I, Konoha’s Sage of Life

War was approaching.

The atmosphere grew heavy.

Asuma recalled Kyoichi’s sword slash that split the river. He never had much interest in swordsmanship, but at this moment, he fully realized just how vast the gap between him and his sensei truly was.

Even though they both practiced Wind Release-based taijutsu, he had yet to fully master Flying Swallow.

He needed to work even harder!

"Sensei, I—"

Before Obito could finish his sentence, he hesitated.

He had the distinct feeling that Kyoichi didn’t like him.

So, even though he wanted to speak, he wasn’t quite sure if he should.

Kyoichi cut him off before he could struggle any further.

"Obito, you don’t need to focus too much on training. Instead, spend more time reading—especially books on tactics, teamwork, and battlefield strategy. In small-scale missions, your teacher can cover for you and keep you safe, but that won’t be the case on the battlefield."

His tone was serious.

Before Obito’s descent into stupidity, he had at least been a little promising.

But…

With a brain like this?

Whether he had the Sharingan or not, he just couldn’t seem to think things through properly.

Good thing he wasn’t Kyoichi’s subordinate.

Obito’s face fell as he thought back to his Chūnin Exam performance. He realized that his tactical awareness was severely lacking—on a real battlefield, he could easily end up dragging his team down.

But where could he even find books like that?

"The Uchiha Police Force should have those kinds of books," Asuma reminded him.

Obito froze for a moment, then hesitated.

"Come find me later," Kyoichi said. "I’ll get you a basic one. I don’t expect you to understand complex battle tactics or lead troops, but at the very least, you need to know how to fight effectively on a battlefield and work with your teammates."

He understood Obito’s problem.

The Uchiha Police Force?

There was no way in hell Obito could just walk in and borrow books from them.

Aside from Shisui, most Uchiha barely tolerated him. And growing up with just his grandmother, he never really had access to these kinds of resources.

Of course…

Kyoichi didn’t say all of this out loud.

Obito looked at him with grateful eyes.

"Alright, make good use of your time. If war truly breaks out, forget about just getting promoted to Chūnin—if you’re quick, you might even reach Jōnin in no time."

Kyoichi gave him a word of encouragement.

His own Chūnin promotion had been due to war, after all.

The promotion system in wartime was completely different from in peacetime.

If this were the era of the Konoha 12, he might have still been a Genin.

Of course…

That was if he had stuck to the original strength of his past self.

Right now, Kyoichi was a true elite Jōnin—and no one could argue otherwise.

---

Meanwhile, the Daimyō had arrived in Konoha, filled with curiosity.

Although he had visited Konoha after taking office, the frequent wars in recent years had kept him away. This was his first time back in a long while.

But he wasn’t just here for sightseeing.

Kyoichi had already guessed his intentions.

From their conversation earlier—combined with the presence of the Twelve Guardian Ninja—it was obvious that the Daimyō was considering establishing his own personal ninja force. His attempt to recruit Kyoichi had been proof of that.

However…

That was a massive trap.

Unless he was the Hokage’s son, stepping into that pit meant ruining his future in Konoha. Once he left, he’d never be able to make any real contributions to the village again.

Kyoichi wasn’t aiming for the Hokage position, but he had his own vision for Konoha.

If he didn’t, he wouldn’t have invested so much effort into training Shisui and Asuma.

So…

Only an idiot would accept the Daimyō’s offer.

---

Returning home, Kyoichi spotted Asuma waiting at his doorstep.

"Huh…"

This kid…

Not bad!

Kyoichi didn’t say much. He simply opened the door and gestured for Asuma to come in.

Asuma grinned and stepped inside. Once inside, he scratched his head and asked somewhat sheepishly, "Sensei, I was just curious… what exactly did you and the Daimyō talk about?"

"Nothing much. He asked about the Senju Clan and my grandmother—just some trivial matters." Kyoichi didn’t elaborate.

He glanced at Asuma. This kid seemed unusually interested in the Daimyō, which meant he probably had some thoughts about it.

So, Kyoichi added, "You should stop overthinking it. The Daimyō has nothing to do with you, and you shouldn’t try to interact with him too much."

"Sensei, do you think the Daimyō has an interest in you?" Asuma asked in a hushed tone.

After thinking it over, Asuma had realized the Daimyō’s true intention.

Stopping for a break?

That was just an excuse. The real reason was Kyoichi.

"Don’t ask. If you have to ask, it just means you haven’t understood. In Konoha, I can lead squads into battle and prevent unnecessary casualties. If I go over there, I’d be protecting a single person. What’s the point of that?"

"Yeah… That’s true…"

Asuma understood immediately.

In Konoha, his sensei was a Jōnin—highly valued and respected. But if he went to serve under the Daimyō, what could he really do?

Train a ninja unit of his own?

Not realistic.

Even though Asuma couldn’t quite articulate why, he instinctively felt that the idea was ridiculous—completely unfeasible.

In that case, staying in Konoha made far more sense.

And more importantly…

It wasn’t just about sensei. As Kyoichi had pointed out, even he had no real reason to interact with the Daimyō.

There was nothing they could accomplish over there.

Sure, the Daimyō was important—but what was even more important wasn’t a single individual, but rather Konoha and the entire Land of Fire as a whole.

Daimyōs and Hokages could be replaced if they died, but if the nation itself collapsed, then everything would be lost.

The Will of Fire…

If that was the true essence of the Will of Fire, Asuma felt like he could finally understand it.

"Sensei, I’m going to go train with my Flying Swallow technique!"

"Go ahead."

Kyoichi waved him off.

Ever since learning Flying Swallow, Asuma had taken an instant liking to it. Now that the exams were over, he had put aside training in Wind Release and Fire Release ninjutsu and was completely focused on mastering this taijutsu technique.

Kyoichi didn’t interfere.

Flying Swallow suited Asuma well.

He split off a shadow clone and sent it to Tsunade’s place, while he himself sat down and opened up the Second Hokage’s Kenjutsu Notes.

He had already made progress integrating Wind Release into his swordsmanship.

His previous instant kill strike against the Kirigakure Jōnin had been the result of fusing the Vacuum Blade technique with Iaijutsu.

However…

His strongest affinities were still Water Release and Earth Release.

There was no way to incorporate Earth Release into his swordsmanship, but the Second Hokage was a master of Water Release—surely, there would be something on that subject.

And sure enough—

"Water Blade Slash"

It was originally meant to be used with kunai, but theoretically, it could be adapted for sword techniques as well.

That said…

Its power was underwhelming.

It needed improvements.

"I wonder if I can integrate the high-pressure compression principles of Water Severing Wave… If I can refine Water Release chakra through multiple layers of compression and release it in a concentrated high-pressure water slash, it should be viable."

Kyoichi contemplated the idea.

It would be incredibly difficult.

Compressing chakra was already an advanced skill that required exceptional chakra control. Merging it with kenjutsu—and making it seamless and without hand seals—would be even harder.

However…

It wasn’t impossible. He just had to tackle it one step at a time.

After reviewing everything, Kyoichi glanced at his system interface.

It seemed like his little conversation with Asuma had earned him a reward.

[Mission Complete: "Teaching the Will of Fire"]

[Evaluation: Excellent]

[Reward: Wind Release Chakra Mode]

Teaching the Will of Fire?

Kyoichi was momentarily confused.

All he did was explain a few things to Asuma—he never even mentioned the Will of Fire!

What the hell did this kid imagine on his own…?

"Eh, whatever. Doesn’t matter. Let’s check out the technique first."

Kyoichi shook his head, not wanting to dwell on it.

If Asuma was going to imagine things, at least it was better for him to imagine the Will of Fire than something completely absurd—like going to serve under the Daimyō.

He claimed the reward.

As soon as he absorbed the memories, he froze for a moment.@@novelbin@@

This mode…

It was actually quite useful!

Because it made him think of Earth Spear.

The only drawback of Earth Spear was its weakness to Lightning Release. But since Wind Release counters Lightning Release, if he activated Wind Release Chakra Mode, he could reinforce Earth Spear with Wind Chakra.

With this…

Even Lightning Release wouldn’t be able to harm him so easily.