What Is Their Own Will of Fire?

Hiruzen Sarutobi smiled smugly. "Heh heh, I know! It's the Will of Fire of the First!"

Hashirama smiled with satisfaction and patted Hiruzen Sarutobi on the head. "That's right, Monkey. This is my Will of Fire."

"Then what is your Will of Fire?"

At those words, the others all froze. It seemed they had never really thought about that question.

"Your will is our will, Lord Hokage," Danzo said earnestly.

Hearing that, Torifu glanced at Danzo out of the corner of his eye. The boy was very different from the future Darkness of Konoha.

Though he was stern and humorless, Kumonaka Torikaze could see the light in his eyes.

"No. You must have wills of your own!" Hashirama said sternly, and his tone startled everyone present.

"When you go home today, think carefully about what I've said. Find your own Will of Fire! Tell me what it is in a week!"

Hashirama's presence was overwhelming. These rookies couldn't withstand it at all.

They could only nod again and again in agreement, while Kumonaka Torikaze was hardly affected.

But to avoid standing out, he also nodded with a show of trepidation.

Torikaze had some idea what his teacher meant, and he already had a few thoughts about his own Will of Fire.

"Kagami, what do you think Lord Hokage really meant?"

Torifu Akimichi kept snacking as he spoke. He had just given the question some thought.

He'd determined that he didn't have a Will of Fire of his own.

"Lord Hokage probably doesn't want all of us to build the village according to his ideas. Otherwise, we'd all become Puppets who only carry out orders."

Torifu Akimichi nodded after hearing that. Kagami's explanation made everything click for him.

If nothing unexpected happened, the Second Hokage would definitely be Lord Tobirama.

Lord Hokage naturally trusted his younger brother.

But the Third Hokage would very likely be chosen from among them.

If the one chosen could only develop the village according to the ideas of those who came before and didn't know how to adapt,

then the village would surely run into trouble.

Danzo, standing nearby, also heard what Kagami said and began to reflect. Lord Hokage's words had just made him realize something.

All this time, he had followed Lord Hokage's will, even imagining what it would be like to become Hokage himself one day.

My own Will of Fire?

He wasn't sure. He had trained and studied under the two lords since he was little.

Their ideas and wills had seeped into every part of his being.

It wasn't just Danzo. Everyone except Torifu and Uchiha Chirori wore some degree of confusion on their faces.

Hiruzen Sarutobi most of all. He darted between his five teammates, asking one question after another.

In the end, he annoyed Koharu, who gave him a beating and finally got him to behave.

Hashirama was worried too. This was a test for them. If they could pass it, the future would be bright.

Actually, he only had himself to blame. If he hadn't come to this realization so late, he wouldn't have put these children in such a difficult position.

"Children, don't rush. Calm down and think about what I said."

Hashirama reassured them. "Today's test is a little difficult, so I won't have you do any extra training. You're dismissed."

For Monkey and the others, learning ninjutsu was no longer the most important thing. Improving their combat skills was now the top priority.

Tobirama usually took them through combat drills, but since his elder brother had dismissed them today, they could go.

After they were dismissed, Hiruzen Sarutobi and the others made their way down the mountain.

Torifu and Uchiha Chirori, meanwhile, trained in Taijutsu with Hashirama all morning, and both of them gained a lot from it.

Torifu and Uchiha Chirori had one thing in common: they were strong in ninjutsu but weak in Taijutsu.

Senju Hashirama focused their training on Taijutsu.

The morning had thoroughly worn them both out, but neither complained. After all, this was the fastest way to improve their strength.

At noon, Hashirama dismissed the two of them to rest.

"Big Brother, why did you give them that test today? You never used to say things like that."

Tobirama had been puzzled by what his elder brother said.

Though they had never said so outright, after teaching Hiruzen Sarutobi and the others together for so many years,

his elder brother's intention had always been for them to inherit his will.

So why had he suddenly changed his mind today?

Hashirama laughed heartily, hands on his hips. "It's all because of the disciple I took in."

Tobirama was even more confused. Could that one little boy really influence his elder brother's convictions?

Seeing the confusion written all over his younger brother's face, Hashirama decided to stop keeping him in suspense.

"Last night, I spoke with Torifu in private. I was going to ask him about his experience training in Cloud Release, but what that boy said gave me an idea."

"Oh?"

"He said his clan's ancestors passed down a method for training in Cloud Release, with the proportions of the different chakra natures clearly recorded."

Tobirama nodded. Families with secret techniques usually passed down training methods like that to make things easier for their descendants.

"But for some reason, Torifu couldn't master it by following the scroll's instructions. In the end, he had no choice but to work out the chakra proportions himself, and that was how he succeeded."

By then, Tobirama had more or less understood what his elder brother was getting at.

"Actually, the succession of the Hokage Position is much like what happened with the Kumonaka Clan."

"I'm like the Kumonaka ancestors, leaving behind a fixed Will of Fire to teach future generations how to govern the village. Perhaps many generations could keep the village going by following my will."

"But if something unexpected happens in one generation, and my Will of Fire can't save the village, while the Hokage doesn't know how to adapt—"

"Then, just as Kumonaka Yama failed to master the Cloud Release that had been passed down for countless generations by following the scroll, the entire village could be destroyed."

"Perhaps after a few generations, someone like Kumonaka Torikaze will appear, someone who knows how to adapt and can lead the village anew. But the damage the village suffers in the meantime would be immeasurable!"

Hashirama grew more and more animated as he spoke, his emotions rising higher.

He couldn't bear the thought of the village he loved so dearly, the village he would protect at any cost,

one day disappearing from history.

Just like the countless clans wiped out during the wars, which had barely caused a ripple against the backdrop of the wider world.

"I actually spent the whole night thinking about whether I should test them like this."

"After all, my will could guarantee several generations a happy life. But in the end, I decided to trust them."

Tobirama didn't know what to say. He simply patted his elder brother on the shoulder.

Whatever decision his elder brother made, he would support him. Still, he had his own standards.

"If they can't pass the test, we can't entrust the village to them."

Tobirama had originally acted to make his elder brother's dream come true. But as he watched the village grow stronger, little by little, he had gradually come to love it too.

Fortunately, they still had enough time to raise their fledglings until they were ready to leave the nest. Perhaps then they could finally relax a little.

Senju Hashirama looked up at the midday sun and smiled warmly.

"Trust them. Young people have boundless potential."