Is This Your Will of Fire?

The next morning, Konoha's peace was quietly broken by Anbu figures darting through its streets and alleys.

Following Kagami Uchiha's orders, the Anbu moved swiftly to deliver the summons.

The heads of the village's major shinobi clans and the Jonin who had remained behind all received word and made their way to the Hokage Building. Even Mito Uzumaki, who had long stayed out of village affairs and rarely appeared in public, attended.

The spacious meeting room filled with shinobi. Mito Uzumaki took her reserved seat in the front row, her expression calm.

Before long, whispers spread through the room.

"I wonder what the newly appointed Third Hokage has to say."

"Yeah, and this Third Hokage just had to come from the Uchiha Clan. Those red-eyed freaks will be even more insufferable now." The speaker's eyes were pale white, and his displeasure was plain.

He was clearly a Hyuga shinobi. The Hyuga and Uchiha had long been rivals in Konoha, and members of the two clans had been at odds for years.

Both possessed one of the three great dōjutsu. Though the Byakugan seemed less impressive at first, the Tenseigan it could eventually become was not to be underestimated.

"Exactly. Sigh... Lord Tobirama was wise his whole life, but in the end..." muttered a shinobi from no clan who had never gotten along with the Uchiha.

"Ahem..." A soft cough sounded.

Mito Uzumaki turned slightly. She did not look angry; she merely swept her deep gaze over those behind her, unhurried and composed.

Her gaze seemed to carry weight as it crossed the room, exerting a pressure that commanded respect without a word. The whisperers fell silent as though an invisible hand had seized their throats. Every stray sound vanished, leaving the room deathly still.

At last, Mito's gaze settled like a cold blade on the shinobi who had been disparaging Tobirama Senju.

Under eyes that seemed able to pierce every falsehood and ill intent, the shinobi went deathly pale. Cold sweat soaked his back, and the words he had been about to say stuck in his throat. He stiffly lowered his head and dared not make another sound.

A leading figure of the Senju was sitting right there. Gossiping about Tobirama Senju in front of her had hardly been clever.

Everyone sat up straight and waited in silence for the young Hokage to appear and reveal the true purpose of the meeting.

The silence did not last long. Steady, unhurried footsteps approached from outside the chamber, each one seeming to land in time with the crowd's heartbeat.

Kagami Uchiha walked alone at the front. He wore no ceremonial Hokage robe, only plain black clothes that looked sober and dignified beneath the lights. His bearing commanded attention without effort.

Hiruzen Sarutobi and Shimura Danzō walked side by side behind him. Hiruzen wore a standard Jonin vest, his expression respectful and composed.

Beside him, Danzō wore dark, close-fitting clothes. His right sleeve hung empty, making his missing arm impossible to miss. His face was cold and steady, and a grim air surrounded him.

The three strode forward and stopped at the center of the dais.

Kagami Uchiha was handsome and composed, with a depth to his brow and an open, assured bearing. His dark eyes calmly surveyed the room. Clan heads and Jonin alike met his gaze and felt a peace and resolve they could not quite put into words.

It was a feeling they had known when Lord Hashirama and Lord Tobirama were there. The new Hokage looked ready to shoulder all of Konoha.

Kagami remained standing. He drew back his gaze and began in a grave, measured voice. "Everyone, I am Kagami Uchiha. By Lord Tobirama's final wish, I have been entrusted with the position of Third Hokage. To be honest, this sudden responsibility has left me anxious and sleepless. All I can think about is how to make Konoha better."

He paused, then turned toward Mito Uzumaki below the dais. "Lady Mito, you are the wife of the First Hokage and are held in the highest esteem. I would like to ask you to serve as Hokage Advisor and help keep me on the right course. I would also value your counsel on Konoha's future."

Shikata Nara looked up and studied Kagami with some surprise. The Third Hokage doesn't sound like a rash young hothead at all.

Tokuma Hyuga frowned at Kagami's respectful manner. The brat's barely taken office, and he's already reaching out to the Senju. If those two clans join forces, will the Hyuga have any say left in Konoha?

Uchiha Setsuna had come as the Uchiha Clan's representative, and his expression darkened. He could not understand why Kagami wanted to befriend the Senju. They had finally taken the Hokage's seat from them. Shouldn't Kagami be doing everything he could to suppress them?

Mito Uzumaki gazed at Kagami on the dais, briefly lost in thought. Was this the Kagami Uchiha Tobirama had always described as warm, bright, and devoted to the village? He seemed like a different person today. Had power changed him overnight, or had he been pretending all along?

Then she spoke gently. "Kagami, Tobirama personally appointed you Third Hokage. If he believed in you, I will too. I think most of the village will as well."

She paused and glanced at the others before continuing. "You killed Ginkaku of Kumogakure with your own hands in the Land of Lightning. Tobirama survived because you came to his aid. You have more than enough standing and accomplishments to serve as Hokage."

"Lastly, I'm old. I only want to quietly watch over the village Hashirama left behind. I have no interest in anything else. Find someone better suited to be Hokage Advisor." With that, she rose and slowly made her way out of the meeting room.

Watching Mito leave, Kagami gave Hiruzen Sarutobi a look. Hiruzen understood at once and hurried after her, gently supporting her as she passed through the door.

Kagami relaxed a little once Mito Uzumaki was gone. Her standing in Konoha was exceptional. As the First Hokage's widow and the Nine-Tails' Jinchūriki, she was someone whose opinion even Kagami could not disregard.

Fortunately, Mito understood the larger picture and had not made things difficult for him at the meeting. Tobirama's final words had likely played a large part in that. Perhaps even Tsunade had exerted a little influence.

Kagami set aside his tangled thoughts, turned, and settled into the central seat on the dais. Looking straight ahead, he spoke in a clear, steady voice that filled the room.

"I have gathered you here today to announce several important decisions concerning Konoha's future."

"First, the current Medical Corps is understaffed. Its members' skills vary widely, and its deployments lack any proper system. Too often, our comrades survive the battlefield only to die because they cannot receive treatment in time. I have therefore decided to greatly expand the training of medical shinobi and establish a unified Medical Department. Utatane Koharu will serve as its head for now."

Kagami turned his solemn gaze on Utatane Koharu. "Koharu, are you confident you can do it?"

Hearing her name, Koharu froze for a moment, then quickly recovered. She looked up at Kagami on the dais and answered firmly, "You can count on me, Lord Hokage. I'll manage every matter in the Medical Department and won't let you down!"

"Good. Second—"

"Third Hokage."

Shikata Nara, who had been sitting quietly, suddenly spoke. Leaning forward slightly, he asked in a grave, measured tone, "Do you know how many times more time and resources it takes to train a qualified medical shinobi than an ordinary shinobi?"

"Oh? It seems the head of the Nara Clan has some insight. Please, go on." Kagami looked at Shikata calmly and waited.

After a moment's thought, Shikata stood and met Kagami's gaze. "Lord Hokage, the shortage of medical care you described has troubled Konoha for a long time. Even the Second Hokage considered reforms more than once. But training medical shinobi requires immense investment, and with the situation beyond the village so unstable, he ultimately had to set those plans aside."

He paused. When Kagami gave a slight nod, he continued. "As everyone knows, an ordinary shinobi can head to the battlefield or take missions once he has mastered his ninjutsu and learned to fight. Medical shinobi are different. They must first have a talent for precise Chakra control, then study a vast body of medical knowledge, and finally undergo extensive clinical training before they can barely be considered qualified. Even after all that, they're prime targets on missions and battlefields. One careless moment, and the enemy kills them. How great do you think the loss of that investment would be?"

The room reacted in different ways to Shikata's words. Some nodded, sharing his concerns. Others lowered their heads and weighed the costs. Quite a few were distracted, their thoughts elsewhere.

Looking over the room, Kagami sighed inwardly. Most shinobi in this world had spent so long being trained as weapons that they lacked any long-term view. It was a failing shared across the Shinobi World.

Still, Shikata was right. Training medical shinobi was enormously costly. Even later, when Tsunade pushed through medical reforms, Konoha would struggle to train them in large numbers.

The nations of the Shinobi World fought year after year. Everyone preferred cheap combat shinobi to medical personnel who cost time and money to train. Even so, Konoha's still-immature medical system was already among the best of any village.

"But does that mean we ignore the problem because the cost is high?"

"Shikata, do you know how many comrades we've lost over the years because they couldn't get treatment?"

"Those wounded shinobi who used every last bit of strength to make it back to the village, only to die in agony and despair—what do you think went through their minds at the end?"

"And the children sent to the battlefield before they even reached adulthood, left permanently disabled because treatment came too late? How do you think they felt, living the rest of their lives unable to hold their heads high?"

Kagami shot to his feet and swept his gaze across the room. His voice rang out, forceful with emotion he could no longer contain.

"Is this what you call the Will of Fire?"

"If it were your own children dying, your own families, could you still weigh the costs so calmly?"

"If Konoha can neither protect nor save its wounded comrades, what purpose does it serve?"

"The First Hokage ended the chaos of the Warring States Period and established One Country, One Village. The Second Hokage founded the Ninja Academy and the Anbu, nurturing young Konoha until it grew strong."

"Now it's our turn. If we cling to the old ways and refuse to change, what right do we have to carry on the flame they passed down? What right do we have to protect the future they hoped for?"

His eyes blazed. "Answer me! Look me in the eyes!"

His words shook the room. Many faces lit up, emotions surging through the crowd.

"The Third Hokage is right! I support this decision!"

"That's right. Lord Kagami is right. My younger brother died in agony because he couldn't get treatment. I still can't forget the look in his eyes." A Hyuga shinobi clenched his fists, his expression dark.

"My older brother, too. He survived, but now he's confined to a wheelchair. I've seen his pain and frustration every day." The Jonin could hold back no longer and burst into sobs.

Shikata Nara watched in silence, turmoil rising within him as guilt swept over him. He lowered his eyes and reflected bitterly. Lord Hokage is thinking of Konoha and every shinobi in it, and I... I opposed a Hokage who cares so deeply for us?

I... I'm ashamed of myself!