Stories from the Grill, Naruto's Unconventional Lesson on the Will of Fire

"Hey, Naruto, are we really okay doing this?"

Shikamaru scratched his head as he looked at the group stuffing meat into their mouths.

Other than Sakura, everyone had crammed into the Akimichi Clan barbecue restaurant. After all, she did not have the family backing that would let her skip the exam.

This collective exam boycott by the second-generation ninja had handed Sakura a huge advantage. For the first time, she got to experience what it felt like to rank first in the grade.

Itachi Uchiha had not done that thing yet, and Sasuke was still just a little brat who followed his brother around calling him Oni-chan.

"Didn't Choji already say it? Whether we take that assessment or not doesn't really matter."

Kiba Inuzuka and Akamaru were eating with tremendous enthusiasm.

Shikamaru rubbed his forehead, looking troubled.

"This isn't about whether we take the exam or not."

They were clearly showing no respect for the Hokage.

His mind worked quickly, and even as a child, he thought several times more than the other kids did.

Naruto gulped down several mouthfuls of his drink, wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, and grinned at the kids.

"Do you know what the Will of Fire is?"

Shikamaru rested his chin on his hand and thought for a moment.

"Wherever the leaves drift, the fire burns on. Its light will continue illuminating the village and make new leaves sprout?"

He had already read the first page of the Ninja Academy textbook several times.

"Tch."

Naruto clicked his tongue.

"Do you know where the symbol on the Hidden Leaf forehead protector came from?"

The kids immediately perked up, all staring at Naruto as they shook their heads.

Naruto cleared his throat and smiled at them.

"Today, I'll explain exactly how Konoha came to be, and what the First Hokage really created the Will of Fire for."

The kids froze for a moment, then curled their lips impatiently.

"What's there to explain? We've heard it so many times our ears have calluses. Didn't Lord Hashirama Senju, the First Hokage, get tired of all the clans fighting during the Warring States Period, so he gathered them together and built Konoha?"

"That's way too superficial!"

Naruto looked at them with disdain.

"Hashirama Senju was the god of the Ninja World. Did he need to discuss anything with the other clans?"

"The only person whose opinion he needed to care about was his good brother, Madara Uchiha!"

"The Senju Clan and the Uchiha were the two unrivaled great clans of the Warring States Period! They were the direct descendants of the Sage of Six Paths. At best, the smaller clans were descended from disciples of the Ninja Sect. They were nowhere near those two families!"

Sasuke Uchiha, seated across from him, had his eyes light up at once. He had no idea his family had once been so formidable.

Kiba Inuzuka crooked his mouth, looking completely unconvinced.

"The Senju Clan? Lady Tsunade's clan? There's barely anyone left in Tsunade's family. Didn't she only become Princess Tsunade because the previous daimyo adopted her as his goddaughter? How could a clan with hardly anyone left have been a great clan during the Warring States Period?"

"Tsk, tsk."

Naruto shot him a look of disgust.

Shikamaru spoke up then, smoothing things over for Naruto.

"I've read the old books at home. The Senju Clan really was one of the great clans that founded Konoha. Later, they suffered devastating losses in the Ninja World Wars and gradually disappeared."

Sasuke beside him did not like hearing that. Frowning, he asked Shikamaru,

"How could such a weak, fallen clan be ranked alongside our Uchiha? Did you remember it wrong?"

Shikamaru shot back without the slightest politeness.

"I never forget anything I read. I can't be wrong! If you don't believe me, go home and check your clan's records!"

Shino Aburame suddenly chimed in.

"Stop bickering and listen to Naruto finish."

Everyone turned their heads and jumped in fright.

"Who the hell are you?! Where did you come from!?"

Shino Aburame said nothing.

Damn.

Naruto clapped his hands, quieting the group's chatter.

Then he laid out the entire history of Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha's grievances for the kids.

Even Sasuke and Shikamaru were completely absorbed, not even blinking.

When they heard that children their age had to carry blades onto the battlefield during the Warring States Period, they all cried out in shock.

Then they heard that the young heirs of two hostile ninja clans had met by chance at a riverbank, and every one of them found it unbelievable.

As they trained together, grew up together, and developed new ninjutsu together, the kids felt their hearts itch with anticipation.

When Hashirama Senju declared, "I want my younger brothers to stop being bound by war, to grow up safely, learn to read, and live their lives," the little ones were utterly convinced by the god of ninja.

"Who would've thought that what the god of ninja wanted at first was simply to keep his younger brothers far away from war?"

"Our Uchiha were actually one of the two great clans that founded the village? Then why hasn't a single Hokage come from our clan?"

"No way. Did ninja clans like our Ino–Shika–Cho really join on their own?"

"What I can't understand most is how such a powerful Senju Clan disappeared."

Naruto began with the Sage of Six Paths' two sons, Asura and Indra, and continued all the way to the day Konoha was founded.

The thousand-year history of the Warring States Period unfolding before them left the young kids stunned. Each was more talkative and more bewildered than the last.

This was completely different from the version their families had drilled into them.

What filled their ears was a real, grand, and terrifying account of Konoha's founding.

At last, they understood that the village had been established to protect their families, so their clansmen would no longer suffer the hardships of war.

Glancing at the sky outside, Naruto rose to his feet. He had promised Might Guy that after the exams, he would go run another ten laps around the training ground.

Naruto swept his gaze over the little kids, who still only half understood, and grinned.

Brainwashing? I can do that too. Today, I'll teach you what modern society calls family, kids.