[T/N: Hey readers! 🎉 Boundless_Beacon here! Get ready, because I'm launching my new novel, Young Master, Please Become Hokage! I'm dropping 15 chapters today 🥳 and planning daily releases after that! 😉💪 I'm releasing new chapters every 5 minutes, so if all 15 aren't up immediately, check back soon! ⏰ Don't forget those Power Stones - they keep me going! 🙏😄 And be sure to check out my other adventures: Naruto Paradise: An Evil Uchiha's Rise and One Piece: I'm Destined to Be the Son-in-Law King! Enjoy reading, and tell me what you think in the comments! ❤️]
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"Ugh..."
Sarutobi Ryo's eyes fluttered open, his whole body screaming in pain. Years of ninja training kicked in, making him instantly sit up and scan his surroundings.
Dead bodies lay everywhere.
The thick forest air was heavy with the stench of blood, mixed with the choking smell of smoke that hung over everything.
The setting sun bled across the sky in streaks of red and orange.
The battle had been fierce, and it seemed everyone had fallen.
He shook his head hard, trying to clear the fog from his brain, and memories came rushing back.
This was the battlefield of the late Second Shinobi World War.
Sarutobi Ryo wasn't originally from this world. He was a transmigrator, someone who had been reborn here and had lived in this world for over a decade.
Being the son of Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Third Hokage, the older brother of Asuma, and a classmate of Minato Namikaze, he'd been training as a ninja since he was a little kid. After graduating from the Ninja Academy, he was thrown into the brutal war that everyone called the Second Shinobi World War.
The years had flown by in a blur of constant fighting, desperately trying to stay alive in the war, enduring countless hardships to make it this far.
In the final stages of the war, Soragakure, believing they saw a chance to take over the Ninja World, joined the fighting.
Sarutobi Ryo was fighting in Konoha's counter-attack against Soragakure.
"!"
When the scene in front of him became clear, Sarutobi Ryo's brow furrowed in a deep frown. Nearly all of his peers, who had been part of this mission, were dead.
The wars of the Ninja World were truly brutal.
But even more brutal, in his opinion, was Konoha's decision to send children to fight in the war!
"Konoha was founded to stop children from having to go to war," he thought bitterly, "but in the end, for the sake of the Village, children are sent to the battlefield to die."
If it was a defensive war, a battle to protect their homes and families, it would be understandable.
But the real reason for the Second Shinobi World War was greed.
The Five Great Nations - Konoha, Iwagakure, Sunagakure, Kumogakure, and Kirigakure - were all trying to take land and resources from the smaller, weaker countries.
It was, in short, a war of aggression.
This made Sarutobi Ryo, who in his past life was an ordinary citizen with modern ideals, feel disgusted.
As time went on, his inability to agree with the values of this world caused his dissatisfaction to grow, and the idea of changing this world began to take root in his mind...
Thump.
Suddenly, a few sounds broke through Sarutobi Ryo's thoughts.
On the battlefield, surrounded by the dead, three figures were slowly getting to their feet.
They shook their heads, looking just as dazed as he felt, probably knocked out by the same explosion.
But their clothes weren't the green uniforms of Konoha Ninja. They wore the symbol of their enemy, Soragakure!
He was outnumbered!
A wave of icy Killing Intent rolled off Sarutobi Ryo, making the air around him feel colder.
Three pairs of eyes locked onto him, staring fiercely, and a fight was about to begin!
On the battlefield, it was always a matter of life or death.
Usually, only one side walked away alive, claiming victory over the fallen.
His own condition was terrible after the battle. Outnumbered, he should use the trees around him as cover, picking off the enemies one by one...
Sarutobi Ryo had just finished making his plan and was about to retreat when a voice stopped him cold.
"Young Master..."
The blond girl with the ponytail, lying on the ground, weakly tried to lift her head.
Sarutobi Ryo turned around without thinking. Next to her, the girl with the white eyes twitched her fingers slightly.
These two girls were his teammates.
They had been together since they became genin, and they were all being trained by the same Jonin.
There were other survivors...
Sarutobi Ryo's eyes flickered.
Their Jonin had already been ripped apart; he was the first to die in the thick of the battle.
Now that the two girls were waking up, Sarutobi Ryo had a choice to make.
Should he retreat into the forest, leaving the two injured girls behind? If he did that, the enemy would surely kill them.
Or should he face the three enemies alone?
In his own weakened state, what was the right choice?
Sarutobi Ryo didn't hesitate. His body, which had been moving backward, suddenly took a step forward.
He got into a fighting stance, and a powerful energy seemed to surge from him.
"Take one punch from me, and I'll let you live!"
Facing the three enemies, Sarutobi Ryo clenched his fist and took the standard Konoha-style Taijutsu stance.
He wasn't trying to show off, and it wasn't out of pity. It was because...
What is the Will of Fire?
In his previous life, Sarutobi Ryo had been a huge Naruto fan, a real expert on the "Will of Fire," loving the series deeply.
But as the manga continued, it started to have more and more problems.
The story seemed to lose sight of its original purpose.
It was like... the hero who slays the dragon becoming the dragon himself.
What was the true meaning of the Will of Fire?
"Looking for death!!"
The three Soragakure Ninja saw Sarutobi Ryo coming at them instead of running, and they charged forward.
Sarutobi Ryo didn't dodge or try to get out of the way. He gathered all his strength and threw a punch at the first enemy.
"Hmph!"
Seeing that Sarutobi Ryo was just a kid, the three Soragakure Ninja smirked.
There was no way a child could be stronger than an adult.
But as soon as their fists connected, they realized how wrong they were.
Bang!!
The moment their fists hit, a wave of raw power exploded from Sarutobi Ryo's fist, spreading through the enemy's entire body.
There was a series of cracking sounds as the enemy's arm broke into pieces.
The unstoppable fist slammed into the enemy's chest.
Then, the enemy's body, ribs shattered, flew through the air like a shooting star, crashing into a tree trunk seven or eight meters away before falling lifeless to the ground.
"!"
The other two enemies stared in disbelief at their fallen comrade.
They were so shocked they even stopped running.
The Sarutobi Clan was known for their incredible strength.
As the son of the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, Sarutobi Ryo had inherited that strength.
In the original story, Sarutobi Hiruzen had once used his staff to knock the Nine Tails out of Konoha, which showed just how strong he was.
"Puh...!"
But Sarutobi Ryo, who had thrown the punch, immediately coughed up a mouthful of blood and half-knelt on the ground, his insides in turmoil.
His body simply wasn't strong enough to handle that much power.
"He's finished, get him!"
Seeing Sarutobi Ryo spitting blood, the remaining two enemies cautiously pulled out their Kunai and charged at him.
Running away would be the smartest thing to do right now.
Sarutobi Ryo, still kneeling, raised his head, and his eyes shone with a fierce light.
"The so-called Will of Fire... is about protecting the people and things you care about. I... will never forget what I truly believe in!"
Sarutobi Ryo roared in a low voice, and his hands began to move, forming Hand Seals with incredible speed, showing another trait he had inherited from Sarutobi Hiruzen.
Being skilled in all Seven Chakra Attributes, the best solution right now was...
"Fire Release!"
In less than a second, Sarutobi Ryo completed the Hand Seals, and his chest began to expand.
He squeezed out the last of his strength, mixing it with his spiritual energy to create Chakra, the energy needed for Ninjutsu.
Overusing his physical strength to create Chakra could kill him; every ninja knew that.
But Sarutobi Ryo hated the twisting and betrayal of the Will of Fire even more than death.
Some things were worth dying for.
It was time... to live by the true Will of Fire!
"...Great Flame Technique!"
Scorching heat turned into a blazing wave.
Orange-red flames consumed everything, and amidst two screams, Sarutobi Ryo had won.
The effects of pushing his body too far quickly hit him.
His vision started to spin, and everything became blurry.
"Young Master!"
The blond girl's urgent voice seemed to echo in his ears.
Just as Sarutobi Ryo was about to pass out, a crystal clear voice suddenly rang out in his mind.
[The True Will of Fire!]
[System is Activating...!]
[System Loaded Successfully!]
[The Road of the Hokage! Will of Fire System!]