A Tribute To Asuma Sarutobi

I started watching Naruto when I was a child, so I didn’t have the most justified judgment when it came to which characters I liked. Plus, I had abandoned the show due to a few unseen circumstances and picked it back up recently. Back then, I always liked Kakashi more than I did Asuma, because, well, it’s KAKASHI. It’s obvious that Kakashi is a badass character in terms of personality, background, design, skill and all. On the other hand, I thought Asuma was quite irrelevant and wondered what was the reason behind his creation as a character. As if his sole purpose was to be Ino-Shika-Cho’s sensei, and just because we needed a character to fill that role. I didn’t see any unique qualities in him.

It wasn’t until recently when I got to Shippuden that I realized Asuma’s significance and how much of a great character he really is. Asuma has a number of amazing achievements under his belt. First, he was a member of the Twelve Guardian Shinobi: a group of elite ninjas who served as guardians for the Fire Daimyo (feudal lord). There’s a reason he was chosen as one of the twelve guardians rather than other Jonin such as Might Guy or Kakashi Hatake, most likely being his definite integrity and sense of justice. In addition, Asuma became quite infamous in the ninja world, having a bounty of a whopping 35 million Ryo on his head in the black market. Even Chiriku had only 30 million. If that doesn’t scream “badass” to you, I don’t know what else does.

Personally, my favourite part about Asuma is his fighting style. Many people don’t really think about this, causing him to seem like a comparatively average shinobi. However, I think “well-rounded” is a better term to describe him. I love his Taijutsu because rather than being totally graceful and traditional as that of Might Guy’s, Asuma was like a street fighter, in a sense. That type of vibe is given off by his trademark pair of bladed knuckles which he uses in basically every fight he’s ever been in. And he has amazing control over his wind style chakra, as we see him show Naruto. He was among the awesome teachers who helped Naruto reach to where he did. Basically, Asuma threw hands whenever he had to beat some bad guys up. It’s a nice breath of fresh air from the “traditional” way a Shinobi would fight.

Asuma’s most favourite student was clearly Shikamaru Nara. Their regularly held shogi games, as well as his preference of taking only him along on missions when he’s older, instead of Choji or Ino. The most interesting connection between these two is the ideology that Asuma has passed down unto Shikamaru, that the next generation is the “King” of Konoha. Asuma’s last words to Shikamaru were to have him protect the “king”, the new generation, including his soon-to-be-born daughter.

This was very important to Shikamaru’s development, as he realizes the responsibilities he carries on his shoulders, as he’s growing up to become an adult. Asuma’s teachings (and not to forget Shikaku’s) have made Shikamaru the mature, dependable intellectual that he is today. Shikamaru doesn’t exactly have to improve physically because he’s a tactician. Improving his mental stability and moral compass was definitely the right decision that Asuma made. Shikamaru becoming the first Chunin out of his peers is quite the accomplishment. You did your job well, Asuma. The Third Hokage should have given you a raise!

I saw many characters die in the series till now. But no death had the impact that the death of Asuma Sarutobi had on me. Watching that last cigarette fall was heart-breaking. You shall be fondly remembered, Sensei.