Will of Fire

Is this the Sharingan?

After dragging Uchiha Obito to the entrance of his classroom, Chiga let go of Obito's hand.

Chiga had used the Sharingan on the Ninja Academy teacher on a whim, wanting to see if he could disrupt the teacher's thoughts. He had not expected it to work so well.

Although the teacher had been caught off guard, genjutsu relied on catching people off guard in the first place.

This was only a one-tomoe Sharingan. If it evolved to the Three-Tomoe, or even the Mangekyō Sharingan, Chiga did not dare imagine how powerful it would be.

No wonder everyone who had evolved the Mangekyō Sharingan possessed the strength of a Kage.

He blinked at Uchiha Obito and said, somewhat excitedly, "All right, he probably won't come after us. Consider this matter over. Don't be late again!"

"Sure thing!"

Upon hearing this, Uchiha Obito hurriedly agreed, then suddenly froze.

"Wait a minute, are you addicted to this or something? I'm telling you, Uchiha Chiga, although you're the same generation as my dad according to our family seniority, we're classmates now! You can't treat me like this!"

As one of the few people around his age, Uchiha Obito naturally knew Chiga, though he generally did not like interacting with him.

That was because Chiga's seniority was higher than his. Whenever they met, Obito always felt like he was a head shorter.

Besides, Chiga always liked to act all profound and lacked even a trace of the youthful energy a boy his age should have.

Still, today, Chiga felt somewhat different.

Looking at the furious Uchiha Obito, Chiga's mood improved further. He smiled and placated him, saying, "All right, all right, whatever you say!"

Uchiha Obito: "..."

He really was different now. He had become even more annoying!

Looking at Chiga's smile, Uchiha Obito somehow felt that it carried a hint of... benevolence?

This is so frustrating! How could people the same age have such a huge difference in seniority?!

Uchiha Obito's dislike, Emotion Points +1!
First acquisition of Uchiha Obito's Emotion Points. Reward: Shuriken Throwing Technique experience 500!

Hearing the sound in his mind, Chiga thought, Just as I expected.

When he saw the Emotion Points section of the system, Chiga had already formed a guess. Saving Uchiha Obito from the teacher had been an experiment as well.

Now, it seemed things were just as he had guessed.

But why had he not received any Emotion Points from the teacher?

Judging from the teacher's furious shouting afterward, his negative emotional fluctuations had clearly been much stronger than Obito's.

Yet Chiga had not received any Emotion Points from the teacher.

Chiga pondered for a while. The teacher had never appeared in Naruto, so was he simply too insignificant to count?

He also did not know how many attributes a single Emotion Point could add, and he had no intention of testing it now. He would wait until he had accumulated more Emotion Points.

He was still a Ninja Academy Student, after all. He had no risk of dying, so there was no need to hurry.

As for now...

"You seem a little dissatisfied with me, Uchiha Obito!"

Chiga looked at Uchiha Obito, his gaze turning somewhat dangerous.

This guy refused to follow the script. Chiga had clearly helped him avoid having to sweep the gate.

It was one thing if he was not grateful beyond words, but he actually disliked him?

This kid was born rebellious!

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

Under Chiga's threatening gaze, Uchiha Obito took half a step back. But then he realized that doing so would amount to admitting he was afraid of Chiga, and a surge of courage rose in his heart.

I, Uchiha Obito, am going to become Hokage in the future. How could I possibly let Chiga scare me?

"Enough already! If you keep looking at me like that, watch out or I'll—"

Chiga said nothing. His gaze grew more and more dangerous, and he felt like beating Obito up.

Perhaps beating him up would earn even more negative Emotion Points!

However, before Chiga could do anything, he suddenly saw a figure rush out of the classroom.

Under Chiga's astonished gaze, the figure abruptly slammed a fist into Uchiha Obito's head.

Thud!

After the muffled impact, a bright red lump swelled on the top of Uchiha Obito's head.

"Ow, ow, ow! That hurts! It hurts!"

Uchiha Obito clutched his head and turned around. "Ryōichi-sensei, why did you hit me?"

"You little brat! You're already late, yet you're still dawdling at the entrance. Obito, are you trying to stand outside again?"

"Ryōichi-sensei, I was late today because I was helping someone! On the way, I encountered a poor old granny selling flowers..."

"Shut up and get inside for class!"

Ryōichi-sensei had clearly grown tired of hearing Uchiha Obito's excuses. He interrupted him outright and waved his still-clenched fist, making it clear that if Obito kept rambling, he would get hit again.

He had taught so many classes, yet he had never seen a student who was late every single day—and whose excuses were so outrageous.

"Got it, Ryōichi-sensei!"

Uchiha Obito knew when to yield. Under Ryōichi's threat, he meekly walked into the classroom.

After reprimanding Uchiha Obito, Ryōichi looked at Chiga and said, "Chiga, now that your father's funeral arrangements have been taken care of, focus on your studies and make up the lessons you've missed these past few days."

Seeing that he had not received the same treatment as Uchiha Obito, Chiga hurriedly nodded. "I understand. Thank you for your concern, Ryōichi-sensei."

"Mm. Go inside and attend class."

Ryōichi nodded and walked into the classroom.

Uchiha Obito's resentment, negative Emotion Points +3!

The corner of Chiga's mouth twitched slightly as he understood the reason for that resentment.

Obito probably felt that since they had both been late, it was unfair that Chiga had not been beaten. That was why he had grown resentful.

"All right, we'll begin class now. Before we start, let's review the Will of Fire."

"Wherever the leaves dance, flames will burn. The light of the fire will illuminate the village, and then new leaves will sprout once more. When they wish to protect the people most precious to them, a shinobi's true power will finally reveal itself..."

"Everyone, you must not only memorize these words, but also understand their meaning. They will be on the exam!"

Good grief, he started brainwashing us the moment class began! Chiga's expression changed drastically. He hurriedly shifted his attention and silently recited the Twenty-Four Character Maxim.

You think you can brainwash me?

Impossible. Absolutely impossible!

After finishing the daily propaganda about the Will of Fire, Ryōichi finally opened the textbook and officially began the lesson.

It was now Year 43 of Konoha. The Second Shinobi World War had already ended, and the major nations were only having minor clashes along their borders. Nothing was particularly intense.

However, Konoha's Ninja Academy still followed a three-year system rather than the six-year system used during Uzumaki Naruto's era.

There were many reasons for this, but the main one was that the Second Shinobi World War had consumed too much of the available manpower, creating an urgent need for fresh blood.

Moreover, no one knew when the Third Shinobi World War would begin. The village could only force the seedlings to grow, graduating these groups of students as quickly as possible to fill the gap in shinobi forces.

As for whether children under ten could survive on the battlefield, that was simply not within consideration.