To Repay My Debts, I'll Become Hokage!

The other examinees stared at them one after another; they were the youngest and least experienced candidates in this year's Chunin Exams.

It was said they had only just graduated before signing up for the Chunin Exams.

They were truly young, and on top of that, they hailed from a prestigious clan...

Uchiha Chonhua could feel the thick waves of envy, jealousy, and hatred radiating from behind him; they were indeed quite the eyesore.

As he left that floor, he heard the boisterous voice of Might Duy shouting.

"Ahhh! Failed at the first exam again..."

Well, now there was no one left in this year's Chunin Exams that he was familiar with.

"Chonhua, it's a good thing you were there, otherwise..."

Mikoto Uchiha patted her flat chest, her face full of lingering fear.

After Chonhua dispelled the genjutsu, Mikoto Uchiha had checked the answers on her test paper and discovered that the examiner she had finally tracked down possessed the complete set of correct answers.

But she had been hesitant at the end, nearly wanting to give up.

Thank goodness, thank goodness; she didn't have to fall into a state of indecision, as Chonhua had made the choice for her.

Uchiha Chonhua smiled and tapped Mikoto on the head: "Read more books in your spare time. Otherwise, even when the correct answer is right in front of you, you won't be able to confirm it, and you'll easily miss your chance."

Mikoto Uchiha let out a small cry, covering her head as she muttered: "Reading books doesn't mean I'll be able to seize the opportunity."

"Besides..." Mikoto Uchiha blinked, leaned in, and grabbed Chonhua's arm with a laugh: "Hehe, as long as Chonhua is there to help me, I'll never miss an opportunity."

"You."

Uchiha Chonhua shook his head helplessly, looking at her with doting eyes.

Hizashi Hyuga followed behind them with an expressionless face; he was already used to it. In this team, he often felt that he was somewhat redundant.

The location for the second exam was Training Ground 23.

Looking down from the sky, Training Ground 23 was bisected by a river; to the left was a Gobi desert, and to the right was a dense, light-deprived forest.

One side was a barren wasteland, the other a lush expanse of green, creating a stark contrast.

Uchiha Chonhua and his two companions arrived and waited for a while until all the examinees who had passed the first round were present.

Uchiha Chonhua scanned the crowd; there were twelve teams in total, with thirty-six people having passed.

In the Chunin Exams that the Konoha 12 participated in, twenty-six teams—seventy-eight people—had passed the first round.

That was double their number.

However, that particular Chunin Exam had been a joint exam with other ninja villages participating, so the numbers were higher.

By this estimate, their current pass rate was decent.

At this point in time, relations between nations were tense, and ninja villages were wary of one another. Jointly hosting the Chunin Exams? As if!

They currently had no concept of joint hosting, and the feudal lords and high-ranking officials had yet to develop the idea of watching ninja PvP for entertainment.

As it stood, this was simply a formal assessment hosted by Konoha for genin to be promoted to chunin.

"Welcome to Exam Site 23. I am your chief examiner. I will now explain the rules for this exam, so listen carefully!"

"There are two types of flags: one red, one blue. Each of you will be assigned one of the two."

The chief examiner distributed the flags and continued: "The exam lasts for three days. For the first two days, you must stay in the forest and are not allowed to cross the river. Only on the final day may you head to the Gobi on the other side."

"On the Gobi side, there are four platforms. They are very conspicuous; you will see them just by walking around."

"All you have to do is obtain both a red and a blue flag and plant them in the center of a platform."

"Oh, right." The chief examiner seemed to recall something and offered a playful smile: "The exam ends at midnight on the fourth day. The results will be based on the status at that time. I hope that by then, the flags and the platforms are still in your possession."

"That's all for the hints. All you brats, come over here and sign."

Uchiha Chonhua and the others went to sign, the large characters for "Death Waiver" appearing before their eyes.

The chief examiner's voice came through, appropriately eerie: "Once you sign the death waiver, injuries and casualties are your own concern. Be sure to stay safe during these three days."

"Heh heh, I hope to see you all in one piece in three days."

"Eww~." Mikoto Uchiha shuddered: "That made me a little scared."

"The horror atmosphere is rendered quite well."

Uchiha Chonhua praised the chief examiner's intimidation skills; he was likely from the Interrogation and Torture Department.

Uchiha Chonhua signed the death waiver without hesitation. Holding the red flag, his ink-black eyes looked toward the others.

The other examinees avoided his gaze as soon as they saw it, which made Uchiha Chonhua frown.

He thought of a possibility...

"It can't be..."

If it really was what he thought, Uchiha Chonhua felt a bit bored.

"That would truly be meaningless."

Chapter 47: The Boring Second Exam

Walking through the dense forest, Hizashi Hyuga activated his Byakugan, the veins around his eyes bulging.

With a radius of several miles within his sight, Hizashi Hyuga quickly located the nearest squad carrying a blue flag.

"Over here."

Hizashi Hyuga took the lead, leaping toward the right.

Uchiha Chonhua and Mikoto Uchiha followed closely behind.

Training Ground 23 was not particularly large. As the trees blurred past them, it took only a moment for Uchiha Chonhua and his two companions to land in front of the three people carrying the blue flag.

"Hand over the blue flag..."

Before Uchiha Chonhua could finish his sentence, the faces of the people opposite them turned ugly; they threw the blue flag down and left immediately.

Uchiha Chonhua shut his mouth. This was the boring part.

The overall level of this year's Chunin Exams was average, consisting mostly of civilian ninjas.

Though they were young, they were still from clans, and the names Uchiha and Hyuga were enough to make them lose any desire to resist.

Not to mention that those who could pass the first written exam were not lacking in intelligence-gathering skills.

The caliber of the three of them was already well-known among the examinees.

Mikoto Uchiha and Hizashi Hyuga were one thing, but Uchiha Chonhua's strength was truly awe-inspiring.

They hadn't made any effort to hide it, and Tsunade often boasted about her prized students; the process of the bell-stealing test was a frequent topic of her conversation.

The examinees' instructors had naturally taken note after hearing it so often. Knowing that Team Tsunade was participating in this year's Chunin Exams, they had long since warned their students to avoid Uchiha Chonhua and his team at all costs.

Mikoto Uchiha and Hizashi Hyuga looked at the lonely blue flag and exchanged glances.

Uchiha Chonhua picked up the blue flag, raised an eyebrow, and said to the two, "With both red and blue flags in hand, let's head to the river."

"It seems our reputation precedes us. I'm afraid no one will dare to trouble us from here on out."

Uchiha Chonhua laughed, "Just treat this as a vacation. The scenery in this training ground isn't bad either. Let's hunt some game to pass these two days."

Hizashi Hyuga and Mikoto Uchiha's shoulders slumped. Their tense emotions dissipated, replaced by speechlessness.

Could this even be called an exam? Was it really okay for them to be this relaxed?

But regardless, the other examinees were unwilling to face the three of them.

On the way to the river, they encountered more examinees carrying blue flags. Upon seeing the trio, they acted just like the previous group—tossing the blue flag down and running away as if avoiding a flood or a wild beast.

"Hey, we already have one blue flag..."

By the time he finished speaking, the others had already vanished from sight.

Uchiha Chonhua laughed heartily, "Forget them. Just leave this blue flag here; who knows which team will be lucky enough to find it."

"Hehe, I hope the flag they have is a red one."

Taking a bite of the slightly charred fish, Uchiha Chonhua sat cross-legged on a rock, his gaze fixed on the barren desert landscape across the way.

Just across the river, a single arena stood in isolation.

With Hizashi Hyuga's Byakugan, they had found the arena closest to the riverbank. All they had to do was eat and drink for these two days, wait for the third day to arrive, cross the river, plant their flag, and wait for the stroke of midnight on the fourth day to pass the second exam.

Behind them came the sound of metal clashing, occasionally accompanied by the noise of explosions.

That was the flag-snatching war between the other examinees. Surely, it was a tense and thrilling battle where life and death were of no concern.

Of course, it had nothing to do with the three of them.

"Chonhua, here, have some roasted bear paw."

Mikoto Uchiha happily handed over a bear paw. Uchiha Chonhua took it and took a bite, his mouth watering.

Thanks to the cooking utensils and seasonings Mikoto had brought, the bear paw was roasted to perfection.

It was common for ninjas to go out on missions. In their small squad, they had Hizashi Hyuga for reconnaissance, Uchiha Chonhua for damage output—and he could even provide healing.

Mikoto Uchiha was neither here nor there, but she handled logistics quite well.

"Why hasn't Hizashi returned yet? He said he was going to look for rabbits, but he's been gone for a long time."

Mikoto Uchiha was a bit puzzled, though in her heart, she hoped Hizashi wouldn't return too quickly, leaving just her and Chonhua here together.

Eating food together, watching the small river flow by.

A gentle breeze blew, the leaves rustled, and the warm sunlight shone down. Mikoto Uchiha shifted her body to lean against Uchiha Chonhua's shoulder.

Uchiha Chonhua's body moved slightly, but he didn't pull away. This gave Mikoto Uchiha the confidence to relax even further; in no time at all, leaning had turned into lying down.

Uchiha Chonhua was bewildered. Shouldn't this be the other way around?

How did it end up with him giving Mikoto Uchiha a lap pillow?

Snap.

A crisp sound rang out, and Mikoto Uchiha instantly rose to her feet, frowning as she looked behind her.

"The arena! It's right across the river, so close!"

"Yeah, this is truly great."

"As long as we plant our flag and hold the arena, we'll pass the second exam."

The three of them chimed in one after another, then their gazes simultaneously turned toward the other two people present.

When they saw the iconic Uchiha clan ping-pong paddle emblem on the pair's clothing, their brows furrowed, and to the surprise of Uchiha Chonhua, they drew their kunai and looked at them with caution.

"Oh?"

Uchiha Chonhua became interested; they hadn't retreated or fled.

These three were more interesting than the others; at the very least, they had the courage to draw their weapons and face them.

"Attack..."

The leader had just let out a shout when, the next moment, all three stumbled, their heads reeling as if struck by a heavy blow, their vision blurring into a haze.

Seeing the state of the three, Mikoto Uchiha blinked; she was all too familiar with this sight.

They had fallen into Chonhua's genjutsu.

To this day, Mikoto Uchiha still did not understand how Chonhua cast his genjutsu; she never saw him make any movements, nor did his hands form any seals, yet the opponents would simply fall into his illusion, unable to help themselves.

Chonhua's mastery of genjutsu was becoming increasingly profound, so profound that it was beyond comprehension.

"Go on, dance for me to liven things up."

Receiving the order, the three immediately stepped in front of the pair and began to dance.

Uchiha Chonhua pulled Mikoto over to watch together.

He had been wondering how to pass the time over the next two days, and hey, look at that—it had arrived.