Kakashi's Defeat

The convoy ahead stopped on a battlefield.

The cold wind howled, and snowflakes drifted down. Everyone stared at the corpses on the ground in silence.

The most striking sight was an old man up ahead, kneeling in the snow in his armor, his body riddled with Kunai.

Kazahana Koyuki stood beside the corpse, tears streaming down her face for reasons she couldn't explain.

Sandayu, her most loyal old retainer, had died here.

Sometimes, even a futile resistance wasn't meaningless. It was people like him who gave the living the courage to carry on.

"Let's go back and reclaim everything that belongs to you. Don't let his death be in vain."

Naruto stepped forward, his gaze calm and his voice devoid of emotion.

He respected Sandayu, but he couldn't understand him. He wouldn't have done the same.

"N-no, we can't win. We'll all die here."

"I don't want to die."

But Naruto hadn't expected Kazahana Koyuki to break down.

Clutching her head, she ran off into the distance.

Naruto appeared in front of her with the Body Flicker Technique.

"What are you doing?"

Naruto really couldn't understand what she was thinking.

At that moment, Kazahana Koyuki clutched her head, her expression frantic and her eyes filled with despair.

"He was right. You can't win."

A man in armor was walking toward them from the distance.

Naruto's gaze sharpened.

"Where's Kakashi-sensei? What did you do to him?"

When Sasuke saw who was approaching, worry crossed his face.

"I killed him, of course."

Kazahana Dōtō's expression was cold.

"Don't be ridiculous! How could Kakashi-sensei lose to someone like you?"

Sasuke was furious. He refused to believe that the man his brother admired could lose to someone like this. A Fuma Shuriken appeared in his hand. He hurled it and charged forward.

[Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique]

A huge fireball shot toward his opponent.

[Ice Style: Prison]

Naruto frowned. He had expected Kakashi to lose.

At this point, Kakashi hadn't gained any overpowered abilities yet, and his Sharingan was a burden. Besides, this was a movie, so honestly, his defeat wasn't surprising at all.

Everyone knew that movie villains were usually powerful and hard to defeat without the protagonist.

"Keep an eye on him. I'm going to check on Kakashi-sensei."

Naruto called Hinata over, then vanished in an instant.

Hinata looked worried too.

Meanwhile, out on the lake, a huge block of ice held Kakashi frozen inside.

Naruto appeared.

"You look pretty beat up."

Fortunately, Kakashi's chakra was still active. Naruto placed his hand on the block of ice, and it shattered instantly.

Kakashi's body fell.

Naruto caught him.

His gaze shifted to Kakashi's right eye, and a glint flashed in his own.

Kamui Mangekyo.

Even Kakashi hadn't realized the power in his eye yet.

Naruto felt a stir in his heart.

Should I take it and study it?

Of course, by "take it," Naruto didn't mean gouging out Kakashi's eye. He meant taking the ocular technique stored within it.

This was the Kamui Mangekyo, a power that could warp space.

Among Mangekyo abilities, it was unquestionably powerful. Just look at how the dual Kamui later let its wielder go toe-to-toe with the mastermind behind everything.

Honestly, it was impossible not to be tempted. But what Naruto cared about wasn't the ability itself. It was the pleasure of studying it.

The greatest power of Twin Palms in Naruto's hands was its use in experimentation. It could freely alter the body and soul, making it incredibly powerful. In an ordinary world, it would only be useful for hypnosis and curing illnesses. But in a world like this, with its special bloodlines, the fusion of bloodlines and chakra offered a wondrous, unknown experience. Humans were curious about the unknown, and Naruto was no different.

Forget it. Maybe next time.

After a long hesitation, Naruto ultimately decided against it.

Even he didn't know what he was hesitating about.

He waved his hand, and Kakashi's body floated into the air. Carrying him, Naruto headed back to the battlefield.

Meanwhile, Sasuke had grown much stronger than he was in the original story, but he still wasn't a match for his opponent.

He was getting thrashed.

Hinata had to keep an eye on Kazahana Koyuki, so she couldn't join the fight just yet.

As expected, Sasuke was defeated.

Kazahana Dōtō's gaze turned to Kazahana Koyuki again.

"Heh. You won't escape this time. Hand over that thing."

"Let them go. Stop killing innocent people. You want this? Take it."

Kazahana Koyuki took the elephant pendant from around her neck and tossed it over.

Kazahana Dōtō's eyes lit up with delight. He caught the pendant in both hands and turned it over, examining it.

"Ha ha ha ha! The greatest treasure in the Land of Snow is finally mine!"

His long-held wish had finally come true, and Kazahana Dōtō couldn't help throwing back his head and laughing.

He thought the so-called treasure of the Land of Snow was the wealth left behind by its past rulers.

Once he got his hands on that fortune, he could do so much: expand his army and develop even more powerful armor.

Then the Five Great Nations—and the whole world—would be his.

"What a shame. My adorable niece."

At that moment, Kazahana Dōtō's eyes gleamed with ambition and madness.

He had already failed once, so he wouldn't give her another chance.

"Get back!"

Hinata's expression changed. She was nervous too, facing such a powerful enemy for the first time.

Her chakra surged through her body as she struck with a rapid series of palm attacks.

[Air-Splitting Palm]

A dense barrage of palm strikes shot through the air.

But Kazahana Dōtō sneered and used a simple Ice Release technique to neutralize them all.

Hinata's face fell.

She had watched the fight closely. His Chakra Armor could protect him, so close combat wasn't a good idea.

But the techniques Naruto had taught her all required close combat. As for ranged attacks, the ones Hinata could manage at her current level were effective against ordinary ninja, but too weak to threaten an expert.

Ultimately, her control was still poor, and the quality of her chakra wasn't good enough either.

Naruto had told her as much while he was training her. As for how to fix it, he hadn't told her.

[Summoning Jutsu]

Hinata quickly formed the Hand Seals and summoned the Red Wolf King.

The moment the Red Wolf King appeared, it sensed something. It bared its fangs, its whole body radiating a savage aura.

Before Hinata could give it an order, the wolf king charged forward.

It opened its jaws and spat out a terrifying burst of flame.

"Damn it! What kind of beast is that? It's strong!"

Kazahana Dōtō didn't know much about summoning beasts.

[Ice Style: Ice Coffin]

A huge coffin of ice erupted from the ground and trapped the Red Wolf King.

A flash of light passed, and the giant ice coffin shattered instantly, sending ice crystals bursting through the air.

The Red Wolf King charged again, engaging its opponent in close combat.

Its sharp claws flashed like divine weapons.

Even with the armor to protect him, the force of its blows was enough to send a boulder flying.

"You wretched beast! Die!"

A terrifying wave of cold erupted, and an ice mountain rose from the ground.

The Red Wolf King had no time to dodge and was instantly frozen inside.

Its blood-red eyes turned toward Hinata and Kazahana Koyuki.

Hinata gritted her teeth and prepared to charge forward.

A cloud of smoke billowed in front of her, and Naruto appeared.

He looked at Sasuke lying in the distance, then at the Red Wolf King trapped in ice.

A cold glint flashed in his eyes.

"Useless."

He had created that thing to protect Hinata, but he hadn't expected it to be so useless in its very first fight.