The So-Called "Will of Fire"

While Hiruzen Sarutobi was giving his speech, he had actually been paying close attention to Yin Jie.

His gaze swept over Yin Jie's position from time to time, but despite priding himself on being an excellent judge of character, he was successfully deceived by Yin Jie's "exquisite" performance.

In his view, if things continued like this, Yin Jie, this blank sheet of paper, would surely be moved by his "Will of Fire," eventually taking on Konoha's colors and becoming a "bridge" between Konoha's upper ranks and the Uchiha Clan.

However, in Yin Jie's eyes, Hiruzen Sarutobi's routine was nothing special. It might fool those clueless, foolish children with clear eyes, but trying to pull one over on him? Not a chance.

After all, what kind of inspirational drivel had he not heard in his previous life? This was nothing!

In the tiered classroom, Yin Jie sat quietly in a corner by the window.

The desks at the Ninja Academy were not very long, only allowing three people to sit at intervals.

Of the two classmates sitting at the same desk and in the same row as him, one had brown hair and a senbon in his mouth, while the other had black hair and wore a headband and sunglasses.

Shiranui Genma and Ebisu!

After thinking for a moment, Yin Jie recognized the identities of the two who could be considered his desk mates.

However, when they sat down, he merely turned his head and gave them an indifferent glance before making no further move.

After all, ever since Uchiha Yasashiro had found him, the people he interacted and communicated with on a daily basis had basically all been adults.

The only one slightly younger was Uchiha Yakumi, whom he had just met. But strictly speaking, although Uchiha Yakumi was only ten years old, he was already a chunin and the captain of a Konoha Military Police Force squad. He had long since left the category of children behind.

As for Uchiha Aya, although Yin Jie had known her before, today was indeed the first time they had actually spoken.

So, he truly did not know how to get along with these little brats who were really only six years old, much less what to talk to them about.

Then, he might as well read...

The Ninja Academy was quite considerate in this regard. Before the students arrived, the textbooks they needed had already been laid out on their desks.

Thus, Yin Jie casually opened the book on top, The Will of Fire.

Wherever Konoha's leaves danced, the fire would burn on. Its light would continue to illuminate the village and cause new leaves to sprout.

The opening line was this famous quote, one Yin Jie was extremely familiar with, as interpreted by the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Yet a scornful sneer rose in Yin Jie's heart. It was a fine ideal, and the spirit it wished to convey was also admirable, but Konoha's current state was completely at odds with it!

Back when Hashirama Senju and Uchiha Madara had joined hands to establish Konoha, their original intention had been to change the Warring States era, where even children had to go to the battlefield.

The older generation was supposed to place full trust in the younger generation and protect them, even at the cost of their own lives.

This was the spiritual core of Hiruzen Sarutobi's so-called "Will of Fire."

But what about Konoha now?

It seemed to be using the sacrifices of the younger generation, even children under ten, to light the way forward for the older generation.

Using the sacrifices of civilian shinobi to light the path for certain shinobi clans as they clung to Konoha and sucked its blood dry.

Yin Jie roughly flipped through the entire book. Every crooked page seemed to bear the four words "Will of Fire," but when he looked closely, he saw more words between the gaps of those characters. The entire book was filled with just two words: "pyramid scheme"!

However, he had no intention of changing anything right now.

After all, I am not yet strong, but once I am strong, change will come!

As someone who had enjoyed all kinds of benefits from the Uchiha Clan, he should, in the future, represent the Uchiha Clan in taking back everything that rightfully belonged to them!

Gently closing The Will of Fire, the corner of Yin Jie's mouth twitched ever so slightly before he opened another book, Konoha Village Chronicle.

But as he rapidly flipped through it, he found himself even more speechless.

Good grief, this selective writing was far too blatant.

If he did not have memories from his previous life, he might really have believed that what this book recorded was Konoha Village's true history...

In Konoha Village Chronicle, the overwhelming power displayed by the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, and the Shinobi World's Asura, Uchiha Madara, during their battle at the Valley of the End was vaguely glossed over in a single stroke.

The Senju Clan and the Uchiha Clan, the two original shareholders who had founded Konoha Village, had been endlessly downplayed as well.

The Uchiha Clan was actually not too bad. At least it still existed in present-day Konoha Village. But the Senju Clan had already vanished, its inheritance gone. In perhaps just a few more years, it would completely disappear into history, leaving no trace that it had ever existed in Konoha Village.

No wonder the Third Hokage was called the "Strongest Hokage." Without any concrete comparison of strength, wasn't the only one still alive naturally the "strongest"?

This thought flashed through Yin Jie's mind unconsciously, and a trace of mockery flickered in his eyes before vanishing.

However, right at that moment, Yin Jie's sharpened senses, enhanced by awakening the Sharingan, alerted him. It seemed that something was watching him through some method.

Yin Jie's heart skipped a beat, and he instantly made his judgment.

The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, and the Telescope Technique that allowed him to spy on every corner of Konoha Village in real time!

Yet his expression revealed nothing. He simply continued what he had been doing, pretending to carefully flip through textbooks such as History of the Shinobi World, Konoha Village Chronicle, Hokage Quotes, and The Will of Fire, occasionally showing expressions appropriate for a six-year-old child.

It was time to test his acting skills again...

About three minutes later, as the feeling of being watched disappeared, Yin Jie finally relaxed.

He had passed smoothly!

At the same time, a young man with an utterly unremarkable face—the sort who looked like a background shinobi at a glance—walked in from outside the classroom.

He first swept his gaze around the classroom, then walked straight to the podium, cleared his throat, and began introducing himself.

"I am Dāhé Wàng, a Konoha chunin. Until you officially graduate and become genin, I will be your homeroom teacher! I am twenty-five this year. I like takoyaki, I dislike students being late to class, and my dream is to teach a student who becomes Hokage!"

Yin Jie was not surprised in the slightest. Introductions were an old Ninja Academy tradition. Next, it would be the students' turn to introduce themselves.