One of the recurring themes in the Naruto series is The Will of Fire. It lays out the idea of loyalty, duty, and devotion to a homeland, and most specifically, it ties well with Konohagakure and its duty-bound citizens.

But most of all, it also puts them in jeopardy with the perilous journeys and suicide missions. Although the concept is as flawed as it gets, most fans might have been wrong all along regarding its progenitor.

Hashirama Senju in a still from the anime | Credit: Studio Pierrot

In particular, it wasn’t the First Hokage who started it all as most fans would think. The real torchbearer of the ideology is yet another legendary and goated Shinobi in the series. This also raises several questions regarding plot inconsistencies.

Especially, with the First Hokage’s death, most aspects of the series seem flatlined. While fans have put forth their theories, Kishimoto...