The Will of Fire in Practice

Uchiha Kun instantly killed Sunagakure's three cannon-fodder Genin.

Although it had been a surprise attack, his strength still deserved recognition.

At least he was stronger than Sasuke would be at the same age.

The sight stunned everyone present.

The Konoha ninja were startled at first, but once they saw that the newcomer was an Uchiha, their shock immediately turned to elation.

Meanwhile, the last Sunagakure Genin, who controlled a puppet, was already dumbstruck with fear.

The Muye Genin fighting him seized the opportunity, charging forward with a kunai and stabbing the Sunagakure Genin in the arm.

But for a Sand ninja who relied primarily on a puppet to fight, an injury like that was no great problem.

Instead, the pain brought him to his senses, and he took off running.

Shimura Daio watched Uchiha Kun standing proudly among the three dead men, his eyes on the fleeing Sunagakure Genin. Clenching his teeth, he muttered:

"Damn Uchiha Kun. He's actually this strong. I never thought he'd already awakened the Sharingan."

Omori also saw Uchiha Kun's Sharingan. His mouth fell wide open, and he stopped moving.

After finishing off the three Sunagakure Genin, Uchiha Kun took a deep breath and swiftly pursued the fleeing Sunagakure ninja.

By then, Shimura Daio had also reacted and called Bieshu Feifan and Omori over to hurry and intercept the fleeing Sunagakure Genin.

Faced with eight Konoha ninja surrounding him, the Sand ninja with the injured right arm was so terrified that he burst into sobs.

Hiding behind his puppet, he shouted:

"This isn't fair! Fight me one-on-one if you've got the guts!"

"One-on-one, my ass! Hurry up and kill him!"

The Konoha Genin who had fought him earlier had no intention of claiming the kill alone and called everyone to gang up on him.

Soon, the Sand ninja was hacked into mincemeat, and even his puppet was dismantled.

"Keep patrolling."

Seeing that no one was injured, Uchiha Kun immediately began giving orders.

Encounters like this were commonplace on the front lines, and he did not take it to heart at all.

Bieshu Feifan, however, frowned.

"Captain Kun, that explosion was so loud, but our Chunin captain didn't come over. Even the other squads with us didn't come."

Bieshu Feifan voiced his doubts.

For safety's sake, even if he was overthinking things, he did not mind getting scolded by Uchiha Kun.

Hearing this, Uchiha Kun began to think.

"True. They must have all encountered enemies. It looks like Sunagakure might have started another offensive."

At that point, Uchiha Kun suddenly realized something and stared at Bieshu Feifan in disbelief.

"You're not an idiot?"

Bieshu Feifan's expression darkened.

"Captain Kun, I'm a Shinobi acknowledged by Lord Hokage himself, yet you actually doubt my intelligence."

Uchiha Kun ignored Bieshu Feifan and led the others swiftly farther ahead.

"Captain Kun, where are we going?"

Seeing that Uchiha Kun seemed to be heading toward Sunagakure's defense line, Omori could not help asking.

Uchiha Kun gave a quiet snort.

"To see whether Sunagakure has started another offensive, of course."

At those words, the faces of Bieshu Feifan and the other two fell in unison, and they all shot Uchiha Kun a resentful look.

Even Shimura Daio's numb, expressionless face showed some anger.

Still, none of the three dared defy Uchiha Kun's decision.

First, he was their captain. Second, they could not beat him.

Bieshu Feifan silently cursed:

You inherently evil, arrogant Uchiha brat. You're going to doom us all.

At the same time, Bieshu Feifan quietly activated his Byakugan.

The Byakugan pupil power Bieshu Feifan had absorbed consumed his own chakra.

Moreover, his eyes looked normal when he used it, and the corners did not become bloodshot like a Hyūga's.

After looking around, Bieshu Feifan's heart gave a sudden jolt. There were four Sunagakure ninja ahead.

Bieshu Feifan really wanted to run right then and tell them there were people ahead.

But he could not say that.

So Bieshu Feifan came up with an excuse.

"Captain Kun, why don't we spread out a little? Staying together makes it easy for the enemy to ambush us. Besides, with the Dōjutsu of your clan, Konoha's greatest, there's not much I can help you with."

Hearing this, Uchiha Kun could not be bothered to think too much about it and immediately agreed to Bieshu Feifan's suggestion.

Most importantly, Uchiha Kun truly felt that Bieshu Feifan and the others would not be much help.

Besides, if they spread out and really encountered Sunagakure ninja, their screams could give him a warning.

So the instant Uchiha Kun agreed, Bieshu Feifan ran to the left.

Knowing that Bieshu Feifan also disliked the Uchiha, Shimura Daio narrowed his eyes and did not object to this absurd suggestion either.

Omori, however, did not leave. He gave a flattering smile.

"Captain, I'd like to stay with you."

"No need. With your intelligence, if we really run into something that even I, an Uchiha, can't handle, having you there won't help."

After witnessing Uchiha Kun's strength earlier, Omori had made up his mind.

He wanted to stay beside Uchiha Kun for safety, only for Bieshu Feifan to ruin his plan.

So after leaving, Omori looked at Bieshu Feifan's retreating back, his eyes filled with resentment.

Then he quickly caught up with Shimura Daio. He did not dare be alone.

After Uchiha Kun charged ahead by himself, Shimura Daio, who had already split off, led Omori along a winding route.

Before long, they actually met Bieshu Feifan, even though the two had headed in opposite directions.

The instant he saw Bieshu Feifan, a smile appeared on Shimura Daio's numb face.

Omori, on the other hand, clenched his fists until his knuckles cracked when he saw Bieshu Feifan.

"Little brother Feifan, I knew it. We're the same kind of person."

Shimura Daio had seen the look Bieshu Feifan gave him earlier.

After their previous complaints about the Uchiha, the two had actually developed an unspoken understanding when it came to dealing with Uchiha matters.

"Hahahaha! Big brother Daio, it's all for Konoha."

Ignoring the silent, sour-faced Omori, Bieshu Feifan and Shimura Daio chatted happily.

Then the sounds of fighting came from ahead, along the route Uchiha Kun had taken.

There were also the flames of Fire Release and the explosions of explosive tags.

Bieshu Feifan and Shimura Daio exchanged smiles and said nothing more.

Omori glared at them both, but he did not dare lash out and could only suggest:

"The captain must have run into trouble. We need to go help."

A trace of disgust flashed through Shimura Daio's eyes.

"You're right, but Omori, I specialize in taijutsu. Usually, I'm just used for manual labor.

"The captain is so powerful that I'm afraid I wouldn't be much help.

"You should go instead. With your Shuriken Throwing Technique, you probably won't hold him back."

Omori's face darkened at those words. This was clearly an excuse.

Although Uchiha Kun was the protector he had chosen, he did not dare go help alone.

"Bieshu, we're classmates. You'll go with me, won't you? Even Lord Hokage acknowledged your Will of Fire. You wouldn't abandon a comrade, would you?"

Bieshu Feifan nodded.

"Omori, you're right. Comrades should help each other."

Just as Omori's lips began to spread into a smile as he waited for Bieshu Feifan to move, something happened.

Bieshu Feifan rummaged through his ninja tool pouch, then took out paper and a pen and began writing something.

"Bieshu, what are you doing?"

Omori did not understand Bieshu Feifan's actions.

Still writing, Bieshu Feifan replied:

"I'm using the Will of Fire Lord Hokage passed down to me to write a Treatise on Persuading Sunagakure to Surrender. Once I'm done, take it to the enemy. Then just watch.

"I guarantee that once the Sunagakure ninja see my Will of Fire, they'll turn against their side, lay down their arms, and surrender respectfully.

"Then Captain Kun's crisis will resolve itself."

Omori's face darkened. Now he could see that these two had no intention of going to help.

Although Omori did not like Uchiha Kun either, he was strong-the kind of strong that could save his life.

In the end, Omori still did not rush out.

The battle ahead continued for over ten minutes, seemingly without a winner.

Shimura Daio tugged at Bieshu Feifan and whispered out of Omori's earshot:

"We need to get moving. If Uchiha Kun wins and sees us like this, we could be in trouble."

Bieshu Feifan nodded too. Then, without calling to Omori, the two headed off in their original directions.

Omori looked puzzled.

What happened?

What are those two doing?

Although Omori could not figure it out, after weighing his options, he followed the more reliable-looking Shimura Daio.

After all, Bieshu Feifan was his classmate. He knew him all too well, and he was even more useless than Omori.

Bieshu Feifan cautiously approached the place where he suspected Uchiha Kun was fighting.

Then his Byakugan spotted a large number of Sand ninja gradually approaching several hundred meters ahead.

Quite a few Shinobi on Konoha's side were also moving over.

A major battle was about to break out.