Will of Fire

Konoha's Akimichi BBQ Restaurant.

"Ha ha, Minato truly lived up to being Lord Jiraiya's disciple.

He actually influenced the outcome of more than half the battlefield."

Yamanaka Inoichi had brought several subordinates to reward them for their hard work over the past few days.

Gulp!

Tobitake Tonbo stuffed a grilled chicken wing into his mouth. Ever since deciding to pursue Ayame, he had not eaten barbecue in a long time.

Hearing his department head's words, he also sighed with a smile. "Yeah, Senior Minato and Lord Orochimaru are truly powerful!"

"I heard that the Third Hokage proposed during the meeting that, after the war ends,

he'll retire and enjoy his old age?"

Sheng Shimon asked curiously after hearing the recent rumors in the village.

Smack!

Dokuro Kei slapped the back of his head. "Don't gossip carelessly about things like that. We don't even know who the next one will be yet."

Though he said that, his eyes were fixed on Yamanaka Inoichi.

Yamanaka Inoichi laughed. "It's true, but no decision has been made about who will take over."

"There's no need to say it. It'll definitely be either Lord Orochimaru or Senior Minato Namikaze."

Tobitake Tonbo said confidently.

Extremely confidently.

Yamanaka Inoichi showed his appreciation for the analysis.

At present, the most likely candidates were the Third's disciple, Orochimaru, and Minato Namikaze.

The two of them had made the greatest contributions and earned the loudest reputations in this war.

One had won the Battle of Kikyo Pass, while the other had won the Battle of Kannabi Bridge.

Moreover, both were exceptionally powerful Jōnin.

Yet Tobitake Tonbo had noticed this as well, which surprised him.

As someone from the Intelligence Division, being able to infer this much from the single piece of information that the Third would retire was truly unexpected.

It seemed he really was suited to become a member of the Analysis Division.

Yamanaka Inoichi became even more satisfied with Tobitake Tonbo.

After giving it some thought, the others also felt that was indeed the case.

"Come, cheers. In a few more days, Lord Orochimaru and the others will return.

Get ready to attend the funeral."

"Yes, sir."

The war had ended, and the troops were returning to the village.

Whoosh, whoosh!

Training Ground No. 98.

"Ahh!"

A scream rang out, as though he had seen something terrifying.

"Hey, can't you practice dispelling Genjutsu more often? You're a sensory-type ninja, after all.

You have talent in that area, okay?"

Tobitake Tonbo was utterly speechless as he dispelled the Hell Viewing Technique he had cast on Sheng Shimon.

Once the technique was released, Sheng Shimon came back to his senses. He looked at Tobitake Tonbo with lingering fear. "I have been practicing, okay? You're just too abnormal. How did you make your Genjutsu so hard to dispel? I clearly broke free, but then I got caught again afterward?"

"Really? Looks like I'm just too strong!" Tobitake Tonbo scratched his head.

A single Genjutsu had made Sheng Shimon lose his composure. It seemed the training of the past few days had not been wasted.

"You still haven't told me how you did it." Sheng Shimon was curious.

He had clearly followed what the academy taught him and disrupted his chakra, so why had he still been caught?

Tobitake Tonbo pointed at his head. "Because I improved the Hell Viewing Technique.

I incorporated my understanding of the Mind Reading Technique and treated the Genjutsu as a piece of memory information,

implanting it into the enemy's chakra.

As long as the enemy accepts the idea that they've fallen under Genjutsu,

that information becomes a seed.

As long as they don't realize the problem lies with themselves,

they'll make the victim cast the Hell Viewing Technique on themselves."

"...Doesn't that mean that if the person caught doesn't realize it, they'll live in your Genjutsu forever?" Sheng Shimon was utterly shocked.

What kind of Genjutsu was this? Was it still the Hell Viewing Technique?

"Hmph, serves you right for still being a Genin. As long as you have no fear,

you won't fall for it." Tobitake Tonbo was extremely pleased.

This Genjutsu experiment had succeeded.

"How could anyone have no fear?"

Sheng Shimon curled his lip.

Just now, he had seen himself struck by Shuriken and hidden weapons on the battlefield, dying on the spot.

Tobitake Tonbo said, "I'll teach you another way to deal with Genjutsu, okay? This kind of Genjutsu has an obvious flaw.

At its core, this technique only implants something into the opponent's subconscious.

As a sensory ninja, as long as you can briefly overcome whatever you fear,

you can use your exceptional perception to precisely disrupt the seed in your subconscious with chakra."

"Really? Try it on me again."

Sheng Shimon's eyes lit up at those words.

The corner of Tobitake Tonbo's mouth curled upward. He had taken the bait.

"Here it comes."

He formed a hand seal and pointed.

Sheng Shimon suddenly felt himself enter the battlefield again, surrounded by hidden weapons and stray projectiles.

This time, he remembered Tobitake Tonbo's words. He forced himself to resist being drawn into the Genjutsu and sensed his own memories, emotions, and so on.

Sure enough, after a while, he discovered an unusual piece of information.

His chakra gave it a slight, targeted disturbance.

The Genjutsu immediately vanished, and the stray battlefield projectiles seemed as though they had never existed.

Watching Sheng Shimon break free in an instant, Tobitake Tonbo raised an eyebrow.

It seemed there was still room for improvement.

"Just as I thought. Next time, once I'm prepared, I'll fight you again. I won't lose again." Sheng Shimon looked unconvinced.

They had been classmates. Their grades had clearly been about the same, but after spending a round on the battlefield, Tobitake Tonbo had not only grown stronger but had also become a Chunin.

"Hey, do you think you could beat Kakashi or Hayama Shirakumo now?"

Although they had only been classmates with Kakashi for one semester, the outstanding Kakashi had still left a deep impression on them.

As for Hayama Shirakumo, due to his exceptional talent, he had graduated early during his fourth year at the academy because of the war.

Now, one was a Jōnin and the other a Special Jonin.

"You brat, are those two people I can beat? They're both Jōnin already."

Tobitake Tonbo felt that Sheng Shimon was using others to vent his frustration. If he said he could win, Sheng Shimon could egg him on to fight after the war ended. If he said he could not, Sheng Shimon would feel better about having just been beaten.

"Hehe, those two really are incredible!

They became Jōnin at just twelve years old. Even Inabi Uchiha is only a Chunin like you right now."

Sheng Shimon felt that the gap between people was truly enormous. He was still a Genin, while others kept climbing higher and higher.

"Yeah, what's the point of comparing things like that?

Winter, silent,

yet freezing mountains and rivers for thousands of miles.

Wind, wordless,

yet blowing down countless blooms.

We are all contributors to Konoha. No one is nobler than anyone else; they simply have better talent and greater responsibilities.

If you want to compare yourself to them, compare contributions, not meaningless combat strength.

Combat strength is meant to stop enemies and secure the means to survive, not to compare with comrades and gain vanity."

Tobitake Tonbo said.

One had to always be ready to promote the Will of Fire, because it was the answer for Konoha's next era.

Hearing his words, Sheng Shimon instantly felt his whole body ignite. Tobitake Tonbo was right; he, too, had been quietly contributing to Konoha.

Unbeknownst to them, someone was watching their conversation.

After Hiruzen Sarutobi finished dealing with his busy work, he remembered the youth with bandages wrapped around his head.

So he used the Telescope Technique to take a look and happened to hear their conversation.

"Winter, silent,

yet freezing mountains and rivers for thousands of miles.

Wind, wordless,

yet blowing down countless blooms.

He truly is a child who inherited the Will of Fire. At such a young age, he already understands its essence."