Will of Fire = Uchiha (Double Chapter)

Uchiha Compound, within the clan courtyard.

At that moment, Uchiha Yoru spoke with a sacred look of reverence. "Itachi, do you know where the name 'Konoha' came from? And why this place is called the Land of Fire? And why the shadow of our Land of Fire is called the 'Hokage'?"

The question left Uchiha Itachi looking blank and confused. Not only him—even Shisui beside him looked doubtful. He did not seem to know, either.

Seeing this, a trace of imperceptible slyness flashed deep within Uchiha Yoru's eyes, though his face displayed fervent resolve.

"The First Hokage's Wood Release pacified the land. That is why the village came to be called 'Konoha.' The Uchiha ancestor who was once as famous as the First Hokage—when Senju and Uchiha joined forces, they brought an end to the chaotic Warring States Period and created the present era of the Five Great Nations."

It was clear that Uchiha Itachi did not yet know these things. But Uchiha Shisui's expression changed drastically, and he hurriedly said in shock, "Brother Yoru, that is taboo!"

Yet upon seeing Shisui's changed expression, Uchiha Yoru merely shook his head and gave him a deeply earnest look. "Shisui, perhaps our ancestors were wrong, but what about their achievements? Their achievements cannot be covered up, can they? Are you going to deny Uchiha's past?"

"During the chaotic Warring States Period, the average lifespan of shinobi and civilians was only around thirty. Shinobi clans sent children to the battlefield at five or six. But in the present era of the Five Great Nations, even during peacetime, shinobi only went to war at around ten, while the average lifespan of shinobi and civilians had risen to over fifty. That is the achievement of Senju and Uchiha, who created this era!"

As Uchiha Yoru solemnly brought this up and spoke from such an objective perspective, Uchiha Shisui looked somewhat uncomfortable, but after hearing him out, he had no choice but to acknowledge those facts. Meanwhile, Uchiha Itachi seemed as though a new world had opened before him, hope shining in his eyes.

"Senju and Uchiha, who created the era of the Five Great Nations, joined hands to establish the present-day Konoha of the Land of Fire. Because of Senju's Wood Release, it came to be called 'Konoha.' Likewise, the title of Hokage in the Land of Fire originated from Uchiha's Fire Release."

As he said this, Uchiha Yoru wore a proud expression. He solemnly patted Itachi on the shoulder. "And the true Will of Fire is when Uchiha's Fire Release ignites Senju's great tree of Wood Release. The leaves dancing across the sky burn—that is the origin of the Will of Fire."

"Where the leaves of Konoha dance, fire lives on. The firelight will continue to illuminate the village and make the new leaves sprout." Uchiha Yoru murmured those words, and immediately, Itachi and Shisui's eyes filled with something called hope.

"This is the Will of Fire. It means that beneath Senju's dancing leaves, Uchiha's flames shall burn without end. Uchiha's Fire Release will become the light that protects Konoha, while Senju will protect the new future as it sprouts once more."

At that moment, Uchiha Yoru radiated a sacred aura, as though he had become a beacon in the darkness, showing the way to two people trapped in gloom.

He was not making this up. Konoha had originally been founded by Senju and Uchiha joining hands, then gathering a host of smaller clans to establish it together. Otherwise, with the First's Wood Release and the Second's Water Release, why call it Hokage? Wouldn't that be nonsense?

Sure enough, the village's leader was not called the Wood Shadow, nor the Mizukage, nor the Forbidden Technique Shadow, but the Hokage. At that moment, it was as if young Uchiha Itachi had been shown a new way of thinking. Excitement immediately appeared on his face, and he nodded solemnly. "Teacher Yoru, Itachi understands. The village protected jointly by Senju and Uchiha is the true Will of Fire."

Seeing Itachi as though he had found a goal in life, Shisui was somewhat stunned and felt that something seemed off. But after thinking it over carefully, Brother Yoru was right. Wasn't Uchiha supposed to protect Konoha?

Looking at the two of them, Uchiha Yoru smiled and nodded. "Back then, Senju and Uchiha joined hands to create Konoha and became the unshakable overlords of this land. Afterward, countless smaller clans came to pledge themselves to them, including clans such as Nara, Akimichi, Yamanaka, Sarutobi, and Shimura. Senju and Uchiha also took on the responsibility of protecting the weak."

"This was Uchiha's past achievement, an achievement that cannot be erased from the entire Shinobi World. Next comes their fault!"

As he said this, Uchiha Yoru's previously sacred gaze suddenly dimmed, as if something had gone wrong with the conviction in his heart. Shisui clearly knew what was about to be said and hesitated as though he wanted to speak. But then he remembered that Itachi, as the Son of the Clan Head, would inevitably need to know these things, and he ultimately fell silent.

"Following the establishment of Konoha in the Land of Fire, it became the strongest, unshakable hegemon of this land. This caused the other powers, unwilling to be annexed, to establish nations of their own, large and small. That was the origin of the Shinobi World's current situation."

"The Warring States Period passed, giving rise to the present era of the Shinobi World. Yet at this time, the Senju and Uchiha who had founded the Land of Fire developed ideological differences."

"Differences?" Uchiha Itachi looked curious, while Shisui recalled the historical records he had read within the clan. His heart immediately sank to its lowest point.

Looking at the two of them, Uchiha Yoru sighed wistfully. "Senju believed that peace had been hard-won and did not wish to go to war with the other nations. For peace, and also to balance the strength of the major shinobi villages, they distributed the tailed beasts among the Five Great Nations."

"But Uchiha did not see it that way. They believed that the current peace was only temporary, and that lasting peace required bloodshed to pave the way. They intended to join forces with Senju to unify the Shinobi World. A moment of pain could bring lasting peace to the Shinobi World—that was the source of their disagreement."

"After that..." Standing from the perspective of an observer, Uchiha Yoru slowly recounted the conflict between Senju and Uchiha, including the reason Uchiha ultimately became the Konoha Military Police Force.

After Uchiha Yoru finished, Shisui frowned in thought. The records he had read were nearly identical to what Brother Yoru had said. But when he had read that history alone in the past, he had always believed the clan was at fault, that this was the origin of the conflict between the clan and the village. Thus, he had always regarded it as taboo. Yet today, hearing someone else recount it as an observer seemed to have opened up an entirely different world for him.

Now, Shisui was not thinking about the origin of the later conflict between the clan and the village, since he already knew all that. What he was pondering was what had happened before that conflict.

Was Uchiha wrong? Then was Senju right?

After Senju's fall, peace ended and war began. The tailed beasts, meant to balance the Five Great Nations, became weapons of war. The First Shinobi War! The Second Shinobi War! And the brutal Third Shinobi War! How long had it even been? It seemed Senju had not been right either.

Then was Uchiha right? That did not seem to be the case either.

At that moment, Shisui was filled with confusion. Where was the path to peace? Uchiha's path, which brought war, was wrong, but Senju had ultimately led to war as well.

Just as Shisui sank into doubt, young Uchiha Itachi, however mature he was for his age, was still only six. Having learned of the true Will of Fire, pride immediately appeared on his face.

"Teacher Yoru, Itachi understands now. The Will of Fire is Uchiha and Senju protecting countless weak people."

At that moment, a belief he would be proud of for the rest of his life instantly took root in Itachi's young, confused mind: We Uchiha protect the village.

Watching this, Uchiha Yoru smiled. There was not a single false word in what he had said. Senju and Uchiha had originally protected Konoha. But Itachi, what would you do when you learned that the people you protected wanted to turn around and overthrow those who had once protected them?

It could be seen from the original story that in Itachi's mind, the Hokage was a sacred figure who protected the village, while Uchiha had become an unstable factor. Now he was going to reverse that: Uchiha was the one that protected Konoha, but countless people in the village now wanted to destroy the ones who had once protected them. What would you do then?

"Then, Teacher Yoru, based on the village's history you told us, if there were only one Land of Fire and one Konoha in the Shinobi World, would there be no war?"

Nearly six-year-old Uchiha Itachi voiced the question in his heart. After all, he was only six. Once he learned of the true Will of Fire, he naturally became deeply interested in the village's history, while also feeling confused about the past disagreement between Uchiha and Senju.

Reality had already proven that Senju's ideal of peace had failed—or rather, it had only lasted for a brief period.

Yet the innocent question of six-year-old Uchiha Itachi opened a new direction for the confused Shisui.

Looking at Shisui's ever-changing expression and Itachi's innocent, yearning confusion, Uchiha Yoru gave a bitter smile and shook his head. "Itachi, you are still young. I cannot give you an answer to that question. No one in the Shinobi World can give you an answer, either. That answer has never appeared, so naturally, there is still no right or wrong."

"Haha, you are only six. Why think about so much? Your first priority now is graduating from the Ninja Academy, then becoming the clan's pride and leading Uchiha to continue protecting Konoha. That is your goal in life. Stop overthinking it."

Apparently unable to find the correct answer, Uchiha Yoru suddenly laughed. He stepped forward and rubbed Itachi's young head, casting all those questions aside. Yet within young Itachi's heart, a seed of simple doubt had taken root.

At that moment, six-year-old Itachi even began to imagine that if the Shinobi World only had the Land of Fire and Konoha, then there would be no wars at the border.

Meanwhile, Uchiha Shisui looked at the Brother Yoru he admired with a complicated expression. "Under Senju's ideal of peace, the Shinobi World fought three great wars in just a few decades. Then what if Uchiha's ideals had been carried out?"

Faced with Shisui's question, Uchiha Yoru immediately put on a shocked expression before laughing awkwardly. "Shisui, do not let your thoughts run wild. This is history. I was merely telling Itachi about it impartially. As the Son of the Clan Head, this is a responsibility he must bear."

Although he said nothing further, Shisui lowered his head, countless thoughts surging through his heart.

The First Hokage's ideal of peace seemed incapable of bringing peace at all. Instead, it had turned the former slaughter between clans into the present conflicts between nations. The greatest difference seemed to be that countless small-scale conflicts had become large-scale ones.

What was the difference between Konoha's countless clans and the major nations of the current Shinobi World? It was merely a smaller version.

Uchiha Shisui, however, saw far more, and that was what alarmed him even more. The various clans in the village had been excluding the Uchiha Clan, likely not merely out of fear of the Nine-Tails. It seemed some interests were mixed into it as well.

The Uchiha Clan's interests!

At that thought, Shisui broke out in a cold sweat. The suspicion surrounding the Nine-Tails was merely a signal, allowing countless clans to see an opportunity to tear off a piece of the Uchiha Clan's interests.

"Thank you, Teacher Yoru. Itachi understands the Will of Fire now." Six-year-old Itachi seemed to have found a glimmer of hope in his confused heart, and an immature yet resolute smile appeared on his face.

Seeing the smile on Itachi's childish face, Uchiha Yoru also looked pleased as he praised him. "Itachi, you're very good. Try to graduate early."

Hearing that, Uchiha Itachi nodded firmly. "Don't worry, Teacher Yoru. I'll definitely work hard."

Though Itachi was mature for his age, he was still only six years old. Uchiha Yoru narrowed his eyes, then noticed Shisui beside him, who seemed to have scared himself pale. He immediately made up his mind.

"Shisui? Shisui, what are you spacing out for? Remember to guide Itachi more in the future."

Shisui only came back to his senses after being patted on the shoulder. He froze for a moment, then, under Uchiha Yoru's instructions, forced a smile and nodded. "Don't worry, Brother Yoru. I'll make sure to guide Itachi well."

Clearly, the more mature Shisui had now stepped onto the crooked path—no! It would be more accurate to say that his thinking had gotten back on track. He was simply thinking too much.

But that was exactly what Uchiha Yoru wanted to see. He even chuckled softly and patted the other man's shoulder.

"Shisui, this won't do. You're not even as good as Itachi. Look, even Itachi knows that fire represents the Uchiha Clan, and the Will of Fire is the Uchiha Clan."

Beneath that casual teasing, the three Uchiha present each harbored different thoughts.

Uchiha Yoru pondered inwardly. He had to keep laying the groundwork from time to time, and at the same time, he absolutely could not relax his watch over Itachi. Otherwise, this bargain disciple of his might really end up becoming someone else's bargain.

As for Shisui, there was no need to worry too much. His thinking had already matured, and it was clear enough from the anime that although Shisui was powerful, he liked to place his spiritual reliance on others.

In the anime, Shisui had placed his spiritual reliance on the Hokage Faction. That was why, after that reliance finally collapsed, he directly chose to flee reality through suicide.

Put plainly, he possessed immense strength, yet when it came to the clan's future, he preferred relying on others rather than using his own strength to change everything.

At that moment, Shisui forced a smile, but inwardly he was shocked. Now, he could only hope that Lord Orochimaru would quickly become the Fifth Hokage. Only then would the Uchiha Clan have a chance.

Meanwhile, the youngest, Uchiha Itachi, was quietly pondering. So the Will of Fire had been proposed by the Uchiha Clan—didn't that prove the Uchiha Clan was equal to the Will of Fire? At that thought, he immediately smiled. But there was still one question in his heart.

That was, between the strongest Third Hokage that his schoolteachers had recently spoken of, and the ancestors who had pacified the chaotic era—along with the First Hokage—who exactly was stronger?

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