While the rest of Team 7 and Sandayū were completely distracted trying to stabilize the unconscious Koyuki and carefully carry her back to the ship, I lingered behind on the cracked ice for a few seconds.
I was discreetly, picking up the bloody, shattered pieces of the high-tech vambraces and chest plate that had scattered across the frost. I tossed the jagged metal into my [Inventory], watching the pieces vanish into the pixelated rift.
[SYSTEM ALERT: SUB-QUEST CONDITIONS MET]
[SUB-QUEST: Data Collection: Complete]
[CURRENT STATUS: Synthesizing Technology…]
Perfect, I thought, dusting the snow off my hands and turning to follow my team back to the ship.
Back on board the ship, after things finally settled down and Koyuki was secured in her room, the mood in the meeting room was incredibly tense.
Kakashi, Sasuke, Sakura, the film's directors, and I sat in patient silence as Sandayū laid out the harsh reality of the situation. He began by telling us how Yukie Fujikaze was actually Koyuki Kazahana, the rightful Princess of the Land of Snow. And how her uncle, Doto Kazahana, had staged a bloody coup and murdered her father.
He also went into how Doto burned down the Kazahana Castle and everyone believed Koyuki had perished in the destruction. Until, he found her some time later and went under the disguise as a meekly talent manager—something even she wasn't aware of, being very young when he was one of the Castle's aids.
"I should have died back then," a voice said, making us all turn towards the direction of the door.
Koyuki stood in the doorway, leaning against the frame.
Sandayū practically scrambled toward her. "You mustn't say such things, Princess. We feared the worst. You can't imagine how frantic we all were. We never stopped praying for your life."
"I'm alive, but my heart is dead," she replied. "After that day any tears I had left all dried up."
"Princess please! You must return to overthrow Doto! We have the Leaf ninja to help us now!" Sandayū pleaded. "I will sacrifice my life without hesitation in order to protect you! I beg you, take up arms and lead your people!"
She stared at him for a moment.
"I don't think so. You've gotta be kidding," she said, her voice dripping with exhausted apathy.
"But what about your people?" Sandayū begged.
"I could care less about them. Just forget it," Koyuki snapped, turning away.
"But, Princess—!"
Koyuki's apathy finally cracked into genuine anger. "Will you give it up already?! Don't be dumb! It doesn't matter what you do, you'll never get rid of Doto, okay?!"
Then she glared at us and scoffed. "Besides, what do you think they're gonna do? It doesn't matter who you hire. No one can beat Doto."
She promptly stormed off down the corridor, slamming the door shut behind her.
A heavy silence fell over the lounge. Kakashi let out a long, tired sigh.
"Unfortunately there's only one course of action," he began. "Now that Doto's on our trail, running isn't an option. We have to fight. It's our only chance of getting through this. Normally under these circumstances, I'd head back to the village for a little bit of help, but—"
"We're already here," Sasuke interjected, his Uchiha hubris flaring up at the thought of retreating. He gripped the hilt of his kunai. "It's nothing we can't handle."
Before Kakashi could shoot him down, a bright golden screen materialized right in front of my face.
[MAIN QUEST UNLOCKED: The Frozen Crown]:
Objective: Defeat the Usurper King, Doto Kazahana.
Rewards: 1x [A-Rank Skill Scroll], Massive EXP, [Title: Kingmaker].
I stared at the glowing prompt. An A-Rank Skill Scroll? Say less.
"I agree with Sasuke," I said, casually shattering the tension in the room. I looked directly at Kakashi, letting just a fraction of my charisma bleed through. "We can't turn back, there's just too much at stake right now."
Kakashi looked at me, his lone eye studying my posture. He had just watched me punch a hole through something that could even briefly slow down a Jonin with just my bare hands. He knew I wasn't just acting like a brash kid; I was entirely confident I could slay the King.
Kakashi eventually sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "Fine. But we operate on high alert from this moment forward."
After the meeting, I left the lounge and walked down the narrow corridor to Koyuki's cabin.
I have to help her get to the root of her problems quickly or she'll continue to run away from them, I thought, pushing the door open without knocking.
She was sitting on the edge of her bed, clutching her silver flask with trembling hands. When she saw me, she immediately recoiled, pressing her back against the wall. The sheer terror in her eyes was unmistakable; she kept glancing at my hands, vividly remembering what I had done to Mizore.
"Koyuki, you brat, what the hell's your problem?!" I demanded, my commanding [Presence] instinctively leaking out. "Why put down Sandayū when all he's trying to do is help you?"
She didn't snap back this time. She just looked at my knuckles, then at the silver flask she dropped on the floor. "You don't understand," she whispered, her voice like dry parchment. "I've spent ten years running from those shadows... and you just... you broke one of them like it was nothing. But Doto... Doto isn't a man. He's a nightmare. We're all going to die."
I frowned, genuinely confused by the change in personality I just witnessed from a few minutes ago. "Ten years?! How old are you?" I asked.
"I'm... I'm sixteen," she let out, tiredly.
My brain completely stalled. Sixteen?! How the fuck is she sixteen? The internal whiplash was severe. Hol' up, did I get her age wrong this whole time?!
I had entirely mixed up some key information from watching the movie in my past life. I genuinely thought she was a woman in her mid to late-twenties.
All this time I thought this was a grown ass woman running away from her troubles, I mused, my flat expression faltering for a second. She's been hammering them drink like nobody's business. She's definitely too young to be going through something like this. Especially as a civilian. That bastard Doto really gave her PTSD.
I let out a slow breath. And gained a hold of the suffocating [Presence] that had been intimidating her. I shifted my posture from a commanding monarch to something more reassuring and grounded.
"Doto is just a man in a metal suit," I told her, my voice calm and steady. "He'll fall like any other man with ambitions of grandeur."
She looked at me, her eyes wide and shining with unshed tears.
"All you have to do is decide how you wanna live your life," I continued. "Do you wanna continue letting a worm like that rule over you? Or are you gonna find a way to attain your happiness?"
I didn't wait for her to answer. I just turned and walked out of the cabin, leaving her completely stunned into silence.
When I stepped back out into the corridor, Sandayū was standing there, leaning heavily against the wall.
"Thank you," he said softly. "For being gentle with her."
"She shouldn't be suffering this much so young," I waved off. I leaned against the wall next to him, keeping my voice low. "Tell me, Sandayū. Are you really willing to give up your life to protect her?"
"Yes," Sandayū answered without a single ounce of hesitation.
I nodded slowly. "Good to know."
While he was looking straight ahead, I commanded one of my Shadow Soldiers to stretch out across the floorboards, and silently merge with his own.
[NOTICE: Shadow Soldier attached to target (Sandayū Asama).]
Can't let good men die now can I? I thought, exiting the corridor.
Several hours later, the ship began to violently shudder as the hull breached the thick ice floes of the shores of the Land of Snow.
As I walked out onto the freezing deck to join the rest of the team, the System chimed one last time.
[SYNTHESIS COMPLETE]:
Reward: [Blueprint: Shadow-Chakra Armor] unlocked.
Notice: Materials for this blueprint have been added to the System Store.
I quickly opened the Store tab, and my jaw nearly hit the deck. The specialized metallic ores and raw chakra batteries required to forge the armor cost a small fortune. But it's a good thing I had been saving my Ryo, because outfitting myself and my shadows was going to drain my wallet dry.
"Stay sharp, everyone," Sandayū warned, rushing up to the railing beside Kakashi. The fog around us was incredibly thick, obscuring the icy coastline. "Doto has a massive armored train that patrols these coastal tracks. If they spot us—"
A deafening, mechanical shriek suddenly tore through the air.
CHUG-CHUG-CHUG.
The heavy, rhythmic sound of a massive engine echoed through the freezing fog. A blinding spotlight pierced the mist, and the frozen rails running along the coast suddenly lit up.
"Get behind us!" Kakashi shouted, drawing a kunai as Sasuke and Sakura immediately fell into a defensive formation.
"Wait!" one of the film crew members screamed, running out onto the deck in a panic. "She's gone! Ms. Fujikaze is gone!"
I looked over the railing, spotting a single set of fresh footprints leading directly off the docked ship and into the blinding white fog.
You've got to be kidding me, I cursed, right as the armored train breached the fog bank, barreling directly toward us.
"I'll find her quickly," I told Kakashi, already leaping up onto the ship's railing. "I'll regroup with you before Doto's forces arrive."
I cursed internally as I dropped onto the ice. I had been so focused on Sandayū and the Chakra Armor that I forgot to slip a soldier onto her. Fortunately, she was a civilian trudging through deep snow in a heavy coat. She left a trail of footprints even a blind academy student could follow.
I found her a few minutes later, collapsed in a snowbank near the entrance of an icy coastal cave, shivering and gasping for breath.
"So, you decided to run away," I said, dropping down from a frosted branch and landing softly in the snow beside her.
Koyuki looked up, her eyes dull and her lips turning blue. "Leave me alone. Let me freeze. It's better than what Doto will do."
I looked down at her. "Are you still afraid? Sandayū and your people are ready to die for you."
She didn't have much of an outward reaction, just a weak, bitter scoff. "I never asked them to."
"Doesn't matter. They've made their choice," I crouched down to her eye level, my voice flat but firm. "Even if they die, they're going to keep fighting for you. That's how much faith they have in you. So stop running when people are willing to bleed for you."
Koyuki stared at me, angry, freezing, and humiliated, but the deep hopelessness in her eyes cracked just a little.
"You're horrible," she whispered, her voice cracking.
"I'm honest," I replied, standing up and offering my hand. "Now, get up. You have a nation to rule. And I have an uncle of yours to expunge."
She looked at my hand for a long moment. Then, with a trembling arm, she reached out and took it.
The quickest way back to the ship was through the coastal cave system. Because she was freezing and exhausted, I crouched down and offered her a ride. "Get on, and hold on tight."
She didn't argue. She climbed onto my back, her arms wrapped tightly around my neck as I carried her into the dark, echoing tunnel.
"Why do you fight anyways?" Koyuki asked quietly some time later, her breath warm against my neck. "What's the point?"
"Why wouldn't I?" I retorted, keeping my pace steady. "I'd rather fight than give up before even trying."
"What's the point of continuing on if there's a chance that everything will just fall apart?" she argued, clinging tighter. "That sounds like insanity."
"Why give up when things get tougher?" I responded, never breaking stride. "That sounds even more crazy to me."
"Has anyone ever told you of how annoying you are?" she questioned.
"They tell me all the time actually, I just don't care to listen," I smirked.
SCREECH.
Behind us, the deafening sound of grinding metal echoed off the cave walls. The ground began to violently shake.
"What's that?!" Koyuki yelled over the noise.
I glanced back over my shoulder. The tunnel was suddenly illuminated by a blinding white headlight. A massive, heavily armored steam train was tearing down the tracks, barreling through the cave directly toward us like an iron demon.
"It's Doto's train! Run!" she screamed, sheer panic taking over as the massive iron plow of the engine closed the distance.
I didn't run. I stopped dead in my tracks, right in the center of the rails.
I gently set Koyuki down behind me. "You wanted to know the point of continuing on when things look like they're going to fall apart?" I asked, raising my fists.
I channeled my chakra down my arms, feeling the dense, yellow energy violently pool around my knuckles.
"The point is to push forward!" I yelled over the roaring engine, planting my feet as the massive train bore down on us. "No matter how big the obstacle is, you hit it head-on!"
[SKILL ACTIVATED: Critical Strike]
I threw a devastating, chakra-infused strike straight into the reinforced iron grill of the speeding train.
BOOM!
The shockwave blew the snow and loose rocks out of the cave. The heavy iron front crumpled inward like a crushed soda can. The train shrieked, the back wheels lifting off the tracks as the front engine was completely derailed, violently smashing into the cave walls in a shower of sparks and blinding white steam.
The metal beast hissed and died, completely stalled out right in front of us.
Koyuki stared at the destroyed train, and then up at me, completely and utterly speechless. Her entire paradigm of Doto's invincible technology had just been violently shattered.
Before I could say anything else, a sharp, urgent ping echoed in my mind. It was the Shadow Soldier I attached to Sandayū. It informed me that they were under heavy attack.
"Hold on tight!" I barked, grabbing Koyuki and throwing her back onto my back. I activated [Sprint], blurring out of the cave tunnel and bursting out onto the icy coastal cliffs.
The scene below was absolute chaos. Doto's massive, blimp-like airship was hovering over the ice floes. A literal rainstorm of explosive tags and kunai was pouring down on Sandayū and his samurai forces.
What the fuck! I thought, watching them get mowed down.
"Sandayū!" Koyuki screamed. She wasn't apathetic anymore. The horror in her voice was raw and visceral.
I watched as another fatal volley of explosive kunai plummeted directly toward Sandayū's unprotected back. Kakashi and Sasuke were too far away, fending off the onslaught on their own flanks.
"Protect him," I mentally commanded my soldier. "But do not be seen."
Unable to physically erupt from the ground without exposing my deepest secret to Team 7, the shadow stayed flush against the snow. It stretched its 2D form violently, using its unseen influence to flick dropped weapons from the ice into the air.
CLANG! CLANG!
Sparks flew invisibly above Sandayū as the soldier discreetly batted away dozens of lethal strikes, redirecting falling blades by knocking them off course with debris.
But it just wasn't enough. The sheer volume of the barrage was overwhelming. A covert shadow simply couldn't block a rainstorm.
A cluster of explosives slipped past the invisible defense.
BOOM!
Sandayū took the brunt of the remaining strikes. His body shuddered violently as he was riddled with shrapnel and blades, the sheer force throwing him forward. He collapsed heavily into the blood-stained snow, the light fading from his eyes.
Tch, damn it, I gritted my teeth, frustration burning in my chest.
Even with my interference, I couldn't save him without blowing my cover entirely. Some things, it seemed, couldn't be fixed from the shadows.
Koyuki sobbed, her hands gripping my jacket tight enough to tear the fabric. "Sandayū... no..."
Suddenly, a mechanical whirring sound cut through the air above us.
"Target acquired!" Nadare's voice echoed from the airship's lower deck.
A heavy, clawed grappling hook shot down through the mist, grabbing hold of Koyuki. She screamed as she was violently ripped off my back and hoisted into the freezing air.
I could have easily turned and grabbed the cable, snapping it, or ripping the entire ship out of the sky. And boy how I really wanted to. But, I really needed to get inside Doto's base, and end him and his reign once and for all. And that took a lot more discreet maneuvering.
So, it was time to act.
I leaped into the air, reaching out and shouting her name as if desperately trying to grab her hand. In the fraction of a second our fingers brushed, I discreetly slipped a single soldier directly into the folds of her heavy winter coat.
Fubuki swooped in from the side on her mechanical wings, kicking me squarely in the chest. I intentionally let my body go limp, using her momentum to "launch" myself backward.
"Naruto!" Kakashi yelled from the ship deck below as he watched me get swatted out of the sky.
I crashed through the canopy of the frozen forest, tumbling through the snow until I finally skidded to a halt. I lay there in the crater, staring up at the dark sky as Doto's airship turned and flew away with the Princess.
A cold, predatory grin spread across my face.
Time to see what that Skill Scroll has in store for me.