Encountering Kazahana Koyuki

Setting aside the turbulent international situation and the infighting among various factions within the village.

After Neji broke out of Konoha, he instructed the Thunder Roc to ascend, raising their altitude to about 10,000 meters. The air had become so thin that even the Thunder Roc could barely survive for long, and Neji was also uncomfortable. However, it was necessary to escape any potential pursuit from Konoha.

After flying at high altitude for about fifteen minutes, Neji directed the Thunder Roc to descend and head towards the capital of the Land of Hot Water. This was one of the places Neji had initially planned to go.

The Thunder Roc's flight speed was extremely fast, and in just one hour, they arrived near the capital of the Land of Hot Water. Discontinuing the summoning jutsu, Neji landed in the vicinity of the capital.

Walking along a country road, Neji looked at the golden fields of wheat ready for harvest outside the capital and the villagers working in pairs and threes in the fields. He realized that life wasn't so bad after all.

Passing a melon patch, he greeted the uncle guarding the melons, paid a few pieces of silver, took a large melon, and sat down in the field to eat it. He untied his headband and hair tie, revealing his smooth forehead.

The gentle breeze, the setting sun, the melon, and freedom – it was wonderful!

After a busy day, feeling slightly tired, Neji lay down on the grass and fell asleep. He seemed to have a dream, dreaming of returning to the past, returning to Earth!

Suddenly, he felt someone approaching. Neji slowly opened his eyes and looked at the little girl walking towards him.

Sensing no chakra fluctuations from the other party, Neji was not very vigilant and asked in a low voice, "Little sister, is there something you need?"

The little girl timidly said, "My home is just ahead. My dad saw you sleeping here alone, and it's getting dark. He sent me to ask if you'd like to have a meal at our house and stay the night."

Neji was quite surprised. So enthusiastic? Should I pretend to be reluctant, or perhaps ask if I should prepare a gift? Out of curiosity, he went to the little girl's home.

However, when he officially arrived at the little girl's house, Neji was filled with embarrassment and thought frantically, Damn it, this is a family inn and restaurant! What kind of enthusiastic nonsense is this? It's purely like those old aunties on the edge of train stations in my past life, trying to solicit customers! They're soliciting customers!!

He couldn't believe he had mistakenly thought they were kind villagers! Fortunately, he hadn't shown anything, or he would have been mortally embarrassed!

But thinking about how late it was, and that he really didn't want to rush back to his base, having an inn to stay and eat at seemed pretty good.

He followed the little girl into the inn.

The inn gave a good overall impression; it was quite clean and had a touch of artistic flair. There were about seven or eight guest rooms, and upon entering, he discovered it was a hot spring inn with a moderately sized hot spring pool in the backyard.

It was a pretty decent family inn.

As Neji walked into the inn, a couple greeted him enthusiastically. After a brief exchange, Neji ordered a large table full of food. Neji never shied away from eating a lot, and looking at the table full of food, Neji's appetite was whetted.

However, this made the couple a bit uncomfortable. They seemed to be afraid Neji was a freeloader, as it was unusual for a normal person to eat so much. But his attire and demeanor didn't suggest that. They wanted to collect the money upfront but were afraid of offending the guest; if they didn't collect it, they feared losing both money and guests! They were terribly conflicted!

Sensing the couple's concerns, Neji took out a 10,000-ryo silver note and handed it to them, which resolved the awkwardness!

However, it was commendable that the couple's cooking was excellent, and Neji ate very happily. During the meal, the little girl enthusiastically brought them tea, fruits, and melons, giving him a slight feeling of home.

After eating and drinking his fill, Neji returned to his room to change his clothes, preparing to enjoy the hot springs in the countryside and relax his body and mind.

But as soon as he arrived at the hot springs, he encountered another awkward situation!

This was an open-air hot spring, and there was already a woman soaking in it. Although the woman was dressed relatively modestly, it was still a bit embarrassing to have one man and one woman in the same pool!

Neji didn't want to make either of them uncomfortable, so he turned to leave.

Neji's actions surprised the woman in the hot spring pool.

The woman was named Kazahana Koyuki, the former princess of the Land of Snow. Due to her father's brother's rebellion, she was forced to leave her country and wander.

Now, under the alias Fuji Fuyuki, she was an actress filming a movie in the Land of Hot Water. For some reason, she left the capital of the Land of Hot Water overnight. After leaving the city, as it was dark, she decided to stay there and, upon discovering the inn had hot springs and no other guests, decided to relax.

She hadn't been soaking for long when a young man walked over, also preparing to use the hot springs.

Although Kazahana Koyuki felt a little displeased, she didn't stop the young man's actions and was preparing to leave herself!

Before she could even get up, the young man turned and left. She immediately thought this young man was quite cute.

Neji didn't recognize who she was, only vaguely thinking she looked quite good, and didn't pay much attention!

Unable to use the hot springs, he returned to his room, intending to do a little training before sleeping.

Before he could even sit down properly, Neji sensed something unusual. Three ninja had climbed onto the roof. Their strength was mediocre; two Chunin and one Genin. This made Neji realize they definitely weren't after him, otherwise, these three weaklings wouldn't even be enough for him to warm up.

After a brief scan, he found that besides the two men staying next door, the innkeepers and their daughter, the only other person in the inn was the girl soaking in the hot springs downstairs. One of these two men was likely Chunin level, while the other, older man appeared to be a samurai, his strength difficult to assess. Neither of them had noticed the abnormality on the roof; they were resting in silence.

Neji's interest was piqued. A good show was about to unfold before him, which, for Neji, who lived in an era with relatively few entertainment facilities, was somewhat interesting.

Neji guessed that the three on the roof were likely after the girl downstairs, and the ninja and samurai in the room were probably guards or confidantes.

As expected, after a brief reconnaissance, the three on the roof went straight for the girl, who had just finished dressing and was preparing to return to her room. The girl was quite alert; when she saw the three figures in black rushing towards her, she immediately cried for help and turned to run, her speed not too slow, suggesting she had trained for a long time.

But how could the speed of an ordinary person compare to that of a ninja? As expected, in just three breaths, the girl was captured. In those same three breaths, the two men from the room also rushed out, confronting the three ninja.

Because the girl had already been captured, the two men became hesitant and chose to communicate first.

The samurai spoke, "Who are you? Release Miss Fuyuki immediately. Name your price."

Hearing the name "Fuyuki," Neji was very surprised. Wasn't this the princess of the Land of Snow? He then remembered the current time period; it seemed she was indeed still living incognito at this time, disguised as an actress.

The samurai was likely Fuji Fuyuki's manager, Asama Sandayu. As for the Chunin beside him, Neji didn't recognize him.

After a few more exchanges, it seemed they couldn't reach an agreement.

Neji managed to piece together the story. Fuji Fuyuki was filming in the Land of Hot Water when a local underground boss learned of her presence and wanted to invite her to a banquet. Such things were not uncommon for actors who traveled extensively, and even some peripheral actors looked forward to them.

However, Fuji Fuyuki, being a former princess, had her principles and thus refused the invitation. She had even left the capital of the Land of Hot Water overnight after filming. She thought the matter was over, but who knew the other party would be so persistent, leading to tonight's events.

While Neji was lost in thought, the situation below took a turn. Fuji Fuyuki, seizing the moment when the ninja holding her and her guards were communicating, activated several self-defense devices she wore.

Several irritating gases and electric currents were instantly released from Fuji Fuyuki's body, startling the ninja holding her, who instinctively released their hostage.

Just as the ninja reacted and tried to recapture Fuji Fuyuki, it was too late. The Chunin and Asama Sandayu on the opposite side had seized this rare opportunity and quickly charged towards the three ninja, engaging them in combat.

The two sides' strengths were roughly equal, though Fuji Fuyuki's side was slightly stronger. Fuji Fuyuki herself remained quite calm, not shouting or crying. Instead, she quickly ran back to her room, retrieved an item, and promptly returned to the battlefield.

Neji saw clearly that what Fuji Fuyuki was holding resembled a firearm from his previous life.

As expected, when Fuji Fuyuki returned to the battlefield, she took out the firearm, aimed it at the weakest Genin on the opposing side, and fired a shot. It directly hit his body, rendering him unable to fight.

Neji couldn't help but praise Fuji Fuyuki. She remained composed under pressure, managed to observe the enemy's combat strength, and didn't rush for glory. She chose to attack the weaker ninja.

She could be called both brave and wise!

Unfortunately, her strength was too weak. In this high-martial-arts world, such bravery and wisdom wouldn't be of much use.

With the help of Fuji Fuyuki's firearm, the battle proceeded without further incident. After the enemy suffered another Chunin injury, they chose to retreat. Asama Sandayu did not intend to pursue them. On one hand, he didn't want to kill them and offend them too deeply. On the other hand, the three opponents had not completely lost their fighting ability, and a desperate counterattack might cost them dearly, making it a losing proposition.

After watching the enemies completely withdraw, the three of them let out a collective sigh of relief.

This wasn't the first time they had experienced something like this, but this time had been particularly dangerous, making them lament how difficult life was.

Fuji Fuyuki tended to the injuries of the other two. One of the ninja hesitated several times before finally speaking, "Miss Fuyuki, I am truly sorry, but I intend to resign from my position as your guard and return to my hometown to live a more peaceful life. I can no longer protect you, Miss!"

Fuji Fuyuki's brow twitched slightly, but she forced herself to remain calm and smiled at the ninja. "Thank you, Mr. Rokuda, for protecting me during this time. I will have Sandayu deliver your payment to you later. I hope you will have a wonderful life."

Not a single word of persuasion was uttered. Fuji Fuyuki knew herself that due to her personality, she often offended people and caused unnecessary trouble, yet she was unwilling to compromise her principles or demean herself.

She had earned a lot of money from making movies over the years, but most of it had been spent hiring ninjas or samurai to protect her. However, most of these protectors hadn't lasted long. Either they retired due to injury or death, or they quit because they found it too dangerous.

Only Asama Sandayu was willing to protect her consistently, which made Kazahana Koyuki feel a bit dejected. With her survival not even guaranteed, improving her life was out of the question, let alone restoring her country! That could only happen in her dreams!