To Repay My Debts, I'll Become Hokage!

The current Nagato Uzumaki is neither reclusive nor introverted; it seems the environment of fleeing and a life of constant uncertainty have changed the young boy.

Uchiha Chonhua brushed aside the bangs covering young Nagato's forehead, looking into those eyes that were still those of a normal person.

"That will depend on Nagato's own efforts."

He wondered if Uchiha Madara had already set his sights on Nagato Uzumaki.

"Okay! I will work hard!"

Young Nagato clenched his fists, his face full of determination. He knew they were going to settle in Konoha, though he did not know if it would be difficult to enroll in the Ninja Academy there.

"What is Konoha like, Chonhua? Could you tell us about it?"

Fuso Uzumaki felt uneasy, harboring both fear and longing for their future life. After all, it was a major hidden village in the ninja world; it must be more prosperous than the Land of Whirlpools.

Fuso Uzumaki felt conflicted, unsure if Konoha would welcome outsiders like them.

Although Konoha and the Uzumaki Clan were allies, it was still a strange place, and she could not help but worry.

The other members of the Uzumaki Clan pricked up their ears upon hearing this, eager to hear the perspective of a Konoha local.

Uchiha Chonhua smiled and was just about to answer when he suddenly saw Hizashi Hyuga making hand signals again.

Enemies again!?

Uchiha Chonhua's gaze sharpened, and he crouched slightly, bracing himself.

Seeing his posture, the others immediately fell silent, looking around nervously.

Perhaps because they had already experienced one ambush, their nerves were not as frayed as before.

Hizashi Hyuga signaled the code; this time it was not the Mist Village, but Cloud Village ninjas!

Whoosh!

The sound of air being pierced rang out as kunai and shuriken shot toward them from all directions.

"Earth Style: Earth Wall!"

Upon seeing this, Jonin Ono's expression changed, and he hurriedly summoned an earthen wall to block the projectiles.

He surged his chakra, preparing to release a large-scale Earth Wall that could surround everyone.

But Uchiha Chonhua was faster than him.

He kicked off the ground, leaped into the air, and raised his right hand high as a storm gathered in his palm.

Wind-style chakra was infused into the sphere.

"Wind Style: Big Ball Rasengan!"

The cyan-green Big Ball Rasengan, the size of a basketball, radiated a powerful gale that tore at the surrounding air.

The enemies' kunai and shuriken wobbled, disrupted by the swirling wind. The projectiles that had been aimed at them twisted in mid-air, veered away from the group, and clattered harmlessly to the ground.

"Ah!?"

Jonin Ono stared dumbfounded at the typhoon-like mass of chakra in Uchiha Chonhua's hand.

What was this now!?

Did Uchiha Chonhua have any other novel techniques? First, it was high-density Lightning Style, and now this high-density Wind Style.

Also, had Chonhua just cast that without any hand seals?

"Water Style: Great Waterfall Technique!"

Seeing the kunai and shuriken fail, the Cloud ninjas in the dense forest spat out a massive water sphere that surged toward them.

"Lightning Style: False Darkness!"

Another Cloud ninja gathered lightning in his palms, following closely behind and channeling it into the water sphere.

The sphere, now encased in crackling electricity, sped toward them.

"Fire Style: Majestic Destroyer Flame!"

Uchiha Chonhua performed hand seals and exhaled a massive, overwhelming wall of fire. The water sphere, charged with lightning, was no match for such a vast inferno and was instantly pulverized into steam.

The Cloud ninjas watched the surging wall of fire in horror. With lightning crackling over their bodies, they hurriedly used Body Flicker to evade.

Sizzle—

The flames scorched the dense forest, sending billows of thick smoke into the air.

"Where are you looking?"

A faint question drifted over. The Cloud ninja who had just let out a sigh of relief suddenly felt a sharp pain in his chest, and he looked down in shock and agony.

Silent lightning raged, and a pair of indifferent eyes reflected in his vision.

Uchiha Chonhua withdrew his right hand from the Cloud ninja's chest. Blood stained his sleeve, but the palm wrapped in lightning remained clean and fair.

The blood had been vaporized by the lightning. The Cloud ninja's eyes dimmed, and he lost consciousness, collapsing limply to the ground.

Uchiha Chonhua turned his gaze toward the other Cloud ninja, seeing the shock and grief in his eyes.

Uchiha Chonhua curled his lips, looking incomparably arrogant.

"You're next."

As the words fell, he appeared right before the Cloud Village ninja.

His right palm, condensed with lightning, thrust fiercely toward the opponent's chest.

Chapter 37: Who Are You!

Jonin Ono stared blankly as Uchiha Chonhua single-handedly swept the field, slaughtering everyone in his path.

He felt a bit of self-doubt; was there even anything left for a team-leading jonin like him to do?

"Chonhua, don't push yourself. That's two waves of enemy attacks in a row—do you still have enough chakra?"

The ninjutsu he had unleashed consumed no small amount of energy.

Uchiha Chonhua tossed the dead Cloud Village ninja aside and said with calm composure, "I'm fine. My chakra is still quite sufficient."

Although he did not possess the massive chakra reserves of the Senju Clan or the Uzumaki Clan, he was, after all, a descendant of the Sage of Six Paths; his chakra was not on the same level as an ordinary person's.

Coupled with the chakra he had inherited from Uchiha Itachi and the random Mist Village ninja, his reserves were more than enough to sustain a few ninjutsu.

Furthermore, he always prioritized ending battles quickly. As long as he could kill the enemy in a short time, any amount of chakra spent was worth it.

He had yet to encounter an enemy capable of forcing him into a war of attrition where he would need to ration his chakra.

Was this even human talk?

Jonin Ono looked at Uchiha Chonhua helplessly, envious of the boy's abundant chakra.

The next moment, his expression turned serious. "Something is unusual. The frequency of the enemy attacks is too high."

They had anticipated that the journey would not be without enemies, but they had barely finished off the Mist Village ninjas before Cloud Village ninjas appeared right on their heels.

This was not normal.

Hatake Sakumo was leading the main force to pin down the bulk of the enemy troops; even if a few squads slipped through, they shouldn't be encountering them with such high frequency in such a short time.

After all, it wasn't just Uchiha Chonhua and his group; there were other ninja squads executing the mission to escort the Uzumaki Clan.

The stray enemy squads should have been spread out among them. Logically, they shouldn't be running into the next batch of enemies so quickly.

"More enemies have appeared!"

Hizashi Hyuga's expression changed again. He looked in a certain direction and hurriedly reported the intelligence.

Jonin Ono and Uchiha Chonhua exchanged glances, both frowning.

It was unusual—truly unusual. Where there is something strange, there must be a demon at work!

After resolving yet another wave of enemy attacks, the golden sun sank in the west, and the jade rabbit leaped high into the sky.

Night had fallen.

Uchiha Chonhua and the others took a short rest under a large tree in the dense forest.

The Uzumaki clansmen were still shaken, their faces weary from a day of constant tension.

Hizashi Hyuga looked grim; his left arm had been slashed, and blood had soaked through his sleeve.

Uchiha Chonhua crouched beside him, hands spread flat, as chakra symbolizing the Yang-style nature transformation bloomed with a verdant glow.

Hizashi Hyuga's expression eased, and he said gratefully, "Thank you, Chonhua."

"I didn't expect you to know medical ninjutsu as well." Jonin Ono leaned against the tree trunk, watching Uchiha Chonhua perform the technique with surprise, though he soon felt relieved.

"Your teacher is Lady Tsunade. She is a master of medical ninjutsu, so it's no wonder you know it too."

Mikoto Uchiha was eating a dry ration, her face bitter—it was truly dry and unpalatable. Hearing Jonin Ono's words, she said with a hint of pride, "Chonhua took the medical class as an elective at the Ninja Academy. His grades were excellent; he was first in the class."

Jonin Ono shook his head and smiled; that was his own oversight for not having fully researched Uchiha Chonhua's background.

The surprises Uchiha Chonhua brought him were becoming more frequent; they were almost becoming shocks.

He looked up at the starry sky and sighed, "I didn't expect that after a whole day of traveling, we still haven't reached the coast. The enemies are truly relentless."

The Land of Whirlpools was not large. If they had traveled without stopping for a day, they should have been close to the coast by now according to their estimates.

Yet, they were still in the dense forest.

Jonin Ono said gloomily, "Moreover, they are only targeting us. It's as if the enemy has given up on everyone else and is specifically making trouble for our route."

"Is there something special about us that makes it worth the enemy's effort to keep attacking us?"

Jonin Ono could not fathom it. The frequency of enemies they had encountered throughout the day was simply too high, and their numbers were too great.

Furthermore, were they not a bit too detailed about their location?

They had tried to avoid the limelight and dodge the enemies, but every time, it was as if the opponents had Byakugan themselves, always able to pinpoint their exact location.

This made Hizashi Hyuga, a member of the Hyuga Clan, feel absolutely explosive.

Am I the one from the Hyuga Clan, or are you? To have the Byakugan and still be unable to dodge those who don't—who could he even complain to about this?

Fortunately, the Cloud and Mist ninjas who attacked were not particularly strong, and there were no jonin among them.

Their squad was formidable... Jonin Ono cast a glance at Uchiha Chonhua.

The main reason was Uchiha Chonhua's immense strength; throughout the day, Jonin Ono had rarely needed to intervene, focusing primarily on protecting the Uzumaki Clan while leaving all the killing to Uchiha Chonhua.

Thanks to Chonhua, they had reached this point without any major mishaps.

Only Hizashi Hyuga had been unlucky, suffering a cut to his left arm from an enemy and drawing blood.

Uchiha Chonhua finished the treatment, and Hizashi Hyuga shook his left arm; it was as good as new, with not even a scar remaining.

Uchiha Chonhua let out a soft breath, and Mikoto Uchiha handed him a towel: "Wipe your sweat."

Uchiha Chonhua took it to wipe his brow while swallowing a Military Ration Pill to replenish his stamina.

After a full day, even with his vast chakra reserves and rapid speed in dispatching enemies, he was starting to feel the strain.

He leaned against a boulder beside a large tree and closed his eyes to rest, though in reality, he was contemplating the unusual frequency of these attacks.

The enemies came in wave after wave, batch after batch; it was practically endless.

This was certainly abnormal. They couldn't avoid them, and they were always being tracked down—was the enemy's sensory ability truly that powerful?

Or could it be that there was a traitor within the Uzumaki Clan using the Mind's Eye of the Kagura to pave the way for the enemy?

Even if that were the case, why target their specific route while ignoring all the others?

No matter how he looked at it, the situation was riddled with holes.

"Um..." Fuso Uzumaki walked over, looking a bit bashful as she said, "I need to use the restroom."

Mikoto Uchiha stood up: "I'll go with you."

Fuso Uzumaki nodded, entrusted her son Nagato Uzumaki to a clansman she knew, and followed Mikoto Uchiha away from the crowd, stepping into a dark corner untouched by the moonlight.

It didn't take long for Mikoto Uchiha and Fuso Uzumaki to return.

"Nagato, come here."