Hiruzen Sarutobi looked, for a moment, as if he were genuinely waiting for Naruto to ask him something.
But Naruto only spared him a single glance.
"It means if we set this place on fire right now, it'll catch fast," he said flatly. "And the more trees there are, the bigger the fire gets."
"If a burning leaf gets blown away, it'll set the tree over there on fire too. And if there are more trees below, then the fire just keeps spreading."
The moment those words fell, laughter burst across the ninja world.
Only Konoha was strangely quiet.
Hiruzen Sarutobi's face stiffened in embarrassment. He had never expected Naruto to answer him like that.
He gave a dry cough and forced himself to continue. "That isn't what I meant. It's a will. The Will of Fire. A will unique to Konoha Village."
Naruto gave a lazy little, "Oh," then lowered his head and went back to poking at the firewood, as if all the old man's solemnity was nothing more than background noise.
Inside his mind, though, his thoughts were racing.
So that's what this old geezer wants.
He's trying to stuff some idea into my head. Just like that strange voice that keeps trying to guide me.
Hmph. What he's saying isn't even one-tenth as useful as that annoying voice.
"You're still young," Hiruzen said, shaking his head with a benevolent sigh. "You'll understand when you're older."
Naruto did not respond.
Hiruzen seemed determined to go on anyway.
"This is why Konoha has stood firm in the ninja world for so many years," he said. "Why it has always remained the strongest and greatest hidden village."
"Where leaves dance, fire burns on. It means life will continue. It means the spirit of those who came before us never dies."
He leaned into the role, his voice taking on the practiced weight of a veteran statesman.
"The old leaves burn themselves so the new buds can grow. That is selfless devotion. That is sacrifice. That is the spirit of protecting the next generation at any cost."
"The Will of Fire means everyone in the village stands together. No barriers, no distance, no separation. For the sake of the village, we become one."
"Because everyone in the village is family."
He paused, then smiled at Naruto with what he clearly believed was grandfatherly warmth.
"And I believe that one day, you too will work hard to protect this village."
For a moment, those words spread like a spark through Konoha.
Many villagers listening to the explanation visibly softened. Their expressions turned reverent, almost intoxicated, as if they had heard something holy.
"As expected of the Third Hokage."
"The Will of Fire... what a magnificent ideal."
"That's right. We're all family. We should protect the village together."
"The Third Hokage is still as persuasive as ever..."
Around them, more and more voices echoed in agreement.
But before anyone in the chat could continue the discussion, the comparison system suddenly cut in.
A cold mechanical notification rang out in every mind at the same time.
[Ding!]
[Reward Quiz begins!]
Everyone, please prepare to answer.
The entire ninja world froze.
Then everyone reacted at once.
A reward quiz!
They had nearly forgotten. The system had promised question-and-answer rounds with prizes, and those prizes might include ninjutsu, forbidden techniques... even resurrection.
So what was the question?
[Ding!]
[Reward Quiz!]
[Question: After hearing Hiruzen Sarutobi speak about the Will of Fire, how will Naruto Uzumaki react? What will he be thinking?]
[Please choose from the following options.]
Option [1] appeared first.
[1. Naruto Uzumaki will be deeply shocked and filled with admiration. His inner thoughts: What an incredible Will of Fire! So that's what it means. Since everyone is family, family should tolerate and care for one another!]
The instant that option appeared, a huge number of Konoha villagers chose it without hesitation.
There was nothing to think about.
The Will of Fire was the foundation of Konoha. The greatest will. The noblest creed.
If the Third Hokage had said it, then of course Naruto would be moved by it.
Even Hiruzen Sarutobi himself selected option [1] almost immediately.
There was no reason to hesitate.
But the next second, the people who had rushed to answer started to feel the first stirrings of regret.
Because option [2] appeared.
[2. Naruto Uzumaki will leap up excitedly and ask Hiruzen Sarutobi whether learning the Will of Fire will let him become family with everyone in the village. His inner thoughts: Great! As long as I master the Will of Fire, I can become family with everyone and I'll never be lonely again!]
This one sounded plausible too.
In fact, to many people, it sounded even more plausible.
A lonely child. A neglected child. A child starved for affection.
Wasn't that exactly the kind of thing he would think?
Quite a few people who had chosen [1] turned green with regret.
They had answered too fast.
Then option [3] appeared.
[3. Naruto Uzumaki will look at Hiruzen Sarutobi as if he were an idiot. His inner thoughts: Has this old man lost his mind? Those bastards treated me like that, and I'm supposed to think of them as family? What Will of Fire? It's just a slogan used to fool people. Uncle Teuchi and Sister Ayame aren't ninjas, so they probably don't even know what the Will of Fire is, but they're far more like family than those people who keep chanting it.]
The moment option [3] appeared, the atmosphere changed.
Anyone with a functioning brain understood the implication at once.
In the Pure Land, Kushina selected [3] without the slightest hesitation. She was the first person to do so.
Of course it was [3].
How could her son possibly hear that garbage and be moved?
In Konoha, disbelief spread through the crowd.
How could the Will of Fire possibly be described like that?
How many times had this black-framed Naruto already insulted the Third Hokage?
Deidara snorted in the chat room first.
"Isn't the answer obvious?"
"A bunch of idiots. You all ought to experience my art for yourselves."
Kurotsuchi immediately jumped in. "Deidara? You're still alive?"
Hidan added, "Idiot Dara, the leader told us not to expose ourselves so easily."
Onoki ignored all of that with the calm of an old fox.
"The Akatsuki can wait. I chose [3]," he said. "It's far too obvious."
The Konoha side bristled.
The other villages mocking them was one thing. But mocking the Will of Fire itself was another.
The Fourth Raikage laughed loudly. "Don't tell me there are really people who picked [1] or [2]?"
There were.
And not just a few.
After all, every village had its own ideology. The Will of Fire. The Will of Stone. Countless grand slogans dressed up in noble words.
Still, more and more people began leaning toward [3].
Mei Terumi chose it openly.
"I picked [3]," she said. "For black-framed Naruto, that is the most reasonable answer."
"Everything Konoha has shown him so far is coldness, disgust, and hostility. Under those circumstances, resentment is the only natural result."
Sakura couldn't help objecting.
"Not entirely! There's still Ichiraku Ramen! Whether it's the black-framed version or the gold-framed version, Uncle Teuchi and Ayame are both kind to Naruto."
Rock Lee nodded furiously. "That's right! And we would be kind to him too!"
Ino folded her arms and lifted her chin. "We're not the same as those idiots."
Hiruzen's expression darkened. "Are you trying to undermine Konoha's unity and stability?"
That did it.
Ino exploded before she could stop herself.
"You old fool, how dare you say that?!"
The moment the words left her mouth, she slapped both hands over it in horror.
Hiruzen stared.
Ino stared back, equally shocked.
Then, strangely, she realized something.
Why was she afraid?
The situation had already come this far. The First Hokage, the Second Hokage, even the Fourth Hokage had openly questioned him. What was left to fear?
At that moment, a gentle woman's voice called from nearby.
"Ino."
"Mom!" Ino whipped around.
Rino Yamanaka approached, then gently rubbed her daughter's head.
"It's alright," she said softly. "Even if the sky really falls, your father and I will hold it up for you."
Ino's eyes immediately reddened a little.
"Mm!"
Across the chat room, Uchiha Madara's mocking voice appeared.
Madara Uchiha: If I'm not mistaken, Hashirama, you probably chose [1] or [2].
Tobirama Senju followed right after.
Tobirama Senju: Much as I hate to admit it, Big Brother probably really would choose [1] or [2].
Everyone waited for Hashirama's answer.
And then, to both Madara's and Tobirama's surprise, Hashirama laughed.
Hashirama Senju: Hahaha~ I'm already dead, so I'm not participating. I didn't choose.
That answer left both men speechless.
Meanwhile, in the Pure Land, Kushina was still gripping Mikoto's hand so tightly that the other woman's fingers had nearly gone numb.
"This is great, Mikoto!" Kushina said, eyes blazing. "I'm definitely right. My Naruto isn't stupid. There's no way he'd fall for that nonsense!"
"There's also a resurrection reward in the quiz!"
Her voice dropped, fierce and determined.
"When we come back, we'll kill those old bastards first. Then we'll take Naruto and Sasuke and leave Konoha behind for good."
Mikoto smiled, though the expression was faintly stiff.
"I was a little slow picking, so I'm not even sure my answer counted," she admitted softly.
Kushina didn't hear her.
Or maybe she did, but it no longer mattered.
At that moment, her beautiful red hair was standing upright again, all nine sections of it flaring like tails.
Mikoto dared not say anything reckless.
She still trusted Kushina.
But Kushina in her current state was terrifying.
Back in the arena, more and more voices joined the argument.
Some insisted the answer was obviously [1], because the Will of Fire was sacred.
Some argued for [2], because Naruto in the gold-framed world had always been desperate for acknowledgment.
But increasingly, people were beginning to understand something else.
Black-framed Naruto was not the same child.
He remembered slights.
He observed people carefully.
He weighed their words.
He distinguished genuine kindness from manipulation.
For that Naruto, talk of "family" coming from the mouth of the man leading the bastards who had ruined his life was not comfort.
It was mockery.
Even those who did not say it aloud could feel it.
The answer was becoming clearer and clearer.
Konoha's silence only made that clarity sharper.
Because if even Konoha's own people could no longer confidently defend the answer they wanted to believe in, then what did that say about everything they had been calling faith?
At the center of all that noise, Naruto himself sat below the arena, staring up at the screen with a confused expression. He still did not fully understand why everyone was fighting so hard over what another version of him might be thinking.
But even he could feel one thing clearly enough. Black-framed Naruto was different. And now everyone else could see it too.
The system had asked only a simple question, yet it had torn open something much larger. Not just Naruto's heart, but Konoha's as well.