Snow-Earth Strategic Alliance

"Quickly, quickly unleash your full Ice Release! Everyone, hold him off!" After all, Kazahana Dōtō had served as a daimyo for a few days, and after the initial panic, he quickly recovered. He knew that at this moment, only by defending with all their might could they have a chance of survival.

Kazahana Dōtō is now filled with regret. Why did he run so fast, only to come looking for trouble? No, why did he refuse that Third Tsuchikage's request a few days ago? Now he's attracted this monster.

This kind of Ninjutsu that obscures the entire field of vision is truly terrifying, completely overturning Kazahana Dōtō's understanding of the Ninjutsu.

Shouldn't Ninjutsu be about me attacking and you dodging, you attacking and me defending, creating a back-and-forth exchange?

Under the shouts of the Kazahana Dōtō, his subordinates exerted all their strength to activate their specially made armor and unleash the maximum Ice Release they could.

Finally, thanks to the superior performance of their special armor, Kazahana Dōtō and the others managed to create a massive Ice Release shield before Yichen's mud waves arrived.

Unfortunately, that's all they can do.

Actually, this Ice Release shield is quite large. When Yichen uses A-rank Earth Style Jutsu, he can't reach this size without deliberately increasing his Chakra output.

However, this Ice Release was no match for Yichen's full-force Mud Wave, which surpassed the power of a regular S-rank Ninjutsu.

Moreover, in order to deal with the Tailed Beast's rampaging Chakra, Yichen also mixed a large number of Chakra Seal runes into the mud.

After the mud enveloped the Ice Release, countless runes quickly combined to form a massive seal on the surface of the Ice Release, capable of suppressing Chakra.

Through the seal, Yichen could clearly sense that the Ice Release, which was not small in size, was rapidly shrinking.

However, Yichen frowned slightly. This speed wasn't good enough. It would be fine for dealing with these Land of Snow weaklings who didn't have much ninja combat experience, but it probably wouldn't be enough to deal with the berserk Tailed Beast.

Furthermore, the runes that seal Chakra take effect far too slowly.

The Tailed Beast are not much less intelligent than ninjas, and they certainly won't let themselves be sealed away. The process would take far too long, enough for any Tailed Beast to smash the seal to pieces.

However, apart from Yichen, the others didn't see it that way.

Kazahana Dōtō and the others only felt the energy output through their special armor dissipating at an alarming rate. Then, through the Ice Release shield, they saw a rapidly compressing wave of mud.

"No..." Kazahana Dōtō cried out in despair.

He was unwilling to accept defeat. In his mind, his armor could be upgraded further, he still had many unused attack techniques, and he still had treasures yet to be discovered. But all of this vanished before Ninjutsu that surpassed S-rank and came with a powerful sealing technique.

Finally, amidst the roar of the Kazahana Dōtō, the mud tide, aided by the Sealing Runes, successfully sealed everyone away.

After a long while, the Porcelain Mud landed, leaving only humanoid stone blocks that were completely wrapped up, which Yichen pushed out of the mud.

Kazahana Koyuki and Sandayū Asama were protected in the middle by a group of Iwa Ninja Anbu, with some other people from the Land of Snow not far away.

These people were all officials loyal to Kazahana Sōsetsu. They had sworn allegiance to Kazahana Koyuki one after another after Yichen and his group entered the Land of Snow.

Some of them were originally loyal to Kazahana Sōsetsu, but then transferred their loyalty to Kazahana Koyuki, like Sandayū Asama.

Some placed bets because they saw that Kazahana Koyuki had the support of Iwagakure, one of the Five Great Ninja Villages, and felt that Kazahana Koyuki had a better chance of winning.

These people were so shocked to see that the once invincible Kazahana Dōtō and his elite subordinates combined couldn't even last a single move against the Fourth Tsuchikage that they were speechless.

Suddenly someone spoke up, "I heard from Sandayu that the Fourth Tsuchikage plans to establish a branch in the Land of Snow to protect Land of Snow?"

Upon hearing this, everyone else's eyes lit up. If such an incredibly powerful being belonged to a neighboring country, it would naturally cause them great anxiety, even if that country was currently helping them.

But if you suddenly find yourself on the same side as the other person, the feeling is different; fear immediately turns into peace of mind.

Especially when everyone doesn't have to sacrifice national sovereignty, cede territory, or become a vassal of the Tsuchikage, everyone exclaims, "Lord Tsuchikage can be even stronger!"

"Sandayu, is Kazahana Dōtō dead?" Kazahana Koyuki asked, both nervous and expectant. It was clear that the little girl's voice was weak, and she had not yet recovered from the shock.

Sandayū Asama wasn't much better off, or rather, being more knowledgeable than Kazahana Koyuki, he was even more shocked. Upon hearing Kazahana Koyuki's question, he Hon replied, "Princess, I don't know either!"

Kazahana Dōtō died. Yichen wasn't interested in him. Yichen despised those who had the upper hand but didn't kill, instead preferring to use words. So Kazahana Dōtō died a quick and painless death.

Several others, who were quite strong or loyal to Kazahana Dōtō, also had their lives ended by Yichen because of the few marks he made on their armor.

In the end, only a few minor characters who might not have even appeared in the original story remained. Yichen spared their lives, and they were sent to the Iwagakure Prison.

After dealing with the Kazahana Dōtō, Yichen and his group quickened their pace towards the capital of the Land of Snow.

A few days later, in the capital of the Land of Snow, where Kazahana Sōsetsu and Kazahana Dōtō had previously worked.

Yichen and Ōnoki represented the Iwa ninja; Kazahana Koyuki and more than a dozen high-ranking officials from the Land of Snow represented the Land of Snow. The two sides signed the Snow-Earth Strategic Alliance Agreement.

The two parties agreed:

Iwagakure may establish a branch within the Land of Snow, Iwagakure will take over all defense of the Land of Snow. The Land of Snow will provide Iwa ninja with funds according to the proportion of war expenditure in the Land of Earth's fiscal revenue. The Land of Snow will treat the Land of Earth's caravans entirely according to the policies for treating its own caravans.

The safety of the Land of Snow will be the responsibility of the Iwagakure. The Iwagakure must ensure that the civilians of the Land of Snow are not bullied by foreign powers. The Iwagakure must also promise the territorial integrity of the Land of Snow not allow any country, including the Land of Earth, to invade it.

The signing ceremony went smoothly, and both guests and hosts enjoyed themselves.

Originally Sandayū Asama intended to wait until Kazahana Koyuki came of age, but after witnessing Yichen's strength, all the high-ranking officials of the Land of Snow reached a consensus. They eagerly agreed to Yichen's request without waiting for Kazahana Koyuki to come of age.

Their first fear was that Yichen could send them flying into the sky with a single Ninjutsu before they even entered the capital. It was terrifying. If they didn't sign the peace treaty now, they were afraid that one day the entire capital would be gone while they were still asleep.

Secondly, they also wanted to curry favor with the Iwa ninja. They never wanted to experience something like the Kazahana Dōtō coup again.

Too many officials, big and small, have died at the hands of Kazahana Dōtō these days. If Yichen hadn't arrived early, they weren't sure how long they would have lived.

If the Iwagakure protects the Land of Snow, then the safety of these officials will be guaranteed.

After signing the peace treaty, Yichen, Ōnoki, and other Iwa ninja, along with Kazahana Koyuki and Sandayū Asama, arrived at the Rainbow Ice Wall.

Standing on the massive, altar-like platform in front of the Rainbow Ice Wall, Ōnoki pointed to the ground and said, "There's a huge amount of energy down there, somewhat similar to Natural Energy, but not exactly the same."

"Matsutani Shinya, what do you think?" Ōnoki said to Matsutani Shinya.

Matsutani Shinya and Fat Orange walked up to Yichen and said, "Teacher Yichen, Little Flower and I sensed that the energy below might be related to Natural Energy, but there are some changes."

"This change is similar to your and the Third Lord's Senjutsu, but it's different. I suspect it might be related to the fusion of Kekkei Genkai and Natural Energy?"

Yichen hadn't expected that the energy within the Rainbow Ice Wall was related to Natural Energy and Kekkei Genkai. But wasn't this something created by that ordinary person Kazahana Sōsetsu?

How did he do that?

Yichen glanced at Kazahana Koyuki, but he didn't ask, because according to the original story, Kazahana Koyuki Xue knew nothing about the Rainbow Ice Wall. She always thought that the so-called treasure was just a lie told by her father.

Yichen thought for a moment and concluded that this energy was most likely not created by Kazahana Sōsetsu; he probably just set up a conversion mechanism. So he said, "If we open this so-called treasure, the energy inside will probably dissipate immediately. Is there any way to release the energy little by little?"

Ōnoki shook his head and said, "There's no way to do it right now. The village isn't very good at understanding these kinds of mechanisms, and I didn't bring any professionals with me this time."

"But now that we've signed a treaty, let's just set up a branch nearby and send someone to study it carefully; we might find something useful."

At this moment, Matsutani Shinya interjected, saying, "Teacher Yichen, I'd like to stay and study the energy underground. I have a feeling that this energy can be helpful to me."

Yichen glanced sideways at Matsutani Shinya, wondering why he didn't believe him at all.

After thinking it over, Yichen decided to trust him this once and said, "You can stay, but if the energy below is truly Natural Energy, be careful. Although you have a talent for connecting with Natural Energy, you know the dangers of Natural Energy, so don't rush into cultivation."

"Don't worry, Teacher Yichen, I won't try it lightly," Matsutani Shinya said.

Yichen nodded, then looked at Ōnoki and said, "Third Hokage, since Shinya wants to stay, I'll send someone else to act as your bodyguard."

Ohno nodded and asked, "Do you have someone in mind?"

Yichen said, "Let's go to Kajiyamari. He's still developing his Ninjutsu, so his strength is improving slowly. Being by your side will allow him to learn more."

"Kajiyamari, huh? Kawakita and Tomoko's classmates. That's good. I'll mentor him. Both of his classmates are progressing so quickly; he must be under a lot of pressure."

Yichen agreed with Ōnoki's words. Kajiyamari was a rather sensitive place, and Yichen was worried that Onoki might not be able to understand the nuances of thought, which was why he asked Ōnoki to keep an eye on things.