Chapter 69

Cold Lands, Colder Hearts: Team Seven Back in the Thick of It

Hmm…maybe… Amari pursed her lips then shook her head. No, that isn't right at all. The Seal would fail, or worse. With a sigh, the Nara used her pencil to scratch out her recent notes.

Fūinjutsu was a real pain.

The afternoon sun was upon the Land of Fire already; the rays of warmth were, at often intervals, obstructed by clouds of varying sizes and shapes, each lazily drifting towards their destinations.

From a flat, hotel rooftop Amari observed the nomadic clouds, pondering on her notes while tapping the eraser of her pencil to her chin. Being challenged was good, she reminded herself. It ensured she had to earn the knowledge on her path of growth… Even if it could be a big, stupid drag.

Down below, civilians went about their daily business, taking leisurely strolls, conversing with friends or family, or heading into a nearby restaurant for a bite to eat. She sniffed the air as a light breeze brought the fantastic aroma to her nostrils. It's a barbecue shop. Her stomach growled at her. And it smells soo good.

Chōji would have dragged Asuma in there to bankrupt him on an Akimichi-sized meal. The thought flickered a flare of amusement and sympathy for Asuma. Poor man. He probably took on triple the missions to keep money in his wallet.

Amari shook the amusing thought, and smile, off to refocus.

Nearly a full week had passed since being cleared for duty, and there had been no shortage of training or missions in that time. Currently, the fūinjutsu technique Genma was meant teach her consumed Amari's attention, while a Shadow Clone joined her team at a movie theater Kakashi sent them to.

The movie wasn't entirely for leisure—although, according to her pamphlet, it was one of the highest rated films this year and up for awards. Kakashi sent them there to learn more about their new mission, specifically the lead actress they'd be protecting when they regrouped.

A sense of urgency prevented Amari from joining her teammates personally. There'd be no way to continue progressing on the fūinjutsu inside a movie theater. Too loud. Too distracting. And after everything she learned from Shisui and Itachi, she needed to figure this out.

No. She didn't have time to waste. Every day from her first day of recovery forward had to be productive. Her foundation needed to be set once more; she had to recapture her strength and inner warrior spirit for the coming battles. Until she could feel like the kunoichi she wanted to be, training had to take priority.

Especially with this fūinjutsu technique. The complexities of it…

Amari paused the rhythmic tapping of her pencil, frowning. It's no wonder the Hokage Guard are the only people who use a variation of this jutsu. It's such an advanced technique, created by the Second Hokage and perfected by the Fourth—two of the greatest shinobi the Leaf has ever seen.

And Kakashi-sensei and Genma-sensei believe I can learn it?

They either overestimated her abilities or underestimated the Second and Fourth Hokage.

The jutsu, she learned, was called the Flying Raijin—a space-time ninjutsu that earned the Fourth Hokage the nickname as the Yellow Flash. The lessons Genma taught her—storing objects within a separate space-time, remote detonation of Concussion Seals—were the very basic fundamentals of this technique. Basic building blocks to lay a foundation, but not to walk among the plane of prodigious talent the Second and Fourth Hokage possessed.

A master of the Body Flicker Technique could appear as if they were teleporting from point to point, while never actually doing so. The Flying Raijin was literal teleportation. In theory, wherever she placed a Seal became a point she could teleport to at will, instantaneously. Faster than the human eye could blink.

To oversimplify it, the Flying Raijin was a Summoning Jutsu for herself, but that oversimplification lacked the many nuances of the technique. Through the use of the Flying Raijin, she'd enter a dimensional void, from which she could choose the location marked by her Seal she wished to teleport to.

Just the thought of that makes my head spin. Amari shut her eyes. Dimensional voids, teleportation, it sounds like a fantasy novel. Yet it's real.

The difficulty excited and terrified Amari equally. If she were to successfully perform this jutsu, so many doors could be opened to her in combat or on rescue missions. For example, had she possessed the ability during the Akatsuki incident, the fight with Itachi never would've occurred.

…But would you really want that?

No Shisui? No truth? Ignorant bliss to the Foundation, the Masked Man, Itachi's and Aimi's path… No, she didn't want that anymore. The burden of knowing was heavy, without a doubt. But to live a lie? To be sheltered from reality? She didn't want any part of that.

A better example, during the Sound and Sand Invasion she could have transported civilians and injured shinobi to safety, or directly to other medic's. The lives she might've saved…

Amari shook off the guilt and the terrible memories clawing at her. The terrified screams of innocent people. Fires, explosions and combat everywhere. Dead bodies and pools of blood in every sector…

She shivered then shook her head forcefully. The Invasion was over. There was nothing she could do now. She could only move forward.

Anyway, this technique relied wholly on her ability to create a working Seal—which was terrifying. If I created a faulty Seal, I could end up dead, in an altered reality, the past, the future, or a different universe for all I know.

Which could be a one-way trip. Or worse, if she accidentally altered the past or future, the world as she knew it today would be different. A ripple effect of her actions could cause an entire Nation to be destroyed…or people she loved to be erased from history completely.

In other words, this was anxiety-inducing levels of troublesome. It made Amari wish she wielded a mastery over fūinjutsu already, that way she could feel even a scrap of confidence in her ability to perform this technique.

But there wasn't time to mess around with basic-leveled seals. The encounters with the Akatsuki and Orochimaru changed their reality; it subtracted what little time she thought she had to prepare for adult life as a shinobi and set her on a course there was no turning back from.

Powerful shinobi set their sights on her and her team, and none of them would wait for them to acquire new strength or mature. Baby steps weren't an option. She couldn't keep hiding on a raft to avoid learning to swim. People were counting on her, which meant it was time to dive right in and learn to swim as quickly as she could before she drowned.

Being thrown into the ocean to sink or swim didn't bother Amari. She woke up in the ocean after a rogue wave split her ship apart, stealing Ryu and Kasai from her slippery grasps.

She'd been learning to swim ever since. Right in the thick of trouble was Team Seven's natural state, after all. Here, the pressure left no choice but to advance or die.

When it came to this technique, Kakashi and Kurenai couldn't help her—they couldn't perform it. Genma couldn't help her either because, although the Hokage Guard used a variation of it, none of them could use it individually. It required a team effort.

"What's more," Genma had explained patiently, "you won't be able to copy the formula we use and expect it to work for you."

"What do you mean?"

"A Summoning Contract binds you and the Crows through blood. It ensures no one, except another individual who has signed the contract, can summon the Crows without your blood. Remote detonation Seals are also bound to you, and only you, through the chakra you place into those special formulas."

Genma tightened his teeth around his senbon, making it flick upwards. "The Flying Raijin and the Flying Thunder Formation the Hokage Guard use are no different. It will be a Seal only you have access to."

"But…" Amari felt her confidence waning, her eyes falling to her toes. "…Where do I even start then? How do I even know if it's right?"

"Those questions are the reasons only a handful of shinobi have ever used Space–Time Ninjutsu. I'll teach you what I can, but there'll be aspects of this I can't teach you. You'll have to surpass my understanding and knowledge to complete it. As for when you'll know it's right… You'll feel it. It's like having a door only you can see in the back of your mind."

She had been seeking a starting point ever since, with no success.

Amari reached up to her chest, pulling the pendent of her necklace out from under her purple tank top so she could examine the combined crests of her Clans.

I wonder what you would all think of me taking this on. A faint smile crossed her lips. You would probably think I was troublesome, right Mama? But I got it from you, according to Uncle Shikaku.

What about you, Papa? Am I throwing myself too far into the deep end or do you think I can handle this?

"Stop underestimating yourself, Haya," her cousin's voice called to her. Hearing him again, even in a memory, brought tears to her eyes. "Remember what I said: Sometimes you need to come up for air from those books you get nose deep in and breathe some fresh air."

I know, Shisui, she thought in response to the memory. I'm not even close to giving up yet… Her eye fell to the side. I just feel like if I take a break that I'll be wasting time. There's so much to do and so much more to learn with too little time to do it. The Akatsuki, Orochimaru, the Foundation, the Masked Man, they're all out there, and they all have to be stopped…and I'm not strong enough to stop them, or to save Itachi and Aimi.

She was still too weak. Too slow. Too…broken.

An invisible poke landed square in her forehead. "If you maintain that kind of attitude, you'll never be able to sit still long enough to watch clouds."

The Shadow user giggled softly to herself and shook her head. I guess.

"Relax, little cousin. You'll never figure it out if you stress yourself out too much. Remember what Pops told us: 'Wielding a strong bloodline means nothing if you live under so much pressure that you can never access your potential.' So take a breather for little while. It'll be here when we get back."

Yeah, you're right. Troublesome boy… Amari exhaled a breath and looked back at her pendent, tears glistening in her visible eye. Thank you.

A break sounded good. There was no guarantee when she came back that she would have an epiphany, but drowning herself in work would be troublesome.

It'll be here later. Not like I'm giving up. It will take more than a week with no progress for me to start to consider throwing in the towel.

Eventually she would begin to see results…hopefully.

"Hey, Kakashi-sensei," Amari greeted as she continued staring at her pendent.

"Shouldn't you be with the others watching the movie?" Kakashi asked as he strolled up to her side and crouched down next to her.

"I sent a clone in my place so I could keep working on this." The Nara stuffed her pendent back under her shirt then stretched her arms up into the air, arching her back to stretch it out.

"Ah, I see. Any luck yet?"

Amari shook her head, arms still above her head. "No, but we both expected as much."

She lowered her arms and reached into her pouch to grab her storage scroll. After sealing away her notes and writing materials, she rolled it up and hopped onto her feet. Amari looked to her crouched mentor. "Are we heading out for our C-rank bodyguard mission?"

Were they finally heading to meet Yukie Fujikaze, the lead actress of the popular movie?

"Yes," Kakashi nodded and stood up to his full height, "but it's actually an A-rank mission."

Amari's eyebrows rose. "An A-rank mission for guarding an actress?"

It probably wasn't all that unordinary, considering how popular the movie was. Crazy fans could be, well, crazy. But A-ranked? That seems like a bit much.

"Yeah. She's a celebrity, so people could be targeting her for any number of reasons. Fan worship can lead people to accidentally or purposefully hurting their idol. There could be threats of kidnapping, or even someone who wants to kill her to become famous." Kakashi shrugged. "Celebrities have a tendency to draw strange crowds."

"Strange enough to need shinobi for protection?" the Nara asked. It sounded suspicious to her. Celebrity life was as foreign to her as the Land of Lightning, and if she had any say it would remain that way. But hiring shinobi to protect an actress? Shinobi were a military force, trained to kill when necessary.

Wasn't that a bit much for protecting an actress?

"Worried?" her sensei asked, noticing the unease written in her eye and on her face.

"Honestly? Yes," she answered. "It's not like Mr. Tazuna didn't lie to us on our first bodyguard mission. In theory they could just be paying for the best without any real danger, or maybe she's stuck up and wants to be treated like her onscreen princess character.

"But they could also be planning for something else, like Mr. Tazuna did. Only instead of lying about the mission ranking, they're just lying about the kind of danger they're in."

Regardless of how paranoid it sounded, the possibility was there. The invasion of the Sand and Sound was international news. Clients seeking to hire them could use their precarious situation to conceal their true motives for one reason or another.

But this time they're paying the full price for protection, so cheaper labor isn't the answer here. They might have settled for Genin because they know our village was attacked and didn't want to ask for more, or Lady Hokage didn't have a higher ranked team to send.

Was it possible she was just a little extra jumpy or paranoid than she needed to be? Yes, it was, but they needed to expect the unexpected. Hesitation always led to disaster.

Besides, it felt…good to be thinking through these kinds of scenarios again. Her last two major encounters involved the Invasion and the Akatsuki. Considering the possibilities of a normal mission was like breathing in a field of roses in comparison.

"You have valid points, but let's not get ahead of ourselves yet. We'll gauge their motives during our meeting."

"Right," Amari agreed.

That was the best way to do it. Trying to gauge people without actually personally meeting them wasn't very effective, definitely when they lacked reputations like Gatō and Zabuza.

"By the way, are we running late?"

"Would I of all people be running late?" He asked it so innocently. Too innocently.

"Yes," she sighed, shoulders sagging. "I knew I should have been keeping track of time. I hate being late."

Kakashi ruffled her hair, chuckling at her expense. "It's nice to see some things never change." He inclined his chin up in the direction they had to go. "Come on, let's go meet up with the others. It's just about time that we'll be fashionably late."

"There's nothing fashionable about being late," Amari grumbled before departing at a ninja jump.

The meeting location was an unoccupied side street, where a large billboard advertising the Princess Gale movie her team was sent to watch loomed above the dirt road. Kakashi and Amari landed on top of the billboard and examined the absent road.

"Well, this is strange. They should have been here."

"This place is a real mess," Amari murmured.

Hoof prints marked the dirt, the indentations deeper in some areas more than others; small bundles of dirt were thrown askew by what appeared to be a feverish gallop. Jumping down with her sensei, she knelt beside the tracks to examine them and look for anything human. Kakashi meandered over to the knocked down fence nearby.

"Hoof prints and lots of them," Amari analyzed out loud. Her eye roamed along to a set of distinct shinobi tracks. "These are definitely mine, Sakura's, Naruto's and Sasuke's sandals in both size and print. They're leading," she followed the trail down the street, "farther into this outpost. Looks like they were in pursuit of the horses."

"Seems that way. A horse, or several, knocked this gate down too, but why?" Amari looked back to her sensei. His thoughtful expression morphed into realization. "Oh no. She must have tried to run away again."

Great, this actress is an escape artist as well? What a pain.

"I suppose they'd hire ninjas that could track down a runaway actress too, huh? And why 'oh no' Kakashi-sensei?"

"Because the people chasing her are the bodyguards we're replacing, and I have a feeling the four of you might be taking her side. Not theirs."

Amari grimaced. "Oh…crap."

Four trained ninjas taking on professional bodyguards was the equivalent of asking a cat to fight a mouse. And her clone was going along with it.

Great.

No time to waste. Byakugan! Her vision extended in inverted black and white, leaving her to scan through the town for any sign of her teammates. Now where did you guys go? She scanned through a building and down several streets, vision darting here and there for their chakra signatures. Then…

"Amari, try to see if you can find them with your Byakugan."

"One step ahead of you, Sensei. Sakura and Sasuke are already stopped directly southwest of this spot," she pointed in the direction of her teammates. "They're in the midst of tying up the bodyguards, but Naruto and the actress are that way," she pointed North, "and still on the move via horseback. My clone is on their tail." She had to strain to see it, but she had them all located.

"All right. I'll go to Sasuke and Sakura. You go after Naruto and Yukie. Bring them back as soon as you can."

"What if she won't come willingly?" Amari asked, looking over to her sensei. Yukie already ran away once. No doubt she'd try again, or just plant her feet like a stubborn horse and refuse to move.

Kakashi eye smiled at her. "I'm sure you'll think of something that doesn't leave bruising. Good luck."

With that, her mentor disappeared via the Body Flicker.

Was I just given permission to hit our client with a genjutsu if she doesn't cooperate? Maybe this wouldn't be so troublesome after all.

Time to chase that knucklehead.

Amari Body Flickered her way across the town and out beyond its walls, into the country where farms and green rolling hills surrounded her at every turn. Peaceful land. Amari liked it.

By the time she caught up, Yukie and Naruto made it to the next town over. Her clone was dispelled by pepper spray, shot directly from the actress's earring. Ingenious design. Also incredibly annoying.

The heap of new memories from her clone filled in a lot of the blanks to the situation; apparently Naruto wanted her autograph, which he continued to pursue her for, leading to them both being pepper sprayed.

That stuff burns something awful. She rubbed her eyes, both now itching from the memories left behind. Damn it. What a pain. I'd say she's lucky she's a great actress, and that I understand why she has it, but her rudeness to those little kids took away anything positive I can say.

She was a phenomenal actress and the movie was worth its praise, but yelling at kids who just wanted a simple autograph, to the point of making them all feel foolish and sad made the genjutsu option more agreeable.

Had the actress been in the middle of downtime or simply been busy, Amari would have been sympathetic. But she wasn't. She was just running away from her job for whatever reason she has and giving those kids an unneeded attitude. They loved her as Princess Gale.

Amari shook her head. I understand wanting privacy and wanting people to respect your personal space or time. Actors and actresses are just normal people, after all. But to act so callously to kids who loved your character?

It didn't sit right with her.

The sun was setting when Amari entered the tavern Yukie and Naruto had entered minutes before her. She had given her knuckleheaded teammate time to get Yukie to leave, but that time was up. Now the actress had a choice: Come willingly or be taken by force.

Oh please make me take you by force. Please. I could use the small amount of satisfaction since we're going to be stuck with your attitude for who-knows-how-long.

As the young kunoichi entered the building, the thick, pungent smell of cigarette smoke and alcohol pelted her senses like a series of kunai as her eye adjusted to the low light room.

Ugh, she scrunched her nose up in disgust, the smell sickens me. She could barely stand Asuma's cigarettes. But to have cigarette smoke on top of cigarette smoke was just awful.

It didn't take more than a glance to find her teammate standing next to the sitting actress. Hard to miss a bright orange outfit in this dimly lit room. The woman was taller than them both, a waterfall of black hair with bangs that swept on each side of her face. Her glazed over eyes were almost a sky blue, and she dressed in a beige trench coat, a salmon colored blouse, a dark brown skirt and tan boots.

Yukie wobbled back in forth in her seat, as if she was trying to maintain balance as the whole world was shaking; a small nudge would probably be enough to knock her over.

The woman stunk of alcohol, and it grew stronger with each step Amari took towards them. Lovely, she's drunk like Mr. Tazuna was too. I wonder if the grumpy old man is somewhere at the end of this journey waiting for a rematch or something.

"Well, well, if it isn't Princess Gale. Tsk, tsk, what would the kids think if they saw their hero so drunk that she's barely able to hold herself up at a bar?"

Naruto looked around the woman to see Amari sauntering over, her hands in her pockets and a flat stare firm on her face. Yukie turned to scowl at her.

Heh, if you keep that there your face will get stuck…oh wait, it did already.

"Hey, there you are. Where've you been?" her teammate asked.

"Studying. I wanted to see if I could get anywhere with that technique I was working on." Naruto nodded. "Sorry I'm late, and sorry you've had to deal with our lord and majesty here on your own."

"Tch, yeah. Lord and majesty," Naruto hissed bitterly.

"What do you want?" Yukie bit out with a slur, a light blush on her cheeks to compliment her glazed over eyes.

"For you to come back and do your job." Their client's scowl deepened at her words. "I'll give you two choices: you can either come back on your own willpower, or we'll do it my way. Do yourself a favor and don't be a drag. I'm not in the mood."

"Forget it, kid." Yuki turned back to her glass of alcohol. "I'm not doing it."

Have it your way. The Nara waited for her to take a final sip before speaking up again. "Could you say that one more time? I want to be sure you've chosen to do this my way."

Yukie, full drunken scowl, turned her head back to face Amari; her light blue eyes met the Uchiha's single onyx eye, sealing her fate. "I'm not going back. I'm don—"

Sharingan! Onyx shifted into blazing red, the three tomoe's spinning within. The genjutsu was nothing special, or mentally damaging. Amari merely put Yukie to sleep then deactivated her Sharingan, catching the crumbling body of the actress before she could hit the ground.

Slinging the dead weight over her shoulder, Amari started towards the exit. "Let's go, Naruto. We have a princess to deliver to her castle."

"Uh…did you just, you know, hit our client with a genjutsu?"

"Yep. Sensei told me to use whatever means necessary so long as I didn't physically harm her." It was a loophole she hoped to exploit on other troublesome clients in the future. "Come on. We've got some ground to make up, and she's not getting any lighter."

"All right. Let me know if you need me to carry her for a while."

Together they took off back towards the first town at a quick pace. A little past halfway there, they ran into their sensei, teammates and the one who hired them—a man named Sandayū Asama. Nice man. Dressed well in an expensive suit—being Yukie's manager clearly paid well. He had a short grey hair and well-kept beard; his small glasses also showed his age, despite all other appearances of good health.

Kakashi took Yukie from Amari and filled her and Naruto in on their mission. They were meant to board a ship to the Land of Snow, where the movie crew decided to film their newest addition to the Princess Gale series.

No wonder Sensei told us to pack winter gear. I should have figured we were going to a place that could turn us into snow cones.

It was their job to guard the movie crew in its entirety. From what exactly? None of her team knew. Their real job seemed to be ensuring Yukie didn't escape or run away, but Amari wasn't ready to lower her guard yet.

Her sensei then asked why the actress reeked of alcohol, and how she ended up knocked out.

"She was looking for the answer to life at the bottom of a bottle and told us she wouldn't come back. I gave her a choice and a second chance to change her mind when she made that choice. She chose to take my way," Amari explained, shrugging casually.

"And what did you do to her in the genjutsu?" her sensei queried.

"Nothing serious. Just made her see her worst fear and then amplified it with a dragon," she jested.

"Amari," Kakashi chided.

"I'm kidding. I just put her to sleep. She'll be fine when she wakes up."

Even when the ship finally set sail to cross the ocean separating the main continent and faraway frozen island, Yukie was out cold and unaware of her current destination.

Heh, that'll be an entertaining wake up call.

There was no turning back for her now, and no place she could hide from Team Seven on this ship or in the Land of Snow.

But that was a problem for tomorrow. Right now the actress was asleep and Team Seven were in the process of calling it a night so they would be fully refreshed for the days at sea ahead of them. Amari was already lying on her top bunk, bandana tied around her wrist as she picked up where she left off in the novel she was reading in the hospital—a fluffy romance novel, taking place in a science fiction world between a redheaded commander and a thief at the end of a terrible war.

Below her, on the bottom bunk, was Naruto, already asleep and thankfully not snoring. Yet.

Across from them was Sakura on the top bunk and Sasuke on the bottom, both awake and organizing their pack and ninja pouch respectively. Behind the wall separating Amari's bunk from the next set of beds was Kakashi on the bottom cot, his Make-Out Violence book in hand as he too read the night away.

All was quiet in their quarters save for the sound of the ocean water sloshing under them and the infrequent creaks and groans of the ship. For Amari, the rock of the ship soothed her into a trance as the words of the novel in front of her surrounded her being and brought her closer and closer to sleep.

By the time she was ready to set the book down and get some sleep, her other two teammates had already departed for the land of dreams while her sensei left to stretch his legs and do a silent patrol across the ship.

Sleep brought her into its warm embrace soon after.

Amari woke early the next morning. The sun was leveled with the horizon as she toured the large vessel from bow to stern, seeking out suspicious activity of any kind.

So far, so good. Clear sailing ahead, she was told by the captain, with a few days of warm weather left before the northern temperatures revealed themselves. Amari expressed her gratitude for the warning then departed for the bow, farthest away from the general movement of the movie crew—who were already preparing their equipment and set in the middle of the wide and long main deck.

She sat on the wooden railing at the very tip of the bow, legs crossed beneath her. Exhaling a calm breath, Amari shut her eyes and let her muscles go slack to begin morning meditation. The spray of the sea, the scent of the salt water, the sound of the water splitting below her, it was an odd change of scenery and environmental conditions for meditation, but she couldn't deny the sense of peace here.

The wind tousled her wild blue hair, yet the Nara showed no signs of disturbance.

All those aboard cast their eyes to the small child at the bow now and then, a hint of expectation in their lingering gazes, though what they expected to see or to occur differed from person to person. Some watched with mild curiosity over the kunoichi hired to protect them. Others worried they'd blink and she'd disappear overboard.

However, none dared to disturb the silent and unmoving child. Amari remained unaware of the director capitalizing on the picturesque moment with his movie camera: the silent warrior, meditating at sunrise, one with the world around her.

The only fracture ever to crack Amari's peace was the sound of the crew quarters door slamming open, followed by a piercing shriek of disbelief that left her grinning ear to ear.

"You've got to be kidding me!" Yukie screeched in a tone unpleasant to the ear.

Amari's eyes opened to morning blue sky, a quiet giggle on her lips.

Totally worth it.

The Land of Snow couldn't be accurately described by words like 'cold' or 'freezing.' They were too bland, lacking accuracy of the true extent of suffering cold the land was plagued by.

A frozen wasteland only scratched the surface, but it would do for now. Amari couldn't bother to describe it further, far too focused on pretending she was on a nice sunny beach instead of being turned into an ice pop.

It wasn't working.

Any heat the sun could provide was whisked away by the cloud infested sky. She huddled as close as she could to one of the heat lamps—a metal construct almost her height, shaped like an oil lamp but more akin to a fireplace in purpose, providing a single bastion of heat in a land absent of it.

It could be worse, she tried to tell herself. A tiny consolation, but true nonetheless. The wind did not rip past them, nor was it snowing or sleeting at the moment. Team Seven also dressed for these cold temperatures.

The four Genin wore beige, almost white, cloaks that wrapped fully around their upper bodies like winter armor, the hem reaching down to their shins. Gloves paired with shinobi sandal styled shoes maintained the heat for the appendages farthest away from their hearts.

Beyond that were personal choices. Amari wore a violet long sleeve on top of her tank top and mesh top, in addition to thermal purple leggings beneath her shorts and a purple beanie to protect the precious tops of her frozen ears.

Despite the layers, the cold weather found a way to penetrate into her core. Which was the reason she hogged a heat lantern like a dragon hoarding gold.

Naruto wore blue gloves and a black long sleeve under his orange jacket along with his cloak. Sasuke had a purple long sleeve under his blue high collared shirt and matching blue gloves, though he opted out of the leggings with his white shorts.

"It's not that bad" he had said.

Amari had begged him to put more clothing on ever since, much to his and their team's amusement. So far he refused to cave.

As for Sakura and Kakashi, the kunoichi wore pinkish-red leg warmers and matching long sleeve arm warmers to compliment her pink sleeveless qipao-style coat; Kakashi remained in his usual ninja gear with an added scarf wrapped around his neck, hanging over his flak jacket.

Shinobi gear was built for multiple weather conditions, so Amari let him off easy.

So far, their "Babysitting of a pampered actress" in Sasuke's words, consisted of them standing off set as she did her job and little else. It was strange to see her act, admittedly. In the scenes she seemed so caring, so compassionate, filled with fire and spirit…yet when the scenes ended, she became the mopey, apathetic woman Amari met.

Eyes always downcast or just absent of life, she never spent time with her cast members. Never shared in camaraderie. Never laughed or smiled.

Amari preferred Princess Gale over Yukie Fujikaze, if she were honest.

The trip here was uneventful, to the point Team Seven decided to spar on the water next to the boat to pass the time and keep up their training.

When the temperatures of the water and the air began to plummet they sought new ways to occupy themselves. Amari dove back into her studies on fūinjutsu or reading her book when she wasn't in the mood for it. Sometimes she and her team merely played cards; she even talked Sasuke into a few games of shogi. He was…less than stellar so far, but she hoped with more experience he'd prove himself a real challenger.

One morning they woke up with a start. The movie crew was yelling in apparent terror, dragging them all out of their peaceful slumbers to battle attention. The source of their terror? Their arrival to a distant island of the Land of Snow and all its glorious, uninhabited glaciers, snow and ice as far as Amari's Byakugan eye could see.

"This is the perfect place to shoot! Cherish this moment! The movie gods are smiling down on us!" Director Makino—an older, weathered man—declared.

Amari shivered and sent a glare the director's way. If this is how they rate their gods smiling down on them, what are they like when they're angry? Crazy and troublesome old man.

"Still haven't created clones to sustain body heat?" Sasuke prodded teasingly, as he joined her. Sakura and Naruto shadowed him and huddled close to the heat lamp.

"I don't want to hear it from you, troublesome boy," she grumbled.

Her three teammates put their hands out to gather some warmth from the heat lamp, chuckling and giggling at her response as they did.

"Besides, knowing my clones I'd end up at the back of the line so they could get heat."

"The way they act, it's sometimes hard to believe they're your exact clones," Sakura said, smiling as she did. "Remember the time back at the Academy when they did the group high five and group hug?" she asked the others.

Warmth flared at Amari's cheeks. "How can I forget?" she mumbled.

"Oh yeah!" Naruto snickered and bumped her side with his elbow. "You were so red and kept staring down at your toes. Sort of like you are now."

The reminder brought her eye to her toes again. "My clones are so embarrassing when they're in large groups. That's why I stick with smaller numbers, besides for the obvious toll on my chakra—the more I create, the more they act out."

"That's why?" Sasuke questioned, the beginnings of a laugh in his voice.

She nodded faintly. "You three don't know the half of it."

"Sounds like a story. Spill it, Amari."

Amari shook her head rapidly. "No way! You have no idea how embarrassing they can be!"

"That's why we're asking," Sakura replied. To Amari's horror, all three of her teammate's eyes were alight with troublesome mischief. Oh man, why did she open her big mouth? "Come on, Amari! It can't be that bad."

"I was really hoping you would take my side this time, Sakura" she whined.

"Welcome to my world," Naruto said. Then he nudged her side again with his elbow. "You've gotta tell us, Amari. Come on, we won't judge you for the actions of your clones."

"Liar," Amari fired back. "You're all already thinking of ridiculous things my clones could have done, just like when you were saying things on our last mission about Kakashi-sensei having blimp lips or giant buckteeth under his mask. Which still literally makes no sense since his mask wouldn't be able to hide that."

Naruto's features shifted into a pout. "I can't believe he wears two masks. It's like he knew the three of us were trying to see what was under there," he grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest at the reminder of his, Sasuke's and Sakura's failed attempt to see what was under their sensei's mask.

Amari had been too busy studying to help.

"Sensei obviously has his reasons for keeping his face private. It's not my place to pry," she had told them when they begged her to use her Byakugan to see under his mask.

In her opinion, the only thing the mask could hide was a scar or two, but nothing deforming or ugly. They could see his general nose and lip shapes as it was, along with his jawline, so with a creative enough imagination it wasn't hard to picture what he might look like. He was probably a handsome man, even if he did bear more scars than the one over his Sharingan eye.

I'd like to ask him about how he received that one of these days. Maybe it ties into why he wears his mask.

"Don't change the subject, Amari," Sasuke called her out

Amari paled. Oh man, I thought I was home free there. What a drag!

"So, what did they do? Transform into Haku shirtless or something?"

Amari's heart stopped. Then… "What?! No!" she shrieked, shaking her head to equally drive her point of that never happening while attempting to shake the cherry color coating her cheeks away.

Now that was an image she didn't want. Or did she?

No! No! No! The kunoichi shook her head mentally as well. Don't go down that road of thought! Not here. Not now of all times!

"Hahahaha!" her best friend laughed hysterically at her expense. The big jerk. "You should see your face right now, Amari! You look like you've seen my Sexy Jutsu! You're as red as a tomato!"

Suddenly the Land of Snow didn't feel so cold. The heat produced from her cheeks alone was enough to cook a full course meal to perfection. Amari began to look for an escape.

There has to be some way out of this. Think Amari, think!

"Did I miss a good joke?" A hand rested on her shoulder, causing the Nara's eye to snap up to the source of the voice.

Kakashi.

He eye smiled down at her; it ignited hope in her heart.

Sensei! You came to save me!

"Kakashi-sensei," Sasuke greeted cooly, "Amari was just about to tell us about the embarrassing things large groups of her clones do, when I asked if they transformed into Haku shirtless," Sasuke reiterated.

"Oh. Well that explains why she's so red. It also sounds like a good story. Are you going to share, Amari?"

Amari's shoulders immediately sagged as all of her hope was replaced by despair.

He's taking their side…troublesome adult. "Do I have to?" she mumbled.

"You know you can't leave a good story half finished, Amari," Kakashi said lightly.

She heaved a very heavy, long and deep sigh that lasted a few seconds. The red remained on her face at the memories playing through her mind.

"There was this one time…" she started in a barely audible mumble. Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura all leaned in closer to hear her. "They…" She gulped down as much embarrassment and nerves as she could. A mountain remained.

"They what? They what?" Naruto begged.

Too busy shrinking in embarrassment, Amari didn't notice Kakashi's head suddenly snap up, alerted. He vanished from her side, and before any of the Genin could react, a loud explosion tore through the open air. Echoes reverberated through the uninhabited glaciers, joined by the chorus of shattering ice collapsing down the mountain.

The Genin straightened to attention.

Saved by whatever danger that is. I don't know who is behind it, but I will have to thank them after we're done kicking their teeth in.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing?!" one of the staff yelled at Kakashi, who's paper bomb interrupted their filming.

"Everyone get back!" he ordered.

Smoke billowed from the site of the explosion. Out of the snow, a man with a slim but muscular frame and light purple hair in a high ponytail appeared. He dressed in a white and blue outfit; the right sleeve of the outfit was black, and a mechanism Amari had never seen before adorned his left shoulder and right forearm.

"Welcome, friends, to the Land of Snow!" the calm, low voice of the man greeted.

"One guy?" Naruto asked.

"No, there's four," Amari corrected, her Byakugan seeking out their chakra signatures. "Check it out, there," she pointed to a woman wearing a similar white and blue outfit to the first, but in the form of a dress standing on a tall pillar of ice. Her hair was spiky and light pink, fashioned into two pig-tails out of her helmet.

She has mechanisms too. One on her wrist and the other on her back.

"Greetings, Princess Koyuki!" the woman greeted. "I do hope you still have the Hex Crystal."

Hex Crystal? Princess Koyuki? She furrowed her brow. What are these people on about?

Kakashi spun to look at Yukie, his eye wide as if seeing a ghost. So, the actress was the intended target here. As for the Hex Crystal, that was an unknown, but now wasn't the time to put those pieces together.

Now was the time to defend their clients and get rid of these attackers.

"There," Amari pointed to the next man to appear from the snow. He was larger than the first in weight and size, but he wore a similar suit as the first two. His short-cropped hair was a dark-purple, and on his back he carried a red snowboard, while a stranger mechanism adorned his right arm.

It's like a giant robot arm with claw like fingers. Her eye darted between the shinobi. What is with these guys? Did they get their stuff from Orochi-jackass or just come up with it on their own?

"You're as good as they say, Kakashi Hatake," the man spoke in a deep voice. "But not quite good enough."

"How interesting," the fourth one spoke in a higher pitched, airy voice from her seat on a glacier. She wore her long green hair in a high ponytail, her outfit the same as her female partner. Either they liked wearing matching outfits, or there was something special about them—Amari hoped the former.

This woman had the same mechanism as her kunoichi teammate.

"It would seem the great Kakashi Hatake brought four Genin here to die. I wonder if he'll run away on them too," she said.

"Grr, she better shut her mouth before I knock her teeth in," Sakura growled.

"Amari, Sasuke, Sakura, Naruto." Kakashi's voice grabbed all four of their attention. He looked at them with an intense eye. "Protect Yukie and remember your training. Teamwork above rash actions, got it?"

"Got it," they replied in unison.

He gave them a barely noticeable nod before turning his attention to the crew for the movie. "Everyone get back to the ship!" he ordered, slashing his arm through the air.

"Mizore, Fubuki, Kōri, I'll leave the Princess to you," the first man said.

"Very well. Mizore, Kōri, with me," the light pink haired kunoichi, Fubuki, said.

That means the big guy is Mizore and the other woman is Kōri.

They now knew the names of their enemies; all they had to do now was fight them and defeat them.

"Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, Manji Formation on Yukie," Amari ordered.

"Right," her teammates agreed.

It was the best tactic to start with. They had three opponents of unknown skill and strength, wielding unknown mechanisms on their body. With Team Seven in Manji Formation, they had three attack points covered at all times, allowing the fourth to join one of the three in defense if the need called for it.

Manji was only the start, though. These people advanced without concealing their approach, like Zabuza had. Smug arrogance blinded them. It made them believe the four Genin were helpless children, inexperienced in the reality of shinobi battle.

We…I need to fight tactically, not like a blunt instrument trying to hammer everything I see. This was her first real chance to put Itachi's lessons to use. To set down another piece of solid foundation in becoming the kunoichi Shisui believed her capable of becoming. She wouldn't waste it.

Amari calmed her mind as she and the rest of Team Seven surrounded Yukie; Naruto stood at the front, Sakura on her left, Sasuke on her right and Amari at her back, all with kunai's at the ready.

Teamwork is our best weapon here. Keep your mind sharp as the blade of your tantō and strikes faster. Remain one step ahead and see through your opponents techniques. Every jutsu and every opponent has a weakness. Now find it.

"I don't know what's in the script, but I've always wanted to be in the movies!" Naruto declared. "Don't you worry, Princess. Naruto Uzumaki and his three companions are here to protect you!"

"Such a loser."

"Don't come crying to us when you need to be bailed out again, Naruto. As companions it's not our job to save the hero," Sakura fired off good-naturedly.

"The way he's already tossing us to the side to steal the spotlight practically makes him perfect for show business. Maybe he'll become a movie Hokage instead of a real one," Amari teased.

"Ha ha, very funny. I'll be such a great Hokage that they'll write stories and make films about me!"

"Heh, like anyone would ever want to read or watch something about you," Sasuke retorted.

"Because they'd want a story about you?" Naruto bit back.

"I doubt anyone could take that much brooding," Amari jested.

As much as Amari reveled in the familiar banter between her team…

"Time to get serious guys. Keep your guard up and watch each other's backs. These three have some strong chakra."

Stronger than she expected, but there was something inherently…odd about it. Unnatural, even. It was a question she intended to get an answer to.

"Team Seven back in trouble. Heh. Feels like forever since the last time we fought together!" Naruto said. Amari sensed the grin on his face without seeing it.

A smirk formed on her lips as Kōri began her approach. "Don't get too caught up in the nostalgia. Hearing you complain because Sasuke had to save you will be a drag." Her teammates chuckled at her comment then banished it for seriousness. "Ready?"

"Believe it," Naruto said.

"Let's show them what Team Seven is made of," Sakura followed.

"Ready," Sasuke finished.

"All right. Naruto, distract Mizore so Sasuke can hit him with some kunai. We need to test that armor." The man was gliding through the snow on his snowboard. Intelligent. He'd have greater mobility than them. "Sasuke, you'll need to be ready for Fubuki after you attack Mizore; she's sticking pretty close to him. Sakura, guide these people back to the ship then come back me up. We'll be taking on Kōri."

She received grunts of understanding from her teammates.

"Remember, look for openings and weaknesses while keeping yours covered. Now, let's go!"

Amari darted forward, two sets of triple kunais flinging rapidly from her hands at Kōri. As the final set left her hand, she began weaving handseals in rapid succession. Lungs, diaphragm and chest expanding with her inhale, she skidded to a halt on the snow and let loose her jutsu.

Fire Style: Fire Ball Jutsu!

A sharp orange torrent of fire erupted from her lips, passing over the snowy terrain, carving a trail of steam and melted snow in its wake. Her enemy's lips twitched up into a noticeable smirk. Kōri continued rushing headlong towards the fire.

What the hell? Amari narrowed her eyes in suspicion. Does she want to die?

The two sets of kunai then bounced off an invisible barrier to land in the snow. Amari felt her eyes begin to widen. How was that possible? How did she deflect her kunai without actually touching them?

Kōri vanished within the fire ball, only to dash out and beneath the stream completely unscathed.

Well…that's new.

The Nara didn't have the time to stand like a deer frozen in Shadow Paralysis Jutsu; her enemy was already on her, throwing strikes with plenty of force behind them. Amari dodged back then rolled her upper body beneath two separate strikes; she landed two jabs to her opponent's stomach while dodging then sent chakra to her feet, releasing it to send herself into the air in a retreat.

The unnatural chakra strength. The invisible shield. The ability to run through a Fire Ball Jutsu without a single scorch mark. What did it all mean? Where was this power coming from? The armor?

Only one way to find out. Hands in Tiger, she inhaled another breath of harsh, cold air.

Fire Style: Fire Ball Jutsu!

Orange flames leapt from her lips and engulfed the woman within them. This time Kōri retreated back out of the flames, skipping gracefully over the icy terrain she was more accustomed to than the Land of Fire native.

Amari's eye narrowed. It had only been for a small instant, but she saw…

The cocky smirk was still on Kōri's lips. "Cute move, little flower. Now let me show you some real ninjutsu!" Her hands sped through handseals, and as she slid to a halt on the ice, she slammed her hand into the ground. "Ice Style: Ice Spear Trap!"

"Ice Style?" Amari gasped. The very ground she floated above began to shake, drawing her eye downward. Out of a nightmare, long spears of ice sprang out of the ground beneath her, stretching towards the kunoichi who couldn't fight gravity any more than she could pull the sun out from behind the clouds.

"Oh man, what a drag!" She brought her hands into the clone seal. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

A Shadow Clone appeared beneath her. The clone's back provided sudden solid ground Amari needed as the Ice Spear Trap grew to encompass more and more land beneath her.

Kōri's ninjutsu was changing the physical battlefield. Such power…

"This level of jutsu is ins— gah!" Amari choked on her words as an arm casually tightened around her neck. Her eyes went wide. She got behind me while I was focused on her jutsu.

"Why hello there, little flower," Kōri whispered sadistically into her ear. Her arm tightened it's hold, mimicking a python crushing its prey, suffocating her as they descended towards her icy spear hell.

Amari tried to pry the arm from around her neck all the while kicking and trying to slam the back of her head into the woman holding her. None of it worked.

"Let's take you up for a nice view. I hope the air isn't too thin for you."

In her Byakugan she could see a mechanical breather mask come out of the woman's helmet to cover her nose and mouth; the mechanism on her back expanded out into metal wings, and from them small rockets flared to life.

Inhaling as much air as she could as they ascended, Amari continued to struggle against the woman with all her might. No matter how hard she tried, though, her strength wasn't enough to break free. Kōri snatched one of her hands to restrain it while wrapping a leg around one of her captive's to keep her from squirming too much.

The need of oxygen was quickly becoming too great to ignore. I…can't breathe. She could feel herself fading. Dark spots crept into her vision, her face was turning purple. In a last ditch effort at fighting, Amari attempted to summon her chakra to solidify it and push this woman off of her. But her chakra wouldn't come forth.

What…the hell…is with…this armor? It's…cutting off…my chakra.

"That's it, little flower. It's time for you to wilt away into oblivion," the woman whispered into her ear.

Fire sparked in Amari's heart. Like…hell…I am. She refused to lose here. She refused to die by this woman's hands.

With the lasts of her energy, Amari stretched her right hand behind her back, between their bodies, fingers barely slipping into her pouch. From it, she pulled out a kunai—a kunai with a paper seal attached to it.

"What's that?" Kōri's shock was palpable even in her state of near suffocation.

"If…I'm…wilting…you're…coming with me!" She bit Kōri's exposed wrist. The woman grunted, her grip loosening just enough for Amari to slip her left hand free. She brought them both into Snake to detonate the Seal.

"You're insane!" Kōri screeched. Out of fear or out instinct based self-preservation, Kōri released her hold, allowing Amari to gasp in a breath of even colder, thin air. The Snow shinobi slammed her arms into the Uchiha's back, sending the younger kunoichi plummeting back towards the ground.

Amari corkscrewed through the air and threw the kunai back at her enemy.

Concussion Seal!

The seal exploded outwards to capture both shinobi within it, sending them both plunging to the deadly pit below. A void of silent darkness consumed Amari. She couldn't hear the air rushing past her body, couldn't smell the spray of sea water or feel the bitter air whipping across her body. She couldn't even hear herself think.

It was easily the most terrifying and longest five seconds of her life.

Slowly, her senses came back—blurred vision, muffled hearing, clogged nose, and distant touch flowing past her skin.

Realization of her current predicament came flooding back as the feeling of her acceleration towards the Ice Spears pelted her senses. Thinking quickly, she bit her lip hard enough to draw blood, dabbed her gloved thumb in it and wiped it across her glove, immediately weaving handseals. The spears were close enough to squeeze her heart with panic.

Amari pressed her hand to her shoulder.

"Summoning Jutsu!"

Then her body burst into Crows. The black feathered avian creatures moved from a nose dive to a glide, narrowly passing over the spear pit. Amari reformed a moment later to skip and tumble through the snow with the grace of a polar bear doing a tango.

When she finally came to a halt, Amari was lying on her back with her hair, cloak and mind all frazzled by the recent events. The cloudy melancholic sky greeted her vision as she inhaled the sweet salty smelling oxygen she had been deprived of.

That landing could have gone better… She winced as she forced herself into a sitting position. Could have gone a lot worse too.

"Amari!" Sakura appeared at her side, supporting her back with a gentle touch and worried emerald eyes scanning over her. "Are you okay?"

"I think so." She peered back up at the sky to see her faithful Crow flying down towards her with a companion at her side. The pair slowed their speed and landed in front of her. "Welcome to the Land of Snow, Atsuko and Kaito."

"This was not the welcome I was expecting. I apologize for the harsh landing, Young Haya; I was unprepared for the situation." The Head of the Crows glanced over her shoulder, observing the Snow ninja gliding effortlessly through the air. "A dangerous opponent?"

"Yes, but something isn't right. Her armor, it allowed her to run straight through a fire ball without even a scorch mark, and my kunai bounced right off of some force field."

"Sasuke and Naruto are having the same problem. Worse, Yukie isn't moving. She's paralyzed by fear," Sakura briefed her quickly on the situation.

Amari quickly took stock of the battlefield through her Byakugan; Sasuke was caught in battle against Fubuki, who also possessed the ability to use Ice Style, while Naruto stood back to back with Kakashi. The two men were attacking them.

The situation wasn't out of their control. Not yet. However…

"There's another problem," she began. "When I was in Kōri's chokehold I couldn't access my chakra. Their armor has some kind of nullifying effect, and the way she was able to withstand my fire ball… Whatever their armor is made from, it somehow makes them invulnerable to ninjutsu."

But how? Was it some sort of scientific creation? Or did the Land of Snow possess a mineral that negated ninjutsu entirely? Both possibilities unnerved the Nara.

And how can they both use Ice Style? Are they members of the Yuki Clan? Two members of the same Clan, who didn't even appear related in anyway, seemed too coincidental. So how? Another feature of the armor, perhaps?

"So wait, you're saying that armor prevents us from hurting them with ninjutsu?" Sakura asked.

"Yeah, or at least that's my guess."

"You are correct, Young Haya," Atsuko said. She then turned look at the hawk. "Kaito, return to the ship. We will join you there as soon as we are able."

Kaito released a cry and took off. "Hmph. His manners need some work, but he will earn his arrogance in due time." Through a series of hops, Atsuko took her perch on Amari's shoulder. Ahead of them, Kōri swept down and landed in front of her Ice Spear Trap. She appeared quite pleased with herself, grinning sadistically despite her failure to kill Amari.

"You all must act with caution. This armor of theirs, it is called Chakra Armor."

"Your pet is right, little flower," Kōri jeered. Amari felt Atsuko bristle at the insult. "Our armor not only creates a shield of chakra to deflect all of your pathetic little jutsus, it also enhances the chakra within our bodies." Kōri spread her arms out, grinning arrogantly. "Ninjutsu and genjutsu are useless against us! We are gods among mortals, and I will pluck you from my garden like the weed you are!"

It protects you from ninjutsu and genjutsu, but not taijutsu, Amari analyzed the weakness.

"Your arrogance will be your greatest undoing, you delusional jester," Atsuko said.

Mizore shot forward on his snowboard, his trajectory aimed directly for the paralyzed form of Yukie. Naruto dashed to cut him off.

Amari and Sakura sprang to their feet. "Sakura, grab Yukie and drag her out of here. We'll cover you!" she ordered.

"Got it!" Sakura dashed away.

"Atsuko—"

"Shall we destroy her ego?"

"Heh," Amari chuckled, "took the words right out of my mouth. Take to the sky and look for an opening."

"At once," Atsuko said before her ascent.

Amari dashed at Kōri. The Snow kunoichi didn't move into a retreat, instead weaving a new set of handseals.

"Ice Style: Crushing Ravine!" Kōri slammed her hand into the ground again. Suddenly the very ground beneath Amari sank, dragging her down between two walls of ice on either side of her. Acting on instinct, Amari jumped onto the slick walls with chakra glowing at her feet; below her, freezing water raced up through the new ravine, chasing her as the walls began to close in on one another.

"Give it up, little flower! None of your techniques will ever work against me! Wilt away with the dignity and beauty you have!"

Amari's face scrunched in irritation. We'll see who wilts away soon enough.

The Leaf kunoichi dashed swiftly along the walls, jumping between them towards the steadily disappearing light above her. The water continued to chase after her as the walls sought to become her new coffin.

As the ravine nearly closed, Amari flooded her body with chakra. Time to go full blast! In a flash of speed, she vanished, reappearing once more in the air above the ravine, her hands firmly in Tiger.

Kōri's shock was only matched by her snarl.

Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!

A barrage of fire balls pelted the green-haired kunoichi; none of the attacks damaged her, but Amari hadn't intended them to. Kōri jumped back once out of range of a second barrage. The Nara's eye sharpened.

I can see right through you now.

"I already told you, little flower! Your ninjutsu is useless!" Kōri taunted.

Amari's feet touched the snow covered ground. Then she was gone.

"How about some taijutsu then!"

Kōri gasped, body instinctively turning to face the voice directly behind her. It was a mistake. The physical form of Amari was already springing towards her, her solid fist slamming into the enemy kunoichi's cheek. The solid blow sent her opponent stumbling, but Amari kept as close to her as Kakashi with a new Make-Out series book.

The Snow kunoichi tried to retreat, her futile attempt to create distance sharpening the Nara's eye farther.

As I thought. Taijutsu is your greatest weakness.

"Why are you trying to retreat?" Amari growled. "Wilt away with some dignity!"

The Uchiha sprang into the air, her speed breaking through Kōri's weak taijutsu defenses, and landed a powerful kick that sent her opponent careening away.

She charged in again when she landed, but Kōri was already on her feet and going through handseals. "Ice Styl— ah!"

Atsuko whizzed by the woman faster than an arrow, her beak holding one of Amari's kunai; the blade drew a long scratch across Kōri's cheek.

"Nice one, Atsuko!"

Now it was time to make it count. Amari brought her hands into the clone seal and created a clone next to her. The clone darted forward and landed two strikes then ducked down. The real Amari propelled herself off her clone's shoulder and into the air to land two swift kicks, using a third to push herself off of Kōri and into a backflip. As she fell she created the Tiger handseal and inhaled a large breath of cold air.

Kōri saw the handseal as she landed.

"This again?" she taunted despite the blood dripping down her cheek.

"Not quite," Amari's clone answered. Kōri went to move through her handseals again but stopped against her will. "Heh, Shadow Possession Jutsu for the win," the clone said with a smirk, as she was knelt down adjacent to the two kunoichi with her hands in Rat seal.

The roaring flames melted the snow between them and brushed glorious heat over Amari's body. The attack engulfed Kōri again. Again she came out unscathed. A hint of smugness flickered in her eyes, however she was intelligent enough to see this wasn't over.

Amari's hands were still in Tiger.

"How have you immobilized my armor?"

"I wasn't just firing off Fire Balls at you for no reason. I was watching how that armor works. After attacking your armor time and again with my Fire Ball Jutsu, I began to notice you were actively dodging out of it instead of arrogantly taking it head-on. I theorized that the negation of ninjutsu had limitations of some kind. It appears to have two.

"First is how much ninjutsu you can withstand. Although the armor still protects you, the shield can't hold up against a repeated onslaught for too long." Her opponent's hands visibly twitched as she fought to break free of the Shadow Possession. "The second weakness is your armor is designed to negate the five basic Natures: Fire, Water, Wind, Earth, and Lightning. My Shadow Possession Jutsu doesn't fit into those categories."

The flapping of wings preceded Atsuko landing on her shoulder. "Well done, Young Haya."

"Not finished yet. There was still one problem: the lack of good shadows on this battlefield. Capturing you with only my very faint shadow or my clones would have required me to be too close for any real use, and Shadow Strangle would have been ineffective with how much that armor bolsters your strength."

"But your Shadow is still too weak," Kōri pointed out, a smirk forming. Her fingers were beginning to twitch and strain was becoming evident on her clone. "I can already feel my strength overpowering it!"

"This battle is already over. I know you're chakra shield is at its limit, as do you. That's why you're struggling so much. When Atsuko amplifies my Fire Ball Jutsu with a Wind jutsu all that will remain of your 'godly' power is a useless pile of ash." Kōri growled nastily. "This is checkmate. Time for you to wilt away."

"Amari!" The Nara paused and peered over her shoulder to Kakashi. His forehead protector was no longer covering his Sharingan eye; the intense look on his face showed he was done playing games. "Retreat back to the ship, now!"

Sakura already had Yukie slung over her shoulder as Naruto used a series of clones to piggyback the remaining members of the movie crew back towards the ship, which was off shore. Sasuke was retreating with the others, launching fire balls to throw off Mizore and Fubuki.

An immediate retreat could only mean Kakashi had something big planned. Something she couldn't be on this glacier another second for.

"Hold her as long as you can," she told her clone.

"You got it. Now get going." The clone grimaced. "Not sure how much longer I can hold her like this."

Amari's body burst into a flock of Crows, reforming beside fellow Uchiha to join in launching a rapid series of Fire Ball Barrages at their enemies. Again the glacier they'd been fighting on began to rumble and crack. It was the only warning they had to the imminent collapse.

From beneath the glacier, two giant Ice Whales—one created by the man Kakashi had been battling, the other by Kakashi himself—crashed through the surface, spearing into one another and falling down onto what remained of the glacier. Everything began to fall apart. Ice shattering and crashing into the ocean filled the air. The icy landmass began to sink slowly into the depths of the ocean.

Team Seven hit the water at a sprint with waves of freezing cold water forming under them from the sinking ice bergs.

"So it's not the kekkei genkai," Amari noted out loud as she rushed up a wave with her teammates.

"What isn't?" Naruto questioned.

"Their version of Ice Style. We'll talk about it more later. To put it briefly, true Ice Style is a kekkei genkai using Wind and Water Chakra Natures together. Kakashi-sensei can't copy that kind because it's a bloodline limit, or kekkei genkai."

"But he just copied that Ice jutsu back there."

"Exactly," she replied, nodding once. "Their Ice Style isn't a kekkei genkai. Which means they are using it through some other means."

"Like the Chakra Armor," Sakura stated.

"Maybe, maybe not. It's possible they learned to use it some other way," Amari explained. "I've got some thoughts on it, but like I said, we'll talk more later. Right now our priority is getting these people on board and then getting out of here."

"She's right." Kakashi landed within the group and took the lead. "We'll discuss everything we've learned as soon as we're safe. Amari keep your eye open and let us know if they move in for an attack."

"Do you think they'll try to take the ship?" Sasuke asked.

"No, but I want to be certain. This mission just got a lot more complicated than I thought it would be."

He was right about that. Amari had a lot of questions, like what was the Hex Crystal they mentioned? Who was Yukie really? And why did the Snow ninja seem to know Kakashi? But now wasn't the time for them. They needed to get to safety before dissecting those questions.

It took a little longer than Amari expected, but Team Seven was right back to wading through waist high trouble.

Feels like home.

Review Response to ChillinInKonoha: Yep, we're off to the Land of Snow. I'd say Anko is less pervy; I don't believe she goes and peeps on people in bathhouses. But a dirty mind? Definitely. Mist Village follow-up coming soon. And a meeting between Hiashi and Amari is inevitable.

Hm, I don't know if Danzo gave up and let darkness control him. It might be my bias against him, but if he was honorable in anyway, he lost it the moment Tobirama chose Hiruzen as Hokage. However, I do agree she'd believe he is dishonoring Hiruzen's memory.

You can bet they'll interact in the future. I can guarantee that.

Thank you for the review!