"Assemble!" The instructor's voice came from the front.
The students stood in formation one after another. Nobunaga and Might Duy stood side by side, waiting for a future that was unknown.
Sunlight fell upon them; in the distance, the flag of the Hokage Building fluttered in the wind.
The instructor stood on the platform, reading the list of graduation assignments.
Name after name was read, and student after student was assigned to different squads.
"Might Duy — Squad 7."
Might Duy turned his head, smiled at Nobunaga, and then ran toward his team.
"Senju Nobunaga — Squad 13."
Nobunaga walked toward his team.
Squad 13 stood in the corner of the Training Ground; it was a three-person squad.
The captain was a Chunin, looking to be in his twenties, with a scar on his face and heavy eyes.
The two teammates were ordinary Genin, one named Yamada and the other Tanaka.
They glanced at Nobunaga without any particular expression. Just an ordinary Senju orphan, nothing to pay attention to.
Nobunaga didn't care either.
He stood there, watching those young faces on the Training Ground, watching those boys and girls who were about to rush to the battlefield.
Many of them would not survive this year.
This was the most brutal period of the First Ninja World War. Konoha was fighting one against three, with Kumogakure, Iwagakure, and Hidden Mist attacking from all sides.
The Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama, would die in battle after the Kinkaku and Ginkaku rebellion.
Then followed a period of chaos, until the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, succeeded him.
Nobunaga withdrew his gaze.
He was pondering a question.
Before, he had thought too simply.
Thinking that having the surname Senju would mean this or that, thinking that having the bloodline would guarantee something.
But reality was not like that. The Senju Clan was large.
There were direct descendants like Tsunade, and fringe members like him. Status wasn't given by the system; it had to be earned by oneself.
He remembered his previous choice — to become Hokage, cultivate his own team, and use Konoha as a base to push for unification.
This path was not wrong, but he had overlooked one thing. He did not need to follow the established path.
He was a transmigrator. He had experienced three simulations.
He knew the direction of this era, knew who would die, who would live, knew which war would be won and which would be lost.
Wasn't this the greatest advantage?
Since that was the case — Nobunaga's eyes narrowed slightly.
To pacify the chaotic world and unify the Ninja World.
There was no need to follow other people's rules.
If it was going to burn, let this fire burn even brighter.
The instructor was still reading the list. The flag of the Hokage Building in the distance fluttered. The sun was intense.
Nobunaga stood there, watching those young faces, watching this Village struggling in the flames of war, watching that distant future he wanted to create.
This time, he would stand in front of everyone.
Truly stand in front of everyone!
"Nobunaga?"
Yamada beside him called out to him.
"Hm?"
"Let's go. The captain said to go to the Training Ground."
Nobunaga nodded and followed.
He did not walk fast. Each step was very steady. The sunlight fell on him, casting his shadow on the ground, stretching it long.
In the distance, Tsunade was leading her classmates toward the Training Ground.
Her ponytail swung back and forth behind her, and her voice drifted over: "Hurry up, hurry up, don't dawdle!"
The corners of Nobunaga's mouth twitched.
This era was still long.
Next, the school competition.
A simple ring was set up in the center of the Training Ground.
It was surrounded by people.
One hundred and twenty graduates, a dozen instructors, and the Jonin in the stands who had come to select people.
The sun was intense, pressing everyone's shadow into a small black patch at their feet.
Tsunade was the first to walk onto the stage.
She was dressed very formally today — the white Senju Clan outfit, a red sash tied around her waist, her golden ponytail tied higher than usual.
The sunlight fell on her, illuminating her entire being.
She stood in the center of the ring, hands on her hips, her chin slightly raised.
That posture was extremely like Senju Hashirama when he stood on the high platform to announce the founding of Konoha.
It was just that Hashirama was smiling, while she was grim-faced.
"Listen up."
Her voice was not loud, but every word carried an unquestionable force, "Today, I want to talk to you about the Will of Fire."
The crowd below quieted down.
Tsunade took a step forward.
"Grandfather said that Ninjas should not just be tools. He said that we must build a place where children don't have to go to the battlefield. He said that we must let all the Villages unite, to make war stop forever."
Her voice echoed over the Training Ground.
"Grandfather didn't achieve it. He died.
The Village is still at war.
Our fathers, mothers, brothers, and sisters are still dying on the battlefield."
Her voice began to tremble, but she did not stop.
"But — I have never forgotten what Grandfather said.
He said that the Will of Fire is not something one person can accomplish.
He said that as long as there are people willing to believe, it will be realized one day."
She raised her hand and pointed at everyone below the stage.
"So — you, me, everyone, must remember.
This Village was exchanged for with Grandfather's life. It was exchanged for with the blood of the Senju Clan.
It was exchanged for with the lives of everyone who died here."
Her eyes were red, but her voice was louder.
"We must protect it!"
The crowd below was silent for a long time.
Then someone started to applaud.
One, two, ten, one hundred.
The applause grew louder and louder, finally sounding as if it would overturn the entire Training Ground.
Tsunade stood on the stage, her chin raised even higher.
Around her stood a dozen or so Senju clansmen, all her cousins and distant relatives.
They surrounded her like knights guarding a princess.
"Lady Tsunade spoke so well!"
"As expected of Shodai(1st)-sama's granddaughter!"
Tsunade was surrounded in the middle, her face recovering that proud expression.
"That's for sure," she said, "I am Grandfather's granddaughter, after all."
Nobunaga stood at the edge of the crowd, watching this scene.
He watched as Tsunade was surrounded by those people and walked down from the ring, her ponytail swinging back and forth behind her.
He watched as she turned around and secretly wiped the corner of her eye with her sleeve.
The movement was fast, so fast that the people around her didn't notice.
Then she raised her chin again and continued walking forward.
He suddenly remembered the plot details about her.
In her childhood, Grandfather died.
In her youth, her younger brother died.
In her young adulthood, her lover also died.
In her middle age, all her clansmen died.
She survived alone, started drinking, started gambling, started wandering around.
She was called the "Legendary Sucker" all her life.
When did her belief collapse?
Was it when Nawaki died?
Was it when Kato Dan died?
Or even earlier — when Grandfather died, had it already begun?
Nobunaga didn't know. But he knew one thing.
This little girl standing on the stage, with red eyes shouting "We must protect it," and that woman who later stood in the Hokage Office, telling everyone "The Will of Fire will not be extinguished," were the same person.
It was just that there were too many deaths, too many losses, and too many dark nights she had carried through alone in between.
Nobunaga withdrew his gaze.
Then he took a step forward.
"I disagree."