I, Konoha’s Sage of Life

"Kyoichi-sama."

"Ōnoki is about to launch an attack. Let's try again."

"Uh..."

Roshi's brow furrowed slightly when he heard the subtle sound.

Try again?

He was puzzled for a moment. Then, he saw the door outside being pushed open as Kyoichi walked in.

Roshi understood.

They wanted to extract intelligence from him?

He remained silent. Only when he was escorted out of the camp and brought to the familiar mountain did he finally speak.

"I know the Yamanaka clan of Konoha can extract fragments of memory, but if you're expecting me to willingly give up information, you can keep dreaming."

"That's just the official narrative." Kyoichi spoke calmly. "In reality, I just wanted to have a private conversation with you."

Roshi couldn't quite figure out his intent, but his guard was raised even higher.

"A senior in my clan was once a jinchūriki as well. She used to say that living as a jinchūriki is never easy. They must endure more darkness—not just from the tailed beast, but from people as well."

"Uh..."

Roshi was momentarily lost in thought.

The treatment of jinchūriki in Iwagakure wasn't the worst, but it wasn't great either. At the very least, under Ōnoki’s leadership, they had never suffered a full-scale tailed beast rampage.

However...

He had heard of the incidents in Kumogakure and Sunagakure, where tailed beasts had gone berserk.

The jinchūriki that came after were often treated with hostility by ignorant villagers, feared and hated as if they were monsters.

Thinking of this, a sense of shared resentment welled up inside him. With a sneer, he said, "Those people don’t dare face the tailed beasts, but they have no problem bullying the ones keeping them in check... How ridiculous!"

"Exactly. You protect them, yet they turn their greatest hostility toward you. They act arrogant in front of you, and in those moments, they suddenly find the courage they never had before—as if they're no longer afraid of the power of the tailed beasts."

Kyoichi chuckled coldly.

"Do you know why?"

Roshi thought for a moment, then shook his head.

"Because jinchūriki are still human. And humans, at their core, tend to be kind. That’s why they’re not afraid."

Kyoichi added with a smirk, "Oh, and that’s something my clan's senior once said as well."

Roshi frowned and mulled over those words.

The more he thought about them, the more he realized this "senior" of Kyoichi’s was a person of great wisdom—and also a jinchūriki.

A trace of respect rose within him as he asked, "May I know this senior’s name?"

"There’s no need to keep it a secret. Konoha’s jinchūriki lineage has always been passed down within the same bloodline. Her name was Uzumaki Mito, and I carry the blood of the Senju."

"So it was her."

Roshi had certainly heard of her.

Uzumaki Mito.

The wife of Senju Hashirama—this was what she was best known for.

But to think that she also spoke such words of wisdom… No wonder she was the wife of the God of Shinobi!

Roshi felt genuine admiration.

"Can you tell me more about her? I won’t betray my village, but I can exchange my own research in return."

Roshi offered.

"Of course."

Kyoichi accepted without hesitation.

After all, there were countless famous sayings in his past life.

Every one of them could be attributed to Uzumaki Mito!

After a brief pause, he continued:

"She had a dream—that jinchūriki would one day receive the respect they deserve.

She had a dream—that one day, a jinchūriki could become the leader of a village.

She had a dream—that one day, the shinobi world would no longer need jinchūriki, and peace would prevail."

"Uh…"

Roshi was shaken.

Every one of those dreams was grand, encompassing the plight of all jinchūriki rather than just her own.

He had never considered such ideals before.

When he was discriminated against, all he thought about was himself.

Compared to her, he felt utterly lacking.

With a sigh, Han muttered, "As expected of the God of Shinobi’s wife—she was just as noble as him. I doubt I could ever reach that level of enlightenment. Her dream… no, it wasn’t realized, was it?"

"It was too difficult. Even the first dream wasn’t achieved—not even in Konoha. As someone who inherits her will, I want to change this, but in Konoha, I can’t."

Kyoichi spoke heavily.

Roshi let out a deep sigh.

"This… is nothing more than a dream. It’s impossible."

"That depends on people’s efforts."

Kyoichi didn’t press the conversation any further. Instead, he leaned back and found a place to sit, looking as if he was truly just taking a break.

Leave it at that.

He had already steered Roshi's thoughts in the desired direction. Any more words would be redundant—it was better to let Han reflect on his own.

A stubborn man like him would only trust his own conclusions.

Roshi's mind was in turmoil. He wasn’t naive enough to believe Kyoichi had no ulterior motives, but the words still resonated with him.

Jinchūriki should receive the respect they deserve…

Yes!

That was his very own belief!

He might not be as profound or selfless as Uzumaki Mito, but he was willing to fight for this cause.

With newfound resolve, Han said, "You possess the chakra of the Four-Tails. As an exchange, I’ll share my research on Lava Release with you."

"No need. I was just speaking my mind. And if you ever return to Iwagakure or even defect, and you manage to accomplish what I spoke of—that would be the greatest reward."

Kyoichi sighed.

"No, this is my promise. Besides… I could never accomplish that much."

As Roshi spoke, he began explaining the principles of Lava Release.

He truly had mastered it.

Although he had derived it from analyzing the tailed beast’s abilities, he had still achieved full mastery. And now, he was openly sharing his knowledge—explaining the intricacies of its usage.

Kyoichi couldn’t help but recall a classic phrase from his past life—

"Look at that! He’s even thanking me for it!"

And that wasn’t all.

[Objective Completed: "Guidance on Life Ideals"]

[Evaluation: Excellent]

[Reward: Tailed Beast Transformation]

Tailed Beast Transformation…

He had already attempted it once before. What was the point of this reward?

Curious, Kyoichi quietly claimed the reward.

While listening to Roshi's explanation of Lava Release, he simultaneously examined the effects of the reward. After reviewing it, he understood.

This reward strengthened his ability to control tailed beast chakra!

Unfortunately…

Roshi was too stubborn. If not for invoking Uzumaki Mito’s name, the outcome wouldn’t have been nearly as effective. And because of that, part of the "reward" had been siphoned off to Mito.

Technically speaking, Roshi should now see Kyoichi as his life mentor.

Well, you win some, you lose some.

Kyoichi consoled himself. But after a moment, he didn’t mind as much.

Because upon reflection, Roshi's abilities were already quite limited. There wasn’t much else to exploit from him. Losing a reward wasn’t a big deal.

Besides…

Roshi had willingly given up his Lava Release techniques!

As Kyoichi listened, he began to ponder.

He didn’t possess Fire or Earth chakra, but could he store borrowed tailed beast chakra and release it when needed?

Perhaps it was possible.

However…

If he wanted to do that, a single Yin Seal wouldn’t be enough.

Kyoichi felt a bit regretful.

The Yin Seal was unique—it couldn’t be replicated elsewhere on the body. That meant he only had one storage pool for chakra.

If that limitation didn’t exist, he’d have considered creating multiple storage seals.

After Roshi finished explaining, Kyoichi didn’t immediately escort him back. He truly allowed him to "take a break" for half an hour. Only when ANBU arrived did he finally return Roshi to the main camp for sealing.

Roshi didn’t resist.

It seemed he had truly found a sense of direction. Even as he was being taken away, he remained deep in thought—like a scholar contemplating a profound idea.

Kyoichi had no idea which path Roshi would choose.

But…

No matter which direction he took, the outcome would ultimately work against other villages.

Konoha’s jinchūriki might not have complete freedom, but at most, Kushina would only be barred from becoming Hokage.

Love and friendship, however, were things she had in abundance.

She was happy.

No matter how one looked at it, Roshi would never do something that would put Konoha in danger.

They couldn’t just release him.

If they sent him back, Ōnoki would undoubtedly be suspicious. Keeping him locked up until the war was over was the best option.

Kyoichi left the camp and resumed patrolling the border.

"Kyoichi-sama, those things you said to the jinchūriki… were they really Mito-sama’s words?"

An ANBU member caught up with him.

Naturally, Kyoichi hadn’t taken Roshi out alone—there had always been ANBU watching from the shadows.

Kohinata Mukai had activated his Byakugan and remained stationed in case Roshi tried to escape, though Roshi's chakra had been drained so he hadn’t noticed.

Mukai was deeply moved by the conversation. Even now, he was still reflecting on it.

"Hmm? Why do you ask?"

"Those ideas apply to more than just jinchūriki. The Hyūga clan’s branch members also long for respect.

No one wants to live under a caged bird seal, where their life can be taken at any moment."

Mukai sighed.

Kyoichi was the only person he could confide in.

Respect, leadership, a world where the branch family was no longer needed—many of "Mito’s" ideals resonated with the Hyūga clan’s struggles.

Hearing them had stirred something deep within him.

"Think of it this way—it could be Mito-sama’s words, or it could be Hashirama-sama’s."

Kyoichi smiled.

Philosophical speeches… It didn’t really matter who said them. What mattered was the truth behind them.

Mukai immediately understood.

So it was all Kyoichi-sama’s words!

He was filled with admiration and bowed deeply.

Then, with a sigh, he said, "I thought I had secretly learned a lot. But now I realize—I’ve only scratched the surface of your wisdom."

"Not at all. I just have a little knowledge in many areas. If you ask me to go deeper, I wouldn’t have much to offer."

Kyoichi’s words were sincere.

But no one believed him—certainly not Mukai.

Kyoichi took the opportunity to check on Mukai's progress in learning sealing techniques.

Mukai didn’t hide anything and honestly explained the issues he had encountered recently. Kyoichi helped solve a few of his problems, and Mukai was sincerely grateful.

Unfortunately, he still didn’t offer anything in return.

Kyoichi sighed but wasn’t too surprised.

Mukai's biggest concern remained the Hyūga clan’s branch family and his own personal situation. Until he fully mastered the Four Symbols Seal, he wouldn’t truly open his heart and regard Kyoichi as a mentor.

However…

At least there was no longer any risk of him betraying the village and leaking information to other villages as he had in the original timeline.

Back then, he had done so because he had no hope.

But now, Kyoichi and Tsunade had given him hope.

He had no reason to act against the village anymore.

Though he empathized with the branch family’s struggles, he wasn’t a branch member himself.

Kyoichi shifted his focus back to the Iwa-nin.

For the past few days, Ōnoki had been focused on fortifying their defenses. By now, their stronghold was practically impenetrable, with a dense arrangement of outposts and sentries. Infiltrating and assassinating key targets would be extremely difficult.

At that moment, Mukai spoke up.

"Kyoichi-sama, I conducted some reconnaissance yesterday and discovered that the Iwa-nin are not the ones manning the front lines. Most of the dangerous fortifications were actually built by Kusagakure."

"Hah, not surprising. Ōnoki is nothing like our Hokage."

Kyoichi chuckled.

Mukai remained silent.

Although he agreed completely, this wasn’t a topic he could openly discuss.

"The reason Kusa-nin can keep switching sides is simply that no one bothers to deal with them. But when the major powers on both sides decide to act, the only thing they’ll be able to do is choose where to scatter their seeds."

"The Kusagakure used to have a choice."

Mukai pondered this statement, comparing it to his own experiences, and felt an understanding emerge.

If Kusagakure had genuinely allied with Konoha from the start, the final outcome could have been very different.

Kyoichi’s strategy wouldn’t have unfolded the way it did.

A counterattack?

That was just a way to pressure the Kusa-nin into submission.

Mukai didn’t know what Kyoichi’s real plan was, but he was sure of one thing—he definitely wouldn’t launch an all-out assault on the Land of Earth.

"Let's go. At most, in two days, Ōnoki won't be able to hold back any longer."