Mangekyō Sharingan!

"Hey? Isn't that Torifu?"

A woman's voice came from behind Torifu.

The voice sounded familiar to Torifu. He turned around, and sure enough—

"Aunt Kato, I didn't expect to run into you here."

The woman who had called out to Torifu was Kato Saho's wife, Kato Mamiko.

Since their homes weren't far apart, Torifu's parents and the Kato family had been very close.

After his parents passed away, Kato Saho and his wife had looked after Torifu, too, earning his deep respect.

Just then, Torifu noticed a toddler in Mamiko's arms, about two years old, with a striking head of blue hair.

"Did you bring Dan out to play, Aunt Kato?"

Mamiko smiled warmly. She had a kind face. "Yes. Dan's always making a fuss at home, so I thought I'd bring him out to play."

Torifu stepped closer and tried to amuse the young Dan Katō, but Dan turned his head away, ignoring Torifu.

Mamiko looked a little embarrassed. "Dan's a bit shy around strangers. You don't visit us very often, so he doesn't really know you."

Torifu waved it off. He could get along with little kids, but a two-year-old was a bit too young to play with.

After his attempt to amuse Dan came to nothing, Torifu lost interest. Dan was still little; there'd be plenty of time to tease him when he was older.

Torifu had always liked Dan Katō. He hadn't appeared very often, but his Spirit Transformation Technique had left a deep impression on Torifu.

He could separate his soul from his body and use it to strike down enemies! How powerful was that? There were hardly any jutsu in the entire Shinobi World that could control souls.

But the drawback was just as obvious: once the soul left the body, the body couldn't move, leaving it a sitting duck for anyone to kill.

And in the end, Dan had died that way, his dream of becoming Hokage cut short in his youth. His death had also become one of Tsunade's greatest sorrows.

"What about you, Torifu? Did you come out for a walk, too?" Mamiko asked. Come to think of it, she hadn't seen him around lately.

Torifu scratched the back of his head. "Ah, it's too quiet at home, so I came out for a stroll."

Hearing that, Mamiko's eyes filled with sympathy. Torifu's parents had been close friends with her and her husband.

She hadn't expected them to pass away so young, leaving behind their six-year-old child. At least he had everything he needed.

"If you ever feel lonely, come visit your aunt," Mamiko said gently.

Torifu felt a warmth in his heart and nodded.

They chatted for a while longer. Unlike Maruboshi Kosuke and the others, Kato Mamiko had somehow heard that Lord Hokage had taken Torifu on as his student.

And when she learned that Torifu was going on missions at such a young age, she couldn't help worrying.

She repeatedly reminded him to be careful on missions and to put his safety first.

As dusk fell, the two of them started toward home.

Like Torifu's mother, Mamiko chattered all the way, mostly reminding him to take care of himself and not stay up late or overwork.

Torifu enjoyed having an elder fuss over him. It made him feel safe.

When they reached the entrance to the Yunzhong Clan Grounds, Mamiko reminded him again, "Get some rest early, Torifu. Lord Hokage's training must be tough. Keep it up!"

Then she turned and left. Torifu watched Kato Mamiko head home before entering the clan grounds.

He opened the Character Compendium and unlocked Dan Katō and Uchiha Setsuna, earning a total of 1,000 Calmness Points. It was the first time he'd met Dan Katō since awakening the system.

As for Uchiha Setsuna, Torifu had made good use of a useless person and gained some more Calmness Points.

After a quick wash, Torifu lay down and fell asleep.

Late that night, in the Uchiha Clan Grounds—

An old man stood outside his home, gazing at the stars.

It seemed the heavens always found a way to make the miserable suffer even more.

His son and daughter-in-law had died one after the other. His little grandson had taken a forbidden drug that had drained his life away, leaving him barely alive.

And now his eldest grandson, Uchiha Setsuna—the one in whom the old man had placed all his hopes—was missing.

"You said you were going to avenge your younger brother, but he's still alive and well. You're probably buried far from home by now."

As he spoke, two bloody tears rolled down his face, and his voice broke into sobs.

The Three-Tomoe Sharingan in his eyes spun and coalesced, finally forming a shape like a shuriken.

"The Mangekyō Sharingan! Hahahaha! I never thought I'd awaken the Mangekyō just before I died."

The old man's voice turned a little manic. It was hard to tell whether he was happy or sad. Fortunately, his home stood at the edge of the clan grounds, and only his branch of the family lived there.

"Looks like it's not my time to die yet!"

The old man turned to look at his grandson on the bed inside, a boy who looked like a skeleton. Flames of hatred blazed in his eyes.

"I'll make you all pay!"

One day later.

Early that morning, Torifu, Chirori, Hiruzen Sarutobi, and the others gathered atop the Hokage Monument.

It was now the third day since Torifu and the others had returned to the village from their mission. The deadline for the task Hashirama had given them had finally arrived.

Most still looked a little unsure of themselves, but none of them were as flustered and helpless as before.

Just as Hiruzen was about to ask his companions about their Will of Fire, Tobirama brought Hashirama before them using the Flying Thunder God Technique.

"Good morning, kids! Hahaha!"

Seeing that Lord Hokage was in a good mood today, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

If Lord Hokage had been in a bad mood, they might have said something to anger him and gotten beaten up!

Tobirama's expression was as calm as ever, giving no hint of his mood. "You all know what day it is, right?"

At his words, everyone immediately stood straight and answered in unison.

"Then I hope your answers today won't disappoint us."

Tobirama said this only to put a little pressure on them. They'd all trained under him since childhood.

He could more or less guess what each of them would say.

And since he and his big brother were teaching the students together, one of them had to play the bad cop. Otherwise, the kids wouldn't fear anyone, and they'd be impossible to manage.

"Monkey, you go first!"

Seeing Hiruzen try to shrink back, Tobirama called on him first.

Hiruzen felt like crying, but there was nothing he could do. He had to steel himself and speak.

"My Will of Fire is protection."

At that, the corners of Hashirama's mouth lifted slightly, but he hid it well enough that no one noticed.

"What does protection mean?" Tobirama asked.

"Because I love the village, and I love everyone in it. Whenever I return from a mission and see the smiles on people's faces, I feel full of energy."

"So I want to protect the village and every single person in it!"

Tobirama nodded. Hiruzen's Will of Fire was somewhat like his big brother's, but Tobirama knew Hiruzen wasn't saying it just to please anyone. It was truly what he believed.

"I hope you'll always remember what you said today!"

"Next, Danzo."

Danzo stepped forward when called. He had found his own Will of Fire, but wasn't sure whether saying it would anger the two lords.

"My Will of Fire is suppression."

At the word, Hashirama and Tobirama both froze for a moment. Then Danzo continued.

"By suppression, I mean raising the village's overall strength. With our strength, we can make the other villages submit and stop them from even thinking of opposing us."

After Danzo explained, the brothers fell silent for a long while, making him even more uncertain. He grew nervous.

But Hashirama and Tobirama only thought Danzo's idea was a little too forceful. His intentions, however, could be considered sound.

That was simply how the Shinobi World worked now.

Because of Hashirama, Konoha held an absolute advantage among the Five Great Shinobi Villages. No one dared bare their fangs at Konoha! It was all because of Hashirama's strength.

"Danzo, your idea isn't bad, but there must be a line you won't cross. You must never hurt anyone in the village! Understood?"

Tobirama's tone was stern, with a hint of warning.

Danzo bowed deeply. "I understand, Sensei." Then he returned to the group.

After that, Koharu, Homura, Torifu Akimichi, and Kagami Uchiha each explained their Will of Fire. Though they had a few flaws, they all passed.

Hashirama only asked them to think it over and refine their ideas after they went home.

"Kumonaka Torikaze, you're next."