At the close proximity of your chakra, wrinkles appeared on the piece of paper where they hadn’t been before. You held it up for Asuma to see, bewildered.

“You have an affinity for lightning,” he said, inspecting the creases with interest. “That’s most fortunate, there’s a sensei with the same affinity as you here in Konoha. Looks like we don’t need to arrange anything in advance; Kakashi will be more than capable of teaching you raiton.”

“Kakashi?” you asked in mild curiosity. “That’s Naruto’s sensei?”

Asuma slapped his forehead. “Of course, he has his own genin team to train. I’ll go talk with him and see if he’ll be able to, but in the meantime, be prepared.”

“Prepared? For what?”

He looked at you seriously. “I may have to send you to Kumogakure. Their shinobi specialize in lightning-style techniques.”

His grave tone unnerved you somewhat. “Kumo and Konoha aren’t on very good terms with each other, aren’t they? Suppose you send me there…I don’t think I’ll be particularly welcome.”

“True,” Asuma said thoughtfully. “But remember, you’re just a twelve-year-old genin, fresh from the Academy. There’s no way you’ll pose a threat to their village. Kumo is very opportunistic, they may seize this chance to ease the tension between our villages to set the stage for the next attack. So if you’re there to learn basic techniques, I doubt they’ll see you as a Konoha spy, but rather an opportunity.”

You gulped. You didn’t like the idea of being used, even if it was just a ploy.

“You won’t be in much danger,” he said hastily, catching sight of your expression. “The Cloud Village won’t stoop that low to harm a kid who displays promise in Lightning Release. I’ll ask my father to send a diplomatic message to Kumogakure. We’ll hear from them in a couple of days. In the meantime, we’ll train and complete some D-ranked missions as a team before you depart.”

Go to Chapter 98.