I, Konoha's Sage of Life-Chapter 234: Chōza: What the hell, we can’t even eat anymore?

Chapter 234: Chapter 234: Chōza: What the hell, we can’t even eat anymore?

According to the original plan, the next step for the Ninja Academy was to continue integration and launch a jōnin-level education program. But due to the current shortage of instructors...

That plan had to be postponed for now.

Even though Konoha remained the strongest of the Five Great Shinobi Villages, jōnin were still a scarce resource. Those with the strength and qualifications to train other jōnin were even rarer.

Orochimaru counted as one.

Unfortunately, he was currently under semi-house arrest. He couldn’t leave Konoha, and his public reputation was in shambles—no one dared trust him with instruction.

Another candidate was the Third Hokage.

But as the principal of the Ninja Academy, his primary duties were compiling textbooks and drafting the institution’s rules—arguably even more important than jōnin instruction.

As for Jiraiya...

Don’t even bring him up. According to Kyoichi’s latest intel, that bastard had just left the Land of Hot Springs and was now off gallivanting around the Land of Lightning.

He even ran into one of the trade caravans Kyoichi had dispatched.

Yes...

The first shipment of fast-grown medicinal herbs had already been delivered.

Custom order by Kumogakure.

Apparently, they didn’t dare accept finished medical products, but for Konoha, it made no difference.

They were mass-produced either way.

Finished product or not, the money still came in.

As for the part about running into Jiraiya—after reading the report, Kyoichi was fairly certain the man had just showed up to mooch a meal.

That guy was probably broke.

Seriously—vanished without a trace after soaking in the hot springs for too long?

Kyoichi didn’t even know what to say.

In retrospect, it made a lot of sense why Jiraiya went on to write the Icha Icha series in the original timeline. At least writing books was within legal limits. Compared to the vices of gambling, drugs, and worse, he was almost... principled.

With no qualified teachers, the jōnin training program was on hold for now. But the Flying Thunder Formation unit had already started recruiting and training in secret—its initial members selected from within the ANBU.

Minato was busy again.

But compared to the chaos of before, this workload was something he could handle with ease—and even found satisfying.

As for Kakashi and Obito, they were currently assigned to short-range, lower-tier missions—C-rank or below. As chūnin, they were now eligible to take on these jobs without a supervising jōnin.

Kyoichi was in the ANBU office, planning to finish reviewing intel and then leave a shadow clone to cover for him while he returned to the Forest of Death to continue his training.

That is, until—

He walked out the door and came face to face with a constipated-looking Akimichi Chōza.

Kyoichi immediately tried to walk away.

But—

"Kyoichi, don’t leave! If you walk away—I swear I’ll go to your house and never leave!"

Chōza dashed forward and grabbed Kyoichi’s arm.

He had originally planned to say something more threatening, but then remembered that the scariest person in the Akimichi household these days wasn’t him. So he swallowed his words and said the second half instead.

Ironically...

The second half was more lethal than the first.

With the Akimichi clan’s appetite, maybe they wouldn’t literally eat him out of house and home—but a tenfold increase in food expenses? Entirely possible.

Kyoichi sighed. "If this is about the food issue, don’t bother!"

"No room for negotiation?"

Chōza clutched his hand, looking miserable. "Kyoichi, my clan’s up in arms right now. They’re saying that with your plan, we can’t even eat our fill anymore. Are we supposed to just starve to death?"

"Chōza, they don’t understand. You and Shikaku are close, you should know better. That food—maybe it doesn’t taste amazing—but it’s premium quality, packed with nutrients. Jiraiya himself said, ’A ninja is someone who endures.’ If we can’t even handle this much hardship, what kind of ninja are we?"

Kyoichi grew serious.

Chōza wanted to argue, but found he couldn’t. He’d eaten that stuff too.

Sure, it tasted bad. But it was made with legit ingredients. He could tell Kyoichi’s initiative wasn’t about profit—Konoha was probably losing money on this.

In fact—

The Ninja Academy’s new cafeteria? A total money sink.

So then, what was the point?

"To build stronger bodies, to help people grow stronger. The body is the foundation of everything. And this is just the beginning—Konoha Hospital is going to join the research effort. Meal planning’s only going to get better from here."

"But... what’s the point of all this?"

Chōza couldn’t hold it in anymore.

At that moment, Nara Shikaku walked up and gently patted Chōza’s shoulder.

"Chōza, Kyoichi is doing this for the future of Konoha. We clan kids have our privileges, but we also have a duty to the village."

"...Fine. Sorry, Kyoichi. I’ll go deal with my clan members. If they still won’t listen, I’ll cut off their meals. Bunch of ingrates!"

With just that one sentence, Chōza let it go. Huffing angrily, he turned and stormed off to go scold whichever relatives he may or may not have invented for this conversation.

"Thanks, Shikaku-senpai," Kyoichi sighed.

No clan leader is an idiot. There’s no way Chōza was really upset about a bowl of food.

The Akimichi weren’t that picky.

It wasn’t like every single one of them had a gourmet complex. Most likely, he’d come to speak on behalf of his clan’s broader interests. Fortunately, Shikaku stood firmly with the village. Otherwise, convincing them might’ve been... a bit of a hassle.

"Oh please. You’re doing all this for the village. Honestly, the ratio of clan-born to civilian students in the Academy is balanced now, but outside school the gap is still huge. Chōza didn’t need to get so worked up over this."

Shikaku saw things clearly.

Kyoichi had empowered the civilian population, yes—but clan shinobi still had the advantage.

Secret jutsu. Generational wealth. A deep reservoir of techniques.

These things don’t disappear overnight.

Of course...

With this system, civilians finally had a ladder they could climb. Konoha’s future shinobi force would grow stronger across the board.

Naturally, that also meant clan kids wouldn’t be able to rest on their laurels anymore.

But wasn’t that a good thing?

At least in Shikaku’s eyes, many of the great clans had grown a bit too comfortable in the postwar era. They were starting to lose their drive.

"Of course you saw through me, Shikaku-senpai."

"I only figured it out today."

Shikaku shook his head, then asked, "You’ve got more plans, don’t you?"

"Yep. Next step—full boarding. 24-hour residential education. Regimented like a proper ninja platoon."

"...Residential? What’s the goal there?"

Shikaku was confused.

He could understand the cafeteria—it was a great way to support civilian kids and improve their nutrition, especially those from poorer families.

But full-time boarding?

"I mean everyone. All students will live on-site. We’ll manage them using military-grade protocols like during the war. The goal is to build seamless teamwork from the ground up."

"Hmm..." Shikaku thought for a moment, and the idea started to click. But wow—Kyoichi didn’t pull punches.

With a setup like this...

There’s zero freedom.

Those top-tier students who didn’t graduate last year? They were probably regretting it now—bitterly cursing the relatives who advised them to stay.

With this system...

The quality of genin would absolutely skyrocket. No doubt.

And as for theoretical knowledge?

Shikaku figured Kyoichi had that covered too.

"It’s a good system, but won’t the pressure be too intense? Also—how often will they get breaks?"

"We’ll roll it out gradually. In the ideal version, classes run five days on, two days off. If that doesn’t fly, four-on-three is the absolute minimum. Any more compromise than that, and it loses its effectiveness."

Shikaku gave a small nod.

Tight schedule, full weekends—sounds intense, but not unbearable.

Slow ramp-up meant fewer complaints.

He paused.

Then frowned. "What about the genin who’ve already graduated?"

"Simple—half a day doing missions, half a day off. I’ve already started drafting a plan. I’ll submit it to Tsunade tomorrow—you should come help review it."

"Understood."

Shikaku bowed slightly.

The Academy was Konoha’s future—no room for half-measures.

But man...

Kyoichi’s ideas were truly eye-opening.

A tiny cafeteria initiative had already shifted the balance of power. And now boarding?

It was both a crisis and an opportunity.

Under these rules, the civilian rise was inevitable—but as long as clan shinobi kept striving forward, their status wouldn’t be threatened.

In fact—

They’d become more deeply intertwined with civilians than ever before. Truly realizing the First Hokage’s vision: you in me, me in you. No divisions.

Of course...

That was the ideal.

Reality might diverge.

The only real concern? Conflicts between students in the dorms.

That kind of drama...

Best kept out of the classroom.

Shikaku narrowed his eyes, thinking he should bring this up with the Third.

The last thing Konoha needed...

Was a whole new generation of mini-Danzōs scheming in the shadows.

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