Well, I look at it this way.

Asuma has never been in a real, non-filler battle against an equal level opponent in the entire series. The closest he got was a 10 seconds exchange against Kisame. And as he hasn't been in a real fight, his real powers have never been shown to the audience.

So if he's going up against an Akastuki member for real, I expect to see what other jutsu he knows besides chakra blades.
Quote Originally Posted by Xyrox
After the scene with Kurenai, it's hard to not worry about Asuma.
For me it was the scene with the cigarettes. When a chain smoker all of a sudden decides to stop smoking for no apparent reason, that's bad man. Ominous.