Could It Start a Few Years Later?

When the two stopped again, they had no idea where they had ended up in some desolate forest.

From within the thick white fog, rustling sounds could be heard. Startled, Kazahana Koyuki leaped back onto Naruto's back the moment her long legs touched the ground.

A languid, world-weary beauty's face, the filter shattered instantly.

To be honest, looking at this deep mountain forest, he himself was a little scared. Just as he was about to wake up all the corpses nearby, the thick fog suddenly dissipated.

"Where is this?"

"You're asking me? How would I know?" Naruto muttered, pulling Kazahana Koyuki's hand off his neck without any mercy.

"Get ready, let's begin here."

"Hmm? What are you preparing?" She looked at Naruto nervously, wondering if there was something else going on.

Naruto gave her a strange look, hesitated for a second, and then spoke.

"It's cramped inside, so don't pee on me."

Kazahana Koyuki almost spat out blood. She wanted to retort, but then realized she was indeed in the wrong. So she coldly said, "No."

"Oh."

Naruto gave a nonchalant reply, which made Kazahana Koyuki grit her teeth in anger, her languid expression almost bursting out of control. She turned her head expressionlessly, her icy blue eyes fixed on another part of the woods.

She maintains her goddess-like demeanor on the surface, but secretly keeps a grudge in her little notebook.

With a bang, Naruto summoned the Space-Time Ninjutsu Tool. Without a word, he had Kazahana Koyuki carry him into the metal ball. Then, he struggled to climb in himself.

The Space Ninjutsu Tool was marked with a symbol, allowing it to be summoned back after a short time following Space-Time Ninjutsu.

Inside the iron sphere, the two huddled together, curled up. The Space-Time Ninjutsu was accompanied by violent shaking; it was no longer a matter of dizziness. When they stopped again, Kazahana Koyuki almost couldn't open her eyes.

Naruto was also in a tough spot. He barely managed to crawl out and take a peek, only to find himself wrong again – the Land of Grass.

"Wrong, let's continue."

Kazahana Koyuki was too weak to speak; the strain of Space-Time Ninjutsu on the body was immense. Only Naruto like Naruto could withstand it; for an ordinary person, two jumps would be the limit.

"Take a rest, I'm dying," she said.

"Alright." Naruto readily agreed. "This time the location is remote, we won't be jumping over someone's ninja village, so no one will bother you."

"If you want, you can even take a nap before you leave."

"Who would sleep in a place like this?" Kazahana Koyuki struggled to climb out of the iron ball, turning to look around. "This place looks desolate... this is..."

She turned to ask Naruto, but saw Naruto calmly pull out a bed and a mosquito net, casually tossing them onto the floor. Kazahana Koyuki was stunned for a few seconds, her pupils dilating in shock.

The desolate, withered forest clashed horribly with the expensive-looking bed, making it quite an eyesore.

"You!!!" She took a few steps back.

Naruto glanced at her, said "take a break," and then ran back to the Space Ninjutsu Tool to add his mark.

Kazahana Koyuki was startled. When she said she wanted to rest, she simply meant finding a place to sit. If she wanted to be a little more luxurious, she would lean against a big tree and take a short nap.

After all, she had seen the current situation firsthand; a dilapidated, metal-like Space-Time Ninjutsu machine wasn't exactly a mature technology. She was willing to take the risk.

To lighten the load, she had to squeeze herself into a small iron ball with a tall, strong young man. If they were any more crowded, she could even conceive, and she would understand.

But then this person casually pulled out an exquisite luxury bed from somewhere, which seemed a bit too outrageous.

It was like wearing an Armani suit while eating steak, or driving a modified tractor at 120 mph on the highway. Completely incomprehensible, this bed utterly shattered her understanding of the arduous journey.

Goodness, so the only problem is that the means of transportation are rudimentary and somewhat risky, right?

As the sun began to set and the sky grew dim, Kazahana Koyuki peeked out from under the covers. In the dim orange light, Naruto sat not far away tending to his wounds.

"Have you rested enough?" He tore at the bandage, applied medicine, and quickly tightened it.

With the Nine-Tails no longer inside him, the large wound healed slowly. It took half a day to barely heal the wound, but it would still take another day or two to fully heal.

Chakra can stimulate cells in the body, promoting faster cell division and aiding in wound healing. However, in the past, Nine-Tails' chakra was used for automatic healing, and he was not yet proficient at it.

"Are you badly injured?" she asked as she walked up to him.

"Alright, I don't want to have a scar," Naruto said casually. "Now that you've rested, let's continue."

The blood-red sunset faded slowly in the wilderness. Kazahana Koyuki squinted, her eyes gleaming with a yellow light. She wanted to say she didn't believe her unless she revealed it to her sister.

But then he felt those words were too ambiguous, so he opened his mouth to say "ah" for a while before swallowing it back. He muttered to himself, "What's a grown man afraid of having a scar? He won't even let me see it."

Another Space-Time Ninjutsu, and this time, before the iron ball lid could be opened, the temperature plummeted.

Naruto felt a jolt of realization; they had arrived.

"It's so cold." Kazahana Koyuki, wearing only a thin trench coat, stood in the snow, hugging her arms and shivering.

"Stop shaking." Naruto jumped out of the iron ball and threw her a warm coat and a white cloak. "It's my fault, I didn't remind you to bring clothes."

"It might not fit very well, but you can wear it anyway."

Kazahana Koyuki felt a warmth in her heart, thinking that this person still had many merits, and was about to thank him with a smile. Suddenly, she heard Naruto speak again.

"We're already here, you're not going to run away, are you?"

Her smile froze on her face. Well, Kazahana Koyuki silently took back what she had said. This person was only thinking about his mission, not caring about her at all.

"No," she said through gritted teeth.

But after a while, she lowered her head again. She felt it was pointless to argue with a child; it only made her look like a child. Although the two of them were indeed about the same height when standing together.

"That's good. This is the Land of Snow." Naruto said, walking ahead. "Let's go. Stay close behind me. It'll be easier to protect you if there's any danger."

"Oh." Kazahana Koyuki realized that she had really returned to the Land of Snow, and her mood immediately plummeted.

But for now, she could only obediently follow behind Naruto. This icy, snowy place was indeed dangerous, and besides, her uncle, Kazahana Dōtō, had never given up on capturing her all these years.

"Don't even think about running away. I remember your scent. You can't escape," he added without turning his head.

"Hmm, hmm?" Kazahana Koyuki was slightly surprised and looked at Naruto. "What?"

This statement was a bit too ambiguous, but that guy actually knew quite a lot, so she really couldn't treat Naruto like a child.

Naruto didn't turn around completely, but turned sideways, glancing at her with his narrow eyes. With a hint of seriousness, he reached into his other pocket and pointed at her.

"It's best not to try anything funny."

"I know," Kazahana Koyuki smiled guiltily.

She had indeed harbored some hesitation, lacking the courage to face the past. But after seeing how desperately he risked his life for the mission, she felt a pang of pity.

If I just leave like this and cause him to fail his mission, I'll probably feel guilty for a long time.

Thinking this, she gritted her teeth and quickened her pace to catch up. She intended to say a few words to show her determination not to run away, but before she could even open her mouth, she lost her balance.

"Ah!!!!"

To maintain her balance, Kazahana Koyuki stumbled and lost her footing, causing the snow to collapse. She screamed for less than two seconds before feeling her wrist being snapped shut.

Seeing the slightly helpless look in Naruto's eyes, Kazahana Koyuki wanted to explain. But the words stuck in her throat, and nothing she said seemed right, so she simply lowered her head and remained silent.

"I accidentally stepped into an empty space," she said.

"Alright." Naruto didn't say anything, and pulled her up.

Do you think I'm particularly troublesome?

"It's alright." He now looks back every few steps, just in case something unexpected happens to Kazahana Koyuki.

"What does 'thank goodness' mean?" she muttered to herself. A fierce wind, carrying snowflakes, howled past, and ice shards almost slapped her face.

She couldn't take it anymore, took a few steps and went over, saying, "Let's find a place to hide."

"Okay." Naruto readily agreed and quickly found a temporary cave to hide in.

The snow outside was falling heavier and heavier; it was already night.

"We can't leave today, let's rest." Naruto pulled his head back in and sealed the cave entrance with snow, leaving only a vent.

As Naruto deftly pulled out a pile of firewood from somewhere, Kazahana Koyuki narrowed her eyes. "Are all ninjas like this?"

With a whoosh, the fire blazed up, dispelling the surrounding chill.

Naruto didn't even look at her. He simply wrapped his clothes tighter around himself and rested with his head down and eyes closed.

She stared at Naruto by the fire, feeling she had to say something. But she couldn't think of anything to say; he seemed to know more than she did.

"Aren't you cold?" She regretted asking the question as soon as it left her mouth by the fire.

Isn't this just showing off your intelligence? How could it be cold by a fire, especially since the other person is a ninja? What's the point of asking such a question? Damn it, why is my brain acting so stupidly at a time like this?

Upon hearing this, Naruto opened his eyes and looked up at her. His slightly scattered gaze sharpened for a moment before he asked.

What do you want to ask?

"I didn't mean to ask anything. What are you planning to do?" She shrank back, her hand reaching for the fire. "I meant the mission. What are you planning to do about that?"

"My uncle Kazahana Dōtō, is the new king of the Land of Snow, and he has many powerful ninjas under his command, along with a vast arsenal of advanced weapons."

"It's nothing." He rubbed his temples.

"But you're all alone, and you're injured," Kazahana Koyuki said.

"I've fully recovered."

"I don't believe you unless I see it," Kazahana Koyuki replied.

Naruto stared at her, a puzzled look on his face.

Why are you looking at the wound?

"I'm just concerned about whether you can complete the mission," said Kazahana Koyuki. "How could you possibly handle so many ninjas from the Land of Snow all by yourself?"

"You don't need to worry about that," Naruto said. "Actually, the solution to this problem is quite simple."

What is it?

"Kill the old king and install a new one."

"It's impossible. He's ruled this country for far too long," said Kazahana Koyuki, her voice low. "There are ninjas everywhere, inside and out. How could it be possible?"

"Even if I succeed, what then? All I'll know is acting. Forget governing a country, I don't even have the courage to defy fate."

"The king that people support is a woman like Princess Fuun, who never gives up and is brave and fearless." She hugged her knees. "Someone like me is not worthy of being a king."

Although Kazahana Koyuki returned to Konohagakure and offered to restart the mission, it didn't mean she was mentally prepared. She was still an actress, not a princess of the former king.

Naruto glanced sideways at Kazahana Koyuki by the fire, noticing the flickering Kakkō on her face and a wavering resolve in her eyes. He frowned and spoke.

"It's not about whether you deserve to be the new king, it's that you have no choice but to become the new king."

He paused for a moment, then spoke again.

"You need to understand one thing: no one asked for your opinion. Things have developed to this point, and you have no way out, nor do I."

"For you, this is just a task," she couldn't help but retort.

"This is more than just a mission." He stood up, walked up to Kazahana Koyuki, and stared down at her, making her panic.

"What's wrong?" Kazahana Koyuki looked at the tall Naruto, her heart suddenly pounding.

"I have a preliminary idea," he said.

"Um?"

"I forgot to tell you, the Land of Snow is frozen all year round, but there should be geothermal activity underneath." Naruto took out a necklace from his pocket and held it in front of her like a pocket watch.

"Remember this?" he asked.

"Yes, I gave it to you when we were at sea," Kazahana Koyuki said sullenly, as if recalling those days. "It was just a useless necklace."

"We'll know if it's useful or not later." He smiled, put the necklace away, and said, "I've checked, this is a key, I guess the Land of Snow should have some kind of geothermal device."

"So what?" Kazahana Koyuki was a little confused by his question.

Actually, Naruto's words had many flaws, but at this moment, Kazahana Koyuki was already stunned by his various illogical actions. Her brain completely gave up thinking, and everything illogical became reasonable in his case.

"I will help you secure your throne and change the current situation in the Land of Snow," Naruto said. "In return, you will have to pay a price."

"What... price?"

Naruto said without pausing, but the first phrase made Kazahana Koyuki's mind go blank, and she couldn't hear what he said afterward.

"I want you to collect a geothermal tax from the residents of the Land of Snow. The tax rate won't be too high; we can discuss it later," he said. "What do you say? Do you agree?"

"Huh?" Naruto looked at her. "What are you spacing out for?"

"Ah!" Kazahana Koyuki blinked. "I-I'm fine. What did you just say?"

Do you agree?

"Okay, fine." She nodded. "But could we start a few years later?"

"A few years later?" Naruto frowned.

Damn it, the system option says to make the residents of the Land of Snow pay taxes on geothermal energy, but it doesn't say when the tax will start. If it's a few years later, it should still meet the option's requirements, right?

On the other hand, if the Land of Snow were to melt, it would indeed need several years to transform and would not be able to bear too much taxation.

No, we can start immediately. But setting a low tax rate, or even a zero tax rate, would be a few years' delay, wouldn't it? He thought for a moment and finally nodded.

"Okay, that works too."

"Oh." Kazahana Koyuki Xiaoxue's beautiful, world-weary face flushed red for a few seconds under the cover of the Kakkō.

I have a cold, so there won't be many updates today. I'll make up for it with an extra chapter tomorrow. If you can, please vote for me; any kind of vote will do.