The Will of Fire... I'm Numb

Konoha.

Akimichi BBQ Restaurant.

Crunch!

Iruka and the other two ate with great relish.

"Don't rush. As long as your captain's pockets aren't empty, you don't need to worry about money."

Tobitake Tonbo picked up a piece of grilled meat as well, popped it into his mouth, and chewed noisily.

"It's so good! Captain, when are we taking a mission?" Teksen Shiso asked while eating, anticipation in his voice.

Iruka said, "Yeah, I want to master every ninja skill and teach them to students in the future."

"We'll start after we eat. It's a very demanding mission, perfect for freshly graduated Genin like you." Tobitake Tonbo smiled.

"Huh? What mission is it? Could it be some great mission, like capturing enemy spies or defending the nation?" Mibu Shinobu asked expectantly.

"Of course not. Those missions are child's play."

As soon as he said that, all three looked at him with burning eyes. Could it be a mission concerning Konoha's very survival?

"It's a difficult mission concerning Konoha's survival."

It was actually true? Did their captain think so highly of them? Was it because they had just defeated a giant beast?

"You'll find out in a moment." Tobitake Tonbo kept them in suspense.

"Come on, Captain, tell us already."

"Enough nonsense. If you want to know, hurry up and eat."

Hearing Tobitake Tonbo's words, the three of them ate even faster.

Just as they were enjoying their meal, a tall figure appeared, accompanied by a rather gentle-looking woman carrying a chubby little boy in her arms.

"Yo, isn't that Tonbo? Are you taking a team out on a mission?" Seeing Tobitake Tonbo, the tall man greeted him.

Tobitake Tonbo turned around and smiled. "Yeah. It's finally my turn to lead a team. Long time no see, Senior Choza."

He then looked at the little figure in the woman's arms. "Is this Choji, the one Senior Inoichi said was the same age as his daughter?"

Little Choji was plump and round. He seemed to understand Tobitake Tonbo's words and turned to look at him, but before long, his gaze shifted to the grilled meat on their rack.

"Yep, cute, isn't he?" Choza said proudly.

"One look tells me he inherited your excellent genes, Senior. He'll definitely surpass you in the future and become a pillar of the village." Tobitake Tonbo knew how to flatter people too.

Choza burst into laughter. "Of course! Look at that sturdy build—he's got my style from back then. Oh, right, this meal is on me."

"Want eat." Little Choji pointed at the meat on the grill.

He was practically drooling.

"Here, Uncle will give you some. Call me Uncle once." Tobitake Tonbo picked up a piece of grilled meat and held it to Little Choji's mouth.

"Uncle."

"Good boy." Tobitake Tonbo smiled and put the meat into his mouth.

Choza and his wife did not stop him. With the constitution of the Shinobi World, eating grilled meat at that age was no problem.

Tobitake Tonbo watched Little Choji chew the grilled meat with a blissful expression, and a smile appeared on his own face.

That kid would grow into something incredible later on, able to use the Akimichi family's strongest secret technique without any medicine.

It was an achievement no one in the Akimichi family had managed throughout history.

The three kids greeted Choza as well.

Then Choza opened a table of his own, and his family began eating together warmly.

"Alright, if you're full, we're heading out. Mission start."

"Yes!" the three kids said excitedly.

Konoha residential district.

Farmland district.

Three figures slowly planted rice seedlings in the fields.

Tobitake Tonbo stood by the field reading a book, occasionally showing a look of sudden realization.

Mibu Shinobu shouted, "Captain Tonbo, is this great mission really just planting rice seedlings in a field?"

"Of course. Don't ninja need to eat?

If they don't eat, won't they starve to death?

Farming can keep tens of thousands of ninja from starving. Isn't that incredibly great? Far greater than starting wars against other villages, right?" Tobitake Tonbo glanced at them and only spoke after confirming that they were not slacking off.

"But... but this is so boring!" Iruka said dejectedly.

Was this really something ninja were supposed to do?

Teksen Shiso thought the same. Was planting rice really ninja work?

"Ninja must endure what cannot be endured. If you can't even endure this, how can I trust you with more difficult missions?" Tobitake Tonbo said irritably.

"Besides, did you really study properly at the academy?"

The moment he said that, all three were unconvinced.

"Captain, I'm the man who got full marks in academy theory. Don't underestimate me!" Iruka protested.

To become a great educator, he had studied diligently.

"Theory and practice are different. And who says farming isn't something ninja should do?

Not only should ninja do it, it's also an important part of their work."

Tobitake Tonbo closed his book and spoke seriously.

"What use does that have?" Teksen Shiso retorted.

The other two agreed. Other than learning endurance, what use was there?

"Very well, then I'll give you your first lesson. Listen carefully, and no slacking off."

"Mm-hm, go ahead." The three wanted to see how he would make this up.

They were all very confident in their own ability to learn.

There was nothing useful about this in the textbooks.

"First, a ninja's chakra must be refined from the combination of physical and spiritual energy.

This mission can help you accumulate spiritual energy."

The three nodded in agreement, but they still did not accept it, because other missions could accumulate it too.

"Second, ninja are covert operatives. For espionage and intelligence gathering, you need an identity as cover. A farmer who can plant rice is a good identity."

The three looked disdainful. In the academy's espionage classes, farmers were not even an option, because that identity was useless for gathering intelligence.

They could not gain access to much information.

"Third..."

There was a third? The three wanted to see how their captain would keep making things up.

"Everyone else is doing it, but you aren't. That would make you seem out of place, which goes against Konoha's great ideal of unity and friendship. It would be the beginning of undermining Konoha's unity and would make you heretics, so you have to do it..."

Seeing that they were fairly knowledgeable, Tobitake Tonbo immediately changed the grand speech he had prepared and seriously pointed at the team next door, which was also carrying out a rice-planting mission.

Damn it, when he watched the anime, Kakashi had fooled Naruto's team so easily. Why was it not working on him?

Iruka suddenly understood. "So that's it! This is the Will of Fire that the Third Hokage spoke of. Is this meant to temper our Will of Fire?

No wonder you're our captain. A ninja who can become captain really does have conviction."

"Very good. Then we can't be different from everyone else. Let's go, for the inheritance of the Will of Fire!" Mibu Shinobu planted seedlings with renewed vigor.

Teksen Shiso's eyes were also filled with fervor. "Alright, behold my Will-Powered Rice-Planting Technique."

"..."

Tobitake Tonbo was completely speechless. Was his brain really that useless?

The ideas he had spent so long thinking up were not as effective as the Third Hokage's ideological lessons!