"Where the leaves dance, the fire shall never fade. That flame will light the village, and new leaves will sprout from it…"
On the grand stage, the voice of the Third Hokage rang out warm and gentle, carrying the weight of a grandfather's care.
Parents and children stood shoulder to shoulder, faces lit with fervor, listening in rapture. Crowds pressed in, drawn like moths to fire, swept up in the spectacle.
For two full hours he spoke.
And when his speech finally ended, thunderous applause erupted like a tidal wave. The crowd surged with wild excitement, some even pushing toward the stage with feverish cries.
It was as though a spell had gripped them. Adults and children alike stared at Hiruzen with burning eyes of worship, intoxicated by his every word.
The Third Hokage smiled faintly. He was satisfied.
It was mid-September, the day the new class of the Ninja Academy formally enrolled. He had set aside the burdens of the office to come here himself. The Will of Fire, he believed, must be planted in children's hearts from the very start. That was his duty as Sarutobi Hiruzen, the inheritor of the Will of Fire.
Naruto, however, stood alone on the outer edge of the crowd. He clapped, a polite smile on his face. He knew this was not about belief. It was about posture, appearances.
Besides, the Hokage had personally invited him.
That morning, while eating breakfast, Naruto had already sensed the Third moving with his men through the village toward his home. His perception now stretched beyond five kilometers, and each day it grew.
Hiruzen had claimed he would teach Naruto a new jutsu, but in the end had simply handed him a scroll and gone onstage. No mention of the speech.
And so Naruto found himself pushed farther and farther back as the crowd grew, treated like a plague to be avoided. By the time the Hokage finished, he was stranded on the fringe of the gathering.
Worse, he had felt Gekkō Hayate trailing him with his Invisibility Technique again. Only after Naruto clapped and smiled for several seconds did Hayate finally slip away to report.
"Did you hear it, Naruto?" Minato's voice carried from within the seal. His face shone with passion. "That is the Will of Fire, passed down from the First Hokage!"
Naruto's eyes narrowed. "Is that supposed to impress me?"
Minato straightened. "The Will of Fire is Konoha's greatest strength. It means protecting the ones most precious to you, shielding them from harm. It tells us the young are the future, that the old must trust them, shelter them, and sacrifice if need be, so they can become the pillars of tomorrow. Only the Will of Fire can raise children in peace, without death in war."
His words burned with fervor.
Kurama cracked open an eye, a smirk curling his muzzle as he looked at Naruto's unchanging expression.
"Are you finished?" Naruto's tone was flat.
"Eh…" Minato faltered. His son's indifference cut deep.
Naruto's gaze pierced his father. "Don't you think the one who created this so-called Will of Fire might have doomed people instead of saving them?"
Minato stiffened. "Impossible."
Naruto's lips curved. "Do you remember Hatake Sakumo, the White Fang of Konoha?"
The name froze Minato in place.
"That man, more respected than even the Legendary Sannin, once chose to abandon a mission to save his comrades. The village turned on him. Even the comrades he saved spat on him. Hounded by their scorn, he took his own life."
Naruto's words struck like blades. "You say the Will of Fire protects children from death in war. Then why do the records tell a different story? In the Third Great Ninja War, one of your subordinates died at just thirteen. He rests now in the Hero's Stone."
Minato's face fell into shadow, his heart pierced with guilt.
"And what of the First Hokage's grandson, Nawaki Senju? Dead at twelve during the Second Great War. The founder of the Will of Fire could not even protect his own kin."
Naruto's eyes gleamed coldly. "Tell me, Father. Why is it that after Hiruzen became Hokage, the mighty Senju clan was reduced until only Tsunade remained?"
Minato faltered. He had no answer. His death had come too soon, leaving him blind to what had transpired.
"Oi, kid. Fist out." Kurama's rumbling voice broke in.
Naruto touched his knuckles to Kurama's, and in an instant, memories surged into Minato's mind, Kurama's account of the fate of the Senju.
When Naruto pulled back, Minato was left staring blankly, spirit heavy with despair.
Naruto returned to the world outside. His senses spread wide. At the edges of the crowd, he detected more shinobi arriving. Unlike the enraptured masses, these men neither clapped nor smiled. Their eyes were cold, their faces blank. And yet, deep within that coldness, flickered smoldering resentment.
Naruto recognized the standard issue vests.
The Konoha Police Force. The Uchiha clan.
He lost interest at once. Dead men walking, all of them. Tools at best, nothing more.
Pulling the scroll from his robes, Naruto unrolled it. His lips curled in disdain. A beginner's taijutsu guide for academy students.
So this was Hiruzen's gift.
Fine. From this day onward, he would reveal his taijutsu openly.
Naruto left the grounds and made his way toward the Ninja Tool Shop.
On a quiet road elsewhere, a small boy with a flushed face pouted, "Nii-san, I wasn't sneaking out to train, I swear…"
A gentle voice replied with warmth. "I believe you, Sasuke. Since I have no mission today, I can train with you. Let's practice shuriken."
The boy's eyes lit up as the two walked through the trees toward their training field.
But they stopped abruptly. Someone else was already there, climbing the wall meant for strength training.
Sasuke's face darkened. He rushed forward, pointing. "Nii-san, see? It's him! He's been using our training ground!"
"It's fine, Sasuke…"
But Sasuke ignored his brother, storming up to the intruder. "Do you know you're trespassing? Do you know who I am?"
The figure turned, blue eyes blazing with defiance.
"I know. And I apologize for using your ground. But I don't care who you are."
He looked past Sasuke, locking eyes with the tall figure standing not far away. His voice rang clear.
"Uchiha Itachi."
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