To Repay My Debts, I'll Become Hokage!

On weekdays, he helped out at the family restaurant by frying tempura, and in his spare time, he read books to broaden his knowledge and horizons.

The rest of his time was spent practicing as a ninja, utilizing the training experience from the Uchiha Itachi character card.

Konoha Year 27 passed just like that, and as the new year dawned, Konoha Year 28 arrived.

This year, Uchiha Chonhua was five years old, reaching the age threshold to enter the Ninja Academy.

When he proposed that he wanted to enroll in the Ninja Academy, his father, Uchiha Ichiro, and mother, Mie Uchiha, were somewhat surprised.

Children of the Uchiha Clan rarely chose to study at the Ninja Academy, but both the Military Police Force examination and the Ninja Academy graduation exam were recognized paths for becoming a ninja.

Both ultimately led to the same destination: the path of a shinobi.

Uchiha Ichiro and Mie Uchiha did not object; since their son wanted to study at the Ninja Academy, then so be it.

Chapter 4: Overwhelming Namikaze Minato Head-On

If a commoner wanted to enter the Ninja Academy, they either had to pay tuition, enter for free as an orphan of a ninja who died in the line of duty for Konoha, or possess exceptional talent and be admitted as an honor student with tuition waived.

As a member of a ninja clan, how would Uchiha Chonhua enter the Ninja Academy?

Answer: Direct, tuition-free admission.

Yes, Uchiha Chonhua could simply report to the Ninja Academy and be admitted directly without any examination, free of charge.

Children from ninja clans were different from commoner children; they had multiple paths to choose from to become ninjas, and the vast majority became ninjas through self-study within their own clans.

It was just like the Uchiha Military Police Force examination.

Not many children from ninja clans chose to study at the Ninja Academy, a fact that caused the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, quite a bit of distress.

He wanted to go to the Ninja Academy to give speeches and teach a few classes to win over the students and deepen his relationship with them, and among these students, while there were commoners, he naturally hoped to have children from the ninja clans as well.

His Will of Fire could not be exclusive to commoners; children of the ninja clans had to listen to it too!

Therefore, the Third Hokage directly granted children of ninja clans tuition-free, exam-free, unconditional entry into the Ninja Academy.

Uchiha Chonhua sat in a corner of the classroom, watching his future classmates—some familiar, some not—talking and getting to know one another.

When he said familiar, it was because the parents of the future "Konoha 12" were all here.

The Ino-Shika-Cho trio: Inoichi Yamanaka, Shikaku Nara, and Choza Akimichi.

With bandages wrapped around his head and a pair of crystal-clear Byakugan eyes, that was Hizashi Hyuga.

There were also Shibi Aburame, Tsume Inuzuka, and others.

And his desk mate, Mikoto Uchiha.

There were not many people from the Uchiha Clan in the entire school; it was a rare occurrence to have even two Uchiha children in a single class.

When Mikoto Uchiha saw someone from her own clan in this unfamiliar environment, her eyes lit up and she moved closer.

Uchiha Chonhua turned his head to look at the girl sitting next to him; her soft, ink-black hair draped behind her like silk.

Her expression was serene, her temperament gentle, and she possessed the same obsidian-like eyes as Uchiha Chonhua.

With her delicate features and skin as white as jade, Uchiha Chonhua took a moment to observe her and praised her silently in his heart.

At such a young age, she had already grown into a beautiful and lovely girl.

Mikoto Uchiha asked with some curiosity: "I know you, the child from the tempura shop. Why did you choose the Ninja Academy?"

She wanted to ask why he didn't choose the Military Police Force examination.

Uchiha Chonhua countered with a question: "Then why did you choose the Ninja Academy?"

"Hmm." Mikoto Uchiha pondered for a moment: "My father told me to come."

So she came.

Mikoto Uchiha's father? Uchiha Chonhua knew him.

The current clan leader, Uchiha Shohei's right-hand man, Uchiha Ryutai.

The Uchiha Clan did have elders, but their roles were mostly honorary.

In the Uchiha Clan, which revered strength, it was not easy for elders to rely on seniority to suppress others, so the power of the Uchiha Clan was held by the strongest individuals.

The strongest person was undoubtedly the clan leader, Uchiha Shohei, and his right and left hands were the second and third strongest.

Only in this way could the Uchiha Clan, prone to bouts of madness, be forced to suppress their dissatisfaction and obey orders.

"I answered your question, now it's your turn to answer mine."

"My father told me to come."

Uchiha Chonhua said dismissively.

"You too?" This remark made Mikoto Uchiha feel a sense of shared fate.

"I actually wanted to go to the Military Police Force. Do you know Brother Fugaku?"

The clan leader's son, Fugaku Uchiha—of course he knew him.

The "Ninja Emperor" who endured and endured, until the entire clan was gone.

"I watched Fugaku-ge's ninja assessment; he defeated all the other clansmen," Mikoto Uchiha revealed with a look of longing.

"So many people were praising Fugaku-ge. He was so impressive."

"The Clan Head said to him," Mikoto Uchiha mimicked the Clan Head's tone, "As expected of my son, well done."

"I wish my father would say that to me, too."

The ancestral "As expected of my son"—he thought about it, but his father, Ichiro Uchiha, had never said that to him.

"But you came to the Ninja Academy."

Uchiha Chonhua's single sentence pulled Mikoto Uchiha out of her reverie, leaving her somewhat dejected: "Mm, I suppose I still have to listen to Father."

Uchiha Chonhua tried to comfort her: "Don't worry, if you can take first place in the class, your father will surely say to you, 'As expected of my daughter, well done.'"

Upon hearing this, Mikoto Uchiha nodded heavily: "You're right. I'm going to become the top of the class and make Father look at me with new eyes."

Then you'll never get to hear it in this lifetime.

This class is full of hidden dragons and crouching tigers.

Uchiha Chonhua's gaze drifted nonchalantly across someone's face.

Golden hair, azure eyes, and somewhat feminine features.

He was speaking gently with a classmate he had just met, and as if sensing a gaze, he turned his eyes to follow it.

He saw that the owner of the gaze was a classmate from the Uchiha Clan; if he remembered correctly, his name was Uchiha Chonhua.

Minato Namikaze nodded at him, and then saw Uchiha Chonhua smile at him in a friendly manner.

This surprised him, and he returned a friendly smile to Uchiha Chonhua as well.

Minato Namikaze, a formidable enemy on his path to becoming Hokage.

He had looked into Minato Namikaze; his parents had died in the line of duty during a mission, and he had been adopted by an official Konoha orphanage institution.

As an orphan of a Konoha ninja who died in action, he was entitled to free enrollment, but Minato Namikaze's file showed he had entered the Ninja Academy as an honor student based on his own merit.

Because of this, many classmates had their eyes on Minato Namikaze.

Truly, he was extraordinary from a young age, destined for great things.

[Host, do you want to just finish off Minato Namikaze?]

The system's sudden interjection left Uchiha Chonhua speechless.

Finish off Minato Namikaze—the system really could come up with anything. While the chance of success wasn't small, the chance of failure was even greater.

He didn't know if Jiraiya had taken Minato Namikaze as a disciple yet; probably not, but he certainly held the boy in high regard.

Unlike the church where Yakushi Kabuto resided, the official Konoha orphanage existed alongside semi-official, semi-private orphanages on the outskirts.

Konoha took great care of the orphans of its fallen ninjas; firstly, to show the public that those who served were well-treated, and secondly, because this was a source of future ninja recruits.

Therefore, the higher-ups would often send ninjas to give lectures to the orphans of fallen ninjas.

If things went as expected, that was exactly how Jiraiya would meet Minato Namikaze.

This possibility was high, as Jiraiya himself had come from a Konoha orphanage; he would surely return the favor by giving back to the institution.

In other words, the current Minato Namikaze had Jiraiya standing behind him, and behind Jiraiya stood the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen.

He hadn't learned how to kill, and even if he succeeded, the possibility of leaving traces and being exposed was far greater.

Killing Minato Namikaze while he was still a child was high-risk, and as for doing it later outside the village, on the battlefield...

Minato Namikaze would grow, and once he mastered the Flying Thunder God Technique, trying to kill him would be nothing more than a pipe dream.

Unless he sought his own death, like when he sealed the Nine-Tails.

"I actually prefer to overwhelm him from the front with sheer, crushing momentum."

Uchiha Chonhua said as much.

Chapter Five: Please Watch Me Closely, Sarutobi Hiruzen

"I am your homeroom teacher for the next five years of your school life. My name is Kinoshita Ryoichi. Please treat me well."

He wore a chunin flak jacket with a Konoha Headband tied around his left arm. His features were plain, but pleasant enough that he didn't seem disagreeable.

"You should already have some understanding of the classmates around you," Teacher Kinoshita said with a gentle smile, "but I don't know you all very well yet, so please, everyone, introduce yourselves."

"Also, please tell me your dreams so I can hear them."

As his voice fell, Teacher Kinoshita signaled for the student on the far left to begin.

"My name is Tsume Inuzuka, and this guy is Kuro-maru."

Tsume Inuzuka patted the small dog beside her, and the dog named Kuro-maru let out a "woof."

"My dream is to acquire more dogs, and I want to train them to become the strongest ninja hounds!"

"What a magnificent wish."

Teacher Kinoshita offered a word of praise, then signaled for the next student to stand up and introduce themselves.

After the introductions of the other students concluded, it was soon Namikaze Minato's turn.

Namikaze Minato wore a gentle smile, a smile so infectious that it gave everyone who saw it a warm feeling.

It was as if the sun were shining upon the earth, bringing all things back to life.

Such a sun-like smile was truly a lethal weapon.

Uchiha Chonhua tried to mimic it, which caused Mikoto Uchiha, sitting nearby, to look over with a gaze filled with astonishment.

If Namikaze Minato's smile was like the sun, then Uchiha Chonhua's smile was a touch of moonlight—noble and cold, like an immortal descended from the heavens.

Uchiha Chonhua's already handsome features had already attracted many girls in the class, and as this moonlight-like smile appeared, the hearts of the girls watching him immediately skipped a beat.

Uchiha Chonhua looked at the girls whose cheeks were flushed, shyly dodging his gaze, and felt satisfied.

He needed to smile more; smiles could bring people joy and, in a roundabout way, make them favor you.

One had to be mindful of crafting one's own image on the path to becoming Hokage.

"My name is Namikaze Minato. Please look after me during our time at the academy. My dream is to become Hokage, and I hope to protect everyone in the village."

"It seems everyone is quite fond of the Hokage. I hope you all succeed."

Kinoshita nodded. As the leader of the village and the ninja universally acknowledged as the strongest, the Hokage was held in high esteem and affection by the people.

Because of this, if one were to ask which dream was most common in Konoha, becoming Hokage would undoubtedly be the answer.

"My name is Uchiha Chonhua. My dream is the same as everyone else's: I also want to become Hokage. I love this village, and I love everything about it."

Uchiha Chonhua said with a smile, "I will not yield the position of Hokage to any of you. From now on, we are rivals!"

This class was, without a doubt, an elite class.

It was filled with children from great clans, top-tier students, and the rest were either highly capable or the children of wealthy merchants.

The Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, was certainly keeping an eye on this place.

There were many students in the elite class who dreamed of becoming Hokage, but an Uchiha dreaming of becoming Hokage was still enough to capture Sarutobi Hiruzen's attention.