For Your Own Good

"This kid's pretty impressive!" The Third Hokage was somewhat surprised.

The Will of Fire class was not offered to first-years, mainly because they could barely recognize all the characters, much less understand the material. Rashly introducing such a complicated course could easily provoke resentment in the students.

He could understand Kakashi reading this book. Kakashi wanted to graduate early, and he was also somewhat lost right now, unsure whether his father's actions had been right or wrong, so he needed to find an answer.

But what about Kamiya Keiyun? He could actually immerse himself in it too!

That was truly rare!

He had decent talent, sound ideas, and could even accept the Will of Fire.

He was worth making a long-term investment in!

He shut off the crystal ball and began considering how he should speak when they met later.

Meanwhile, Kamiya Keiyun frowned. He had suddenly felt as though someone had noticed him.

But what was going on? Inuzuka Hana was not here either.

Scratching his head, Kamiya Keiyun was about to continue reading when he saw that his classmates had already returned!

He hurriedly put the book back exactly as it had been.

"That fast?" Kamiya Keiyun was curious. It had not even been ten minutes. They were already done fighting?

"Of course it was fast! Uchiha Obito had no chance to fight back, hahaha." The first student to enter the classroom saw Kamiya Keiyun and immediately said, "It's such a shame you didn't go watch. You missed Kakashi showing off his power—he kicked Obito unconscious with one strike!"

Uh, who were you? Were we that close?

Behind him, Kakashi entered as well, surrounded by the crowd. However, Kakashi did not look particularly pleased with himself. His gaze remained cold and indifferent.

Kamiya Keiyun gave him a thumbs-up. Kakashi paid no attention and simply returned to his seat, where he resumed reading.

Soon, Uchiha Obito returned too. He was rubbing his butt as he walked. Kamiya Keiyun thought about it, unable to imagine what kind of fight would end with someone getting kicked there.

Could it be that he had charged too hard, failed to stop in time, been dodged, and then kicked in the rear?

"Obito, you charged so fast just now! Just what you'd expect from an Uchiha!"

"Shut up!"

"As expected, Kakashi was still Kakashi."

"Hmph, I'll win next time!"

The day passed in the blink of an eye.

Kamiya Sanyō no longer came to pick Kamiya Keiyun up. He had always walked home by himself.

Step by step, he walked steadily, slowly controlling the distance between his strides. That was also a form of training for his control over his legs.

In his previous life, he had been able to do nothing but study apart from eating and sleeping. Since strength was the main theme of this world, naturally, he could spend all his time other than eating and sleeping on studying as well.

As he walked forward with his head lowered, Kamiya Keiyun suddenly saw a white robe with red lining.

Huh, these clothes looked familiar!

Kamiya Keiyun raised his head in confusion and saw the Third Hokage standing before him, wearing a conical hat.

"Ah, Lord Hokage?" Kamiya Keiyun froze for a moment, then hurriedly straightened up.

"Oh, Kamiya Keiyun, I know you! You moved to Konoha last year, right? How have you been finding life in Konoha? Is there anything you're not used to?" The Third Hokage looked as if he were merely passing by. He even leaned over and patted Kamiya Keiyun on the head.

"Ah, Konoha is wonderful. The villagers here are very welcoming, and I like the food here too. I really like it here!" Kamiya Keiyun hurriedly replied.

"Mhm, that's good! Once you're here, Konoha is your home!" Sarutobi Hiruzen said, then looked in the direction Kamiya Keiyun had come from. "You enrolled in the Ninja Academy too!"

"Yes, I started this year!" Kamiya Keiyun quickly nodded, putting on a smile that met society's expectations as he looked innocently at the Third Hokage. "I want to be like the seniors before me, study hard, become stronger, and make my own contribution to protecting Konoha!"

"Mhm, not bad, not bad!" Sarutobi Hiruzen nodded in satisfaction. Children could lie too, but their lies were generally clumsy enough for adults to see through at a glance.

But Kamiya Keiyun's eyes were clear, and his tone was fervent. One look was enough to tell that he meant it from the bottom of his heart!

"Good. Keep working hard. Here, this book is for you." Sarutobi Hiruzen took a book from his robes and handed it to Kamiya Keiyun. "From now on, you won't need to read someone else's copy."

"Ah, thank you, Lord Third Hokage!" Kamiya Keiyun nearly threw up when he saw the cover. Wasn't this Konoha and the Will of Fire?

I thought you were going to give me some Ninjutsu or Taijutsu. This is all I get?

Despite his complicated feelings, he still had to keep smiling as he watched the Third Hokage slowly shuffle away.

"Wait, he said I wouldn't need to read someone else's copy from now on. So he was observing me in the classroom just now?" Kamiya Keiyun was somewhat shocked. The Hokage's Office Building and the classroom were close, but they were still two or three hundred meters apart!

Could he see that far?

Or did he have some other skill, perhaps an effect achieved through Ninjutsu?

Afraid that the Third Hokage was still observing him in secret, he hurriedly opened the book and began reading it with great interest.

He truly was reading with great interest. After all, there were neither phones nor computers in this life, and entertainment was terribly dull. He was completely treating the book as a storybook.

As for the Will of Fire...

The Will of Fire was a good thing, but Kamiya Keiyun had seen and heard too many excellent ideologies. The Will of Fire was merely one drop in the ocean, unable to stir even the slightest ripple in Kamiya Keiyun's vast reservoir of ideas.

However, Kamiya Keiyun had no choice but to consider what the Will of Fire meant in Konoha.

Was it an ideology used to rule the village?

One certainly could not rule a region or a nation entirely through force. A country born that way would have no cohesion whatsoever and would fall apart within a few years.

A typical example was the northern nomadic tribes of Huaxia. From the Xiongnu to the Turks, the Xianbei, and the Jurchens, they were essentially the same group of people. Yet because they lacked ideological cohesion, not only could they not remain strong for long, but even after entering and ruling the Central Plains, their dynasties never lasted.

Therefore, there had to be an ideology to unite everyone. Ancient Huaxia used Confucian doctrine, while modern times used the concept of family, nation, and the world.

Such an ideology had to encompass every aspect of life—not just politics, but economics, morality, and culture as well.

How could one book possibly be enough? Even an entire bookshelf would not be enough!

Yet Konoha used this one-sentence ideology to rule the village?

Could that work? Of course not!

"So that's why Hatake Sakumo's affair became such a huge issue. It wasn't just because there was someone pulling strings behind the scenes. The fundamental problem was that the ideology on which the village was founded was flawed." Kamiya Keiyun shook his head. Unfortunately, he could only mutter that to himself.

After all, he did not know whether this village practiced literary persecution. Publicly slandering the Will of Fire—what were you trying to do?

"So it comes back to the same old path. I still have to become stronger first!" With light steps, Kamiya Keiyun had just opened the front door when he sensed that something was off about the atmosphere at home.

In the living room, a stack of banknotes sat on the table. His father, Kamiya Hiromi, was drunk, his face full of pride.

Beside him, Kamiya Koromo wore a troubled expression, though she still forced a faint smile.

As for Kamiya Sanyō—

Kamiya Keiyun did not even have time to greet anyone. He rushed upstairs, pushed open the door, and saw his sister kneeling halfway beneath the bed, her hair disheveled and her eyes swollen red from crying.

"What happened? Where did the money downstairs come from?" Kamiya Keiyun asked.

He already had a guess.

"The Shimura Clan has taken a liking to me. Their eldest son wants to marry me. This is the bride price!" Kamiya Sanyō said miserably.

"The Shimura Clan is one of Konoha's great clans. I can't refuse them. Besides, your sister has reached marriageable age. Three hundred thousand ryo is no small sum; it's enough for us to build another shrine." Beside them, Kamiya Hiromi took a swig of liquor, his expression pained.

"Besides, the Shimura Clan has people in Konoha's upper ranks. If you marry into their family, it'll be good for your little brother too. Konoha has a department called Root. Many clans can't even force their people into it. I've already made an agreement with the Shimura Clan Head. Once he finishes first grade, he can immediately transfer to Root and receive a higher level of training!"

Kamiya Hiromi had somehow followed them upstairs and was leaning against the hallway wall.

"I... I..." Kamiya Sanyō stammered twice, not knowing what to say.

She definitely did not want to marry him, but when she heard that marrying into the family would benefit her younger brother, she hesitated again.

If I refuse, won't it affect my brother's future?

Kamiya Keiyun was stunned. What was this? Was he the one turning his sister into a brother-obsessed sacrifice?

"Dad, I'll seize my own future. Why do we need to sell my sister?" Kamiya Keiyun angrily asked. "Return the money. They're only Konoha's upper ranks. Give me ten years, and I'll become one of them myself!"

"What the hell do you know? Do you think you can just return it because you want to? Do you know what the Shimura Clan represents? Do you know how hard it is to make it in Konoha? Countless people spend their entire lives as ninjas and remain Genin. Out of all the ninjas in the village, fewer than two hundred become Jonin! Who do you think you are?"

"You say I'm selling my daughter—do I even have the right to choose? Do you still think our Kamiya Family is the foremost clan in the village? Here, our family is nothing!" Kamiya Hiromi slammed his fist against the wall. "Without connections, without relying on other clans, you won't even have the chance to learn Ninjutsu!"

"This is your opportunity. You won't be unable to see your sister again in the future. You'll both still be in Konoha. That's enough. If she marries into their family, it will benefit you too."