Sarutobi Hiruzen's Satisfaction, Qingyu's Will of Fire

Qingyu leaped directly over the top of the massive fireball.

Spinning, jumping.

Qingyu went head-first, his body inverted in the sky.

He raised his Water Flow Kunai and swung it forward.

The Water Blade sliced a white steam rift into the edge of the Great Fireball, emitting a harsh, screeching hiss.

Uchiha Tekka's pupils constricted.

Water Style?

But Uchiha Tekka had no time to ponder further; he could only see Qingyu descending upon him from above.

There was no time to dodge!

Uchiha Tekka could only pull a kunai from his ninja tool pouch while simultaneously throwing two shuriken with his left hand.

But Qingyu's movements were faster.

The powerful kinetic vision granted by the Sharingan had long since seen through the trajectory of his wrist rotation.

It was as if everything were in slow motion, broken down into frame-by-frame images.

Based on the movement of his wrist, Qingyu knew exactly where the strikes would land.

Qingyu used the Water Flow Kunai to knock the two shuriken away.

Immediately following, the Water Blade slashed horizontally.

Water droplets flowed at high speed across the metal edge of the kunai, emitting a buzzing sound.

Uchiha Tekka hurriedly raised his kunai to block.

Clang!

The sound of metal colliding rang across the training ground.

Uchiha Tekka felt a numbness in the web of his hand, and his entire body was pushed backward three or four steps by a massive impact, his soles leaving two black marks on the white lines.

What immense strength.

The weight of the Water Blade combined with the inertia of the descent was not something that could be neutralized by a hasty block.

Before he could steady his stance, Qingyu had already stepped forward, the tip of his kunai stopping right in front of his neck.

Even without making contact, Uchiha Tekka could feel the icy chill radiating from it.

If Qingyu's hand had trembled even slightly, he would truly be dead!

Then, the water droplets on the kunai dissipated, leaving only a single drop of clear water to slide off the tip.

The training ground fell into a dead silence.

"Winner, Qingyu."

Umino Shika was the first to react, breaking the silence.

He had never expected Qingyu to be this fast.

Moreover, he felt that the ninjutsu Qingyu had just used was somewhat familiar.

Could it be the Water Style ninjutsu passed down by the Second Hokage, Tobirama?

Hearing Umino Shika announce the result, Qingyu withdrew his kunai and formed the Seal of Reconciliation.

Uchiha Tekka stood where he was, the hand holding his kunai trembling slightly.

There is great terror between life and death.

Looking at the frozen Uchiha Tekka, Qingyu said indifferently:

"Whether it is the Uchiha clan or the Senju clan, we are all one family; there is no need to fight each other. The Will of Fire lies in 'bonds'."

After speaking, Qingyu prepared to turn and leave the arena.

Generally speaking, villains usually need a beating before they have a change of heart.

After this encounter, Qingyu estimated that Uchiha Tekka would be much better behaved.

According to the rules of the Uchiha clan, the strong are respected—a typical form of social Darwinism.

Since Qingyu was stronger than Uchiha Tekka, Uchiha Tekka would not dare to provoke him casually.

And dramatization is not fabrication; Qingyu wasn't just making things up.

A thousand years ago, the Uchiha and the Senju really were one family; they had simply branched off since then.

[Collectible trait detected: E-rank trait]

[E-rank trait: Young Uchiha Fire Style]

[Effect: Defeated a young Uchiha, increases Fire Style talent by 10%.]

"Fire Style talent?"

Qingyu examined this trait carefully, confirming he wasn't seeing things.

"So, there's a chance for drops even when defeating someone?"

Qingyu pondered to himself.

Could he farm points this way?

For instance, if they played rock-paper-scissors, would that count as a defeat?

Or was it determined by the method of defeat?

A flurry of questions filled Qingyu's mind, but he ultimately closed the trait panel with an unchanged expression.

This was his greatest trump card; naturally, he couldn't reveal anything in front of everyone.

However, his footsteps suddenly faltered, and he turned his head to look at Uchiha Tekka.

Uchiha Tekka looked at Qingyu with some confusion, not understanding why he had stopped halfway.

"If you want to spar in the future, Uchiha Tekka, feel free to find me. Improving alone isn't as good as improving together."

Qingyu signaled that he was truly eager to "improve!"

At this stage, Obito likely didn't possess many excellent traits.

But Qingyu believed that Uchiha Tekka had quite a few.

Besides, beat the young, and the old might show up.

He remembered that Uchiha Tekka had a clansman he was close with named Uchiha Inabi.

It was just that he was a grade older and not in the same class.

These people were all living, breathing leeks.

To have leeks and not harvest them—wouldn't that be a waste?

"...Alright."

Uchiha Tekka was stunned for a moment.

Could it be that this guy Qingyu really practiced returning good for evil?

What a broad and magnanimous heart.

Was this... truly the Will of Fire?

At this moment, Uchiha Tekka fell into deep doubt.

He pondered whether he had failed to properly learn the true essence of the Will of Fire back then.

Hearing Uchiha Tekka's reply, Qingyu continued walking outward, disappearing into the crowd.

He waited for Umino Shika to call the next student.

Today was the monthly exam; once finished, they could leave directly, as there were no more classes.

"Qingyu actually won?"

Obito stood in the back, eyes wide.

He had just been saying that Qingyu was done for.

Now, he felt that the one who was done for was himself.

Because Obito realized with sorrow that if he were in Uchiha Tekka's place, he probably wouldn't even have been able to dodge that Great Fireball.

"Qingyu has always been very strong."

Rin Nohara said.

The first day she met Qingyu, she had seen him sparring with Kakashi.

Although Qingyu lost, his strength clearly showed a solid foundation.

"How about that? I told you so."

Shizune looked at Yūhi Kurenai, her tone carrying a hint of small triumph.

Yūhi Kurenai nodded, her gaze toward Qingyu filled with newfound curiosity.

It seemed there were still many things about Qingyu that hadn't been revealed yet.

Sarutobi Asuma stood to the side, whistling nonchalantly, pretending he hadn't said anything just a moment ago.

But his eyes kept darting toward Yūhi Kurenai, praying that she wouldn't lower her impression of him because of his previous words.

"No wonder Father said Qingyu would be my rival in the future."

Kakashi nodded.

Watching the battle end, Sarutobi Hiruzen couldn't help but light his pipe.

In an instant, the office was filled with swirling smoke.

Shimura Danzō frowned and moved a little further away from Sarutobi Hiruzen.

He had no desire to end up missing his chance to sit in the Hokage's seat simply because he had inhaled too much secondhand smoke.

"Do you see? This is why I insist on promoting the Will of Fire within the Ninja Academy."

Sarutobi Hiruzen spoke up.

What could be more satisfying than seeing one's own actions yield such excellent influence?

The Second Hokage had founded the Ninja Academy, but by the time it reached his generation, the curriculum had been infused with quite a bit of material regarding the Will of Fire.

In particular, The Third Hokage and the Will of Fire detailed his own illustrious life story.

Upon hearing Sarutobi Hiruzen's words, Shimura Danzō nearly lost his composure.

Hiruzen truly loved to gild his own lily.

However, Shimura Danzō did not go so far as to make Sarutobi Hiruzen lose face.

Sarutobi Hiruzen was the Hokage, and he was the leader of Root; there were some matters that required Sarutobi Hiruzen's endorsement to proceed smoothly.

The two of them bickered often, but they had never truly fallen into any major conflict.

"I never expected Qingyu to be able to use Tobirama-sensei's techniques."