The Academy Training Field—also the Academy Playground—was an open expanse with dozens of wooden posts set up across it.
Normally, these posts were used for students to practice taijutsu, ninjutsu, and weapons training—like shuriken throwing—specially made for that purpose.
Hiruzen gently patted Roy on the back. The old man and the boy stood with their backs to a lush paulownia tree, its branches already thick with fresh, tender leaves. Not far away, one young ninja after another—called up by Yoshida Yū—stepped forward to perform the Fireball Jutsu.
Speaking of Fugaku, speaking of the Uchiha… even Roy—who had once been an outsider and now, as Fugaku's eldest son, carried the title "heir"—had to admit that Hiruzen's descriptions of "stiff," "tense," and "cold" Uchiha weren't baseless stereotypes.
"Inherently evil" was the Uchiha's base color—an interpretation born from their bloodline: the darker you were, the stronger you became; the more extreme, the more twisted… the more monstrous.
You needed a powerful emotional shock to awaken the Sharingan. You needed to transplant a close relative's eyes to unlock the Mangekyō. That was Indra. That was Yin Release.
Just as light and shadow opposed each other yet formed a paradoxical unity, so too did Yang and Yin.
"I don't know about other Uchiha," Roy said, refusing to comment on Hiruzen's judgments of his father. He only smiled at the old man. "But for me… even if I stand in the dark, my heart has always leaned toward the light."
Hiruzen's hand on Roy's back paused. Beneath the brim of his hat, his eyes flickered with surprise. He studied Roy, then slowly shook his head.
"That doesn't sound like something a child your age would say. Who taught you that?"
"You did." Roy lifted his chin and nodded toward the slogans carved into the Academy wall.
Hiruzen blinked—then remembered.
To guide students toward the "Will of Fire" and strengthen their sense of belonging to Konoha, he had personally drafted a whole set of inspiring slogans and ordered the school to carve them in stone—repainting them every year so they wouldn't fade.
When he looked back, he met a pair of mischievous eyes.
"Yoshida-sensei really admires the Hokage," Roy said with a grin. "He always says the Third is the strongest Hokage of all time—stronger than the First and Second…"
Roy paused, then tilted his head innocently at Hiruzen.
"Is that true?"
"Cough—cough." Hiruzen's old face reddened. He clenched a fist to his mouth and cleared his throat. "Each Hokage has things they're good at and things they aren't. That… isn't something you can compare easily."
Mm. Sure.
If we were ranking "thickness of skin," you'd proudly claim second place—while Hashirama and Tobirama wouldn't dare take first.
"Fire Release: Fireball Jutsu!"
Pfft— A fireball barely bigger than a fist sputtered forward, wobbling in midair. Before it could hit the post, a breeze blew it out.
The student glanced this way, mortified, and hurried off.
Yoshida shook his head and called the next name. "Yano!"
A boy named Yano stepped out, nervous as he glanced at Hiruzen. Encouraged by the Hokage's smile, he fumbled through the seals—got one wrong—finally managed it on the second try, then spat…
…an even worse result than the last kid. The fireball formed in his throat and died at his lips, leaving him coughing out a puff of black smoke.
"Takuma… Kawasaki… Yūna…"
One after another, Yoshida called names. Most struggled. A few did well—fireballs struck the posts and left scorched marks—those were the kids who'd been itching to show off.
Hiruzen and Roy watched quietly.
Then the old man asked, "Child… do you like Konoha?"
A gust rustled the paulownia leaves behind them.
The sun was nearly overhead now. Light slipped through the leaves, casting scattered spots of brightness over Roy's body.
Roy fell into thought, rifling through his past—his first life as an overworked adult on Earth; his rebirth in the Hunter world as the Zoldyck eldest son raised on Kukuroo Mountain; his awakening of the Gate of Cognition and the many crossings into Demon Slayer as Kamado Eiichirō; and now, as an Uchiha, growing up with Mikoto and Fugaku… and later, a little brother named Itachi.
Roy raised his right hand and caught one of the light-specks, feeling the sun's warmth spiral around his fingertips—alive, gentle.
He answered warmly, firmly:
"Of course."
"As long as there's sunlight, I like it."
"Hoh hoh hoh…" Hiruzen winked at him. "Good thing you weren't born in the Land of Water."
The Land of Water—one of the Five Great Nations—was blanketed in fog year-round, often so thick you couldn't see your own hand. Thinking of living in a place like that, Roy could understand why Kirigakure had produced the "Bloody Mist" era: isolation, persecution of bloodline clans, systematic slaughter…
In the end, the environment shaped everything.
Live in darkness long enough, and you breed twisted minds.
"I like sunlight too," Hiruzen said. He mimicked Roy, pinching a spot of light between his fingers as it danced there. His voice turned thoughtful.
"I've imagined it more than once—after I retire, I'll carry out a small stool, sit by my door every day, and bask in the sun… watching you young ninja come and go. One batch after another, growing up."
"Like fire," Roy said, "endlessly passing on?"
"Yes," Hiruzen replied. "Like fire—endlessly passing on."
Boom— In the distance, a student named Arima finally managed it: a head-sized fireball slammed into a post, carving out a bowl-shaped crater.
The kid had spiky hair standing up like a hedgehog. He clenched his fist and shouted, "OSS!"
He immediately turned back to Hiruzen.
The old man nodded in approval, then looked at Roy seriously.
"Konoha—like fire—will continue forever. Ren…"
He let the light-speck slip through his fingers, then placed his hand on Roy's shoulder.
"Are you willing to protect Konoha for that?"
Roy lifted his head. He barely came up to Hiruzen's shoulder, but he met the Hokage's gaze without flinching.
"Does the Hokage's Konoha include the Uchiha?"
Hiruzen stared into the boy's clear, bright eyes—
—and for a moment, he hesitated.
He thought of Danzō: Every last Uchiha should be killed.
He thought of Tobirama: The Uchiha are an inherently evil clan.
He thought of Koharu: Don't let the Sharingan Uchiha get near Kushina—if they control the Nine-Tails, it's disaster.
He thought of Homura: Always watch the Uchiha. Never let them grow and threaten the Hokage.
Just then, Yoshida raised his voice and called from the field, "It's your turn, Uchiha Ren!"
Hiruzen snapped back to the present.
Roy—wearing the clan-crest coat his mother Mikoto had sewn—brushed past him without looking back, his voice calm and sharp:
"So the Hokage's fire is only fire."
"Your fire isn't hot enough."
"It can't cover the Uchiha."
"It can't shelter the shinobi world."
Step… step… His footsteps began.
The wind lifted his coat hem.
REN surged—igniting like a fuse.
With his pores opened, all his aura converted into Scorching True Intent.
Whoosh— Two flames flared upward and wrapped around him from the ground up.
He walked forward, one step at a time, as if placing his feet on lotus blossoms made of fire, leaving a string of scorched marks behind him…
Yoshida… Yano… Takuma… Arima—faces shifted. Their eyes widened. Their feet moved on instinct, parting to make a path.
Then—
Roy stopped.
From a distance far beyond the test range—nearly double—it, he formed seals and said evenly:
"Fire Release: Fireball Jutsu."
He spat—lightly, almost lazily.
A red glow swelled in his throat like a rising sun, tearing through the air—then burst out and expanded… and expanded… and expanded—
until it was the size of a classroom.
Then it swelled again—
until it covered half the field, casting a vast shadow over every student and teacher—including Yoshida.
It shot forward—
and became a roaring fire-dragon that swallowed dozens of wooden posts and the Academy wall behind them, including the carved "inspirational slogans."
A pillar of flame speared into the sky, painting the blue day with a brutal red streak.
Hiruzen's Hokage hat—the symbol of Konoha's highest authority—was lifted by the shockwave, flipped end over end, and fell with a plap to the ground.
Silence.
The Academy froze.
Thud… thud… thud… Students collapsed one after another, legs gone weak.
Gulp. Yoshida swallowed so hard you could hear it.
When the flames faded, a fan-shaped scorch path leading out of the school lay carved into the earth.
Roy slowly turned, looking over the sea of stunned faces—
and gave Hiruzen one indifferent glance.
Then his body went bang, dissolving into nothing.
"A clone…"
Under the paulownia tree, Hiruzen fell silent.
He stood amid the ruined field with the teachers and children—his face lit by the lingering red glow like a faint blush of heat.
Back at the Uchiha compound, Roy lay beside Fugaku and Itachi on the veranda and said flatly:
"Father… you're probably going to have to work overtime."
Fugaku's drowsiness vanished. He sat up and stared at Roy.
"…What did you do?"
"Nothing much," Roy said. "I just… accidentally opened a hole in the school."
Fugaku: "..."
Itachi: "..."
Sure enough—
An Anbu in a cat mask flickered into the courtyard.
"Fugaku-sama. The Hokage summons you."
The Anbu's eyes briefly locked onto Roy—
—and Fugaku stepped between them, cold and firm.
"Go back and tell the Hokage I'm on my way."
"Yes." The Anbu vanished.
Fugaku glared at Roy. "Then write your damned Limb Regeneration technique down. Now."
Roy rolled over lazily. "Itachi, I'll dictate. You write."
Fugaku's eye twitched. "Aren't you the one with extra hands? You write it!"
Roy: "..."
"Fine."
They went to the study, and Roy wrote out Arm Regeneration—cleanly, neatly—for Fugaku to take.
At the doorway, Mikoto called from the kitchen, apron still on: "Honey, lunch is ready. Eat before you go."
"I'm not eating. I'm already full of anger!" Fugaku snapped, storming out.
Itachi and Mikoto stared at each other.
"Mikoto: Itachi… what did your brother do this time?"
Itachi, obedient as ever: "Nii-san… blew up the school."
Mikoto: "..."
She exhaled once, then said calmly, as if it were the most normal thing in the world:
"…Then we eat first."
~~~
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