He didn't know what judgment Asuma was based on to doubt the Will of Fire and the Hokage, but if this continued, Asuma would inevitably walk down a path of no return, eventually likely crossing swords with himself, his father.
This kind of thing must be firmly eliminated.
The best course of action is to immediately conduct a thorough investigation into all of Asuma's activities, putting them under the surveillance of the Anbu.
But the other party is still his child, and a momentary mistake is not irreparable. He wants to give Asuma a chance to make amends.
If Asuma can seize it, he doesn't want to take drastic actions against his son, like imprisoning him.
If he can't, he would have no choice but to sacrifice personal feelings for the greater good.
In Konoha, those who deviate from the Will of Fire are absolutely not allowed.
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Inside a solitary apartment.
This is the place where Asuma is currently stationed. Due to disagreements with his father, Hiruzen, and to avoid awkward encounters, he moved out of their original home, using the rewards from his completed missions to rent an apartment outside to live in.
Although the space in the house is smaller, it lacks the oppressive atmosphere of his old home, making it a suitable place to relax alone.
"I thought you ran off somewhere. Turns out you were hiding here drinking alone."
A familiar voice came from the window next to him. Putting down the bottle with only half the wine left, Asuma glanced sideways and saw Kakashi entering the room through the window.
The other party looked over with a smiling face, as if discovering something interesting.
"As a busy Minister of the Anbu, what brings you to me at this time? Could it be that you've come to be the Hokage-sama's envoy?"
Asuma asked flatly, as if he had seen through Kakashi's mind.
He knew that Kakashi, as the Minister of the Anbu, had so many things to deal with every day that they were countless. He seldom attended gatherings with friends due to work reasons.
Yet he had time to visit him, who was considered a failure, so it seemed to be an order from the Hokage no matter how one looked at it.
"Don't say it like that, Asuma. Isn't it normal for old friends to meet up? And ever since you became a member of the Twelve Guardian Ninja, the number of times you return to Konoha each year has become fewer and fewer, sometimes only once every six months, and even then, you leave in a hurry."
Kakashi walked over with a casual demeanor.
Asuma clicked his tongue, as he expected, Kakashi was indeed the Hokage's envoy.
From his father's angle, the attempt to correct his thinking had failed, so now they were starting to play emotional cards from a friend's angle.
As for the Twelve Guardian Ninja, that was already a nominally defunct organization.
The thoughts of comrades killing each other due to ideological differences remained vividly in Asuma's mind, as if destined to stay with him forever, becoming a nightmare that would never fade away.
"I've heard about your Twelve Guardian Ninja situation too. In the end, you also broke with your comrades to ensure the Hokage-sama's safety, right?"
Kakashi patted Asuma's shoulder, saying this.
"Ah, yes, in the end, I also became a traitor to the organization to protect the old man. Now that I think about it, my mind feels so chaotic."
Asuma chuckled bitterly.
He was supposed to be part of the radical faction, but at the critical moment, he suddenly defected, leading to the failure of the radical faction of the Guardian Ninja's assassination plan for the Hokage.
No matter how much he disagreed with his father, he was still his father, even the fiercest tiger wouldn't eat its own cubs, and Hiruzen's indulgence and protection of him were things he kept in his heart.
How could he possibly strike against such a father? Wouldn't that be worse than a beast?
But if he didn't strike, he would be betraying his original ideals.
The 'jewel' of the Land of Fire required only one.
And that was the Daimyo of the Land of Fire.
The Hokage, as this 'jewel', was false, an obstacle on the road to national unity, and had to be eliminated.
The conflict between loyalty and filial piety caused Asuma immense pain, tormenting him in such a vortex.
He didn't know how to choose to achieve a perfect ending.
At that time, killing those like-minded comrades was done in a daze.
He had no memory of how he returned to Konoha.
He rejected the memories of that battle.
"Perhaps this is the growth that we ninjas must go through. The conflict between wills and ideals seems to have no connection, filled with randomness, but there's also a certain inevitability. I was just as lost as you in the past."
But the direction of Asuma's confusion was different.
He couldn't understand why his father chose to commit suicide.
Nor could he comprehend why the villagers' tolerance was so narrow-minded after just one mission failure.
Even now, Kakashi has not been able to investigate what the task his father was carrying out was, nor what secrets it contained.
Perhaps it had been erased, or maybe it was just a mission process with no so-called secrets.
The balance between companions over missions, or missions over companions.
The bewilderment he once felt in that desperate situation, Asuma is currently experiencing something similar, isn't he?
Swaying between two wills, not knowing which path to take next, or how to walk the path that could be defined as correct... that's precisely why there's boundless pain and frustration.
Kakashi believed that if Asuma continued down this path, his existence would become an unstable element for Konoha, ultimately being rejected by Konoha as a collective.