Chapter 22: What is the Will of Fire?

Chapter 22: What is the Will of Fire?

Ouch!

Tobio Uchiha walked through the neighborhood streets, barely perceptibly sighing while gently rubbing his slightly uncomfortable stomach. The morning's energy had almost completely disappeared.

Although his abdomen displayed eight well-defined muscles without an ounce of fat, today it felt heavy.

The fried eggs from breakfast were too greasy. He felt like his stomach was a frying pan full of boiling oil, where gastric juices fried and boiled everything he had eaten.

"Good morning, Mr. Uchiha!"

"Good morning!"

"Hey, little Tobio! Do you want a cucumber? With that shiny face, it looks like you've been eating a lot of grease lately. Today I have some very fat cucumbers, and I'll let you have them cheap."

"This is sweat, sweat from exercising in the morning. Besides, your cucumbers don't look natural; they look swollen from being in water. Soon, I'll suggest to the clan chief to organize a matchmaking meeting. So, Auntie, stop being so busy with cucumbers in the early morning. It must be exhausting."

"Tobio! Do you want a candy?"

"It has your saliva. Lick it until it's gone."

"I already licked it."

"It still has saliva. Put it in your mouth and lick it."

"I already licked it."

"It's still there."

Tobio Uchiha played with the kid as if he were a fool. The young Uzuki Yugao, who followed him, instinctively rolled her eyes.

This master was not like the distant and cold Uchiha she had imagined, the kind of person one avoided even if they were familiar. Besides, the master was very attractive and had a very friendly attitude.

He seemed more normal than anyone else.

With his height of 1.80 meters, he was considered very tall in the entire village of Konoha. She, at 1.65 meters, if rounded, reached 1.70 meters, and if on tiptoes, would reach 1.75 meters. The difference with 1.80 meters could be ignored.

After calculating the height difference with her master, Yugao felt more at ease. The last bit of intimidation she felt towards him vanished with her rounding logic.

Looking at his casual clothes, the sincere smile on his face, and the bloody tooth in his hand, he really didn't fit in with the Uchiha.

She didn't know who had nicknamed her master "the Corrupt." It was slander!

"Tsk, tsk. That's why kids shouldn't eat candy. You lost a tooth, right?"

Seeing the child about to cry, Tobio quickly took out a fast food cube and handed it to the little one, sighing.

"I haven't done anything this morning, and I've already had to give away a fast food cube."

Yugao smiled, her eyes turning into crescent moons.

"Master, you really are different from them."

Tobio stretched and turned to look at Yugao, explaining:

"It's not that different. The Uchiha are also normal people who cry, get angry, and laugh. But when they lose something, their smiles start to disappear.

The smile on an ordinary person's face disappears halfway when they become a genin, then the other half disappears when they become a chuunin, and when they become a jounin, they can hardly smile."

"So, master, what about you?"

Yugao looked at Tobio curiously. Thinking about what he had said, she realized that the stronger Uchiha really smiled less. But her master was already a jounin, why was he so different?

"I..."

Tobio looked around and lowered his voice.

"Basically, I became desensitized. The first time I went to the battlefield, I was assigned to the corpse recovery unit, where I saw bodies in all possible positions with flies buzzing around.

Then I saw familiar friends die one after another on the battlefield. Although my strength didn't improve much, my perspective did.

That's called understanding life."

?

Yugao looked at Tobio, surprised. She wanted to say something but didn't know what.

Was he saying that the first time on the battlefield he was scared? And then he became desensitized and moved on?

Thinking about the rumors that the Uchiha were mentally unstable, she looked at her master, who was "completely normal," and fell into deep thought.

Should she believe the village rumors or her master's words?

"Don't just stand there. I'll show you something interesting."

Tobio gestured to Yugao and headed towards the central square of the Uchiha neighborhood.

"Coming."

She ran to follow him, curious about what her master wanted to show her.

When they reached the center of the Uchiha neighborhood, Yugao was stunned.

In front of her, in the center of a wide and majestic square, stood three large statues.

She knew the one in the center: it was the emblem of the Uchiha clan.

To the right was a fan...

And to the left?

Looking at the imposing statue of a warrior with sharingan eyes, Yugao ran to Tobio, breathless.

"Master, what is that tall statue?"

"That?"

Tobio looked at the statue on the left and explained.

"That is a legendary warrior of the Uchiha clan from the Warring States era. Some Uchiha could, using a large amount of chakra, materialize a giant warrior to fight."

"So, master, can you do that?"

"No."

Tobio immediately shook his head. Even if he could, he wouldn't. He didn't have a brother, and his eyes could go blind.

No doubt many travelers wanted to be Uchiha to use Susanoo.

"Let's go."

He called Yugao and headed to an old house in the northeastern corner of the square.

"This is...?"

Yugao looked at the house, which seemed older than her grandfather, with eyes full of confusion.

"This is the Uchiha clan's school. Before the Ninja Academy was founded, the clan's children came here to learn about ninjutsu.

Then, when the Second Hokage founded the Ninja Academy, children of a certain age started going there. The younger ones still came here to learn about the clan's history and honor."

"Do you also teach at this school?"

"Temporarily. The elder who taught here fainted a few days ago. Now he's in the hospital."

With that, Tobio opened the door and entered with Yugao, waiting for the clan's children to arrive.

Ouch! With a barely audible sigh, Tobio Uchiha walked through the clan's streets, rubbing his fat-filled stomach. The morning's energy had almost completely disappeared.

Although he had defined abs and no extra fat, the word "fat" didn't seem to apply to him at all.

But... the fried eggs this morning were too greasy... Now he felt like his stomach was a pan full of oil, with gastric juices boiling the oil and frantically frying the rest of the food.

With that, Tobio opened the door, led Yugao to the podium, and waited for the clan's children to arrive.

In times of peace, the Will of Fire may be lax: working seriously during the day but engaging in relaxing activities after work, always fulfilling work responsibilities.

One can say that the lazier ones often end up with more free time, though it can't be denied that even they contribute to protecting future generations with their effort.

The Will of Fire can also be noble and just, as Tobio Uchiha was when, faced with the choice between comrades and duties, he chose his comrades.

Therefore, it's not necessary to impose the Will of Fire on oneself based on what others say. If you feel that the Will of Fire you currently possess doesn't satisfy you, don't hesitate to seek inspiration from others and learn from them.

The original purpose of learning the Will of Fire is to protect future generations. Don't let others' decisions endanger your family and descendants.

Observe your companions around you; they are the ones you must protect by learning the Will of Fire.

Abandoning the small for the greater good is the mark of a sage. Killing your family for the greater good is the mark of a great sage. Killing your entire tribe and desecrating ancestral graves for the greater good, that's just stupid.

Tobio Uchiha took an involuntary glance at Itachi Uchiha's exit and sighed in his heart. From now on, he had to teach something to the younger generations of his clan to prevent them from becoming troublemakers.

He needed to make sure these kids wouldn't become problems in the future.

And by the way, he would have to instill some ideas against emotional blackmail and the concept of "love." The lack of love was always used as an excuse in Konoha village.

Soon, he would have to bring up the issue of whether the clan leader should get divorced or not. Education was the key, and it had to start from childhood.

Tobio Uchiha looked down at the naive youngsters in front of him, an ironic smile appearing on his face. He decided to change his focus in education.

Then, he raised his hands high and shouted:

"Fools don't have a complete family."

Instantly, the confused children got excited. They raised the chicken wings in their hands and shouted with childish voices:

"Complete family."

"Complete family."

"Fools don't have a complete family."

"Complete family."

"Complete family."

"The clan leader gets divorced and eats a complete family."

"Complete family."

"Complete family."

There are places where daylight never reaches.

Like in the depths of the earth.

In an underground cave somewhere in the Land of Grass, an oil lamp cast a faint glow in the darkness, barely illuminating the surroundings.

"What do you need from me this time, Madara-sama?" echoed a deep and old voice in the cave.

Lord Madara, there are news about you again."

Phew! After taking a deep breath, Madara Uchiha slowly opened his eyes. He moved his eyeballs for a while before taking the information handed to him by zetsu

Each time he wakes up, the waking time is longer and longer. He doesn't know when he will fall asleep forever.

Only four months of life left? Madara Uchiha looked at the information in his hands.

Hmm? Madara Uchiha blinked in disbelief until his Sharingan rolled in their sockets several times. Then he looked at the paper again.

Did it say the Old Tsuchikage hopes the shinobi world will remain peaceful forever?

"Hahaha, too bad Hashirama doesn't agree with me. He has always insisted on the ninja village... Hahaha." After laughing wildly, Madara Uchiha began coughing intensely. He clutched the information in his hand tightly and looked deeply towards where Konoha was.

"If Hashirama saw the current ninja world, if he saw Konoha now, would he agree with my way of thinking?"

Smoothing out the paper in his hands, Madara Uchiha looked at Bai Jue with an ironic smile and gave an order.

"Gather information about Tobio Uchiha."

"Eh?" zetsu scratched his head, confused.

"Don't you remember that when we were looking for a Uchiha to replace Lord Madara, we investigated him? Lord Madara said he was a disgrace to the Uchiha clan, so we burned that information."

"What?"

Madara Uchiha looked at Bai Jue with his head slightly tilted, showing a slight confusion on his face, which rarely expressed emotions.

How is it possible that the Uchiha he liked so much wasn't chosen? Have hashirama cells also made his mind as dumb as hashirama ? While Madara Uchiha questioned the integrity of his cells, another zetsu appeared beside him, with a sharp voice.

"Lord Madara, forget about that fool. While we were gathering information, Tobio Uchiha was practicing medical ninjutsu."

Oh. Now that you mention it, Tobio Uchiha immediately remembered.

That guy seems to be the only combat and medical jōnin in the Uchiha clan. If he has time for that, his Sharingan must have evolved long ago.

Then, with a somber expression, Madara Uchiha looked towards Konoha, and his tone suddenly became cold.

"I already said he couldn't be influenced by that idiot hashirama."

(End of the chapter)

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