I, Konoha's Sage of Life

The Third Hokage had left.

The remaining shinobi continued their meeting.

"Minato, you've really put me in a tough spot here."

Kyoichi sighed.

"But isn't this a good thing? An A-rank mission comes with a hefty reward!"

Minato scratched his head, looking somewhat apologetic.

Still... wasn't this outcome actually pretty great?

At first, he'd been worried about Kakashi's situation, but Kyoichi had resolved it perfectly.

Disrupting the existing team formations… Why hadn't he thought of that before?

The only downside?

This pretty much meant Obito had no chance of making Chūnin this year.

Not because of his strength—if anything, Minato felt that Obito was among the strongest of this year's Genin. But the kid was reckless, never paying attention to his surroundings. Just as Kyoichi had put it…

He was missing a few brain cells.

"Jōnin Kyoichi, your concerns and suggestions… honestly, these are things we hadn't even considered. Maybe young people really do have more ideas. You'll need to put that clever mind to work during the Chūnin Exams, but if you need anything, just let the Hokage know. I'll do my best to help."

Hayama Shirakumo greeted him with a friendly smile, his respectful attitude at odds with the deep scar on his face.

Kyoichi had met him a few times before—back during his own Jōnin Exam, Shirakumo had participated as well.

Now, Kyoichi knew much more.

Shirakumo had been an ANBU ninja with a high-ranking position. His participation in the Jōnin Exams was merely a formality, and he had now become Might Guy's team leader.

That was a difference from how things had originally played out.

"Fine…"

Kyoichi sighed.

The Chūnin Exams were a thankless job. The system probably wouldn't even give him a decent reward for handling it. He had no real interest in overseeing the process—he had just intended to let his subordinates participate and see how they fared.

After all, once war broke out, everyone would reach Chūnin status soon enough.

But then…

Minato had completely set him up.

"Minato, you threw me into this mess, and now you're trying to run? Not happening!"

Kyoichi's gaze was sharp and threatening.

Minato coughed awkwardly and said, "Don't worry, I'll help however I can. What's your plan? Why don't we discuss it now while everyone's here?"

"Alright…"

Kyoichi sat down, and the gathered Jōnin found their seats around him.

After thinking for a moment, he outlined his plan.

"Here's my idea. The written exam is up to you guys, but for the second stage, we set up an arena filled with supplies—soldier pills, kunai, shuriken, food, and weapons…"

Kyoichi explained his thoughts.

In simple terms: a ninja battle royale.

Every so often, Jōnin would sweep through the outer edges of the battlefield, driving the candidates inward.

When he finished, everyone was left staring, dumbfounded.

This…

This was possible?

"You're suggesting we confiscate all of their equipment before the second exam starts, forcing them to scavenge for supplies? But what about clans like the Inuzuka, who rely on their ninja hounds?"

Minato raised a concern.

"Their ninja dogs are part of their strength," Kyoichi replied.

The Inuzuka clan's ninken were powerful, but not invincible. There were ways to counter them.

The other Jōnin nodded in agreement.

Indeed…

If the Inuzuka had their ninja hounds, other shinobi had their own summoned beasts.

It was fair.

"Before the exam begins, we'll briefly show all candidates a map of the supply locations."

"This will test their intelligence-gathering skills."

"Hmm… we could also periodically drop supplies—blades, special soldier pills, explosive tags—each drop marked by a signal flare."

"A test of teamwork…"

These were all seasoned Jōnin.

As Kyoichi laid out his plan step by step, they quickly grasped the logic behind it.

By the end…

Hayama Shirakumo hesitated before saying, "The structure is solid, but… isn't this a bit too difficult?"

"Yeah. With randomized teams and resource competition, this is far harder than any past Chūnin Exam."

Another Jōnin agreed.

A Chūnin Exam like this?

It would be difficult even for Jōnin candidates.

For Genin, the challenge was beyond intense.

However…

"Everyone, war could break out with other villages at any moment. Chūnin are meant to be leaders. If we let some incompetent fool get promoted, we're failing the next generation of Genin."

Kyoichi spoke with conviction.

While part of his motivation was simply that this setup seemed fun, the truth was…

This ninja battle royale was far superior to the old "scroll capture" format.

It tested intelligence, teamwork, and leadership—every crucial skill.

The other Jōnin weighed the proposal carefully.

In the end, they found no real flaws.

Compared to this…

The old method?

Just a low-level brawl over scrolls.

Tradition wasn't always right.

Minato found himself nodding.

"Jōnin Kyoichi, I think this exam format could be standardized. You should write a formal proposal."

Nara Shikaku spoke up.

He rarely intervened—he wasn't a squad leader, after all.

But…

Kyoichi's idea was just too good. It completely outclassed the previous Chūnin Exam format.

After some thought, he asked, "What about the third stage?"

"One-on-one battles, of course. What else? If we wanted to shake things up, we could use the same format as the second round—just with individuals instead of teams."

Kyoichi replied casually.

Shikaku's eyes gleamed.

He immediately grasped the advantage—

Traditionally, the final round was held in a tournament-style arena.

But…

War wasn't fought in an arena.

Real battles involved ambushes, assassinations, and surprise attacks. No enemy would give you a "fair fight."

This kind of final round would produce shinobi better suited for actual warfare.

He nodded. "Jōnin Kyoichi, please draft a formal proposal. I'll make sure the Third Hokage increases your compensation."

"Now that's what I like to hear."

Kyoichi grinned.

Shikaku was a strategist. He wouldn't make empty promises.

If he said it…

Then an increase in payment was guaranteed.

An A-rank mission payout typically ranged between 150,000 and 1,000,000 ryō—there was a lot of room for negotiation.

New weapons, here we come!

With the plan settled, all that remained was writing it up and refining the details.

The meeting adjourned.

Outside the building, Kyoichi intercepted Minato.

"Minato, you said earlier that you'd help me with anything, right?"

"Uh… yeah."

"Ahem. Well, I've been a bit busy lately. I'll leave the proposal drafting to you."

"Wait, what? That's not—"

Minato started to protest, but before he could finish, Kyoichi's figure blurred and vanished—

A modified Body Flicker Technique!

Minato was speechless.

What the hell?

Busy?

Like hell he was.

After a moment, Minato shook his head and sighed.

Whatever…

It wasn't a big deal. Kyoichi had already explained everything clearly. Writing it up would only take a day.

No problem.

Meanwhile, Kyoichi…

After making his escape, he checked on his three students.

They were diligently running laps around Konoha, bursting with energy.

He didn't interrupt them.

Instead, he found a small restaurant, bought some food, and sat down to read.

Tsunade's collection of medical books wouldn't study themselves.

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