"Like fire, eternal and unyielding?"
"Yes, like fire, eternal and unyielding."
"Bang~" In the distance, a young ninja named "Arima" formed a seal with his hands, opened his mouth, and breathed out a fireball the size of a human head, hitting a wooden post and leaving a shallow, bowl-sized crater on it.
This was a child with hair standing up like a hedgehog... He clenched his right fist and cheered excitedly, "Osu!"
Turning back, he immediately looked at Sarutobi Hiruzen,
The old man nodded approvingly at him, then turned his head slightly to the boy next to him and said, "Like the fire of Konoha, it will continue on forever... Jin,"
Sarutobi Hiruzen slightly moved his outstretched right hand, letting the beam of light slip through his fingers, then raised it, resting it on Roy's shoulder, looking at him seriously, "Are you willing to protect Konoha for this?"
Roy raised his head, his small figure just reaching Sarutobi Hiruzen's shoulder, fearlessly meeting Sarutobi Hiruzen's gaze, equally serious as he asked, "Does the Hokage-sama's Konoha include the Uchiha?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen met the boy's clear and bright eyes, and for a moment, he hesitated....
He remembered Danzo... "All Uchiha should be killed!"
He remembered his teacher Tobirama... "The Uchiha are an inherently evil clan!"
He remembered Koharu Utatane... "Hiruzen, never let the Uchiha with Sharingan get close to Kushina. If they control the Nine-Tails, it would be a disaster for the village."
He remembered Homura Mitokado... "Be wary of the Uchiha, we must never let them grow strong enough to threaten the Hokage's position."
At that moment, he heard Yoshioka Yu raise his voice, shouting in this direction, "Your turn, Uchiha Jin!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen snapped back to reality... The boy draped in a cloak with the Uchiha emblem sewn by his mother Mikoto walked past him, brushing his shoulder. His figure was small but stood under the blazing sun, his steps not heavy but firm, without turning back, he said, "So it is..."
"The fire of the Hokage-sama is just fire, your fire is not hot enough,"
"It can't cover the Uchiha, nor protect the ninja world,"
"Tread... Tread..." Footsteps, rise!
The wind stirred, lifting the hem of the boy's robes,
Practiced, fiercely igniting!
Acupoints opened, all the nen transformed into scorching intent!
"Puhu~" Two flames rose from below, enveloping Roy!
He walked, each step leaving a burning scorched trace on the "Flame Lotus"...
Yoshioka Yu... Yano... Takuya... Arima's expressions changed, all those eyes, some proud, some disheartened, some embarrassed, all reflected the face of the boy, instinct driving their feet, subconsciously making way for him...
Then, they saw....
At some point, Roy stopped walking, several hundred meters away, double the test distance, forming a seal with his hands, began: "Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"
"Hulala~" With a light, buoyant exhale....
A red glow, like a great sun, came from his throat, tore through the darkness, announcing dawn, abruptly shot out, then, expanded... expanded... expanded again!
Until it expanded to the size of a classroom, even... one last expansion in the wind, swollen to half the training field, under the scorching sun, casting a shadow, completely enveloping all the students and teachers, including Yoshioka Yu!
With a "roaring" impact, it shot towards the distant wooden post!
Instantly... transformed into a fire dragon, charging out, claws and teeth bared, devouring dozens of wooden posts, along with the school wall behind them that bore "motivational slogans!"
Lastly, it turned into a towering flame in the bright blue sky, adding a magnificent red!
The Hokage hat on top of Sarutobi Hiruzen's head, symbolizing the highest power in Konoha, was blown off by the aftermath, rolled away, and fell to the ground with a "pat"!
Silence, is the ninja school today.
"Thump... thump... thump..." One after another collapsed to the ground, were the shocked ninja school students.
"Gulp~" Swallowing hard, was Yoshioka Yu at this moment.
When the flames dissipated... a fan-shaped scorched path rough and aggressive invaded everyone's sight!
The boy exhaled lightly, then slowly turned around, across a crowd of either astonished or bewildered heads, casting a faint glance at the spellbound Sarutobi Hiruzen....
His body "bang" exploded... vanished into the world....
"A clone... merely a clone...."
Under the Wutong tree, Sarutobi Hiruzen... remained silent....
He and a crowd of teachers and students, those he regarded as Konoha's future young ninjas in his words, stood quietly in the wrecked training ground, their faces... flushed by the lingering flames.....
"Father, you're probably... going to have to work overtime."
Uchiha clan's residence.
Adjacent to the Konoha commercial district, in that small courtyard belonging to Uchiha Fugaku.
Feeling the clone's energy reaching its limit and dissipating in the wind, Roy lay side by side with Fugaku and Itachi on the veranda, turning his head to the man.
Uchiha Fugaku, who had just endured a sleepless night, was about to enjoy the sunshine with his son and take a little nap. Upon hearing this, a sense of foreboding rose in his heart, and he opened his eyes, looking at Roy, "What did you do?"
"Nothing... just accidentally made a hole in the school...."
Uchiha Fugaku: "...."
Itachi: "...."
Sleepiness vanished, and getting up again, indeed...
They saw an ANBU with a cat-face mask, concealing their face, leap into the courtyard.
"Lord Fugaku, the Hokage summons you!"
The ANBU carried a long sword on their back and a kunai on their waist, casting a deep glance at Roy.
The gaze was immediately blocked by Fugaku straightening his back, "You go and report back to the Hokage, tell him... I'm on my way."
"Yes." The ANBU retracted their gaze, leapt onto the wall, and disappeared.
Fugaku then glared at his son: "Why aren't you quickly writing down that so-called [Limb Regeneration Technique]?"
Roy lazily turned over, "Itachi, how about you write it down."
Fugaku's eyes narrowed: "Aren't you the one with extra hands? Write it yourself!"
Roy: "...."
"Alright."
Turning over and getting up, he pinched... the faintly smiling Itachi, and followed Fugaku to the study. After a moment, he wrote down the [Twin Arms Regeneration] and handed it over to Fugaku to take with him.
"Creak~" The door opened... Uchiha Mikoto, wearing an apron, had just finished preparing lunch. She called out to Uchiha Fugaku, who was just about to leave after putting on his shoes, "Dear (husband), the food is ready, eat before you go."
"I'm not eating, I'm full of anger!" Fugaku snorted coldly and stormed out the door without turning back... leaving Itachi peeking from the door and Mikoto exchanging a look, both puzzled.
"Itachi, what did your brother do to upset your father again?"
"Nissan... blew up the school!" Itachi obediently replied.
Mikoto: "...."
Through the half-open study door, she glared at the lazily lounging Roy at the desk, helplessly saying, "The matter's already like this, let's eat first."
Turning, she disappeared into the kitchen, carrying out a dish of fried pork cutlet over rice paired with fresh escarole miso soup, immediately casting the incident of her son blowing up the school out of mind.
The bigger the world, the more significant the meal....
Root.
Danzo had not yet been removed from his position as "Hokage Assistant" due to the future annihilation of the entire Uchiha clan.
He hid in a perpetually dark underground room, mimicking the Hokage's office layout, replicating it to a tee.
Sitting behind a desk almost identical to Sarutobi Hiruzen's gigantic one, eating a simple meal.
At some point, his single eye moved upon hearing three knocks on the door....
In an unruffled manner, he said, "Come in!"
"Creak~" The door opened,
A ninja wearing a mask and entirely enveloped in a black robe stepped in.
A thin sword wrapped with bandages was slung across his back. As soon as he entered the office, he bowed to Danzo.
"Torune,"
"Speak, what's the matter?"
"Reporting to Lord Danzo, the school... has been blown up!"
"Clatter~" Chopsticks fell onto the desk, then rolled down to the ground....
Shimura Danzo was stunned for a moment, then looked up at Aburame Torune, squinting his eyes, "Who did it?!"
"Uchiha Jin, son of Uchiha Fugaku!"
Danzo: "...."