wish, a life saver of a gift that gave me the opportunity to dodge a ball flying at my face. Though with barely any breathing room as two more balls came flying towards my legs. I tried jumping but as I got some air time, a third, much faster ball hit me in the chest causing me to flip and slam the ground hard.

I let out a loud groan, the abruptness of the situation had caught me off guard. My body was in great pain, but what annoyed me most was the leaf that fell off my head. It meant that the hit to the chest was for nothing. Struggling to get back up, I steadied my feet and continued to stick the leaf on my head.

From what I understood of this exercise, it was meant to help keep a medic ninja focused under pressure, being able to heal without falling distracted by the battle around you and minimizing mistakes when healing. Secondly, avoiding the dodge balls are meant to represent the jutsus and kunai of people trying to kill the medic as they are the first to go in battle. Like she said a medic is supposed to be the last to fall as they are the most important on any team.

She started up once again launching balls at me, I began using this time to get accustomed to my danger sense. I felt a slight vibration in my mind letting me know the direction it was from and a slight pulling sensation on where to best avoid the attack.

Of course this took several attempts to understand because I would end up getting struck by the balls or dropping the leaf when I lost focus.

By the end of the session I was bruised on most of my body. A slight numb and tingling sensation was felt wherever I was bruised. When the barrage finally ended, I was left exhausted. I barely noticed the earth walls coming down and Tsunade approaching me.

"You did better than expected. Although you are really slow, your reflexes make up for it. I was surprised I had to increase the speeds of my throws on the first day." She said.

I only grunted in response, not even getting up from the ground. I couldn't be excited at her praises and my progress in only one day, as I could only feel the pain from today's training in my mind.

At least until she began healing my body, it allowed for more clear thoughts to be able to circulate through my brain. I thanked her for the healing and the training. I was only able to get to 7 minutes before getting hit or dropping the leaf. But for it being only a few hours, I felt like my progress was great.

I looked up at the sky, the sun was beginning to set on Konoha. Tsunade began escorting me home again, "So do you have any goals for when you become a ninja?" She questioned.

I became thoughtful at her question, knowing what I know my main goal was to survive, but aside from that what was my goal. Being the Hokage? No, too much work. I just want to be strong enough to live my life my own way.

Even as the Hokage's son I couldn't do that. There were expectations of me and going rouge wasn't plausible. My best option was to gain a reputation like the Three Legendary Sannin. That way I could leave the village and do my own things without having to answer to anyone.

Luckily, there wasn't even a need to hide my strength from people like Danzo as I had the protection of a Hokage. I could grow strong as quickly as I wanted and my only threats would be external. That thought gave me some confidence, I was dealt a good hand, one that I would use to my benefit.

Finally I decided, looking at Tsunade I said with great bravado, "I want to be strong and feared across the ninja world. A pillar no one would dare go against like Hashirama Senju or Madara Uchiha".

She looked at me, her lip twitching before bursting into laughter. Wiping a few tears from her eyes she began, "Honestly I wasn't sure what to expect. But that definitely wasn't even close to what I had in mind." She said with a chuckle.

Her demeanor became more serious, "It is an admirable goal. Most people don't have the drive to come close to Kage, let alone want to surpass it like my Gramps or Madara. You better work hard if you really want to accomplish it though, you'll have a hard road ahead of you." She added.

With that she dropped me off at home before leaving. Her answer, although annoying at first, gave me a lot to think about. It was going to be a difficult road to get to that level, but I had to reach it if I wanted to make a difference, especially against the threats coming in the future.

I sighed, time to eat and rest. I got a lot more training in my future.