You Outline Every Day?

"Ah!"

When Kazahana Koyuki heard Shirozumi tell her to hold on, she froze for a moment. By the time she reacted, she had nearly floated into the sky along with the debris on the deck. She hurriedly lunged at Shirozumi and clung tightly to him.

Ice Release: One-Horned White Whale missed its target.

But Shirozumi really wanted to ask: were these Snow Ninja idiots?

Wasn't Kazahana Dōtō after the Hexagonal Crystal on Kazahana Koyuki?

What if they smashed it to pieces like this, and it sank into the sea? Did they not care if she died?

Shirozumi used New Moon to reverse gravity.

Rather than repair the ship with Crazy Diamond after it was smashed apart, Shirozumi chose to save it.

The ship, floating into the sky under reversed gravity, looked like something out of a dreamlike fairy tale.

Once the gravity began to stabilize, Kazahana Koyuki opened her eyes. Still clinging to Shirozumi, she gazed at the scene below and stared in astonishment.

At last, she understood why Shirozumi had thought so little of Kazahana Dōtō.

As an ordinary person, Kazahana Koyuki didn't know how a ninja's strength was measured, but the sheer spectacle before her made the difference unmistakable.

Kakashi's Team and the Snow Ninja below were just as dumbfounded.

The Snow Ninja's goal was to capture Kazahana Koyuki. Now that she was flying so high, how were they supposed to reach her?

"Kill Kakashi and the others. I'll handle the rest myself."

Kazahana Dōtō appeared on an iceberg. After giving the Snow Ninja his orders, he tore off his clothes, revealing the latest model of Chakra Armor beneath.

Yes, it came with a flight function.

That was the source of his confidence.

Kazahana Dōtō activated the flight function and flew toward the ship in the sky.

"Hm? What's this?"

When Kazahana Dōtō reached the stern, he saw a man in a strange, tight green outfit hanging upside down there, looking utterly miserable as he vomited furiously.

It was Might Guy, the reinforcements Kakashi had called in.

Kakashi had remembered that Guy's Taijutsu was a good counter to the Snow Ninja, but forgotten that Guy got seasick.

The three Genin on Team Guy noticed Kazahana Dōtō's arrival.

Hyuga Neji hadn't learned Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm yet, and Rock Lee had no long-range attacks to speak of.

Tenten tried to throw ninja tools with a scroll, but the reversed gravity sent them off course.

Kazahana Dōtō didn't linger over the four bedraggled Konoha Ninja. He flew to the front of the ship, where he found his niece, Kazahana Koyuki.

Below them, a Snow Ninja suddenly screamed.

A huge spray of blood burst from one of the Snow Ninja, staining the snow red.

"Kakashi, was that you?"

Sasuke looked at Kakashi in surprise.

The Snow Ninja who had suddenly died had been the one he was fighting.

"No, it wasn't me."

Kakashi looked just as confused, but he didn't stop attacking.

He began cutting down the Snow Ninja at speed.

On the ship.

Kazahana Dōtō flew up in front of Kazahana Koyuki, who was clinging to Shirozumi. With a crazed look on his face, he reached out. "Come on, Koyuki. Give me the Hexagonal Crystal!"

"Dōtō, doesn't seeing this ship make you afraid?"

Now it was Kazahana Koyuki's turn to be confused.

Was the power to make an entire ship fly into the sky really nothing special in the Ninja World?

Everyone else looked pretty shocked.

"Heh. Koyuki, what's flight? Can't you see your uncle flying right now?"

Kazahana Dōtō laughed scornfully.

Well.

Now it made sense why Kazahana Dōtō had imagined he could conquer the Five Great Nations just by developing a Chakra Armor.

Apparently, Ōnoki, next door, was just some flying weakling in his eyes.

If Pain showed up at his house to carry rice, he'd probably think it was a street performance.

"Do you outline every day?"

Shirozumi asked.

"What?"

Kazahana Dōtō's smile vanished, and the corner of his eye twitched.

Had the other man been so scared that he'd gone crazy? What was he even talking about?

"Then I won't have to do anything."

"You don't even have the right to act!"

Kazahana Dōtō charged at Shirozumi, intending to snatch Kazahana Koyuki from beside him and glide back down.

But...

Shirozumi merely sidestepped, and Kazahana Dōtō rushed right past him.

At the same time, Shirozumi tore off the wings on his back.

Kazahana Dōtō plummeted straight down.

But unlike the Iwagakure Ninja who had fallen before him, he wasn't killed by the impact.

After hitting the snow, he struggled a few times, then managed to stand back up.

"Damn it..."

Kazahana Dōtō stared at the ship in the sky, seething with rage.

"Lord Dōtō, your..."

A surviving Snow Ninja pointed at Kazahana Dōtō's arm and stammered.

"Hm?"

Kazahana Dōtō looked down and saw that his arm had been cleanly sliced off.

The weather was so cold, and he had hit the ground so hard, that he hadn't even felt the pain.

"What? How is this possible..."

Before Kazahana Dōtō could say another word, his tongue somehow snapped off and fell from his mouth.

In full view of everyone, Kazahana Dōtō died a gruesome death, as if an executioner from the void had sentenced him.

"Your leader is dead! Are you still going to resist?"

Once Kakashi came to his senses, he immediately called on the Snow Ninja to surrender. One by one, they gave up the fight.

Kakashi looked up at the sky. The ship began moving, flying toward the capital of the Land of Snow.

The three of them set off as well.

The capital of the Land of Snow.

Kazahana Koyuki used the Hexagonal Crystal to open the "treasure" Kazahana Dōtō had dreamed of: the geothermal generator. She saw spring return to the Land of Snow.

Then, amid cheers from the people of the Land of Snow, Kazahana Koyuki succeeded to the position of Daimyo.

Afterward, she dumped all the government affairs on Sandayu and the people who had longed for her return to overthrow Dōtō's regime.

Kazahana Koyuki had read Shirozumi's proposal for the Land of Earth. She couldn't simply copy it, and there was a lot she didn't understand, but she liked many of the measures it suggested.

Following Shirozumi's approach would let her truly be free and continue working in the entertainment industry she loved.

As for developing the Land of Snow?

Just as Shirozumi had said, Sandayu and the others lacked experience and ability, but they were loyal.

They might not be able to learn ninjutsu, but with someone to teach them how to do the work, they could still learn.

Nearby Iwagakure, a member of the Inter-mutual Alliance, would send people to teach them how to carry out Shirozumi's development plan and build a land of film.

They stayed there for a few days, finishing the final scenes of Lotus Lantern.

"Kakashi, here."

The director held out an envelope to Kakashi.

"What's this?"

Kakashi took it, puzzled.

Payment? That didn't seem right. Sandayu had hired him, and the director had clearly hired Shirozumi.

"Forgot? Your first royalty payment. Didn't you ask Mr. Shirozumi to tell me to publish your work?"

"It's already published?"

Kakashi was stunned.

He'd been enjoying a relaxing break in the Land of Snow's hot springs these past two days and had forgotten all about it.

"Here, I brought a copy of the book too."

The director took a book from the bag behind him and handed it to Kakashi.