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Asuma Sarutobi
(猿飛アスマ)
Asuma by Masashi Kishimoto
Debut	Manga Chapter 34 Naruto Episode 3
Seiyū	Jūrōta Kosugi
Voice actor(s)	Doug Erholtz
Profile
Age	27-28 in Part I 30 in Part II (deceased)
Birthday	October 18
Blood Type	O
Height	190.8 cm
Weight	81.6 kg
Known relatives	Third Hokage (father, deceased) Konohamaru (nephew)
Information
Current rank	Jonin
Previous affiliation	Konohagakure 12 Guard Ninjas of Fire
Previous team	Team 10 (Asuma Sarutobi, Shikamaru Nara, Ino Yamanaka, Choji Akimichi) Niju Shotai (Asuma Sarutobi, Shikamaru Nara, Izumo Kamizuki, and Kotetsu Hagane)
Signature jutsu/Kekkei genkai
Flying Swallow Fire Release: Ash Product Burning

Asuma Sarutobi (猿飛アスマ, Sarutobi Asuma^?) is a fictional character in the anime and manga series Naruto.

Contents 1 Background 2 Part I 2.1 Chunin Exam arc 2.2 Return of Itachi arc 3 Part II 3.1 Hidan and Kakuzu arc 4 Sources

Asuma Sarutobi is the laid-back leader of Team 10, consisting of Shikamaru Nara, Choji Akimichi and Ino Yamanaka. Usually seen smoking a cigarette, Asuma smokes about two packs of cigarettes a day, though he stops the habit when there's "something going on" or when something is bothering him. In Part II, it is revealed that Asuma is the son of the Third Hokage, which in turn makes him the uncle of Konohamaru.

Asuma was at one point in his life one of the 12 Guard Ninjas of Fire who protected the Lord of the Land of Fire, indicated by the sash on his waist, before returning to active military duty as a Jonin in Konoha. The ninja of this group seem to be particularly skilled, with each having a sizable bounty placed upon their head. Asuma boasts at one point that his bounty is 5 million ryō more than Head Monk Chiriku's (another Guardian Ninja) bounty, meaning his bounty is 35 million ryō.

Asuma often worries about his team, which (as he puts it) consist of a "glutton" (Choji), a "loud mouth" (Ino), and a "slacker" (Shikamaru). Asuma is very close with his team, even though he feels that their underachieving nature makes them hard to work with. To compensate for this, Asuma uses bribery and sometimes outright trickery to manipulate them into doing what he wants. For example, he frequently entices Choji with the promise of food in order to get him to complete a task. To pique his own curiosity about Shikamaru's intellect, Asuma disguised an I.Q. test as a series of puzzles and gave it to Shikamaru, knowing that Shikamaru would never take an actual written test. In doing so, Asuma discovered that Shikamaru was a tactical genius with an I.Q. of over 200.

Asuma uses trench knives (brass knuckles with a blade on one end, similar to kerambit) to fight, which he extends with his chakra to injure an enemy out of the physical blade's range. In Part II, he exhibits the ability to extend the blades by several feet. When demonstrating his wind-based chakra for Naruto Uzumaki, Asuma explains that these chakra-covered blades (when utilized by someone with wind-based chakra) possess enough power to pierce through rock. Coupled with his taijutsu skills, this makes him a formidable combatant.

It is heavily hinted that Asuma is romantically involved with Kurenai Yuhi. The two appear together in most of their scenes, and the other characters make it a point to note this fact on several occasions. When Kakashi Hatake finds the two together at a dumpling shop, Kakashi asks if they are on a date, to which Asuma responds by quickly changing the subject. In a flashback, Asuma is shown buying flowers for a person he refuses to name, though Ino asks that he say hello to Kurenai for her anyway. During Asuma's battle with Hidan, various shots of Kurenai are shown, indicating that she is concerned about him. Soon after, while Kurenai is watering flowers, a flower falls off of its stalk just as Asuma is wounded, leading Kurenai to believe that something has happened to Asuma. When Kurenai is told of Asuma's death, she falls to her knees in remorse, and later lays flowers on Asuma's grave during his funeral. The truth of their relationship is revealed in Part II, when it is revealed that Kurenai is pregnant with Asuma's child.

When Choji, fearing the competition, contemplates forfeiting his match during the preliminaries of the Chunin Exam, Asuma convinces him not to by offering to take him out for "all you can eat" barbecue (yakiniku or Korean BBQ). Asuma also claims that he'll stop the match if it gets out of hand, as the other Jonin did during Hinata Hyuga's match. Both Ino and Shikamaru note to themselves that Asuma didn't actually help in that instance.

Later, during the invasion of Konoha, Shikamaru is left by himself to defend against a group of imposing Sound ninja. Just as Shikamaru runs out of options and the Sound ninja are about to finish him off, Asuma appears and single-handedly defeats the group without being hit once.

During his brief battle with Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigaki, Asuma manages to catch Kisame off-guard with his trench knives, leaving a slight cut on Kisame's cheek. The rest of the battle goes poorly for Asuma, however, and he is nearly hit by Kisame's Water Shark Missile Technique. Kakashi Hatake arrives in time to copy the jutsu and use it to block the attack, thus saving Asuma.

Asuma makes his Part II debut standing at the Third Hokage's grave, where he comments on how he's finally beginning to understand what the Third taught him. Asuma confesses that he's always been detached from Konoha, but after seeing how his father sacrificed himself for the village, he is now proud to be a member of the Sarutobi clan.

Asuma is teamed up with Shikamaru, Kotetsu Hagane, and Izumo Kamizuki as members of the Niju Shotai. His team, along with the entire group, is ordered to search for and, if possible, capture a pair of Akatsuki members who had entered the Land of Fire. Asuma and his team eventually track down the Akatsuki members, Hidan and Kakuzu, at a Bounty Station where they quickly discover that Hidan is immortal after their first attack. The situation worsens, when Hidan's counterattack results in him becoming 'linked' to Asuma through a curse ritual. Hidan assumes a Grim Reaper-like form, causing any bodily damage to Hidan to be shared with Asuma while at the same time not hindering Hidan at all. Some quick thinking by Shikamaru manages to break Hidan's ritual, allowing Asuma to decapitate him with his chakra-extended trench knives. Surprisingly, Hidan's severed head starts to talk, uttering expletives at Asuma and Kakuzu (for not helping him).

Kakuzu finally steps in as he admonishes his partner for letting his guard down and sews Hidan's head back onto his body. With his body restored, Hidan resumes the ritual and impales himself in the heart. Though the blow does not instantly kill Asuma, it is still quite fatal. The rest of Team 10 arrives as backup, which, combined with a telepathic call from the Akatsuki leader, forces the Akatsuki duo to leave. Before dying, Asuma leaves some parting words with his students, and smokes one last cigarette.

Later, while Shikamaru is exacting revenge upon Hidan for killing Asuma, Asuma appears before Shikamaru and congratulates him for finally defeating the immortal. After entrusting his "will of fire" to Shikamaru, Asuma disappears into a puff of cigarette smoke just before his student finishes off Hidan with a huge explosion.

• First Official Data Book (秘伝・臨の書キャラクターオフィシャルデータBOOK, Hiden: Rin no Sho Character Official Data Book^?)
• Second Official Data Book (秘伝・闘の書キャラクターオフィシャルデータBOOK, Hiden: Tō no Sho Character Official Data Book^?)
• Jump's 2nd Great Hero Book's Mini Data Book (秘伝・翔の書オフィシャルキャラクターデータBOOK mini, Hiden: Shō no Sho Official Character Data Book mini^?)
• Naruto anime and manga Guidebook (秘伝・翔の書オフィシャルキャラクターデータBOOK mini, Hiden: Shō no Sho Official Character Data Book mini^?)
• Taken directly from the Naruto manga chapters and anime episodes.

Characters in Naruto v • d • e
Ninja:	Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha, Sakura Haruno & Kakashi Hatake Shikamaru Nara, Choji Akimichi, Ino Yamanaka & Asuma Sarutobi Kiba Inuzuka, Shino Aburame, Hinata Hyuga & Kurenai Yuhi Rock Lee, Neji Hyuga, Tenten & Might Guy Gaara, Kankuro & Temari Jiraiya, Orochimaru, Tsunade & the Third Hokage Zabuza Momochi & Haku • Kabuto Yakushi • Sai & Yamato
Ninja groups:	Genin • Chunin • Jonin • Hyuga clan • Uchiha clan • Other clans • Minor enemies
Akatsuki:	Organization • Hidan • Kakuzu • Sasori • Other members
Countries:	Land of Fire • Land of Sound • Land of Wind
Animals:	Tailed beasts • Summons