Where the leaves dance, the fire burns on...

"Uh..."

Uchiha Itachi's expression stiffened. He had no idea what Uchiha Jin was playing at, but with the high standards expected of a ninja, all he could do was go along with him. Furrowing his adorable little face, he answered as calmly as he could.

"I'll be eleven in two months!"

"Excellent!"

Uchiha Jin gave Itachi a long, deep look, then shot a provocative glance toward the grandstand. Turning back, he said coolly to Uchiha Itachi,

"You're not eligible to compete. Go play in the dirt somewhere!"

"That guy... Hmph!"

Uchiha Fugaku's eyes blazed with fury. The killing intent radiating from him seemed almost tangible, spreading in all directions. The Uchiha present couldn't help but marvel that his reputation as Fierce Eye was well deserved.

To deliberately make things difficult for his son in front of so many clan members... The only reason Uchiha Fugaku could think of was their clash in the meeting hall not long ago.

Damn it!

He had already put the Uchiha's future first and let bygones be bygones. He had even endured that despicable Groin Kick. Yet Uchiha Jin was still being unreasonable, and now he was publicly bullying Fugaku's son!

"Uchiha Jin, what exactly do you mean by this?!"

Uchiha Fugaku rose slowly. His tone was calm, but he carried an imposing authority that made him seem fearsome without even raising his voice.

"Oh!"

Uchiha Jin merely spread his hands with an innocent look, then glanced back at the grandstand in feigned confusion.

"Does the clan head have a problem?"

"Itachi is the greatest genius in the Uchiha Clan. Why can't he compete?!"

Uchiha Fugaku's voice was icy. His imposing presence pressed down on Uchiha Jin like a mountain.

"Father!"

Uchiha Itachi's body trembled slightly at those words. A warm feeling passed through his heart, but it lasted only a moment before fading as he looked at the Uchiha Clan, growing ever stronger and more numerous.

If Uchiha Jin hadn't gathered most of the clan's elite to take part in this Martial Arts Tournament today, Uchiha Itachi would never have believed that the clan's overall strength had reached such heights.

What if...

The clan... was becoming more and more dangerous...

Every move Itachi made naturally fell under Uchiha Jin's gaze, and the killing intent rising in his heart grew all the stronger. For a heartless ingrate like this to have lived so long—the Uchiha Clan really had suffered one disaster after another.

But fortunately... I'm here now!

Uh...

A surge of grand resolve had just risen in Uchiha Jin's heart, but then he remembered his own "Filial Son" System...

Sigh...

The Uchiha Clan really had suffered one disaster after another!

Still, Uchiha Jin wasn't one to wallow in self-pity. He brushed that speck of melancholy from his heart in an instant, and instead of paying Uchiha Fugaku any mind, he turned to the Uchiha below, who had been waiting for ages, and spread his arms wide.

"Where the leaves dance, the fire burns on."

"The light of Huoguang will continue to illuminate the village... the clan, and let new leaves sprout."

Uchiha Itachi: (⊙ˍ⊙)!

Uchiha Shisui: (⊙ˍ⊙)!!

Uchiha Fugaku: (⊙ˍ⊙)!!!

The Uchiha: ∑(っ°Д°;)っ!!!!

Good heavens...

Uchiha Jin had been possessed by Sarutobi Hiruzen!

No, wait!

Could Uchiha Jin have been brainwashed by Root? Or controlled by some special genjutsu?

Killing intent!

Uchiha Jin was just about to launch into several thousand words, but a chill suddenly rose in his heart. Looking more closely, he realized the killing intent wasn't coming only from the grandstand. It was also surging up from the Uchiha all around him.

Huh...

Shisui and Itachi, what are those looks for?

After the relief and alarm in Shisui and Itachi's eyes interrupted him, Uchiha Jin quickly realized what was going on. But he had no intention of explaining that he wasn't under the control of a genjutsu.

"Itachi awakened his Sharingan at eight, became a Chunin at ten, and joined the Anbu at eleven. All of that is enough to call him a genius."

Well... his personality was a little too much like an orphan.

At four years old, he'd been taken to the battlefield by an unreliable father, and the experience of war had dealt a heavy blow to his young mind.

Well... Uchiha Fugaku had certainly managed to bring about his own downfall!

"But!"

As the Uchiha grew more and more confused, Uchiha Jin suddenly raised his voice several notches. His clear, ringing words once again echoed across the entire grounds.

"What is the Will of Fire?!"

"My Uchiha Clan and the Senju Clan ended the Warring States era and founded the Hidden Leaf Village. The 'wood' represents the Senju of the Forest, whose leader possessed the unique Wood Release Kekkei Genkai. The 'leaf,' meanwhile, comes from the fan-shaped leaves of my Uchiha Clan's crest!"

"The reason Konoha exists in the Ninja World is to keep the village and the clans from returning to the chaos of the Warring States era—a time when people couldn't even reveal their surnames just to survive, and little children had to go to the battlefield and fight for their lives!"

"How can someone who dares to reject the Will of Fire passed down by my Uchiha Clan—someone who sends children who haven't yet come of age to the battlefield while cowardly hiding in the village himself—have any right to speak of my Uchiha Clan's Will of Fire?"

Hah! Ptooey!

"Sorry, my throat's a little uncomfortable."

At this, fury like that of a lion shone in Uchiha Jin's eyes. He roared at the Uchiha before him,

"This tournament may not be a battlefield, but you all know how dangerous it can be!"

"Now I announce an additional rule! To embody the Uchiha's noble tradition of respecting the old and cherishing the young, in keeping with our Will of Fire, contestants in this World's Number One Ninja Tournament must be between twelve and thirty-five years old!"

"Who objects?!"

Uchiha Jin roared furiously as he scanned the many Uchiha around him with a piercing gaze.

What a fine crop of leeks...

You see!

A ninja's career was short to begin with. Generally, they were still growing until the age of sixteen, and there was no way to bring out their full potential before then. Only after sixteen did they enter a period of rapid growth, reaching their peak at thirty. After thirty-five, their strength gradually declined as their bodies aged.

Right!

If not for the succession of Ninja World Wars, most ninjas over thirty-five who hadn't secured a position as a member of the Elder Council would probably already have been unemployed and sitting at home.

I wonder whether ninjas get pensions. Somehow, I doubt they have that kind of benefit...

Silence.

The grounds of the World's Number One Ninja Tournament fell deathly silent. Uchiha Fugaku, up on the grandstand, had lost all the imposing force he'd shown just moments earlier.

Although the rule Uchiha Jin had added was still clearly aimed at Uchiha Itachi, the Uchiha clan head—who had never been good with words—couldn't think of any reason he could give now.

"Excellent!"

Uchiha Jin nodded in satisfaction. A strange sense of déjà vu flashed through his mind. Then, still pleased with himself, he puffed out his chest and roared at the crowd before him.

"For the Will of Fire! For the Uchiha!"

The Uchiha present immediately grew fervent at his words. They shouted along with Uchiha Jin from below the stage.

"For the Will of Fire!"

"For the Uchiha!"