Will of Fire

The is a recurring element throughout the Naruto series. It is an ideal rooting from the belief of the Senju clan ancestor that love is the key to peace. It would eventually become the life philosophy Hashirama Senju lived by, which has since been passed on to many ninja from Konohagakure as a part of their spiritual heritage. It states that every true Konoha shinobi must love, believe, cherish and fight for the village's sake, as many previous generations had done before them. In Konoha, there is a sculpture of a flame in the cemetery representing this will, it has the kanji for inscribed on it. Hashirama was also depicted sitting on a throne-like chair with a similar sculpture in the background.

According to Hiruzen Sarutobi, this is what gives Konohagakure shinobi the strength to continue fighting against all odds, building willpower and strength of character. It is also symbolic of the hopes and dreams of the previous generation being passed to the next; for example when Asuma Sarutobi was killed, his hopes and dreams were passed to Shikamaru Nara, who asked that his will would in turn be passed on to his and Kurenai's unborn child.

This is also seen with the shinobi of the village identifying a which is simply anything or anyone they want to protect. When he was younger, Asuma Sarutobi was asked by his father who the 'King' was. Conflicted over whether it was the Daimyō of the Land of Fire or the Hokage he was unable to answer him. Much later in his life, Asuma came to view his then unborn child as his 'King'. Shikamaru later came to realise that the 'King' were the unborn generations of Konohagakure to come, and Konohamaru Sarutobi believes that they are the civilians of the village that cannot fight for themselves.

Trivia

 * According to Tobi, the Uchiha clan's is fated to clash against the Will of Fire, and he believes that Sasuke Uchiha and Naruto Uzumaki are destined to fight to the death.
 * Iwagakure has a similar philosophy known as the Will of Stone. However, their will only symbolizes their village, rather than their country.