Promoter of the Will of Fire, Sasuke!

After their training session, the three returned to the public training ground.

"Sasuke, you got a perfect score on the academic test this time. Could you teach me?"

"Yeah, Sasuke, I need help with it too."

Naruto and Lee looked at Sasuke expectantly.

Their academic scores and practical test results were worlds apart.

"Academic subjects?"

"Actually, they're pretty simple."

"You two have no problem memorizing things by rote."

"The main difficulty is analyzing battles and understanding the Will of Fire."

"Let's start with the Will of Fire..."

Sasuke's voice rose noticeably.

What followed was Sasuke's passionate talk about the village.

His admiration for the Lord Third, Hiruzen Sarutobi.

His understanding of the meaning of battle!

Only after finishing all that did he begin explaining battle analysis and strategy in detail.

The weekend passed in the blink of an eye as the three little ones trained.

Meanwhile, Konoha's High Command was getting uneasy.

Inside the Root Organization.

"You're saying that little Uchiha is close with the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, and that he's even been instilling the Will of Fire in him?"

After receiving the report, Danzo looked as if he'd seen a ghost.

As for Uchiha Shisui and Uchiha Itachi, there was no need to mention them.

They had both become deeply immersed in the Will of Fire.

Even Fugaku Uchiha was having a hard time dealing with it.

He had tried several times to bring the two of them back to the Uchiha Clan, but failed.

And now, with five-year-old Uchiha Sasuke, Fugaku Uchiha should have cared even more.

Why would he let a child become another promoter of the Will of Fire?

Besides, in Danzo's plan, both the Uchiha and the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki were indispensable.

What had that Lord Third done?!

How had he managed to persuade the Uchiha Clan in such a short time?

Could it be...

Danzo's imagination began to run wild.

After all, what he'd originally planned to do had already threatened the Lord Third's interests.

And after the Nine-Tails Rebellion, some of his actions had only made the Lord Third even more displeased with him.

Inside the Hokage Office.

"It seems Itachi hasn't let me down!"

"For the time being, let Itachi continue carrying out his previous mission."

"As for Uchiha Shisui, give him a little protection."

"Don't let anyone from the Root Organization get close to him."

Hiruzen Sarutobi's lips curled into a smile.

The situation now was showing him the right path.

As long as he could win over the Uchiha, the hardest clan to deal with, bringing the other clans together would be easy.

As for Danzo...

He hadn't dealt with the Root Organization before because the village still needed it to exist.

But now, with the Uchiha Clan on the verge of being won over,

it was time to consider what to do about the Root Organization.

"Have Shisui come see me."

After Hiruzen Sarutobi finished speaking, he looked at the several files on his desk and began to think.

They were about Fugaku Uchiha, Uchiha Shisui, Uchiha Itachi, Uchiha Nagasawa, Uchiha Natsume, and Uchiha Sasuke...

Inside the Uchiha Clan.

"Itachi, is this your mission?"

Fugaku Uchiha tossed the file in his hand in front of Uchiha Itachi.

For the first time, his face showed impatience with Itachi.

"Father, you..."

"This..."

Uchiha Itachi stared at the contents of the file, stunned.

[Uchiha Sasuke, promoter of the Will of Fire...]

When he read the rest, Uchiha Itachi couldn't help thinking, Well, I'll be damned!

Forget Fugaku Uchiha—even if Itachi hadn't known he never taught Sasuke any of this, he would've thought he'd done it himself.

"Father, I didn't do this."

"Other than our regular training, Sasuke and I hardly talk about anything."

"There just isn't enough time."

Itachi placed the file in front of himself and spoke frankly.

Of course, Itachi didn't tell Fugaku Uchiha everything.

After all, he still had doubts about the Will of Fire.

How could he possibly brainwash Sasuke with it?!

"You didn't do it?"

"Then..."

Fugaku Uchiha didn't think Itachi was lying.

But if Itachi hadn't done it, could it have been Shisui?!

Shisui hadn't even interacted with Sasuke...

If anyone in the clan spent the most time with Sasuke, it was probably him, his father.

A haze of confusion settled over the Uchiha.

The other clans were just as bewildered by the strange relationship between the Uchiha and Konoha's High Command.

Fortunately, plenty of their children had a chance to interact with Uchiha Sasuke.

They had already begun making arrangements and investigating.

Meanwhile, at the Ninja Academy.

"Crackle..."

Naruto watched the occasional sparks of electricity dancing over Sasuke and couldn't help twitching his lips.

That guy was really hard on himself!

He didn't even stop training during class.

"Crackle!"

The next moment, Naruto was the one twitching.

For a while after that, everything went smoothly for Sasuke.

His chakra control improved, his physical fitness increased, and his mastery of ninjutsu grew...

And along the way, even Naruto made great strides!

"Sasuke, why do I have to memorize this too?"

"And why do I have to read it with so much feeling?"

"Don't you dislike Grandpa Third?"

Naruto looked confused.

Naruto might've been a bit of a simpleton, but he followed Sasuke's instructions to the letter!

That was the bond between them!

"Because this is the only way we can grow stronger."

"At the very least, it'll keep too many obstacles from getting in our way."

"There are things you don't understand yet, but you'll get it someday."

There were some things Sasuke couldn't tell Naruto outright yet.

He knew how the story of the Hokage would unfold, but all of that was too much for Naruto at his age.

"I don't really understand, but I just have to remember all this, right?"

Naruto scratched his head, finding it a bit of a brainteaser.

For a simple-minded guy like him, when something didn't make sense, just doing what Sasuke said was definitely the right choice.

"Mm."

"Okay, hurry up and say what you memorized out loud."

Sasuke encouraged him.

"Uh... this is kind of embarrassing..."

"My goal is to become a Hokage like the Third, with both fame and strength!"

"That is the ninja way of me, Uzumaki Naruto!"

"Protect the village!"

"Keep our enemies out and our people safe!"

Naruto had said it was embarrassing, but once he started reciting it, he was fired up!

That guy really was perfect for the single-minded, passionate type.

A figure watched from the shadows.

Once Naruto had finished saying those words, the feeling of being watched disappeared too...