When Tsunade heard this, she knew her part here was done.
She was busy, after all.
If she stayed here and kept chatting, the paperwork on her desk would pile up again. Besides...
Now that she was going back, she could finally offload so of that work.
Stuff like...
"Selection criteria for the Prep Class and Re-education Class," "Detailed planning for the Chunin Prep Class," and the like—those could all be handed off to the Third Hokage.
Just like that, her workload would be cut in half.
Tsunade was overjoyed.
As expected of Kyoichi—he always found ways to make her life easier.
Of course...
The Third Hokage was just as thrilled.
For soone like him who lived to serve, Kyoichi putting him in charge of the school was like giving him a whole new stage to shine.
However...
He still had his doubts.
After sending Asuma away, the room was left with just the two of them. The Third picked up his pipe and started puffing away in a familiar rhythm.
"These past few days, I’ve been reflecting. I really was too indecisive when it ca to dealing with Danzō... and that’s what led to all these consequences."
He sighed. "I want to take this on, I really do—but I’m afraid. Afraid I’ll make another mistake. You know how it is... when you get older, you start second-guessing everything."
"You don’t actually have to think that much about it," Kyoichi replied.
"Oh?"
The Third looked at him curiously.
Sothing told him... Kyoichi’s next words were not going to be very flattering.
"I’ve already mapped out the entire ninja academy system in my head. All you need to do is follow the plan. There’s basically no room for deviation."
As long as he followed the blueprint, things would work out. And if not...
Well, he could just co back and ask Kyoichi again.
The Third’s worries didn’t even qualify as real problems.
"Better to use the energy you have left to do sothing worthwhile," Kyoichi added as he got up to leave. "So you don’t end up spending the rest of your days living in regret."
Those parting words left the Third Hokage with mixed feelings.
Danzō’s death had truly made them feel the tides of a new era—and that maybe, just maybe, they weren’t cut out to keep up with Kyoichi anymore.
That was the root of the Third’s hesitation.
But...
If it was just education...
Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad?
Kyoichi didn’t push him further. The Third wasn’t lacking in ability—he was just lacking confidence.
To put it bluntly...
Hiruzen Sarutobi had fallen into a spiral of self-doubt, thinking he could do nothing right, that everything he touched would turn to failure.
What he needed now wasn’t to worry about old mistakes, but to focus on things like writing curriculum and figuring out how to teach.
And also...
Seriously, stop using the Telescope Jutsu to spy on people.
A little scouting is fine—but full-on peeping?
So of his habits really undermined his image as a teacher. Kyoichi had a strong suspicion that Jiraiya’s bad behavior ca from following the wrong role model.
That guy used to write Gutsy Ninja Scrolls...
Then he went to the Land of Hot Water and started writing Make-Out Paradise?
Kyoichi sighed.
He wondered how Jiraiya was doing these days. If he were still in the village, they could probably share notes on Sage Mode.
Originally, he thought he’d be able to squeeze so value out of the Third Hokage today too.
Unfortunately...
Sothing had gone wrong sowhere in the chain. He still hadn’t received any feedback, and even if it was delayed, this was just way too slow.
He left the house, only to find Asuma still waiting outside.
"Sensei... does this an the jōnin squad system is done for?"
"You don’t think there’s anything wrong with that system?"
"Well, yeah, but..."
Asuma scratched his head. Sothing still felt off.
Kyoichi chuckled. "It’s not that it’s gone—it’s just been delayed a bit. I’m dividing genin into two categories: those within their first year of graduation, and those beyond that. For the first-year ones, we’ll assign them to outstanding chūnin based on their talents."
"Oh..."
Asuma blinked, then suddenly realized what Kyoichi ant.
That first year would give untapped prodigies—especially those without clan backing—a chance to rise and earn real promotions. anwhile, clan kids would be pressured to keep up through sheer effort.
It all felt... familiar.
Too familiar.
Which ant...
The pressure now fell on their group—the young chūnin generation.
Becoming teachers?
Sure, they were chūnin, but who would’ve guessed that just a few years after graduating, they’d be tasked with leading squads?
And if they weren’t qualified...
Asuma imdiately thought of the re-education program for chūnin.
The Chunin Prep Class was already clear—so it stood to reason that the reeducation side had its own revamped system as well.
Everything linked together seamlessly.
Ruthless.
The thought made him forget all about butting heads with his old man.
Ti to train.
Wait, no—he needed to go find his old man.
Asuma suddenly rembered:
He was good at taijutsu and ninjutsu, but only really in wind release. His fire release? Barely average.
He needed to brush up—what if his student needed help?
Forget pride.
He had to learn.
Turning around, he went back into the house.
That’s the spirit.
anwhile, Kyoichi created a shadow clone to handle his ANBU duties while he headed back into the Forest of Death—to continue training Sage Mode.
All for a better tomorrow.
The next day...
He noticed he could feel natural energy for a few more seconds. His body hadn’t changed much, but Kyoichi wasn’t satisfied with just that.
Now that he could sense nature energy, he started trying to absorb it.
The Mount Myōboku Sage Mode had included a lot of knowledge about senjutsu chakra and techniques. And since Kyoichi’s chakra control was unusually precise, he had the guts to give it a try early.
Otherwise...
Even he wouldn’t dare ss around with natural energy.
After a few monts of absorption...
He felt his body slow, like he was moving with a delay.
A side effect of his body not yet adapting?
So the toads weren’t exaggerating after all.
Absorbing nature energy recklessly really could get you killed. He quickly used the Slug Sage’s secret technique to disperse the energy throughout his body.
It wasn’t much...
And it would fade on its own soon enough.
During that ti, he focused on the feeling. There wasn’t a huge difference in raw power, but his chakra felt more chaotic—and for the first ti, he understood Naruto’s struggles.
The reason was simple:
Senjutsu chakra had to be mixed in a perfect 1:1:1 ratio.
But right now...
His natural energy levels were nowhere near enough—dragging everything down.
Not that he was aiming to use senjutsu chakra just yet.
The Slug Sage’s thod was to get the body accustod first—kind of like training externally before focusing inward. Once the body was conditioned, senjutsu chakra would co naturally.
Kyoichi wasn’t in a rush.
Ti to head ho.
Tsunade raised an eyebrow, but she trusted Kyoichi’s character.
More importantly, with how busy he was—if he actually had ti to go wander off like Jiraiya—then that would be impressive.
So...
When Kyoichi got ho, no one even asked where he’d been. He found that more confusing than anything else.
What confused him even more—
Was that a day later, he finally received a wave of rewards.
["Ninja School Planning" Guidance Completed]
[Evaluation: Good]
[Reward: Fire Release – Fire Dragon Fla Bullet]
This...
Honestly?
Kyoichi wasn’t impressed by the reward. Sure, nature transformation was no joke, but he’d already dabbled in Lava Release. A basic fire jutsu wasn’t going to impress him.
But still...
What was with the day-long delay?
The Third Hokage’s feedback system was way too slow.
Kyoichi twitched his lips, accepted the reward, and moved on.
Fire Dragon Fla Bullet...
That was one of the Sarutobi clan’s signature techniques.
They were proficient in all five chakra natures, but their most renowned art was Fire Release. Snagging this jutsu wasn’t a loss by any ans. The only issue was...
Given his own natural affinity with Fire Release—
It’d be useful at most for support.
Still...
From now on, when it ca to Fire Release, he could tell Shisui and Asuma that he "knew a little."
Lately, the ANBU workload had eased up.
The "tools" Kyoichi needed had mostly been put in place—Gekkō Hayate was now handling the majority of day-to-day tasks, while the forr squad was reassigned under Mukai’s leadership.
In Kyoichi’s long-term plan, Mukai was still the ideal successor to eventually take over ANBU.
Provided that...
Mukai could overco the darkness in his heart and learn to live more openly in the light.
If not, well, he’d have to find soone else.
Kakashi?
No, definitely not.
That guy already loved to overthink things—throwing him into ANBU again would only make it worse.
Now that he finally had so free ti, Kyoichi gathered Asuma, Shisui, and Kurenai Yuhi together once more—coincidentally, there was an intel matter from ANBU that needed addressing.
Location: Forest of Death.
The three of them had arrived early, but Kyoichi himself was nowhere to be seen.
Just as they were beginning to suspect their teacher was pulling another surprise drill, and all began silently observing their surroundings...
Kyoichi appeared behind them—completely unremarkable and without fanfare.
"You didn’t notice ?"
"Nope!" Shisui answered, dumbfounded.
He had even activated his Sharingan earlier, but still hadn’t detected a trace of chakra or Kyoichi’s presence.
Kyoichi fell into deep thought.
So...
Natural energy combined with Wood Release could produce this kind of effect?
Truth was, he hadn’t gone anywhere at all.
He’d simply been behind them the entire ti, using the passive diffusion of natural energy alongside Wood Release to mask himself with a subtle camouflage. And just like that—they hadn’t sensed a thing.
Sure, part of it was Shisui’s Sharingan level still being a bit low, and the others having pretty average sensory skills, but even so, it was enough to show that natural energy was absolutely worth studying.
"Sensei, what kind of technique was that?"
"A special secret art I’ve been learning recently," Kyoichi replied. "The reason I called you three here today is to explain a few things and also get your input on sothing."
He turned to Asuma. "Did you bring up that matter I asked you to?"
"Uh... y-yeah, I did."
Asuma had been about to lie, but under Kyoichi’s gaze, he didn’t dare deny it.
Kyoichi gave a small nod.
"That’s the situation. In the near future, you might also have the opportunity to lead teams—but don’t worry, you’re still officially part of my squad. Now, onto today’s task—this one’s a bit tricky."
"Please give your orders, Sensei!"
Asuma straightened his back, instantly energized.
Finally—a mission!
Last ti, he’d been left behind when they went to Agakure. That better not happen again!
"Don’t get too excited. This mission won’t be easy. Even I might not be able to look out for all of you... Have you ever heard of a man nad Kakuzu?"
All three of them shook their heads.
Kyoichi unrolled a classified intel scroll.
Inside were detailed records on Kakuzu—everything ANBU had been able to dig up. What couldn’t be verified had been left out.
The key point was...
According to ANBU reports from the Land of Rivers, Kakuzu had recently begun stirring again—his activity was concentrated in the northern regions of the country.
Kyoichi suspected soone from Madara’s faction had made contact with him.
Because his movent patterns overlapped with areas Nagato had recently passed through.
After reading the scroll, Shisui and the others’ expressions changed dramatically.
"A man who once fought the First Hokage."
That line alone carried trendous weight.
Anyone who had clashed with Hashirama Senju in that era—had to have been on a terrifying level of strength.
***************************
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