This Uchiha is really evil!

"He's just that kind of person. He won't be persuaded so easily."

"Never mind, I was just saying it casually."

"But, Shisui..."

"Judging from the look in your eyes, you might have been persuaded by that guy, right?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen stared intently at Uchiha Shisui...

Suddenly a cold light appeared.

Chapter 12 The Will of Fire

Facing the Hokage, Uchiha Shisui didn't want to lie.

"I... am indeed a little confused..."

Sarutobi Hiruzen's face darkened, but he quickly recovered.

"Oh? What did Qianyu tell you?"

Uchiha Shisui shook his head.

"It was just some casual discussion."

"However, his ideas may not be completely unreasonable..."

Sarutobi Hiruzen blew out a smoke ring expressionlessly.

Smoke filled the air of the stale and decaying Hokage's office.

"For example?"

"For example, what is war, what is justice, what is good and evil..."

"Hokage-sama, Uchiha Chiba seems to believe that our Konoha Village is not always on the side of justice. We have even committed the evil act of invading other countries..."

Sarutobi Hiruzen frowned: "When?"

"The Hidden Rain Village."

Sarutobi Hiruzen sneered in his heart.

But his face was still kind and gentle, and his tone of voice was even more earnest.

"Shisui, I understand your confusion and bewilderment..."

"This ninja world is like an endless spiral of hatred, and ninjas are just tools struggling to survive in it. But even so, there are always some things that stand above the rest..."

"What do you mean, Hokage-sama?"

"The Will of Fire."

Uchiha Shisui seemed to want to say something but stopped.

Originally, he firmly believed in the so-called will of fire, but Uchiha Chiba's words dropped a bomb into his heart which was as calm as a mountain and as peaceful as water.

Sarutobi Hiruzen could see that he was wavering.

"Shisui, now you can't even believe in the Will of Fire?"

"No, Hokage-sama, I will never do anything to betray Konoha Village. For the peace and stability of the village, I will never frown even if you ask me to sacrifice myself at any time. It's just..."

"It's just that you're not as determined anymore."

Sarutobi Hiruzen sighed, "Where the leaves dance, the fire lives on."

"I often say this to you, and many people think it's just empty talk, empty words, beautiful nonsense..."

"In fact, this is the true feeling that has emerged from the depths of the hearts of the first Hokage, the second Hokage, and me, the successor."

"On the surface, this sentence means we should cherish the new sprouts, care for the younger generations, and protect the hope of the village's future even at the cost of our own lives. But in a broader sense, it actually means more than that..."

Uchiha Shisui raised his head, his eyes full of thirst for knowledge. He expected the Hokage in front of him to help him clear up his confusion.

"The Will of Fire, in a nutshell, is..."

“Everything for the greater good.”

"Whether the elders sacrificed themselves for the younger generation or the ninjas sacrificed themselves for the village, it was all a manifestation of the will of fire."

"Shodaime Hokage, the purpose of establishing a village is to eliminate barriers and allow so-called individuals and families to gradually disappear into the collective of the entire village..."

"His ideal Konoha Village is one with no clans, no distinctions between families, just one big family of villagers and their families."

"During the Warring States Period, I was from the Senju clan, and you were from the Uchiha clan. We fought each other for profit and hatred, and the conflict was endless. The entire ninja world was filled with smoke and flames of war. Many children never grew up..."

"After Konoha was founded, the First Hokage, in order to eliminate the rifts between the clans, took the initiative to propose gradually abandoning the Senju surname and allowing the Senju clan to integrate into Konoha Village. Now, his vision has been truly realized..."

"Of course, not everyone, not all families, have the same vision and wisdom as the First Hokage. Therefore, Konoha Village still has many problems, even extremely dangerous hidden dangers..."

Uchiha Shisui's heart trembled.

Of course he understood what Hokage-sama meant.

Konoha Village was jointly founded by the Senju clan and the Uchiha clan.

Now the Senju clan has disappeared into the dust of history.

But the Uchiha clan has become more and more like a time bomb that may be detonated at any time, threatening the peace and stability of the entire village.

Will of Fire...

For the greater good…

Uchiha Shisui's heart began to stir again.

Sarutobi Hiruzen sighed, "If all families could look at the problem from a perspective beyond their own identities, if everyone could truly look at the problem from the perspective of the village, Konoha Village wouldn't be like this now, and the ninja world wouldn't be like this now..."

"I'm not a saint, and I can't force everyone to be a saint. Even the Shodaime Hokage can only lead by example, and can't demand other people or other families do anything."

"But I hope that one day..."

"I really hope..."

Uchiha Shisui's heart suddenly calmed down again.

He said in a deep voice, "Hokage-sama, I understand."

"People love themselves first, then their family, and above that the entire village..."

"But as long as one is broad-minded enough, one can break free from the constraints of family and stand at a higher perspective, with a broader vision to look at the pros and cons, and the overall situation..."

"I, Uchiha Shisui, am first and foremost a ninja of Konoha Village, and only then a member of the Uchiha clan."

Sarutobi Hiruzen smiled with relief.

He blew out a puff of smoke lightly and nodded kindly.

"Okay, okay..."

"I hope you understand..."

"The Uchiha clan does have many historical issues, and even within this generation, the conflicts have become more intense. However, I have never believed that there is no possibility of a complete resolution."

"The key does not lie with me, but within the Uchiha clan."

"Especially with the presence of two people."

"One is naturally you, Shisui, and the other is..."

"Itachi Uchiha."

Uchiha Shisui smiled slightly: "Itachi?"

"He is indeed the most special person..."

“Sometimes even I can’t see through him…”

Sarutobi Hiruzen nodded: "Although Itachi is young, he already has the thinking of a Hokage. He can break the shackles of his family and look at things from the perspective of the entire village."

"With you two here, I believe that any problem of the Uchiha clan, no matter how complicated or intense, will be resolved peacefully one day..."

Uchiha Shisui felt envious.

"I also believe that day will come..."

Sarutobi Hiruzen smiled and said, "As for what Chiba said, big countries and small countries, war and peace, justice and injustice..."

"That's a much bigger question, but precisely because it's so big, it seems vague and illusory."

"If one day, everyone could put aside the village and look at the problem from the perspective of the entire ninja world, perhaps all disputes could really be resolved. However..."

"At least within a limited timeline, that is absolutely impossible."

"The First Hokage founded the village to eliminate the rifts between families. He also said at the first Five Kage Tournament that perhaps one day in the future, the five great nations and five great ninja villages would be able to eliminate the rifts between their nations and villages, and then true peace would be ushered in..."

"But he also knew that it was an infinitely long and distant dream..."

"We can only take it one step at a time."

"Now, you and I, including that kid Itachi, are able to stand above our family and think about things from the perspective of the village. This is already beyond the reach of most people..."

"We can't take too big a step. Each era has its own limitations and tasks. We just need to do our part well..."

"Qian Yu's words may sound grand, but they are empty, like castles in the air. Just listen to them and don't take them too seriously..."

Uchiha Shisui breathed a sigh of relief and smiled brightly.

"Yes, I understand, Hokage-sama..."

"Okay, that's good..."

"Although I have resolved the confusion, Hokage-sama, the extreme means used by Uchiha Chiba to enforce the so-called justice in his heart have also been recognized by some villagers..."

"What do you think about this matter?"

Chapter 13 A Spark

When Sarutobi Hiruzen thought of Uchiha Chiba's methods, especially the death of his nephew Sarutobi Jiro, he naturally felt hatred in his heart.

Even more frightening is...

He even thought that Sarutobi Jiro's death and Uchiha Chiba's actions might actually make many village ninjas look at him differently and completely change their views...