Uchiha Zheng's Wicked Hair!

"That's just the kind of person he is—how could he be so easily convinced?"

"Alright, alright, I was only speaking offhand."

"But, Shisui..."

"From the look in your eyes, don't tell me you've been won over by him instead?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi's gaze locked onto Uchiha Shisui's eyes...

A sudden chill flashed within it.

Chapter 12: Will of Fire

Facing the Hokage, Uchiha Shisui had no desire to lie.

"I... do feel some confusion in my heart..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression darkened, but he quickly recovered.

"Oh? What did that fellow, Qianyu, say to you?"

Uchiha Shisui shook his head.

"It was just some casual discussion."

"Still, his views aren't necessarily without merit..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi exhaled a ring of smoke, his face expressionless.

The haze lingered in the stale, decaying air of the Hokage's Office.

"For instance?"

"For instance, what is war, what is justice, what is good and evil..."

"Hokage-sama, Uchiha Qianyu seems to believe that our Konoha is not always on the side of justice—that we have even committed evil acts of invading other nations..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi frowned deeply. "When?"

"Amegakure."

Hiruzen Sarutobi sneered inwardly.

But his face remained kind and benevolent, and his tone grew even more earnest.

"Shisui, I can understand your confusion and uncertainty..."

"This shinobi world is like an endless spiral of hatred, and ninja are merely tools struggling to survive within it. But even so, there are things that stand above the rest..."

"What does Hokage-sama mean?"

"The Will of Fire."

Uchiha Shisui hesitated, as if to speak.

He had once firmly believed in the so-called Will of Fire, but Uchiha Qianyu's words had dropped a bomb into his heart—steady as a mountain, calm as still water.

Hiruzen Sarutobi could see his wavering.

"Shisui, can you no longer even believe in the Will of Fire?"

"No, Hokage-sama, I would never do anything to betray Konoha. For the peace and stability of the village, I would sacrifice myself at any moment without a second thought. It's just that..."

"You're just not as certain anymore."

Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed. "Where the leaves of Konoha dance, fire burns ever on."

"I often say this to you all, and many think it's just empty words—a pretty, meaningless phrase..."

"But in truth, it's the genuine feeling that wells up from the depths of the First Hokage-sama, the Second Hokage-sama, and even me, their successor."

"On the surface, this phrase means to cherish the new sprouts, to care for the younger generation, and to sacrifice oneself to protect the village's future hope. But in a broader sense, it means more than that..."

Uchiha Shisui lifted his head, his eyes filled with a thirst for knowledge, hoping the Hokage before him would clear away his confusion.

"The Will of Fire, in a word, is..."

"Everything for the greater good."

"Whether it's the older generation sacrificing for the younger, or a ninja sacrificing for the village, it's all an expression of the Will of Fire."

"The First Hokage-sama founded the village to eliminate divisions—to let individuals and clans gradually dissolve into the collective of the entire village..."

"In his ideal Konoha, there would be no clans, no distinctions—only villagers and family."

"In the Warring States era, I was of the Senju Clan, and you were of the Uchiha Clan. We fought endlessly over interests and hatred, never stopping until one side fell. The entire shinobi world was engulfed in flames and war, and many children never lived to see adulthood..."

"After Konoha was founded, the First Hokage-sama, to eliminate the rifts between clans, voluntarily proposed gradually abandoning the Senju surname, letting the Senju Clan merge into Konoha. Today, his vision has truly been realized..."

"Of course, not everyone or every clan has the breadth of vision and strategy of the First Hokage-sama. That's why Konoha today still has many problems—even dangerous hidden threats..."

Uchiha Shisui's heart trembled.

He understood perfectly what the Hokage meant.

Konoha was founded jointly by the Senju Clan and the Uchiha Clan.

And now, the Senju Clan had already faded into the dust of history.

But the Uchiha clan had instead become more and more like a ticking time bomb, one that could be detonated at any moment, threatening the peace and stability of the entire village.

The Will of Fire...

For the greater good...

Uchiha Shisui's heart stirred once again.

Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed. "If every clan could set aside their own identity and position to look at the problem, if everyone could truly view things from the village's standpoint, Konoha wouldn't be what it is today, and neither would the shinobi world..."

"I'm not a saint, and I can't force everyone to be one. Even the First Hokage could only lead by example, not demand anything of others or other clans."

"But I hope that one day..."

"I truly hope..."

Uchiha Shisui's heart suddenly settled back into calm.

He said in a low voice, "Hokage-sama, I understand."

"People love themselves first, then their own clan, and only above that, the entire village..."

"But as long as one's capacity is great enough, they can break free from the constraints of the clan and view pros and cons, view the bigger picture, from a higher angle and broader perspective..."

"I, Uchiha Shisui, am first and foremost a shinobi of Konoha, and only secondarily a member of the Uchiha clan."

Hiruzen Sarutobi smiled with relief.

He gently blew out a puff of smoke, nodded with a kind and benevolent expression.

"Good, good..."

"As long as you understand..."

"The Uchiha clan does have many historical issues, and the conflict has only intensified in this generation. However, I have never believed that a complete and peaceful resolution is impossible."

"The key doesn't lie with me, but within the Uchiha clan itself."

"Especially with the existence of two people."

"One is naturally you, Shisui. The other is..."

"Uchiha Itachi."

Uchiha Shisui smiled faintly. "Itachi?"

"He really is the most special one..."

"Sometimes even I can't see through him..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded. "Though Itachi is young, he already thinks like a Hokage, able to break free from the shackles of the clan and view problems from the village's perspective."

"With you two here, I believe that no matter how complex or intense any problem with the Uchiha clan becomes, there will be a day when it is peacefully resolved..."

Uchiha Shisui felt a longing rise in his heart.

"I believe that day will come too..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi smiled. "As for what Qianyu said—big nations and small nations, war and peace, justice and injustice..."

"Those are even grander questions, but precisely because they are so grand, they seem illusory."

"If one day everyone could set aside their village and view things from the perspective of the entire shinobi world, perhaps all conflict could truly be resolved. However..."

"At least within a finite timeline, that is absolutely impossible."

"The First Hokage founded the village to eliminate the barriers between clans, and he once said at the first Five Kage Summit that perhaps one day, the Five Great Nations and the Five Great Shinobi Villages could also eliminate the barriers between their countries and villages, and then true peace would come..."

"But he also knew that was an infinitely long, infinitely distant dream..."

"We can only take it one step at a time."

"For you and me now, including that child Itachi, to be able to rise above the clan and think from the village's perspective is already surpassing the vast majority of people..."

"We can't take too big a step. Every era has its own limitations and its own tasks. We only need to do our part for this generation..."

"Qianyu's words, though high-sounding, are all empty—like castles in the air. It's fine to listen to them, but don't take them too seriously..."

Uchiha Shisui let out a complete sigh of relief and broke into a bright smile.

"Yes, I understand, Hokage-sama..."

"Good, that's good then..."

"Though I've resolved my confusion, Hokage-sama, the extreme methods Uchiha Qianyu uses to carry out what he calls justice in his heart have still won the approval of some villagers and civilians..."

"This matter... what do you think of it?"

Chapter 13: A Single Spark

Thinking of Uchiha Qianyu's methods, especially the death of his nephew Sarutobi Jiro, Hiruzen Sarutobi naturally felt deep resentment in his heart.

What was even more frightening...

He even realized that, because of Sarutobi Jiro's death, Uchiha Qianyu's actions might instead cause many villagers and shinobi to see him in a new light, completely changing their opinion of him...