To Repay My Debts, I'll Become Hokage!

Tsunade's fists tightened; she planned to give Nawaki a beating before she left the village.

"Tsunade, I think it might be good to let Nawaki see the battlefield."

At this moment, Orochimaru's voice drifted over.

Chapter 27: Kidnapping a Young Lady

In the end, Nawaki followed Orochimaru to the northern front.

With Orochimaru's persuasion, Jiraiya standing by to pat his chest in guarantee, and Nawaki's own insistent clamoring to go, Tsunade thought it over and finally agreed.

Nawaki was too naive about the cruelty of the battlefield; Tsunade frowned, thinking it wouldn't hurt for him to see it for himself.

As for Namikaze Minato and Uchiha Chonhua, they had no intention of going to the front.

Namikaze Minato had been running off to Mount Myoboku these days, practicing his Summoning Jutsu and building a rapport with the toads.

Nawaki could go because he wanted to, but Namikaze Minato was humble; he felt his own strength was insufficient and that he might just be a hindrance on the battlefield, so he preferred to focus on his training.

Although Jiraiya felt Namikaze Minato's strength was more than enough—and with them there to provide protection, while there would certainly be danger, it could serve as a valuable training opportunity if he remained cautious—Namikaze Minato still declined after some thought.

Uchiha Chonhua didn't go because he remembered events from the original story.

He glanced at Kushina Uzumaki, who was laughing and chatting with Mikoto, his eyes darkening. Is it this period of time?

He couldn't be sure, but he would keep a close watch.

"I leave it to you."

Uchiha Chonhua released a raven as black as ink.

The raven let out a caw and flew toward the person whose photo its master had shown it.

Uchiha Chonhua formed hand seals, and the next moment, the world before his eyes shifted as his consciousness linked with the raven.

Through the bird, he could overlook the earth from the sky, and the sights of Konoha came into view.

It didn't take long for the raven to find Kushina Uzumaki; it perched on a nearby tree, its eyes blinking as it stared.

Wherever Kushina Uzumaki went, the raven followed.

"Is this not secure enough?"

Uchiha Chonhua felt one raven wasn't enough, so he summoned four more to follow Kushina Uzumaki.

With perspectives from the north, south, east, west, and one looking down from above, he observed Kushina Uzumaki from all angles to ensure nothing went wrong.

Even if, hypothetically, the ravens lost track of her, he had a backup plan: Tsume Inuzuka's ninja hound, Kuro-maru.

As classmates, Kuro-maru was familiar with Kushina Uzumaki's scent; if sight failed, he would have smell to fall back on.

If that still didn't work, Uchiha Chonhua tapped his desk lightly.

Then he would have to use the old method from the original story: searching for Kushina's beautiful red hair.

"I wonder when those Cloud Village spies will make their move."

This feeling of being unable to control the situation made Uchiha Chonhua uncomfortable.

He only knew that Kushina Uzumaki was kidnapped by the Cloud Village in her childhood, but he didn't know the exact day. Judging by the forehead protector and age she had in the original story, it had to be within these next two years.

When the Cloud Village acted irrationally—ignoring the fact that their village had just been ravaged by the Eight-Tails and failing to focus on reconstruction, instead brazenly launching a war against the Land of Fire—Uchiha Chonhua felt there was more to it. Connecting the Eight-Tails riot to Kushina's current age, he was certain.

There was no doubt about it; Kushina's kidnapping was imminent.

Uchiha Chonhua waited patiently.

And that wait lasted for a month and a half.

Everyone in the village had their eyes fixed on the raging northern front.

With the mobilization of ninjas, logistics, and the handling of incentive pay and pensions, Konoha was busy during this time.

Yet, while everyone was distracted by the situation on the northern front, an unknown disturbance occurred within the Senju Compound.

It was dusk.

Uchiha Chonhua was practicing the shape transformation of his Chidori, testing the maximum length of his Chidori Sharp Spear, when his expression suddenly shifted.

He hurriedly dispersed the lightning in his hand, his legs instinctively pushing off the ground as he shot toward the Senju Compound.

On the way, he connected to the ravens, learning everything from their memories.

Kidnapped directly from home? Did Grandma Mito not notice? Or perhaps...

Uchiha Chonhua's face turned grim. Or rather, she had noticed, but Grandma Mito's condition was now withered and frail, her life force nearly exhausted; she was simply unable to do anything.

"Hm?"

Uchiha Chonhua reached down and scooped something up from the ground; a strand of red hair fluttered in the wind in his hand.

To be able to spot Kushina's hair so quickly—this girl is far more sharp-witted than in the original story. Seeing those red strands not far from the Senju Compound shows her will to survive is much stronger than before.

Since that is the case, Uchiha Chonhua let lightning erupt from his body, the electricity surging and coiling around his limbs.

Whoosh!

A bolt of lightning streaked across the sky, his speed increasing several times over.

This was something he had developed based on the Cloud Village's Lightning Release Chakra Mode, though it was merely a semi-finished product; it only boosted his speed significantly, lacking the raw power and defensive capabilities of the true technique.

After all, it was a secret art of the Cloud Village, and Uchiha Chonhua was completely in the dark regarding some of its key points.

But it was enough. In all the world's martial arts, only speed is invincible. Most ninjas have high attack power but low defense, so having superior speed provided a massive advantage.

Uchiha Chonhua learned that Kushina Uzumaki had been captured almost immediately, and by pushing himself to the limit, he quickly caught up to the few Cloud Village ninjas who had kidnapped her.

At this moment, they had not yet left the borders of Konoha.

"Faster, pick up the pace! We need to reach Lord Raikage as soon as possible."

The Cloud Village leader held Kushina Uzumaki tucked under his right arm, his feet never slowing. With a tense expression, he used every ounce of strength he had to sprint toward the northern battlefield.

The others were the same; the man trailing at the very back would glance behind him from time to time, his eyes filled with both anticipation and fear.

He anticipated the end of his ten-plus years of life as a spy, finally returning to his home in the Cloud Village.

And the fear, naturally, was the dread that Konoha ninjas might be pursuing them from behind.

His fear was well-founded. As the Cloud Village ninja looked back nervously once more, he saw a youthful, handsome face appear right before his eyes.

What made the person particularly striking was a pair of eyes, crimson as fresh blood.

So close!?

Who is this...

Before his body could react, his thoughts scattered.

These eyes... the Sharingan!?

It was too late for the Cloud Village ninja to realize it. The next moment, he felt the world spin, his mind went blank, and he stood frozen in place, completely stunned.

The others continued to dash forward, not even noticing that one of their companions had fallen behind.

The sun dipped below the horizon, and the darkness of the evening spread, veiling Uchiha Chonhua's figure.

In the shadows, eerie, blood-red eyes watched the Cloud Village ninjas ahead.

"Five Cloud Village ninjas in total... Kushina, she looks unharmed."

Uchiha Chonhua watched as Kushina carefully plucked at her hair, scattering strands onto the ground. The Cloud Village ninjas were too focused on their frantic sprint to notice this detail.

"Let's end this quickly."

Uchiha Chonhua soared like a wild goose, lightning flickering across his body as he transformed into a bolt of electricity, landing formidably in front of the Cloud Village ninjas.

A pair of Three-Tomoe Sharingan glanced at them dismissively.

The Cloud Village leader saw someone suddenly descend before him and was struck with terror, sensing disaster. Before he could even inspect the intruder, he shouted, "Kill him—"

The rest of the words died in his throat.

He had seen that face turning toward him, and he instantly spotted the discordance in the scene before him.

It was a pair of eyes, blood-red through and through, with tomoe slowly spinning within the pupils.

His spirit drifted away, falling into a deathly silence.

In the entire world, only those eyes existed...

Chapter 28: Kushina: I'm Not Scared at All

Kushina Uzumaki was still busy fiddling with her hair when she suddenly saw the Cloud Village ninja holding her come to a halt.

Before she could even feel curious, a roar of "Kill him" startled her, but then there was no more sound, and the man stood completely motionless.

Kushina Uzumaki curiously turned her head to look.

She saw Uchiha Chonhua standing there with his arms crossed, waving at her when he caught her gaze.

"Are you alright, Kushina?"

Uchiha Chonhua walked over and rescued Kushina Uzumaki, seeing that she was still dazed.

He smiled gently and patted Kushina Uzumaki's little head.

"I've come to save you, Kushina. Look."

Uchiha Chonhua showed her the red strands of hair caught between his right fingers, fluttering in the wind and brushing against Kushina's round cheeks.

It tickled.

Kushina Uzumaki snapped out of it, her eyes shining as she happily hugged Uchiha Chonhua.

"I knew you would come to save me! I wasn't scared at all, you know!"

Uchiha Chonhua held her gently, the little girl appearing quite excited.

"But, I was afraid you wouldn't be able to find me."

Kushina Uzumaki clutched the strands of red hair she had broken off.

"Hehe, that's why I left my hair as a trail. I believe you'll definitely be able to spot my hair very quickly, ya know!"

"Oh? And how can Kushina be so sure that I would find them?"

Uchiha Chonhua asked with curiosity, and Kushina shook her flushed little face: "I don't know, but I just believe that you would definitely find my hair and come to save me, ya know!"

"See, aren't I perfectly fine now?"

Kushina pulled away from Uchiha Chonhua's embrace, then swung her arms and stretched her back.

"It's just that my hair has become all uneven now."

Kushina felt a pang of heartache for her hair.

When she had first arrived in Konoha, this bright red hair drew strange looks from many people, and even she herself had grown to loathe her hair at times.

But as time passed, the current Kushina no longer felt that way.

Because her family and friends loved her red hair, especially...

Kushina Uzumaki cast a shy glance at Uchiha Chonhua. He must like it; although she had never asked Uchiha Chonhua for his opinion on her hair, Kushina had this feeling, and she was willing to believe that he definitely liked her red hair.

So, it was enough that the people she cared about liked her hair. At the end of the day, she wasn't even close to those people who looked at her strangely.

Thinking back on her previous thoughts, Kushina found it somewhat amusing. Tsk tsk, how childish.

"It is indeed very conspicuous; it would be hard for anyone not to notice those strands."

Uchiha Chonhua walked over to the Cloud Village ninjas, who were all standing there blankly, staring ahead in a daze without moving.

Kushina Uzumaki leaned in, took a look, and waved her hand in front of them.

"Are they... caught in a genjutsu?"

Uchiha Chonhua nodded, then snapped his fingers, and the Cloud Village ninjas walked over and stood in a row behind him.