I, Konoha’s Sage of Life

"The northern part of the Land of Rivers and the western part of the Land of Rain—those are your potential targets. Only after that should you look eastward to the Land of Grass, the Land of Waterfalls, and similar nations."

"Go west and annex those small countries?"

Yahiko frowned.

But annexing them would surely draw unwanted attention, wouldn't it?

He was perplexed.

"Of course, you can't annex them. If you do, Sunagakure and Iwagakure won't let it slide. They'll come after you immediately," Kyoichi explained.

Yahiko and Konan were even more confused.

If annexing them wasn't an option...

The western countries like the Land of Birds were all small, without even a single ninja village. They had no real power. Besides annexation, he couldn't think of any other method.

"Have you ever considered helping them establish their own ninja villages?"

"Huh?"

Yahiko was stunned.

Help them build a ninja village?

What good would that do...

But at that moment, a flash of inspiration struck him, and he vaguely grasped something.

Konan frowned and said, "If we don't help them build villages, Amegakure can still take a share of the surrounding missions. But if they have their own villages, won't we lose those missions entirely?"

"Missions?"

Yahiko was momentarily taken aback, and then the flash of insight became clear.

Yes, missions!

These small countries didn't have their own ninja villages, so they had to take their commissions to the surrounding great nations. But if they had internal villages, the smaller tasks wouldn't need to be outsourced.

However...

With a small country's limited resources, they couldn't afford strong ninjas. Difficult missions would still have to be commissioned to external villages.

At that point, wouldn't Amegakure, which helped establish these villages, be their first choice?

Not like now...

With no ninja villages of their own, most of those missions went to Sunagakure and Iwagakure, with little benefit to Amegakure.

But...

"Would Sunagakure and Iwagakure agree to this?"

"Of course not. But during this wartime chaos, it's the perfect chance for you to act," Kyoichi said.

Iwagakure was preoccupied with war, and Sunagakure, having suffered a defeat, was licking its wounds.

As for Rasa...

He was probably off somewhere digging for gold.

"I understand your point completely now. First, help them establish ninja villages, then unite these small villages to form a coalition centered around Amegakure."

Yahiko clapped his hands in excitement. "Right! Once that's achieved, even larger villages like the one in the Land of Grass might willingly join the alliance."

"And the southern part of the Land of Rivers would be Sunagakure's compensation?"

Konan wasn't slow to catch on.

Kyoichi had only mentioned the northern part of the Land of Rivers, not the south. Clearly, Amegakure couldn't touch the southern part.

That could only mean...

"Not just that. The Land of Wind lacks water, while your Land of Rain and the Land of Rivers have it in abundance. You could find ways to channel water to them. Besides, most of Konoha's missions are also concentrated in the southern part of the Land of Rivers," Kyoichi explained.

Yahiko nodded repeatedly.

The southern part of the Land of Rivers was relatively wealthy, with most missions from Sunagakure and Konoha occurring in the south.

Amegakure could not possibly take it all. Otherwise, they would face not only Iwagakure and Sunagakure but also Konoha.

This plan, however, involved quietly supporting the small countries, linking them under Amegakure's leadership, and then negotiating for peace with the Land of Wind and the Land of Fire.

That way, they would only need to face the Land of Earth.

The more Yahiko thought about it, the more he felt that Kyoichi's plan was much better than his original idea of simply aligning with Sunagakure.

"When I returned, I thought I understood your words, but now I realize I was still only half-aware. Without your guidance, I might have made a huge mistake."

Yahiko couldn't help but sigh.

Thinking back, Hanzo's expression back then did seem a bit strange—perhaps he also thought Yahiko's plan wasn't very reliable.

However...

Hanzo had still given him a chance to try.

This moved him deeply.

And, of course...

There was also Kyoichi's subtle guidance.

Konan hesitated, wanting to ask something but unsure if she should.

"Konan, if you have a question, just ask. After all, I did learn a bit of origami from you—I've got a big debt to repay," Kyoichi joked.

At this time, Konan was truly beautiful.

Konan clicked her tongue and then asked seriously, "You're helping us so much—aren't you worried that if Amegakure grows strong, it could become a threat to Konoha?"

"That's a concern for the future. Right now, all four great nations want to take us down. We need to recruit as many allies as we can."

Kyoichi didn't hide his intentions. "Besides, when a new force rises in the ninja world, it might actually help maintain a balanced and relatively peaceful state."

"A balanced and relatively peaceful state?"

"As long as there are people, there will be conflict. Complete peace is unrealistic—unless there is an external force strong enough to dominate the entire world. Like, say... a powerful clan living on the moon."

Kyoichi's tone was half-joking.

Yahiko fell into deep thought.

The tangled thoughts in his mind began to unravel with Kyoichi's words.

The Land of Earth, the Land of Wind, the small country alliance.

The Land of Lightning, the Land of Water, the Land of Fire.

Each side balanced and countered the other, possibly creating a more stable situation.

He fully understood Kyoichi's vision.

After figuring it out, Yahiko couldn't help but admire him. "Your vision of peace is pragmatic and achievable. Unlike me, chasing an ideal of absolute peace that isn't realistic."

"Maybe. Right or wrong, you only know once you try."

"Truth comes from practice."

Kyoichi smiled.

Yahiko agreed wholeheartedly. He believed Hanzo thought the same—

Without trying, ideals would always remain just ideals.

"Thank you so much!"

"No need for that... By the way, Konan, I don't know how far you've developed your Paper Ninjutsu, but I have some ideas you might find useful."

Kyoichi handed over a scroll.

It contained all his knowledge on the Dance of the Shikigami, as well as concepts for the Divine Paper Jutsu and other applications.

Though it was just a compilation of Konan's future techniques, she likely hadn't fully mastered them at this stage.

Konan opened it, and her face lit up with joy.

Some of the jutsu aligned with her ideas but were far more refined. Especially the Dance of the Shikigami—she was still in the experimental phase, and Kyoichi's scroll would save her a lot of trial and error.

She bowed deeply, words unnecessary.

Yahiko and Konan left, with a newfound sense of direction.

Meanwhile, Kyoichi's shadow clone dispersed, and a flood of memories surged back into his mind, accompanied by a system prompt.

[Completed "Small Country Alliance" Policy Guidance]

[Evaluation: Excellent]

[Reward: Kenjutsu: Issen]

Kyoichi smiled.

To him, all he'd done was share his past life's insights, adapted to this world.

But for Yahiko and his team, it was an invaluable strategy.

If he had explained things in more detail, perhaps the evaluation would have been higher. Unfortunately, his previous life hadn't involved studying this sort of thing.

There were two more notifications, and he continued reading.

[Yahiko views you as a life mentor]

[Konan views you as...]

Yahiko's reward was the analysis of Rain Tiger at Will Technique.

Konan's reward was Paper Person of God.

To be honest...

He had expected Yahiko's reward to trigger, but he hadn't thought Konan would also acknowledge him.

On further thought, it made sense.

The most important people to Konan were Yahiko and Nagato.

He had helped them, given her the ninjutsu scroll, and helped her improve her strength. Of course, she would feel immense gratitude and recognition.

Unfortunately...

Kyoichi couldn’t teach his most advanced Water Release techniques. As for the simpler ones, Yahiko already knew them, so he could only offer a few casual pointers.

"I hope these three can hold their own." Kyoichi thought.

For now, he wasn’t ready to face Madara.

And besides...

If the alliance of the small nations succeeded, it could indeed stabilize the shinobi world, giving Konoha the breathing room it needed.

But he feared that the dragon slayer might become the dragon.

For now, things were still safe. As for the future, he believed his strength would not remain at its current level.

With this thought, Kyoichi cleared his mind and focused entirely on his clone's memories.

The intelligence on the Land of Earth!

The intel Yahiko had prepared detailed the current situation in the Land of Earth, including partial military deployments.

This must have been information from Amegakure's Anbu.

Hanzo truly valued Yahiko.

And it made sense.

If he didn’t value him, why would he allow Yahiko to execute a somewhat flawed plan?

Hanzo was confident he could back him up, letting Yahiko stumble while ensuring he wouldn’t truly fail.

He was grooming Yahiko as his successor!

After thinking for a moment, Kyoichi set a clear goal—

First, infiltrate the Land of Earth.

He would gather intelligence while considering his next moves.

After all, he had the freedom to make decisions on his own.

As long as he avoided a few critical points, the risks wouldn’t be too high.

"Owl, you can rest. I'll take the night watch."

"Y-Yes!"

Having received several new techniques, he needed time to study them. How could he sleep now?

Issen, Rain Tiger at Will Technique, and Paper Person of God.

The third technique was the most valuable, but also the simplest. Since its application was straightforward, it required almost no effort to master—it was ready to use immediately.

Issen wasn’t too complicated either.

But as for Rain Tiger at Will Technique...

This one only provided the analysis of the principle. Even if he fully recreated and mastered it, its practical use wasn’t that significant. After all, not every place had constant rain like the Land of Rain.

Kyoichi understood this well.

Its true value lay in its usage of chakra and sensory techniques.