Inside the Ninja Academy, Rikusei wore a complicated expression as he flipped through the Will of Fire in his hands, full of doubts.
He read the author's name back and forth three times, feeling utterly confused. Why was his name not there?
At the very least, he had expanded the origins of "fire." Even if it was not the Uchiha Clan's fire, it was still the fire of the Land of Fire.
Though the book did not explicitly say anything about devouring people, its few thin pages were still filled with sacrifice.
The sound of the lecture echoed by his ears. Rikusei stared fixedly at the words on the cover and thought, The Will of Fire, before it was distorted, is worth dedicating myself to.
He glanced at Sarutobi Hiruzen in the upper left corner, who was diligently taking notes, then recited in his heart without the slightest guilt the poem Hiruzen would write in the future: "Where the leaves of Konoha dance, the fire burns on without end."
After the theory class came Uchiha Kaku's Taijutsu Class.
Because Rikusei had previously defeated Yotsuki Yamanari with a single Illusion Technique and reclaimed his throne as the dominant force of the Ninja Academy, no one was willing to spar with him.
So he could only sit by the wall with a towel and some water, making up tragic stories about the Hyuga Clan's Branch Family to amuse Otsutsuki Rina while waiting for the graceful purple figure in the arena to return victorious.
"Naori wins!"
Kaku announced the result of the battle with a smile in his voice.
"Next—"
With nothing to do, Rikusei watched a glistening droplet roll from the corner of Naori's lips, leaving a wet trail down her delicate neck as it slowly flowed into the perfectly curved hollow