Welcome to the Will of Fire, part two. My name is Alley McNally. I hope that you will enjoy this story. This fanfic was started back in 2014 and is still continuing to this day. I just wrapped up part one the few moments ago. Now I am starting with the prologue of part two. If you haven't read the story before I encourage you to stop here and go back to the beginning of part one. I will not be recapping what happened in the first part of the story. If you want to know what happened then please go ahead and read it. I bet you will have a great time!

This story is part two of a three part story that is published every week. The chapters are kept short to allow me to post more frequently. I find that two pages is a manageable length for me. There are a few exceptions where a chapter is four or five pages long, but they are the exception to the rule. Please note that as you read the story. It is not a accident that they are so short. If they are too short for your taste, please wait a week or two before reading. That should work a lot better for you. I don't mind so long as you are enjoying the story.

So, I have talked long enough. Lets get this prologue going!

THE WILL OF FIRE

PART TWO

Prologue - A New Beginning

Minato Namikaze sat alone in his office looking over this year's crop of genin. It was a bit early but he couldn't help himself. This year was special for him. This year his son was finally old enough to graduate! Naruto had grown so much since he had started at the Academy. He had made his father proud several times over. Naruto was honest and hard working. He cared about his village and his fellow students. He had overcome adversity to become the fine young man that he was today. Sure, he was still a pain in the ass for his father but that didn't mean that he wouldn't make a fine shinobi. Minato just knew that he would. It might be stupid, but he couldn't help it.

Of course, Naruto had fair share of his challenges ahead of him. He wasn't the best student. He was far too much like his mother to be one. His grades were consistently poor throughout school. It didn't seem to matter how much extra tutoring Minato gave him - Naruto was just bad at school. After several tutors and countless failures Minato had given up. None of them understood his son and how he thought. They simply couldn't bring out Naruto's hidden potential. It was frustrating to say the least!

In the end they were forced to take care of the tutoring themselves. Few understood Naruto the way his family did. They managed to get things out of Naruto what the tutors failed to do. It wasn't easy but they succeeded. Naruto's grades improved slightly. It wasn't much but it was a step in the right direction. If Minato had more time Naruto could have improved his scores even more. Sadly, he could only spare so much of his time. Instead, he had defer to Kushina and Kakashi for most of it.

Fortunately, Kushina understood Naruto even better than anyone else. She was willing to push Naruto farther without hesitating. Minato always worried about his son getting hurt. It held him back just enough not to be as effective as he needed to be. He just couldn't push Naruto the way he pushed his students. Kushina did not have that problem. She put him through his paces everyday after school. Pushing him to try harder and believe in himself. It was key to their son's mild success.

The council never approved her full return to duty. As result, Kushina went on only a few missions per year. Getting even that approved took a monumental effort on Minato's part. They never saw her any more than a jinchuriki and the wife of the Hokage. Something that infuriated Minato to no end. Sure, he didn't want his wife to go out on dangerous missions, but she was an accomplished shinobi. She deserved to be treated that way. Minato hated watching her being a prisoner of the village. She deserved so much more. Sadly, there was only so much that he could do. He couldn't change the fact what she was.

In fact, if it wasn't for her role in ending the Uchiha crisis she may have never been allowed to return to active duty at all. She had proven herself once again. Kushina made it possible to end the coup before it got truly bloody. She became the glue that cemented the shaky alliance together. Kushina was a true hero of the Leaf. Even the council had to admit that. She deserved their respect. She wasn't just a weapon. She was a woman of great character.

One of these days Minato vowed to find a way to get rid of the pests. They wielded far too much power and bickered far too much for his taste. Often they were an impediment to fulfilling his duties, not an aid. He did not understand why Lord Third kept them around. Then again they were from a different generation than himself. Perhaps there was something he was missing about them.

Minato shook his thoughts off. He was supposed to plan this year's genin squads. The exams had not been given yet. So, the final order would be different, but he could get an idea of what he wanted a head of time. He did have a list of students expected to pass. Which was a huge help. He had also taken the time to personally observe each hopeful. Even if it was only for a few minutes. Allowing him to compose his own list of likely graduates. Most were from a prominent clan, but there were a few exceptions: such as Sakura Haruno. She was impressive to say the least. She could become a great shinobi.

There was also a list of questionable candidates. Which his son was on. A fact that brought Minato no joy. He couldn't ignore the fact that his son may not pass. Naruto had already taken the graduation exam three times already. Each time he failed. If Minato said that it wasn't embarrassing then he would be a liar. He was the Yellow Flash and the Fourth Hokage. It was slightly humiliating that his son lacked his raw talent. It was understandable, but frustrating all the same. Minato just wanted his son to achieve his dreams. It would help if he could manage to get a B. That would be nice.

Minato truly believed that his son would succeed outside of the classroom. It was in his nature. He didn't learn from textbooks or demonstrations. He learned from doing; through trial and error. Something the Academy did not excel at. Once Naruto got out there he would prosper. Only Minato had to get him there. Which was proving difficult to say the least. Naruto was his own worst enemy.

Still, he had done the best that he could for him. Whether Naruto passed or failed was in his hands now. Minato could do very little for him now. The test was mere hours away. He hoped against hope that this time Naruto would finally pass. That he would not have to remain in the Academy for another year. For this was the final round of tests for this year. If he failed now he would have no further chances. Naruto would have to wait. His friends would go on without him. A fate Minato did not want for his son. He wanted him to pass and become a shinobi. That way he could finally chase his dreams. Only, that was looking less and less likely to happen.

Minato pushed that thought out of his mind. Naruto would pass this year. He had to! That was the only thought that his father could allow himself. All others were a waste of time. There was no point in worrying now. Naruto would do fine. The rest would not help Naruto succeed. Which was more important than anything else right now.

He looked down at reports on his desk. They broke down each candidate's strengths and weaknesses. This year was proving to a year full of potential. He fully expected the students to achieve great things. Next to them was the information on the jonin he planned to use this year. They were a diverse group of shinobi, but somehow he had to make sense of it all. Some were easy: Shikamaru Nara, Ino Yamanaka, and Choji Akimichi would be on the same team under Asuma Sarutobi as tradition. Others such as his son were not so easy. Naruto would need to have a rival to grow stronger. As much as his father detested fighting Naruto would prosper with it. He thrived on challenge and conflict. A good rival would help him achieve amazing things.

Minato had noticed that the Uchiha boy could foster that kind of growth. Not a day went by when Naruto didn't obsess over Sasuke. He wanted to beat the Uchiha and prove his worth. It was stupid since Naruto had his strengths that the Uchiha boy would never have. Only his son failed to see it. It was true that Sasuke was skilled and powerful or his age, but he lacked a need for help others. Which would make a great leader. He would not be as great of a shinobi as his son would one day be. Naruto would become amazing. Minato believed this with all his heart. After, he was his father.

Minato chuckled to himself. While he liked Sasuke and believed that he would become splendid in his own way he couldn't rid himself of that view. He couldn't stop himself from seeing Naruto that way. He was far too close to the boy to remain objective. It was one of the many dangers of becoming a father. Something Minato never regretted, not even for a second. It did hinder his efforts to pick Naruto's team though. For Minato had a hard time forcing himself to think of the team's future growth. He found that Naruto was his main concern. That had to end soon.

It was the same parental instincts that drove his choice for sensei. He wanted the very best sensei to bring out Naruto's full potential. One that could push him and relate to Naruto in a way that few in the village could. His sensei would have to have little fear of harming the Hokage's son while simultaneously be a shield to protect Naruto from his enemies. Meaning that the list was extremely short indeed. Minato could trust few to protect his son while out on missions. If anyone found out who his father was then Naruto was as good as dead. For Naruto would be beyond his reach. He would find out about the threat far too late to do anything about it.

Naruto was far too young to hold his own against the horde of enemies that Minato had created over the years. His son was far too green and foolish; a deadly combination out there. A weakness that they would be all too happy to exploit. It may be nearly impossible to harm the Leaf's Hokage, but they could kill his son. Something that kept Minato up at night. He needed to ensure his son's safety out there. Along with his growth as a shinobi. If he didn't then he would be handing his son over to his enemies. That was something that Minato would not do.

All this meant that there was only one shinobi that he could entrust his son's life to. Only one shinobi that would push Naruto to new heights. Only one shinobi who would die before allowing harm to come to the boy. For that shinobi was practically family. And Naruto was practically his little brother. That shinobi was the one and only Kakashi Hatake.

Well, that's about it. Chapter one will be posted in just a moment. If you enjoy this please let me know. See you in a moment!