Mission Complete

The Red Wolf King frozen inside the iceberg seemed to sense a wave of malice and shuddered.

Though it had little intelligence, it still had instincts. Memories of Naruto's experiments involuntarily surfaced in its mind, and they were hardly pleasant. The Nine-Tails' chakra was so volatile that not every creature could withstand it. Anyone who could endure it had to suffer unimaginable agony.

The Red Wolf King inside the iceberg seemed to hear Naruto's voice. It shuddered, and the chakra within its body erupted completely.

Crack, crack, crack!!!

The iceberg shattered in an instant.

Red aura coiled around it, and a terrifying pressure radiated from the Red Wolf King.

"Mut, if you can't beat him, you're useless."

Naruto gave it a cold look.

The Red Wolf King immediately shuddered.

Its fear of Naruto was etched into its very soul.

Now the Red Wolf King went completely berserk. Its body swelled in an instant, growing from its original height of one meter to five.

Red chakra radiated from its body, its eyes glowed crimson, and it charged straight at its opponent.

"Beast, die!"

Kazahana Dōtō was furious too and charged forward again.

The two sides clashed in another terrifying battle.

This time, however, the Red Wolf King, fighting at full power, completely overpowered its opponent.

No matter how powerful the Chakra Armor was, it was still powered by a human. If Dōtō had truly been strong, he wouldn't have needed to wear armor.

He had already spent a great deal of chakra fighting Kakashi, and after one battle after another, Kazahana Dōtō had little chakra left.

He soon fell to the disadvantage. After the time it took to burn a stick of incense, the Red Wolf King returned to its original form, while Kazahana Dōtō lay defeated on the ground.

Cracks had appeared in the armor, too. If Naruto hadn't called a halt, Dōtō would already have been reduced to a corpse.

Naruto drew a blank card.

[Card Seal]

Chains shot out in an instant, sealing Kazahana Dōtō inside the card.

He opened his status panel.

Name: Uzumaki Naruto

Bloodline: Asura Bloodline

Constitution: Immortality

Eyes: Three-Tomoe Sharingan

Techniques: Triple Inversion

Skills: Fire Style, Twin Palms, Adamantine Sealing Chains, Mind's Eye of the Kagura, Flying Thunder God, Sealing Jutsu, Dan Devour, Eight Directions Reversal, Three Immortals Return to Cave

Chakra: 1 Nine-Tails' worth

Seal: Cinnabar Mark

Draws: 8

"Retrieving a person is more cost-effective than simply retrieving a jutsu."

Seeing such a powerful uncle sealed by Naruto, Kazahana Koyuki still couldn't believe it.

"What kind of ability is this? It's amazing."

Kazahana Koyuki looked at the card in Naruto's hand.

"Sealing Jutsu," Naruto explained.

"All right, let's go."

Naruto said no more and led the two injured companions toward the Land of Snow.

What followed went smoothly. When the people learned that Kazahana Dōtō had been defeated, they were overjoyed and readily accepted their new queen. The fact that two generations of rulers stood in stark contrast only helped.

Kakashi and the others needed three days to recover.

Naruto had nothing to do during those days, so he explored the Land of Snow with Kazahana Koyuki.

The people of the Land of Snow might not have had it easy, but the ingenuity of hard workers shone brightly wherever they were.

The inventions here opened Naruto's eyes. They had everything from trucks and trains to communication radios.

Naruto tried retrieving some of them. As expected, any extraordinary item could be retrieved. The system also notified him that a new ability had been unlocked. After looking into it carefully, he learned that extraordinary items might now appear in his draws, too.

It was no longer limited to skills.

Naruto found himself pondering the implications. It seemed the system was more complicated than he'd thought.

Skills and items—what else could be exchanged?

Naruto immediately thought of legendary weapons or special organs.

Hashirama Cells, for example. Or the Sharingan.

He quietly made a note of these possibilities.

Kakashi woke up on the third day.

By then, Kazahana Koyuki had become the queen of the Land of Snow.

"Nice work."

Naruto's strength surprised even Kakashi. The battle might have involved a relay of opponents, but beating them still took real ability.

With everything settled, Naruto and the others prepared to head back. They had been away for almost a month.

They had spent a lot of time on the journey there, and much of it had gone toward filming.

Then Naruto and the others prepared to say their goodbyes.

Kazahana Koyuki seemed reluctant to see them go.

"Are you really sure you won't stay?" Her gaze turned to Naruto, full of warmth.

Naruto felt awkward under her gaze and instinctively looked away.

He sighed inwardly, knowing there was no point.

"I heard you like little gadgets. Here, this is for you."

The maid behind her brought out a board.

Naruto took it curiously. It was a skateboard.

Kazahana Koyuki explained what it could do.

It was a skateboard made in the Land of Snow that could float in the air. It used too much chakra, though, and was all show with little practical use, so it had been left in storage. Koyuki had only learned about it while taking inventory after becoming queen.

She knew Naruto had spent the past few days exploring, so she had decided to give him the gadget.

"Thanks. I really like it. You can visit Konoha anytime." Naruto was surprised, but he didn't refuse.

He gave her a gift in return.

The group fell silent on the way back.

Naruto wasn't much of a talker, Kakashi didn't know what to say, and Sasuke felt a little glum and jealous.

The journey there had taken more than ten days. The return trip took only three.

It was the first time they'd been away for so long, and they all missed home. As soon as they reached the village gate, they hurried back into Konoha.

"I'm going to report the mission. You're dismissed."

Kakashi said this and disappeared.

"That's the one thing Kakashi-sensei is always reliable about."

Naruto couldn't help complaining.

Back in the familiar village, Hinata relaxed, too.

Sasuke missed his family as well. He said goodbye and disappeared.

Hinata, on the other hand, didn't seem to have much of a reaction. She preferred being with Naruto to being at home.

"Come on, let's get something to eat first."

Naruto said, leading Hinata toward Ichiraku Ramen.

People streamed along the streets, and there were many unfamiliar faces. Their clothes made it clear they weren't from the Land of Fire.

"Looks like the Chunin Ninja Exams are about to start."

Naruto was surprised.

He wondered if Orochimaru would come this time.

Orochimaru had plenty of good stuff, but tracking him down was difficult.

At the same time, three children walked along another street.

At the front was a boy carrying a gourd, his whole body radiating a dark, violent aura.

The boy and girl walking on either side of him looked around curiously.

"Konoha really is peaceful and secure," Temari remarked.

People streamed by all around them, their faces smiling. They weren't particularly wary of strangers, either.

Over the past few years, Tsunade had been generous and forthright, and people from every clan had grown close. Without the Third Hokage backing him, Danzo, who loved stirring up trouble, had only dared to act in secret. He had to target the Uchiha Clan while also making trouble throughout the Ninja World.

Compared to the Third Hokage, Danzo had a much bigger reputation in the Ninja World—and not a good one. His title, Darkness of the Ninja World, said it all. Whether it was Nagato's ordeal in the Land of Rain or Ōnoki's wariness at the Five Kage Summit, it was clear how detested that troublemaker was.

Still, one had to admit that Danzo was extremely effective at making life miserable for others.

The conditions in Konoha no longer gave him room to cause trouble, so he could only act abroad. That had made him much more restrained.