Much blood had been spilled within that tragic fortnight. In one fell swoop, Kazahana Doto had brought forth a massive coup d'etat, killing his brother and scattering the shinobi forces of Yukigakure no Sato.
Young Lord Korino Byakuya had been Daimyo Kazahana Sousetsu's closest friend. More than that, he had been one of the country's most loyal shinobi. On the day before the coup, he was showing his young son to Sousetsu and his daughter, Princess Koyuki. Now, he was fleeing the country with his child in his arms, and his family scroll sealed on the inside of his headband.
As Jonin commander, he should have known Doto would send troops after him, the traitors, but they shouldn't have been on his trail so quickly. Byakuya was following the tracks of a dog sled he had seen take off with the princess. The driver had been a young ANBU with white hair; a boy who couldn't even have hit puberty yet by his stature. It was amazing how young some shinobi could turn out to be.
A sudden sound behind him made Byakuya speed up, desperately trying to lose his pursuers. He couldn't let these bastards hurt his son! With his free hand, he formed single handed seals; a feat his family was renowned.
"Hyoton: Yuki no Shoheki!" He shouted, and about a dozen barricades sprouted up behind him, separating the hunter nin from their target and giving Byakuya time to get ahead and lose them.
He almost succeeded in getting away unscathed. When he caught up to the ANBU's sled, which had reached the inner most port of the country, he held up his free hand in the universal symbol showing he meant no harm. The boy was naturally cautious.
"Who are you and what do you want?"He asked, brandishing a kunai.
"My name is Korino Byakuya of the Korino clan in Yukigakure. I seek passage to Konoha for myself and my young son. I cannot in good conscience serve a man who would commit fratricide for power." As he spoke, the ANBU lowered his kunai and little Iruka stirred in his arms. Byakuya bounced him gently and he turned his little head and opened his eyes, seemingly staring at something. Following his gaze, someone familiar was poking their head out of the back of the sled.
"Koyuki-hime, you're alright?"Byakuya asked, relieved. With the princess alive, there was still hope for Yuki no Kuni.
"Korino-san..."she whimpered, "Otou-san is..." The tears running down her cheek were all the answer he needed. She was far from alright.
A branch breaking was all the warning he had that the hunters had caught up to them. It was sheer luck that he hadn't been impaled by a swarm of kunai. However, in his haste to dodge, Byakuya had been sloppy and one of the kunai slashed across Iruka's face. A dark rage flooded Byakuya's very being as he watched the blood drip down Iruka's face, tears diluting it as his son cried at the pain. Nobody hurt his only son and got away with it.
"ANBU-san, could you take him?"Byakuya asked calmly. He nodded and took Iruka. His crying stopped a few seconds after he was handed over. Probably used a genjutsu to put him back to sleep. Facing the soon-to-be-dead hunters, he ran through some hand seals and the wind picked up dramatically
"Hyoton: Senko Toketsuten!"He shouted, ending on a ram seal. The snow around them swirled until it had the hunters surrounded. They tried to jump away, only to be caught into the swirling snow and turned into life sized snow ornaments. This was one of the Korino Clan's secret techniques. The only problem? Having just run about 30 miles while enhancing his speed and using a B-ranked technique to slow his pursuers down, Byakuya's chakra wasn't up to snuff. So, it was no surprise that he passed out from sheer exhaustion soon after he helped the ANBU load his sled onto a small ship bound for Hi no Kuni.
Days later, Byakuya stood behind the young ANBU in the Hokage's office, internally sweating his balls off at being sized up by the Kiiroi Senko. This man could kill him faster than it would take to even think of blinking. After being deemed not a threat, Byakuya sighed in relief as Minato turned his gaze to his young student.
"So, let me see if I'm understanding you correctly." He started, "You not only failed to get the trade alliance to go through, but Kazahana Doto staged a coup, killed his brother and burned the royal complex to the ground?" The boy nodded.
"Yes, sir."He gulped.
"And you managed to prevent the death of Kazahana Sousetsu's daughter by bringing her here."
"Yes, sir."
"And this man with you, Korino-san, was it?" Minato asked, and Byakuya nodded. "Korino-san is one of the few still loyal to the previous lord, one of his elite shinobi guards, even. And he came with you from Yuki no Kuni with his young son, Iruka, seeking asylum. Does that about cover it?"
"Yes, sir."
Minato sighed and rubbed his forehead tiredly. He wasn't expecting this sort of thing when Sarutobi had given him the hat.
"Well, isn't this a fantastic clusterfuck?"He said mostly to himself, before focusing on Byakuya, "So what's your story? Why'd you defect?"
"Sousetsu-sama was one of the best rulers we've had in the history of Yuki no Kuni. He was my closest friend and was there for me when my wife passed bringing my son into the world. That Doto would kill him in such a way just to take the throne… I can't, in good conscience, serve such a corrupt man. I humbly ask that you grant my son and I a place in your village. I promise you won't regret it."Byakuya bowed when he finished speaking, and remained in a bow as he waited for an answer.
"What can you offer us in return for such?"Minato asked, leaning forward slightly in interest.
"The Korino Kekkei-Genkai runs strong in my son and myself; a control over water and ice that other Snow ninja couldn't dream of matching. Being the last of the bloodline, you would be gaining an asset to your shinobi forces in myself and Iruka-chan."Byakuya began, "I am also in possession of several design blueprints that could potentially advance Konoha's military prowess. They are of mine and my late adjunct's design."
An interested gleam entered Minato's eyes. He leaned forward, resting his chin on his folded hands.
"I'm listening..."