Shin-chan hugged his schoolbag and waddled into the teaching building; the corridor was empty and so quiet that he could only hear his own footsteps.
"Eh, why is there no one here?" Shin-chan muttered as he walked to the door of Class A.
He slid the door open.
Swish.
Over a dozen pairs of eyes looked over in unison.
Teacher Ibuki stood on the podium, chalk in hand, looking at him with a complex expression.
"Nohara Shinnosuke."
"Present." Shin-chan raised his hand.
"Do you know what time it is?"
Shin-chan thought for a moment and answered seriously, "I don't know. I don't have a watch."
"..."
"But looking at the position of the sun, it should be almost time for a snack?"
Teacher Ibuki's temple throbbed.
"It is 8:10 in the morning; the bell rang ten minutes ago."
"Oh." Shin-chan nodded and started walking toward his seat.
"Wait." Teacher Ibuki stopped him. "Do you have anything to say?"
Shin-chan stopped, tilted his head to think, then turned around and bowed to the teacher and the whole class: "Sorry, I'm late. I'll come earlier tomorrow."
"..." Teacher Ibuki took a deep breath. "Sit down. If you're late again, you'll have to stand in the hallway."
Shin-chan nodded and sat down in the seat next to Uchiha Tetsu.
"Tetsu, morning," he whispered.
"Morning," Uchiha Tetsu whispered back. "Why are you late?"
"I couldn't help it; Mommy ran too slowly."
Uchiha Tetsu fell silent for two seconds and decided not to pursue the matter.
Teacher Ibuki tapped on the blackboard: "Alright, quiet, everyone. Today we are going to talk about a very important topic."
Then he turned and wrote four large characters on the blackboard:
Will of Fire.
Shin-chan blinked and whispered to Uchiha Tetsu, "What's the Will of Fire? Is it edible?"
Uchiha Tetsu's lip twitched. "It's not edible."
"Then what's it good for?"
"Just listen to the teacher."
Teacher Ibuki drew a simple tree with branches and leaves on the board. "The so-called Will of Fire is the will to protect what is important to you and to guard the Village. Konoha Village was founded back then so that children would no longer have to go to the battlefield and could live in peace."
Having said that, he looked at the children below.
"Where the leaves dance, the fire will burn on. This is the Will of Fire—not to live selfishly, but to live for the sake of protection."
The classroom was quiet for a few seconds.
Obito's eyes were sparkling. "So amazing."
Guy's eyes were already starting to turn red. "Youth, this is Youth!"
Kakashi remained expressionless, but his gaze fell on the blackboard, seemingly deep in thought.
Then, a hand went up.
Teacher Ibuki looked at the hand. "Nohara Shinnosuke."
"Teacher, if the Will of Fire is to protect important people, do I count as an important person?"
"Of course you do."
"Then can I not eat green peppers in order to 'protect myself'?"
Teacher Ibuki was stunned.
The classroom was silent for a second, then erupted into laughter.
"Quiet." Teacher Ibuki tapped the blackboard. "This has nothing to do with the Will of Fire."
"But you said it, Teacher. I'm an important person too, so I have to protect myself. Green peppers hurt me, so to protect myself, I won't eat them. Isn't that the Will of Fire?"
Teacher Ibuki's lip twitched. "Green peppers won't hurt you."
"They do," Shin-chan said with a serious face. "They make me feel bad, make me want to throw up, and make me unable to eat. If that's not hurt, what is?"
"That's just you not liking the taste."
"Isn't that the same as being hurt?" Shin-chan tilted his head. "Taste can be a kind of hurt, too."
Teacher Ibuki opened his mouth, finding himself temporarily unable to argue back.
Uchiha Tetsu whispered from the side, "Shin-chan, that's not how the Will of Fire is used."
"Then how is it used?"
Uchiha Tetsu thought for a moment and explained seriously, "The Will of Fire is the spirit of sacrificing oneself to protect others; it's not meant for avoiding green peppers."
Shin-chan blinked and was silent for two seconds. "So even the Will of Fire can't excuse not eating green peppers?"
"No."
On the podium, Teacher Ibuki overheard this conversation, his expression beyond words.
"Nohara Shinnosuke."
"Present."
"The Will of Fire isn't for you to find loopholes."
"But, Teacher..."
"No buts. Go home today and write an essay about your understanding of the Will of Fire."
Shin-chan's face fell. "Ah, I have to write things."
"Yes, three hundred words."
"How much is three hundred words?"
"It's a lot."
Shin-chan sighed and slumped on the desk. "The Will of Fire is so hard."
Uchiha Tetsu, beside him, couldn't help but laugh.
"You're still laughing." Shin-chan looked at him resentfully. "It's all your fault for not saying a word for me."
"How could I help you? What you said was just wrong."
"What was wrong with it?"
Uchiha Tetsu thought for a moment and said seriously, "The Will of Fire is for making everyone happy, not just yourself."
Shin-chan blinked and looked at him. "Then, Tetsu, what do you want to do in the future?"
Uchiha Tetsu was taken aback; he hadn't expected the topic to change so quickly.
"I... I don't know."
"Don't you have a dream?"
Uchiha Tetsu lowered his head. "People from our Uchiha Clan usually become Ninja and serve the Village."
Shin-chan tilted his head. "But what about your own dream?"
Uchiha Tetsu was silent for a while, then whispered, "Minister of Chocolate Bars?"
"That's right." Shin-chan seemed to remember something. "We still have to eliminate green peppers."
Uchiha Tetsu's lip twitched. "Can't you just forget about green peppers?"
"No," Shin-chan said seriously. "Green peppers are the enemy of my life."
On the podium, Teacher Ibuki was still explaining the Will of Fire.
"So, the core of the Will of Fire is protection—protecting the Village, protecting your comrades, and protecting the future. Perhaps some of you will become the Hokage one day."
"Me!" Obito stood up abruptly. "I'm going to be the Hokage."
Teacher Ibuki was startled, then smiled helplessly. "Sit down, Obito."
"But, Teacher, I really am going to be the Hokage."
"I know, I know. Sit down first."
Obito sat down, but the excitement on his face didn't fade a bit.
"I want to be the Hokage too." Guy raised his hand. "For Youth!"
"Teacher." Rin also raised her hand. "Can girls be the Hokage?"
"Of course." Teacher Ibuki nodded. "The Hokage title doesn't depend on gender."
Kakashi still looked expressionless and said nothing.
Teacher Ibuki suddenly looked at him. "Kakashi, how about you? Do you have anything you want to say?"
Kakashi glanced at him indifferently. "No."
"You don't want to be the Hokage?"
"Too much trouble."
Teacher Ibuki: "..."
Shin-chan whispered from the side, "Kakashi is so cool."
Uchiha Tetsu nodded. "Yeah, he's always like that."
"But does he eat green peppers in the morning?"
"I don't know."
"If he doesn't eat green peppers either, I'll admire him even more."
Uchiha Tetsu sighed and decided not to respond anymore.