Chonhua: People Always Question Whether I'm Really an Uchiha

Compared to puppets, Explosive Tags were far more destructive.

Hatake Sakumo agreed. "This is the only way. You have the greatest skill in Medical Ninjutsu in Konoha, Tsunade, so leave preparing an antidote to Salamander poison to you."

Tsunade nodded solemnly. "I'll do everything I can to prepare an antidote as quickly as possible!"

"Prepare for a prolonged battle. We can't let Salamander Hanzo advance any farther. Keep him confined to this area!"

Hatake Sakumo said in a low voice.

The other three nodded solemnly.

"Chidori Sharp Spear!"

The lightning in Uchiha Chonhua's hand suddenly shifted into a long blade and rapidly extended, piercing straight through the Rain Ninja's chest.

The Rain Ninja hadn't even realized what was happening when a sudden pain struck his chest. He stared at it in shock.

So... so fast.

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

"Chonhua, that was a good move. It caught him off guard and was so fast he couldn't react."

Hearing the voice, Uchiha Chonhua dispelled the Chidori Sharp Spear and looked toward the speaker.

"Uncle Zongxing, you're too kind. You ended your fight much faster than I did."

Uchiha Zongxing chuckled and patted Uchiha Chonhua on the shoulder. He gave a thumbs-up toward his own Three-Tomoe Sharingan, looking extremely proud.

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

"No one dares to look these eyes in the face!"

With just a glare from Uchiha Zongxing, his enemy had fallen under a genjutsu, unable to control himself.

The power of life and death rested entirely on Uchiha Zongxing's whim! That was the Sharingan feared throughout the Ninja World!

Uchiha Chonhua looked at the others. Including him, there were six of them, all members of the Uchiha Clan.

Three of them had been present at the Nine-Tails sealing transfer ceremony. In other words, they were on his side.

Sarutobi Hiruzen had told him to get closer to them.

In this war against the Land of Rain, Uchiha Chonhua had been assigned to this group of Uchiha in the Hokage Faction.

The Hokage Faction was what Uchiha Zongxing and the others called themselves.

According to Uchiha Zongxing, unlike the faction led by Uchiha Ryutai and others, who were friendly toward Konoha, they went a step further and were devoted to the Hokage.

Konoha was the Hokage, and the Hokage was Konoha!

These people weren't confined by the boundaries of their clan. They devoted themselves wholeheartedly to the Hokage and worked for him. In their view, helping the Hokage was the same as helping Konoha.

Their outlook matched the image Uchiha Chonhua had cultivated, and Sarutobi Hiruzen had instructed him to get close to them, so he naturally did as he was told.

With him taking the initiative, they soon grew close, slinging their arms around each other and getting along like old friends.

"Senior Zongxing, I found two Poison Gas Bombs on the enemy's body."

An Uchiha searched the enemy's corpse and found two Poison Gas Bombs, disposable bombs made with poison from Salamander Hanzo's salamander.

"Chonhua, here. Give these to your teacher."

Tsunade was studying the components of the salamander's deadly poison, and these Poison Gas Bombs were valuable research materials. She needed a lot of them.

"Salamander Hanzo sure is confident in his poison. Isn't he worried Tsunade will make an antidote?"

At Uchiha Zongxing's words, Uchiha Chonhua remarked, "After all, Chiyo of Sunagakure spent several years studying it and only made a little progress."

"That woman's skill in Medical Ninjutsu is no worse."

If even that old puppet-user had needed years to make a little progress, what could Tsunade, who was younger than her, do? Salamander Hanzo didn't take her seriously at all.

To him, the only thing more troublesome was Konoha's wildly extravagant spending.

Kunai and shuriken came raining down from all directions, Explosive Tags detonated in a constant roar, and highly mobile long-range weapons...

Watching such a shameless waste of resources made Salamander Hanzo's heart ache. If only all those supplies were his!

Thanks to Konoha's lavish attacks, Salamander Hanzo's advance had ground to a halt.

Ninja had always been all offense and little defense. One thrust of a kunai was enough to send someone to their grave.

Under this overwhelming "firepower barrage," if he got careless and lost his life, Salamander Hanzo would become the laughingstock of the Ninja World—and the joke would never die.

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

Uchiha Zongxing sounded dissatisfied.

Whoosh!

Uchiha Chonhua looked up at the sky. A signal flare had shot into the clouds.

"Move!"

At Uchiha Zongxing's command, everyone leaped onto the treetops and headed toward the flare.

Salamander Hanzo's advance had been stopped. After several days of trying to break through, he had discovered something.

Konoha's attacks were aimed at him personally. Wherever Salamander Hanzo appeared, Konoha's shamelessly extravagant attacks followed.

But the Rain Ninja forces were often overlooked. Quite a few Rain Ninja had broken through, though Konoha's ninja had surrounded them as soon as they did, capturing, imprisoning, or killing them.

This discovery gave Salamander Hanzo an idea. He had the Rain Ninja carry Poison Gas Bombs. The moment they broke through, they were to scatter and spread poison throughout the Land of Fire, like flowers scattering in the wind.

There was no denying that Salamander Hanzo's move was devious. Hatake Sakumo couldn't afford to be careless, so he sent out sensory units to search for the Rain Ninja who had broken through. The intelligence unit received reports from the sensory units and passed them along.

Uchiha Chonhua's squad was a combat unit, responsible for eliminating any Rain Ninja they found.

They were fast, but someone else was faster.

When Uchiha Chonhua and the others arrived, they found the battle already over.

"Minato!"

Uchiha Chonhua greeted the Konoha Ninja squad standing there. Someone he knew was with them.

Namikaze Minato turned around, his eyes lighting up in delight.

"Chonhua, are you nearby?"

Uchiha Chonhua nodded and walked over to ask, "How many Poison Gas Bombs did you get?"

Namikaze Minato looked toward the jonin leading the squad.

"Just one."

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

Yakushi Nonō was focused on treating a patient.

She transformed the chakra in her body into Yang Release. A green glow appeared in her hands as she performed the B-rank Delicate Illness Extraction Technique.

Tiny beads of sweat appeared on Yakushi Nonō's delicate, fair face. Gritting her teeth, she drew a mass of something unpleasant-looking out of the patient.

It was poison—the salamander's poison.

Yakushi Nonō manipulated the poison and placed it on a blank scroll. An Uzumaki Clan member was keeping watch nearby. Seeing this, he formed Hand Seals and sealed the poison away.

Then he tied up the scroll and set it aside.

So I can only draw out the poison on the surface...

Yakushi Nonō was exhausted. Seeing the patient's face contort as he groaned in pain, she felt pity and sorrow.

Clap!

Someone patted her on the shoulder.

Yakushi Nonō turned around. When she saw who it was, she quickly stood and said, "Lady Tsunade."

Tsunade glanced at the patient with her beautiful eyes, then nodded. "You treated him in time. There isn't much poison left in his body, so his life isn't in danger for now."

"Only for now?"

Yakushi Nonō clenched her hands together and prayed for the patient.

Tsunade gathered up the scrolls containing the salamander poison. "That's right. The poison is like a parasite, sinking deep into the bones and nerves."

Tsunade sighed. It would have been fine if the poison had only affected the bones, but it had also damaged the nerves.

She still hadn't fully understood the nervous system. Treating it at her current level carried a significant risk of complications.

She liked gambling, but she didn't like gambling with people's lives.

"To make sure he's out of danger for good, we'll need to create an antidote."

Although studying the poison and preparing an antidote wasn't easy, it was still less difficult than dealing with the complexity of the human nervous system.

"Lady Tsunade!"

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

"Chonhua, Minato!"

Yakushi Nonō looked at the two of them in delight. "It's been a long time."

Uchiha Chonhua was a little surprised to see Yakushi Nonō here.

"It has, Nonō."

Uchiha Chonhua nodded to her, then handed the bag in his hands to Tsunade.

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

Tsunade took them and weighed the bag in her hands. There were quite a few.

"Lady Tsunade, any leads on the antidote?"

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

"Chiyo of Sunagakure spent years studying it. It won't take me that long, but it'll still take at least a year."

Tsunade was confident in her medical skills, and that confidence was built on studying the salamander poison.

With enough samples, she had already identified some of the poison's components, even though she still had no leads on an antidote.

Those findings were the result of Chiyo's research in Sunagakure.

Chiyo had spent years on the front lines in the Land of Rain, coming into contact with salamander poison every day, and still had only made a little progress.

Tsunade was certain she was better than Chiyo!

Considering that Sunagakure was also skilled with poison, and that medicine and poison were closely related, Tsunade wondered if Chiyo was simply too specialized.

"Just as I'd expect from you, Lady Tsunade."

Uchiha Chonhua praised her. Just then, the tent flap lifted again, and a pale, poisoned Konoha Ninja was carried inside.

"Ah, put him down here!"

Seeing this, Yakushi Nonō hurried forward to help.

"I'll help too."

Uchiha Chonhua went over. Before Yakushi Nonō could say anything, he pulled open the poisoned Konoha Ninja's shirt.

First, he used the Chakra Scalpel to make an incision. Then, with practiced ease, he used the Delicate Illness Extraction Technique to draw out the poison.

Without waiting for the Uzumaki Clan member to help, he formed Hand Seals himself and sealed the poison away.

Then he used the A-rank Mystical Palm Technique to heal the incision and ease the Konoha Ninja's pain.

It took only a few minutes for the pallor to fade from the patient's face and his expression to relax.

His movements flowed together seamlessly. Uchiha Chonhua made it look effortless, leaving Yakushi Nonō stunned.

...That was far too discouraging.

Yakushi Nonō drooped her head. She still couldn't perform the A-rank Mystical Palm Technique properly.

"Lady Tsunade, I'll come here to help in my spare time, too." Uchiha Chonhua looked around the tent.

"There are very few Medical Ninja."