Ninja Hawk Beyond the Snowline

Sasuke held the empty shaft cylinder he had just intercepted, his thumb rubbing heavily against the wood grain on the inner bottom. In the lingering light of the Lightning Release, the black Crow totem with its missing left wing was clearly visible.

"We've been tricked." Sasuke's voice was icy as he tossed the scroll to Naruto. "That secret order was a defective one, stamped with a fake seal. The real one was already taken by the other bird. Itachi was leaving us a copy."

Naruto caught the shaft steadily, his gaze sweeping over the Crow, and he let out a sneer, "No wonder White Zetsu gave Obito away so easily. That bastard Obito, he needs someone else to leak the information to pull off his dirty tricks."

Amidst the wind and snow, a streak of silver lightning struck the ground, and Kakashi appeared, radiating an aura of coldness.

"The Barrier Team just finished checking, and the stolen Hokage seal does indeed show signs of being used twice." Kakashi glanced at the White Zetsu bound like a dumpling by the Adamantine Sealing Chains, his brow furrowed. "This is a double-edged sword. The expedited Ninja Hawk in the open is bait to draw fire, while there's another one secretly pursuing a different path. Chasing after it now might be too late."

Naruto didn't waste any words, placing his finger directly on Kakashi's shoulder. "Stop talking nonsense, give me the Coordinates."

Kakashi quickly Hand Seals and sensed the surroundings. "The snow-capped mountains in the northern part of the Land of Fire are less than ten miles from the border of the Land of Iron. There lies a spare Flying Thunder God Beacon that I left behind half a year ago."

"Walk."

With a flash of golden light, the three figures vanished from their original positions in an instant.

Northern part of the Land of Fire, on the edge of the snow line.

The gale whipped up snowflakes as large as goose feathers, lashing at people's faces like knives. The mountain path was flanked by bare, black frozen rocks, with snow piled up to knee-deep.

In the sky, a snow falcon, devoid of any Chakra fluctuations, glided close to the bottom of the thick clouds, extremely inconspicuous. If Kakashi hadn't set up a barrier to sense it beforehand at the border, it would have been impossible to spot it with the naked eye amidst the heavy snow.

Kakashi yanked off his Forehead Protector, his crimson Sharingan spinning rapidly, and reached out to stop Sasuke from forming Hand Seals.

"Don't rush into action." Kakashi's tone turned serious as he pointed to the sky. " At the Root that snow falcon's wing, there are extremely fine Lightning Release threads. Once it's subjected to an external impact or Chakra lock, the lightning threads will instantly ignite the signal tube. It's a flying, living bomb. To sever these nerve threads, we must get within ten meters and use Medical Ninjutsu."

Sasuke watched coldly, a hint of mockery flashing through his mind. Kakashi was used to walking a tightrope, used to measuring everything by the conventional standards of traditional ninjas. But he seemed to have forgotten that the one leading the team now was an unreasonable monster.

"Naruto, the Land of Iron has already received the news. You're too late!"

A few dozen meters ahead, a wandering ninja wearing a straw hat slowly emerged from behind a ridge. He held a Lightning Release seal in his hand, a mocking sneer on his face. Immediately afterward, three figures burst out of the ground behind him from beneath the snow.

"Bang bang bang--"

Almost simultaneously, the snow on both sides of the mountain path exploded with a deafening roar. A chain of dozens of Explosive Tag detonated instantly, and orange-red Kakkō mixed with sharp rock fragments transformed into a sea of fire that rained down on the three of them.

Naruto had his hands in the wide pockets of his robe, showing no intention of pulling them out.

"Buzz!"

The materialized Golden Yang Release Chakra burst forth, forming an absolute arc-shaped barrier in mid-air. The violent shockwave from the explosive Explosive Tag crashed into the barrier, producing a series of muffled explosions, before being forcibly pulled back by an even more domineering force.

The Kakkō flared back, sending the three ambushers who had just emerged flying and slamming them heavily against the rock wall. The crisp sound of their bones shattering was particularly clear in the wind and snow.

"This little noise is hardly an ambush?" Naruto walked straight ahead, stepping on the scorched, frozen earth.

The ninja in the straw hat's expression changed drastically. He took two steps back, his Lightning Release seal tightening sharply. "Since you want to play games, then nobody will get this letter!"

His fingertips crackled with electricity, preparing to directly activate the lightning bolts to detonate the snow falcon.

But the instant he exerted force with his fingertips, Naruto's eyes suddenly blazed with a dazzling purple-gold light. The Great Evolution Divine Soul Art erupted silently!

The ninja in the straw hat felt a deafening boom in his head as a massive surge of mental energy shattered his mental defenses like a battering ram. His eyes rolled back, blood spurted from his nostrils, and his clenched hands fell limply like mud. His entire nervous system was completely locked down within half a second.

Without the pull of Chakra, the snow falcon in the sky flapped its wings blindly and plummeted downwards.

"Smack."

A flash of lightning streaked across the sky. Sasuke leaped into the air, his Kusanagi Sword precisely severing the snow falcon's wing. He grabbed the bird's neck with one hand and roughly ripped off the letter tube tied to his leg.

Unrolling the scroll reveals the gleaming seal of the Hokage, and the arrogant declaration from Hidden Leaf demanding that the Land of Iron immediately disarm and relinquish command of all samurai.

Kakashi breathed a sigh of relief, "Caught red-handed. This Obito to pin the blame on Hidden Leaf is finally broken."

Naruto walked up to the slumped ninja in the straw hat and crushed his wrist with a single stomp.

"Ah--!" The excruciating pain instantly jolted the other person awake from their daze, causing them to scream and writhe in agony while clutching their broken bones.

Naruto pulled out the empty cylinder with Crow pattern from his pocket and smashed it over the other person's face.

"Obito sent you to ambush us, didn't he tell you that his own backyard was on fire?" Naruto looked down at him, his voice brimming with undisguised arrogance. "He didn't even know that the messenger for his subordinates was switched by Itachi Uchiha beforehand. With a brain like that, he dares to use Hidden Leaf as a pawn?"

The ninja in the straw hat stared intently at the dark patterns on the Crow in the snow, his eyes flashing with extreme disbelief and fear. "Itachi... this can't be... he clearly..."

Naruto didn't bother to let him finish speaking. With a wave of his hand, the Adamantine Sealing Chains burst forth, rolling the man into a ball and stuffing it into the sealing scroll.

"Listen carefully." Naruto turned his head, his gaze passing over the snowstorm to the distant horizon. "Obito wants to use lives as bargaining chips, trying to muddy the waters with a few scraps of paper. This time, my trip to the Land of Iron isn't just about proving Hidden Leaf's innocence."

He pointed to the wind and snow ahead, "I'm going to drag out all those scum hiding in the shadows, thinking they can control everything, and dry them in the sun. Anyone who dares to scheme against me in this game, I'll personally dig their grave!"

Sasuke gripped the Kusanagi Sword tightly, crackling with electricity. He looked up towards the Land of Iron, his eyes filled with murderous intent. "I'll settle Itachi's score with myself."

The wind and snow grew heavier, and the steel fortress of the Land of Iron was already faintly visible on the horizon.

At the same time.

Land of Iron, Neutral Meeting Hall.

The crackling fire in the brazier seemed to chill the atmosphere in the hall to the bone. The Five Kage had not yet gathered, but General Mifune, clad in heavy armor, sat at the head of the table, his face horribly ashen.

In the very center of his desk lay a sealed scroll bearing the true seal of the Hokage!

The scroll had been opened, and it clearly stated Hidden Leaf's ultimatum of military action against the Land of Iron and the other ninja villages.

"Hidden Leaf, are you forcing us to draw our swords?" Mifune gripped the hilt of his katana, veins bulging on the back of his hand, his voice chillingly cold.

Just then, the shadows in the corner of the hall rippled like water. A man wearing an orange Spiral Mask slowly walked out, his crimson Sharingan gleaming in the darkness.

"Mifune, do you see Hidden Leaf's ambitions now?" Obito his arms, a mocking smile playing on his lips. "Naruto Uzumaki doesn't need your consent. What he wants is the submission of the entire Shinobi World."

Naruto did intercept the second fake letter, but Obito's scheme had already laid out the third, deadly trap openly on the table. This meeting was destined to end in bloodshed from the very beginning.