Land of Snow.
In the towering castle located at the highest point of the capital, Kazahana Castle.
A man dressed in blue and white, with light blue hair, knelt on his right knee on the cold floor, his head bowed: "My deepest apologies, Lord Doto. Princess Koyuki is still missing..."
His name was Koyuki Fubuki (Wolf Fang Blizzard), the current leader of the Snow Ninjas, and before him stood a tall, middle-aged man.
This was the current supreme leader of the Land of Snow, Doto Kazahana.
He wore a heavy blue coat. His broad, expressionless face, combined with his burly physique, gave him an intimidating aura.
However, his position was illegitimate; he was a usurper.
Years ago, Sōyuki Kazahana (Doto's brother) had too much trust in his younger brother, entrusting him with command of the army to maintain national order. Sōyuki himself focused more on how to ensure the long-term stability of the country, which led to his brother developing the ambition to replace him.
By the time Sōyuki realized, it was too late. The ambitious Doto Kazahana conspired with the leader of the Snow Ninjas to launch a military coup, directly murdering Sōyuki. In the process, Princess Koyuki, the sole heir, escaped the Land of Snow with the help of her guards and went missing among the common people.
Doto Kazahana spent a great deal of effort each year searching for Princess Koyuki, partly to eliminate her, and partly for the hexagonal crystal on her person.
With this, he could unlock the precious treasure his brother had hidden for years.
Once he had this fortune, he could mass-produce chakra armor, and finally, with the power of that other thing, create Ice Release bloodline limit ninjas, which would allow the Land of Snow to become a transcendent existence capable of rivaling the Five Great Nations.
Yet, his brother, holding these things in his hands, thought not of vigorously developing military strength, but was instead preoccupied with how to change the climate of the Land of Snow.
"Military power, just enough is fine..."
That's what his weak brother had told Doto Kazahana back then.
Doto Kazahana remembered it vividly to this day.
Whether in the past or present, Doto Kazahana always felt his brother was utterly foolish. Possessing such power, of course, plundering was the more convenient path.
To this day, Doto Kazahana felt no regret about killing his own brother.
His ambition and aspirations would absolutely not allow anyone to stand in his way. Even if it was his own flesh and blood, he would not hesitate to eliminate them.
"How is Skasa's Egg recently...?"
Doto Kazahana inquired about this.
Skasa's Egg was an egg that his brother, Sōyuki Kazahana, had stumbled upon years ago during his travels abroad.
Initially, it was only the size of a human head, but as time passed, the egg continuously grew. Now, it was a full ten meters in size.
Someone once curiously suggested opening it. Sōyuki Kazahana listened to this advice and intended to do so, but when it came to practical execution, everyone was surprised to find that no matter what method they used, they couldn't inflict even the slightest damage on the egg.
Later, it was discovered that the egg contained an extremely vast amount of chakra. If ninjas trained near it, there was a chance they could awaken the Ice Release bloodline limit, not the kind formed by utilizing the natural environment, but a true bloodline limit.
However, this probability was extremely low. Currently, including him and Koyuki Fubuki, there were only a handful of Ice Release bloodline limit ninjas in the entire Land of Snow.
But even so, it was enough to excite Doto Kazahana for a long time. After all, this was a true bloodline limit. By rationally utilizing the power of this egg to create Ice Release bloodline limit ninjas, making the Land of Snow a powerhouse on par with the Five Great Nations was not just talk.
As for why it was called Skasa's Egg, it was taken from a mythological story of the Land of Snow.
The predecessor of the Land of Snow was a group called the Bantu tribe. To escape the conflicts between the great nations, they traveled thousands of miles to the Land of Snow. However, even then, the great nations still did not intend to let them go and sent armies to encircle them. It was at this moment that an ice dragon named Skasa descended from the sky, repelled these soldiers, and allowed the Bantu tribe to settle there...
Of course, this was a myth, to be taken with a grain of salt. However, Sōyuki Kazahana, when naming the egg, somewhat mixed in his personal feelings, hoping that if the egg hatched, it could protect the Land of Snow's long-term stability.
"Skasa's Egg, its size hasn't continued to grow for quite some time now, and the chakra it contains has become increasingly stable..."
Koyuki Fubuki, who was in charge of this matter the entire time, reported all the known details.
Doto Kazahana stroked his chin, thinking, and spoke in a deep tone: "Is it about to hatch?"
Koyuki Fubuki agreed: "We can't rule out that possibility..."
Doto Kazahana then asked: "How are the seals for unexpected situations?"
Koyuki Fubuki immediately replied: "Everything is ready. If the creature born from this egg cannot be controlled, the prepared seals can be implemented immediately."
Doto Kazahana nodded slightly, with a satisfied expression.
The existence of this egg concerned the revival and decline of the Land of Snow. He was quite invested in it, and only a handful of people knew about it, limited to the Land of Snow's researchers and high-ranking officials.
If such a rare treasure were leaked, it would be difficult not to attract covetous eyes.
This was not alarmist talk. For example, the Hidden Cloud Village was a prime example; anything it set its eyes on was almost guaranteed to be taken. It was said that a certain village, whose secret technique was coveted by the Hidden Cloud Village, refused to hand it over. The Hidden Cloud Village didn't waste words; it simply wiped out the entire village along with its people. That's how domineering their style was.
This was the extraordinary status of the Five Great Nations; their power far exceeded that of other smaller countries.
At the same time, this was also one of the main reasons why Doto Kazahana was determined to build the Land of Snow into a power level similar to the Five Great Nations.
To reassure Doto Kazahana, Koyuki Fubuki said: "I hear that when a creature first hatches, it regards the first living being it sees as its mother~"
Doto Kazahana paused, then burst into laughter. He loved hearing that.
If the creature inside truly hatched and obeyed his commands, it would be absolutely wonderful.
Considering the egg's size, the creature born from it would surely be enormous, perhaps even capable of serving as a mount.
Just as he was enjoying his subordinate's words and feeling pleased, someone barged in without announcement, looking flustered.
It was a middle-aged man in a white lab coat, somewhat bald. He was a researcher for the Land of Snow and also the one studying Skasa's Egg.
Doto Kazahana saw his nervous face and knew without asking that it was nothing good.
"It's bad, Lord Doto! There's a problem with Skasa's Egg..."
Doto Kazahana's eyes widened slightly.
Upon learning the bad news, Doto Kazahana and Koyuki Fubuki rushed over immediately.
The research lab had complete experimental and testing equipment. Doto Kazahana immediately found the responsible researcher and asked about the situation: "What's going on...?"
Before he could even respond, a "crack" sound came from the giant egg covered in talismans inside the lab, followed by more and more cracks appearing on the eggshell.
"Crack."
A claw emerged from the eggshell, with blue, icy, crystalline substances growing on the back of its hand.
Doto Kazahana didn't understand the situation. To be safe, he quickly had his subordinates deploy a barrier.
Six subordinates stood at each corner, simultaneously forming hand signs. Blue chakra surged from their bodies upwards, connecting and converging into a hexagonal barrier.
At this moment, the creature inside the egg was no longer satisfied with just reaching its hand out from the eggshell. It began to seek more. The next second, a sharp ice pillar pierced through the eggshell. If one looked closely, they would also find a crimson glow within the ice pillar, followed closely by its head, its body...
Aside from a slight lizard-like outline, other parts barely resembled a lizard. It had sharp fangs and claws, a pair of crimson eyes emanating a cold light that sent chills down one's spine just by looking at them. Sharp ice pillars extended from its head all the way to its tail, and it had gigantic crystalline ice wings. Its skin was covered with hard, icy crystalline substances.
"This is... an ice dragon..."
Upon seeing this beautiful yet dangerous creature, everyone present gasped, unable to speak.
Doto Kazahana burst into laughter: "I never thought there would be an ice dragon inside this egg! It's truly astonishing!"
"Roar..."
The newly hatched ice dragon had a furious temperament. Noticing the gazes on it, a deafening roar tore from its throat. A casual flap of its wings stirred up violent gusts of wind.
Doto Kazahana's eyes burned with fervent greed: "This is truly magnificent..."
At this moment, he was already fantasizing about taming this mythical beast and parading it proudly in the future.
The ice dragon, named Skasa, its crimson eyes flashing with a cold light, opened its abyssal maw and lunged towards the crowd.
Seeing the ice dragon about to bite, a chorus of screams erupted from the crowd. Fortunately, the barrier had been set up early, resisting the ice dragon's charge, which allowed the crowd to somewhat regain their composure.
"Though it's a dragon, it's essentially no different from a wild beast..."
Doto Kazahana's expression was calm, but he was internally panicking.
The ice dragon's aura earlier was so intense that even he almost thought the barrier would be directly shattered. Thankfully, the barrier was meticulously set up and not so easily broken.
"Move."
He maintained his outward composure, then gave commands to the ninjas around him.
The Snow Ninjas received the order and quickly formed hand signs. Numerous ice chains emerged within the hexagonal barrier, rushing towards the target.
Ice Dragon Skasa barely bit through one chain, only for new ones to regenerate immediately, endlessly, one after another, wrapping around every part of the ice dragon, binding its head, wings, hands, and so on.
Doto Kazahana spread his arms: "Submit to me..."
"Roar—!"
Responding to him was Ice Dragon Skasa's furious roar.
Doto Kazahana grinned: "Looks like I'll have to use beastly methods to tame it."
After speaking, he glanced, signaling the Snow Ninjas to increase their output and launch an even more severe attack on Ice Dragon Skasa, to make it understand who the true master here was.
The Snow Ninjas nodded.
The power of this ninjutsu lay in its being a group technique; as long as there were enough ninjas, they could continuously enhance the jutsu's output.
Just as new Snow Ninjas were about to form hand signs and increase their output, the ice dragon suddenly stopped roaring. Its eyes, which had been wide with rage, also began to calm down.
"Hold your fire."
Doto Kazahana noticed the unusual behavior of Ice Dragon Skasa and raised his hand to stop them: "Hold your fire..."
Just as he finished speaking, the ice dragon's body began to change, contracting inward at an extremely fast speed. The chains lost their target and fell away.
"This is..."
Everyone looked incredibly bewildered.
Standing before them now was no longer an ice dragon, but a slender young man.
He appeared to be about sixteen or seventeen years old, with white hair and emerald eyes, and a very handsome face.
He was clutching his head, looking as if he had just woken from a long sleep, and mumbled to himself: "Feels like I've slept for a long time..."
(End of Chapter)
────────────────────────────────────
"If you're interested, please support me in my other novel [One Piece: General Blue]."
"If you're interested, please support me in my other novel [Battle Through the Heavens: Heavenly comprehension]."
"If you're interested, please support me in my other novel [Soul Land 2: Golden Dragon King]."