To Repay My Debts, I'll Become Hokage!

Compared to puppets, the lethality of Explosive Tags is far greater.

Hatake Sakumo agreed, "We have no other choice." He looked at Tsunade and said, "You possess the highest mastery of medical ninjutsu within Konoha, so the task of formulating an antidote for the Salamander's deadly poison falls to you."

Tsunade nodded solemnly, "I will do everything in my power to concoct an antidote as quickly as possible!"

"Prepare for a war of attrition. We cannot allow Salamander Hanzo to advance any further; we must confine him to this sector!"

Hatake Sakumo spoke in a deep voice.

The three of them responded with grave expressions.

"Chidori Sharp Spear!"

The lightning in Uchiha Chonhua's hand suddenly transformed into a long blade, rapidly elongating to pierce directly through the chest of the Amegakure ninja.

Before the Amegakure ninja could even react, he felt a sharp pain in his chest and looked down in astonishment.

So... so fast.

The next moment, the lightning rampaged within his body, instantly tearing his internal organs to shreds. He spat out a mouthful of blood and collapsed to the ground.

"Chonhua, that's a fine technique. It's so unexpected and fast that it leaves no room for reaction."

Hearing the voice, Uchiha Chonhua dissipated the Chidori Sharp Spear and looked toward the man.

"You flatter me, Uncle Zongxing. The speed at which you end your battles is far greater than mine."

Uchiha Zongxing chuckled and patted Uchiha Chonhua on the shoulder, pointing a thumb at his own Three-Tomoe Sharingan with a look of immense pride.

"This is all thanks to our clan's Kekkei Genkai, the Sharingan. Chonhua, you'll understand once you awaken yours."

"No one dares to look directly into these eyes!"

With just a glare from Uchiha Zongxing, the enemy would fall into a genjutsu, unable to control themselves.

The power of life and death rested entirely within a single thought of Uchiha Zongxing! This was the Sharingan that struck fear into the ninja world!

Uchiha Chonhua looked at the others; including himself, there were six of them, all from the Uchiha Clan.

Three of them had been present at the Nine-Tails seal transfer ceremony; in other words, these people were his own.

Sarutobi Hiruzen had instructed him to grow closer to them.

For this war in the Land of Rain, Uchiha Chonhua had been assigned to this team of Uchiha who belonged to the Hokage Faction.

The Hokage Faction was the name Uchiha Zongxing and his peers used for themselves.

According to Uchiha Zongxing, compared to the faction led by Uchiha Ryutai that was merely pro-Konoha, they went a step further by being directly loyal to the Hokage.

Konoha is the Hokage, and the Hokage is Konoha!

These people were not confined by clan barriers; they wholeheartedly revered the Hokage and worked for the Hokage. In their philosophy, helping the Hokage was helping Konoha.

This aligned with Uchiha Chonhua's current persona, and with Sarutobi Hiruzen's instruction to get close to them, he naturally complied.

Through their own initiative, they quickly grew closer, putting arms around each other's shoulders and hitting it off.

"Senior Zongxing, there are two Poison Gas Bombs here."

A member of the Uchiha clan searching the enemy's corpse found two Poison Gas Bombs—the disposable weapons Salamander Hanzo created using the poison of his giant salamander.

"Chonhua, take these and give them to your teacher."

Tsunade was currently researching the components of the Salamander's deadly poison, and these bombs were precious research materials that were in high demand.

"Salamander Hanzo is truly confident in his own poison. Isn't he afraid that Tsunade will manage to concoct an antidote?"

Hearing Uchiha Zongxing's words, Uchiha Chonhua added from the side, "After all, Chiyo of Sunagakure only achieved minor results after years of research."

"That woman's medical ninjutsu mastery is nothing to scoff at, either."

If even that old puppet hag could only achieve minor results after years of effort, would someone as young as Tsunade be any different? Salamander Hanzo didn't take her seriously at all.

To him, it was Konoha's insane, reckless spending that was more of a headache.

The overwhelming barrage of kunai and shuriken, the constant roar of exploding tags, and the high-mobility long-range weaponry...

Such wanton waste of resources made Salamander Hanzo's heart ache; how wonderful it would be if all those supplies were his!

Thanks to this "money-spraying" assault, Salamander Hanzo's advance had been halted.

Ninjas have always been high-offense, low-defense individuals; a single stab from a kunai could send them to the afterlife.

If he were to accidentally get hit by this kind of "firepower saturation" and lose his life, Salamander Hanzo would undoubtedly become a permanent laughingstock of the ninja world.

"Are we going to be stuck here for years just like Sunagakure?"

Uchiha Zongxing sounded somewhat dissatisfied.

Whoosh--!

Uchiha Chonhua looked up at the sky, where a signal flare was shooting into the clouds.

"Let's go!"

At Uchiha Zongxing's command, the group leaped onto the treetops and headed toward the direction of the signal.

The advance of Salamander Hanzo was brought to a halt; after several days of attempting to break through, he discovered something.

Konoha's attacks were targeted specifically at him. Wherever Salamander Hanzo appeared, their relentless, inhumane barrages followed.

The Amegakure ninja forces were largely ignored, and many managed to break through. However, as soon as they did, they were surrounded by Konoha ninja, captured, taken prisoner, or killed.

This realization gave Salamander Hanzo an idea. He ordered the Amegakure ninja to carry Poison Gas Bombs, instructing them to scatter the moment they broke through, spreading poison across the Land of Fire like falling flower petals.

It must be said that this move by Salamander Hanzo was incredibly insidious. Hatake Sakumo dared not be careless; he dispatched sensory units to track the escaping Amegakure ninja, while the intelligence units were responsible for receiving and relaying that information.

Uchiha Chonhua's squad was a combat unit, tasked with intercepting and eliminating the discovered Amegakure ninja.

They were fast, but someone was faster.

When Uchiha Chonhua's group arrived at the scene, they found the battle had already concluded.

"Minato!"

Uchiha Chonhua greeted the Konoha squad standing there, recognizing an acquaintance among them.

Namikaze Minato turned around, his eyes lighting up with surprise.

"Chonhua, you're in this area?"

Uchiha Chonhua nodded, walking over to ask, "How many Poison Gas Bombs did you recover?"

Namikaze Minato looked toward the team's jonin leader.

"Only one."

Chapter 56: Chonhua: People Always Question If I'm Really an Uchiha

Yakushi Nono was focused on her treatment.

She performed a nature transformation of her chakra into the Yang attribute, her hands glowing with a verdant light as she unleashed the B-rank Delicate Illness Extraction Technique.

Fine beads of sweat seeped from Yakushi Nono's delicate, fair face. She gritted her teeth and extracted a mass of ominous-looking matter from the patient's body.

It was poison—the poison of the Salamander.

Yakushi Nono controlled the toxin, placing it onto a blank scroll. A member of the Uzumaki Clan stood watch nearby; seeing this, he formed hand seals and sealed the toxin away.

Immediately after, he tied the scroll and set it aside.

Can I only extract the surface toxins...

Yakushi Nono felt a wave of exhaustion. Seeing the patient's features contort in pain as he let out a muffled groan, she felt a pang of pity and sorrow.

Pat!

Someone tapped her on the shoulder.

Yakushi Nono turned around, and upon seeing who it was, she quickly stood up. "Lady Tsunade."

Tsunade's beautiful eyes glanced at the patient, and she nodded. "The treatment was timely. There isn't much residual toxin left; the patient is out of immediate danger for now."

"Is it only for now?"

Yakushi Nono clenched her hands, praying for the patient in her heart.

Tsunade picked up the scrolls containing the sealed Salamander poison. "Yes. Those toxins are like maggots on bone, burrowing deep into the marrow and nerves."

Tsunade sighed softly. If it only affected the bone marrow, it would be manageable, but it also involved the nervous system.

She had not yet thoroughly researched neurological issues, and attempting treatment at her current level carried a significant risk of complications.

She enjoyed gambling, but she did not like to gamble with human lives.

"To truly pull them out of danger, we must create an antidote."

Although researching toxins to formulate an antidote was no simple task, it was still far less difficult than dealing with the complexities of the human nervous system.

"Master Tsunade!"

Just then, the tent flap was lifted, and Uchiha Chonhua and Namikaze Minato walked in.

"Chonhua, Minato!"

Yakushi Nono looked at them with pleasant surprise. "Long time no see."

Uchiha Chonhua was somewhat surprised to see Yakushi Nono here.

"Long time no see, Nono."

Uchiha Chonhua nodded at her, then handed a bag to Tsunade.

"These are the Poison Gas Bombs we've seized recently."

Tsunade took them and weighed the bag; the quantity was not insignificant.

"Master Tsunade, how is it? Is there any progress on the antidote?"

Tsunade shook her head, looking troubled. "Not yet. I can only do my best."

"Chiyo of Sunagakure has been researching it for years. It won't take me that long, but it will take at least a year."

Tsunade had confidence in her medical skills, a confidence built upon her study of the Salamander's poison.

With a sufficient supply of material samples, although the antidote had yet to be developed, a portion of the toxin's composition had already been analyzed.

This portion was the result of research conducted by Chiyo of Sunagakure.

Stationed on the front lines in the Land of Rain, Chiyo of Sunagakure had been exposed to the poison of the Salamander every single day, and it had taken her years to achieve even that small result.

Tsunade concluded that Chiyo of Sunagakure was inferior to her!

Thinking of how Sunagakure was also a master of poisons—and as the saying goes, medicine and poison are inseparable—Tsunade mused that Chiyo of Sunagakure was likely severely lopsided in her expertise.

"As expected of Master Tsunade."

Uchiha Chonhua exclaimed in admiration. Just then, the door curtain was lifted once more, and a Konoha ninja with a deathly pale complexion, suffering from poisoning, was carried inside.

"Ah, quickly, place him here!"

Seeing this, Yakushi Nonō hurried forward to help.

"I'll help as well."

Uchiha Chonhua stepped over, and without waiting for Yakushi Nonō to say anything, he tore open the poisoned Konoha ninja's shirt.

He first used a Chakra Scalpel to make an incision, then skillfully employed the Delicate Illness Extraction Technique to draw out the toxins.

Without needing the Uzumaki clansman to intervene, he formed the hand seals himself and sealed the toxins away.

He then cast the A-rank Mystical Palm Technique to heal the incision he had just made, while simultaneously helping the Konoha ninja alleviate his pain.

It took only a few minutes for the ninja to go from deathly pale to a calm complexion.

The entire sequence of movements was performed in one smooth motion. Uchiha Chonhua appeared calm and collected, but he left Yakushi Nonō, who was watching from the side, completely stunned.

...This is just too demoralizing.

Yakushi Nonō hung her head; she still couldn't properly perform the A-rank Mystical Palm Technique even now.

"Master Tsunade, I will come here to help during my spare time." Uchiha Chonhua scanned the interior of the medical tent.

"There are very few medical ninja."