After leaving the iceberg, the ship traveled for several more days before finally reaching the Land of Snow.
Unlike the ground around the iceberg, which was nothing but ice, the Land of Snow was covered with endless layers of snow!
"Shhh~ It's still freezing!"
Sakura hugged herself tightly, shivering.
Kakashi walked over, draped a cotton coat over her shoulders, and said, "Put on warmer clothes. We're heading deep into the Land of Snow."
"Thank you, Kakashi-sensei~"
Sakura pulled the coat tighter around herself. "How are we going to move forward? With all this equipment, walking would be way too hard, right?"
Looking at the crew busy moving equipment while the snow kept falling, Sakura's eyes were filled with worry.
"Of course we won't be walking!"
Just then, Sandayu, Yuki's manager, overheard Sakura's question. He pointed toward the ship and said, "We've got snowmobiles!"
At that moment, the ship's cargo hold was opened, and several snowmobiles filled with fuel were driven out.
"These snowmobiles not only move easily through snow, but they also keep you nice and warm! Sitting inside feels just like summer in the Land of Fire. You could even wear short sleeves if you wanted!"
"That's amazing!"
Sakura's face lit up with excitement.
But Naruto, watching from the side, couldn't help remembering how everyone had been shivering during the iceberg shoot earlier.
Was it because they were worried about running out of fuel that they didn't use these machines before?
After a while, once all the equipment had been loaded, the director shouted, "Everyone get in! We need to set off now and reach the filming site before it gets dark!"
"Yeah!!"
They left a few people behind to watch the ship while the rest climbed into the snowmobiles.
Naruto and his team, assigned to guard Yuki, rode in the same snowmobile as her.
But since Yuki was the lead actress, she had special treatment and sat in her own private cabin. Naruto's team was placed in the next one over.
That meant they couldn't see each other at all…
The convoy quickly set off, moving into the snowy wilderness.
Watching the snowflakes falling outside the window, Sakura looked thrilled, and even Sasuke seemed lost in the view.
It wasn't as if they had never seen snow before.
It snowed in Konoha too, but never this heavily.
Just as they were about to enter a tunnel, the snowmobiles suddenly came to a stop.
After several hours of travel, some people couldn't hold it in anymore and got out to relieve themselves.
Naruto, having drunk a lot of water, got off as well.
But unlike the others, he didn't like going in groups. In a flash, he leapt onto the hillside above the tunnel and went around to the back.
Standing on the high ground, it didn't feel much different from aiming at the crescent moon. And with his Observation Haki, he didn't need to worry about anyone catching him in the act.
Shhh~
"Hm?"
While peeing, Naruto suddenly sensed someone from the convoy running into the woods.
Someone had left the group!
Using his Observation Haki, he quickly locked onto the person—it was Yuki, the actress playing the Snow Princess!
"Even after reaching the Land of Snow, she's still trying to run away? Is filming a movie really that unbearable?"
Naruto sighed, fastened his pants, and dashed after Yuki.
If it weren't part of the mission, he honestly wouldn't care about someone so determined to get herself killed.
Everyone else risked their lives to protect her, yet she kept running off and giving enemies the chance to strike. A foolish person like that—if she died, she'd have only herself to blame!
!
Using the Yata no Kagami, Naruto quickly caught up with Yuki.
At this moment, Yuki, who had been running in a panic, stumbled and rolled down, crashing into a tree. She had completely lost the strength to move.
"Why run away? You've already come to the Land of Snow. Just finish the movie and go back, right?"
Countless specks of light gathered in front of her, forming Naruto's figure.
Yuki's eyes dimmed as she asked, "How did you find me?"
Since Yuki didn't want to answer, Naruto didn't bother pressing her. After all, it wasn't really his business.
All he needed to do was make sure Yuki didn't escape.
Of course, he didn't answer Yuki's question. Without a word, he carried her on his back and walked toward the tunnel.
But just as they passed over the small slope above the tunnel, the snow suddenly melted away, and a set of train tracks appeared out of nowhere on the snowy ground!
"Melting snow with chakra, and on such a large scale… Even Kakashi couldn't pull this off, right?"
Running a train while melting the snow on the tracks at the same time—whoever could manage this had to be a powerful ninja.
But then again, not necessarily.
This country's chakra technology was highly advanced. They had not only developed chakra armor that boosted a ninja's power but also tools that could block chakra entirely.
On top of that, they even had trains, airships… things the Land of Fire didn't have.
Toot—
A train sped out, rushing through the tunnel and stopping at the other end. A well-built middle-aged man stood at the back of the train, scanning the area.
Soon, he spotted Naruto carrying Yuki as they came down from the slope.
"It's been ten years, hasn't it, Yuki?"
Fūnō Nadare looked at Yuki with a mocking grin, but before he could act, dozens of people charged down from the other side of the slope.
"Nadare! We've been waiting for this moment!"
"The princess has returned, and along with me, fifty men will rise up against you!"
"Everyone, the time for revenge has come! Attack!"
The one shouting was Sandayu, Yuki's manager.
With his small round glasses, he didn't look like any kind of warrior at all.
At this moment, even Naruto couldn't understand why this man suddenly showed up here and said all this.
Since Yuki was the princess of this country, Sandayu was most likely her servant or steward.
That villain had said it had been ten years, so the story probably went like this: Sandayu had taken the young Yuki away from the Land of Snow to live in the Land of Fire.
After raising her to adulthood, he brought her back here, along with fifty men armed with nothing but ordinary blades, to take revenge on the villain who possessed powerful ninja weapons…
What a stupid and laughable plan!
Ten years, and you only managed to gather fifty people? And bringing the princess back just to use her as some slogan to boost morale?
With subordinates like you, it's a wonder your king wasn't overthrown sooner!
Just as Naruto was thinking this, the train car suddenly opened, and countless kunai and spears shot out, raining down on Sandayu and his men.
These people had no real combat ability, not even enough to be called warriors. Faced with the overwhelming storm of weapons, they had no way to resist.
In the blink of an eye, they all fell to the ground, motionless.
Their bodies were pierced with kunai, dying with eyes wide open, unwilling to close!
A meaningless death!
Naruto quietly watched the scene without any thought of helping.
His mission was only to protect Yuki so she could finish the filming. Sandayu was just a hired man, and since he hadn't paid for his own protection, Naruto wouldn't waste his effort on something pointless, nor would he suddenly feel sympathy and save a foolish idiot!
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