Showing Weakness

Bang!

The heavy door slammed shut, leaving Katsuo standing alone inside the detention cell.

"I never thought I'd be detained... I never received this kind of punishment in my previous life..."

Katsuo muttered with a soft, self-mocking laugh.

He sat on the cell's only iron bed, closed his eyes, and said nothing as he considered what path to take next.

He had already demonstrated his value. What came next depended on Konoha's attitude toward a "genius."

The reason he had not tried to build good relationships with his Uchiha Clan classmates—aside from Mikoto—and had instead treated them coldly was because he intended to integrate into the Hokage's faction, or rather, the Senju Lineage!

His current situation was somewhat like Uchiha Itachi's when he was young. Itachi had been valued by both the Uchiha Clan and the Hokage's faction, yet he had not known how to choose. He wanted to get close to and integrate into the Hokage's faction, but he also wanted to preserve and persuade the Uchiha Clan.

That situation had left him pleasing neither side. The Hokage's faction had not dared to trust him completely, while his own clansmen had misunderstood him. He gained not the slightest benefit from either faction, yet bore pressure from both. In the end, unable to bear it any longer, he killed his father and mother and massacred his entire clan to protect his younger brother, meeting an incomparably tragic end...

It had to be said that he was a tragedy!

Itachi's tragedy would not repeat itself in Katsuo. He did not possess Itachi's compassionate heart, nor could he possibly be as naive as Shisui Uchiha.

Between the Uchiha Clan and Konoha, he chose Konoha without a second thought.

Thriving Konoha had far more "nourishment" for Katsuo to absorb than the decayed and weakened Uchiha Clan.

Of course, trying to benefit from both sides was merely a helpless measure. He was still far too weak, so for now, he needed the protection of a mask!

Katsuo's current policy was to integrate himself into the Hokage's faction as much as possible.

Two days later.

The Third Hokage brought the Sannin to the detention cell. The four of them looked at Katsuo, drenched in sweat as he trained his body, their expressions extremely complicated.

Clearly, just as the reports had described, this child was a complete training fanatic. Even while "imprisoned," he had not neglected his cultivation!

Such diligence made even the Sannin feel ashamed.

"Can you tell me? What are you working this hard for?"

The Third Hokage asked solemnly, his tone gentle.

"..."

This was the third person to ask him that!

Katsuo fell silent for a moment, then sat cross-legged on the floor and slowly adjusted his breathing and condition.

"I need strength."

"!!!"

The four of them were shaken. The Third Hokage suddenly crouched down without regard for his image and asked again on equal footing.

"Can you tell me what you need strength for?"

The answer to that question would affect Katsuo's future and even determine his fate for a period of time!

"I don't know what the strength I seek can do, but someone once told me that strength can change everything."

"..."

The four remained silent. They felt that this child was like a sheet of pure white paper.

"My father lost his life because of war. If I had possessed enough strength back then, I could have changed everything. My mother would not have fallen ill and never recovered because of it..."

"I need strength to eliminate war. I need strength to protect my loved ones. But... everything is too late!"

Bang!

Katsuo slammed his fist viciously into the ground. Though blood streamed from his fingers, his expression did not waver in the slightest. Deep pain filled his voice as he murmured hollowly.

"Too late. I can't go back. Even if I gain strength, I can't return to that time. I couldn't protect them. What's lost will never come back. Then what can the strength I've fought so desperately to obtain even do???"

Katsuo looked at his callused palms, his expression lost and despairing.

Looking at those rough hands, utterly unlike those of children his age, the four were too shaken for words!

Tsunade turned her head away, unable to look at the pitiful child. Jiraiya lowered his head in silence, deeply sympathetic toward him.

Orochimaru looked dazed, Katsuo's words echoing through his mind.

That's right. What's lost will never come back. Never come back...

Clearly, Katsuo's words had resonated deeply with Orochimaru!

His own parents had also lost their lives to war. Katsuo's confusion at this moment was also the confusion that had followed Orochimaru throughout his life!

"No! Your efforts are not meaningless."

The Third Hokage's voice was firm.

"You are still young. In the days ahead, you will have many, many friends and comrades. You will build your own family. You will have a wife, children, and loved ones of your own!"

"You need sufficient strength to protect them. You must prevent them from suffering the ravages of war. You must shelter them from wind and rain. You cannot allow your tragedy to be repeated upon them. Your efforts will become an important force safeguarding their lives!"

"Your father gave his life protecting Konoha. You must inherit his will. In the days to come, protect your loved ones, protect your comrades, protect Konoha. Your father's will—the will of a protector—is Konoha's Will of Fire!"

"The Will of Fire..."

Katsuo looked into the Third Hokage's eyes in surprise.

"Yes. Wherever leaves dance, fire burns on without end. Its light will illuminate the village and bring brightness and warmth to Konoha, that great tree. New leaves will sprout and grow because of it. You are one such new leaf, and your father was that blazing flame!"

"This is the Will of Fire!"

The Sannin were stirred by the conviction in the Third Hokage's words, their breathing gradually growing heavier. The belief passed down like an ever-burning flame shook them immensely!

"So that's how it is!"

Katsuo clenched his fists, his expression resolute. He seemed to have been influenced by the Will of Fire as well!

"I know I was wrong. I shouldn't have attacked my classmates. Let me out!"

The Third Hokage smiled in gratification. In his eyes, it was as though he saw a peerless divine weapon gradually taking shape. It only needed proper tempering, and this weapon would serve him!

He had already decided that Uchiha Katsuo would become an inheritor of the Will of Fire!

As they followed behind the Third Hokage and the Sannin, passing through a dark corridor leading out of the detention center, Katsuo stared at the Third Hokage's back. A pair of Three-Tomoe Sharingan silently appeared in his eyes!

The Third Hokage and Tsunade noticed nothing. Only Orochimaru, walking alongside them, paused slightly and glanced back at Katsuo. Seeing his calm expression and no sign of anything unusual, Orochimaru could not help frowning before lightly shaking his head.

Katsuo watched the back of Orochimaru's head sway slightly, and a deep, eerie glint flashed through his eyes.

The weak always need to rely on sympathy and pity. I swear here and now that from this day forward, I will never use such methods again!