On the Ninja Academy's training grounds, Hashirama Senju stood on an utterly makeshift platform in his red Hokage Robe, delivering a speech about the Will of Fire.
Standing below the platform, bored out of her mind, Shingetsu did her utmost to keep herself from zoning out, with little success. It wasn't just exhaustion from a poor night's sleep; she also felt a deep-seated aversion.
No matter which world you were in, listening to leaders speak was torture. And to Shingetsu, Hashirama Senju's spiel was utterly dull-nothing but the Will of Fire, a subject already beaten to death in the anime.
"Where leaves dance, fire burns on."
At first glance, it seemed a beautiful ideal. Legacy, devotion, sacrifice-the shinobi of Konoha would risk their lives to protect the village and the next generation, passing that will down endlessly, like an eternal flame.
Yet in reality, the shadow cast by this overly idealized vision bred all manner of darkness.
For the village, some people would give up everything, even kill their closest friends, family, and loved ones without hesitation. And for that same village, others would resort to every dirty, despicable means imaginable, eliminating anything that threatened it to safeguard its interests.
Could that really be right, or just?
Ultimately, whether sacrifice or devotion, these seemingly noble virtues were far too easy for those with ulterior motives to exploit. Place too much emphasis on sacrifice, and it became all too easy to interpret any sacrifice as meaningful, turning it into the bullying and oppression of the weak.
Forcing a minority to sacrifice for the majority's benefit, then lavishing praise on such behavior, was so shameful it made her sick.
Suppressing her disgust, Shingetsu switched into a zoning-out mode that filtered out the nonsense. Around her, the young students wore excited, admiring expressions. Hashirama Senju's warm smile and heartfelt speech truly did have an extraordinary power to inspire.
This spiel could certainly win over the Academy's children and the village's adults, but fooling Shingetsu, who had experienced the information explosion in her previous life, was unrealistic. Still, judging by Hashirama Senju's passionate, spirited expression, he wasn't a politician who treated politics as a business. He sincerely believed in the lofty faith called the Will of Fire, and believed Konoha would bring everlasting peace.
But that was precisely the saddest part.
How tragic. A utopia built on beautiful hopes and a bright future had given birth to new darkness once it became reality.
Shingetsu didn't want to condemn this man. In an age constantly ravaged by war, the first shoots of culture and thought were always strangled in the soil. Shinobi, mere tools for killing, were even less likely to study such seemingly irrelevant theories. Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha were already unprecedented outliers and pioneers.
While others were still slaughtering one another for hatred and profit, they had begun seeking a path toward understanding and peace, ultimately ending a thousand years of warfare between clans.
But that still wasn't enough. Changing this cruel world would take far more than such rudimentary ideas.
At that thought, an inexplicable sadness and helplessness rose within Shingetsu. The classmates around her now would very likely take to the battlefields of the First Shinobi World War and die there, every last one of them. That might even include her.
Cruel though it was, that was where the future was headed. There would be four such wars engulfing the entire shinobi world, all within less than seventy years.
Hashirama Senju's Will of Fire and his one-village-per-nation system hadn't truly eliminated the root of the endless slaughter between shinobi. He had merely escalated conflicts between clans into wars between nations, turning the clashes that could erupt at any moment during the Warring States Period into world wars that broke out every decade or so.
And could that really be called peace?
The children's crisp applause roused Shingetsu from her sleepwalking state. Perhaps it was because the morning sunlight was too searing, but only then did she realize she had broken out in a cold sweat.
Turning to look at her classmates clapping enthusiastically, she went through the motions and clapped a few times herself. Then she raised her head toward Hashirama Senju, full of hope, and thought:
Was this interminable, god-awful speech finally over?
But Hashirama Senju seemed hooked on speaking. Seeing the children's enthusiastic response, he grinned foolishly until his eyes narrowed into crescents and carried right on.
Shingetsu was so furious she nearly choked. She hated all lousy leaders who loved spouting nonsense equally, especially those who insisted on giving speeches under the blazing sun. Yes, you, damn you, Hashirama Senju! What was this bargain-bin motivational drivel?
With Hashirama Senju's hypnotic motivational speech droning on, Shingetsu felt as though she were back in a high school classroom. The exhaustion from last night's poor sleep washed over her, bringing an irresistible wave of drowsiness. Unable to stop herself, she silently let out a long yawn.
Tōka and Hōkaku, who had been secretly watching all along, were horrified. Wonderful. Apparently, their precious daughter wasn't satisfied with offending Tobirama Senju-she had to offend Hashirama Senju too!
What had the Senju brothers ever done to you? Why did you have to pick a fight with them?
Watching Shingetsu fail to suppress another yawn, Tōka and Hōkaku wanted nothing more than to rush over and shut her mouth.
Shingetsu, take that yawn back! Couldn't you see the murderous look on Tobirama Senju's face?
They were right. Tobirama Senju, who had also been secretly observing Shingetsu, now wore an utterly grim expression. His bloodless lips pressed together slightly, as though in scorn, or perhaps a sigh.
He was certain now. Uchiha Shingetsu, that evil little Uchiha brat, was undoubtedly Madara Uchiha's disciple. Her arrogant disregard for everyone was exactly like Madara Uchiha's!
As the morning sun grew increasingly scorching, Hashirama Senju's seemingly endless speech finally came to an end. Thank heavens. If he had gone on any longer, Shingetsu might have fallen asleep standing up.
Among a crowd of children practically bursting with excitement, Shingetsu stood out like a sore thumb, her face plainly displaying her boredom and exhaustion.
She thought she had hidden it well, but every adult present was shrewd, especially the Senju brothers. One possessed extraordinary intuition, and the other powerful sensory abilities. With both paying particular attention to her, not a single movement escaped their keen perception.
Tobirama Senju deserved special mention here. He could now report exactly how many times Shingetsu had yawned and when she had nearly fallen asleep. He had firmly recorded it all in his mental little notebook, and he swore he would make this arrogant, evil brat suffer.
"Shingetsu, do you dislike Lord Hokage and his Will of Fire?"
As they followed the crowd back to the classroom, Kagami Uchiha quietly tugged on Shingetsu's sleeve.
Having stood beside her and witnessed every little thing she did, he instinctively felt uneasy. His clear, black-agate eyes held worry and confusion.
"Of course not! I totally agree with the Will of Fire!"
Alarm bells rang in Shingetsu's head. She wouldn't dare say she disagreed with the Will of Fire here in the village. That would be practically asking to die.
"Then why were you zoning out the whole time? Wasn't Lord Hashirama's speech wonderful?"
"...I really was just too sleepy."
Somewhat embarrassed, Shingetsu rubbed her head and hastily looked away. Kagami Uchiha noticed every one of those unconscious little gestures, and a tender feeling quietly rose in his heart.
"Honestly, you need to go to bed earlier from now on. Don't be late again!"
Ten-year-old Kagami was much taller than five-year-old Shingetsu. Unconsciously adopting an older brother's tone, he gently stroked her hair.
Bright spring sunlight shone through the glass onto his face, casting faint shadows along his profile. Together with his fair skin, they formed a striking picture in black and white. In that moment, the boy's clear smile was so warm and gentle.
Yet this gentle Kagami Uchiha would die at twenty-five, on a battlefield in the First Shinobi World War.
"Kagami, what do you think of the Will of Fire?"
Shingetsu quickly put away her smile. She looked at Kagami Uchiha seriously, hoping for an equally serious answer.
As expected, flames of admiration lit Kagami Uchiha's eyes. The noble dream of protecting the village and everyone in it surged within him. For this blazing Will of Fire, he would even give his life without hesitation.
"I think Lord Hashirama is right. I want to become a hero like him, someone who protects the village and everyone in it!"
"...I knew you'd think that, Kagami."
A seemingly mocking smile curved Shingetsu's lips. Kagami frowned in distress. The clan leader's relationship with the villagers was already bad enough; he didn't want Shingetsu to turn out that way too.
"Shingetsu, you really don't like Lord Hashirama, do you?"
"How should I put it? It's not that I dislike him, or that I disagree with what he said."
Shingetsu shrugged and smiled casually. Thinking of Hashirama Senju, the Konoha and Will of Fire into which he had poured his heart and soul, and all the sordid things Konoha had done in the decades after his death, she suddenly felt as though it were all an absurd comedy that would never end.
"I was just thinking, if all we do is sacrifice and devote ourselves to the village, isn't it easy to get our priorities backward? We're supposed to protect the village so we can protect the family and friends around us. But if one day we have to turn our blades on our family and friends for the village's sake, what should we do?"
"That... that wouldn't happen! Lord Hokage would never let something like that happen!"
Kagami Uchiha instinctively wanted to shout a rebuttal. He refused to believe such a thing could happen in the village he loved, yet he also keenly sensed the fragility of the Will of Fire.
If the Will of Fire couldn't even answer a five-year-old child's hypothetical question, could it truly serve as an ideal that guided everyone forward?
"Really?"
Shingetsu's lips curved into a contemptuous smile. Standing in the shadows, she quietly posed her question like a witch tempting someone into corruption:
"But reality is terribly cruel, and people's hearts are terribly fragile, aren't they?"
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