"Ryūjin!"
Hearing approaching footsteps, Kurenai Yuhi glanced toward the sound. When she saw Ryūjin Uchiha walking toward them, her eyes immediately brightened and she called out his name without hesitation.
Seeing the familiar way Kurenai reacted to Ryūjin, Asuma Sarutobi instantly felt his expression darken.
His fists clenched unconsciously.
Part of it was jealousy, resentment, and pure irritation toward the relationship between Kurenai and Ryūjin. The other part came from the humiliation Ryūjin had once given him in the past. That memory still lingered in his mind.
Ryūjin walked forward calmly as if he did not notice Asuma's murderous glare at all.
"Miss, may I ask if this person is harassing you?" Ryūjin asked Kurenai with a completely serious expression, as if he were simply doing his duty as a member of the Konoha Military Police Force.
Asuma immediately exploded.
"Uchiha Ryūjin, don't push your luck!" he shouted angrily.
Ryūjin slowly turned his head and looked at Asuma from top to bottom. His gaze carried obvious disdain.
"What, just because you're the Hokage's son, you think you can ignore the rules of Konoha?"
His tone turned colder.
"I'm warning you. Step away from Kurenai right now. Otherwise I will detain you myself."
Those words nearly made Asuma lose control.
"Ryūjin, forget it," Kurenai said softly, tugging lightly at Ryūjin's sleeve. She clearly did not want the situation to escalate any further.
Ryūjin did not even look at her.
"Whether this ends or not isn't up to me," he said calmly.
His eyes remained fixed on Asuma, and the warning in them was impossible to miss.
Kurenai hesitated for a moment before turning toward Asuma.
"Asuma, you should leave. And stop bothering me."
Her tone was serious and firm.
Asuma's face flushed bright red. His pride and temper finally exploded.
"This is going too far!"
With a shout, he suddenly lunged forward.
Whoosh!
His fist shot straight toward Ryūjin.
Ryūjin's lips curved slightly with disdain.
"Looking for trouble."
Just like a year ago, he responded using what looked like pure Taijutsu. In reality, he secretly added the force of Shinra Tensei.
The result was exactly the same as before.
Asuma's body was blasted backward as if he had been struck by an invisible force, flying several meters before crashing heavily onto the ground.
It was almost identical to what had happened a year earlier.
Asuma lay there in disbelief.
"How… how is this possible… why is it still like this…"
Back when he had been only a Special Jonin, losing to Ryūjin had been humiliating enough. But now he had already become a full Jonin.
Yet the outcome had not changed at all.
Ryūjin walked toward him slowly, completely relaxed.
When he reached Asuma, he crouched slightly and casually brushed the dust off Asuma's clothes as if he were helping an old friend.
Then he spoke quietly.
"From now on, stay far away from Kurenai."
His eyes hardened slightly.
"If I see you bothering her again, I'll beat you every single time."
Before Asuma could respond, Ryūjin suddenly drove a heavy punch straight into his stomach.
Bang!
The impact folded Asuma's body instantly. He collapsed to the ground, clutching his abdomen and curling into a ball, unable to even stand up.
"Alright," Ryūjin said calmly as he straightened up, "problem solved."
He walked back toward Kurenai as if nothing important had happened.
"Ryūjin… is this really okay?" Kurenai asked with some concern.
Ryūjin shrugged.
"What's the issue? I was just doing my job as part of the Military Police Force."
Kurenai thought about it carefully.
Technically speaking, Asuma had thrown the first punch. By Konoha's rules, Ryūjin had not done anything wrong.
She quietly hoped that after this, Asuma would finally give up.
Then Ryūjin suddenly spoke again.
"By the way, Kurenai," he said casually, a hint of amusement in his tone. "I think I heard you say earlier that you already have someone you like?"
Kurenai froze instantly.
A faint blush appeared on her face before she turned away quickly.
"That has nothing to do with you!"
A few seconds later she hurried away down the street, looking suspiciously like someone fleeing a crime scene.
Ryūjin simply watched her go with a faint smirk.
At that moment, another voice suddenly sounded behind them.
"Asuma, you really look miserable right now."
The voice was relaxed and teasing.
Ryūjin and the other members of the Military Police Force immediately turned toward the source.
When they saw the tall man with long white hair, a loose robe, and the character for "oil" written on his forehead protector, the two Uchiha officers beside Ryūjin stiffened instantly.
Their expressions turned extremely nervous.
"Ji… Jiraiya-sama!"
Standing before them was one of the legendary Jiraiya.
Even the proud Uchiha Clan could not maintain their arrogance when facing someone at the level of the Sannin.
Especially ordinary clan members like them.
The situation was even more awkward because Jiraiya was the student of the Hokage, and Ryūjin had just beaten the Hokage's son in the middle of the street.
"Asuma, you look terrible," Jiraiya said casually.
Asuma forced himself up from the ground with obvious embarrassment.
"Jiraiya-sama…"
His face burned with shame. He looked as if he wished the ground would swallow him.
Jiraiya laughed loudly.
"Relax, it's just a beating. Why look so depressed? Everyone gets beaten up when they're young."
As he spoke, he seemed to recall certain memories from the past.
Back then, he had been beaten countless times by a certain violent woman.
He had also challenged Orochimaru many times because he refused to accept Orochimaru's reputation as a genius.
Every time, he had been defeated miserably.
After laughing for a moment, Jiraiya turned his attention toward Ryūjin.
"But you, kid, are quite interesting. Your Taijutsu is actually that strong?"
He walked closer with a curious expression.
The two Uchiha officers beside Ryūjin became even more nervous.
Ryūjin, however, remained completely calm.
"I spend most of my time training Taijutsu," he said casually. "So it's normal that I'm decent at it."
"An Uchiha who focuses on Taijutsu," Jiraiya muttered thoughtfully.
Then he laughed again.
"Interesting."
He waved his hand casually.
"Carry on with your work. Don't worry about me."
With that, he turned and began to walk away as if nothing important had happened.
It was clear that he had no intention of interfering in what had just occurred.
In Jiraiya's eyes, Ryūjin beating Asuma was nothing more than a scuffle between young ninja. With his experience and status, he had no interest in meddling.
"Jiraiya-sama, please wait a moment!"
Ryūjin suddenly called out from behind him.
Jiraiya stopped and turned around.
"Yes?"
Ryūjin quickly stepped forward.
"Jiraiya-sama, do you still have any signed copies of Make-Out Tactics?"
His tone was completely serious.
"As a fan, I would really like one."
For a Naruto fan, meeting Jiraiya without asking for a signed copy of that legendary book would be a huge waste.
Jiraiya blinked in surprise.
Then his expression turned extremely proud.
"Oh ho, so you're a fan of mine."
He stroked his chin smugly.
"I just got back to the village and already someone wants my autograph. Not bad."
Then he looked Ryūjin up and down.
"Although I'm happy to meet a fan, is someone your age really supposed to be reading Make-Out Tactics?"
As he spoke, he reached out and casually ruffled Ryūjin's hair.
Ryūjin immediately brushed his hand away with clear annoyance.
"Jiraiya-sama, no offense," Ryūjin said bluntly, "but you definitely can't drive as smoothly as I can."
Jiraiya blinked.
"When it comes to being an 'old driver', I rank first in the entire ninja world. Nobody else even qualifies for second place."
"Driving? Old driver?"
Jiraiya looked confused for a moment.
He did not fully understand what Ryūjin meant.
But when he looked at the boy's expression, he clearly felt something else.
A kind of subtle contempt.
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