The Land of Snow Mission!

"Why are you all acting like you're interrogating a criminal?" I smiled wryly. "I'm not interested in either of them!"

"I don't believe you!" Ino said suspiciously. "You're always so close to them. Who'd believe there's nothing between you?"

That's just ordinary stuff, like putting an arm around their shoulders... I complained silently. How could anyone get the wrong idea?!

"Yeah, that's right!" Hinata piled on. "I often see you sitting close together with Sasuke too, Sakura!"

Hinata, you noticed that while you were spying on Naruto, didn't you?!

"So, who is it?" Haku pressed at last.

Haku, don't you start too!

"I'm telling the truth! Why won't you believe me?" I said helplessly. "We're teammates. Isn't it normal for us to train and eat together? All that closeness is just your imagination!"

"Ino, are you jealous?" Seeing that Ino was about to argue, I leaned forward until my face was close to hers. "We're so close right now. That means I like you!"

"D-don't get so close!"

Our faces were almost touching, so I took the chance to give her a light kiss on the cheek. Ino went completely rigid, her face turning bright red!

"S-Sakura! Girls can't do that with other girls!" Hinata said in a panic.

Haku hurriedly pulled me back. "Sakura, stop fooling around! Ino's about to cry!"

For the rest of the evening, Ino seemed a little dazed, muttering things like "I'll never be able to get married now" and "Sakura, give me back my first kiss."

I kissed her cheek! How was that her first kiss?!

I had Haku see a completely burnt-out-looking Ino off while I walked Hinata back to the Hyuga Clan Compound.

"...Hinata, how has Neji been lately?"

"My brother? Ever since Father talked to him last time, he's become much more cheerful. He often comes to our house now for Father's guidance," Hinata said with a smile. "You're so concerned about him, Sakura. Could it be that Neji is the one you really like?"

"Of course not... I'm just asking how he's doing. We did fight each other recently, after all. Besides, even though Neji was your older cousin, your relationship wasn't very good before. But it seems to have improved lately?"

"Yeah, he's been a lot more concerned about me lately. He's kinder than he used to be..." Hinata said happily.

This was something Neji should have done long ago, yet he was only starting now, and it still made Hinata so happy... Hyuga Hiashi had simply abandoned his eldest daughter, and Hinata didn't have much standing at home either... Sigh, forget it. I couldn't interfere in someone else's family affairs, and I had no reason to. Besides, there were plenty of things in Naruto crueler than this, and I couldn't deal with them all.

All I could do was offer a few feeble words of concern.

"Really... That's good."

"Why are we only talking about me? What about you, Sakura?" Hinata tilted her head and asked with a smile.

"Me? There's nothing much to tell..." I shrugged. "You're always guessing whether there's something between Sasuke and me... There really isn't. Besides, I'm not thinking about romance right now. What I think about most every day is training."

Hinata's pale eyes glimmered faintly in the night. Her beautiful eyes sparkled as she gazed at me, and under the Byakugan's penetrating vision, it felt as though she could see right through me.

Hinata stopped and looked at me for quite a while before saying, "I believe you, Sakura!"

...We chatted along the way, and before we knew it, we had reached Hinata's front door.

"This is where I leave you, Hinata. See you! Oh, right, Hinata," I added before leaving, "Naruto's improving quickly, so you'd better work hard too!"

"Yeah! I will!"

The next morning, at Konoha's Training Ground Seven.

"Sakura! We're over here!" I had just arrived at the training ground when I heard Naruto's booming voice. I walked over and saw that Naruto and Sasuke were already there.

"Sakura, Kakashi-sensei's last again! I bet he'll be two hours late today!" Naruto complained with a miserable look.

"Hmph, two hours is definitely too optimistic. He'll take at least three!" Even Sasuke, who usually liked to act cool, couldn't help complaining. Kakashi really had a lot to answer for!

"Ahem, Kakashi-sensei can't come today!" I solemnly announced to the two of them.

"Why not?"

"Because of the recent invasion of Konoha, the village is taking on missions like crazy to show the outside world that Konoha's strength hasn't been affected. Every Chunin and Jonin the village can send out is already on a mission!"

"What? Kakashi-sensei's gone on a mission? What about us?" Naruto complained.

According to Konoha's rules, Genin couldn't, in principle, take missions on their own. Only Chunin and above were free to take missions. In other words, a team carrying out a mission had to be led by a ninja of Chunin rank or higher.

"Idiot! Naruto, don't forget, I just made Chunin! I can lead you on a mission!" I grinned proudly. "And I've brought some powerful backup today!"

"Come on out!" I called behind me.

Whoosh! A figure appeared before us.

"Long time no see! Hello!" Haku greeted the two with a smile.

"Huh?! Aren't you that Miss Haku from the Land of Waves...?" Naruto exclaimed.

Sasuke froze for a moment, then smiled. "Hmph... It's you! You really are powerful backup!"

"Everyone knows each other well, so I won't waste any more words. Let's go get a mission! Kakashi isn't here today, so we can pick whatever mission we want!"

"All right! This time I'm definitely taking a super-difficult S-rank mission!" Only Naruto could make a boast like that.

Without a word, we all ignored his nonsense.

The mission assignment office.

It had been over a month since I'd last come here, back during the Chunin Ninja Exams. The place had also been attacked during the Konoha Collapse Operation, but now that it had been renovated, it was much cleaner and prettier than before.

The Third Hokage used to like dropping by the assignment office to inspect the work from time to time, but since my master Tsunade had become Hokage, she hadn't picked up that habit yet. The Fifth was far too busy rebuilding the village and restoring its reputation to have time to come here!

Another familiar face was still here, though-

"Long time no see, Team Kakashi!"

"Iruka-sensei! Long time no see!" Naruto said, waving happily. "We're here for a mission! Hurry and find us a good one!"

"Hmm... Let me see. How about buying things in the neighboring village? Or helping a villager farm? Or cleaning rubbish out of the river?" Iruka said, leafing through the mission list.

"Iruka-sensei! This is my first time leading a team on a mission. Can't you give us something a little more challenging? We're not kids who just graduated anymore! I'm even a Chunin now!" I was speechless. He still thought of us as little brats, didn't he?

Iruka smiled awkwardly and pointed to a newly ranked mission. "How about this one, then? Madam Jijimi's pet cat is missing again. No one's completed this mission in two weeks, so it's been upgraded-"

I sighed and brought my hands together in a seal-

"Water Release: Tearful Eyes Technique!"

"Uh, Sakura, you're not happy with this one either? I'll find another. Just don't cry! Don't cry! Don't cry! Don't get your tears on the mission sheets!"

"All right, Iruka-sensei, you can stop looking! We'll take this one!" Taking advantage of the confusion, I peeked at the mission list and pointed to an entry-

"Mission: guard the actress Fujikaze Yukie during the filming of 'Princess Gale's Great Adventure.' Client: Asama Sandayu..." Below that were the mission details and so on.

It was a long-term mission outside the village. We hadn't taken one like it since the Land of Waves, and staying in the village all the time was pretty dull. This was the one!

"Naruto, Sasuke, what do you think of this mission?"

"Is that the leading lady in that really popular movie? Awesome! Let's take it!" Naruto exclaimed excitedly.

"Then let's take it. Whatever."

"Hey, hey! This isn't a mission you can just take on a whim! It's an official mission, and there's a good chance there'll be fighting!" Iruka said.

"Hmph, haven't we seen plenty of fights? Don't worry, Iruka-sensei! Besides, we've got some powerful backup this time! Or would you like to try that Ninjutsu of mine again?"

"All right," Iruka said, waving a hand helplessly. "I'll leave it to you. Here's the mission sheet. Remember to read the details carefully! Oh, and the client also sent four movie tickets for this afternoon!"

I had never been able to sit through art-house films. After reading the dialogue in the subtitles, I couldn't stand waiting several seconds for the actors to say it. In my previous life, the only things that could get me into a movie theater were "American blockbusters"-the kind where you didn't have to think and could just enjoy the special effects. I thought other kinds of movies were too slow-paced; I'd rather read!

Since coming to the world of Naruto, I hadn't watched a single movie. The spectacular effects of Ninjutsu itself were enough for me to enjoy, especially when the special effects in movies here were so crude.

Still, the movie was free, and all three of them said they were interested, so I had no choice but to go along and watch—or rather, sleep through—it with them.

But somehow, the movie's title gave me a strange sense of déjà vu... Was this in the manga? Why did I have a bad feeling about it?

"Ah! That movie was great! Right, Sakura?" Naruto said happily.

"Idiot, didn't you notice? Sakura didn't watch any of it. She fell asleep as soon as it started," Sasuke said mockingly.

"Haha, Sakura, do you dislike movies that much?" Haku said with a smile.

"Ahh-" I stretched and was about to speak when the sound of hooves suddenly drew closer and closer. A woman came galloping toward us on a horse!

"Huh? Isn't that Princess Gale?" Naruto asked in surprise.

Clatter, clatter! Another chaotic volley of hoofbeats sounded behind her. Several people were riding hard in pursuit of Princess Gale!

What do these people think Konoha is? Galloping down the street could easily hurt someone!

I frowned and shouted, "Stop! No galloping in the street!"

"Water Release: Water Clone!" "Water Release: Water Prison Technique!"

Several Water Clones each trapped Princess Gale and one of her pursuers, leaving only their heads exposed. I addressed them. "We're the Konoha Ninja who took the mission to protect Princess Gale. Who are you? Why are you chasing her?"

"Actually... I'm the client who commissioned that mission-Asama Sandayu!" said the middle-aged man with a ponytail who was leading them.

"Huh?" We all froze!

After an explanation, we finally understood. Princess Gale didn't want to go to the Land of Snow to film the movie, and had run away as soon as she heard they were going there. That was why they had staged this chase.

"Anyway, I'd rather die than go to the Land of Snow to film a movie!" No matter what Asama Sandayu said, Fujikaze Yukie refused to go.

"Doesn't that mean we can't carry out our mission?" Naruto said helplessly.

"Never mind, Uncle Sandayu! If you don't mind..." I raised my index finger-

"Genjutsu: Temple of Nirvana Technique!"

Fujikaze Yukie went limp and passed out.

"-I can use a ninja's methods to make her agree."

Tsunade had taught me this Ninjutsu when we were returning to Konoha from Tanzaku Town. Although Tsunade wasn't a Genjutsu specialist, she still knew ordinary Genjutsu. This was my first time using one on a living person, and it didn't seem like much. Simply put, the Genjutsu sent Chakra into someone's head to disrupt their thoughts and knock them unconscious. It only worked on ninja who were much weaker than the user or completely off guard. Now that Fujikaze Yukie had been hit with it, she would probably sleep for two days!

"...Haha, Konoha's ninja really are well trained!" Asama Sandayu wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and gave a forced laugh.

Once aboard the ship, Fujikaze Yukie, unable to resist, instead began filming the movie with great professionalism.

On the fourth day of filming, which had gone smoothly so far, our ship came across an enormous iceberg.

"Ahaha! This must be a gift from the god of cinema! What a perfect location!" The director made a last-minute decision to change the script. "We're filming on the iceberg today!"

Not long after setting foot on the iceberg, I sensed something out of place!

"Do you feel that? Someone seems to be watching us!"

Before they could answer, a voice suddenly rang out-

"Ice Release: One-Horned White Whale!"

A gigantic whale charged at us with the force of a mountain bearing down!

"Wind Release: Wind Cutter Technique!"

I quickly formed Hand Seals and sent out a wind blade that sliced the whale made of ice in two. The whale lost its momentum and crashed heavily to the ground, shattering into a heap of ice chips!

"Naruto, use Shadow Clones to get everyone back to the ship! Everyone, make sure you protect Fujikaze Yukie!" I hurriedly ordered, then turned to Haku. "Haku, did you notice?"

"Yeah! That wasn't Ice Release! Or at least, it wasn't Ice Release like mine, formed by combining wind and water nature transformations! It was too weak; a simple cut from Wind Release broke it!" Haku said with a frown. "It must have been Ice Release made possible by the iceberg's surroundings!"

Just then, three attackers appeared at the top of the iceberg.

"Hahaha, four brats!" the man in the lead said. "If you don't want to die, hand over Princess Snow!"

"Princess Snow?" I didn't understand who he meant.

"The Fujikaze Yukie you're protecting!" another woman said impatiently.

"Sorry, we don't make a habit of giving up a mission without a fight!"

"Then you want to die! Fubuki Kakuyoku, Fuyukuma Mizore, go! Kill them!" The three of them jumped down from the iceberg and charged at us!

"Quick, quick! Find the right angle! We can't miss these shots!" At such a tense moment, the director's voice actually came from behind me! I looked back to see several crew members who weren't afraid of death still operating their cameras, hoping to keep filming!

"Are you crazy? Get back to the ship and take cover! I can't look after you here! Naruto, use Shadow Clones to pull them all aboard!" I didn't have time to take them all back to the ship, and I couldn't even bring myself to complain about these pig teammates getting in the way. I turned and quickly formed Hand Seals-

"Water Release: Super Water Gun-"

Halfway through the Ninjutsu, I suddenly remembered they were still filming. I didn't want to reveal my unique Ninjutsu in front of thousands upon thousands of viewers!

"Wind Release: Great Wind Breakthrough!" "Fire Style: Great Fireball!"

"Wind and Fire Great Breakthrough!"

Naruto and Sasuke, who hadn't shown their skills in a while, attacked together! Compared with the time in the Land of Waves, this Ninjutsu was more than three times as powerful. A fireball over twenty meters across hurtled toward the three Ice Release ninja with a fierce momentum that seemed ready to burn everything to ashes!

Boom! The fireball struck its target and exploded violently!

"Ice Release: Ice Prison Technique!"

When the sparks cleared, towering giant icicles had firmly blocked the fireball!

"Strange. I can't sense much Chakra from them! How can they use Ninjutsu of that level without seeming to make any effort?" I wondered.

"There's something odd about their armor!" Sasuke said, his bright red Sharingan already active as he stared at the ninja opposite us!

The female ninja opposite us also used a Ninjutsu-"Ice Release: Swallow Snowstorm!"

"Ice Release Secret Technique: Ice Crystal Explosion!"

Using my exceptional Chakra control, I seized control of her Ice Release and directly detonated the ice darts formed by the Swallow Snowstorm! My impression had been right. These people's use of Chakra was extremely crude; someone else could even take their Ninjutsu away from them! How could such weak ninja keep using powerful Ninjutsu one after another?

Clink, clink, clink! The explosion at point-blank range didn't hurt them at all. The shattered ice crystals seemed to strike a wall and were blocked! Their armor could form Chakra barriers too?!

What strange people!

With a bunch of burdens behind us and my Ninjutsu inconvenient to use, we'd better retreat for now! I gave the others a look. "Let's retreat!"

"Trying to run? It won't be that easy!"

"Ice Release: Icicle Technique!"

Rows of icicles shot toward us! At the same time, I finished my Ninjutsu-

"Ice Release Secret Technique: Ice Crystal Explosion!"

Boom! Endless explosions roared all around us! I used more than half the Chakra in my body in one go, and the surface ice over more than half the iceberg exploded at once under the technique's effect! The three attackers were blasted away, their fate unknown!

Even so, I still felt they probably hadn't suffered fatal injuries...

"Let's go!" I used Water Release to sweep up the remaining people and transfer them to the ship. The ship got underway at once, and the iceberg behind us gradually receded into the distance...