I, Konoha's Sage of Life-Chapter 161: Motivational Speech — Applied Success Theory

A speech.

Mitokado Homura had never imagined such a thing as part of the curriculum.

Kyoichi had actually mentioned it in his original proposal, but Homura had dismissed it outright, thinking it was a waste of time and promptly scrapped it.

But now—

Cheers erupted from inside.

He couldn't understand it. Blowing up a fishpond was the kind of chaos people loved, and it was no different for ninjas.

Especially when the oldest of these kids were only about ten years old. Except for a few, most of them hadn't even come close to the age of maturity.

Kyoichi walked out of the classroom.

Mitokado Homura immediately vanished with a Body Flicker.

If these students found out he'd been eavesdropping outside...

He'd die of embarrassment.

Kyoichi couldn't help but laugh inwardly.

Homura knew perfectly well that these kids didn't care much for him, but still, he insisted on hearing things for himself.

And the result?

He just embarrassed himself.

"Sensei, are we all going?" someone asked.

"Of course. Not just Rin. From now on, I'll pick one or two of you every so often to share your thoughts and experiences. After that, you'll each guide a younger student one-on-one."

Kyoichi said it casually.

Everyone was stunned.

They had thought Kyoichi's "motivational speech" idea was just about giving some encouraging words to the underclassmen.

Now they understood.

They were too naive. This wasn't about encouragement—

This was a psychological landmine.

Give a big speech, build up that "senpai" image... and then go one-on-one and flop in front of everyone? That wouldn't just ruin their own face—it would ruin everyone's face.

"Sensei, how about we, uh... go tomorrow instead?" Kotetsu Hagane stammered.

They knew themselves well. He and Kamizuki Izumo had learned a lot from Kyoichi. Their chakra control and transformation techniques had definitely improved—probably more than doubled.

But teaching juniors?

That was a whole different beast.

"What? Haven't you been back for days now? Haven't you been training, reflecting on what you learned from the battlefield? What was the point of the advanced course if not that?"

No one dared answer.

The past few days, their "learning state"?

Helping old ladies cross the street was more valuable than sitting in on Homura's lectures. The man basically read straight from the textbooks.

If they could stay awake during that, they wouldn't have been class failures in the first place.

"You've all spent over a year on the battlefield. What's there to be afraid of teaching kids who haven't even graduated yet? Come on."

Kyoichi smiled.

These little rascals...

He had plenty of ways to keep them in line!

Skip class?

Not happening.

Leading his students, he marched straight toward the lower grades.

He casually picked a classroom, stood outside the door—and the teacher inside instantly froze.

What a coincidence...

It happened to be his former colleague, Ishimura Takashige.

He was currently in charge of Umino Iruka's class, which included Mitarashi Anko and Gekkō Hayate.

"Whoaaa!"

"Kyoichi-sensei!!"

The classroom erupted in cheers.

Seeing Kyoichi arrive with a group in tow, the kids reacted like they were meeting a celebrity. Everyone was cheering excitedly, and even Ishimura's usual intimidating glare had no effect whatsoever.

He could only walk over helplessly.

"Jōnin Kyoichi, uh... what's going on?"

"Ishimura-senpai, this is the Chūnin Prep Class. I'd like to organize a joint activity with your students... Since mine have battlefield experience, they'll share their thoughts and give one-on-one guidance."

Kyoichi didn't hold any grudges against Ishimura, so there was no intent to target him. He had only planned to pick a class with promising students.

Turned out... well, this was it.

"This... Alright, but there's not enough room in here," Ishimura said awkwardly.

Only half of Kyoichi's class had arrived. If more showed up, they wouldn't even have space to stand, let alone sit.

"No problem. We're all ninja... Let's head to the training field!"

"Yes, sir!"

Swish—

In the blink of an eye, the kids by the windows leapt out gracefully.

Just watching them jump out made it clear—they were very experienced in ditching class.

"Well then, everyone to the training field."

Ishimura sighed.

Kyoichi was a Jōnin, with plenty of battlefield merit and sky-high prestige in Konoha. Even though this event hadn't been announced in advance...

Thinking about it...

He didn't even need to teach. The students would learn something, and the rookie genin would get actual combat guidance.

Win-win-win.

And besides—

There was no stopping him anyway.

By the time he agreed, only the honest, civilian-born students remained in the classroom.

Those from clan backgrounds rarely feared teachers, while the civilian-born were typically more obedient.

Kyoichi's prep class had the same dynamic.

People like Asuma, Obito, and Shisui—

All of them were currently late. But Kamizuki Izumo and the others had arrived on time.

The honest ones shouldn't be the ones to suffer.

These were the students Kyoichi was planning to focus on next.

"What's going on?"

Other classes were already craning their necks to peek outside.

The noise and excitement made them envious to the point of red eyes, and even the other teachers came out to see what was going on—only for Kyoichi to greet them with a casual wave.

"Let them study hard. Their turn will come soon."

"Yes, thank you, Kyoichi-sama!"

"Ahem, no need for the 'sama.' We're all old colleagues—just call me Kyoichi."

With a distant nod, Kyoichi led his group toward the training field.

Inside the training field—

Nohara Rin clutched the hem of her shirt, her whole body tense to the max—

She felt more nervous than during surgery.

"Rin, go ahead and share your thoughts with everyone."

"Y-Yes!"

Rin mustered all her courage.

It's just talking, right?

No big deal!

Around this time, faster students like Asuma were arriving one after another, while slower ones... like Obito—

They still hadn't even found him yet.

But Kyoichi didn't plan to wait.

Being late and still thinking you had a say?

"War... war is brutal."

Rin recalled her own experience.

She closed her eyes—and all she could see were fallen comrades and enemies. The memories came rushing back, and she could almost smell the iron tang of blood in the air.

Gradually, she began to understand what she needed to say.

"I was lucky. Before heading to the battlefield, I did a couple of C-rank missions with Minato-sensei. I'd seen blood and killed before, so I adapted a little faster than others. But... even our team didn't really accomplish anything on the battlefield."

She sighed.

At that moment, someone raised a hand—

It was Mitarashi Anko.

Rin looked at her, then glanced toward Kyoichi.

"Go ahead."

"Thank you, sensei. And thank you, Rin-senpai... I just wanted to ask—your team included Minato-sama and Kakashi-senpai. With that kind of strength, wouldn't you be considered a really strong team?"

Anko asked with confusion.

"On the battlefield, unless your strength reaches the level of Kyoichi-sensei or Minato-sensei, even a jōnin can face death at any time."

Rin replied, "Take me, for example. Even under Minato-sensei's command, I was more of a burden than a help. Without us, he could've fought freely. With us, he was tied down."

"Uh..." The training field fell silent.

Even jōnin could die at any moment?

The battlefield...

Was terrifying.

Then they remembered the recent rumors about Kyoichi and started to reevaluate his strength—both he and Minato Namikaze had clearly surpassed the jōnin level.

And yet such a powerful ninja...

Had once been their teacher.

It felt unbelievable.

"After returning from the battlefield, the one thing that stuck with me is how powerless we are alone. Our current strength is nowhere near enough to feel proud or complacent."

"Thank you for listening."

Rin bowed deeply.

Kyoichi led the applause.

Well said.

The speech was short, without fluff—every word came from the heart.

As expected...

Letting Rin go first was the right call.

Thunderous applause erupted across the field. Just then, Obito finally arrived—only to find Rin standing in the center, everyone clapping.

He joined in clapping, totally baffled.

So...

What happened?

He looked to Shisui, hoping his younger clansman could clue him in. Unfortunately, Shisui didn't even glance at him—he was entirely focused on Rin.

"Alright. Anyone else want to speak? If not, we'll move on to one-on-one mentoring."

"Se-Sensei... may I say a few words?"

Asuma raised his hand.

Next to him, Shisui subtly lowered his own hand—it was clear he'd nudged Asuma to speak instead.

Kyoichi raised an eyebrow in mild surprise but gave a small nod.

Asuma didn't move forward. He just stood where he was.

"I just wanted to add something. I was lucky enough to be involved in sensei's large-scale combo jutsu—Lightning Release: Kirin. With that combined technique, we broke through Iwagakure's Earth-Style defenses and made Ōnoki hesitate to even enter the Land of Fire."

"The battlefield minimizes individual impact—but the power of teamwork can grow immensely. I think... we haven't even reached our full potential as a team yet."

"Thank you, sensei, for the opportunity."

He bowed deeply.

Kyoichi nodded gently. Honestly, that was something he had planned to say himself...

But whatever.

It wasn't like there was much credit to steal in the first place. Better to let them grow stronger—it'd pay off in the long run.

"Asuma is absolutely right. Unless your individual strength reaches an extreme level, it's hard to influence the battlefield alone. But the power of a team... is a different story."

"One chopstick breaks easily. Ten? A hundred? Bundled together—it's not so simple."

The Master of Motivational Speeches was at it again.

These were all common sayings in his previous life, but in this world, they were brand new. Especially as Kyoichi vividly described the Lightning Release: Kirin incident—

With a few tweaks, of course.

In his version, Ōnoki and the Iwa-nin had the upper hand. Konoha was overwhelmed and had to request emergency reinforcements from the east.

Then came the inspiration to use Lightning Release.

They combined their chakra, summoned a thunderstorm, and two massive bolts of lightning blasted Ōnoki's forces into retreat.

The students were fired up, practically vibrating with excitement.

They hated that they hadn't been there.

Everything Kyoichi said was technically true.

He just... didn't mention that Konoha actually could've fought back just fine. The reason the battle was stretched out was to lure Ōnoki deeper into the Land of Grass, so Minato's team could flank and encircle him.

Applied Success Theory.

It worked like a charm!

Everyone looked like they'd just downed a gallon of energy drink—excited, proud, and full of dreams.

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