To Repay My Debts, I'll Become Hokage!

The young girl stood with her hands behind her back, leaning forward slightly, a flower-like smile gracing her delicate face.

Uchiha Chonhua felt the corners of his mouth curl upward at her words: "Long time no see, Mikoto."

"How did you end up in Zongxing's squad?"

"The atmosphere over at Uncle Shohei's place is too serious; I couldn't quite get used to it." Mikoto Uchiha looked at Uchiha Chonhua with gentle eyes.

She was a girl with strong adaptability; even if the atmosphere at Uchiha Shohei's place was stern, she could have stayed there—all she would have needed to do was become stern herself.

The real reason was... Mikoto Uchiha smiled.

She wanted to see Chonhua; she wanted to stay by his side.

"Come to think of it, this is the longest we've been apart since we first met."

"Did you miss me, Chonhua?"

Mikoto Uchiha stared at him intently.

Uchiha Chonhua paused in his tracks. She really is bold, Mikoto.

"Of course." Uchiha Chonhua patted Mikoto's small head and smiled: "I missed you very much."

Having received the answer she longed for, Mikoto Uchiha's face flushed, her eyes filled with joy, and the shyness rising in her heart forced her to lower her head.

That gentleness upon lowering her head, like a water lily shyly bowing before a cool breeze.

Seeing this beautiful sight, such a thought suddenly sprang into Uchiha Chonhua's mind.

A water lily—nothing could describe Mikoto more perfectly.

Uchiha Chonhua teased suddenly: "I recall that Fugaku, whom you used to admire, is also over there."

"You said it yourself—'used to'." Mikoto Uchiha puffed out her cheeks and looked at him with dissatisfaction: "The only one I admire now is you."

Uchiha Chonhua coughed dryly. She's getting bolder and bolder; even I'm having trouble handling this.

Having a little beauty miss you, admire you, and love you—Uchiha Chonhua was naturally happy.

But thinking of Kushina far away in Konoha, he had to be a little more careful.

Mikoto Uchiha could afford to be bold, but he could not be reckless; he had to be careful not to capsize the boat.

He was not a very sentimental person; the affection he held for Mikoto and Kushina existed, but he valued the value they represented behind them even more.

[I really am a cold-hearted person.]

Uchiha Chonhua evaluated himself.

His heart was divided into several petals, and these petals were interspersed with other extraneous existences.

He did not deny his excess, but this was a necessary step to achieve his goals.

"It's good that you came here." Uchiha Chonhua turned his head away, appearing awkward, and muttered: "That Fugaku... you... you should stay away from him in the future."

Mikoto Uchiha stared at Chonhua in a daze.

Chonhua means... is he... is he jealous?

Mikoto Uchiha shook her head. No, no. She wanted to deny it, but the flower of joy in the depths of her heart bloomed with a bang, filling her entire body.

It was a joy she couldn't stop, and her body felt a little weak.

This was the first time she had clearly felt his concern for her from Chonhua.

So happy!

Mikoto Uchiha suddenly covered her cheeks and turned away.

Her face must have turned bright red, burning hot.

No, this is terrible! The shyness stirred by her own straightforward and bold words couldn't compare to the intensity of that single sentence from Chonhua.

Today's battle: Mikoto Uchiha, defeated.

Chapter 64: Drive the Enemy Out of the Land of Fire!

"Chonhua, Mikoto, over here!"

Tsume Inuzuka waved her hand. Beside her were Nawaki, Hizashi Hyuga, Shibi Aburame, Namikaze Minato, Choza Akimichi, and others.

Uchiha Chonhua scanned the group; it looked exactly like a class reunion.

"Eh? Mikoto, why is your face so red?"

Tsume Inuzuka looked at Mikoto Uchiha strangely. Seeing her covering her face, she grew curious, but when she leaned in closer, she was startled—why was her face so flushed?

Hearing this, Mikoto Uchiha let go of her hands and began fanning herself.

"It must be because it's too hot." Mikoto Uchiha blinked rapidly, speaking insincerely: "I'm wearing quite thick clothes, haha, I've even worked up a sweat."

Tsume Inuzuka hesitated. Mikoto was indeed wearing thick clothing, but not as thick as her own, and she wasn't feeling hot or sweating at all.

Autumn was almost over, and winter was approaching; with this thickness of clothing... it was quite difficult to get hot.

Seeing that her words hadn't dispelled Tsume Inuzuka's doubts, Mikoto Uchiha hurriedly pushed her: "Alright, alright, don't worry about me. Everyone hasn't seen each other for a long time; don't you have anything to say to the others?"

Tsume Inuzuka looked at her, speechless. Among their classmates, there were few girls, and since she was closest to Mikoto, she naturally wanted to talk to her first.

Tsume Inuzuka asked with concern, "Mikoto, are you really okay?"

Uchiha Chonhua looked at them with a smile, winking at Mikoto.

Mikoto Uchiha glared at him, repeatedly assuring Tsume Inuzuka that she was truly fine and that it was really just because of the heat.

Tsume Inuzuka decided to believe her for now. As the conversation grew more lively, her attention was quickly drawn away, and she stopped focusing on Mikoto Uchiha.

Mikoto Uchiha breathed a sigh of relief.

"Minato, are you planning to participate in the Chunin Exams next year?"

Choza Akimichi shared his snacks, "If you're going, I'll participate next year too."

"Why don't we all just participate together?"

Tsume Inuzuka raised her hand high, eager to try.

Shibi Aburame looked at the only three Chunin present and said calmly, "Once we become Chunin, we can also lead a squad."

Nawaki, a senior one year ahead of them, refused to be outdone, "I'm going to participate too, and I'm going to take first place!"

Nawaki's fighting spirit soared as he looked at Namikaze Minato with a competitive gaze.

Namikaze Minato readily agreed, "Then let's all participate in next year's Chunin Exams together."

As he spoke, he looked at Uchiha Chonhua and teased, "Chonhua, Hizashi, Mikoto, you three are our seniors. Do you have any advice to pass on to us juniors?"

The three of them, having already experienced the Chunin Exams, recounted their experiences. Everyone listened intently, knowing these were valuable insights from their seniors.

After finishing his story, Uchiha Chonhua took a sip of water.

At this moment, Choza Akimichi suddenly sighed, his tone turning heavy, "I hope the war ends soon."

"Do you remember Daisuke? A while ago, he accidentally walked into an enemy ambush and stepped on an Explosive Tag, leaving nothing behind."

Choza Akimichi said with a pained expression, "I still can't forget that tragic sight."

Uchiha Chonhua glanced at Nawaki.

Nawaki had been waiting for this; seeing Chonhua look at him, he felt speechless.

Is this whole "almost stepping on an Explosive Tag" thing never going to end?

So, who is Daisuke?

Nawaki looked at the others and saw that they had all become somber.

"Daisuke was our classmate," Uchiha Chonhua explained.

Upon hearing this, Nawaki's mood also darkened. Although he didn't know Daisuke, the thought of a child younger than him dying on the battlefield hit home.

Recalling how he had once brushed against death, his heart trembled, and he looked at Uchiha Chonhua with gratitude.

If not for Chonhua, he would have been one of the people his friends were mourning.

I don't want my friends and family to be sad because of me.

"The battlefield is heartless. All we can do is end the war as soon as possible and restore peace."

Uchiha Chonhua clapped his hands, pulling everyone out of their melancholy, "We must carry on with Daisuke's regrets. As long as the war continues, there will be another Daisuke."

Namikaze Minato nodded with a firm gaze, "Yes, we must end the war and protect everyone in Konoha!"

"You've arrived."

Jiraiya looked at the squad leaders who had come together, then turned to the person in Anbu attire behind him.

Uchiha Chonhua and the others looked over with curiosity. The person removed their hood, revealing striking silver hair.

Silver hair!?

Uchiha Chonhua felt a sense of foreboding. When the Anbu removed their mask to reveal a familiar face, everyone present was shocked.

"Captain!?"

"Lord Sakumo!?"

The Anbu was none other than Hatake Sakumo, who should have been at headquarters.

"Hey, everyone."

Hatake Sakumo greeted them gently, while the others stared at him as if they had seen a ghost.

"Why is Senior Sakumo here?"

"Lord Jiraiya is here, Lord Orochimaru and Lady Tsunade are on the southern front, and now Lord Sakumo has left headquarters as well."

One squad leader said with deep concern, "This... won't there be trouble on the northern front?"

"There won't be any trouble," Hatake Sakumo laughed, "I handed over command to Kano. You should be able to rest easy now."

Kano Nara, the father of Shikaku Nara and head of the strategy division.

Thinking of the Nara clan's brilliant intellect, everyone felt slightly more at ease.

Hatake Sakumo continued, "Our supplies are sufficient, and Salamander Hanzo is unable to break through. Our battle with him has now shifted into a stalemate."

"Since it has become a stalemate, we can free up more forces to deal with Sunagakure; they are our primary enemy at the moment."

Hatake Sakumo pulled out a scroll and gestured for everyone to take a look.

Uchiha Chonhua glanced at it, lost in thought.

The Daimyo of the Land of Fire and the Third Hokage were both dissatisfied with the current situation.

What they wanted was neither a siege without an assault nor a back-and-forth skirmish with Sunagakure.

Their focus was singular: Amegakure and Sunagakure were still within the borders of the Land of Fire!

No matter how the fighting went, it was the land and the people of the Land of Fire that suffered, and that was not what they wanted.

"As you can see, this state of war must change." The gentle smile vanished from Hatake Sakumo's face, replaced by a cold glint in his eyes.

"The Hokage's demand is to drive Amegakure and Sunagakure out of the Land of Fire within one year; the flames of war should not burn in our homeland."

"Salamander Hanzo is difficult to move against; his poison remains as troublesome as ever."

Hatake Sakumo looked at Uchiha Chonhua and said, "Chonhua, I have received intelligence that your teacher has repeatedly neutralized Sunagakure's poisons, is that correct?"

Uchiha Chonhua nodded and pulled out an antidote: "Yes, these are the antidotes crafted by Teacher Tsunade. Sunagakure's poisons will hold no advantage over us for the time being."

"How long is 'for the time being'?"

"About two weeks. After that, Sunagakure will develop new, potent toxins, and these antidotes will lose their effectiveness."

Hatake Sakumo took the antidote and gave a faint smile.

"Two weeks? That is longer than I imagined."

"It is enough!"

Chapter 65: Please Call Me Uzumaki Chonhua!