322. Lost in the Will of Fire

The next day, Danzo's speech on the new interpretation of the Will of Fire naturally made the front-page headline of the Shinobi World United News

Terms like "new interpretation of the Will of Fire," "new world," "ideology," and "system" quickly spread.

Many began speculating about the deeper meaning behind Danzo's speech.

This led to the New Interpretation of the Will of Fire, published by the Shinobi World United News, selling out in record time!

To be honest, Danzo had initially considered taking a more radical approach, including ideas of unification—not just within the Land of Fire, but across the entire shinobi world.

However, after some thought, he decided it was better to proceed gradually.

He would use this speech as a test, slowly allowing the people to accept his new ideas.

As it turned out, Danzo's decision was correct.

The content of his speech alone had already sent shockwaves through the shinobi world, especially his discussion of systems.

Currently, the major shinobi villages lacked any well-established systems.

Village affairs were largely decided by the higher-ups, with everything being the result of political maneuvering.

There were no existing systems to reference or rely on, leading to inconsistent outcomes even in similar situations.

Therefore, Danzo's mention of "systematic safeguards" had a profound impact on those who truly understood its significance.

In the coming days, Danzo planned to gradually refine Konoha's systems.

For example, he aimed to clarify the responsibilities of the ANBU, the Root, and the Konoha Military Police Force—what they could and could not handle.

He also intended to improve the village's internal laws, specifying how to deal with assault, murder, desertion, and so on.

These needed clear regulations to prevent further chaos.

To this end, Danzo convened another high-level meeting and established a legal committee to draft the village's internal rules and regulations.

However, these yet-to-be-implemented changes would not immediately affect ordinary villagers and shinobi.

Only those particularly concerned with such matters would notice hints of them in the newspapers.

For instance, Uchiha Itachi.

After receiving Danzo's book, Itachi spent nearly a month immersed in understanding the "new Will of Fire."

While the book didn't answer all his questions, it undoubtedly opened a new path in his confused mind—a path toward a new world!

It allowed him to see more possibilities and sparked deeper reflection.

If a well-established system could be created, allowing the village and clans to operate within it, could it reduce or even eliminate friction between them?

Such thoughts constantly emerged in Itachi's mind these days. The clash of countless ideas broadened his perspective.

Of course, Itachi's behavior also caused some trouble for his teacher, Daichun, who noticed that Itachi's focus in class had significantly declined.

No matter the subject, Itachi was always engrossed in the New Interpretation of the Will of Fire, even during meals, bathroom breaks, and walks, always seeming deep in thought.

However, after tentatively asking Itachi a few questions and finding that he could answer them fluently, Daichun stopped restricting him.

After all, Itachi was a genius—how could he not be special? Thus, Itachi became even more immersed in the world of the "new Will of Fire."

So much so that, while leaving school one day, he accidentally bumped into a taller classmate.

"Sorry," Itachi instinctively said, looking up at the student with two red fang-like marks on his face—likely a member of the Inuzuka clan.

This realization made Itachi frown, as he had defeated an Inuzuka clan member during the entrance exam.

Sure enough, the next second, the Inuzuka boy, who looked more like an Akimichi, sneered.

"You're Uchiha Itachi, right? I heard you humiliated my brother during the entrance exam. Let's see if you're as much of a genius as people say!"

With that, several older students surrounded Itachi.

Though not as burly as the Inuzuka boy, they were still a head taller than Itachi.

Seeing this, Itachi sighed. "Again? What a bother..."

Fully immersed in the Will of Fire, Itachi had no interest in such childish antics.

He calmly placed his book into his bag and said, "Please move aside. I need to go home."

His hands in his pockets, Itachi showed no sign of panic, which only angered the older students.

"Still acting tough? Let's see how strong the Uchiha really are!"

The Inuzuka boy swung his fist at Itachi, but Itachi easily dodged, grabbed his wrist, and threw him to the ground with a powerful shoulder toss.

Seeing this, the others attacked, but they were no match for Itachi.

Using his small frame, Itachi deftly dodged their punches while delivering precise, powerful strikes.

In less than a minute, all five older students were on the ground.

Nearby, Daichun, who had been secretly watching, was stunned.

Just then, one of the fallen Inuzuka boys grabbed Itachi's ankle, while another struggled to his feet and threw a punch at Itachi's face.

Faced with this sudden attack, Itachi remained calm, only slightly furrowing his brows.

As Daichun prepared to intervene, the boy who had been grabbed suddenly vanished in a puff of white smoke.

"This is... the Shadow Clone Technique!" Daichun stopped in his tracks, shocked.

While this was a basic technique for shinobi, Itachi was only a second-year student—six years old—and had already mastered it, using a clone to attend school?

Such terrifying talent!

Daichun swallowed hard, realizing he was witnessing the rise of a new star.

He decided he must report this to Danzo and the Hokage.

A genius like Itachi couldn't be wasted—the village needed to provide better resources to nurture him.

With this in mind, Daichun quickly left.

The bullies were equally shocked.

As older students, they understood the significance of the Shadow Clone Technique.

It was a skill that could pass graduation exams and officially make one a shinobi—far beyond their level.

"We messed with the wrong person..." they concluded.

Meanwhile, back in the Uchiha compound, Itachi, deep in thought about the Will of Fire, received the memories from his clone.

He put down his book and smirked.

He hadn't been caught off guard; the clone had simply run out of chakra and dispelled itself.

If it had come to a real fight, he could have handled ten more like them without breaking a sweat.

However, Itachi shook his head and refocused on his studies.

"Never mind. I'll deal with them next time."