Konoha: Intentionally losing to Hinata at the start

"Yu Ming, just say what you want to say."

Hongdou, who had been urging Yuming to eat the meatballs, paused for a moment and looked at Yuming with some curiosity. "Yuming, you're acting a bit strange today. And the fact that you're eating meatballs is really a bit odd."

Seeing that both of them were looking at him, Yu Ming said helplessly, "I do have something I want to say to Teacher Hong today. It's just that, Teacher Hong, you have to hang in there."

Hearing this, Kurenai Yuhi's heart trembled.

"You, you say it."

Although she suddenly felt a little scared, Hong still managed a forced smile and asked Yu Ming.

Yu Ming thought for a moment, then raised his head and said, "Teacher Hong, Teacher Asuma sacrificed himself in this mission."

Upon hearing this, Kurenai felt as if she had been struck by lightning, completely unable to believe that she would hear such news.

"You, you're not kidding, are you?"

Her face was flushed, a mixture of a smile and a sob, her lips trembling.

She couldn't accept this fact.

Hongdou was completely stunned. She looked at Yuming seriously and asked, "Yuming, you must be joking. Asuma is so powerful, how could he possibly die? Absolutely not. You must be joking with Hongdou, right? That must be it?"

Yu Ming remained silent and did not speak.

Kurenai clenched her fists. Although she didn't break down, she cried silently.

Looking at Kurenai, Hongdou said with heartache, "Kurenai, don't be like this. If you want to cry, just cry."

As he spoke, he walked to her side and hugged her.

Yu Ming remained silent for a long time, while Xi Ri Hong continued to shed tears, though she did not cry out loud.

They were all preparing to get married, but Asma died right before that crucial moment.

Kurenai Yuhi couldn't accept it; anyone would find it hard to accept.

Yu Ming looked at Kurenai for a long time before saying, "Kurenai-sensei, don't be sad. Asuma-sensei did it to protect his students. He should have no regrets about that."

Kurenai was no longer listening to any of these words and leaned against Koko's chest, heartbroken.

Yu Ming sat opposite the two without saying a word.

The news quickly spread throughout Konoha.

Asuma is an elite Jonin of Konoha, and is an absolute top-tier fighter.

But now he has died in battle, which is hard for many people to believe.

At the same time, many Konoha ninjas have gained a deeper understanding of Akatsuki's strength.

Naruto, who was training, also learned about Asuma's situation, and at the same time, he was somewhat worried about Shikamaru and the others.

Of the Konoha 12, only Asuma died in battle.

Everyone else—Gay, Kurenai, and Kakashi—is alive and well.

Naruto was worried that Shikamaru wouldn't be able to accept it.

In peacetime, it is extremely rare for an elite Jonin from a large ninja village to be killed.

Elite Jonin already possess immense power; even when facing a Kage-level ninja, they have a chance to escape unless ambushed.

But now Asma has actually died in battle.

This kind of news is hard for anyone to accept.

The entire village of Konoha was in mourning.

Asuma's departure meant that Konohamaru lost two of his closest people in quick succession.

The Third Hokage and Asuma were practically the pillars of the Sarutobi clan.

Although the Sarutobi clan is currently very powerful and still has Jonin, there are indeed no more masters of Asuma's caliber or the Third Hokage.

Most of them were just mediocre Jonin.

Fortunately, the numbers are not bad; besides the Hyuga clan, there is also the Sarutobi clan.

A few days after Asuma's death, Shikamaru and his two companions went to the Hokage's office, intending to seek revenge on Kakuzu and Hidan.

Tsunade looked at the three of them, feeling a bit of a headache, but she really wanted them to take revenge.

If they can't do it, then these three are probably really done for.

Asma's influence on them was indeed profound.

Compared to other Jonin instructors, Asuma is probably the teacher who cares most about his students among all the Jonin instructors of the squad.

Most importantly, he spends almost all his time with Shikamaru, Choji, and Ino, and knows them very well.

I have a very good relationship with them.

In their hearts, Asma was really much like their father.

The death of such a person in battle is a huge blow to them.

So emotionally, Tsunade would be very willing to let them take revenge, but as the Hokage of the village, for their safety, Tsunade simply could not allow it.

Just as Tsunade was about to object, Kakashi came in from outside and said, "Hokage-sama, let me take them there."

Shikamaru and the other two turned to look at Kakashi, somewhat incredulous that Kakashi would step forward at this moment.

Kakashi looked at Tsunade very seriously and said, "I know. If they can't get revenge, their lives are truly ruined."

"Yu Ming, right?"

After a moment of silence, Yu Ming nodded. "Kakashi-sensei, you're right. Go ahead. I've already told you about their information. I hope you can be careful this time."

This time, Yu Ming bypassed Tsunade and granted permission for the three's idea.

Although Tsunade wanted to object, after thinking about it, she nodded and said, "Go ahead, be careful."

Kakashi nodded seriously. "Yes."

Shikamaru and the other two originally thought that Tsunade would not allow it this time, but they did not expect her to allow it so easily.

They looked at Yu Ming with gratitude.

They knew very well that they would not be able to get permission without Yu Ming's help.

Yu Ming smiled and said, "The Hokage has already given his permission, but your opponents are very powerful, so you should be careful and think twice before you act."

Shikamaru understood the meaning of Yumei's words best, so he nodded.

As the group was about to leave, Yu Ming called out to Kakashi, "Kakashi-sensei, take this. If you really can't defeat them, channel your chakra into this kunai, and I'll come to your aid immediately."

Yu Ming tossed Kakashi a Flying Thunder God Kunai.

Kakashi held the kunai and nodded. "Mm."

He knew the value of this kunai (Zhao Zhao's). Yu Ming rarely gave away his Flying Thunder God kunai because such a kunai was extremely valuable.

Even the water gates were never developed.

Yu Ming incorporated the principles of reverse summoning, allowing him to obtain Kakashi and the others' location coordinates simply by inputting someone else's chakra.

Just this one Flying Thunder God Kunai costs 200,000 taels of silver to make, which is the reward for an A-level mission.

This is just the cost; the actual procedure involved is truly difficult.

Although it wasn't difficult for Yu Ming, it still required him to expend the chakra of a Jonin-level being to carve it.

Kakashi led Shikamaru and the others to intercept Hidan and Kakuzu. Yu Ming sighed, "Hopefully, this time, the tragedy of last time won't happen again."

Tsunade nodded.

Actually, she also seemed somewhat solemn.

Asuma's loss, for her, meant the loss of a powerful subordinate, and for Konoha, the loss of an elite ninja.

Moreover, Asma was her teacher's son.

The situation in the ninja world is becoming increasingly complex. Although Yu Ming could defeat Pain in one fell swoop, he still wants to wait for Kaguya Otsutsuki to emerge so he can compete with her.

Looking at Yu Ming, Tsunade sighed, "I hope you can defeat Kaguya Otsutsuki in the future. I wonder how strong that powerful person is."

Of the Otsutsuki clan, Tsunade had only met one Otsutsuki Urashiki.

That truly opened her eyes; she hadn't realized that such powerful people existed in the ninja world.

Even powerful figures like Sasuke, who already possessed the Rinnegan, and Jiraiya, who had mastered Sage Mode, were utterly powerless against Urashiki Otsutsuki.

If Yu Ming hadn't intervened, Naruto would definitely have been taken away, and Konoha would have been destroyed.

In this era, she heard too many strange and wonderful stories, many of which she had never heard of before.

Chapter 330 Peace in the Ninja World (The End)

Kakashi, along with Shikamaru and the other two, went to intercept Hidan and Kakuzu.

Yu Ming was relatively relieved, since Kakashi carried Yu Ming's Flying Thunder God Kunai.

Even if he is no match for them, Yu Ming can still arrive in time.

Just when Yu Ming thought everything was going according to his plan...

A few days later, several ninjas appeared outside Konoha.

If Yu Ming were here, he would definitely recognize them as the Six Paths of Pain.

Logically speaking, they shouldn't be here at this time.

But they suddenly appeared here.

Just as Yu Ming was reading in the Hokage's room, a violent tremor suddenly occurred throughout Konoha Village.

Yu Ming frowned.

Tsunade also stood up.

"What happened?"

At that moment, several ninjas rushed into the Hokage's room, saying in a panic, "Lord Hokage, members of Akatsuki have stormed into the village and are now causing destruction everywhere."

Tsunade frowned and went from the Hokage's office to the top floor of the Hokage Building.

Yu Ming followed behind her.