Will of Fire

Back at the Uchiha compound, Uchiha Shisui was summoned to the ancestral hall the moment he returned home; it was the day of the clan meeting. As a genius of the Uchiha clan, he had earned the right to attend as an observer.

Uchiha Shisui stood out among the crowd, yet no one looked down on this genius who had awakened his One-Tomoe at such a tender age.

"Ah, Shisui, come sit by me." Fugaku Uchiha pulled at the corners of his mouth, offering a smile as he beckoned Uchiha Shisui over.

Shisui looked at the young clan heir and found his smile to be incredibly strange. Without dwelling on it further, he stepped out from the crowd, walked to Fugaku's side, and sat down.

"This clan meeting is to discuss the candidate for the next clan head. My current health can no longer support me in this position."

"Clan Head! We all know your capabilities; please, do not belittle yourself."

"Everyone, say no more. I intend for Fugaku to inherit the position of clan head while concurrently serving as the captain of the Police Force. However, he is still too young and requires someone to assist him, so if the elders have any candidates to recommend, please speak up."

"Clan Head, young Fugaku is steady in his work, and having awakened the Three-Tomoe at such a young age, we believe he is fit to assume the role of clan head." The dove-faction elders spoke up one after another.

"Impossible! The clan head must possess absolute strength. There are many in the clan with the Three-Tomoe Sharingan; if the heir's strength is insufficient, how can he command respect?" The hawk-faction elders voiced their opposition.

The clan meeting became like a torn sheet of paper, the rift widening with every passing moment due to the friction between the two factions.

"Fire Style: Great Dragon Fire Technique!"

A dragon-headed fireball suddenly erupted from within the crowd, and the scene instantly exploded; no one had expected someone to resort to ninjutsu.

"I am not dead yet! And already someone cannot help themselves?" The Uchiha clan head's face turned grim, his scarlet Mangekyo Sharingan slowly rotating.

The Great Dragon Fire was snuffed out by a white Susanoo arm. The appearance of the Mangekyo instantly extinguished the arrogance of the radical clansmen present.

The meeting was dissolved as a result, leaving them no choice but to wait a while longer. The Uchiha clan head knew deep down that Fugaku currently lacked the ability to fully control the Uchiha clan. If he did not possess the Mangekyo, he might not be sitting so securely in this position. Now, he could finally understand Hiruzen Sarutobi's attitude toward the Uchiha clan; it stood in the center of the village like a ticking bomb.

Back home, Shisui had seen the scene clearly; the voices within the clan were split into two factions. If the old clan head hadn't possessed those eyes, things might have already descended into chaos.

Shisui looked at the light screen before him, his heart palpitating. He was not too far away from attaining those eyes himself; the Third Great Ninja War would be his turning point.

Sunlight spread across the mountaintop, and the darkness fled frantically as if it had encountered a natural predator. Because Hiruzen Sarutobi was coming to the Ninja Academy today to give a speech on the Will of Fire, Onizuka had specifically emphasized that no one was to be late.

"Morning, Kakashi! Why are your dark circles so heavy? Did you go out stealing cows last night?" Shisui hooked his arm around Kakashi and teased.

Kakashi didn't understand what "stealing cows" meant, so he rolled his eyes and said, "My father suddenly started giving me special training, so I didn't sleep at all last night."

"That's amazing! Even as a genius, Kakashi, you're still working so hard," Rin Nohara praised from the side.

"Tch, what's there to be proud of? It's obvious that I am the one working the hardest," Obito muttered, his voice trailing off as he curled his lip.

"Obito, what are you saying?" Rin Nohara looked at the self-muttering Obito.

"Rin... it's... it's nothing," Obito stammered.

Just as the noise and horseplay in the classroom reached its peak, Onizuka hurried inside and let out a tongue-clicking roar: "Hey, you lot, have you had enough! The Third Hokage has already arrived! Get to the playground and assemble immediately!"

"Yes, Onizuka-sensei!" The little ones in the classroom had never seen such a scene, and they instantly became as well-behaved as rabbits.

Shisui stretched, then draped his arm over Kakashi as they walked at the back of the crowd.

"Kakashi, what kind of person do you think the Third Hokage is?" Shisui whispered into his ear.

Kakashi kept his hands in his pockets and remained silent. Because of his father, he held the Third Hokage in high regard and naturally didn't want to evaluate him behind his back.

"Tch, how boring and heartless," Shisui said to himself when he saw Kakashi wouldn't take the bait.

Once everyone had reached the playground, Hiruzen Sarutobi walked onto the wooden platform wearing his Hokage haori.

"It's the Hokage!"

"Yeah! The Hokage looks so imposing."

"Rin! I will definitely become the Hokage, and then I'll protect... everyone!"

"Tch, the old geezer is showing off again."

The playground was like a set filled with extras, and the crowd below was almost entirely composed of adulation and praise.

Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes narrowed into slits as he pressed his hands down to signal for silence.

Onizuka naturally cooperated, and within moments, the noise faded from loud to soft, then vanished entirely.

"Children, do you know how Konoha came to be?"

The moment Hiruzen Sarutobi finished speaking, almost every hand in the crowd went up.

"The books say it was founded by the First Hokage!" a boy with neat short hair and white bandages wrapped around his nose stood up immediately.

"Very well said." Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at Izumo Kamizuki with a smile. "The village was established by the First Hokage, but merely building a village is not a long-term solution. We also need 'protection'."

"Hokage-gramps, what is 'protection'?"

"Haha, protection means guarding the village and guarding our home. Konoha is like a sturdy, growing tree, and you are the leaves. The Will of Fire is eternal; wherever the leaves of Konoha dance, fire will ignite. The firelight illuminates the village, and the leaves will sprout anew."

"We understand! We will definitely protect the village! We will protect our home!" Cheers erupted from the crowd.

"It's becoming more and more like a brainwashing pyramid scheme," Shisui thought to himself, sitting in a corner of the crowd. The red faith in his soul could crush these platitudes into the dirt.

Hiruzen Sarutobi scanned the area, his gaze lingering on Kakashi and Uchiha Shisui. Seeing Kakashi with his head drooping as if he were sleeping, a nameless fire surged in his heart. He then looked at Uchiha Shisui and, finding him lost in thought, nodded secretly.

"I hope you can inherit the Will of Fire like Kagami and become the bridge between the Uchiha clan and the village," Hiruzen Sarutobi thought to himself before signaling Onizuka to announce the dismissal.

On the way home from school, they could reach the training ground by passing through a patch of woods; the two of them went there to train almost every day after school.

After a brief rest, Kakashi felt his condition improve. Just then, Uchiha Shisui glanced backward and made a few simple hand gestures, causing Kakashi, who had been somewhat lethargic, to instantly perk up.

Swish, swish. Kakashi and Uchiha Shisui suddenly vanished from the spot using Body Flicker, leaving only a few green leaves drifting slowly to the ground.

"What's going on? How did I lose them?" Might Guy emerged from the woods.

"Damn it, Father actually wants me to challenge him. This is impossible; I... I can't even get close to him." Might Guy clenched his fists, speaking with a sense of unwillingness.

"Bushy Brows, why are you following us?" With a puff of white smoke, Kakashi appeared, holding a sharp black kunai against Might Guy's throat.

The cold glint of the blade seemed to pierce his skin, and Might Guy broke into a cold sweat, completely unable to figure out where Kakashi had appeared from.

"Oh, it's you? Might Guy." Uchiha Shisui stepped out from behind a tree trunk with a smile, gesturing for Kakashi to lower his kunai.

"Eh? You... you know me?" Might Guy recovered from his fright, pointing at himself with lingering trepidation as he asked.