I, Konoha’s Sage of Life

"The matter of forbidden techniques—we'll discuss it in detail later."

The Third Hokage sighed.

He was starting to get a sense of what was going on.

Kyoichi had been deeply involved in this field lately.

First, he submitted the Breath Activation Technique as part of his debt repayment. Now, he was demonstrating applications of Super Strength Technique—even though the latter wasn’t being widely promoted, the intent was clearly similar.

Forbidden techniques weren’t completely off-limits; it was just a matter of timing.

"Understood!"

Kyoichi nodded.

With the Third preoccupied, he no longer had the patience to watch the rest of the exam.

At this point, the results were already clear. Even without the third round, he already had a mental shortlist of who would advance.

Might Guy. Kurenai Yūhi.

By all rights, he should include Shisui as well, though Kurenai wasn’t entirely up to par yet. However, two things stood out—

First, that final kick of hers left quite an impression.

Second…

Shisui was just too young.

He had only just turned five years old.

A genius, no doubt.

But…

"The tallest trees catch the most wind."

The shinobi world didn’t have this exact phrase, but the meaning was the same.

The Third Hokage was an old hand at politics.

If he wanted to suppress the Uchiha, he could very well push Shisui's promotion, heavily publicize his record-breaking achievements, and even promote Obito alongside him.

Obito…

Apart from being a bit thick-headed, he was already at the level of a Chūnin in terms of combat ability.

With a few manipulative moves, the more foolish members of the Uchiha clan would be eager to rush forward in the coming years… straight to their own demise.

But…

He actually liked Shisui.

This child was the descendant of Uchiha Kagami and had now adopted the Will of Fire under Kyoichi's tutelage. He was kind-hearted, reserved, and unlike the other Uchiha.

If they could protect him, there might still be hope for the Uchiha clan.

With these thoughts in mind, the Third exhaled deeply, having made up his mind.

This arrangement was for the best.

After further consideration, he was relieved that Asuma hadn’t made it to the final rounds. If Asuma had performed well and Kurenai had already secured a spot, what would he have done? Recommend Asuma just because he was his own son?

The Third refocused on the battle.

Then, his brows furrowed slightly.

"How did Shisui get eliminated?"

"Lord Hokage, after eliminating Nohara Rin and Shiranui Genma, Shisui attempted to assassinate Ebisu using his Body Flicker and kenjutsu. However, he was affected by Kurenai's genjutsu. Though he broke free in time, he was ultimately taken out by Raido Namiashi."

Nara Shikaku answered promptly, his response strictly factual, without any personal bias.

The Third Hokage paused for a moment, then a strange smile appeared on his face.

On paper, Kurenai’s team had superior overall strength, but reality wasn’t that simple.

Might Guy had already charged in earlier, severely injuring Ebisu and forcing Kurenai to reveal her trump card.

So…

If Shisui had played the long game, Kurenai, having already expended a significant amount of chakra and stamina, would’ve had zero chance of victory.

And yet?

He had chosen to assassinate Ebisu, someone who had just been healed and wasn’t even a major threat.

Tactically speaking, it was an absurd decision.

A Chūnin-level shinobi exchanging lives with a mere Genin—a downright foolish trade.

Someone… didn’t actually want to win.

How… interesting.

The Third Hokage gazed at Shisui, feeling both admiration and unease.

A prodigy!

Looking at him, the Third saw the shadow of Fugaku—no, Shisui was even more talented than Fugaku.

But…

What if, one day, he followed in Madara's footsteps?

Would he become another nightmare?

The Third Hokage rubbed his temples, feeling another headache coming on.

"The third round will take place in a few days. Invite the Daimyō to observe. Let him see the strength of Konoha’s new generation and put his mind at ease."

The Third spoke quietly to Shikaku.

Shikaku nodded slightly.

Kyoichi didn’t need to eavesdrop to know what was being discussed.

The final roster was already decided.

The third round was just a glorified exhibition match—he couldn’t be bothered to concern himself with how it was structured.

As for the final selections…

He could already guess.

Aside from those who had intentionally underperformed, three stood out the most:

Asuma, Might Guy, and Kurenai.

Three into two…

But since Asuma hadn’t made the top five, and considering he was the Hokage’s son, his chances were slim.

---

Meanwhile…

"Hey, Shinku! Your daughter really takes after Lady Tsunade, huh?"

"Yeah, absolutely!"

"Wow, maybe she’ll be one of the next Legendary Three!"

"Uh…"

On the way back, several shinobi greeted Yūhi Shinku with enthusiastic comments.

Returning from his Chūnin-level training, Yūhi Shinku looked utterly confused.

But…

He had a good guess as to what had happened.

Most likely, his daughter had successfully pulled off that move—making a splash in the exam. And if she had also demonstrated medical ninjutsu, then she must have really impressed everyone.

A Chūnin promotion was practically guaranteed.

Great news!

He was ecstatic.

And he couldn’t help but feel deep gratitude toward Kyoichi.

Shinku understood that, while his own genjutsu skills were decent, they were nothing compared to the Uchiha. His daughter, meanwhile, wasn’t quite at his level either. If she only focused on genjutsu, her potential would be limited.

But beyond that, he had nothing else to teach her.

Yet, unexpectedly, Kyoichi provided everything he couldn’t.

"I need to find a way to properly thank him!"

---

Inside the Hokage’s Office…

"Kurenai did well. Initially, I thought she would purely develop her genjutsu skills, but I didn’t expect you to train her as a medical ninja as well."

The Third Hokage gestured for Kyoichi to take a seat.

After a brief pause, he sighed, "I used to think I was a pretty good teacher. But ever since you started training students, I realized I have little to be proud of."

"You're too modest, Lord Hokage. The Three Sannin are renowned across the ninja world—who doesn’t know their name?"

Kyoichi shook his head.

The Third fell silent.

He wasn’t sure whether Kyoichi was being passive-aggressive or just genuinely complimenting him.

After a few seconds, he decided not to dwell on it.

"Orochimaru was the only one I truly put effort into training. Jiraiya learned from Mount Myōboku, and Tsunade… well, she had the Senju bloodline backing her. In the end, I really only produced one disciple."

The Third Hokage stopped mid-sentence.

"You trained elite soldiers; I handled large-scale education—special times call for special methods. It’s not a fair comparison. Any one of the Three Sannin is irreplaceable."

Kyoichi remained humble.

However…

He hadn’t expected such an explosive opening to this conversation.

Frankly speaking—

The Third had practically laid his pride on the floor and was waiting to be stepped on.@@novelbin@@

But now wasn’t the time for that.

"He's getting old. His emotions are running high."

The Third sighed, shaking his head.

Then, lighting his pipe, he asked, "What are your thoughts on forbidden techniques?"

"Not all forbidden techniques should be off-limits. Lord Second didn't develop so many jutsu just for them to be locked away—his goal was to strengthen Konoha and protect the village."

"Forbidden techniques should be categorized by risk level and, under voluntary conditions, discreetly introduced to a small, controlled group first."

Kyoichi spoke slowly and deliberately.

The Third Hokage fell silent.

It wasn’t that he hadn’t considered this before—but how does one define risk?

Each individual's circumstances were different.

As if anticipating his doubts, Kyoichi continued,

"As long as a technique can be safely controlled, doesn’t cause permanent harm, and doesn't impair combat ability, I believe it has value in being promoted. For now, the usage should be limited to Tokubetsu Jōnin and Jōnin."

The reasoning was simple: these ranks were composed of experienced, skilled shinobi with proven loyalty. They were far less likely to be spies from rival villages.