6 Instilling Will of Fire

The rebuilding started as soon as the clan meeting was over, and the rumours and posters about the protests spread in less than an hour. Somewhere along the way, it also spread that the Kyuubi attack was not an accident but collusion between one of the Third Hokage's friend and Madara's descendant, and are now framing and discriminating against the Uchiha Clan.

The Hokage denied it personally, but the suspicions against his friends didn't go away at all. Hiruzen called for another meeting tonight, and right now, I am with Itachi and Shisui.

Both are genius, and if Sasuke didn't get a powerup from Sage of Six Paths, he wouldn't stand anywhere close to them. Yet, Shisui had started showing signs of wrinkles despite being an eight year old. And it wouldn't be long before Itachi has the same condition.

Plus there is the issue of Itachi's illness. The sooner Tsunade arrives, the better. So I must stop Itachi from pushing himself till then, yet I can't stop his training.

We stood at the lake in the Uchiha clan compound, me opposing Shisui and Itachi.

"So you both have good chakra control. Let's check your affinities."

I handed both of them chakra papers, and Shisui came out talented in this as well.

"Fire, Lightning and Wind."

As for Itachi, he only got fire. He looked a little sad just now.

"Today, we will not use any chakra beside standing on the water. We will train our reflexes, as they are very important in saving lives at the last moment. We will throw these pebbles to each other, with our eyes closed. Don't use any chakra to dodge."

"Yes Fugaku-sama!"

"Yes Father."

All of us closed our eyes, and the pebble throwing started. I have all the memories and training of Fugaku, and despite my fear of not being able to be like him, but concerns were unfounded. My instincts could perfectly tell me when and where to dodge, and I could predict where my opponents were with the sound of steps on the water.

Shisui was dodging my attacks, while Itachi got hit by two. So I increased the intensity for Shisui but kept the same for Itachi. And while we were busy in our pebble fight, my shadow clone suddenly put kunais in front of their neck. They stilled, and the farce was over.

"Never drop your guard. Just because I told you that we will not use Chakra doesn't mean that I will follow through with it. Question everything you come across, even if they are the actions of the Hokage or me. Skilled ninjas die pretty often due to their naivity. Do you understand?"

"Yes."

"Yes."

"But keep your mind clear for a good period of time everyday. No overthinking, no worrying about the future, and just enjoying your life. Our predecessors created this village so that children could live happily and not always worrying about the next fight. Skilled as you may be, you are still children.

Live by the Will of Fire, the original one and not the propagandist one. The leaves symbolise the Wood Style of Hashirama Senju, and the fire symbolise the Uchiha's Fire. As the leaves fall, and fire uplifts them one last time, allowing a little more effort by the old to give time for the young leaves to replace the old ones, extending the lifespan of the younglings more and more.

During the warring states era, if someone lived till my age, he would be a legend. Kids as young as 3-4 died frequently. The situation has improved, and it will continue improving. The era of peace will become longer and wars will become shorter, but they are the sides of the same coin.

Wars are unavoidable, and we should only focus on improving our strengths. Because in the end, strength protects family. Your goal should not be to 'Die for village', but 'Live for Village' that our Uchiha clan built with the Senjus. Do you understand?"

"Are wars truly unavoidable?"

"Yes. Wars are never about hatred against each other. Family's lives weigh much more than hatred towards other people. It's all about greed, desparation and resources.

Uzumaki Clan never declared war on anyone. If they wanted, even Uchiha and Senju clan combined would never be able to come close to them unless there were a Hashirama and a Madara. They could easily collect and seal all the bijuus if they wanted. But they were pacifist and too trusting. When Hashirama Senju was distributing the bijuus, a stupid move, he should have given atleast 8-tails, 7-tails or 4-tails to the Uzumaki clan. And Uzumaki clan shouldn't have trusted Third Hokage that he will help them in times of crisis. Hashirama and Tobirama Senju were one thing as they had a personal connection, but trusting someone you don't know personally, was the reason they perished.

Uzumaki Clan was not that far from Konoha, so how come Konoha didn't notice 3 big villages coming to attack them with their Kages and Jinchurikis?

Histories are meant to teach us lessons so that we don't have to go through fatal mistakes to realise what we were doing wrong. Being a pacifist in this world is fatal for us and our families. We have the most resources than anyone, and every village will keep trying to get their hands on them until we have an absolute beast like Hashirama Senju.

Minato had the potential to be as strong as him if he lived atleast 10-15 years longer, but he is no longer here. If you want to avoid wars and protect your family, you must have absolute strength that no village will dare to cross your path.

I have high hopes for both of you to be the Sixth Hokage, and you must keep your mind clear, and make sure that nobody takes advantage of you.

Be the strong tree to protect the family, and be the fire to burn those who threaten their safety. This is the True Will of Fire!"