Chapter Fifty-Three: The Will of Fire

"Fugaku, what are you Uchiha planning—are you rebelling?!" Hiruzen Sarutobi, accompanied by his two advisors, Hiashi Hyuga, and a group of Anbu, hurried out of the meeting room, unable to continue their deliberations. At this moment, the members of the Police Force had already gathered beneath the Hokage building, and the air was thick with a murderous tension, as if an insurrection was about to erupt.

Fugaku Uchiha stepped forward and shook his head. "Lord Third, you misunderstand. The Uchiha are here to ask you to uphold justice for us."

Hearing this, Hiruzen was taken aback. "What happened? Explain yourself."

Fugaku’s tone softened as he recounted the theft of their Sharingan and the destruction of the Uchiha’s secret vault.

"That’s the situation. Kamui took advantage of our clan’s internal purge today to pull this off."

The crowd fell silent. Many glanced instinctively at Hiashi Hyuga, who was standing nearby. The Hyuga had also suffered an incursion by Kamui today, sparking a diplomatic incident. Now, it seemed the Uchiha had become victims as well.

"This is a real mess now," Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado exchanged glances, sighing inwardly.

Hiruzen’s heart also sank, and for a moment, he was at a loss. He had never expected the Cloud Village to act with such reckless audacity, failing to seize the Byakugan and then turning to steal the Sharingan!

If it were only the Hyuga, perhaps some arrangement could be made. But with the Uchiha involved as well, the situation was entirely different. Given the Uchiha’s temperament, they would never let this go lightly; they might even resort to extreme measures.

Yet the village could not afford a full-scale war with Cloud, especially when they themselves were "in the wrong."

Hiruzen took a deep breath, gazing at the furious Uchiha before him. "Fugaku, don’t act rashly. Let’s sit down and resolve this together."

No matter what, he had to calm them first. If the Uchiha attacked the Cloud delegation, there would be no hope for reconciliation.

"Lord Third, what Cloud has done has struck at the very core of our Uchiha clan. How do you intend to resolve this?" Fugaku knew he could not show the slightest hesitation; he had to remain resolute.

This time, he had brought the Police Force according to Uchiha Rei’s plan, to support Hiashi Hyuga. If they backed down now, not only would the plan fail completely, but the Hyuga would likely turn into their enemies.

Seeing Fugaku’s unwavering stance, Hiruzen felt a headache coming on. He sighed. "Calm your clansmen for now. I will investigate this thoroughly and demand compensation from Cloud."

Fugaku shook his head slowly. "Then at the very least, before any compensation, Cloud must hand over Kamui. He must pay with his life!"

"Fugaku, you realize Kamui is the leader of the Cloud delegation, don’t you? If he is killed now, it will mean all-out war with Cloud!" Homura Mitokado spoke up, knowing Hiruzen would struggle to answer this.

Beside him, Koharu Utatane added, "Kamui is not currently with the Cloud delegation. The Anbu are searching for him. We expect results soon."

The two advisors always sided with Hiruzen. They hoped the Uchiha would back down, that things wouldn’t spiral into disaster.

Uchiha Rei stood at the back of the Police Force, silently observing, a cold smile flickering on his lips. He patted Shisui’s shoulder and asked softly, "Given the current situation, do you think the Third and his advisors will allow us to retaliate against the Cloud delegation?"

Shisui was startled and fell silent, pain flickering in his eyes. He was not foolish—just from the recent exchanges, it was clear the Third would never let the Uchiha act out.

After a long pause, Shisui finally said, hesitating, "The Third has many things to consider. The village has its own difficulties—"

Uchiha Rei didn’t refute him, but asked, "It’s one thing for the village to have its difficulties, but is it right or wrong to sacrifice the clan’s interests for peace?"

Without waiting for a reply, Rei continued, "Kamui infiltrated the Hyuga before he came to us. From what just happened, it’s not hard to guess—the village also wants the Hyuga to compromise, doesn’t it?"

In truth, Rei wished Shisui could witness a moment from the original story: Hiashi Hyuga preparing to sacrifice himself for peace, while the Third chose to tacitly accept it.

Unfortunately, Shisui would probably never see that scene. But it didn’t matter; at this point, no matter how much they tried to disguise it, the village leadership’s stance was already plain to see.

Shisui was left speechless by these questions, unable to answer.

Seeing the time was ripe, Rei pressed on, "Where the leaves dance, the fire burns ever brighter. The flame’s light will continue to illuminate the village and nurture new leaves. That’s the Will of Fire you know, isn’t it?"

Shisui nodded.

Rei continued, "I’ve heard the Will of Fire means there should be no barriers between clans within the village, that everyone should work together for the sake of the village."

"And that every clansman should be willing to sacrifice not just for their own clan, but for the greater good, for the village."

Shisui nodded again.

"So here’s the question—if everyone does so much for the village, shouldn’t the village in turn protect our interests?"

Shisui lowered his head, his voice faint and halting. "I’m sorry..."

"Why are you apologizing to me?" Rei asked. "The ones who should apologize are those who always sacrifice others, but never themselves."

In Rei’s eyes, the Third’s Will of Fire was truly ‘interesting.’

Clearly, it was the old trees that should have burned in the fire, becoming nourishment for the new saplings. Yet for some reason, it was always the new trees burning, while the old ones greedily absorbed all the nutrients.

"Rei, that’s enough... please, stop..." Shisui was completely out of words, his thoughts a tangled mess.

Rei snorted coldly. "Are you going to keep running away? Can someone willing to sacrifice the clan so easily truly save the Uchiha?"

Shisui looked ahead, at the two advisors still urging his clan head to put the village first. Then he glanced at the Third, who stood silently on the steps, refusing to make any clear statement.

Shisui stood there, dazed and devastated.

Rei patted his shoulder, delivering the final blow. "Think it through. When you’ve figured it out, come find me. I’ll teach you what it truly means for the clan and the village to coexist in harmony."

"Truly coexist in harmony..." Shisui murmured, nodding unconsciously.

At the front, Fugaku was still arguing with the Third and his advisors, demanding severe punishment for Cloud. But unfortunately, no direct answer was ever given.

Just then, the ground began to tremble slightly, and a blaze of fire appeared atop the Hokage Rock.

Someone recognized the figure above and asked instinctively, "Isn’t that Kamui, the leader of the Cloud delegation? What is he doing up there?"

The answer came swiftly.

A violent explosion erupted, flames and noise echoing throughout the entire Leaf Village.

Boom—

At the very heart of the explosion was the Third’s Hokage statue, which was instantly reduced to rubble, debris flying everywhere.

Kamui himself was at the center, and before dying, he pointed toward the Hokage building and laughed wildly.

The sudden turn of events left the scene in dead silence, a silence as deep as death.

Then Rei broke the silence, his voice carrying across the entire gathering:

"Our acting Hokage and esteemed advisors, will you still choose to compromise with Cloud this time?"