To Repay Debts, Become Hokage!

Tsunade blinked. "It's a secret. I do know, but it wouldn't be a surprise if I told you."

"Ah, how could you!"

Nawaki looked dejected for a moment, then immediately began to beam with a silly, wide grin.

"Congratulations on your graduation, Senior Nawaki."

"Congratulations on officially becoming a ninja."

Nawaki's close friends all came to offer their congratulations: Minato Namikaze, Mikoto Uchiha, Kushina Uzumaki, Yakushi Nonō, and others.

Shikaku Nara, Hizashi Hyuga, and Tsume Inuzuka were there as well; these were all people who had gotten to know Nawaki through Uchiha Chonhua and Minato Namikaze.

Nawaki was quite touched and immediately decided to treat everyone to a meal at the newly opened barbecue restaurant.

As for the cost of the treat... since her younger brother had graduated, his older sister had to pay for at least one meal, right?

Tsunade readily agreed to this and even called over Jiraiya and Orochimaru.

That night was filled with clinking glasses and lively conversation.

The large group laughed and joked, the atmosphere incredibly boisterous, with every face glowing with happy smiles.

The protagonist of the story, Nawaki, was especially happy—so happy he burst into tears.

He muttered, "Waaah, I finally graduated!" "No more studying!" "Just you wait, I'll be a Chunin soon, get promoted to Jonin, and then become the Hokage that everyone in the village acknowledges!"

Nawaki waved his arm in the air: "I am going to be the greatest Hokage!"

"Then you must be careful when carrying out missions, Nawaki." Thinking of Nawaki's tragic end in the original story, Uchiha Chonhua gave him repeated, earnest warnings.

The core requirement was simple: listen to your superiors and don't let your hot-bloodedness drive you to charge in blindly. That was exactly how the Nawaki of the original story had fallen into an explosive tag trap and been blown to bits, even with Orochimaru standing right there unable to stop him.

"Remember, prioritize your own safety. Only by staying alive can you reach the day your dreams come true; if you're dead, you have nothing."

Nawaki slapped his chest hard, but he accidentally used too much force and coughed violently, ending up with a runny nose and teary eyes.

"Cough... relax, I'm the man who's going to be Hokage! I won't die on the way there!"

It was clear he hadn't taken it to heart. Uchiha Chonhua felt helpless. He patted Nawaki's shoulder heavily, causing Nawaki to wince and grit his teeth in pain.

He looked at Uchiha Chonhua and saw the other boy looking at him with grave seriousness.

Chonhua like this... Nawaki swallowed hard; he had never seen him this way before.

"Nawaki, promise me you'll put your own life first. I don't want to see your name on the Memorial Stone one day."

The words were heavy, and Nawaki couldn't help but turn serious as well.

"I promise you, Chonhua. I won't die. I'm the one who's going to wear the Hokage hat; how could I end up as a nameless name on the Memorial Stone?"

"Hey, why so serious? What's with all this talk of life and death?"

Tsunade leaned in, tapped Uchiha Chonhua on the head, and laughed: "The missions Nawaki can take at his current rank are only D-rank or C-rank. They aren't very dangerous and are perfect for honing his skills. Save those lectures for when Nawaki becomes a Chunin."

Uchiha Chonhua sighed inwardly.

If only it were truly that simple. It was a pity that there wouldn't be many opportunities left for Nawaki to hone his skills. War was coming.

No sooner had the thought crossed his mind than it arrived.

To Uchiha Chonhua's surprise, a war involving Konoha broke out very quickly.

A month after Nawaki's graduation, Uchiha Chonhua learned that Kumogakure of the Land of Lightning, a great power to the north, had launched an attack on the borders of the Land of Fire.

This caught Uchiha Chonhua off guard, but he quickly calmed himself.

Although the original story never mentioned this specific war between Kumogakure and Konoha during the Second Shinobi World War, he was living in reality now; nothing was surprising anymore.

Nawaki did not participate in this war. He had just become a Genin and was still familiarizing himself with mission procedures. Furthermore, Konoha had plenty of manpower, so it wasn't his turn to head to the battlefield yet.

Incidentally, Nawaki's instructor was an elite Jonin, and an acquaintance of theirs at that.

It was Tsunade's close friend, Orochimaru.

This was indeed a surprise for Nawaki, as he had mentioned his admiration for Senior Orochimaru more than once.

...Yet, when he reached the battlefield, he would end up losing his life without listening to the advice of that very same Senior Orochimaru he admired so much.

As Nawaki's instructor, Orochimaru did not follow the main force north to deal with the Kumogakure invasion.

Leading the troops were Jiraiya, Tsunade, and... Shimura Danzō.

"The war in the north is over? Already?"

Uchiha Chonhua had just finished healing a half-dead cow; the larger the mass, the more exhausting the healing process was.

He had just wiped the sweat from his brow when he heard Tsunade, who had just returned, say that the northern war was over.

Wasn't that a bit too fast?

It had only been two months since the northern war broke out.

Tsunade looked troubled. She glanced toward the depths of the hallway, where the room where Mito Uzumaki was recuperating lay.

Kushina was there, learning sealing techniques from Mito Uzumaki.

"The Eight-Tails in Kumogakure has gone berserk."

Tsunade spoke rapidly: "The Third Raikage has urgently retreated to the village to deal with the Eight-Tails' rampage. Until this incident is resolved, Kumogakure will have no capacity to launch another war."

When the Eight-Tails went berserk, Kumogakure's ninjas were fighting on the front lines, and the village's strongest ninja, the Third Raikage, was also stationed there.

With the rear left defenseless, the Eight-Tails had rampaged to its heart's content, leaving the entire village nearly reduced to ruins.

Although their main force remained intact, the top priority was an emergency retreat to the village to subdue the Eight-Tails and rebuild the ruins left in its wake.

Two months after the northern war began, it came to an abrupt and unexpected end.

Chapter 23: Becoming a Genin, and a Disastrous Card Pull

"Chonhua, I want to hear about your choices after graduation."

Uchiha Ryutai sat on the veranda, his gaze fixed on the distant, towering Hokage Rock.

Uchiha Chonhua remained silent, offering no reply.

Uchiha Ryutai continued: "The Military Police Force is short on men. Would you like to join? With my help and your own strength, you could reach the rank of captain very quickly."

"I don't intend to join the Military Police Force." Uchiha Chonhua shook his head in refusal: "Compared to a captain's position, I would rather start as a Genin, taking on D-rank and C-rank missions."

"Compared to the Military Police Force, you prefer them, then..."

Uchiha Ryutai understood, feeling no surprise. After spending several years together, he knew this child felt even closer to Konoha than he did.

He shook his head with a chuckle: "I was only asking. I know your dreams, and I am even more aware of the efforts you have made for them. This choice is understandable."

"However..." Uchiha Ryutai's expression turned serious, his eyes burning as he looked at Uchiha Chonhua.

"Chonhua, do not forget that the blood of the Uchiha flows through your veins. Never forget your clan."

"The village is important because it is the home for all of us, but this home is composed of many smaller families. Do not just look up at the sky and ignore the roots beneath your feet."

Being close to Konoha was fine; he, Uchiha Ryutai, was also part of the faction that favored the village.

But closeness was one thing; it was only valuable because it brought benefits, lasting peace, and security to the clan.

If a day ever came when Konoha and the Uchiha clan clashed, Uchiha Ryutai's eyes sharpened; he would undoubtedly choose his own roots.

Uchiha Chonhua dreamed of becoming Hokage, which was fine. Many in the Uchiha clan had designs on the position; it was nothing unusual.

Uchiha Ryutai only hoped that such a brilliant young man would not mindlessly throw himself into the embrace of the Hokage faction, thereby neglecting the Uchiha clan that birthed him.

The clan—the clan was the foundation!

Uchiha Chonhua nodded solemnly to show he understood. Of course, he would not neglect the Uchiha clan.

But at this stage, he would not get too close to the Uchiha clan; that depended on the mood of Sarutobi Hiruzen.

There was no helping it; the Hokage held more cards right now. With the Sannin and Hatake Sakumo, they had nothing to fear from any single clan.

The initiative did not lie with them, but with the Konoha authorities.

And what he had to do was struggle to squeeze into the official Konoha circles, then step by step, expand his own influence.

Until the day he could turn the tables.

"Congratulations on graduating! Now it's my turn to say it, hehe."

Nawaki congratulated his friends.

Uchiha Chonhua's class welcomed their graduation today.

Uchiha Chonhua touched the Konoha forehead protector on his head. He felt no joy; on the contrary, he was somewhat depressed.

"Chonhua, what's wrong? You've graduated, you're a ninja now—why that expression?"

It was because the card pull was a disaster, of course.

When he received his forehead protector, took his ID photo, and his ninja file was sent to the Hokage Building, the system popped up to tell him he could perform his Genin card pull.

And then...

Uchiha Chonhua didn't want to recall the experience. It wasn't anyone he recognized—just a generic-looking Kirigakure Genin.

He was entirely mediocre, and his strongest skill was merely using the Hidden Mist Technique for assassinations.

Ah, this... Uchiha Chonhua tearfully inherited everything from this Kirigakure extra character card. Aside from a slight increase in chakra and physical constitution, it was essentially useless.

How strong could a ten-year-old Kirigakure extra be? And this was from the early days of the village's founding, which was definitely a peaceful era compared to the later "Bloody Mist" period.

This pull was a total bust.

"I just want to become a Chunin as quickly as possible now."

Uchiha Chonhua clenched his fists in grief and indignation. He refused to believe he would be this unlucky when he pulled for his Chunin rank!

Nawaki, speaking with the wisdom of someone who had been there, said earnestly: "To become a Chunin, you first have to complete a certain number of missions, and then you need a recommendation letter from your instructor. That's the hardest part."

"I feel like I could definitely pass the Chunin Exams with my strength, but Master Orochimaru doesn't think so. He won't give me a recommendation, so there's nothing I can do but keep doing these boring missions."

Uchiha Chonhua gave him a strange look. "Is it possible that Orochimaru-senpai is right, and you really aren't qualified to participate in the Chunin Exams yet?"

"I think I am."

Nawaki was full of confidence as he patted his chest.

"Give it a rest. It doesn't matter if you're ready; the Chunin Exams require the entire team to participate. Are your teammates even up for it?"

Kushina Uzumaki shook her head suddenly. "No, no, it could also be that your teammates are ready, but you aren't, which is why Orochimaru didn't agree."

"Hey, that actually makes sense when you put it that way."

"Makes sense my foot!" Nawaki glared at Kushina Uzumaki. "How could it be that I'm not ready? Hmph, our whole team is ready, so it's all Orochimaru-sensei's fault!"

"Alright, alright, let's not stand around here. Barbecue, I want to eat barbecue!"

Choza Akimichi shouted; all this congratulating wasn't nearly as satisfying as a good meal of barbecue.

"He's right. I'll go get Shikaku and the others."

Namikaze Minato went to fetch them, and soon a large group of people arrived.

It wasn't just their friends like Shikaku Nara, but their parents as well.

With their children graduating, it was only natural for the parents to come and share in the joy of the occasion.

On the way, Uchiha Chonhua walked up beside Yakushi Nonō.

"Nonō, are you going to Konoha Hospital after graduation?"

The medical class of this year had also graduated, but unlike the others, the medical class wouldn't be led by a sensei on missions; instead, they would go directly to Konoha Hospital for their internship.

Yakushi Nonō nodded, expressing her anticipation for her future life.

She had finally become a medical ninja and could enter Konoha Hospital to work and earn money.

This way, she would be able to give back to the Church Orphanage that had raised her.