Land of Snow, Judgment

Naruto had a vague feeling that something was wrong, but seeing that Kazahana Koyuki had already lowered her head and was not saying anything, he simply didn't ask any more questions.

After dawn, everything in the Land of Snow will change.

The Fugitive Princess grew up and returned to her homeland, bringing with her a knife-wielding demon.

Although Naruto was an outsider and this matter was none of his business, the new king's ascension to the throne was illegitimate, and Kazahana Koyuki was still alive.

Moreover, Kazahana Koyuki asked for his help. In this way, it would be perfectly legitimate, justifiable, and procedurally just.

Just as twenty years ago, Kazahana Dōtō led a rebellion and killed the old king Kazahana Sōsetsu, now, fate has turned, and it is time for blood to be exchanged for blood, for tooth to tooth.

It was late at night.

Both of them, preoccupied with their own thoughts, fell asleep quickly. Naruto closed his eyes and remained still. On the other hand, Kazahana Koyuki tossed and turned, unable to sleep, pacing back and forth by the fire several times.

I don't know what she was doing, she even squatted down in front of Naruto, seemingly scrutinizing him. Luckily, he probably had to work tomorrow, so Naruto didn't want to deal with her, otherwise he would have pinned her to the ground.

By the dim Kakkō, Kazahana Koyuki carefully observed Naruto. He was wearing a standard ninja combat uniform, a fitted jacket, and his posture was upright and agile, with smooth facial features.

She felt conflicted. Although she looked older than her age, she wasn't actually that old. She was probably under a lot of pressure lately, and her thoughts were wandering aimlessly.

But this is the only time, since we've already arrived in the Land of Snow, and who knows if there will be a future.

It wasn't that she thought Naruto couldn't handle the situation in the Land of Snow, it was just that he lacked the motivation. After all, there were only two of them; how could they possibly overthrow her uncle's rule?

She anticipated the situation and thought that if there really was no way to resolve it, then so be it. She thought a lot in the latter half of the night, and even considered whether she should just give up and go back to Konohagakure to wait for him to grow up.

In a daze, she slowly closed her eyes. But it felt like she had only slept for a few seconds before someone woke her up.

"Wake up, how long are you going to sleep?" Naruto asked casually. The snow at the cave entrance had been cleared, and a ray of white sunlight shone in.

"Is it dawn already?" Kazahana Koyuki asked, sporting dark circles under her eyes.

"Who told you to be wandering around there in the middle of the night? Whose fault is it?" Naruto complained, and walked out first. "Hurry up and catch up, let's settle this today."

"You knew all about it yesterday?" She followed him, and suddenly felt like dying.

"I don't know, but you were wandering around there making a lot of noise," Naruto said irritably. "If I didn't know better, I would have thought you were dancing."

"I didn't," Kazahana Koyuki retorted, defeated.

"Hey, what are you planning to do?" She subconsciously looked at Naruto. His broad back, though not thin, gave him a powerful presence. He stood tall and straight in the chair, like a small green tree.

"What do you mean, what should we do?" Naruto asked without turning his head.

"How do you overthrow Kazahana Dōtō, my uncle?" she asked. "He has many ninjas under his command, and I've heard that the Land of Snow has been researching ninja technology and weapons for the past few years."

"You know quite a lot of details," he complimented.

"During the time I was away from Konohagakure, I gathered some intelligence about the Land of Snow," Kazahana Koyuki explained. "The sources should be accurate, but the Land of Snow is located in a remote area, so there is very little information."

"How was it collected?"

"Spending money," she said proudly.

Naruto was somewhat speechless. He might as well just give him the money; the man knew even more details. But at this point, he couldn't say it directly, so he changed his approach.

"I also have intelligence; why don't you buy mine?"

"I'm out of money," she suddenly said dejectedly. "Someone tried to scam me with information about the Land of Snow, and I gave him most of my money."

Naruto: "Okay, but I think you can probably get your money back."

"What?" Kazahana Koyuki was stunned and looked up to ask, "But... but that person has already run away. I can't find him at all. How can I possibly get the money I was cheated out of back?"

The two continued walking forward, Naruto glanced back at her, rolling his eyes.

"You yourself said that the Land of Snow is located in a remote area, making it difficult to gather intelligence. So where did you get that intelligence? Wasn't it deliberately leaked to you by someone?"

"Deliberately selling me information?" Kazahana Koyuki frowned. "If that's the case, I can only think of one person: my uncle, Kazahana Dōtō."

"Although he's a very cunning person, if he deliberately leaked information to me but didn't take action against me, that's hard to explain. What would he be after?"

"Yeah, what's he after?" Naruto replied dismissively.

"How do you know what he's after?" she sighed. "It's definitely not because of that damned blood relation. He should be wishing me dead right now."

"Okay, let's go ask him directly and find out what he's after."

"What?" The Kazahana Koyuki was dumbfounded.

When Naruto noticed that she hadn't followed, he turned and glanced at her, seemingly displeased.

"Um?"

"No, you mean..." She ran ahead of Naruto in one breath, frantically waving her arms in the cold snow, exhaling white breath.

"You mean... just go straight to the castle and ask him?"

"Otherwise what?" he said matter-of-factly. "This is the quickest and simplest way. He killed your father, burned down the castle, seized the throne, and swindled your money."

"Since you have been treated unfairly and Konohagakure has accepted your mission application, then Princess Kazahana Koyuki, we are now on the side of justice."

"But... but he's the king of the Land of Snow now, and he has a group of ninjas under his command." Kazahana Koyuki was a little confused, finding it hard to adapt to Naruto's direct attitude.

"I think you haven't grasped the situation yet. As one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages, Konohagakure has the right to investigate and collect evidence of injustices in the Land of Snow."

"And you, as the applicant for the mission, the victim, and the rightful heir of the Land of Snow, have just provided a great deal of assistance to my investigation. Kazahana Dōtō has committed numerous crimes."

"And I happen to be one of the Konoha High Command. Although I don't have much power, I do have some minor temporary decision-making authority. This authority surpasses that of a typical Jonin. For example, your words have already been recorded as evidence. Now I'm submitting a request to investigate Kazahana Dōtō."

As he spoke, Naruto pulled out a mission token he had prepared beforehand, which was engraved with the mark of Konohagakure.

"Now, on behalf of the Konoha High Command, I have reviewed the application and, after careful consideration, decided to use my temporary decision-making power to approve it."

He then took out a red stamp from his pocket, breathed on it, and stamped it heavily on the temporary mission order from Konohagakure.

Under the stunned gaze of Kazahana Koyuki, he raised the glaring paper in his hand and revealed a relieved smile.

"Alright, all the paperwork is done, let's go."

"Waaaa!!!" Kazahana Koyuki was completely stunned and felt like her brain couldn't keep up. "But he's the king of the Land of Snow! He has a whole bunch of ninjas under his command."

"Do you think the Land of Snow can be compared to the Kumogakure?" he asked.

"Cannot."

"Then why do you think I'm afraid? Elite Jonin of Raikage Village can't gain any advantage over me, so why do you think the King of the Land of Snow, your uncle Kazahana Dōtō, can do it?"

"A bunch of weaklings! Just kill them all!"

Yes, Kazahana Koyuki was stunned.

She clearly watched as Naruto single-handedly thrashed all those terrifying ninjas from Kumogakure and left in a huff. Although she didn't understand it, she knew that Naruto's strength was indeed terrifying.

But why does she feel constantly worried and afraid as soon as she steps into the Land of Snow?

After much thought, Kazahana Koyuki could only come up with one reason. The Kazahana Dōtō and the Land of Snow had left her with too much psychological trauma, causing her fear to deepen.

In her mind, the Kazahana Dōtō were an insurmountable mountain of death. He destroyed everything she had, drove her away, and made her afraid to even recall anything about the Land of Snow.

However, the other party did not feel guilty and even intentionally or unintentionally sent her messages, hoping that she would take the initiative to come back.

"You're right," she said, taking a deep breath, then coughing incessantly from the cold wind, tears welling up in her eyes.

Naruto stood there lazily watching her, as if asking if she was done coughing and if so, to hurry on her way.

After a few minutes, Kazahana Koyuki, having recovered, silently cursed Naruto in her heart, but without being coy, she lowered her head and continued on her way.

She admitted she had misjudged him; Naruto was not a lowly ninja, nor was he simply a ninja with some power. His thinking was incredibly clear, consistently guiding her through her confusion.

From the very beginning, he had no plan in mind; he was simply focused on overcoming obstacles. And it makes sense, though; a major ninja village like Konohagakure wouldn't take other small countries seriously.

The enormous Land of Snow Palace, nestled halfway up a snow-capped mountain, is as imposing as an iron wall.

"Is that the palace?" Naruto covered his brow with his hand, gazing at the palace nestled in the snow-capped mountains not far away. "It looks a bit eerie. Living in there would probably give me rheumatism."

"Shouldn't this be the focus right now?" Kazahana Koyuki complained.

Her gaze swept across the wind and snow, and her body suddenly tensed. Her saliva tasted slightly sour, and her heart pounded wildly. Indeed, revisiting this familiar place still carried a profound sense of dread.

At that moment, with a whoosh, Naruto took off his snow robe and stuffed it into Kazahana Koyuki's hands.

Kazahana Koyuki was stunned for a moment, just about to be moved, when she suddenly heard him say something.

"Keep this for me, it's very expensive."

"."

Who are you?

With a soft rustling sound, seven or eight figures landed on the snow in front of Naruto. A group of Land of Snow ninjas wearing Chakra Armor emerged from the snow mist.

The leader glanced at Naruto but didn't recognize him. However, when he saw Kazahana Koyuki, a ferocious smile appeared on his face.

"So it's Princess who has returned."

Kazahana Koyuki's face immediately darkened, and she said through gritted teeth.

"You sent people to sell me information about the Land of Snow, didn't you?"

"Your Highness is indeed incredibly intelligent, but that's not important now." The tall, thin ninja in the lead clearly didn't know the meaning of "going against one's conscience" and was blatantly lying.

If the Kazahana Koyuki can be called "ice and snow intelligence," then this wonderful phrase is truly being wasted.

"Stop with the pleasantries," Naruto interrupted, pointing impatiently at the group ahead. "You can all come at me at once, I'm in a hurry."

"Who are you?" The man stared at Naruto with hostile eyes. It's no wonder he was blind; Naruto's forehead was smooth, and he'd forgotten to wear his Konohagakure Forehead Protector.

Naruto walked up to Kazahana Koyuki and shielded her with his body. With a flick of his wrist, a mission order bearing the Konohagakure mark and personal seal fell to the ground.

"Konohagakure has received an investigation mission. The current ruler of the Land of Snow, Kazahana Dōtō, is suspected of defrauding our applicant of a huge amount of money. We now need to pursue the recovery of Kazahana Dōtō's assets."

"Huh?" The Land of Snow ninjas were stunned for a moment, then looked at each other in bewilderment.

Then a huge burst of laughter erupted, as if they had heard some kind of hilarious joke. The leader exaggeratedly clutched his stomach, laughing until tears streamed down his face.

"Are you some kind of celebrity? Hahahaha!"

"A big star's sidekick, right?"

"Princess Fuun's sidekick, hahaha, I've heard of that movie too, the princess acted so convincingly!"

Upon hearing this, Naruto glanced at the group but didn't say a word.

In an instant, seven or eight kunai flew out, and with a loud bang, the leader was punched directly into the snow. Crimson blood spurted from his chest, staining the snow red.

"Ah!!!!"

Before the group could even process their terror, seven or eight afterimages of Naruto suddenly appeared before them, colliding rapidly with them. They had no time to react; their Chakra Armor by inch, and their bodies were blasted apart by a single punch.

A cold wind howled past.

Of the Jonin from the Land of Snow, only one remained, shivering in place. His comrade's blood splattered everywhere, steaming and staining the snow red.

His face and body were covered in blood, and just a second ago those people were standing right next to him, laughing with him at the third-rate ninja who wasn't wearing Forehead Protector.

He froze, completely lacking the courage to run away. Even if their group of Jonin were somewhat less skilled than the Jonin of the Fifth Hokage's village, they were still Jonin at least.

But now they didn't even struggle, and were ruthlessly killed in a matter of moments.

"You!!" His voice trembled as he stared at Naruto, who was completely unblemished, his face turning deathly pale. "Who exactly are you?"

However, he received no answer. Naruto slowly walked towards him, and in the face of life and death, the last Land of Snow ninja unleashed immense courage.

"Die!" he roared, activating his Chakra Armor. Halfway through Hand Seals, his fingers were snapped off by a kick with a loud bang.

"Aaaaaah!!!" He painfully raised his foot to Naruto, but was instead kicked in the knee, which shattered with a crack.

The man screamed in pain and fell to the ground, kneeling in despair on the snow.

"Where is the Kazahana Dōtō?" Naruto asked casually.

Inside the palace.

With a loud bang, the door was slammed into the ground, cracked in a tortoise-shell pattern the next second, and collapsed with a roar after a brief pause.

Two figures emerged from the smoke and dust, the young man in the lead speaking without further ado.

"The current monarch of the Land of Snow Kazahana Dōtō, is suspected of defrauding our applicant of a huge amount of property. You will be put on trial."

Also, the software is acting up; the title was swallowed.