"The northern part of the Land of Rivers and western part of the Land of Rain should be your primary targets. After securing these, you can look eastward to countries like the Land of Grass and the Land of Waterfalls."
"Westward expansion? Annexing those small countries?"
Yahiko frowned.
But annexing them would only draw too much attention, wouldn't it?
He was very confused.
"Of course, you can't annex them. If you do, Sunagakure and Iwagakure won't just sit back and watch. They'll immediately move against you."
Kyōichi said.
Both Yahiko and Konan were puzzled.
If they couldn't annex them,
the small countries to the west, like the Land of Birds, didn't even have ninja villages. They had no strength to speak of. Yahiko couldn't think of any other method besides annexation.
"Have you ever considered helping them establish their own hidden villages?"
"Huh?"
Yahiko was stunned.
Helping them establish hidden villages?
What good would that do…
But then, a spark of insight flashed in his mind, and he vaguely grasped something.
Konan frowned and said, "If we don't help them build villages, we can still take on some of their missions. But if we help them establish villages, won't we lose all those missions?"
"Missions?"
Yahiko was momentarily stunned, but then he finally caught that spark of insight.
Yes, missions!
Originally these small nations had no hidden villages, forcing them to request missions from the Five Great Nations. But if they had their own villages, smaller commissions could be handled internally.
However.
Given the limited resources of small countries, they wouldn't be able to support strong ninjas. Difficult missions would still need to be outsourced.
At that point, wouldn't Amegakure, which helped them establish their villages, be the first choice?
Unlike now.
Without their own villages, most missions flow to Sunagakure and Iwagakure anyway, barely involving Amegakure.
But…
"Will Sunagakure and Iwagakure agree to this?"
"Of course not. That's why this period of wartime chaos is your best opportunity to act."
Kyōichi said.
Iwagakure was busy with war. Sunagakure had just suffered defeat, licking its wounds in some corner.
As for Rasa,
He was probably digging for gold somewhere right now.
"I completely understand now! First help them establish hidden villages, then form a coalition with these small villages centered around Amegakure."
Yahiko clapped excitedly. "Exactly! Once this structure exists, larger villages like the Land of Grass might voluntarily join the alliance."
"And the southern part of the Land of Rivers would be compensation for Sunagakure?"
Konan wasn't stupid either.
Kyōichi only mentioned the northern part of the Land of Rivers, not the south, implying that Amegakure couldn't touch the southern part.
That must be the explanation.
"Not just that. The Land of Wind lacks water, while your Land of Rain and Land of Rivers have abundance. Consider channeling your water resources there. Also, most of Konoha's missions are concentrated in southern Land of Rivers."
Kyōichi explained.
Yahiko nodded repeatedly.
The southern Land of Rivers was relatively prosperous, with most Suna and Konoha missions concentrated in that area.
Amegakure couldn't take all of it, or else they'd have to face not just Iwagakure and Sunagakure, but also Konoha.
The current plan is to quietly help the small countries, form a coalition centered around Amegakure, and then negotiate peace with the Land of Wind and the Land of Fire.
Thus, their only real opposition would be the Land of Earth.
The more he thought about it, the more Yahiko realized Kyōichi's plan was superior to his own naive idea of allying with Suna.
"After I returned, I thought I had understood your words. But now I see I only grasped part of it. If not for your guidance, I might have made catastrophic mistakes later."
Yahiko couldn't help but sigh.
Looking back, Hanzo-sama's slightly odd expression probably indicated doubts about his plan's viability.
Yet.
Hanzo-sama was willing to give him a chance to try.
This moved him deeply.
Of course.
There was also Kyōichi's behind-the-scenes guidance.
Konan, however, seemed hesitant to ask something.
"Konan, speak your mind. After all, I stole your Paper Ninjutsu secrets - I owe you a great debt."
Kyōichi couldn't help teasing the blue-haired kunoichi.
Konan at this time…
She was truly beautiful.
Konan "tsk"ed, then said with a complex expression, "Aren't you afraid that helping us strengthen Amegakure might threaten Konoha in the future?"
"That's a problem for the future. Today's reality is the Four Great Nations want to attack us. We must secure allies where we can."
Kyōichi didn't hide his motives. "Moreover, when a new power emerges in the shinobi world, it might actually help maintain balanced peace through mutual deterrence."
"Relative peace through balance?"
"Where there are people, there will conflict. Absolute peace is impossible unless... say, a stronger external force exists. Like some powerful clan on the moon capable of ruling the ninja world."
Kyōichi said half-jokingly.
Yahiko fell into deep thought.
The chaotic thoughts in his mind gradually cleared up after Kyōichi's words.
The Land of Earth, the Land of Wind, and the coalition of small countries.
The Land of Lightning, the Land of Water, and the Land of Fire.
Each side would restrain and deter the others, creating a relatively stable situation.
He fully understood Kyōichi's vision.
After realizing this, Yahiko couldn't help but admire Kyōichi deeply. He sighed, "Your vision of peace is truly practical and achievable. Unlike my previous pursuit of an illusory absolute peace, which was impossible."
"Not necessarily. Right or wrong, only by trying will we know."
"Practice brings true knowledge."
Kyōichi smiled.
Yahiko deeply agreed. He felt Hanzo-sama shared this philosophy -
Without trying, ideals would remain just that: ideals.
"Thank you so much!"
"Don't mention it... By the way Konan, I don't know how far you've developed your Paper Ninjutsu, but I have some ideas you might find useful."
Kyōichi handed over a scroll.
It contained all the knowledge of the Dance of the Shikigami, along with some ideas for the Divine Paper Technique and other applications.
Although it was just a compilation of Konan's future techniques, at this stage, she definitely hadn't fully mastered them yet.
Konan's face lit up with joy as she scanned the scroll.
Some of these techniques she had vague ideas about, but they were far from as refined as Kyōichi's. Especially the Dance of the Shikigami, which she was still experimenting with.
This scroll would save her years of trial-and-error.
She bowed deeply, her gratitude unspoken.
"Yahiko, I can't teach you much right now, but since you know kenjutsu, you could try infusing Water Release chakra into your sword. In any case, don't forget to improve your strength even while busy with other matters."
Kyōichi said seriously. "Only when your strength reaches a certain level will Ōnoki and Rasa truly acknowledge your coalition of small countries. Relying solely on Hanzo won't work."
"Yes, I understand."
Yahiko bowed deeply with utmost respect.
Although they were actually older than Kyōichi, they regarded him as another sensei.
Kyōichi waved his hand, then disappeared.
The advantage of sending a shadow clone was…
No return trip needed.
"Though Kyōichi-sensei acts for Konoha's benefit, but his great kindness to us is comparable to Jiraiya-sensei's life-saving grace. We must never use his teachings against Konoha."
"Let's go!"
Yahiko whispered.
Konan nodded beside him, then looked at the scroll in her hand, her emotions complex.
Years of personal research couldn't match the systematic techniques Kyōichi casually provided. Though many were theoretical concepts, those were precisely the hardest to come up with.
This left her feeling somewhat defeated.
But at the same time, she was excited—
With this scroll, her strength could quickly catch up to Nagato and Yahiko, no longer being dead weight.
"Thank you!"
She whispered to the east, then quickly followed Yahiko.
…
At the border between the Land of Grass and the Land of Fire.
Kyōichi heard the system's notification, and a flood of memories entered his mind.
The shadow clone's work was done.
He first checked his status panel.
[Completed 'Small Nation Alliance' Guidance]
[Evaluation: Excellent]
[Reward: Kenjutsu: Issen]
In Kyōichi's view, what he had said was just his own rough understanding based on his past life experiences.
However.
For Yahiko and the others, it was indeed a rare and valuable approach.
If he could elaborate further, the evaluation might have been higher, but unfortunately, he wasn't an expert in this field in his past life.
There were two more notifications. He continued reading.
[Yahiko views you as Life Mentor]
[Konan views you as...]
Yahiko's reward was an analysis of the Rain Tiger at Will Technique.
Konan's was the Paper Person of God Technique.
To be honest.
He had vaguely guessed that Yahiko's reward might trigger, but he hadn't expected Konan to acknowledge him as well.
But upon reflection, it made sense.
Konan's most important people were Nagato and Yahiko.
By helping them and giving her the ninjutsu scroll to improve her strength, she naturally felt deeply grateful and recognized him.
Unfortunately.
Kyōichi couldn't teach them the important Water Release techniques he knew. The lesser ones Yahiko already knew, so he could only offer some casual advice.
"I hope these three can hold on."
Kyōichi thought to himself.
For now, he wanted to avoid confronting Madara.
Moreover,
A successful Small Nation Alliance could stabilize the ninja world, improving Konoha's position.
The danger was peacemakers becoming new tyrants.
But for now, it was safe. As for the future, he believed his strength would far surpass his current level.
With that thought, Kyōichi pushed aside his distractions and focused on reviewing the shadow clone's memories.
The intelligence on the Land of Earth!
The information Yahiko provided detailed the current situation in the Land of Earth, including some military deployments.
This was likely intelligence gathered by Amegakure's Anbu.
Hanzo really valued Yahiko.
Thinking about it, it made sense.
If he didn't value Yahiko, why would he let him proceed with a plan he knew was flawed?
Hanzo was confident he could handle the fallout, letting Yahiko stumble first.
He was grooming Yahiko as his successor!
After some thought, Kyōichi refocused and set his sights—
First, infiltrate the Land of Earth.
What to do next would depend on the intelligence gathered.
After all, he had the authority to make decisions on his own.
As long as he avoided certain key points, there wouldn't be much risk.
"Owl, you sleep. I'll take the night watch."
"This… Yes!"
With several new techniques to study, how could he sleep?
Issen, Rain Tiger at Will Technique, and Paper Person of God Technique.
The third was the most valuable but also the simplest, as its applications were straightforward and required little effort to use.
Issen was also manageable.
But the Rain Tiger at Will Technique…
This was a principle analysis, and even if he fully mastered it, it wouldn't be very useful, since not every place was as rainy as the Land of Rain.
Kyōichi understood well.
Its true value lay in its applications of chakra and sensing techniques.