I, Konoha’s Sage of Life-Chapter 393: You’re Not Even Half-Finished Products Yet

Chapter 393: Chapter 393: You’re Not Even Half-Finished Products Yet
"Then you..."
"I need to stay here and continue my research. You go handle the Iburi clan. Since the solution came from you, you’re more familiar with the exact steps.
I won’t interfere."
Orochimaru licked his lips.
—So he wanted him to be the errand boy?
No way.
This time, Orochimaru had the perfect excuse to slip right out of Kyoichi’s "tool-man trap."
Kyoichi smiled.
"With your level of brilliance, dealing with trivial execution work is beneath you. You should focus on Sage Mode research. If you make any breakthrough, your achievements could rival those of the Sage of Six Paths."
The "Sage Mode" Kyoichi and Orochimaru discussed wasn’t Jiraiya’s version—it was the ’immortality’ system the two had previously theorized.
Immortality...
Even legendary figures had failed to achieve it.
Naturally, it was also one of Orochimaru’s deepest obsessions.
Kyoichi hyped him up a bit—not just to flatter him, but to encourage him onto a safe, non-destructive path...
So he wouldn’t become the "plague-like menace" he was in the original timeline.
As for the Iburi clan...
Kyoichi never intended to let Orochimaru handle them.
Orochimaru only cared about research that gave him benefits.
Send him to the Iburi clan, and he’d probably leave a time bomb behind just for amusement.
For everyone’s safety, Kyoichi would handle it personally.
Not to mention...
He might even be able to farm some system rewards while he was at it.
These days, earning rewards was getting harder—most major systems were already established.
Even teaching others now only gave tiny bonuses.
But now that he had time, he could afford to take on smaller tasks again.
---
The Iburi clan was temporarily settled behind the Academy, in a valley-like indentation surrounded by hills and trees—minimal wind.
For them, this was one of the safest possible locations.
Still...
Even here, some breeze was unavoidable.
So the problem still needed to be solved.
The only issue was that he hadn’t left a Flying Thunder God seal there, so he had to teleport near the Academy and then travel manually.
Fortunately, that still only took moments.
In the Academy, in a small office—
Ebisu was sitting upright at a desk, reading a book and taking notes.
Suddenly, a figure materialized in the room.
He nearly screamed.
"K–Kyoichi-sama! I—This is Third Lord’s permission! I wasn’t— I mean—!"
Ebisu panicked.
He’d been studying here with only the Third Hokage’s approval, not Kyoichi’s.
Seeing the man himself suddenly appear gave him the feeling of having been caught stealing.
Kyoichi waved his hand casually.
"I’m just passing by. Don’t be nervous. Studying more is a good habit. You can read any books here. If it’s not enough, just ask me—I can write more notes for you."
"R–really?!"
Ebisu was so excited his sunglasses slid halfway down his nose, eyes shining like a child seeing candy.
Kyoichi hesitated a little...
But nodded.
"Your talent isn’t in combat—it’s in teaching. If Konoha wants to grow stronger, we need both specialized educators and jōnin instructors. Either one alone isn’t enough."
Indeed, while ninja instruction wasn’t structured like modern education, it still roughly broke into basic, intermediate, and advanced levels.
People like Ebisu were the backbone of intermediate education.
Advanced instruction was where elite jōnin came in.
After all...
Even with Kakashi, Naruto’s basics were still terrible.
A few encouraging words later, Kyoichi left the Academy and headed to the Iburi clan.
They had only moved in recently.
At first, they were cautious—
But after a few members toured Konoha, they immediately begged to relocate.
Kyoichi had barely arrived when a group rushed out to greet him.
He flickered forward instantly, appearing before them.
They didn’t recognize him by face—
But his clothes, and that teleport-like speed...
He was obviously an elite jōnin, maybe even higher.
"Honored shinobi—!"
"My name is Kanda Kyoichi. There’s no need to come greet me outside—I was coming to your homes anyway."
"Y–You’re Kyoichi-sama?!"
The Iburi clan exchanged stunned looks.
The legendary shinobi spoken of throughout Konoha was...
This young?
He didn’t look older than twenty.
Maybe even younger.
Someone this age—already famed across the whole shinobi world—was hard to imagine.
And they also knew...
Their ability to settle down in Konoha and receive housing so quickly was thanks, in large part, to him.
Realizing this, they knelt in gratitude.
They really knelt!
Kyoichi couldn’t stop them—
He hurriedly pulled up the clan leader, spoke a few words, then walked toward their settlement with them following.
On the way, his gaze paused on a girl.
This should be Yukimi.
Yamato had good taste.
"Kyoichi-sama, this is Yukimi of our clan. Yukimi—"
"Good aptitude. She can be among the first to undergo the process. Let’s talk inside."
"Y—Yes!"
Clan leader Gotta almost slapped himself.
Good thing he didn’t finish his sentence—
Otherwise he might have offended the one person he absolutely could not afford to offend.
Besides...
This was land Kyoichi had granted them.
Him giving instructions was more than reasonable.
Inside, Kyoichi sat down and said:
"Your clan’s kekkei genkai has serious drawbacks. Solving them is difficult. But after the Research Department worked through the night, we finally devised a solution."
He unrolled the scroll and handed it over.
Gotta scanned it—
His face lit up.
This...
This might actually work!
Yukimi peeked as well, though she stayed quiet.
"Your issue has two parts:
one, poor chakra control;
two, when turning into smoke, you lack a central core—so the transformation collapses chaotically."
Kyoichi explained.
The clan nodded repeatedly.
Thinking about it, it was completely true.
"Your ability resembles Kirigakure’s Hydrification Technique—but only superficially. Water has mass. When dispersed, it can still gather. And they have a true core principle, which makes it a secret technique. You’re nowhere close."
He wasn’t insulting them—
just stating facts.
The Hōzuki clan had reached their level because of Hōzuki Mangetsu’s freakish talent, pushing the technique to unprecedented heights.
Without him, Hydrification wouldn’t be so terrifying.
Smoke transformation...
As it was now, it wasn’t even a half-developed technique.
More like a prototype that wouldn’t even pass Konoha’s research testing phase.
Yukimi listened quietly, eyes wavering.
"Let’s start with one or two test cases. Too many at once is hard to manage."
"Understood!"