To Repay My Debts, I'll Become Hokage!

Fuso Uzumaki called out, and Mikoto Uchiha walked over to Uchiha Chonhua, handing him a water bottle.

"Chonhua, drink some water. You've worked hard all day."

Uchiha Chonhua set aside his thoughts, took the bottle, and drank a few mouthfuls of the cool spring water, feeling instantly refreshed.

He lowered the bottle, his gaze sharp as lightning as he looked at Mikoto Uchiha.

Suddenly, Uchiha Chonhua swiftly raised his left hand, grabbed Mikoto's wrist, and twisted it, forcing her to drop the kunai in her hand.

Yet, Mikoto Uchiha maintained a sweet smile, as if she could not feel the pain. She gripped the kunai tightly, straining to plunge it toward the back of Uchiha Chonhua's head.

Seeing this, Uchiha Chonhua's eyes grew colder. He was worried about Mikoto's safety, but he did not show it on his face.

He braced his right hand against the ground, flipped over in a flash, and while keeping a firm grip on her wrist with his left hand, he bent his arm into an elbow, pinning Mikoto's neck to the ground.

Uchiha Chonhua shouted coldly, "Who are you!"

Chapter 38: Sudden Incident

The sudden turn of events left everyone stunned.

Jonin Ono snapped out of her daze and hurriedly stood up, "What is happening!?"

Everything had happened too fast. A moment ago, Chonhua was drinking the water Mikoto had handed him, and in the blink of an eye, he had pinned her down.

Bang!

A massive sound erupted from the other side. Hizashi Hyuga activated his Byakugan to look over, his expression one of shock.

He glanced at the Mikoto being pinned by Chonhua, then looked toward the source of the loud noise.

"There are two Mikotos, and that woman who went to use the restroom."

Upon hearing this, Jonin Ono immediately rushed toward Fuso Uzumaki, but it was too late.

Fuso Uzumaki scooped up the bewildered and confused Nagato Uzumaki, wind gathering at her feet, and ran at high speed toward the capital of the Land of Whirlpools.

This situation... were the members of the Uzumaki Clan just watching in a daze?

What was going on?

While Fuso Uzumaki was fleeing with Nagato Uzumaki, the other Fuso Uzumaki—the one who had gone to the restroom—emerged from the depths of the dense forest with Mikoto Uchiha following behind her, pursued by Cloud Village and Mist Village ninjas who were attacking with ferocious expressions.

"Damn it!"

Jonin Ono stopped in her tracks, glanced at the fake Fuso Uzumaki, gritted her teeth, and turned back to charge at the Cloud and Mist ninjas.

Uchiha Chonhua also realized the gravity of the situation. He immediately activated his Three-Tomoe Sharingan and then deactivated it, using that split second to hit the fake Mikoto with a Sharingan genjutsu.

"Hehe, genjutsu doesn't work on me."

The fake Mikoto Uchiha pinned beneath him looked at him with a mocking gaze, her mouth splitting open into a sinister grin.

The next moment, the fake Mikoto Uchiha suddenly transformed into a puddle of white mud, surging back toward Uchiha Chonhua.

Uchiha Chonhua retreated quickly, formed hand seals, and transformed his right hand into a blade, striking out with the lightning of his Chidori.

But the strike had no effect; the white mud was incredibly soft, turning into a fluid to evade Uchiha Chonhua's attack.

"If that's the case..."

Uchiha Chonhua dispersed the Chidori, formed hand seals, puffed out his chest, and exhaled a dragon-shaped flame.

"Fire Style: Great Dragon Fire Technique!"

BOOM!

The scorching flames engulfed the white mud. The dragon formed by the fire roared at the sky before crashing down and exploding!

"Gaaaaaah!"

The white mud could not escape such a large-scale fire jutsu and immediately let out a shrill scream as it was incinerated.

Soon, the mud-like body could no longer maintain its form and was forced back into its original state.

When that original form appeared, Uchiha Chonhua's expression changed.

A completely white complexion, short green hair, yellow eyes, and no clothing, revealing a jagged, featureless body.

It was actually a White Zetsu!?

Uchiha Chonhua turned his head abruptly, kicked off the ground, and with his body wreathed in lightning, he charged toward the direction of the fake Fuso Uzumaki.

He understood now. The moment the White Zetsu appeared here, everything became clear to Uchiha Chonhua.

The continuous squads of Cloud and Mist ninjas were merely a diversion; the true target was Nagato Uzumaki!

The reason they wanted to capture Nagato Uzumaki... must be for the Rinnegan of Uchiha Madara.

The current Uzumaki Clan had not been ambushed and wiped out like in the original history, leaving only a few survivors.

With so many members of the Uzumaki Clan present, the fact that Uchiha Madara's target was still Nagato Uzumaki meant that Nagato possessed unique, special qualities.

Just like Kushina Uzumaki—why was she the only one chosen to be the next Nine-Tails Jinchuriki? Because Kushina herself was special; she was the best vessel for the Nine-Tails, with the highest compatibility.

Extending the same logic, Nagato Uzumaki must be the perfect vessel to nurture the Rinnegan!

"Chidori Sharp Spear..."

The distance was somewhat great, so Uchiha Chonhua extended his right hand, intending to use the Chidori Sharp Spear to pierce his opponent and use the lightning to paralyze and seal the fake Fuso Uzumaki.

The lightning in his hand radiated outward, only to fade and dissipate under Uchiha Chonhua's astonished gaze.

Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle!

Strange noises erupted from his body. Uchiha Chonhua looked down to see spores expanding one by one, wrapping around him as his chakra was continuously drained away.

The absorption rate was rapid, and Uchiha Chonhua's face quickly turned deathly pale.

His expression darkened, and he cursed inwardly.

After a day of fighting, his chakra was already depleted, and even with the replenishment from a Military Ration Pill, he had not returned to his peak state. If these spores continued to drain him like this, he feared he would be sucked dry into a husk.

He violently erupted his remaining chakra, forcing a lightning-style nature transformation, and bolts of electricity burst forth, shattering the constantly proliferating spores.

"Hehe, it's useless. We're taking Nagato Uzumaki with us."

The White Zetsu, scorched into a pile of sludge by the Great Dragon Fire, let out a mocking laugh. Uchiha Chonhua looked toward the spot where the fake Fuso Uzumaki had been, but she was already nowhere to be seen.

"Nagato!!!"

The real Fuso Uzumaki shrieked and fainted.

The Jonin Ono was fighting the enemy, and seeing the bizarre situation unfolding on Uchiha Chonhua, she grew frantic.

"The few of us will help you!"

The elders of the Uzumaki Clan stepped forward, using kunai, short blades, and the chains of the Adamantine Sealing Chains to tear at the spores.

"Perhaps we have to kill that monster to stop it!"

An elderly woman of the Uzumaki Clan walked up to the White Zetsu, raised her kunai high, and stabbed down.

But each strike felt like stabbing into cotton. The old woman cursed and grumbled, truly finding no way to deal with it.

"Ah, my short blade is stuck."

"What do we do? This damn thing is still expanding!"

The Uzumaki elders looked at the still-proliferating spores, feeling helpless.

Mikoto Uchiha kicked an enemy away, watching Uchiha Chonhua trapped by the strange white substance, her heart filled with anxiety, not knowing what to do.

The enemies here were entangling her, giving her no opportunity to free herself and provide reinforcements.

"Gentle Fist Art: Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms!"

Hizashi Hyuga stood before the panicked members of the Uzumaki Clan, his palms striking in succession to send a Cloud Village ninja flying.

"Eight Trigrams Palms: Heavenly Spin!"

Clang, clang, clang! Hizashi Hyuga spread his arms and spun, his chakra forming a rotating semicircle that shielded everyone, deflecting all incoming kunai and shuriken.

But then an explosion rang out; an Explosive Tag detonated, and Hizashi Hyuga staggered, nearly failing to maintain the Heavenly Spin.

Hizashi Hyuga gritted his teeth, his face cold, sweat pouring down his forehead like rain.

The situation was critical, and a sudden feeling washed over him—he might just meet his end here.

"Damn it!"

He looked intently at Uchiha Chonhua. This was the person he considered to be the one destined for greatness. Could it be that even someone as brilliant and talented as this was not favored by fate?!

Uchiha Chonhua abandoned the attempt to disperse the spores with Lightning Style; he realized it was futile.

His Lightning Style could not keep up with the rate of the spores' proliferation, and continuing this way would only turn him into fodder for them.

These damn spores were unexpectedly tough.

He changed his strategy: to capture the bandits, one must first capture the ringleader. Chakra surged, and a light breeze blew, stirring Uchiha Chonhua's hair.

His right hand made a throwing motion, aimed directly at the puddle of sludge that was the White Zetsu.

The others watched Uchiha Chonhua's inexplicable actions with confusion, and then, a violent roar echoed through the air.

The White Zetsu let out another miserable, painful cry, which grew weaker and weaker until it stopped abruptly.

Damn monster, get a good taste of the power of Lightning Style: Rasengan!

The spores fell off in chunks, and Uchiha Chonhua's body swayed, nearly collapsing, but the Uzumaki elder beside him caught him just in time.

His eyelids felt heavy as lead, and exhaustion swept over Uchiha Chonhua.

He looked up at the surrounding Cloud Village and Mist Village ninjas; this was the largest number of ninjas he had faced in a single encounter all day.

"Ha, this is looking bad..."

Chapter 39: I Can't Tell Them Apart!

Just at this critical moment, the sound of rushing air whistled through the forest.

Pitch-black, sharp kunai and shuriken flew in from the woods.

Seeing this, the Cloud Village ninjas drew their short blades to deflect the projectiles, their expressions turning grave as they looked toward the source.

The next moment, Konoha ninja wearing Konoha Headbands and green tactical vests rushed out from the forest, landing before Uchiha Chonhua and the others.

Ono and the other jonin who had been fighting pulled back, regrouping with their comrades.

The Cloud Village and Mist Village ninja looked grim; they exchanged glances and scanned the area, realizing that four squads of Konoha ninja had arrived, outnumbering them.

Reluctantly casting one last look at the members of the Uzumaki Clan, they turned and scrambled to retreat.

Swish!

A silver-haired man suddenly appeared, weaving through the Cloud and Mist ninja like a bolt of lightning, a flash of snow-white blade light vanishing as quickly as it had come.

Hatake Sakumo walked toward Uchiha Chonhua and the others without even looking back.

Behind him, the Cloud and Mist ninja had not yet realized what had happened when they felt a sharp pain in their necks, followed by the sensation of warm liquid touching their skin—a feeling that boded ill.

They reached up instinctively to touch the area, and upon seeing what was on their hands, their expressions finally twisted into terror!

"It's... kuh-hck..."

The final words left in this world by the Cloud and Mist ninja were nothing more than irregular, gurgling sounds.

Before their consciousness faded, they searched for the enemy who had struck them down.

That iconic silver ponytail, and the eye-catching sleeve emblem.

Hatake... Sakumo... It was actually him!?

Thud. The bodies hit the ground.

Hatake Sakumo offered a gentle smile and said apologetically, "My apologies, we arrived late. Are you all alright?"

He approached Uchiha Chonhua, looking at the boy's exhausted expression with concern, and asked, "Chonhua, how are you holding up?"

"Senior... one of the Uzumaki Clan children was taken away. Please... I beg you to rescue them."

Seeing Hatake Sakumo arrive, Uchiha Chonhua's tension instantly evaporated; with this Kage-level expert present, the danger had been neutralized in an instant.

As his spirit relaxed, a wave of exhaustion washed over him, and drowsiness surged into his mind.