Like a whirlwind, two black chakra dragons appeared. Empowered by the chakra armor on his body, this strike even surpassed an ordinary A-rank ninjutsu.
The black dragons twisted into a tornado in midair, tearing toward the wooden hand that was reaching out.
After that… they shredded two of its fingers, but very quickly, they regenerated again.
The wooden hand immediately seized Kazahana Doto in its grip and brought him before Aoba and Kazahana Koyuki.
"Well then, Princess Koyuki, how do you plan to take your revenge?"
"W-what… what happened?", Kazahana Koyuki looked at the struggling Kazahana Doto, her mind already blank.
"Don't you want him to properly taste a little pain?", Aoba reminded her again.
"I… I don't know…", Kazahana Koyuki suddenly snapped back to herself, but even now, she didn't know what to do.
"I see… then how about slapping him twice?"
"Eh?"
Under Aoba's encouragement, Kazahana Koyuki forcefully slapped Kazahana Doto across the face twice.
Then, after crushing the armor on Kazahana Doto's body, Aoba slammed him down onto the ground.
"D-don't kill me…", Kazahana Doto, twisted out of shape, lay prone on the ground. His chakra armor was shattered beyond recognition, and hardly a single bone in his body remained intact.
Right now, he regretted it. Deeply regretted it.
If only he had gone into hiding after Rouga Nadare and the others had fallen into trouble.
But just looking at the newly developed chakra armor, endless confidence had surged up inside him.
"Is it already over…", Kazahana Koyuki stared expressionlessly at Kazahana Doto. It wasn't that she felt no ripples inside, but rather that she had no idea what sort of expression she should be making.
The Kazahana Doto who had carved himself deeply into her heart, who filled her with fear every time she remembered, had just… Just like that, been easily slapped down by Aoba.
The nightmare who had killed her father and smiled at her cruell, in an instant, he had become… A pathetic, terrified, crawling clown.
'So this is the thing I have been afraid of all this time?'
'It is laughable. Almost unreal.'
She couldn't describe her feelings in that moment, so she could only stare blankly at Aoba, waiting for his next decision.
She had already made him her backbone.
"How does it feel?", Aoba asked.
Hearing his words, Kazahana Koyuki pressed her lips together, "It feels… like I'm dreaming."
Yes. In her heart, Kazahana Doto had been invincible. And yet he had been taken down so easily by Aoba.
Easily, as if squashing an ant without noticing.
And once Kazahana Doto had surrendered, the surviving Snow shinobi all raised their hands, kneeling and begging for mercy.
Seeing this, Aoba asked Kazahana Koyuki again, "So, what's the process in your country for becoming daimyo?"
"Eh?"
Kazahana Koyuki froze, then shook her head, "I… I don't know."
She had left the Land of Snow when she was very young, becoming a fugitive princess.
How could she know how to become daimyo?
At this moment, Sandayu Asame came over, grinning awkwardly, "Princess Koyuki is the rightful heir of the Kazahana family. As long as she reveals her identity, she will be the next daimyo of the Land of Snow."
"In that case, your revenge is complete, and you can become daimyo. Then handing this guy over as payment to us shouldn't be a problem, right?", Aoba pointed at Kazahana Doto, who, though half-dead, was still desperately begging for mercy.
Kazahana Koyuki looked at Kazahana Doto once more. The fear in her heart had long since faded, and she nodded, "No problem."
Sandayu Asame clearly understood what Aoba's eyes meant, but said nothing. This was his rightful due.
Once the princess herself had agreed, Aoba left a marker on Kazahana Doto's body, then teleported him back to Konoha using the Flying Thunder God Technique.
This guy's strength might not amount to much, but the knowledge in his head was plenty enough to serve as compensation for helping Kazahana Koyuki restore her country.
———
On the other side—
The director, as always, had eyes only for the scene just now.
To be honest, he thought the battle had ended far too quickly. It wasn't at all like the pacing he had envisioned.
He had imagined both sides trading blows, using their trump cards, and in the end, the protagonist's side would win thanks to power of friendship. [T/N: Thunderbolts]
But the Konoha shinobi had casually taken down the main villain Kazahana Doto.
Still, the appearance of that giant wooden man, and the scenes of Yakumo and Hinata fighting, had definitely added flair to the film.
Audiences watching such lifelike special effects in the theater would surely be thrilled.
At least it was worth it.
"Director, with such good effects, should we consider hiring some shinobi to shoot movies in the future?", The cameraman suddenly suggested.
The director's eyes lit up, "Good idea!"
As for acting, that wasn't important. Just having them provide the special effects was enough.
The next matter at hand was Kazahana Koyuki's succession.
———
[Several Days Later]
The succession ceremony was about to begin, and the Land of Snow was about to welcome its new daimyo.
At the same time, inside the castle where successive daimyos had lived, wearing a pale-purple ceremonial robe, Kazahana Koyuki stood before the window, peering through the curtain at the bustle outside.
"Nervous?", A warm voice came from behind. Kazahana Koyuki's blue eyes rippled slightly.
"…I never thought I'd actually live to see the day I became daimyo."
"That's only natural," Aoba walked up beside her, smiling teasingly, "You're the one everyone's been waiting for."
As the only child of the previous daimyo, Kazahana Sosetsu, Kazahana Koyuki was the rightful heir to the Land of Snow.
Kazahana Doto, after all, had been a usurper, ruling through force, obsessed with war, planning to use the Hexagonal Crystals to open the secret treasure and then launch a war to unify the shinobi world.
Faced with such a daimyo, the people of the Land of Snow had no choice but to swallow their anger.
Now that Kazahana Koyuki had driven Kazahana Doto from the position of daimyo, she was indeed the one all had been waiting for.
Hearing Aoba's teasing, Kazahana Koyuki couldn't help rolling her beautiful eyes.
She turned to look at him, her eyes unconsciously lighting up.
At this moment, Aoba had tied up his hair and donned a gorgeous pale-purple robe.
The important part was, it matched Kazahana Koyuki's.
Kazahana Koyuki blinked playfully at him, "It suits you very well."
Without the pressure of Kazahana Doto, she was no longer that lifeless figure from before, but carried a bit more of a lively, girlish spirit.
Aoba gave a helpless smile, "You're sure you want me to go on stage with you?"
"Is there a problem with that?"
Kazahana Koyuki tilted her head, "Sandayu entrusted you with protecting me. What if I encounter danger during my succession?"
"That's true, but going on stage with the daimyo, does your country allow that?"
Kazahana Koyuki only covered her mouth and laughed, a faint blush on her lovely face, "Of course it does…"
═❀═❀═❀═❀═❀═❀═
patreon.com/AmbitiousTranslator
🥳Joining Patreon keeps me motivated and eager to work diligently, so please consider joining.🥰 You can access upto 20 advance chapter through Patreon.