"Hello." Ren said as he sat down behind a table facing Asuma and Kurenai in a nondescript, mostly empty restaurant. "Didn't expect to be invited to a meeting with you two. Well? What do you need from me?"
It was the day when the new genins were going to be told their team placements. Ren could guess what this was about, considering the teams would be the same as in canon, as far as he could tell.
Even Karin's presence wasn't a changing factor because the girl decided to join the Barrier Corps straight from the academy.
Ino and Hinata would be in Asuma's and Kurenai's teams, and as their tutor... well, they probably wanted to gather more information about their future pupils. It was only natural. For high-ranking ninjas, gathering intel was something akin to a force of habit.
"You can probably guess." Asuma said and leisurely started to take out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, only for Kurenai's narrowed eyes to stop him in his tracks. With an awkward laugh, he put the pack back into his pocket and cleared his throat.
"We would like to know about our future students." Kurenai dryly said, and Asuma nodded, trying to appear as if his awkward moment hadn't happened.
"We have received folders with their academic performances and visited the parents of our assigned charges. You, as their tutor, are the last person we need to talk to before picking them up at the academy." Asuma said with a sigh, clearly finding the whole ordeal bothersome to the extreme.
To Ren, that was the perfect attitude of a man who did not want to be saddled with something as troublesome as being a Jonin Instructor. He seemed very reluctant to be here and wasn't even trying to mask it.
Even when Kurenai shot him a small disapproving look, he didn't bother reacting.
Ren smiled.
He had suspicions about the team placements. It was all very sus once he started thinking about them. And Asuma's attitude was more or less an indirect proof. The thing is, because of Ren's meddling, the academy grades of certain people were different from canon.
For example, Naruto was not the dead last and Sakura was not the kunoichi of the year. So, naturally, the teams should be different, too, right?
But that's not what happened. The current teams were the same. That was weird, at least until the political angle was considered. Then it was just perfect.
The Ino-Shika-Cho clans were the biggest supporters of Hiruzen Sarutobi. And unsurprisingly, Asuma Sarutobi was given the next clan heads all in one team to train and bond with.
What a coincidence!
The Asuma Sarutobi, who had a lot of connections to the Daimyo and his court because he spent years as one of his personal bodyguards.
The Asuma Sarutobi, who is regarded as one of the most elite Jonin of Konoha right now.
And considering that Jiraiya is not going to take the hat while Kakashi and Gai are unsuitable...
Honestly, the old Shitflinger could not be more obvious with his long-term schemes. Asuma might not be ready now. But in three to five years? He just might get to the S-rank. Especially if Hiruzen decided to actually train his son, now that the man was back in the village.
In canon, Hiruzen died, and Asuma stayed an A-rank ninja until his death. And maybe that was for the better, considering that Hiruzen was low-key grooming Asuma's older brother for the hat before this.
That man was the previous ANBU commander. Unfortunately, on one mission, he was affected by a terminal case of Danzoism and had never returned.
Of course, that was just Ren's speculation. Surely, there might have been another explanation for the borderline S-rank dude groomed to be the next Hokage, somebody who completed countless S-rank missions on his own, not to return from an A-rank one.
Maybe he had gone to buy Konohamaru milk, but the stores were fresh out of stock?
It was possible. But honestly, Ren still believed that Danzoism, the affliction of many S-rank ninjas with the potential of becoming Hokage in Konoha, was more likely to be at work there.
Poor Asuma had no idea what the future had in store for him because after today, Danzo will be watching him with great interest.
"Alright, then. Ask away." Ren shrugged in the same unbothered way as Asuma had previously, "I'll share what I can."
"That's much appreciated." Kurenai smiled, "We mostly want to know how far you went with the girls' training. How good is their taijutsu? Did you teach them something beyond the basic three jutsu? That kind of stuff."
"What she said." Asuma agreed but didn't continue because the waitress came and brought their drinks. They stayed silent until the woman left before the conversation resumed.
Inwardly, Ren was a bit amused. Something beyond the basic three jutsu, eh?
It wasn't Asuma and Kurenai's fault that they had no idea how strong Ino and Hinata were. They hid their strength very well. And Ren decided it wasn't his place to reveal it.
No. He wouldn't be taking the opportunity to surprise their Jonin Instructors from Ino and Hinata.
"The girls suffice for their new rank when it comes to taijutsu and physical fitness." He said.
It wasn't a lie! They could match a Jonin in taijutsu. Especially Hinata. That girl was most likely way stronger than Kurenai in hand-to-hand by now.
But Ren had not said they were at genin rank in taijutsu. He only stated they would suffice for their rank. Which was true, no? After all, with their taijutsu skills, other genin should not pose a problem.
Asuma and Kurenai nodded, prompting Ren to continue.
"We didn't focus on genjutsu much, but genin-level illusions shouldn't pose a problem for the girls."
Well, Hinata has Byakugan, which no-sells genjutsu as default, and Ino was a Yamanaka, and therefore very observant. Not to mention, Ino had one of her Yin clones always stationed in her mindscape. Said clone could instantly recognize if she was ever ensnared in genjutsu and could break her out of it.
Even A-rank illusions should not prove problematic for the girls at this point. Once again, Ren was not lying. He just... slightly downplayed the girls' abilities for the funzies.
"What they will need to learn-" And this was very important to Ren. It was the main reason why he decided that getting on a genin team could be a valuable experience for them. "-is teamwork and the basics of the ninja trade."
Being a ninja wasn't all about killing and flashy techniques. There were all these pesky, mundane things that one needed to know. Like how to interact with a client based on their background and societal standing. How to appropriately rebuke a perverted client, demanding that they sleep with him in a way that the village would consider appropriate.
That happened more often than expected. Kunoichi were usually very beautiful.
Etiquette. How to navigate various climates. How to read maps. The Konoha signal language. Cultural do's and don'ts. Various team formations that Konoha's squads usually use. How to get along with other people, or at least work together, despite not really liking them. And much, much more.
There was a mountainload of things that Ren did not focus on in the girls' training. He made them strong. But he did neglect all these 'mundane' things every ninja needed to eventually learn.
And he was very happy that Kurenai and Asuma volunteered for that duty.
Asuma and Kurenai looked at each other with wry smiles.
"Yeah. That's pretty much what we will have to focus on at first anyway." Asuma gruffly said and shrugged before taking a sip from his sake. "Man~, this is going to suck."
Kurenai rolled her eyes at him, "But we shall do our best." She said to Ren as if to reassure him that Ino and Hinata were in good hands despite Asuma's attitude. "Our goal is to get them ready for the upcoming Chunin Exams in Konoha, and if their physical fitness is truly at a good level for a genin already, then that would help us a lot." She added in a relieved tone, only her eyes betrayed that she was inwardly grimacing.
Ren's lips twitched at that. He could see the pressure Kurenai was feeling, even if she tried to hide it. Like it or not, the woman had gotten her team only because of her budding relationship with Asuma, and she knew it.
Ren doubted it was her doing, too.
Hiruzen most likely noticed their relationship. And in the ninja world, if two people are dating for more than a month and find each other compatible, they very rarely separate. Ninjas did not have the time and leisure for relationship drama.
Asuma and Kurenai were childhood friends. They were going out before Asuma went to the Fire Capital. And now that he had come back to Konoha, they got back together quickly again.
The writing was on the wall for them, even if they would probably deny it. They were going to end up together. That was a foregone conclusion, and somebody as old as Hiruzen could probably see it as plain as the day.
It isn't strange that there is a level of favouritism involved.
Kurenai was a good jonin. Strong jonin. She deserved her rank. But she was a Genjutsu specialist. She is pretty much a support ninja. She is supposed to be in the backline, supporting other Jonin with her illusions.
And a Jonin Instructor has to be strong enough to protect her charges. Especially if they are the children of clan heads. She just wasn't it. Her skillset wasn't geared for it.
It wouldn't matter if she had less important charges. But the kids of clan heads? That was some mighty gambling with the village's future potential right there from the higher-ups.
Hell, she didn't even have the necessary expertise to teach her assigned kids. What exactly was she supposed to teach a Hyuga and an Inuzuka? Even Aburame was never going to be an illusion specialist. Aburames always focused exclusively on their clan techniques. They had to conserve their chakra for their hives.
Ren could sympathize with her. This was probably not what she envisioned when she filled out her Jonin Instructor application. They shafted her pretty hard with this.
Politically speaking, if Asuma did become the Hokage in the future and married Kurenai, then he would possibly have Shino and the Aburame in his corner through this connection. Not to mention, Kiba and Hinata were most likely going to become very important figures in their clans, too.
That was most likely more important to Hiruzen Sarutobi than some pesky concerns about Kurenai's qualifications to teach her team something useful beyond the bare basics.
After all, they were clan ninjas. They could and should manage with their clan teachings. Kurenai was there to show them the ropes of their trade. Not to make them into Jonin-level combatants. But it was still a dick move from the old monkey, in Ren's opinion. Both to the kiddies and to Kurenai herself.
And then there was the whole 'We wanna enroll them in the next Chunin Exams bit'. Ren almost burst out laughing right there. Because, oh, boy, Kurenai or Asuma didn't really look like that was their idea.
But on the other hand, Ren had to admit, there was a logic to this madness. And it did make sense.