Kakashi's Defeat

The convoy ahead had stopped at a battlefield.

The cold wind howled, snowflakes drifted, and no one spoke as they looked at the corpses on the ground.

The most eye-catching among them was an old man ahead, clad in armor and kneeling on one knee, his body pierced with kunai.

Koyuki Kazahana stood beside the corpse, tears falling from her eyes for no apparent reason.

Sandayu, her most loyal old retainer, had died here just like that.

Sometimes, even a mantis trying to stop a cart was not meaningless. It was people like this who gave the living courage.

"Come on. Go back and reclaim everything that belongs to you. Don't let his death be meaningless."

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

He respected it, but he did not understand it, nor would he do the same.

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

"I don't want to die."

However, Naruto had not expected Koyuki Kazahana to seem on the verge of collapse.

Clutching her head, she ran into the distance.

Naruto used the Body Flicker Technique and appeared in front of her.

"What are you doing?"

Naruto truly could not understand what she was thinking.

At that moment, Koyuki Kazahana held her head in both hands, her eyes filled with despair and her expression panicked.

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

In the distance, a man in armor walked over step by step.

Naruto's eyes narrowed.

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

Seeing that it was the enemy approaching, Sasuke's face filled with concern.

"Naturally, I killed him."

Fenghua Dotō's face was cold.

"What kind of joke is that? How could Kakashi-sensei lose to trash like you?"

Sasuke was furious. He did not believe that the man his brother admired could lose to someone like this. A Fūma Shuriken appeared in his hand, and he hurled it out before charging forward.

[Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique]

A massive fireball blasted toward the enemy.

[Ice Style: Ice Prison]

Naruto frowned. Kakashi's defeat had been within his expectations.

Kakashi at this point had not yet gained any cheats, and the Sharingan was a burden on him. Besides, this was a movie version—honestly, it was not surprising at all that he had lost.

As everyone knew, the villains in movie versions were generally powerful and difficult to defeat unless you were the protagonist.

"Watch her. I'll go check on Kakashi-sensei."

Naruto called Hinata over, said this, and vanished in an instant.

Hinata was worried as well.

On the lake's surface nearby stood an enormous block of ice, with Kakashi frozen inside.

Naruto appeared beside it.

"You're really in a sorry state."

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

Kakashi's body fell.

Naruto caught him.

He looked at Kakashi's right eye, his gaze flickering.

Kamui Mangekyo.

At this point, even Kakashi himself had not discovered the power hidden within his eye.

Something stirred in Naruto's heart.

Should I take it and study it?

Of course, by taking it, Naruto did not mean gouging out Kakashi's eye. He meant taking the eye technique housed within it.

This was the Kamui Mangekyo. At its core, it possessed the power to warp space.

Among Mangekyo-level abilities, it was unquestionably powerful. Had no one seen how, later on, the dual Kamui state could even contend with the boss behind the scenes?

Honestly, it was impossible not to be tempted. Of course, what Naruto cared about was not the ability itself, but the enjoyment of researching it.

In Naruto's hands, Twin Hands' greatest use was experimentation. Freely altering the body and soul was immensely powerful. In an ordinary world, it could only be used for hypnosis and healing, but in a world with special bloodlines, the fusion of bloodlines and chakra was a mysterious and unknown experience. Humanity was full of curiosity toward the unknown, and Naruto was no exception.

Forget it. Next time.

After hesitating for a long time, Naruto ultimately did not make a move.

Even he himself did not know what he was hesitating over.

With a wave of his hand, Kakashi's body floated up. Naruto took him and rushed back toward the battlefield.

On Sasuke's side, although he was far stronger than in the original story, he was still no match for his opponent.

He was beaten miserably.

Since Hinata had to watch Koyuki Kazahana, she had no way to intervene for the moment.

Without any surprise, Sasuke was defeated.

Fenghua Dotō's gaze fell upon Koyuki Kazahana again.

"Heh heh, you can't escape this time. Hand over that thing."

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

Koyuki Kazahana removed the pendant from around her neck and tossed it to him.

Delight appeared in Fenghua Dotō's eyes. He caught the pendant with both hands and examined it from side to side.

"Hahahaha! The greatest treasure of the Land of Snow is finally mine!"

After years of longing, his wish had finally been fulfilled. Fenghua Dotō could not help but throw back his head and laugh.

He believed that the so-called treasure of the Land of Snow was the wealth left behind by generations of rulers.

As long as he obtained this wealth, he could do many things—expand his army and develop even more powerful armor.

Then the Five Great Nations and the entire world would be his.

"What a pity, my dear niece."

At that moment, Fenghua Dotō's eyes were filled with ambition and madness.

Having failed once before, he would not give her another chance.

"Get back!"

Hinata's expression changed. She was tense as well, facing such a powerful enemy for the first time.

Chakra surged rapidly through her body as her hands unleashed a chain of palm strikes.

[Vacuum Palm]

Countless palm strikes shot through the air.

However, Fenghua Dotō merely smiled disdainfully at them. A simple Ice Style ninjutsu wiped them all out.

Hinata's expression turned grim.

She had seen the previous battle clearly. The enemy's chakra armor had defensive properties, making close combat unsuitable.

Yet the techniques Naruto had taught her all required close-range combat. As for long-range attacks like this, with Hinata's current power, they were enough against ordinary ninja but far too weak against experts.

Ultimately, her control was too poor, and her chakra quality was inadequate.

Naruto had told her this when teaching her. As for a solution, Naruto had one but had not told her.

[Summoning Technique]

Hinata formed hand seals rapidly and summoned the Red Wolf King.

The moment it appeared, the wolf king sensed something. It immediately bared its fangs, its entire body radiating a savage aura.

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

Opening its jaws, it spewed a terrifying stream of flames.

"Damn it, what kind of beast is this? It's so powerful?"

Fenghua Dotō did not know much about summoned beasts.

[Ice Style: Ice Coffin]

An enormous coffin rose from the ground, trapping the Red Wolf King inside.

A cold flash swept through the air, and the massive ice coffin instantly shattered, exploding into a sky full of ice crystals.

The Red Wolf King charged again and engaged him in close combat.

Its sharp claws flashed like divine weapons.

Even if the armor could defend against them, the terrifying force behind those attacks could send a massive boulder flying.

"You beast, die!"

A terrifying burst of cold erupted, and an iceberg rose from the ground in an instant.

The Red Wolf King had no time to dodge and was immediately frozen within it.

Blood-red eyes turned toward Hinata and Koyuki Kazahana.

Hinata gritted her teeth, preparing to rush forward.

A puff of smoke flashed before her, and Naruto appeared.

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

A trace of coldness flashed in his eyes.

"Useless thing."

He had created this thing to protect Hinata, yet it had proven so useless in its very first battle.