Uchiha: Starting as Tobirama's Jinchuriki

Although the difficulty is slightly higher, the more challenging questions are more likely to reveal the respondent's level and true feelings through their answers.

As the Third Hokage of Konoha and the honorary principal of the Ninja Academy, Hiruzen Sarutobi rarely participated in the affairs of the Ninja Academy except when he would give a special speech at the beginning and end of the school year.

Therefore, Hiruzen Sarutobi's mission this time was not only to test Aoshui, but also to assess the Fire Will of all the students at the Ninja Academy.

"Nohara Rin".

This was the first exam paper that Hiruzen Sarutobi saw, and the elegant handwriting on it immediately won the Hokage's favor.

"Not bad... Although the ideas are still a bit immature, the core is still firmly rooted in the Will of Fire. This is a child from an ordinary family, and it is already commendable that he has such insight."

"Oh, there's also something about Uchiha Aokiji, tsk tsk..."

In the final major question, "Describe your understanding of the Will of Fire," Nohara Rin used Aoisui's selfless sharing of the ninjutsu, Healing Palm Technique, with her as an example, believing that this was a real-world manifestation of the Will of Fire.

Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded slightly, a smile appearing on his lips.

Nohara Rin was right. Actively sharing ninjutsu with civilian ninjas, isn't that the Will of Fire?

What's even more interesting is that Hiruzen Sarutobi astutely captured a hint of emotion in Rin Nohara's writing...

"Young man, this is where bonds are born, very good, very good..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded in satisfaction and gave Rin Nohara a high score of 87 on her test paper.

This successful start pleased the Third Hokage greatly, and he looked forward to seeing how his classmates would perform.

"MattKai".

Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at the exam paper with a smile, but his expression gradually changed, and he sighed helplessly.

The entire exam paper is filled with youth, youth, youth!

Discipline is youth, the Will of Fire is youth, and both ninja clans and commoner ninjas are youth!

Even Might Guy, the Third Hokage, meticulously listed various examples to prove that he was a Hokage with a youthful spirit.

After a moment's thought, Hiruzen Sarutobi chuckled again: "Youth, huh? Interesting little fellow, I'm certainly not old yet..."

"Although this child's theoretical knowledge is somewhat lacking, his positive attitude and love for Konoha can be seen through the exam paper."

"Good boy, keep it up."

Hiruzen Sarutobi gave Might Guy 83 points and even wrote a comment for him: "Looking forward to the day your youth blossoms."

In Matt Kai's exam paper, he mentioned that Qing Shui had healed his wounds.

He believes that Qingshui is a model of the combination of youth and the will of fire, and is the goal he learns from and pursues.

So far, both of these exam papers that Sarutobi Hiruzen is very satisfied with bear Aozumi's name.

This made him even more eager for Qingshui's answer.

"Uchiha Obito".

Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression turned serious. The Anbu had once given him a detailed report about this Uchiha genius who had awakened the double tomoe at the age of seven.

Subsequently, intelligence from the Anbu revealed that Obito Uchiha had allegedly made contact with Setsuna Uchiha, a hawkish elder of the Uchiha clan who had previously attempted to launch an armed rebellion.

"A genius of the Uchiha clan, a hawk..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi took a deep drag of his cigarette. The combination of these two words was troublesome even for him, the Hokage of Konoha. It was one of the most difficult problems Konoha was facing at the moment.

Upon seeing Obito Uchiha's answer, Hiruzen Sarutobi frowned, his brows eventually furrowing into a knot.

In Obito Uchiha's entire answer, the section about the Uchiha clan occupies the majority.

Using power as its core argument, the text elucidates the superiority of the Uchiha clan's dominant position in Konoha after the Senju clan's disbandment, and thoroughly explains what Uchiha Setsuna had recently instilled in him…

In the end, he managed to combine the Will of Fire with the Uchiha clan and spout some nonsense, but Hiruzen Sarutobi had already lost the patience to watch any longer.

"Shin-no-suke, keep a close eye on Obito Uchiha. Shift the focus of the Anbu's surveillance of the Uchiha clan to him and Setsuna Uchiha as appropriate."

Sarutobi Shinnosuke, who was sitting opposite him working, nodded: "I understand, Father."

As the eldest son of the Third Hokage, his current position is the Captain-Commander of the Anbu, in charge of all Anbu affairs.

As Sarutobi Shinnosuke watched his father's expression change from amiable to extremely ugly, he curiously took Uchiha Obito's test paper, and after a moment, his eyes narrowed as well.

“This brat is a big problem… According to my intelligence, the Uchiha Hawks have been in contact with him, and it seems they have had a profound influence on him. Should we take further action, Father?”

Hiruzen Sarutobi waved his hand: "Words can reveal people's hearts. Just increase surveillance."

After calming down, the third generation silently searched through Qingshui's exam papers.

He originally intended to review all the students' exam papers one by one.

This could be considered fair of him as Hokage, but Obito Uchiha's scroll gave him a slight shock, to the point that Hiruzen Sarutobi no longer wanted to wait.

If Aokiji were similar to Obito Uchiha...

"Impossible, Qing Shui wouldn't be like that. He's a descendant of Jing, and he's so kind..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi muttered to himself, then quickly found Aoshui's exam paper and began to read it very carefully.

Sarutobi Shinnosuke's ears twitched.

Not only his father, the Hokage, but also his younger brother, Sarutobi Asuma, have recently mentioned this name unintentionally.

How could a brat from the Uchiha clan wield such influence within the Sarutobi clan...

Seeing the change in his father's expression, Sarutobi Shinnosuke felt genuinely curious.

When Hiruzen Sarutobi was reviewing Obito Uchiha's test paper, his serious expression vanished, replaced by a genuine smile, as if he were looking at Aozumi's answers from the beginning.

"...where leaves dance in the air, the fire never dies out...and new leaves will sprout again..."

"Fallen petals are not heartless things; they turn into spring mud to nourish the flowers..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi muttered these two sentences repeatedly in a low voice, his eyes shining, and he gently tapped the table.

This touched his heart deeply.

Especially the first sentence, it seems that a tragic scene appeared before Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes: a Hokage who did not hesitate to sacrifice himself to protect the village's hopeful descendants.

"Teacher, I miss you."

Hiruzen Sarutobi gazed at the framed portrait of Tobirama Senju not far away and said softly, "Please rest assured, for the sake of the village, I will not hesitate to sacrifice myself..."

He recalled once again the scene of Tobirama Senju covering their retreat, a regret he could never forget.

Commentary: How exactly did Tobirama Senju die after the breakup...?

My assessment is that Tobirama Senju didn't even know he could use the Flying Thunder God Technique at the time...

Chapter 32 Who is Inada Kojiro? Why is he teaching me this fire technique?

Shadow does his job!

Sarutobi Shinnosuke stared in shock at Sarutobi Hiruzen, who was lost in his memories.

The fact that a mere kid from the Ninja Academy could write an exam paper so vividly could move the Hokage of Konoha so deeply, especially since it was written by a kid from the Uchiha clan…

This is so surprising.

Sarutobi Shinnosuke was incredibly curious, while Sarutobi Hiruzen's expression shifted from serious to joyful, and then from joy to sorrow.

What exactly did they see?

"Father, Father..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi was jolted awake from his reverie after Shinnosuke called his name softly several times.

He slowly shifted his gaze from the Second Hokage's photo frame, first giving his impatient eldest son a disapproving glare, before carefully handing Aozumi's scroll to Shinnosuke.

"You, the head of the Dark Side, come and see if you can write a 'Will of Fire' with this kind of literary flair."

Sarutobi Shinnosuke took Aomine's test paper without comment, glanced at it, his pupils dilated, and he began to read it carefully.

There's nothing we can do about it.

The answer used by Aozumi combined Hiruzen Sarutobi's heartfelt sentiments on his deathbed with Tobirama Senju's words when he was a child.

Combining the best elements of the second and third generations, calling it the Will of Fire is an understatement; it should be called the Will of Flame…

"Qingshui, as expected of Uncle Jing's descendant... Father, I think we should promote this exam paper widely, and even extract sentences from it as propaganda for the Will of Fire. This will help the village's ninjas deepen their understanding of the Will of Fire..."

"On a larger scale, each village has its own spiritual pillar. For example, our Will of Fire and Iwagakure's Will of Stone are catchy and concise summaries that are very helpful in spreading the Will of Fire."

As the head of the Anbu, Sarutobi Shinnosuke keenly grasped this point.

"Go do it, Shinnosuke, it's a very meaningful thing."

Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded in agreement, took back Aozumi's test paper, and wrote down a perfect score on it without hesitation, but then hesitated.

He wanted to give Qingshui a serious critique.

After a moment, he picked up his pen and wrote: "I am delighted that the Will of Fire shines so brightly in Qingshui's hands. May the love of Konoha take root in your heart and blossom into magnificent flowers."

But Hiruzen Sarutobi still shook his head, unsatisfied: "In a few days, I want to talk to Aozumi in person. He's a good kid..."

"The hawks in the Uchiha clan are rising very strongly now. Obito Uchiha has already been corrupted by them. As a descendant of Kagami and an excellent inheritor of the Will of Fire, Aoshui must be protected with all his might."

"I have a feeling that Qingshui might be the key to solving the Uchiha clan problem in the future."

Sarutobi Shinnosuke nodded silently, indicating that he understood.

While words can be deceiving, the possibility of deception is extremely low when the Will of Fire is written to the level of the Naruto's words.

"Let's finish reviewing the children's exam papers. I can't be too biased towards Qing Shui; we must be fair..."

The Third Hokage chuckled as he reviewed the exam papers, giving scores that were either high or low, but none of them failed. However, he didn't provide any further comments.

Until only two exam papers remained.

"It was a tiring night, but it was also very wonderful, witnessing the children's growth..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi rubbed his back, perked up, and picked up a copy: "Inada Kojiro, this kid looks like he comes from a commoner family."

Immediately, Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression turned strange.

Sarutobi Shinnosuke glanced at his father in surprise. This was the first time, after Obito and Aozumi's test papers, that Sarutobi Hiruzen's expression had changed so drastically.

"..." Hiruzen Sarutobi narrowed his eyes, his expression becoming increasingly strange.

A little agreement, displeasure, and even a hint of anger.