Boom!
The roar of the train shattered the morning tranquility of the Land of Snow.
Kazahana Dōtō stood atop the locomotive, fully armed, gripping a large white sword. The Snow Ninja Trio and Kazahana Koyuki stood beside him.
The train passed through the tunnel and entered the rebels' prepared ambush site.
Up on the mountain, the rebel forces led by Kazahana Kinji and Sandayu were ready.
"Lord Dotō, look!" Fubuki Kakuyoku seemed to have spotted something and pointed ahead.
Dressed in a white kimono, Yuhan stood in the middle of the tracks, forming hand seals. "Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet!"
The sea lay on the other side of the train. The Chakra Furnace on Yuhan's chest lit up, and an enormous water dragon burst from the sea, surging straight toward Kazahana Dōtō.
Nadare Rōga leaped up. "Enemy attack! Let me show you the upgraded Chakra Armor! Ice Release: Black Dragon Blizzard!"
The ice to one side cracked open, and more than ten ice tigers, each as tall as a person, charged at the water dragon, tearing straight through it. The remaining tigers rushed toward Yuhan.
Yuhan leaped away from his position. "Wind Release: Tornado."
The tornado struck the ice tigers, its powerful winds tearing them apart.
But Nadare Rōga had already reached Yuhan, an ice spike forming in his hand. "I told you, my Ice Release has the upper hand over your Water Release. Die!"
Yet Yuhan chuckled. "What about Fire Style, then?"
"Konoha's blue beast has arrived! Eight Gates Released Formation: Fire Style, Heat Concerto!"
A flaming meteor shot out from behind Yuhan. It was Rock Lee.
"Boom!"
Nadare Rōga hastily formed an ice shield to block, but the kick sent him flying out to sea.
"What incredible power!" That kick had blasted apart one of Nadare Rōga's Chakra Furnaces. He stood on the water, watching Rock Lee.
Rock Lee settled into a fighting stance, flames blazing from the Chakra Armor on his legs. "From here on, I, Rock Lee, will be your opponent!"
"You little Konoha brat! Don't get carried away!" Nadare Rōga rapidly formed hand seals. "Ice Release: Ice Wolf!"
Nadare Rōga and Rock Lee clashed on the sea, neither able to gain the upper hand for the moment.
Kazahana Dōtō looked around. "Hehehe, Konoha ninja again. Hey! Kinji, you're here too, aren't you?"
"Attack!" At the top of the slope, Kazahana Kinji drew his katana and shouted, "For Lord Sōsetsu! For Princess Koyuki! For the Land of Snow! Give your lives!"
"Boom!" "Boom!" "Boom!"
Explosions erupted on the slope to one side, triggering an avalanche. Countless wooden stakes tumbled down with the snow, burying most of the train.
Then the well-equipped rebels charged.
Fubuki Kakuyoku spread her wings and flew into the air. "Hmph! Nothing but vermin. Let them see the power of technology!"
With a series of mechanical clicks, the mechanisms in several carriages in the middle of the train turned, and their doors opened. Inside were not people, but rows of black launch ports.
"Fire!"
Over a thousand kunai shot out of the carriages, hurtling straight toward the charging rebels.
"Watch out!" Kazahana Kinji was horrified. "It's too late!"
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"
Using Water Body Flicker, Yuhan appeared in front of the rebels and unleashed Wind Release against the rain of kunai. Fierce winds raged, blowing the kunai off course and scattering them everywhere.
Fubuki Kakuyoku dodged the kunai blown back at her and stared at Yuhan. "What a troublesome woman! Ice Release: Swallow Snowstorm!"
Ice swallows circled her once, then dove down.
Yuhan was still performing Wind Release and could not move to dodge. He was about to be hit.
"Gentle Fist: Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm!"
The snow behind Yuhan burst apart, and a figure leaped out. It was Neji.
Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm scattered the entire Swallow Snowstorm, neutralizing the attack.
"Tch! One nuisance after another!" Fubuki Kakuyoku flapped her wings, dodging the vacuum palm.
But then she noticed that Neji was speeding up rather than slowing down. His feet were also equipped with Chakra Armor, which spewed great jets of flame as he charged straight at her.
"Where did you steal that Chakra Armor?!" Fubuki Kakuyoku exclaimed in shock. "Ice Release: Ice Scattershot!"
Dozens of ice balls formed in front of her and shot toward Neji.
"Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm!"
The Chakra Armor on Neji's feet flared again, giving him another burst of speed, and the vacuum palm he unleashed struck Fubuki Kakuyoku head-on.
"Boom!" Although protected by a barrier, Fubuki Kakuyoku was still sent flying. The two landed in the nearby forest, one after the other.
Kazahana Dōtō roared, "All snow ninja, attack!"
Snow ninja in white uniforms kept leaping out of the train. They were well equipped and all wore masks. Although there were only fifty of them, every one wore Chakra Armor.
The rebels had now reached Yuhan's side. He stopped performing his jutsu. "Everyone, fight with everything you've got. Leave Kazahana Dōtō and Tōkuma to me."
Quite a few of the rebels had also obtained Chakra Armor. Although they were not ninja, their martial skills were outstanding.
The two forces clashed amid deafening battle cries. Neither side could gain the upper hand for the moment, and people began suffering injuries.
"Hehe." Kazahana Dōtō watched Yuhan slowly approach. "Tōkuma, go!"
To give Team 3 the best possible training, Hongshi had not let Kazahana Dōtō tell the Snow Ninja Trio about the plan.
Tōkuma gave a lecherous grin and took out his snowboard. "Hehehe, what a beautiful woman. I'll knock her out and bring her back for you."
Kazahana Dōtō said, "∑(❍ฺд❍ฺlll) No, no, no! I'd like to live a few more years!"
"Ice Release: Ice Bear Jutsu!" Ice shattered before Tōkuma, and an ice bear twice a person's height slowly took shape, charging straight into the battlefield. "Let me show you the power of the latest Ninjutsu armor!"
"Boom..." A single charge from the ice bear split the battlefield between the snow ninja and the rebels in two. Quite a few people died beneath its paws.
Yuhan said nothing more. "Water Release: Water Severing!"
He spat out a jet of water as thick as an arm. Amplified by the Chakra Armor, its power more than doubled, and it struck the ice bear directly. But the ice bear, also amplified, was not destroyed.
"Ice Release: Hailstorm!"
Riding his snowboard behind the ice bear, Tōkuma kept unleashing Ice Release jutsu at the surrounding rebels.
The rebels' casualties soared.
At that moment, two people climbed onto the locomotive. "Lord Kazahana Dōtō, power has been restored to the train. Should we continue forward?"
Kazahana Dōtō looked at the hexagonal crystal in his hand. "Yes, keep going!"
Just then, Kazahana Koyuki, who had been sitting silently to one side, suddenly sprang up. At some point, she had gotten hold of a dagger, and she thrust it at Kazahana Dōtō. "Die!"
"Oh, my God! You stabbed me!"
But Kazahana Dōtō gave a cruel smile and grabbed Kazahana Koyuki by the hair. "Hehehe, my foolish niece, this much isn't enough to hurt me."
The dagger had broken in two, failing to hurt him in the slightest.
"Ah!" Kazahana Koyuki screamed in pain. "You bastard!"
The reason Kazahana Koyuki could face Kazahana Dōtō was that Hongshi had made her a promise: to resurrect her father.
"Boom!!!"
At that moment, a violent explosion ripped through the entire train. One of the technicians stepped forward and rescued Kazahana Koyuki.
"Who are you?!"
The technician pulled down her mask. It was Tenten in disguise. "Hehe, demolition mission complete!"
With that, she took Kazahana Koyuki and rushed over to Sandayu.
"Princess Koyuki!" Sandayu and Kazahana Kinji cut down a snow ninja and immediately shielded Kazahana Koyuki between them. "Are you all right?"
Looking at the injured Sandayu, Koyuki could not stop her tears from flowing. "Sandayu, thank you!"
Sandayu chuckled. "It's all right. Princess Koyu-ugh..."
Sandayu shuddered. A snow ninja in the distance had thrown a kunai, striking him in the back over his heart. The next second, Sandayu collapsed into Kazahana Koyuki's arms. "Ki... Kinji, protect Princess Koyuki!"
"No!" Kazahana Koyuki's heart clenched as she held Sandayu. He coughed up several mouthfuls of blood. "Someone, come save him!"
With trembling hands, Sandayu passed his katana to Kazahana Koyuki. "P... Princess Koyuki, it's no use. You... must take up the sword. I really wish I could go with you to the other side of the rainbow!"
"No! Sandayu! No!"
Beside them, Tenten was also at a loss for what to do.