What Is the Will of Fire?

With an almost imperceptible sigh, Asuka walked along the streets of the Clan Grounds, rubbing his grease-filled stomach. Most of the energy he had in the morning vanished in an instant.

Though he had eight-pack abs and not an ounce of excess fat, he looked nothing like the word "greasy."

But... the egg slices this morning had been way too oily. Right now, his stomach felt like a wok of oil, with gastric acid boiling the grease and frantically frying everything else inside.

"Good morning, Lord Asuka!"

"Morning!"

"Hey, little Asuka, want some cucumbers? Looking at that oily sheen on your face, you must've been eating too much rich food lately. Auntie's cucumbers are especially thick today. I'll sell them to you cheap."

"This is sweat. Sweat from exercising this morning.

"Also, the cucumbers here don't look naturally grown. They look more like they soaked in water too long and got bloated.

"Later, I'll suggest to the Clan Head that we organize a matchmaking event. Auntie, stop fiddling with cucumbers at dawn every day. It must be exhausting."

"Asuka-brother, do you want some candy?"

"There's your saliva on it. Lick it clean first."

"I licked it."

"There's still saliva on it. Put it in your mouth and lick it again."

"I licked it."

"There's obviously still some."

Watching Asuka tease the child as though he were teasing an idiot, Yu Yan, who followed behind him, unconsciously rolled her eyes.

This instructor was nothing like the cold, unapproachable Uchiha she had imagined—the kind strangers avoided and acquaintances went around. Not only was her teacher's appearance top-tier in the village, even his temperament was top-tier.

He was more normal than normal people.

At 1.8 meters tall, he was considered very tall even in all of Konoha. She was currently 165 centimeters, which rounded up to 170. If she stood on tiptoe, she should reach 175. The gap between 175 and 180 could be ignored.

After calculating that her height was practically no different from her teacher's, Uzuki Yugao let out a slight breath of relief. The last trace of pressure Asuka exerted on her was completely erased through the power of rounding.

Looking at his casual clothes, the sincere smile on his face, and the tooth in his hand stained with blood... he really did seem somewhat unlike an Uchiha.

Whoever had given her teacher the nickname "Blackened" was simply slandering him.

"Tsk, tsk. I told you kids shouldn't eat candy. See? Your tooth fell out."

Seeing the child on the verge of tears, he quickly summoned a Family Bucket and stuffed it into the little fellow's arms, sighing, "Did nothing this early in the morning and lost a Family Bucket."

At that, Uzuki Yugao's lips curled up, her eyes narrowing into crescents as she smiled. "Teacher, you really are different from them."

Asuka stood and stretched his legs. After glancing back at the secretly laughing Yu Yan, he explained, "There's actually nothing different about us.

"Uchiha clansmen are just like ordinary people. They cry, make a fuss, and laugh.

"It's just that after they lose certain things, the smiles on their faces gradually become fewer.

"Ordinary people lose half the smiles on their faces when they awaken their eyes and become genin. They lose the other half when they become chunin. By the time they become jonin, they've practically lost the ability to smile."

"What about you, Teacher?"

Yu Yan looked at Asuka curiously. After searching through her memories, she found that things really were as her teacher said. The stronger an Uchiha was, the fewer smiles they had on their face.

But hadn't her teacher already become a jonin? Why was his personality so different among the Uchiha?

"Me?"

Asuka looked around at the passing clansmen, then quietly lowered his voice. "Mostly, I just went numb. The first time I went to the battlefield, it numbed the hell out of me. Corpses lay scattered across the plains in every imaginable pose, flies filled the sky, and I was fucking assigned to corpse collection duty.

"Later, I watched familiar comrades die on the battlefield one after another. My strength didn't improve much, but my thoughts were elevated.

"In layman's terms, I figured life out."

???

Uzuki Yugao stared blankly at Asuka. She opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but had no idea what to say.

From what Teacher meant, had he been scared stiff the first time he went to the battlefield?

Then, after seeing too many such scenes, had he become numb?

And after the numbness wore off, had he developed in another direction?

Thinking of the village's rumors that the strong members of the Uchiha Clan were all mentally unstable, she looked at her super-normal teacher and fell into deep thought.

Should she believe the rumors that had circulated through the village for decades, or her teacher's one-sided account?

"Stop spacing out. I'll take you to broaden your horizons."

Asuka waved to Yu Yan behind him, then turned and headed toward the plaza in the center of the Clan Grounds.

"Coming."

After answering, she jogged two steps and closely followed behind Asuka.

She had no idea what exactly Teacher meant by broadening her horizons.

When she reached the center of the Uchiha Clan Grounds, she froze on the spot.

In the middle of the vast, magnificent plaza before her stood three enormous statues.

She recognized the statue in the middle. It was the Uchiha Clan crest.

The statue to the right of the clan crest was... a fan? Then what was the one to the left of the crest?

Looking at the statue that resembled a war god, along with the Sharingan in its eye sockets, Yu Yan jogged two steps to catch up with Asuka and asked breathlessly, "Teacher, what is that towering war god?"

A war god? Asuka blinked in confusion, then followed her pointing finger toward the statue on the far left before realizing what she meant.

"Oh, that one.

"That was an important force that allowed the Uchiha Clan to contend with the Senju Clan during the Warring States Period.

"Some sufficiently powerful Uchiha clansmen could risk going blind to forcibly materialize enormous Chakra into a burly war god for battle."

"Then, Teacher, can you do that?"

"No!"

Asuka shook his head decisively. Even if he could use that thing, he would not use it lightly.

Don't ask. He had no brothers, and his eyes could easily go blind.

To be fair, at least seventy percent of why those transmigrator seniors wanted to transmigrate into the Uchiha Clan was because they wanted to use Susanoo.

"Let's go!"

After waving over the wandering Yu Yan, Asuka led her straight to the entrance of an old-fashioned building at the northeastern corner of the plaza and stopped.

"This is..."

Looking up at the house, which seemed older than even her grandfather, she turned her gaze to Asuka, her eyes full of confusion.

"This is the Uchiha Clan School. Before the Ninja Academy was established, the clan's children learned ninja knowledge here.

"Later, after the Second Hokage established the Ninja Academy, children who reached the proper age would go there to receive the village's training. Children who were still too young to enroll in the Ninja Academy would continue coming here to learn some basic knowledge and cultivate a sense of belonging to the clan.

"For example, the history and glory of the Uchiha Clan."

"Teacher, do you teach at the Clan School too?"

"I'm filling in temporarily.

"The old man who taught cultural classes here got up too fast a couple days ago. He got dizzy, his vision went dark, and he couldn't stand steady. The Great Elder mocked him a few times, so the two started fighting. They're lying in the hospital now."

After saying that, Asuka pushed open the door, led Yu Yan inside, and sat down at the lectern to quietly wait for the clan children to arrive.

He took out his copy of Ninja School Will of Fire Course Detailed Explanation and set it on the desk.

This book had been part of the gift pack the system gave him back then. It contained annotations and insights from every Ninja Academy teacher. Memorizing it would completely free him from Danzo's surveillance.

In other words, anyone who memorized this book would catch Sarutobi Hiruzen's eye and gain a name for themselves.

But who studied in the early morning?

After flipping through it a few times, Asuka tossed the book aside. He had attended school for so many years in his previous life. Morning reading and morning runs were simply inhuman. They made you sleepy as hell, and you still had to memorize a bunch of things while running. It was torture.

After the children checked in at the classroom, Asuka glanced at the time and stood up. "It's not even seven yet. Come with me."

With that, he pushed open the classroom door and led the children to the three stone monuments in the center of the plaza.

Breathing in the fresh outdoor air, Asuka turned to look at the old Clan School classroom and muttered in dissatisfaction, "Did the Clan Head embezzle all the money? This classroom has been in use for over fifty years. The moment you walk in, it reeks of mold."

"Teacher Asuka, is there... any chicken left?"

Chicken?

Seeing the anticipation in the Uchiha children's eyes, Uzuki Yugao looked at her teacher in confusion and asked, "What chicken?"

The moment she finished speaking, she saw Asuka form several hand seals with extreme perfunctoriness before slapping the ground. A cloud of white smoke instantly appeared before them.

When the smoke dispersed, more than twenty fried chicken Family Buckets had suddenly appeared on the ground.

Then, Teacher handed one of the buckets to her and asked, "Yu Yan, want one?"

"No, no."

Uzuki Yugao hurriedly waved her hands, her face turning pale in an instant.

Looking at the familiar red paper bucket and white lid, she felt her buttocks clench as she unconsciously took two steps back.

Ever since eating that thing last time, she had not touched fried food again.

Nausea, stomach upset, the urge to use the toilet—

Clap! Clap! Asuka clapped his hands, drawing the attention of the three- and four-year-old children before he began speaking.

"Last time, I finished telling you about Konoha's founding history and the origin of its name. Today, I intend to explain Konoha's spiritual core—the legendary Will of Fire.

"You can eat while you listen."

In this era, where children had so little entertainment, there was nothing better than listening to stories.

The knowledge in textbooks was so dry and boring that even adults disliked studying it, let alone children.

Then Asuka picked up a piece of chicken, took two bites, and said, "Tracing it back to its origin, the Will of Fire can also be called the will of Hashirama Senju and Uchiha Madara.

"Before Konoha was founded, there was no such concept as the Will of Fire.

"After the two became friends, Hashirama Senju proposed building a village to protect children and keep them away from war. Uchiha Madara felt that this would better protect their own children, so he agreed.

"Therefore, Konoha's Will of Fire can be simply summarized as protecting the next generation."

"Mmm, mmm." The children listened seriously as Asuka spoke of the Will of Fire, their mouths full of grease as they ate.

Because people in the ninja world matured early, they might not understand the deeper meaning of what their teacher was saying, but they could still understand the surface meaning.

"Later, as the situation developed, the Will of Fire gradually changed as well, but it never strayed from the core of protecting the next generation."

As he spoke, he saw Uchiha Itachi's lonely figure appear at the other end of the plaza, seemingly waiting for someone.

He had heard that this fellow had been somewhat unsociable since the age of two. At three, he stopped playing with children his own age. At four, he began following his father to the battlefield and contemplating The meaning of life.

He really was precocious.

When Asuka was four, he had still been playing ninja wars with children his own age.

"Young Clan Head!"

Asuka waved at Uchiha Itachi. When the boy raised his head to look at him, Asuka shouted, "Young Clan Head, what is your Will of Fire?"

At those words, a trace of surprise flashed through Uchiha Itachi's eyes. He looked at the smiling Asuka, lowered his head to think for a moment, and then recited the knowledge he had read in a book.

"Where Konoha's leaves dance, fire burns ever on. The firelight shall continue to illuminate the village and cause new leaves to sprout."

Fine, go play somewhere else. You're barely this old and already want to burn yourself? You fucking want to burn us, don't you?

Asuka waved his hand at him disdainfully, then lowered his head to look at the children, his voice becoming deep. "That's an idiot. Ignore him. What he just said is the Third Hokage-sama's Will of Fire. It has nothing to do with us."

"Asuka-brother!"

At that moment, a childish voice suddenly came from the crowd. A little girl stood up, sucking on her finger as she mumbled, "But I heard my brother say that his Will of Fire is that too."

"No! No!"

Asuka shook his head. His gaze intentionally or unintentionally turned toward Kannabi Bridge as he continued, "The Third Hokage-sama's Will of Fire is his own Will of Fire. It is not your Will of Fire, nor is it Uchiha Madara's Will of Fire.

"Every one of us should have our own Will of Fire."

???

This time, not only did the children fail to understand, even Uzuki Yugao, who was eavesdropping beside them, did not understand.

The Will of Fire differed from person to person?

Then what was the Will of Fire that the Third Hokage-sama promoted in his Ninja Academy graduation speeches?

"Ah!"

Asuka sighed softly, then clasped his hands behind his back. With a solemn expression, he looked at the children and spoke earnestly.

"Uchiha Madara's Will of Fire can be understood as the Will of Fire of ruling over the ninja world.

"He once wanted to unify the ninja world through Martial Power, securing a permanently peaceful environment for future generations.

"Hashirama Senju's Will of Fire can be understood as the Will of Fire of balancing the ninja world.

"He once wanted to distribute the Tailed Beasts and work to balance the military strength between villages, making the major ninja villages wary of one another so that war would no longer break out.

"Senju Tobirama's Will of Fire can be understood as the Will of Fire of making Konoha great again.

"His establishment of the Ninja Academy, development of ninjutsu, weakening of clans, and other measures were all meant to unite Konoha internally and turn it once more into the number one village that overawed the ninja world, protecting future generations from the ravages of war.

"The Third Hokage and Fourth Hokage are still alive, so we won't talk about them for now.

"Personally, I agree more with Uchiha Madara. Only unification can bring lasting peace."

"Asuka-brother, then what is our Will of Fire?"

Asuka looked at the little boy who had spoken earlier, shrugged, and replied casually, "We Uchiha are the founders of the Will of Fire. As long as you do not stray from the core of protecting future generations, your Will of Fire can take all sorts of forms.

"Your Will of Fire can be absolute. To eliminate possible threats, you spare no cost. A certain Elder of Konoha does things this way, though he has more selfish desires than conviction, and his will is not very pure. Sooner or later, he'll die a violent death.

"Your Will of Fire can also be lazy. Work seriously while you're on the job, focus on slacking off after work, and just do what you should during work hours.

"You could say that the laziest people achieve the most leisurely outcomes, but you cannot deny that they are also doing their part to protect future generations."

Your Will of Fire can also be one of benevolence and righteousness, just like the White Fang back then. When faced with a choice between his comrades and the mission, he ultimately chose his comrades.

So, you don't need to force anyone else's Will of Fire onto yourselves. If the Will of Fire you currently hold doesn't suit you and troubles you, then go look at other people's Will of Fire and learn from it.

The original purpose of learning the Will of Fire was to protect our descendants. Don't send your own clansmen and descendants to the Pure Land because of certain people's decisions.

Look at the companions around you. They are the people you should protect by learning the Will of Fire.

Sacrificing the small family for the greater family—that is a sage.

Killing your whole family for the greater family—that is a great sage.

Killing your entire clan and digging up your ancestors' graves for the greater family—that is an idiot."

After deliberately—or perhaps unconsciously—glancing at Itachi as he left with Uchiha Shisui, Asuka sneered inwardly.

From now on, he would start instilling certain ideas into the younger members of the clan.

That way, no Two-Faced Traitors would emerge from this bunch of little brats in the future.

While he was at it, he also needed to teach them about resisting moral blackmail and rejecting the topic of "love."

In Naruto, people were always going on about how others lacked love.

After a while, he would teach them about whether the Clan Head should get divorced or not.

Education was the top priority. It had to start with children.

Asuka looked down at the bewildered children, the corner of his mouth twitching slightly as he decided to try a different teaching method.

Then, he raised both hands and shouted.

"Idiots don't get Family Buckets!"

In an instant, the children below, who were still lost and confused, all became excited. Holding their chicken wings high, they cried out in their childish voices.

"Family Bucket!"

"Family Bucket!"

"Idiots don't get Family Buckets!"

"Family Bucket!"

"Family Bucket!"

"The Clan Head gets divorced and eats a Family Bucket!"

"Family Bucket!"

"Family Bucket!"

Daylight would always leave some places untouched.

For example, in an underground cave somewhere beneath the Grass Country. Candlelight flickered from candles set into the stone walls, bringing a faint glow to the pitch-black cavern.

"Lord Madara."

"Why have you awakened me again?"

A low, aged voice echoed through the cave.

"Lord Madara, there is news about you again."

Huff! After taking a deep breath, Madara slowly opened his eyes. His pupils moved for quite a while before he accepted the intelligence White Zetsu handed over.

The intervals between each awakening were getting longer and longer. He did not know when he would fall asleep and never wake again.

Only a little over four months left to live? He lowered his head and glanced at the report in his hand.

Hm? Madara blinked in disbelief. Only after his Sharingan spun several times in their sockets did he look at the slip of paper again.

It said This Old One would rule over the ninja world and hoped for everlasting peace?

"Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Unfortunately, Hashirama did not agree with me. He always insisted on ninja villages. Cough! Cough!"

After laughing wildly, Uchiha Madara broke into a violent coughing fit. One hand clenched the report tightly as he stared deeply toward Konoha.

If that idiot Hashirama saw the ninja world as it was now, saw Konoha as it was now, would he agree with my ideas?

He smoothed out the slip of paper and folded it neatly, then looked at the grinning Spiral White Zetsu before him and ordered,

"Gather information on Uchiha Asuka."

"Huh?"

Spiral White Zetsu scratched his head, somewhat confused.

"Didn't we already gather it when we were looking for someone who could walk the ninja world after Lord Madara left? Lord Madara said he was the shame of the Uchiha and burned that person's information."

???

Uchiha Madara tilted his head and looked at Spiral White Zetsu. A trace of confusion appeared on his face, which had been expressionless for so long.

How had I overlooked an Uchiha clansman so much to my liking back then? Had Hashirama Cells made my brain as stupid as Hashirama's? Just as Uchiha Madara began to suspect there was something wrong with the cells, another White Zetsu emerged from the ground nearby and said in a shrill voice,

"Lord Madara, ignore that idiot. Back when we gathered intelligence, Uchiha Asuka was practicing Medical Ninjutsu."

Oh. At that reminder, Madara instantly remembered.

That guy seemed to be the only combat jōnin and medical jōnin in the Uchiha clan. If he had that much spare energy, he should have awakened his Mangekyō Sharingan long ago.

Then, he looked gloomily toward Konoha, his voice suddenly turning cold.

"I knew that idiot Hashirama could not possibly have influenced me."

P.S. The two chapters were combined, so they were not separated.