I, Konoha's Sage of Life-Chapter 82 - : How Do You Rewrite the Will of Fire?

"With me here, what are you afraid of? If anyone's got a problem, let them step up themselves!"

Tsunade was blunt and straightforward.

Sure, Kyoichi lacked seniority.

But...

Did seniority even matter at this point?

With three major shinobi villages about to attack Konoha, only the capable should take charge. Letting a bunch of old relics call the shots would only lead to endless concessions, dragging the war effort into disaster.

"Besides..."

Tsunade smirked. "The old man is paving the way for me, making sure I have enough power under my command. The better you perform, the smoother things go on my end."

Kyoichi was no fool.

So...

Tsunade saw no reason to hide anything.

To push Kyoichi's policies through smoothly, and to ensure Konoha didn't crumble in the hands of those old geezers...

She had to become Hokage!

"I figured as much," Kyoichi nodded slightly.

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Under normal circumstances, with Tsunade's qualifications, she wouldn't need to worry about much—she could just bulldoze her way to the top.

Take Danzo, for example.

As soon as Tsunade took power, he immediately scaled back Root, not daring to make any moves.

However...

The issue now was that her hemophobia wasn't cured yet.

The Third Hokage hadn't pried, but he had undoubtedly gathered enough information from Biwako Sarutobi. Piecing it together, it wouldn't be hard to deduce Tsunade's current condition.

That's why he assigned Kyoichi to the Eastern Front.

Tsunade, though displeased, couldn't do much about it—her fear of blood meant she was unfit for the frontlines.

Jiraiya was stationed in the north.

As for Orochimaru...

That guy had a whole mess of his own to deal with—he needed to clean up his name first.

After thinking it through, aside from Kyoichi, the only other option was Minato. But when it came to dealing with Hiding in Mist techniques and Water Release, Kyoichi was clearly the better choice.

That was also the Third's reasoning.

"I'll take some time to figure it out. I need to create that jutsu!"

Tsunade gritted her teeth with determination.

Kyoichi would have to head to the frontlines.

But...

If she could master Creation Rebirth, it would greatly boost his survivability.

Of course...

Aside from Creation Rebirth, Kyoichi had plenty of ways to improve.

One was his system.

Over time, he had accumulated various rewards. Though individually small, together they had significantly strengthened his medical ninjutsu, Water Release, and even genjutsu.

Another was the Rasengan.

He wasn't planning to copy Naruto's Wind Release: Rasenshuriken. Without enough Sage Chakra, using a Rasenshuriken was practically suicide. He had his own idea—

A high-pressure water blade combined with Rasengan.

Once he perfected high-pressure Water Release sword techniques, Water Release: Rasengan would be within reach.

And then there was Shikkotsu Forest.

But...

Slug Sage was gentle and kind. If he truly met the criteria, Katsuyu would have already invited him—there was no need for him to seek it out.

After some thought, Kyoichi decided to work on both the first and second routes simultaneously.

Just as the Chunin Exams wrapped up, Kurenai, Shisui, and Asuma returned.

Three prime targets, all groomed for the picking.

How could he not seize the opportunity?

---

At that moment, outside the Uchiha clan grounds, deep in a wooded area—

Shisui sat across from another boy.

Both were battered, covered in wounds. But compared to his opponent, Shisui was in much better shape.

"You have the strength—why don't you step up? Don't you want to bring glory to our clan?"

"Idiot. Does our clan need more fame?"

Shisui sneered. "Who in the ninja world doesn't know the Uchiha? Our pride isn't something outsiders can understand. Even if we took first place, it wouldn't change how others see us."

"So you're just pretending to be weak?" Uchiha Tekka scoffed.

"It's not pretending. Guy held back his secret technique."

"He has a secret technique?"

"Ever heard of the Eight Gates?" Shisui smirked. "My teacher told me that Guy has mastered the ability to open the Eight Gates. At full power, he can multiply his strength several times over. And back then, he had only opened the First Gate."

"Huh?"

Tekka knew of the Eight Gates.

But the idea that that goofy, bowl-cut weirdo could possess such strength?

Impossible!

He was stunned for a long time.

Shisui could tell Tekka's hostility had faded.

He smiled, then said, "Do you know who our clan's biggest enemy is?"

"Of course it's—"

Tekka glanced toward the village, hesitating.

"Actually, I'm acting under the clan leader's orders."

"No way!"

"You don't understand. There are two factions within the village—one that is lenient toward the Uchiha, and one that wants us dead. To them, a dead Uchiha is a good Uchiha. The prime example? Danzo."

Shisui carefully checked for any surveillance before continuing.

"So you're saying...?"

"The clan leader believes we should align with those who support us. Instead of seeing the entire village as our enemy like the elders do, we should take down our real foes first. No matter how strong the Uchiha are, we can't fight all of Konoha."

Shisui was smooth, persuasive.

This was pure coincidence—

Tetsuka, suspicious that Shisui had thrown the Chunin Exam, had come looking for a fight.

But after a bit of "education," Shisui realized he was the perfect test subject for his teacher's ideology.

And so...

Here they were.

Honestly, convincing a ten-year-old with his teacher's arguments was almost too easy—Tekka was completely lost in thought, utterly bewildered.

"You might not fully get it, so let me put it simply. Imagine three people—two want to beat you up, and one wants to break up the fight. Our goal isn't to take on all three but to get the peacemaker on our side first, then deal with our enemies."

"That makes sense!"

Tekka had an epiphany.

Brilliant!

"So what do we do next?"

"The Hokage preaches the Will of Fire, right? We should do the same! Just tweak it a bit, make it sound close enough to fool people."

"Uh-huh!"

Tekka nodded furiously.

"And be friendlier to civilians and smaller clans. Show them that the Uchiha aren't hostile."

"This... I guess that's doable."

Tekka hesitated for a moment but agreed.

"Most importantly, Danzo has to go. Only by eliminating him will the Uchiha have a real future. But right now, not enough people support the clan leader..."

"My brother, Inabi—he might be someone we can pull in."

"No rush. Heal up first."

Shisui decided to stop there for now—he hadn't planned for this, and pushing too hard might make Tekka suspicious.

Tekka, following Shisui's lead, sought out Kurenai for treatment.

But soon after, he sent a shadow clone to "Tsunade's place."

Even if Kyoichi wasn't there, his shadow clone surely would be.

"Sensei, help me out! Is there a way to rewrite the Will of Fire so that the Uchiha can embrace it? Hurry, this is urgent!"

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