Kazahana Dōtō

A sitting room aboard the ship.

The four of us sat around the table with Princess Snow, Asama Sandayu, and the director.

"I think... Mr. Asama," I said coldly from my seat at the table, "you probably knew all along why we were attacked by ninja and why Fujikaze Yukie was called Princess Snow, didn't you? It's time you... came clean about what you've been hiding from us!"

Asama Sandayu let out a long sigh.

"This is what happened... Fujikaze Yukie's real name is Kazahana Koyuki. She is the rightful heir to the former ruler of the Land of Snow-in other words, Princess Snow! I once served Princess Kazahana Koyuki's father, Lord Kazahana Sōsetsu. I resorted to this desperate measure so that the princess could return to the Land of Snow..."

The Land of Snow had once been a very small but peaceful country, where the people lived simple, quiet lives... But ten years ago, Lord Kazahana Sōsetsu's younger brother, Dotō, hired Snow Ninja to launch a rebellion. He burned down the beautiful Kazahana Castle, murdered Lord Kazahana Sōsetsu, and usurped the country...!

"...I once thought Princess Kazahana Koyuki had also perished in that rebellion, until one day I found Her Highness again, acting in movies!"

"The news that Her Highness was still alive rekindled the last hope in our hearts...! I was so happy when I heard it!" Overcome with emotion, Asama Sandayu burst into tears!

"So you want... Princess Snow to defeat Kazahana Dōtō and become the new ruler of the Land of Snow?" I asked.

"I have no interest in what you want..." Princess Snow said expressionlessly. "I don't want to return to the Land of Snow, and I don't want to be its ruler!"

"Princess Snow!" Asama Sandayu fell to his knees with a smack. "...I beg you! For the people of the Land of Snow, please save this country! I'll protect you even if I'm crushed to pieces!"

"I... You should give up already! Are you really that stupid?" Kazahana Koyuki said with a look of disgust. "You idiots could try as hard as you want, and you'd still never defeat Kazahana Dōtō! Give up! Abandon that idea for good!"

"Hey! Don't just dismiss someone else's passion as stupidity, would you?" Naruto slammed his hand on the table and stood up angrily. "What I hate most is people who so easily pour cold water on other people's dreams! Fūun Dotō-we can definitely beat him! We'll never give up!"

Naruto was making decisions on his own again. Protecting Princess Snow and helping her retake the Land of Snow were clearly two different levels of mission! Overthrowing a country's government was an A-rank mission no matter how you looked at it! Besides, how could he jump to a conclusion based on just one side of the story?

What if Dotō was an enlightened ruler or something, governed the Land of Snow well, and had already earned the people's approval and the legitimacy to rule? In my previous life, things like that had happened plenty of times in China. Hadn't that most famous Tang emperor come to power through the Xuanwu Gate Incident? As Konoha Ninja, we really shouldn't get involved in foreign political struggles unless a mission required it. That would only bring a whole mess of trouble down on us!

Besides, if we went around overthrowing other countries' governments under the banner of justice, wouldn't we be just like the Great United States of America in my previous life? I didn't want my Konoha to be that awful!

Still, since Naruto had already said that, I couldn't very well speak up and oppose him right away. I thought it over. Those three ninja were probably Dotō's subordinates, and since they had attacked first, we would be perfectly justified in striking back no matter what their reasons were. That gave us a reason to act.

"Princess Snow, please understand one thing," I said, standing up as well. "We retreated earlier only to protect you, not because we couldn't beat them. Saying that Kazahana Dōtō can't be defeated no matter how hard anyone tries might apply to you... but it absolutely doesn't apply to the few of us!"

"It's precisely because we don't give up that there's hope, and that we can welcome the future," the director suddenly said. "Isn't that the very theme of Princess Gale: The Final Chapter? Then it's happily decided! Let's make a movie out of your actions! A movie shot with a real princess and real ninja-wouldn't that make for an outstanding talking point?"

"Wait, don't make decisions for me! I haven't agreed to anything!" Princess Snow said angrily!

Seeing how Kazahana Koyuki was acting, I couldn't stop myself from losing my temper-

"Enough! All of you, stop arguing! Princess Snow, stop being childish. Dotō has already found you. Do you think you have any other choice? If you don't defeat Dotō, once our mission ends and you're no longer under our protection, I'm afraid you won't live to see the next sunrise! If you want to die that badly, I can oblige you right now!"

"And you, Director!" I turned and roared at the middle-aged director, who was standing to one side pretending to be profound. "The next time a fight breaks out, follow our instructions! If we tell you to retreat, retreat. Don't hold us back, or I'll leave you to fend for yourselves! Remember, our mission doesn't include protecting you! If you don't court death, you won't die, understand?!"

"And another thing! I don't care how you want to make your movie, but I have one thing to say: you're not allowed to film any of us or our Ninjutsu for it! A ninja's Ninjutsu is a secret among secrets, so don't casually violate a ninja's taboos! We'll be watching you. If you really dare disobey, I'll kill you first! Understood?!"

I unleashed my pressure and roared out those words, frightening both the director and Princess Snow into silence!

Sasuke stood up too. "If Dotō dares come after us, we'll take him out! It's that simple!"

"That's right! Don't look down on us just because we're young. We're elites! The mission continues!" Naruto said with a confident smile!

After sending everyone else out of the sitting room, the four of us sat together and continued discussing the fight.

"The Land of Snow is a small country. A country like this won't have any ninja who are too strong. I'd say our enemies will be at most around the level of those three from before. There might be one or two who are a little stronger, but Jonin level would be the limit!" I began. "They seem to favor Ice Release, and there's something odd about the armor they wear!"

"Rather than calling what they use Ice Release..." Haku added, "it would be more accurate to call it frozen Water Release! I couldn't sense any ice-nature Chakra!"

That was right. I had noticed it immediately during our earlier fight too, and the moment the wind blade cut through their Ice Release, I became certain it wasn't real Ice Release.

For an ordinary ninja, mastering the nature transformation of one element was already an achievement, enough to make them a Chunin-level mainstay. Generally, only Jonin-level ninja would be proficient in a second nature transformation. A Kekkei Genkai, on the other hand, required not only familiarity with two nature transformations but also the ability to perform them simultaneously. It was like asking someone to draw a circle with their left hand and a square with their right at the same time, and make both shapes sufficiently accurate. Without a certain amount of talent, it couldn't be done!

A ninja like Haku could do it from birth because of an inherited bloodline ability. I, on the other hand, could easily split my attention and master Ice Release because of my special one-body, dual-core structure. In fact, I suspected it was one body with three cores, since Sakura in the original story already had two minds. In the world of Naruto, there weren't many ninja with a Kekkei Genkai, and most of those abilities were inherited through families and usable from birth. Those who developed one later in life were extremely rare, so many people mistakenly believed Kekkei Genkai existed only in families that possessed them.

Since it was so difficult, Ice Release's power had to be strong as well. Haku's Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals had all sorts of special properties: she could move freely between the mirrors, Fire Style had difficulty burning them away, and so on. The Ice Release those three ninja had used last time, however, was nothing more than Water Release with a different coat on. They couldn't use it outside the Land of Snow's special environment.

As far as their Ninjutsu went, the three attackers weren't very strong. It was only the armor they wore that was rather strange.

"From what I observed, their armor has two functions," I said, holding up two fingers. "First, it amplifies the power of Ninjutsu. Second, it creates a protective barrier around the body to resist physical damage-"

"No, there's another function," Sasuke interjected. "Naruto's and my combined Ninjutsu hit them before they used the Ice Prison Jutsu, but they weren't hurt. That means their armor can absorb the power of Ninjutsu, but there should be a limit. Otherwise, they wouldn't have needed the Ice Prison Jutsu to block it."

Haku followed up. "When I used to wander the Shinobi World, I never heard of armor like that either. There definitely can't be much armor that powerful, or some news of it would have gotten out."

"All right, just tell us what we're going to do!" Naruto said impatiently.

"It's simple. Once the fighting starts, Naruto will first use Shadow Clones to take everyone else somewhere safe. After that, do as you please! They seem very confident in their armor, but since they can't have much of it and it has a defensive limit, I think we can take them out with Rasengan and Chidori right from the start!" I concluded!

The Land of Snow.

We got off the ship and rented a convoy locally. Then the film crew set out in a great procession and arrived at the new filming location, ready to shoot the next scene.

"We're being followed," I told Asama Sandayu as soon as we got out of the vehicle.

"What? Why didn't you say so earlier? Where are they?" Asama Sandayu asked in surprise.

"Up there!" I said, raising my head. A ninja was circling overhead. On seeing us stop, the ninja quickly flew away!

I had sensed someone watching us ever since the convoy left the port!

"Then let's hurry and leave this place!" Mr. Asama said anxiously!

I sneered. "There's no need. Let's wait for them right here! They can fly, so we can't hide from them. We might as well wait here! Right now, we're rested and waiting for them, so we have the advantage! Find somewhere to hide first!"

Not long after arranging for them to hide, we heard the long, drawn-out whistle of a train. A gigantic train followed!

When it spotted us, the train slowly came to a stop, and a heavy-faced middle-aged man stepped out.

"It's been a long time, Koyuki!" the middle-aged man said to Naruto's Shadow Clone, which had transformed into Koyuki. "Hand over the Hexagonal Crystal, and I'll spare your life! Otherwise, the mechanisms on the train will fire Kunai continuously and kill every last one of you!"

Clank-! A strange noise rang out from the train. The strange protrusions on the outer walls of its carriages opened, revealing row upon row of sinister-looking holes, like mechanisms for launching weapons! The openings on dozens of carriages were all pointed at us, and each carriage had hundreds or thousands of launch holes!

"You're Kazahana Dōtō?" I stepped forward. "What is the Hexagonal Crystal? Why do you want it?"

"Heh heh heh heh. You're the ninja protecting Koyuki, are you...? You're already trapped like rats, so I'll let you die knowing the truth!" Kazahana Dōtō laughed smugly. "When I took this country from Koyuki's father, I discovered that the Kazahana family had left no assets behind. They had to be hidden somewhere! So I searched everywhere and finally found the secret treasure inside the Rainbow Ice Wall! The treasure has a hexagonal keyhole, and its key is the Hexagonal Crystal Koyuki carries!"

"Hahahaha! Once I obtain the secret treasure, my Land of Snow will gain military power surpassing the Five Great Nations, and the whole world will be mine to rule!"

This middle-aged man was a lunatic. I'd actually had a little hope for him before... So much for that!

"I see," I said with a smile. "Thank you for telling us so much, but unfortunately, Kazahana Koyuki isn't here... Let's go!"

Poof-! Koyuki and the others, all transformed Naruto Shadow Clones, vanished in puffs of smoke!

"What-? Damn it, kill them!" Kazahana Dōtō's roar rang out at the same time as the mechanisms activated!

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh-! The train's carriages rapidly fired Kunai that swept toward us like a swarm of locusts!

But a mechanism like that only looked impressive-

"Is this where your confidence comes from?" I sneered! Behind me, Naruto and Sasuke had finished preparing their combined Ninjutsu at full power!

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

"Wind and Fire Great Breakthrough!"

Boom-! The enormous fireball swept the incoming Kunai back and melted them into molten iron! It slammed into the train, blasting the gigantic machine into the air before it crashed back down!

Crash-! The train that had been showing off its might moments ago had become a pile of scrap metal in the blink of an eye!

"Hmph-!" Sasuke and I laughed dismissively!

"You're that pleased with yourselves for breaking a toy?" Three ninja in strange armor jumped onto the scene!

At the front was an arrogant-looking young man with a ponytail. Behind him stood a delicate-looking woman and a square-faced man. They were the three ninja who had attacked us on the iceberg last time! My move back then had not only failed to kill them, it hadn't even left them seriously injured!

The ponytailed ninja sneered. "Show them the power of us Snow Ninja!"

"Ice Release: Swallow Snowstorm!" "Ice Release: Wolf Fang Avalanche!" The two ninja in the back formed Hand Seals at the same time. Snowflakes turned into icicles and a gigantic tiger that charged at us!

"I'll take this!" Haku rapidly formed Hand Seals as she spoke-

"Ice Release: Certain-Kill Water Flying Swallows!"

Countless ice Senbon shot toward the Snow Ninja! Haku's Ice Release was far stronger than the Snow Ninja's half-baked imitation, which had only the form. Amid a chorus of clinks, her ice Senbon shattered the icicles and the tiger one after another!

The lead Snow Ninja hurriedly formed Hand Seals to defend-"Ice Release: Ice Prison Technique!"

Thick pillars of ice rose from the snow and towered in front of the Snow Ninja! But even those thick pillars couldn't completely stop the ice Senbon. They held out for only a moment before being pierced one by one!

Rumble-! The ice pillars shattered and fell, kicking up countless snowflakes that blocked our view! The three Snow Ninja took the chance to escape. Wings actually extended from the female ninja's armor, and she flew high into the air! So she was the one who had been watching us earlier!

The other two Snow Ninja circled around to the left and right, trying to attack us from the sides!

Haku didn't like killing, so the three of us could each take one!

"One each!" I shouted, leaping hard and flying up beside the female ninja in the air!

"What? You can fly too!?" The Snow Ninja froze, then smiled cruelly. "Since you're so eager to die, I'll make it quick! Up here, you can't dodge without wings! Before you go to hell, remember my name!"

"Ice Release: Air Cannon Attack!"

More than a dozen huge masses of ice shot from the Snow Ninja's hands and swept toward me!

She shouted with wild laughter, "Remember, my name is Tsurugi-"

"Water Release: Super Water Gun Jutsu!"

A line of water flashed through the air!

The enormous masses of ice hurtling toward me and the wildly laughing Snow Ninja were split in two at that instant-! By the time the water blade was fired, it contained no Chakra! The armor the Snow Ninja were so proud of absorbed no Chakra from the Ninjutsu and was easily, mercilessly pierced by the water blade as though it were made of paper!

"H-how is that possible-!"

"I don't need to dodge, and I'm not interested in hearing the name of a dead extra!" Looking at the incredulous expression frozen on the Snow Ninja's face at the end, I spoke softly.

Boom-! On the ground, the Rasengan and Chidori in Naruto's and Sasuke's hands had also easily finished off the two arrogant Snow Ninja!

"Surrender, Kazahana Dōtō!" I landed and addressed the middle-aged man!