To Repay Debts, Become Hokage!

At this moment, Uchiha Chonhua suddenly stopped, then signaled for Jonin Ono and the others to halt their advance.

Jonin Ono cast a look of confusion in his direction.

Uchiha Chonhua pointed to his own eyes, then gestured toward a corner beneath a tree ahead, where the ground was littered with weeds and fallen leaves.

The child favored by the Hokage would not stop without reason. Jonin Ono braced himself and focused his gaze on the spot; upon closer inspection, he truly spotted something.

Jonin Ono's heart tightened, his expression turning grave. He remained silent, instead using hand signals to communicate.

They had already coordinated these secret signals beforehand.

It was an Explosive Tag!

Chapter 32: First Kill!

Jonin Ono and the others held their breath, carefully skirting around the area where the Explosive Tag was hidden.

On the way, Jonin Ono glanced back at Uchiha Chonhua, feeling a surge of surprise.

What keen perception. To be honest, if Uchiha Chonhua hadn't warned him, he wouldn't have even noticed the presence of the Explosive Tag.

Uchiha Chonhua frowned deeply. He suddenly brushed his right hand across his forehead, a pair of eerie, scarlet lights flashing briefly before fading into silence.

The next moment, he nudged Jonin Ono and began making hand signals.

Jonin Ono's eyes narrowed, and he signaled for Hizashi Hyuga to observe.

Hizashi Hyuga nodded, the veins around his eyes bulging as he activated his Byakugan.

He had already failed to spot the previous Explosive Tag, which was a disgrace to his Byakugan; this time, he would focus his spirit and scout the surroundings for the squad!

Hizashi Hyuga's expression stiffened; the enemy's numbers were significantly higher than just the Explosive Tag.

Hizashi Hyuga held up his hand, forming the number six, then changed his gesture to indicate they were Hidden Mist ninjas.

Six Hidden Mist ninjas, then...

Jonin Ono deliberated for a moment. He did not intend to charge into battle; instead, he ordered Hizashi Hyuga to keep the enemies under constant observation while they crawled forward, avoiding the enemies' line of sight.

Whoosh!

Uchiha Chonhua suddenly threw a kunai, launching it toward the enemy.

The piercing sound of the blade cutting through the air echoed across the area, and Jonin Ono's face went rigid.

"Chonhua, what are you..."

Before he could finish, Uchiha Chonhua quickly explained the situation.

"Senior, it's the Hidden Mist Technique. They've already discovered us."

Jonin Ono clamped his mouth shut and scanned his surroundings, noticing that, at some point, mist had begun to permeate the area.

"I can't track them anymore."

Hizashi Hyuga reported the situation nervously. The mist was dense with chakra, and within his Byakugan's vision, the black-and-white landscape was obscured by a massive, glowing mass of blue.

He could no longer find the six Hidden Mist ninjas.

"Form up!"

They instantly stood back-to-back, weapons in hand, watching their surroundings with vigilance.

Clang!

Sparks flew as a kunai clashed against a short blade, emitting a shrill screech.

Jonin Ono and the others looked toward the sound and saw Uchiha Chonhua, standing before Mikoto Uchiha, locked in close-quarters combat with an enemy while gripping his kunai in a reverse hold.

The enemy's pupils dilated in shock; this child was no simple opponent...

Failing to land a hit, the enemy vanished into the mist, and Uchiha Chonhua gave chase!

"Wait! Chonhua..."

Jonin Ono's expression shifted; Uchiha Chonhua had actually charged into the mist.

"Chonhua!"

Mikoto Uchiha's face drained of color, terrified.

This was the enemy's home turf. The Hidden Mist Technique was the signature jutsu of the Hidden Mist ninjas, paired perfectly with their assassination arts—elusive, stealthy, and capable of killing with a single strike, leaving their targets defenseless.

Without a second thought, Mikoto Uchiha moved, intending to rush into the mist to find Chonhua.

Jonin Ono quickly grabbed Mikoto Uchiha, stopping her from charging in.

"Hm?"

Jonin Ono sensed something was wrong; Mikoto Uchiha had gone completely still. Was this... a genjutsu?

The enemy even had a genjutsu specialist!?

"Hizashi, watch over Mikoto!"

Hizashi Hyuga nodded, sweat pouring down his face. His Byakugan scanned frantically, but blocked by the chakra-filled mist, he simply could not track the enemy's trail.

Jonin Ono let out a low shout.

Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall!

The soil beneath their feet loosened as five earthen walls arched upward, interlocking into a crude shelter that enclosed and protected Ono and his two subordinates.

Bang!

Jonin Ono created a Shadow Clone to manipulate the wall, opening a small gap.

"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"

One person used the Wind Release while the other used the Fire Release; the combination ninjutsu, fueled by the wind, surged out from the gap in the wall and spread in all directions.

"Hah!"

Jonin Ono controlled the ninjutsu to whip up a fire tornado centered on the earthen wall, instantly dispersing the surrounding mist and clarifying the hazy world.

Jonin Ono directed his Shadow Clone to burrow into the ground to scout the surrounding situation.

Thud!

The sound of a heavy object hitting the ground came abruptly, followed by the voice of Uchiha Chonhua.

"Senior, disperse the wall. I have already captured these six Mist ninja."

"Huh?"

Jonin Ono's first reaction was disbelief, but after receiving the information from his Shadow Clone outside, he fell silent.

After a long while, he said hoarsely, "Are you really Chonhua?"

Was he certain this wasn't an enemy in disguise?

"It is indeed Chonhua's chakra signature, and..." Hizashi Hyuga stared straight ahead with his Byakugan; with the chakra mist cleared away, he could see outside.

"Those six Mist ninja are there, too. They are all lying on the ground, unconscious."

Hearing this, Jonin Ono swallowed hard and slowly dispersed the earthen wall.

Uchiha Chonhua stood there, tossing a kunai in his hand, while the six Mist ninja lay at his feet.

"This... how did you do it?"

Naturally, it was because his Mist Assassination Technique was superior to theirs.

Uchiha Chonhua was also surprised; the skills he had recently drawn from the Mist ninja passerby card had come in handy so quickly.

The Mist ninja passerby's signature skills were the Hidden Mist Technique and the Mist Assassination Technique, but as a Genin, his abilities were weak, and he couldn't unleash much power from those signature techniques.

But Uchiha Chonhua was different; besides the Mist ninja passerby, he also possessed the Uchiha Itachi character card.

Relying on the talent and intuition inherited from the Uchiha Itachi card, he had executed the Mist signature techniques with exceptional skill.

So exceptional, in fact, that these six local Mist ninja weren't even as proficient as he was.

The enemies had intended to use the Hidden Mist Technique and assassination tactics to secure victory, never suspecting that Uchiha Chonhua had the exact same plan.

To use their own methods against them.

He had slipped into the enemy's mist, and before they could notice, he unleashed the Lightning Flicker. His speed surged, turning him into a streak of lightning in a short burst, striking each enemy with heavy blows to knock them unconscious.

Facing Jonin Ono's confusion, Uchiha Chonhua did not answer. Instead, he asked, "Senior, how should we handle these enemies?"

Jonin Ono's attention was diverted by the question. He looked at the six Mist ninja lying on the ground, his eyes sharp.

"Kill them."

Uchiha Chonhua was silent for a moment, then nodded. He threw the kunai in his hand, striking the first enemy directly in the neck.

The sound of a sharp blade piercing flesh followed. Uchiha Chonhua's brow twitched as the sound of blood gurgling became clearly audible; the enemy, still unconscious, lost his life.

Uchiha Chonhua took a deep breath. This was the first time he had killed someone since arriving in this world.

He felt some discomfort, but he had long been prepared, knowing this was something that would happen sooner or later.

This time, he didn't throw the kunai. Instead, he walked over, knelt down, and gripped the kunai to stab downward. The sensory experience was even more jarring than before. Uchiha Chonhua's hand trembled, but he immediately calmed himself to kill the next Mist ninja.

When he had finished off four of the Mist ninja, Jonin Ono stopped him.

He looked at Uchiha Chonhua with satisfaction. "No hesitation, decisive action. Chonhua, you are much stronger than I was at your age. You don't need to handle the remaining two."

Jonin Ono turned his head to look at his other two members.

"You two, go. One each. Kill them."

Hizashi Hyuga and Mikoto Uchiha, who had just recovered from the genjutsu, turned pale.

Chapter 33: Arriving at the Capital of the Land of Whirlpools

"Ugh~."

Uchiha Chonhua gently patted Mikoto Uchiha's back. "How is it? Are you feeling better?"

Mikoto Uchiha's face was deathly pale. She glanced at the vomit she had expelled, and her pale complexion instantly turned bright red.

To think that Chonhua had to see her in such an embarrassing state.

Mikoto felt as if she were about to explode; this was simply too humiliating.

However, she was more curious about one thing than she was embarrassed.

"Chonhua, I was caught in a genjutsu—was that your doing?"

Mikoto Uchiha recalled the moment just before; she had wanted to rush into the mist, but then she saw a flash of red light vanish in an instant, and the next moment, she had fallen into the illusion.

Red light...

Uchiha Chonhua nodded and said helplessly, "I couldn't very well let you rush into that mist, could I?"

As he spoke, he patted Mikoto's small head, his tone gentle: "I know you were worried about me, but Mikoto, you have to have faith in me. You know my strength; these enemies pose no real danger to me."

Feeling the warmth on her head, Mikoto stammered, "I was just worried about you, and my body... it moved on its own."

Hearing this, Uchiha Chonhua felt a warmth spread through his heart.

"Don't be so impulsive next time. You worry about me, but I worry about you too."

"Trust me a little more." Uchiha Chonhua gave her a light pat: "Let's go, we're moving on."

Mikoto Uchiha nodded and followed behind Chonhua, her beautiful eyes fixed on his back.

A question lingered in the depths of her heart: could that red light have something to do with the Sharingan?

Or perhaps she was overthinking it, and it was just some kind of genjutsu capable of producing red light...

Uchiha Chonhua and the others reunited with Jonin Ono, glancing at Hizashi Hyuga, who was faring much better than Mikoto, though his expression was still rather grim.

"Hmm, you have all become true ninja."

Jonin Ono scanned the three of them, a gratified smile appearing on her face: "Remember this feeling; it will accompany you for the rest of your lives. This is the path of the ninja—face it well!"

"Move out!"