I, Konoha's Sage of Life-Chapter 167 - A Tool Delivered to the Doorstep

Meanwhile, at the Shimura Clan residence—

In a secret room, Danzo and Shimura Kōhei sat facing each other in silence. After several seconds, Danzo finally spoke,

"Uchiha chose to submit. This outcome is far beyond what anyone expected. You're not to blame. You don't need to worry."

"Yes, but... what do we do next?"

Shimura Kōhei frowned.

While he didn't always agree with Danzo's methods, Danzo was the representative figure of the current Shimura generation. If their clan didn't back him, who else could they support?

He was well aware of Danzo's ambitions toward the Uchiha. Now, with Fugaku actively seeking rapprochement with Hiruzen Sarutobi — practically surrendering in a bid for peace —

there was no reason for the Third Hokage to refuse.

The outcome was inevitable.

Danzo's expression remained calm. He spoke naturally,

"The Uchiha are merely seeking temporary peace, buying time to gather strength. There's no way their clan will stay obedient."

"So?"

"We must tighten surveillance. But approaching Hiruzen about it is pointless. He's already been dazzled by Uchiha's sugar-coated gestures.

As for Tsunade... that woman and Kanda Kyoichi are cut from the same cloth. She'll never side with me."

Danzo narrowed his eyes and rose, walking toward the secret room's door.

Fortunately...

I still have Root.

"You're going now?"

Shimura Kōhei thought Danzo must be insane.

At this critical moment, trying to monitor the Uchiha?

Was he not afraid that Hiruzen would seize the opportunity to strip Root of its power?

He was genuinely worried about that.

In Shimura Kōhei's view, Hiruzen planned to step down after the Chunin Exams exactly to fish out troublemakers — so he could act as the villain and purge them in one move.

"Of course not. I have some other matters to take care of first."

Danzo didn't elaborate.

But...

Shimura Kōhei had been clan head for many years — how could he not understand?

Root's core members came from the Aburame and Yamanaka clans.

Only afterward did they take in orphans.

Now that the Aburame had secured positions within the Police Force, their future loyalties were in question. Danzo needed to consolidate his remaining allies.

But...

As for the Shimura Clan...

Were they really going to follow Danzo down this dark path?

Doubt gnawed at Kōhei's heart.

It wasn't that Danzo was incapable — the enemies were simply too strong.

Not even counting others —

just Kanda Kyoichi alone was a threat Danzo couldn't match.

After all...

Even Ōnoki had nearly died at Kyoichi's hands.

Danzo was certainly no stronger than Ōnoki — at best, they might be evenly matched.

Following Danzo... it was only a matter of time before they were dragged down with him.

---

Danzo's movements, however, didn't affect Kyoichi and Tsunade at all.

In the face of true power, Danzo's petty schemes were meaningless.

Besides, his real headache now wasn't Tsunade — it was the Uchiha's sudden "turn toward righteousness."

After obtaining Wood Release chakra, Kyoichi's mastery of Wood Release had made some progress.

After just one day of analysis, he could already stimulate plant growth.

The result—

"Kyoichi, I know you've made a breakthrough in Wood Release, but next time... could you not experiment with vines?

It's not exactly a pleasant sight to have them crawling all over the walls."

Tsunade sighed helplessly.

Early in the morning, she saw the courtyard covered in vines and instantly knew this kid must have succeeded — at least partially.

"Sorry, didn't expect my Wood Release chakra quality to be this good. It got a bit out of hand."

"How far have you gotten with it?"

"Wood Release is way harder than Ice or Lava Release. I've mastered part of it, but right now I can only stimulate existing plants. I still can't directly create them from nothing."

Kyoichi quickly formed a hand seal and extended his palm.

Tiny seedlings sprouted from his hand — but as soon as he stopped channeling chakra, they withered rapidly, completely different from the resilient vines climbing the walls.

"So... does this count as a success?"

"Hard to say. I'll monitor how long the vines survive first.

Plus, I need more experimental data.

More importantly, I have to find a way to lower the learning threshold — it's still a bit too difficult right now."

Farming and planting were definitely chores he'd assign to others later.

Kyoichi had no desire to end up like Yamato, dragged into agriculture every day.

"Still, that's impressive. You've made a breakthrough in such a short time..."

Tsunade sounded a little jealous.

She wished all her "a bit difficult" problems could be solved this easily.

"In the next couple of days, I'll write up my methods. You can try practicing them too.

We can study it together.

By the way, did you finish learning the chakra absorption technique?"

"I've been too busy..."

"Shadow clones! If you don't push yourself, and you call yourself a Senju? Look at me — my clones barely get any rest.

Leaving them idle is a waste!"

"Uh..." Tsunade's mouth twitched.

Kyoichi's clones were true workhorses —

aside from the few hours he slept, they were running at full capacity all day.

Sure, she could replicate that system...

but it would be exhausting.

Tsunade sighed and nodded,

"I'll try.

Now that the old man is back, my side's a little lighter.

I can spare a clone for now — though when I officially take over, it'll probably be overwhelming again."

Many people had no secret techniques.

Tsunade's only problem was that she had too many techniques to learn.

A good problem to have.

The Research Institute was already under construction.

For ninja, building a facility didn't take long —

with Earth Release and basic construction techniques, it only took a few days.

Finding the right location was what took time.

Kyoichi didn't go anywhere else.

He had his clones cover for him at the Academy while his true body focused on research.

By evening—

Kyoichi had further refined his Wood Release, significantly reducing chakra consumption and extending the duration.

He finally understood—

When it came to Wood Release, technique, experience, and vitality all mattered immensely.

The difference between Hashirama Senju and Yamato was literally astronomical.

He was planning to sleep after finishing his research...

When suddenly—

someone quietly arrived at his house.

Orochimaru.

"Shadow clones teaching your classes while you stay home doing research...

Truly enviable."

"Got business?"

Kyoichi was direct.

At this hour, he really didn't want to see Orochimaru.

It was too sensitive a time.

Sure enough—

he sensed Tsunade waking up immediately.

"The reorganization of the Police Force won't stay secret for long.

Aren't you curious what'll happen to the Uchiha?"

"Not my problem."

Kyoichi yawned.

Uchiha?

Let Shisui deal with it.

Unless Shisui personally begged for help, Kyoichi had no intention of getting involved.

"Fair enough.

I'm not that interested either.

Actually, I came to ask for your guidance."

Orochimaru smiled faintly.

Kyoichi had no choice but to let him in.

Once inside, Orochimaru said,

"You've already cracked Wood Release, haven't you?

I want to learn.

What will it take?"

"Terms, huh...

I recall your Earth Release techniques are pretty strong?"

"In front of you, aside from sensei, no one dares claim their Earth Release is stronger."

Orochimaru smiled wryly.

But in the next instant, he dropped the act.

"I'll teach you Wood Release — and you'll help me research ways to lower its learning threshold."

"Lowering the threshold... that's tough.

It'll probably eat up a lot of my time."

Orochimaru hesitated, then finally nodded,

"Alright.

My curiosity about your Wood Release outweighs the cost."

His previous research had been focused on using Hashirama's cells to grant people the ability to wield Wood Release.

However...

It was clear that Kyoichi's path was completely different.

Orochimaru wasn't particularly bothered that Kyoichi's strength had surpassed his own, but what gnawed at him was that even in the field he had painstakingly devoted himself to studying, his research skills had been eclipsed.

Thus...

He wanted to know how exactly he had been "killed."

"A scroll I just finished writing,"

Kyoichi said, handing it over.

Orochimaru took it and began reading carefully. A few seconds later, he fell into deep thought, then let out a sigh.

"Kyoichi-kun, you truly are a genius... This kind of synthesis requires an incredibly high-level understanding of both Earth Release and Wind Release, along with terrifying chakra control."

"That's how it is with all combined release techniques," Kyoichi replied. "But Wood Release is still the hardest of them all."

"Indeed."

At first, Orochimaru felt a pang of regret. But soon after, he also came to terms with it.

Though he couldn't master it himself, at least now he understood how Kyoichi had achieved it. That alone resolved the lingering doubt gnawing at his heart.

That was enough.

"I'll pursue research to lower the threshold," Orochimaru said. "After all... this is the beginning of a legacy that could etch my name into the history of the shinobi world forever!"

"Hm?"

Kyoichi frowned slightly, confused.

Where had Orochimaru's thoughts drifted off to?

He was just researching Wood Release—how did that have anything to do with being eternally remembered in shinobi history?

"I'll find a jutsu like that too... I'll succeed as well!"

Orochimaru muttered a few cryptic words, then left quietly, leaving Kyoichi utterly baffled.

Still...

He could guess.

Orochimaru had obviously misunderstood something.

But...

Whatever...

Let him think what he wants—as long as he didn't start conducting illegal experiments, Kyoichi couldn't be bothered to intervene.

Orochimaru showing up on his own to volunteer as a tool was something Kyoichi hadn't expected at all. With Orochimaru helping to share the burden, Kyoichi could finally free up some of his energy to attend to other matters.

For instance...

The training progress of Shisui and Asuma.

Kumogakure had already agreed to participate in the alliance.

Which meant...

This upcoming Chūnin Exams would be a grand event on an unprecedented scale—essentially the very first joint Chūnin Exams in the entire shinobi world. The significance was absolutely extraordinary.

And that wasn't all.

Teams from each village had already begun departing over the past two days, heading toward Konohagakure.

And the most enthusiastic among them wasn't anyone else...

It was Amegakure.

Next were Sunagakure and Iwagakure.

Kyoichi hoped both Asuma and Shisui would perform well. But frankly, the time left for him to personally instruct them was running out.

Especially Asuma.

Shisui had the blood of the Uchiha and the Sharingan on his side—there was no need to worry about him. Asuma, on the other hand, was a different story.

While Asuma specialized in Wind Release, the Sarutobi clan wasn't known for proficiency in that style.

At present, Kyoichi was the only one who could really teach him.

Fortunately, Hiruzen seemed to have helped out as well—he had crafted a chakra weapon for Asuma, forged from fragments of the Executioner's Blade and some of the remaining chakra-infused iron Hiruzen had stockpiled.

Of course...

Kyoichi hadn't neglected the others either.

Over the past few days, his shadow clones had been providing guidance to plenty of students—including Genma Shiranui, Aoba Yamashiro, and even Kotetsu and Izumo.

For the former group, the focus was mainly on refining offensive strategies, whereas Kotetsu and Izumo were lacking in actual technique.

And that was the common hurdle for most of the civilian-born shinobi.

For civilians, learning a new jutsu was an uphill battle.

Especially powerful and practical ones.

Even so...

Konoha still held considerable advantages in the Chūnin Exams.

This time, Kyoichi was once again responsible for creating the exam content—and he had no intention of changing the test format.

Which meant...

They had already gone through a version of it once.

They knew the game's rules and had decent strength to back it up.

If they still got completely crushed by the other villages...

Then honestly, they might as well all go back to the Academy and start over from scratch.

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