Asuma Sarutobi

Name: Sarutobi Asuma



First Manga Appearance: Chapter 34
First Anime Appearance: Episode 20
Name Meaing: Sarutobi=Flying Monkey [Also a legendary ninja], Asuma=Normal Name
Hidden Village: Leaf Village
Rank: Jounin
Age: 30
Notable Features: Wields trench knives, Son of Sandaime Hokage
Notable Quotes: I guess we were bound to meet in the future. Now I have the task of taking you on!
Special Abilities: Hien, Wind Element user

Stats:
(Pre-timeskip and Post-timeskip 10 Point Scale)
Ninjutsu: 9
Genjutsu: 7
Taijutsu: 9
Intelligence: 9
Power: 8
Speed: 9
Stamina: 7
Seal Knowledge: 7

History:
Sarutobi Asuma was born into the Sarutobi clan to Sandaime Hokage. At the age of nine he graduated from the Ninja Academy and at 12 he passed the Chuunin Exam. Earlier in his life Asuma was apparently one of the Twelve Elite Guardians of the Fire Country Daimyou. He left Konoha behind to seek his own path but returned at some point before the series start. He still wears the "Fire" loincloth of this elite group.

Asuma eventually became a Jounin and was assigned Team 10 (Nara Shikamaru, Yamanaka Ino, and Akimichi Chouji). Asuma maintains a relatively relaxed demeanor, and is almost always seen smoking. When battle erupts though, Asuma can quickly dispatch his foes with his Wind Element enhanced knives.

Asuma was apparently on testy terms with his father but came to understand his place in the village and his clan several years after his father's death. Asuma tries to look out for the best interests of his Genin team. He pressed Chouji to train more and frequently played Shougi with Shikamaru.

Asuma later assisted Kakashi alongside Yuuhi Kurenai when Uchiha Itachi and Hoshigaki Kisame came to Konoha. Asuma spends a lot of his free time alongside Kurenai, possibly hinting at some romantic connection. In the following years he would proudly congratulate Ino and Chouji as they became Chuunin as well. And he would give them an earring as a gift. During this time Asuma began to evaluate his place in Konoha and decided he was merely a sacrificial pawn on the Shougi board of life.

When Naruto returned to Konoha after his training with Jiraiya, he came to Asuma seeking assistance developing his Wind Element jutsu. Asuma explained how he used the element in his own techniques and gave the young man pointers on getting started.

When Akatsuki began moving through the Fire Country, Tsunade dispatched numerous teams to stop them. One such team made up of Asuma, Shikamaru, Kotetsu and Izumo. The team headed for the Fire Temple which Akatsuki had recently attacked. There they learned the duo had taken Chiriku to a bounty station to cash in. They followed in pursuit and met Hidan and Kakuzu there. They quickly attacked Hidan but learned he apparently could not be killed, as he shrugged off anything they threw at him.

Hidan revealed that he practiced a strange cult which allowed him to take the attacks thrown at him and transfer them back to the one who was attacking. All he had to do was ingest some of their blood. Unfortunately Asuma traded attacks with Hidan and had some of his blood ingested. The Leaf ninja did their best to stop Hidan, but they were unable to prevent him from striking a fatal blow to his own heart, which in turned proved fatal to Asuma. Help to arrived and Akatsuki fled. Asuma's former Genin gathered around their sensei to hear his final words.

Asuma stated he finally understood why his father did the things he did. Asuma told Ino to look after Shikamaru and Chouji, and not lose to Sakura in Ninjutsu or love. He told Chouji to always believe in himself and try to diet. Finally he told Shikamaru he had the ability to become Hokage, even though he may consider it a pain. He also said that he understood who the important "king" was on the Shougi board of life. He took one final cigarette drag, and then passed away.

Team 10 returned to Konoha with Asuma's body. Shikamaru told Kurenai the bad news and she broke down crying. Asuma was laid to rest with an honorable funeral and Konohamaru mourned his fallen uncle. Shikamaru became focused on not letting Asuma death to have been for nothing. He studied hard and learned how to imbue his shadow chakra into Asuma's knives and he discovered how Hidan’s jutsu worked. Team 10 was finally ready to set out and get their revenge against Hidan.

With the help of Kakashi, Team 10 tracked down Hidan and Kakuzu. Shikamaru led Hidan away from the others. There he carefully played out his trap and managed to bind Hidan and cover him in explosive tags. Using Asuma's lighter and cigarette's he lit one, and imagined Asuma congratulating him and passing the torch on to him. Shikamaru coldly stated that Hidan dug his own grave when he killed his sensei. He then flicked the cigarette which struck the explosive tags, blowing Hidan to pieces.

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