I, Konoha's Sage of Life-Chapter 143: One Sentence = One Million?

"Sir, we've spotted the coast of the Land of Lightning."

"Good. Hold position here for now."

Ōnoki gave his orders.

At present, only a small portion of Iwagakure's forces had arrived. This amount of manpower was nowhere near enough to cut off Kumogakure's retreat. On the contrary, if they engaged prematurely, they risked being encircled and wiped out.

The Raikage wasn't a fool.

Ōnoki himself hadn't committed his full strength—why would the Raikage deploy all of his shinobi to the front lines? What if Ōnoki launched a surprise attack on Kumogakure instead?

There was no alliance between them.

This was purely a matter of convenience. Both villages saw an opportunity and agreed to attack Konoha together.

Besides...

Even if an alliance did exist, it wouldn't necessarily mean anything.

Between nations, trust was scarce. As long as the benefits were tempting enough, betrayals happened all the time. Even if Ōnoki sincerely claimed to be an ally, the Raikage still wouldn't let his guard down.

The same applied to Kirigakure.

However...

The Third Raikage probably never expected that someone would choose this exact moment to launch a full-scale invasion of the Land of Lightning.

Who could have seen this coming?

Just a few days ago, everything was going well. They had even occupied the Land of Grass. But in a matter of days, they were beaten so badly by Konoha that they couldn't even tell which way was north. In the end, they had no choice but to surrender in disgrace...

Ōnoki let out a sigh.

Kyoichi stepped out of the cabin, gazing at the shimmering sea and the distant landmass. The sight lifted his spirits somewhat.

He glanced at Ōnoki and said, "Tsuchikage-sama, I believe your priority shouldn't be invasion or territorial expansion, but rather finding and nurturing a suitable Fourth Tsuchikage. It'd be quite pitiful if you were still holding this position at seventy or eighty years old."

"Uh..." Could he be any less blunt?

Ōnoki had no words.

Did he not want to cultivate a Fourth Tsuchikage?

The problem was...

There wasn't one!

He couldn't find a suitable candidate. The few decent ones he had? This guy had taken care of them already!

Ōnoki suppressed his anger.

Five million ryo...

He couldn't afford to lose his temper!

"If you don't have a successor, then your training methods must be flawed. I'm an expert in Konoha's education system. While I can't divulge Konoha's secrets, I can certainly customize a plan for you."

"How much?"

"Talking about money ruins relationships. But your Flying Technique... that's something I'm quite curious about."

"If it's about jutsu, forget it."

Ōnoki's face darkened.

Light-Weight Rock and Heavy-Weight Rock Techniques were classified secrets in Iwagakure. Only those he personally approved could learn them. And this outsider wanted in?

Dream on!

"Then money it is—five million!"

Kyoichi sighed.

He was just testing the waters anyway. It's not like a few words would actually get him a 'Kage-level' technique.

"Two million. And if you just spout nonsense, I won't acknowledge it."

Ōnoki snorted coldly.

"Alright, I'll share my thoughts." Kyoichi nodded.

With Kitsuchi and Roshi in his grasp, he wasn't worried about Ōnoki reneging on their deal.

Just then, Minato overheard their conversation and stepped onto the deck.

"Haven't you noticed? Your Iwa-nin's education has serious issues! Your Earth Release techniques are strong, but you're lacking in other areas."

"Uh..." Ōnoki fell into deep thought.

Iwagakure never forced students to master Earth Release. It was just that Earth Release was the strongest, so most people naturally chose it.

However...

It was true that they lacked diversity.

If Iwagakure had more Wind Release and Lightning Release users, would they really fear techniques like Lightning Release: Kirin so much?

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He started taking the discussion seriously.

"You have a solution?"

"Given the current situation, I think your education system must be very rigid. You need to encourage children to explore and experiment. Cultivating their analytical thinking is more important than just teaching them jutsu."

"You make a valid point."

Ōnoki sighed but didn't say much more.

The logic was clear.

But...

It wasn't feasible!

Iwagakure simply didn't have enough variety in its jutsu repository. And changing their mindset was too abstract—it wasn't practical.

Kyoichi understood this.

So...

Seeing that Ōnoki had no further response, he continued, "The ninja academy's curriculum is insufficient for many students. Minato, would you agree?"

"Huh? Oh, yes! But it depends on the individual. Not everyone can grasp things quickly."

Minato was caught off guard. He hadn't expected Kyoichi to bring him up, but it was true—back in the academy, he always felt the lessons weren't enough.

However...

He was well aware that his own talent was exceptional, so his experience wasn't universal.

Kyoichi, on the other hand, was speechless.

Minato was too honest. But at least Kyoichi had no intention of 'scamming' Ōnoki.

"That's why elite education is necessary. Establish a special class for young genin with potential, give them more courses, teach them advanced knowledge, and train their analytical skills."

"A gifted class?"

Ōnoki murmured.

Iwagakure's academy taught students as a single unit—there was no such thing as a gifted class. But after hearing Kyoichi's words, he felt this might actually work. Iwagakure had no shortage of average genin and chūnin. What they lacked were powerful, well-rounded jōnin.

Elite education...

True to its name.

It was meant to produce elites!

After pondering for a while and finding no flaws in the concept, he asked, "Why are you telling me all this? Aren't you afraid Iwa-nin will become stronger?"

"Konoha is the strongest. We fear no other village's challenge. You three banded together to attack us, and yet we dismantled you one by one. Only through competition does progress occur!"

Kyoichi stood with his hands behind his back, exuding confidence and pride.

Ōnoki had mixed emotions.

The boy was barely in his teens, yet his understanding of these matters surpassed even that of many older generations.

With such talent, his pride was well-earned.

And his words...

They truly resonated.

"Competition drives progress?"

Minato fell into deep thought.

At first, the statement seemed questionable, but upon reflection, looking at the history of the ninja world, the peak of jutsu development was during the era of the Second Hokage and his contemporaries.

Why?

Because during that time, names like Hashirama Senju, Tobirama Senju, and Madara Uchiha instilled a deep existential crisis in every village. They couldn't afford to stagnate; they had to push forward constantly.

But now...

Compared to the past, Konoha had indeed weakened.

Aside from Kumogakure, the other villages seemed content to rely on old techniques rather than innovate. Meanwhile, Konoha continued to advance.

The reason was simple—Konoha, being the strongest, faced constant threats from other villages.

Konoha had pressure!

Ōnoki clearly realized this too.

Thus, he felt even more assured that his earlier decision was correct.

Iwa-nin children had to venture out, to interact with Konoha and Sunagakure, rather than isolating themselves in their own village.

With that in mind, he exhaled deeply, pulled out a scroll, and signaled his guard for a brush.

Then...

Scratch, scratch, scratch...

He penned a formal IOU.

Four million ryo!

Not only that, but after finishing, he sincerely said, "The phrase 'competition drives progress' struck a chord with me. I'll add another million just for that wisdom. I'll send it over later."

Kyoichi chuckled.

One sentence, one million ryo.

Worth it!

Onoki began contemplating the next steps. Naturally, he wouldn't discuss these matters further with Kyoichi, but Kyoichi had already obtained what he wanted—not just money but also the reward from the system.

[Mission Completed: "Education Model" Guidance]

[Evaluation: Good]

[Reward: Earth Release: Gōriki-style Technique]

Just "Good"?

No "Excellent" rating? Earning a reward like Light-Weight and Heavy-Weight Rock Techniques was proving to be incredibly difficult.

Of course...

This technique was valuable enough, but it wasn't something he particularly needed.

Kyoichi understood that the plan he proposed wasn't perfect.

The so-called "elite education"...

Was essentially just the shinobi world's version of fast and slow learning tracks.

While it would certainly produce many elites, this model would also create internal issues within Iwagakure. Meanwhile, Konoha didn't actually need to fear or be wary of Iwagakure at all.

If Konoha could only maintain its strength and dominance by ensuring others fell behind...

Wouldn't that make him no different from Danzo?

At the very least, he stood on the shoulders of giants. He might not surpass the legendary forebears, but he should at least strive to be better than Danzo.

A goal should be set high.

Kyoichi gazed out the window toward the distant land.

"Are you sure about this?"

Minato didn't quite understand.

From his perspective, Kyoichi seemed to be genuinely helping Iwagakure, but he couldn't shake the feeling that something was off.

"There's no problem. Everything I gave him is outdated."

"Hmm..."

Minato suspected that Kyoichi had a deeper plan in mind. He trusted that Kyoichi wasn't acting recklessly.

Iwagakure's ships arrived one after another.

Moments later—

The fleet began advancing toward the coastline. This wasn't a proper harbor, and there might be reefs or underwater currents, but for shinobi, such obstacles weren't an issue.

Soon...

They neared the shore.

However—

At the same time, the Kumo shinobi also spotted their movements.

With thousands of Iwa-nin packed onto so many ships, there was no way to conceal their approach. In fact, neither Onoki nor Kyoichi had any intention of hiding it—most of Kumo's main forces were currently deep within the Land of Fire.

Even if they received word immediately, it would take them at least half a day to return here.

And that's assuming no one interfered.

If Konoha decided to delay them, it would take more than a full day. That was more than enough time for Iwagakure to deal with the Kumo Shinobi stationed here and construct a solid defensive line.

Of course...

Against Kumo, an Earth Release-based defense line wasn't the most effective, but it was better than nothing.

Right now—

Waves of Iwa-nin leaped from their ships, rushing toward the shore.

Kyoichi glanced at the scene but made no move to intervene.

This wasn't his mission.

Onoki sighed.

If Kyoichi and Minato were willing to step in, this battle would be far easier. Unfortunately...

The two of them wouldn't help so easily.

Ten million ryo—just enough to hire them to deal with the Third Raikage.

Of course...

If they actually managed to kill the Third Raikage, then the cost would be well worth it. Compared to that, the rest of the Kumo Shinobi were insignificant.

Onoki narrowed his eyes, calculating the Kumo Shinobi's current situation.

By the time the Third Raikage received this information, it would take at least half a day. If they wanted to retreat here, it would take even longer...

That meant plenty of time to set up traps.

Onoki had fought in countless wars and had clashed with Kumo many times before. He knew exactly how to deal with those lightning-wielding brutes.

After securing a defensive line, he swiftly issued orders to prepare the battlefield.

Kyoichi and Minato stood at the side, watching without a word or any intention of getting involved.

If anything, they wouldn't mind if Iwagakure lost a few more shinobi.

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