Will of Fire

The day after the hot springs, Minato heard from Tsunade that Jiraiya had gone to Mount Myōboku to meditate and train. Apparently, he didn't plan on returning to Konoha anytime soon.

"Was I too harsh on him after all?"

In the kitchen, Minato was making dinner while Tsunade cleaned the used prep trays beside him.

"Don't worry about it. This is a good thing."

Tsunade chuckled. "That guy may be a lecher, but he isn't unreasonable. He probably figured some things out and decided to work on his state of mind."

"Work on his state of mind?"

"That's right. A ninja needs tremendous resolve and must endure what ordinary people can't, so training your mind is an important part of the process, too."

Tsunade patiently explained, "The Road to Ninja isn't a smooth one. Hunger, pain, killing, even death—every ninja is bound to face such things. So you'll have to train in that regard someday, too."

"Then why become a ninja?"

Minato asked, "I've never really understood. Water Release can be used to irrigate crops, and Earth Release can build houses. Wind, fire, and lightning can all be put to use, and even chakra itself can be used directly as an energy source."

"Ninjas have the power to make the world advance by leaps and bounds. Why waste time and energy fighting and killing each other?"

Tsunade paused, surprised that Minato would ask such a question.

After a moment's thought, she said, "It's probably because of hatred..."

"Does hatred just appear out of nowhere?"

Minato asked again. "A is jealous that C's business is doing better than his own and thinks C is stealing his customers, so he hires B to assassinate C. C finds out and hires D to protect him. Then B and D fight, and D kills B. Who does Sensei think is at fault?"

"A, of course!" Tsunade answered without hesitation. "And B was wrong to take the job, too."

Minato asked again, "Then who does Sensei think B's child will hate after B dies?"

Tsunade hesitated, then fell silent.

Whatever came to mind, her expression darkened, and her mood visibly soured.

"Ahhh—!"

After a while, Tsunade suddenly shouted, grabbed Minato, and vigorously ruffled his hair.

"Where do you get all these questions?"

"Huh? We were just chatting..."

"Even chatting isn't allowed!"

Tsunade pinched Minato's cheeks and pulled them apart, then looked at him with a stern expression.

"I don't care! People have to take responsibility for their actions! Since you brought up this question, you can be the one to solve it! That's it! Let's make it your final test before you graduate from my tutelage!"

"Wh—?!"

Minato stared at her in shock.

He'd only wanted to hint at the problem with the ninja system. As far as he was concerned, the ninja code and the Will of Fire were both worthless. He had no intention of following ninja rules.

And what was this woman even saying?

It was like telling someone, "The world's been unstable lately, especially in the Middle East," only for them to reply, "Then world peace is in your hands. Go negotiate a settlement for them."

"Ahahaha! I'm just kidding!"

Seeing Minato's shocked expression, Tsunade burst out laughing and ruffled his hair.

"Though I'm not entirely joking. You have the power of Wood Release, so you're destined for an extraordinary future. Even if you want a peaceful life, sometimes you won't have a choice."

"If you're truly willing to shoulder the trust people place in you someday, then maybe you can think about what I suggested today."

Minato nodded.

Tsunade wasn't wrong. In the future, he'd have family and friends around him, and sooner or later, trouble would come looking for them.

Sometimes, no matter what you wanted, countless people would push you into a position of greater responsibility.

But it was too early to think about that now...

Two days later, the Ninja Academy opened.

Today was the new students' entrance ceremony.

Early that morning, Tsunade brought the two of them to school.

As soon as they arrived, Minato heard someone calling his name.

"Yo! Long time no see, Minato Namikaze!"

Shinnosuke Sarutobi was standing among the new students. The moment he saw Minato, he got excited and waved at him. "Over here!"

"Oh, good morning..."

Minato nodded calmly, then turned and walked toward the new students.

"Hey, don't ignore me, you jerk."

Shinnosuke's face twitched as he hurried over and muttered to Minato, "I got Dad to put us in the same class. Next time, I definitely won't lose to you!"

"Sure. Good luck."

Even if you hadn't asked, he probably would've put us in the same class anyway...

Minato smiled politely and waved to Tsunade. Only then did she turn and leave, yawning as she headed home to catch up on sleep.

Shinnosuke seemed to have more to say, but before he could open his mouth, someone suddenly bumped into him, making him stumble.

"Damn it, who—"

Shinnosuke's expression changed, and he was about to lose his temper when he saw the girls around them swarming around Minato.

"Hello, Minato! I'm Kaoru Koyaba. I hope we get along!"

A sweet, adorable-looking girl with black hair sent Minato a friendly smile.

"Hello. I hope we get along," Minato replied with a polite smile.

"Ahh! Minato looks so handsome when he smiles!"

"And he dresses so well..."

The girls chattered around Minato. Shinnosuke watched their enthusiasm, the corners of his mouth twitching uncontrollably.

"What a joke. How is this guy so popular?"

With so many enthusiastic girls surrounding him, Minato was finding it hard to keep up with them.

Fortunately, teachers were on hand to keep order. Seeing the commotion, one of them stepped forward at once.

"Quiet down and get back in line with your class!"

"Aww..."

The girls complained, but obediently returned to their class lines.

"So that's Tsunade's disciple?"

The commotion around Minato had drawn plenty of attention. In the third-year line, a boy with a pineapple-shaped hairstyle sized him up from afar.

"That's right! Shikaku, I'm telling you, Minato's really strong! You'd better not pick a fight with him!"

Nawaki warned him seriously. He knew his good friend was a huge admirer of his older sister.

"I'm not that stupid..."

The boy called Shikaku patted the back of his head, sounding languid.

It was true that he admired Tsunade, but to put it bluntly, the men who liked her could form a line from one end of Konoha to the other.

Even if someone did cause trouble, Shikaku wasn't going to be the one to deal with it. Besides, he wasn't unreasonable.

And if Nawaki called Minato incredibly strong, then Minato was clearly far stronger than Nawaki. Shikaku had no chance of measuring up to him.

Taking into account how popular Minato was with the girls, he was definitely a huge headache!

As the young heir of the Nara Clan, Shikaku was always quick-witted. In an instant, he'd worked everything out.

Just then, Hiruzen Sarutobi arrived at the schoolyard with a group of teachers and began the speech he was so proud of, one he gave every year: the Will of Fire!