The snowfield was deathly silent, the cold wind like a knife. The rudimentary dock receded further and further behind, and ahead lay an endless, despairing white expanse. Every step felt like sinking deeper, the chill creeping up my spine from my feet.
The direction Sandayu pointed to was a distant, snow-covered, rolling hill, said to be a secret location cultivated by the rebels.
Hope seemed to lie beyond those mountains, however faint it might be.
However, the rulers of the Land of Snow clearly did not intend to give them time to reach their goal.
Just as the group was trudging through a relatively open ice field, a sudden change occurred.
"Buzz--!"
A deep, steady hum, carrying a metallic vibration, came from the depths of the ice beneath their feet!
The sound was faint at first, but then it quickly grew louder and closer, as if some enormous creature was rushing towards us from beneath the ice!
"Down there!" Kakashi and Shira shouted almost simultaneously, and everyone stopped instantly, forming a defensive formation back to back, looking down at their feet with surprise and uncertainty.
"Click, click--!"
A sickening cracking sound rang out, and dozens of meters in front of them, dazzling pale blue lights broke through the ice, precisely outlining two parallel, complex, and regular luminous tracks.
As soon as the track appeared, it rapidly extended forward and backward, instantly laying a luminous path a hundred meters long on the ice field, with flowing light and radiating a rich Chakra fluctuation.
"What?! What's that?!" Naruto's eyes widened.
Almost the instant the track was formed, at the end of the track, where the light was at its brightest, the air violently distorted, and a sleek, heavy-looking train seemed to emerge from the void, gliding along the glowing Chakra track with lightning speed, and came to a steady stop right in front of everyone!
The train's surface was as smooth as a mirror, reflecting the pale snowfield and the astonished faces of the crowd.
It seemed to have no wheels, hovering above the tracks, exuding a cold, oppressive aura.
Click.
A wide door in the middle of the train slid open silently. A chilling aura, colder than the outside wind and filled with majesty and gloom, rushed out.
A figure appeared in the doorway.
He was tall and ugly, with a smirk playing on his lips, looking down at the disheveled "guests" on the snowfield.
It is none other than the current ruler of the Land of Snow, the leader who murdered his brother and usurped the throne— Kazahana Dōtō.
His gaze, like a precise probe, immediately locked onto Kazahana Koyuki, who was being tightly protected behind Sandayu in the crowd, her face as pale as Kazahana Koyuki.
"Oh dear, my dear niece," Kazahana Dōtō spoke, his voice not loud, yet clearly piercing the cold wind and reaching everyone's ears, carrying a false warmth and an undeniable pressure.
"It's been so many years! You've grown up, and finally decided to come home for a visit? How does it feel to see this land that your father has brought to life? Hahahaha!"
Koyuki trembled violently, her lips moved but she couldn't make a sound. Only boundless fear gripped her heart, making it almost impossible for her to breathe.
The figure before me overlapped with the image of the blood-stained, grinning demon from my memory who had killed my father.
" Kazahana Dōtō! You traitor who murdered your brother and usurped the throne! You shameless scoundrel!!"
Sandayu could no longer contain his grief and indignation. He took a sudden step forward, shielding Koyuki even more completely, his withered fingers trembling as he pointed at the figure on the train, his voice hoarse with anger.
"How dare you mention the former lord! Under your rule, the people of the Land of Snow suffered from cold and misery! Today, the princess has returned, and we will reclaim the rightful throne and bring you, this tyrant, to justice!"
"Orthodox? Ha." Kazahana Dōtō chuckled lightly, as if he had heard something ridiculous, and he slightly raised his hand.
As he moved, several gaps silently slid open on both sides of the train's open doors and above the roof, and snow ninjas, their bodies shrouded in fine blue Chakra Armor, their eyes cold and their hands wielding strange weapons, filed out and quickly lined up in front of the train.
There were only about twenty of them, but each of them exuded a powerful aura. The Chakra patterns on their armor glowed faintly, and their equipment was exactly the same as that of the Nadare Rōga and the others they had encountered before, yet it was even more menacing.
Clearly, this was a well-trained elite force; a chilling killing intent emanated from them, instantly dispelling the howling wind.
"You? A few ninjas from another village, and a girl who's so scared she's about to wet herself?"
The mocking remarks from the Kazahana Dōtō, and clamor came without any attempt to conceal them.
"Not just them!"
Sandayu whirled around, facing a snow-covered hill to the side, and roared with all his might, "People of the Land of Snow! Open your eyes and see! See who has returned! It is the bloodline of the former Kazahana Sōsetsu Hayateki, the true hope of our Land of Snow, Princess Koyuki!"
"She's back! Right before us! Will you continue to endure the cold, hunger, and fear under the rule of a tyrant?!"
His roar echoed across the icy plains.
At first, there was a deathly silence. Only the howling of the cold wind could be heard.
But a few seconds later, a rustling sound came from behind the snow line on the hill.
One, two, ten, dozens...
More and more figures stood up from behind snowdrifts, beside rocks, and in icy gullies.
They wore ordinary armor, many of them with faces blue from the cold, and carried rusty swords, homemade spears, and even sharpened wooden sticks.
They had no Chakra Armor, no uniform equipment, and their bodies were hunched and thin due to the cold and malnutrition.
But their eyes seemed to ignite instantly when they saw the face of the girl who was being protected behind Sandayu, a face that vaguely resembled the former daimyo in their memories!
It was a mixture of disbelief, hope, excitement, and a faint yet tenacious flame that had finally seen a glimmer of light after being suppressed for so long!
"A princess? Is it really Her Highness the Princess?"
"The daughter of the late sage..."
"She's back... she's really back..."
"There's hope! Don't we have hope now?"
A low, trembling murmur spread through the crowd. More and more people emerged from their hiding places and gathered behind Sandayu. Although they still looked at the train and the elite Snow Ninja troops with fear, they moved forward, gripping their crude weapons even tighter.
The dense crowd, numbering in the hundreds, formed a situation where they were outnumbered by the twenty elite Snow Ninja, yet their auras were beginning to subtly clash.
The Sandayu trembled with emotion, tears streaming down his face. He turned to Koyuki, his voice choked with emotion yet full of strength. "Your Highness! Do you see? This is the people of the Land of Snow! They have not forgotten their ancestor!"
"They haven't forgotten you! They are willing to fight for you, for the future of the Land of Snow! Please... please look at them too! Give them courage! Give all of us courage!"
Koyuki was shocked by the scene before her. Looking at the people who were thin and pale, yet trying to straighten their backs and looking at her with hopeful and resolute eyes, her frozen heart felt as if it had been hit hard by something.
The words Shūji spoke on the ship about "the spark" and "the people" now appeared vividly before her eyes. This power was so faint, yet so heavy.
The fake smile on Kazahana Dōtō's face finally vanished completely, replaced by a cold disgust as if he had been provoked by ants.
"Fooling the masses." He uttered those two words coldly, then casually waved his hand, "Step back."
Upon receiving the order, the twenty elite Snow Ninja, without hesitation, sheathed their swords, turned around, and quickly retreated back into the open train doors, without even glancing at the gathered crowd.
This unusual behavior startled Sandayu and the gathered crowd, and a sense of foreboding quickly followed.
Suddenly, the exterior of the train carriage where Kazahana Dōtō was standing underwent a strange change! The smooth outer shell flowed, deformed, and folded like liquid metal!
On the sides and top of the carriage, heavy armor plates slid open and flipped over, revealing a dense array of launch ports arranged in a honeycomb pattern!
Inside each firing port, a cold, metallic gleam and a faint glow of Chakra shimmered!
"Buhou!" Kakashi's Sharingan pupils contracted sharply! He could see clearly that those firing ports contained hundreds, even thousands, of specially Kunai!
And there are also explosive Kunai! This kind of saturation attack is aimed at those people who are gathered together and lack effective protection!
Kazahana Dōtō had no intention of letting his men get entangled with these people; what he wanted was the most efficient and intimidating massacre!
"It's a trap! Spread out! Find cover!"
Kakashi roared, his hands already Hand Seals, preparing to unleash a large-scale defensive Ninjutsu, but the distance and the number of techniques made his heart sink!
When Shira saw the train deform, her heart skipped a beat.
In the original story, it was Sandayu and the rebellious civilians who were slaughtered by this volley of Kunai, becoming the final straw that broke Koyuki's spirit. He cannot let this scene repeat itself!
These people, who had just mustered a sliver of courage and whose eyes had ignited a faint hope, cannot die here!
The thought flashed by like lightning. Almost at the very moment that Kazahana Dōtō's lips curled into a cruel smile and his fingers were about to strike, Shira moved.
He didn't rush towards the train, nor did he try to protect anyone.
He slammed his left foot heavily onto the ice, and with a crack, the solid ice shattered! His aura surged dramatically, white steam billowed from his pores, and his skin flushed red— Seven Heavens Breathing Method, Second Activation, activated!
But that's not enough!
A fleeting glint of cyan-gold light flashed in Shira's eyes, and her chest expanded suddenly with the deep rhythm unique to the Wind Xun Breathing Method, as if she wanted to swallow up all the surrounding air—no, some kind of invisible, flowing "power" in the air!
Four years of arduous practice, the initial guidance and resonance with Natural Energy (wind), are now being unleashed without reservation!
"Drink it--!!!"
A long roar, like a dragon's cry, shook the snowfield! Shira spread her arms wide, using herself as the axis, and brutally combined the immense life energy (qi) that had been pushed to its limit by her Second Activation with the natural wind attribute energy that filled the cold wind, and then—released it in a frenzied spinning motion!
This is not Ninjutsu, nor does it Chakra Shape Transformation. It is a violent outpouring of pure power and energy, a savage pull of will against the forces of nature!
Gaia!!!
"Boom--!!!"
Centered on Shira, a massive, violent, bluish-white tornado suddenly formed!
The cyclone, exceeding ten meters in diameter, soared into the sky, whipping up countless snowflakes and ice fragments from the ground, emitting a deafening roar! The air at the edge of the cyclone was compressed and accelerated to the extreme, forming a visible, semi-transparent, high-speed rotating dense wind pressure barrier!
Wind (Southeast) - Rotation Barrier!
This is no longer a simple gust of wind from a punch or a palm strike, but an absolute defensive field created by itself as the eye of the storm, capable of temporarily withstanding large-scale physical attacks!
At the very instant that Shira's " Rotation Barrier " took shape—
"Whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh--!!!"
A series of ear-piercing whistling sounds filled the air, like the flapping wings of a swarm of death bees! From the train's numerous firing ports, hundreds of specially made Kunai, trailing tiny plumes of flame, rained down on the gathered crowd and the Konoha and Sunagakure personnel ahead! Each Kunai was wrapped with Explosive Tag, and once it landed, corpses would litter the ground!
"It's too late! Use a technique to defend!" Kakashi's Earth Style Wall only managed to rise in a small area in front of him.
" Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!" Sasuke's flames attempted to block a section.
" Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!" Shūji desperately unleashed a gust of wind, trying to deflect Kunai a trace, but the area it covered was too large.
" Water Release: Water Formation Wall!" Sakura also gave it her all.
" Wind Release: Scythe Blaze!" Shūji's eyes sharpened as he formed hand Hand Seals, unleashing several sharp wind blades that precisely slashed at the clusters of Kunai aimed at the densest area of the crowd. The wind blades collided with the Kunai, exploding into bursts of Kakkō in mid-air, successfully intercepting a portion of them.
" Shuriken Clone Technique - Modified!"
Ishikawa swung his hands repeatedly, Shuriken he threw split in mid-air, clattering and deflecting another group of Kunai, buying time for the people around him to get down.
Maki didn't attack; instead, she pressed her hands to the ground, Chakra into the ice beneath her feet. " Earth Release: Rock Plate!"
She couldn't instantly raise a thick earthen wall, but she could barely soften the ice in a section in front of her, making it easier for falling Kunai to penetrate rather than be launched and injure people.
However, their interception was still a drop in the ocean against this storm-like offensive. More than half of the deadly Kunai still enveloped the most exposed areas of the civilians, as well as Shira, who stood in front of them, and the lone tornado he had just erected!
"BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM--!!!"
The next second, a series of explosions drowned out all other sounds! Kakkō, smoke, shattered ice, and snow mixed with violent shockwaves, raging wildly across the open ice field!
However, the anticipated tragedy of people collapsing in droves did not actually occur.
The giant, bluish-white tornado vortex stood like a reef in a deadly storm! All the kunai that shot in that direction, and those caught in the wind pressure at the edge of the vortex, Kunai as if they had crashed into an invisible wall of steel the moment they came into contact with that high-speed rotating, dense wind pressure barrier!
The Kunai either violently thrown off course and exploded in open spaces; or they were swayed by the violently rotating airflow, colliding with each other and detonating prematurely; or even worse, they were twisted, deformed, and shattered by the immense force contained in the wind pressure barrier!
Shira was in the eye of the storm, her face slightly pale. Maintaining such a large-scale, high-intensity release of energy was a huge burden on her.
But his body remained as steady as a mountain, his arms maintained in an outstretched guiding posture, and the tornado stood firm, creating a small, relatively safe fan-shaped space for the large area behind him in this storm!
At least dozens of people were saved from harm because of this barrier!
The smoke and dust from the explosion slowly dissipated. The ice field was littered with charred craters and Kunai, a scene of utter devastation.
There were no fatalities or injuries in the civilian area, much fewer than expected. Most people were thrown over by the blast wave and suffered some injuries, still in shock.
The members of Konoha and Sunagakure were mostly unharmed thanks to their Ninjutsu and quick reflexes, though they appeared somewhat disheveled.
Kazahana Dōtō stood on the train, watching the gradually dissipating bluish-white tornado and the panicked but not collapsed crowd below, a look of doubt in his eyes.
He hadn't expected that this kid from Sunagakure would Jonin such a peculiar and powerful defensive method.
"Oh? Interesting." Kazahana Dōtō narrowed his eyes, his killing intent intensifying. It seemed he needed to get rid of these annoying insects first.
However, at this moment--
"Waaaaah--!"
A sharper, higher-pitched engine roar, completely different from when the train appeared before, came from the very high, gray-white clouds!
A massive shadow pierced through the clouds at an astonishing speed, plunging down towards the ice field!
It was a streamlined aerial warship, gleaming with a cold, metallic sheen!
It was larger and more aggressive than a train. Below the bow, a special launch port was already open, aimed at the ice field below—or more precisely, at Kazahana Koyuki, who had just emerged from the tornado and was slightly panting!
"Great!" Kazahana Dōtō beamed with joy; clearly, help had arrived.
The launch port of the airborne warship flashed with blue light!
"Call out--!"
A hook claw wrapped with powerful Chakra chains shot out at supersonic speed, its trajectory cunning, bypassing the ready Kakashi and the just-finished Shira, who hadn't had time to unleash her full power again, and as if it had a life of its own, precisely caught the terrified Koyuki!
"Princess!!" the Sandayu roared.
The chains snapped back instantly, Koyuki cried out as she was lifted into the air and shot straight at the open side hatch of the airship!
"Sister!!" Naruto's eyes widened in horror! He hadn't even seen the trajectory of the grappling hook; he only saw Koyuki being dragged away.
In that instant, tactics and dangers were completely forgotten!
Almost instinctively, Naruto grabbed his ninja tool pouch with his right hand and hurled his grappling hook rope with all his might toward the gap in the closing hatch!
"Grab him right now!!!"
The grappling hook barely managed to snag on the edge of the hatch! A tremendous pull came, Naruto gripped the rope tightly, his feet lifting off the ground like a conspicuous orange pendant, disappearing into the thick clouds along with the rapidly ascending airship!
" Naruto!!" Sakura's scream was swallowed by the wind high above.
Everything happened far too fast. From the appearance of the airship to the capture of Koyuki and the subsequent abduction of Naruto, it all happened in the blink of an eye.
On the icy plain, all was deathly silent. Only the cold wind swept across the scorched earth and the groans of the wounded could be heard.
Kazahana Dōtō on the train, glanced in the direction where the airborne warship had disappeared and let out a cold laugh.
His cold gaze swept once more over the ravaged ice field and the remaining people below, as if he were looking at a group of inanimate objects.
"Clean it up." He uttered a cold, emotionless command, then turned and walked into the carriage.
The train doors closed, the glowing Chakra tracks lit up again, and the massive train silently slid backward, quickly disappearing into the vast snowstorm, vanishing as if it had never existed.
All that remained were devastation, a horrified crowd, the captured princess, and the reckless blond boy who had followed them without permission.
Kakashi slowly lowered his hand Hand Seals, his expression unusually solemn.
Shira exhaled a long, scorching breath carrying the smell of blood, and the Second Activation state slowly faded away.
He gazed at the clouds where Naruto and Koyuki had disappeared, his expression complex.
"Follow the plot. It's up to you now, Naruto," Shira murmured.
He withdrew his gaze and looked at the shocked and furious Shūji, the panting Maki and Ishikawa beside him, and then at Sasuke, whose fists were clenched and whose face was ashen.
"Save them first, then move immediately." Shira's voice was hoarse with exhaustion. "We can't stay here any longer."
The wind on the ice field is getting colder...