Ninja clash in the Land of Snow!

by Kamikaze132

Naruto finds himself back on his old team, agreeing to Kakashi's and Tsunade's request to go on a mission to protect Yukie Fujikaze, a famous actress, from being captured. But there is more to her than meets the eye, and whether they like it or not, Team 7 finds itself fighting once again to free a land from a tyrant.

AN: Hello guys! How are ya'll doing in the quarantine? I hope you guys are keeping safe from the catastrophe that has hit us. I also hope your mind hasn't rotten from the immense frustration of staying inside your homes for an extended period of time. If it has, I've got a little one-shot here to cheer you guys up.

Presenting, Naruto: Ninja clash in the Land of snow!

This is perhaps my largest one shot yet, bigger than any of the chapters in ROTF.

Also, look at this as a kind of filler that only partially aligns with the story. As the Lord of Return of the Flash universe, I am changing the timeline of this story. In this story, the only thing I'm changing is that Sasuke didn't flee right on Naruto and Temari's wedding night. A few days have passed.

The above statement applies only for this story and does not affect ROTF.

Call it plot convenience or whatever, I don't care. If you really want a plausible reason, think of this story existing in a parallel world, where everything is the same, but Sasuke took his time running away.

Onto the story!

"Normal speech"

Thoughts

Kurama speaking

"Kurama speaking face to face"

Naruto was scowling as he walked towards his home, having reported to Tsunade after the completion of his latest mission. It wasn't that it was a failure, nor it was the nature of the mission that grated his nerves, oh no.

It was a total nightmare.

He had barely been able to keep his face clear of any sign that gave a hint of his annoyance away, when Tsunade had leveled her eyes on him, twinkling with smugness. Sometimes, he wished he could prank the hell out of that woman, but then his wife would get upset at him and as a result, he would be put on the couch for a month.

That would suck.

The gate of his house automatically opened as he pressed his palm against it. He walked inside as it opened, automatically closing after him. He was in some desperate need of a cold shower and some alone time with Temari. His eyes narrowed in suspicion as he heard laughter inside the house.

Female laughter.

The only way someone could have gotten inside the house was if they passed the security seals, so there was no need for alarm. As he opened the door and stepped inside, he only raised a quizzical eyebrow as he gazed at the scene.

Tenten, Hinata and Ino were sitting on the couch, clearly chatting excitedly about something. The fact that Hinata was actively participating in the conversation and not being her usual shy and timid self, and Tenten was talking about something other than her training with sharp and pointy weapons, meant they were discussing some serious gossip. His hearing picked up more chatter in the kitchen, and he was surprised who it was with his wife.

Nonetheless, they were in his house, so as a host, he had to be polite, even if they got in the way of him wanting to spend some alone time with Temari. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything?"

Three heads turned in his direction, faces brightening up with a smile, a small blush in Hinata's case. It made him relieved that she was slowly learning to let go of her feelings for him. As a happy side effect, her confidence was slowly increasing as well, now that Neji was no longer beating on her self-esteem.

Tenten and Ino waved at him. "Hey Naruto!"

Hinata also managed to give him a cheerful smile. "Good evening Naruto-kun!"

The at-ease atmosphere automatically brought a small smile to his face, despite his earlier bad mood. He waved back as Temari came out of the kitchen, wearing the cute apron he had brought for her, and to his surprise, Sakura followed her out, smiling at him. Temari smiled and moved over to give him a hug, which he returned with a minute frown. Usually, whenever they both returned from a mission, they greeted each other with a kiss.

Maybe his wife didn't want to do it in front of others?

That needs to be remedied.

Pulling back, she asked Naruto. "How was the mission?"

The question brought back the scowl he had on his way back. Temari saw it and smirked. "It went that bad, huh?"

Ino picked up from the question and asked with a gleam in her eyes, excited for some information. "Did you guys fail your mission?"

Then her eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Did Shikamaru slack off again?"

Naruto sighed and waved away her question, not willing to go into much detail. "Trust me Ino, I would have kicked his ass if he slacked off under my command. By the way," he turned to Temari, missing Ino frowning at the sudden change of subject, "you returned a bit early from your own mission. Is everything alright?"

Temari also noticed the change in subject, and she also noticed that Naruto a little uncomfortable under the collar. She mentally smirked, her women's intuition smelling some interesting gossip. She waved off his concerns. "We were fine. Now, what went wrong with your mission?"

Naruto gave her a betrayed look, knowing his wife brought back the conversation to him back on purpose. Visibly containing his annoyance, he revealed the details of his mission. "It was the client."

Moving over to wash his face, he continued, finishing with a slightly crazed look. "Some self-entitled, spoiled brat…..no, she was sixteen! And a cougar in making!"

Neither of the girls had any trouble understanding Naruto's problem, and gave mixed reactions. Hinata and Sakura looked sympathetic, understanding where he was coming from. With Sasuke and Neji, Naruto was well on his way to becoming one of the most handsome males in the village.

Tenten looked amused, as if she had been subjected to a similar situation before. Knowing her team, Naruto deduced it might have been Neji instead of himself. Ino looked like the cat that ate the canary, no doubt having acquired the juicy gossip she no doubt would spread throughout the entire village in less than two days.

Temari's reaction was not a surprise at all. The fact that someone had made a move on her husband did not appeal to her. She angrily muttered, "I should have been on your team. If I ever meet that skank…."

He gave his wife an amused look and pulled her in a side hug, kissing her temple. "Don't worry Temari, you are the only one for me," he declared passionately.

All the females went, "Awwww!"

Sakura even went as far as to say, eyes shining with mirth. "I'm so jealous of you, Temari-san!"

This of course, led to Temari's face going red and her glaring at everyone, even him, for embarrassing her. He gently pulled her aside, ignoring her red face for the moment. He spoke in a low voice so the others did not hear him, "Say, what's with the kunoichi meeting at our house?"

Her face returned to its natural color, and something akin to resignation appeared on her face. "When we came back from our mission, I asked Hinata if she wanted to come over for some tea. When we were going back, Tenten and Ino met us in the way, and Ino invited herself along with Tenten-"

"And you happened to meet Sakura along the way, who Ino invited as well," Naruto finished in a knowing tone, causing Temari to nod tiringly.

"God, that blonde can go on for hours and hours."

Naruto chuckled at her plight. "So, are they staying for dinner or what?"

"Goodness no!" Temari said with eyes widened in horror.

A whistle from the kitchen caused her to turn around, muttering. "That must be the rice…."

Sakura's earlier comment caused a thought to take place in his head, and his lips widened with a grin worthy of a prankster, his extra sharp canines adding extra spark of mischief (and looking suspiciously like Kurama's grin.)

Just as Temari was about to enter the kitchen, her left hand was pulled back, her body twisting along with it. A squeal erupted from her mouth, but was cut off when Naruto's lips slammed into hers, his arms wrapping around her waist and pulling her flush against him, actually lifting her off her feet. Temari's arms gripped his shoulder to balance herself out of reflex.

All in all, they made for a very hot picture right now.

Surprisingly, he only heard one voice go. "Oooooooohh!"

He broke the kiss when he heard a thud. Turning to face where the voice came from, he gave off a nervous chuckle at an unconscious, red faced Hinata. Temari's entire face was red, whether from embarrassment or anger, or both, it was difficult to tell. Blood was coming out of Ino's and Sakura's noses, while Tenten had a surprisingly perverted glint in her eyes.

Focusing on Hinata, he sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. "Ahaha….looks like it was too much for her."

XXXXXXX

Two days later, things were back to normal. Temari had been actually embarrassed that he had kissed her in front of the others, to which he had innocently replied that he would not have had to do it so dramatically even if she had just given him a small peck like she did every time.

Currently, he was working on improving on his father's Flying Thunder God: Guiding thunder.

The space-time teleportation barrier was an ingenious, one-of-a-kind masterpiece that his father derived from his Hiraishin formula. After doing the required hand-signs, his father would then use his special kunai to warp away anything that came into contact with it. After warping the object, he would then send it to another location marked by his formula. Kurama had been gracious enough tell him that his father had been able to warp away his tailed beast ball.

Yeah, his father was one badass motherfucker.

Naruto had used the technique on a small scale as well, teleporting people to different locations, but had yet to try on something as big as the bijuudama his father had done. Anyways, there was one thing he wanted to improve upon in the technique.

Kurama had witnessed the technique firsthand, and had informed him that his bijuudama had not been immediately warped away, instead slowly forcing itself into the barrier held up by his father, for several seconds before it disappeared completely. That was the aspect Naruto was looking to improve upon.

If he could just tweak the formula a little so that when an object touches the barrier, a gravitational pull, or any kind of suction/pulling force would be activated and pull the object in faster, drastically reducing the chakra cost required for maintaining the barrier.

A knock on the door of his study caused him to look up, seeing his wife leaning on the door with an amused smile. "Don't you ever get bored of studying?"

Naruto put down the pencil on his notebook and leaned back in his seat. He knew exactly why Temari was asking him that. "I never get bored when I'm doing something that I enjoy."

He fell silent after that, knowing Temari wanted to ask him something. "Something on your mind?"

Seeing her hesitating to ask what she wanted to ask him, he stood up and walked over to her, hugging her. "What do you want to do?"

"….can we go see a movie?"

His lips twitched with amusement- why was she hesitating to as something as simple as that?

He shrugged. "Sure, which one?"

Temari brightened up at that. Sometimes she was just too adorable. A generally badass kunoichi, her soft side made Naruto want to just bury her in her stuffed animals. "There's this new Princess Gale movie that has come out. If we go now, we would be able to buy tickets."

Naruto looked down; he was wearing orange shorts and a loose t-shirt, while Temari was wearing a loose, singe strap blouse with short shorts underneath. "Let's change first."

Ten minutes later, they were nearing the theater hall. Naruto had changed into a grey track pants, blue V-neck, and a black hoodie, while Temari was wearing a black capri and grey t-shirt with a red hoodie.

When they went to buy the tickets, they were pleasantly surprised to see Sakura and Sasuke. Strange, did Sasuke finally agree to go on a date with her?

Temari waved to the pinkette. "Sakura, what are you doing here?"

Sakura gave a cheerful wave to them. "Temari-san, Naruto. What a pleasant surprise!"

Naruto went over to his former black-haired teammate and slung an arm over his shoulder. Sasuke let go of his annoyed grimace for a moment, replacing it with a blank expression of superiority. "Why, Sasuke, so glad you managed to land Sakura as your girlfriend!"

Sasuke scoffed, giving a weak shove to Naruto's ribs and escaping from his hold. He didn't even want to be here in the first place, and he definitely did not come here because Sakura asked him to. "Your attempts at humor are as pitiful as ever, Naruto."

Naruto put his hand back into his hoodie. "So, what are you guys doing here?"

Sakura was the one to answer. "We actually came to see the new Princess Gale movie."

Temari raised an eyebrow and a smirk. "How about that? Same here."

Sakura clasped her hands in delight. "How about we watch it together?"

Naruto looked at Temari, who just shrugged with an indifferent hum. "Sure, why not?"

"Great! I'll get us the tickets!"

Naruto moved over to Sasuke, who had went back to sulking. "So, just out of curiosity, what made you come?"

Sasuke mentally debated whether to tell him or not, that Kakashi had ordered them to watch this movie as preparation for their next mission. How watching a movie would prepare them for a mission, Sasuke would never know. Nevertheless, he had asked Kakashi who the third member of their team would be since Naruto was a jonin now.

Kakashi had just eye smiled and said, "Leave Naruto to me."

He had given him and Sakura specific instructions not to tell Naruto themselves, which meant he was the third member. In the end, he just gave a bland reply with a shrug. "I like movies."

Naruto frowned at the reply, finding it out of place for the avenger to act like this. However, he conceded it to one of Sasuke's weird interests.

Soon enough, Sakura came back with the tickets and dragged Sasuke into the theaters, much to the Uchiha's irritation, with Naruto and Temari following them and looking on with amusement.

The movie hall was packed, but thankfully, they were able to get seats next to each other. Naruto had not seen the prequels of the movie; all he knew was the Princess Gale was some heroic character.

The movie was fairly good, and he enjoyed being with his old team again. Moreover, he enjoyed when his wife would occasionally tease Sasuke, the minute twitches of his brow giving away his annoyance, then Sakura asking him what was wrong since she couldn't hear Temari.

The exited when the movie was over, and Naruto smiled at Temari. "Was that fun?"

Temari smiled back at him. "Yeah, I enjoyed the movie." Turning to his teammates, she asked them. "How about you guys?"

Sakura nodded happily, while Sasuke just gave his customary, Uchiha patented response. Naruto grinned wickedly and clapped the boy on his shoulder. "Come on Sasuke, I thought you liked watching movies."

A muscle jumped in Sasuke's jaw at his not-friend's antics. Perhaps his earlier response should have been different.

Sudden shrieks and screams drew their attention to their right, and people began running, or even jumping out of the way. The reason soon became clear when they heard a staccato sound, and they all jumped back when they saw a woman in an expensive kimono riding a horse, completely uncaring of the fact that she almost killed several civilians.

When she passed in front of them, Naruto got a good look at the rider. His eyes widened when he saw the same person whose movie they had just finished watching. He growled at the retreating figure and without a gesture, a shadow clone popped up beside him, disappearing in a shunpo to deal with the woman.

"Bitch," Temari muttered angrily at the woman.

Naruto scoffed and after waving their goodbyes to Sasuke and Sakura, they turned to take their leave when Naruto spotted a mass of silver hair. Kakashi gave a lazy beckoning wave, causing Naruto to sigh and turn to Temari. "Kakashi's calling me. Wait for me here?"

Temari gave a sigh of resignation. "At least he waited till the movie was over. Alright, I'll wait for you."

Naruto gave her a quick peck on the cheek and flash stepped to the roof where Kakashi was waiting for him. "Many happy returns of the day, you perverted dog."

Kakashi gave him an eye smile, not at all offended at the way he was addressed. "Thanks Naruto. It kind of feels strange I made it to twenty six."

Naruto snorted and walked up to him. "So what's up? My wife is waiting for me."

"Well, Team 7 has a mission, and though I could get a third team member, I'd like you to come along."

"What's the mission?"

"Protecting the actress Yukie Fujikaze as she films a new movie in Yuki no kuni," Kakashi promptly states, and just like that, Naruto found himself wanting to decline the mission.

After thinking for a while, he was about to reply when the memories of the shadow clone came back to him. He wanted to face palm himself- the clone had stopped the horse and knocked out the actress, taking her straight to Tsunade. Tsunade, of course, jumped on the chance and asked him whether he could do a favor to her by taking this mission. In an answer, the clone dispelled itself.

'I hate it when she does that,' he mentally grumbled at the busty blonde. Sighing in resignation, he replied. "Alright, you got a deal."

Kakashi clapped his hands, like the bastard knew exactly that he won't be able to decline. For all Naruto knew, Kakashi knew that his clone went straight to the Hokage. "I knew you would accept, Naruto. Sasuke is so excited to work with you again."

"Yeah, sure," Naruto muttered sarcastically as he made his way off the roof. Suddenly, he turned around. "Kakashi!"

Kakashi turned to face Naruto, his eye curiously looking at him. He blinked in confusion when a simple, small, black box was tossed at him, catching it out of reflex. Naruto said one more thing before jumping off the roof. "Don't be late."

Kakashi looked down and opened the black box, snorting in amusement at what lay inside. He took out the digital watch that Naruto gifted to him and muttered with a fond glint in his eye. "Cheeky brat."

XXXXXXX

Naruto deeply breathed in the ocean air, the breeze giving him a pleasant feeling as they sailed through the waters. He knew that it was only a matter of one night before they ventured into the waters of snow country, and he hated getting cold, which is why he would savor this feeling.

He was, at present, going over the formula of the teleportation barrier in his notebook. It wasn't easy, modifying such a sophisticated seal as the Hiraishin. One small change could affect the entire working of the seal, and he did not want any adverse effects when he would be using it in the field.

"Naruto! At least show some interest in the set," Sakura admonished, and Naruto looked up with bored eyes, seeing the crew hard at work preparing the set for the scene.

He didn't bother looking up at his teammate, eyes dropping back to his notes. "Nah."

Sakura huffed and turned away, while Sasuke turned a mildly curious look to Kakashi. "How is this a mission again?"

Kakashi's eyes did not leave the pages of his beloved book as he answered his genin with a lazy tone. "As I said before, we're guarding Yukie until the filming is finished. I don't see why you are so bothered, Sasuke- this is an A-rank mission, after all."

Sasuke's reply was as dry as dust. "I don't see how babysitting a pampered actress is an A-rank."

"Think of it this way, Sasuke," Naruto spoke up, drawing eyes to him, "With that brattish attitude of hers, she's undoubtedly made a lot of people angry."

"While a crude of saying, Naruto's words have a hint of truth," Kakashi redirected. When Sasuke gave him a questioning look, he continued. "Famous people are targeted all the time, Sasuke. We have no idea of who may try to harm our client, so we must be on guard."

Suddenly, the door to Yukie's private quarters banged open, the actress looking around wildly. "Oh, come on!"

She dramatically fell to her knees in despair when she realized where she was. Her manager, Sandayuu, gently roused her to her feet and guided her back into the room to be prepared for her scene.

Naruto turned a curious gaze at Kakashi. "I didn't know that the Sharingan could manipulate a person's memory of an event."

"I didn't know either," Sasuke grumbled, annoyed with himself for not knowing about his dojutsu's abilities.

"But it was you who found her, Naruto. You didn't put your marking on her, did you?"

Naruto responded to the tease with a neat flip of his middle finger.

The rest of the team then turned towards the set, which had been transformed into a wreckage, a man lying among the debris, having fallen in some battle. The utterly bored looking actress's make up was finished, and the team watched in anticipation- after all, not every day you get to see a film crew in action with your own eyes.

Naruto could care less what the actress did. He did, however, dart an occasional eye onto the scene.

"Yosh! Everyone, I want to get this scene in a single take!" The director shouted, with his crew replying enthusiastically. "HAI!"

"I don't understand how she'll look distraught if she looks that bored right now," Sakura commented, head tilted as she tried to figure out the mystery.

Naruto smirked as he casually mocked her. "She's called an actress for a reason, Sakura."

Ignoring the scowl, he focused on his notes. He mentally applauded his teammate- she had come far in not throwing her temper tantrums, especially in the field.

"and….ACTION!"

Like a flip of a switch, Yukie transformed from a bored actress to a shaking, distraught princess, looking genuinely heartbroken. Naruto looked up in curiosity, grudging respect forming for the famous actress's skills despite his dislike for her.

He gave credit where it was due.

"You know, I think she might be…" he began to speak in consideration.

"Cut! Sorry….Sandayuu, bring me my eye drops!"

She suddenly broke from character, and Sandayuu rushed to place the drops in her eyes. Two in each eye, and the tears started dropping.

"The drops are spilling over, let's do this quickly!" She balanced her head, trying to keep the tears from dropping, waiting for the director.

"Yare yare…" he heard the director mutter, and couldn't fault him at all.

"….a complete fraud," he finished his earlier statement with a supremely unimpressed look on his face. Sasuke's left eye was twitching with incredulity, Kakashi looked as if he had figured out a suspicion he had, and Sakura had a complete disbelieving expression, as if her previous beliefs that actors could cry on command were shattered completely.

You know, it is a rather amusing thought that she can lie better than most of the shinobi in this world.

Kurama's snide comment drew a snort from Naruto, even though he knew the insult was aimed at him as well. The statement was true, after all.

She could become a great infiltration expert, or spy if she puts her mind to it, he replied in slight, twisted consideration.

Soon, the shooting for the day was over and they all retired to bed. The next day was pretty much the same as yesterday, the only difference being that they had entered the waters of Yuki no kuni. With that, came the biting cold that everyone had to wear thermals against.

Of course, except for Kakashi and Naruto.

Kakashi opted to just wear a scarf, not needing anything else to block the cold. Naruto had seals on his clothes to keep optimum body temperature, but Kurama on the other hand, give him advice in the form of some training.

The temperature of the body could be controlled through a small, but advanced bit of chakra control. Circulating it throughout the body increases temperature. You will do the same, but with my chakra. It sets a good precedent for you for your training down the line with my chakra. Though it's best if you exercise caution. Too much, and you might catch a fever.

Naruto had no idea why Kurama put the effort to mock him from time to time, so he had gotten pretty good at ignoring his taunts. He reached deep within himself, to the reservoir of Kurama's chakra. Instead of opening the gates of the reservoir, he imagined a tap connected to it, and then he opened the tap.

Now that he thought about it, in hindsight, he might have been able to do the Bunshin no jutsu after all, if only he had gotten this idea before.

The trickle of Kurama's chakra that flowed from the tap was spread throughout his body. He was careful to close the tap once he had enough chakra to circulate and rotate the chakra inside his body in a loop. He needed concentration at first, then after a while he began diverting his attention to other tasks as the chakra control exercise became a sort of second nature. He relaxed as the extra warmth from the chakra lowered the tension from his body.

Kurama commented with mild approval in his voice. Learning as quick as always, Naruto.

He was about to tease the fox about getting soft, when he was suddenly barreled into from the side, Sakura clinging onto him like a sloth.

He underestimated Sakura's strength, because air swiftly exited his lungs when he was squeezed tighter. "You know that I'm a married man, Sakura."

"Shut up, you are the hottest thing here," she muttered, pressing even closer to him. Naruto sighed as if truly suffering.

"Really, if you want the cold to go away, you could have just asked for a temperature control seal tag."

He had to admit though, Sakura's indignation was justified. "How am I supposed to know such a thing exists?"

Please forgive them, oh deities of fuinjutsu, for they are ignorant of your greatness, he offered a sincere prayer to the heavens. He took out his sealing supplies, and within two minutes, he had two seal tags ready. For all of his aloofness and indifference, even Sasuke had been inching closer to him ever so slowly because of the heat he was giving off.

"Put these on your clothes and activate them with your chakra," he instructed his teammates. Once they did, they unconsciously relaxed as their body temperature shot up to normal levels.

"You can let go of me now, Sakura," he said pointedly.

If he hadn't been practicing it himself, he would have fallen prey to her puppy-eyes. She was good, but he was better.

"Nice try," he scoffed as she reluctantly released her hold on him. Naruto then stood up to stand beside Sasuke, while Sakura took up his other side.

Sasuke muttered out of the corner of his mouth in puzzlement. "What the hell, man? You were hot as a furnace."

Even though he was no longer feeling the biting cold of the winds, he resisted the urge to get closer to Naruto still. The warmth radiating from the blonde was incredibly comfy.

"It's the other chakra."

Sasuke made a noise of recognition, while Sakura looked at him in confusion. "What other chakra, Naruto?"

Naruto looked at her, contemplating whether he should tell her or not. In the end, he decided to tell her, but in a vague manner. Leaning forward with a smirk, he whispered. "You see, he and I are…..connected since birth."

Even though Sakura was quite smart, even she failed to make the connection between him and Kyuubi. She didn't even think that the Kyuubi was a part of this equation.

Soon enough, it was time to sleep, which was a rather awkward experience because he had never slept so close someone else other than his wife. He feared what would happen to Sakura once Temari came to know of their sleeping arrangements.

The next morning, Naruto watched with amusement as the director's assistant panicked at the sight of the large iceberg and scrambled away to find the director.

"He's way too cheerful for this weather," Sakura scowled as she watched him scatter with sleepy eyes.

Naruto was thankful for the fact that Jiraiya had replaced his resistance seals to something more challenging, because there was no way he was getting any sort of physical training on this mission. These seals were harder to get used to, and that was evident by the fact that he was still getting used to the third level of resistance.

But the man refused to give him control of the seals, no matter how much he bugged him.

Unlike the assistant, the director was an opportunistic man. He didn't see the iceberg as an obstacle, but rather the perfect location for his next scene. He commanded the everyone to set up the stage once they had walked off the ship. Naruto watched this scene with interest, because there was no way that old man should be able to wear those robes. In his eyes, he looked less threatening than a squirrel.

Still, he wasn't being paid to comment on the movie, so he stayed quiet.

Suddenly, the hair on the back of his neck rose up- a sign of danger- and without wasting time, he jumped forward, throwing an explosive tag kunai at a cliff in the background, where he had sensed the sharp spike of chakra.

The tag blasted off a part of the cliff of ice. The director yelled at him, "Hey! What the heck are you doing?!"

Apparently, Kakashi picked it up just a second after him. He harshly waved back, "Everyone, get back!"

Naruto did not waver his eyes from the cloud of smoke, a serious expression on his face. The wind blew, and took the smoke along with it, revealing the man. He had lavender hair and green eyes, wearing a strange hitai-ate that looked like ear-mufflers, and a thick body suit of white and light blue. His right sleeve revealed a thick, dark grey sweater underneath. A slightly gleeful expression was on his face, "Welcome to snow country."

Kakashi seemed to know him, from his whisper but before Naruto could further think upon that, his eyes were diverted to the second spike of chakra. To the left, he saw a woman, pink haired, standing on a pillar of ice. Her outfit was similar to the man.

"I welcome you back to ice country, Koyuki-hime. Did you bring the hexagonal crystal?" she inquired, arrogant eyes looking down at her, as if she was just waiting to crush them.

A sudden spike of remembrance coursed through Kakashi, who looked at their client in a new, but familiar light. "Koyuki-hime?!"

Without turning his face, Naruto's eyes shifted to the right, where the last of them revealed their presence in crumbling snow. It was a hulking man with a strange contraption for his left arm. Despite his ridiculously dumb face, Naruto doubted he would be easy to defeat.

Still, all this time, we were guarding an actual princess?!

Suddenly, the high rank of the mission made sense.

"That was impressive, brat," he commented, "as expected of Hatake Kakashi's student."

Naruto speculated that it was a total guess (and his size) that the nin knew him as Kakashi's student, even if he failed to add "former". He heard Kakashi's voice from beside him, "Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura! Protect the princess! Everyone get back to the ship!"

"You heard him! Guard her!"

He barked out the orders, at the same time, keeping the enemy within sights. The three took notice of the fact that Kakashi seemed to be familiar with at least one of them, the lavender haired one. He knew instinctively what was about to happen, and he whispered. "Retreat to the boat!"

The other two nodded, carefully and slowly backing the princess away to the shore, the others being more prompt in following the order. But the woman and the dumbass took notice of that, and immediately jumped in to fight, right towards them.

Naruto immediately turned, however, surprising the nin, but Sasuke and Sakura knew exactly what he was going to do. Putting his hand on Koyuki's stomach, he at least managed to snap her out of her stupor.

"What are yo-"

That was all she managed to get off before Naruto "pushed" her, flashing her directly to the ship, on which he had the foresight to put his marking on.

He turned back just in time to dodge the large man with a flash step. Landing a few meters away, he watched as the man turned around on his snowboard making his way back to him.

On the other hand, Sasuke engaged the purple haired woman, who looked enraged when she couldn't see Koyuki anymore. "Hey asshole! Where did your friend send the princess?!"

Sasuke smirked as he dodged the ice attack. "Why should I tell you?"

An ugly sneer appeared on her face as she prepared to kill him. "I'll show you why you should tell me."

Back to Naruto, he was repeatedly dodging his opponent's attempts to barrel into him by flash stepping away at the last moment, every time. His goal was to keep him away from the other fights and pursuing Koyuki, not that he knew where she was, and judging by the irritation on the man's face, he seemed to be succeeding.

But he was not able to land any attacks on him as well. Anu kunai or shuriken were deflected by his armored body parts, and he was moving too much for Naruto to use any seals. Still, if not anything he could at least put in effort to annoy his opponent, hoping he would make a mistake in his anger.

"You're way too slow to catch me like this, dickface!"

As expected, his taunt worked. An expression of rage crossed his face as he jumped off his snowboard, right at him. His right arm came flying towards him in a punch. But Naruto simply leaned slightly towards his left, using the back of his right to deflect the attack. He then jumped away, allowing the man to crash into the snow.

Making a tiger seal, he took a deep breath and exhaled a fireball towards the man. Thinking that would at least buy him some time, he was shocked when the fireball collided with the man…and got deflected right back at him.

Just as he dodged, he managed to see a slightly dark, purple glow around the man before it disappeared.

So his armor can deflect ninjutsu attacks. Ninjutsu is chakra, so it's safe to assume that the armor deflects any attack saturated with chakra, which means genjutsu is useless as well. Not that I could do it in the first place….

Just as he landed, he saw the giant making to move where Koyuki-hime was, or at least where he thought she was.

He stared dumbly at the spot where Sakura was, protecting Sandayuu?

Then he turned and saw Naruto smirking, flipping him the finger. Immediately coming to the conclusion that the blonde kid had something to do with the princess disappearing, he raised both of his hand and smashed them into the ground in his rage.

Hard.

Naruto nimbly backflipped away from the resulting wave of ice that rapidly made its way towards him, ultimately resorting to flash step to outrun the wave until it stopped. He felt Kakashi landing behind him and muttered, still keeping his eyes on the man, especially his hand.

"Kakashi, there's something weird about that armor," he muttered.

"That's snow country's armor, specifically designed for their ninjas," Kakashi explained. "It's chakra armor."

Naruto resisted the urge to sigh at their bad luck. "Great," he muttered in sarcasm.

"It seems to be much more powerful than before," Kakashi muttered, but that was more to himself than to Naruto.

Ninjutsu powered by my chakra is more than enough to take care of them, Kurama snorted.

I really don't want to take the chance of them finding out about you. Kami knows what they would do to get their hands on it.

"So you remembered?" Kakashi's eyes snapped back to his opponent, while Naruto kept eyeing his, who was walking towards them with a smug, yet angry expression.

Naruto supposed that the man really didn't have any choice but to confront them since he had no idea where Koyuki was. He mentally snorted at the man's choice to walk towards them. If Naruto were in his place, he would have already attacked. Yet, the man chose to walk because their leader wanted to brag.

"This armor increases our chakra and strengthens our jutsu. It creates a wall of chakra around the body, and it nullifies any chakra attacks while deflecting them back. No matter what attack you use, it's useless if it's chakra!"

Of course, he didn't know that Naruto had already figured that much out by himself. He was just unsure of whether physical attacks were nullified or not, but now that the man had confirmed that they were susceptible to them, he would use taijutsu to beat the man.

It would be difficult, but not impossible.

"Nadare, the blonde brat transported Koyuki-hime to somewhere. I can't find her!"

Kurama snorted within Naruto at just how whiny the man had sounded, with Naruto agreeing with him. Nadare, however, looked calm, amused even. "Ho? Looks like your student is a clever one, Kakashi. Nonetheless, if you tell us where she is, and hand her to us, we might let you live."

This time, Naruto and Kakashi let out audible snorts of twisted amusement. "Good one," Kakashi commented, smirking beneath the mask.

Nadare frowned, and then he made the hand seals. "You leave me no choice. Hyouton: Haryu Moko!" (Ice release: Tearing Dragon Fierce Tiger)

Kakashi wasted no time with his counter. "Suiton: Suiryudan no jutsu!"

Naruto had left his position as soon as Nadare attacked, because the large man had made his way towards Sakura on his snowboard. Thankfully, Sandayuu was nowhere in sight, with Sakura probably having told him where Koyuki was.

He extended his hand, thin, white ropes shooting out of his palm towards Sakura in an attempt to bind her. But Sakura merely flipped out of the way, the ropes falling limp onto the ground because of no target. Then they swiftly retracted back into the arm, and he changed his trajectory such that he would crash right into her.

But he made the mistake of outing his entire focus on one target, which is why he let out a surprised grunt of pain when a foot crashed into the right side of his face. His balance disturbed, he went flying towards the other side, crashing and rolling into the snow.

Naruto landed on his feet, a smirk on his face on having his suspicions truly confirmed. The non-armored places were susceptible to taijutsu. His flash step had been perfectly timed so that the added speed would allow him to land an extra hard blow to the behemoth, veering him off his path.

"You brat!" The man shouted, shooting forward to swat the blonde brat into a mountain of ice- but he was stopped!

"What?" He grunted, struggling as he sent his other fist forward, only to have that one stopped as well. Impossible! This brat couldn't weight more than even half of his weight, yet he was easily holding his arms in place.

Naruto grit his teeth as he was forced to use all of his physical strength, enforced with his own chakra, just to hold the man in place. Still, there were two reasons he was not pushing back. One, because he simply couldn't, not without using Kurama's chakra. Two, he had a plan.

He really doubted that the armor protected the man even in that place.

His right foot shot out like lightning, hitting the man in the groin. He grinned triumphantly when the man's eyes bulged in pain, body bending forward reflexively with a very un-manly squeal as he was kicked directly in the balls. He followed it with a double strike, his knee coming up to viciously slam into his chin. The man's face snapped upwards with the blow, his teeth rattling painfully. Naruto then kicked him in the chin again, this time with his foot. The hold on his arms was loosened as the man stumbled back, holding his no doubt, broken jaw with his hand. He looked up, disoriented and blood falling from his mouth, only for his face to meet Naruto's leg in a flying kick.

The force behind the kick was so great that there was an audible crack of his nose breaking into more than two pieces, sending him flying back, tumbling onto the ground painfully, on the verge of unconsciousness.

Without any delay, Naruto rushed towards him with a kunai, intent on finishing him right there. The hair on his neck rose up, and he was forced to dodge the pillars of ice that erupted from the ground towards him, to imprison him just as it had did to Sasuke before.

He appeared at his new position and watched with a frown as the pink haired one snagged the behemoth with a white wire, lifting him up and flying away. He scowled at the lost opportunity to end the threat before it appeared again. A stray thought crossed his head, when he saw her flying away with her teammate in tow.

How come she didn't pick him up herself?

The answer was lost to him as Sakura and Sasuke came running beside him. "Naruto! Are you alright?!"

He waved away her hysterical concerns. "Don't fuss on me right now, Sakura. We have to get out of here. Now!"

Sasuke grunted his agreement as he gripped Naruto's shoulder, making Sakura do the same. He shouted to Kakashi. "Kakashi! We're going back to the ship!"

Without even waiting for his response, he flashed back.

"I'm your opponent!" Nadare shouted with bloodthirst. "Hyouton: Ikkaku Hakugei!" (Ice release: One Horned White Whale)

Kakashi cursed as the ice under his feet collapsed. It was only because of years of training and field experience that allowed him to make the desperate jump to safety. A ginormous whale made of ice leapt up into the air, and crashed back into the water. Within the span of seconds, the island made of snow lost a good chunk of it.

"Quite a powerful jutsu," he commented, sounding unperturbed. His gaze turned sharp as he revealed his sharingan. "Then, I'll get serious as well!"

Just as he was about to order his team to retreat, Naruto's voice reached his ears. "Kakashi! We're going back to the ship!"

He was suddenly very thankful of his former student's infinitely better sense of timing, even though he was wearing the watch Naruto gifted him. Now that he could focus on the fight fully, he let loose. "Hyouton: White whale!"

"You copied it as usual," Nadare said in amusement which could pass for banter between former comrades, but his expression said something else entirely. "But we can't settle it with the same jutsu!"

His own whale rose up to meet Kakashi's.

"Settle? Sorry, but I can't grant that wish," his voice was lazy, but it contradicted with the sharp glare he was levelling at Nadare.

"What?!"

Nadare's head jerked up to see that Kakashi's whale hit the underside of his own, pushing it back and sending them crashing into the ice cliffs behind him. The crash triggered an avalanche, which covered the entire island and sunk it into the waters.

"Cut!"

The director yelled over the sound of the winds. The boat steadily picked up speed, carrying them away from the debris of the island, towards Yuki no kuni.

Naruto leaned on the rail, his team sitting on the deck beside him. He couldn't believe that he had just witnessed the famed actress, now revealed to be princess, going into hysterics, more likely a panic attacks, over going to Yuki no kuni. Her manager, Sandayuu, tried to calm her down, but without any success. To not go to Yuki no kuni, even if she died…

This seemed like a serious matter, possibly trauma in the past.

He had to pick up the actress and carry her into her quarters when she passed out. Giving instructions to everyone not to disturb her until Kakashi arrived on deck, he settled to wait, watching the last battle with his team.

He was further impressed with the man when he managed to copy ice release, even more when he pulled off a maneuver to sink the entire island. The man sure knew how to use the eye, possibly even better than his Uchiha teammate.

When Kakashi landed on deck, he relayed what had happened with the princess. Kakashi had shown no reaction to when he mentioned that Koyuki had passed out after her panic attack. Kakashi thought upon what his fellow jonin told him. Given what had happened ten years ago, her reluctance and fear wasn't all that shocking to him. They had barely escaped with their lives that day, and back then, Koyuki was just a child. In the end, the man had just sighed and said, "I guess it's not too surprising."

"What do you mean, Kakashi?"

The question came from Sasuke, who stood up beside Naruto. Kakashi waved at him, looking as apathetic and carefree as ever. "All in good time, Sasuke."

"By the way, why did you specifically request me for this mission?"

Naruto's suspicious question drew an answer which made him want to hit his senior on the head. "No reason."

Naruto, as well as Sakura and Sasuke, stared at him incredulously, trying to believe his answer, but in the end, Naruto just said one thing.

"Fuck you."

"I probably deserved that…by the way, how did you beat your opponent, Naruto?"

"Yeah, even I was wondering about that," Sakura said, looking at her teammate.

Naruto figured this might be a good time to tell them about the armor's weaknesses. "See, Kakashi's opponent was gracious enough to tell us that ninjutsu and genjutsu attacks were useless, which was confirmed before when my fireball bounced off the armor. I figured it wouldn't hurt giving a try at taijutsu, specifically to the place not protected by the armor," his lips quirked upwards at that.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow, "Did it work?"

"Oh it worked alright," his eyes had a dark glint of mirth, "the guy won't be having sex anytime soon."

Sasuke and Kakashi winced, along with Sakura. "That was rather cruel of you, Naruto."

A hint of annoyance crossed his face. "At least I was able to beat him. And, I would have finished him off, if not for you," he pointed to Sasuke, "You let your opponent go, who rescued my opponent and flew away."

"Shut up," Sasuke grumbled, still sore about being beat by the woman. He promised himself to bring her down next time, hard.

"And it was rather strange of her to not grab him herself, rather using a rope to hold him," Naruto mused, sending his team a pointed look.

"…..you mean to say-"

"-Yes Sasuke, that's exactly what I'm trying to say."

Fortunately, Sakura and Kakashi picked up on what Naruto didn't say. "You know," Sakura mused, "that info might come really handy when we face them next time."

Kakashi gave him an eye smile and a thumbs-up. "Good job, Naruto!"

"Shut up, I'm still upset with you," he snapped, causing Kakashi to slump into depression.

XXXXXXX

The next morning was rather cold, with the clouds in the sky blocking the sun rays. Not an uncommon weather for the snow country. Kakashi woke up well before the others, the revelations of the previous day not allowing him more than four hours of sleep. Nonetheless, he got out of his futon, stretched like a cat and got dressed.

Two minutes later, he found himself standing beside Koyuki's bed. With the peaceful expression on her face, he found it much easier to relate her to the little girl he had saved all those years ago. He spotted what he came to see, the necklace that she always wore on her.

Taking it in his hand, he turned it around. "Hard to believe that it has been ten years," he murmured nostalgically.

A soft creak of the door made him turn around, seeing Sandayuu stepping into the room. "We have reached the harbor," he informed him softly.

Placing the necklace back on the table, he walked out of the room. "Sandayuu-san, you knew all along, right?"

"I did."

Kakashi frowned a little at that. "Then you must have known how she would react if she were to come back here?"

"It was the only way to get her back to this country," Sandayuu sighed, looking older than his real age.

The outside was rather beautiful, with snow falling down. The crew was all over the place, making sure that the trucks and other vehicles had what they needed. Team 7, Sandayuu, the director and his assistant were seated around in an empty room, so that their client could come clean with his deception.

Again.

Seriously, what is with the client hiding the important information from us? It's almost as if they want to make things difficult for us.

"Well, I already figured that out," Naruto sighed, after Sandayuu told them who Yukie really was.

"But how can that be? She's an actress who plays the role of a princess, not an actual princess!" Sakura argued.

Naruto sighed again, mentally asking himself why the people were so reluctant to pay attention to the facts. "It couldn't be more obvious than this, Sakura. A-rank mission, the way those three enemy nin were after her, how Sandayuu-san treats her like a real princess, he even called her Hime-sama. Why would the enemy need an actress?"

Kakashi brought the point home. "Yukie Fujikaze is just an alias. In reality, she is Kazahana Koyuki, the heiress of Yuki no kuni."

All the people turned their attention to him when Sandayuu started speaking. "The last time I saw her was when she was really young, so it's not surprising that she didn't remember me. I used to serve her father, Kazahana Sousetsu-sama. Back then, the Snow country was a peaceful, small country. Sousetsu-sama loved his daughter very much, but ten years ago…."

Sandayuu broke off, the pain of those memories affecting him still. "Ten years ago, it happened. Sousetsu-sama's younger brother, Doto, hired some ninja, and was able to take over the country. The Kazahana castle was all but burned down, and everyone thought that Hime-sama had perished."

"I was given the mission to stop that, but I couldn't win against them back then, which is why I had to to run away. We had no choice at all," Kakashi revealed, to the shock of his genin.

Sandayuu continued his tale, "I found Hime-sama when she was on stage I was overjoyed that she had survived!" He broke off into sobs. Naruto felt sympathy bubbling in him for the old man. The man had devoted his entire life to the royal family, and the only remaining member didn't seem to care for his sacrifices at all.

Still, it was rather clandestine of him to use the film crew to bring her here like that, Naruto thought in dark amusement.

"It would have been better if I had died back then," the uninterested voice of Koyuki came from the door, and Naruto found his sympathy being replaced by irritation.

The voice of the assistant broke into the conversation. "So all this time, you were using us?!"

Sandayuu turned to the disbelieving member. "I sincerely apologize for fooling you, but it was for the good of snow country."

He got up from his seat and went around the table, dropping to his knees in a bow. "Please, help us defeat Doto and become the new queen of Yuki no kuni!" His forehead nearly touched the ground, showing just how desperate he was. "I will protect you with my life! Please help the people of Yuki no kuni!"

Koyuki reply was as blunt as a hammer. "No."

Ouch.

"W-What?" Sandayuu choked out, head rising to look at her.

"You've got to be kidding me! There's no way Doto can be defeated! The people's problems are none of my concerns!" Her voice was heavy with agitation, face creased with aggravation.

The way she casually swept aside Sandayuu's tears and sincere plea caused something to snap in Naruto. "Oi, gaki!"

He stood up, addressing her with anger in his eyes. "Sandayuu-san is pouring out his heart for you! Don't you dare give up so easily! This man is putting his life on the line to make his dream come true. If you mock him for that, I will never forgive you!"

"Naruto-dono," Sandayuu whispered in shock, not expecting Naruto to come to his defense.

"Shinobi, not samurai," Naruto absently corrected, staring down Koyuki, who still looked as if she could care less.

"We are able to dream because we don't give up hope. We are able to dream, which is why there is a future," came the words from the director. Naruto gave a slight smile at that; beneath the opportunistic persona of the director, lay the wisdom of an old man.

The words couldn't be more true.

The director's assistant asked, his face etched in incredulity. Naruto was starting to think that that was the default expression for the assistant. "You're saying, you want to continue the film?!"

The director smiled at him, "I told you before, didn't I? This movie will change everything. How often does anyone get the chance to make a movie with a real princess?"

The assistant picked up on the line of thinking, a toothy grin spreading across his face. "You're right! If we complete and release this movie, it's sure to be a blockbuster hit!"

"Unfortunately, there is only one course of action," came Kakashi's revelation.

When everyone except the ninja gave him quizzical looks, Naruto picked up. "What Kakashi's trying to say is, as long as Doto knows about her, we cannot escape. If we want to survive, we will have to fight."

He turned to the princess, whose eyes were beginning to show anger. "The mission will continue. Hime-sama will have to go back and defeat the evil overlord."

If it had been anyone but Doto, Koyuki might have snorted at the attempted joke. But she was angry now- why couldn't they understand?!

"Don't be ridiculous! Reality isn't like the movies….there's no happy ending anywhere in this world!"

Surprisingly, it was the director who silenced her this time. "You can change that anytime with determination!"

Naruto felt his respect for the old man grow a little, but Kakashi's voice cut into his thoughts. "For a mission such as this, I think we should go back and get some help."

"Don't bother, it would be a waste of time. We are enough for this mission," Sasuke stated with complete confidence, eyes closed and arms crossed. He would beat the flying woman next time, and now that Naruto was with them, he was sure they would be successful.

"And we wouldn't have been able to do it either," Naruto revealed, his eyes focused on the other jonin. "The time frame wouldn't allow us, and I can't flash across countries just yet."

"So it's decided! We will keep filming!" The director declared, already imagining the fame and money he would get for casting a real princess.

The assistant pumped his fist in the air. "We will create a film with happy ending!"

To Naruto's dismay and a little worry, Koyuki looked like she didn't believe a word of what they said.

XXXXXXX

The crew quickly packed their equipment into various trucks and vehicles to travel up the mountain. Naruto had stopped running Kurama's chakra through him a while ago, depending on his seals to keep him at ideal body temperature.

Naruto had a short discussion with Kakashi about the chakra armor. "Hey Kakashi, I've got a theory to beat that armor. I want your opinion on it."

Kakashi closed his book, silently telling him to go on. "Your opponent said that the armor would deflect any and all ninjutsu or genjutsu thrown at it, right?"

"Yeah…"

"He was talking about the attacks from other sources of chakra, right?"

Kakashi fully turned to him, his eyes holding a hint of curiosity. "What are you trying to say, Naruto?"

Naruto gave a sly grin. "I'm saying, that their armor only blocks off attacks from other sources of chakra. What if their attack were to hit their own person?"

"Don't you mean, if their attack was reflected back at them?"

Naruto gave a smirk in return. Kakashi's perceptive and deducing abilities were worthy of his rank as a former ANBU captain.

Kakashi leaned back and gave a hum of thought. Naruto's idea had merit, but…..

"I can't say for sure, Naruto. Maybe the attack would be nullified, as is the function of that armor. But it's possible that they might not have accounted for the possibility that their own attack gets reflected back to them," Kakashi conceded at last.

Naruto gave an absent nod as he considered this. Maybe next time, he would get to trying out Flying Thunder God: Guiding thunder on his enemy, watching in malicious delight as their attack hits themselves.

If he was lucky, that is.

A short break was taken for everyone to stretch their legs, or answer the nature's call. Sandayuu smiled and pointed to the large cave, motioning to Kakashi. It still somewhat amazed Naruto how Kakashi could look serious, but lazy at the same time.

"Beyond this cave, lies our hideout. We will pass through after we're done filming. Everyone is waiting anxiously for Hime-sama to arrive," he smiled at the thought.

"Man, I can't see the exit from here," Naruto mused as he gazed out of the window.

"Long ago, there was a railroad that passed through here," Sandayuu informed them. "Though the tracks are covered in ice, it's still there."

Naruto smiled slightly in excitement at the thought of seeing a train. He'd never seen one before!

Finally, the trucks exited the cave, the snow's brightness nearly blinding after passing in dark. The director wanted to shoot a scene right here.

But there was a problem. Koyuki had run off again.

The team was quick to react, leaping off the mountain and to the forest side. Kakashi speculated that it was where she would go- going through the cave again was not something she would do.

They jumped onto the rocks and Kakashi gave his orders. "Split up and search for her! When you find her make contact immediately!"

"Roger that!"

Before Naruto could suggest that they allow him to mark them at least, so he would be able to get to them in an instant, they had already split up. Sighing, he jumped to his own direction, stopping upon a rock and gazing down at a forest. He really should find her fast, otherwise she could catch frostbite.

Kakashi no gaki didn't say whether you had to bring her back in perfect condition or not, Kurama purred darkly.

Naruto smirked at that. You're right about that…..but she's our client, and as such, I need to hurry. I should have marked her when I had the chance!

He made his way down the mountain side, leaping off onto the trees. Landing on the ground, he searched for any footprints in the vicinity. When he couldn't find any, he took a deep breath, trying to track her smell. He moved around slowly for a minute, taking deep breaths to catch her scent.

"Found her," he whispered before making his way to catch her. He found her lying on the snow, blankly gazing at it.

"Do you plan to keep running away like this?"

He was honestly curious about that. But he could not mask the disdain in his voice. Koyuki was a coward, as simple as that.

He watched her get up and look at him, not answering his question. He suppressed a sigh of exasperation and turned around, crouching. "Hop on."

She paused for a few moments, but she did it without any protest. Naruto hated her silence- it was the silence of someone who had no hope left, someone who had given up.

It was frustrating.

He touched the radio in his ear. "Everyone, I've got her."

A cackle of noise, and Kakashi responded. "Well done, Naruto. We'll meet you back at the camp."

The silence surrounded them again, except for the sound of his found halfway burying into the snow with every step. He felt Koyuki press closer to him, probably leeching off some warmth he was radiating. Even without Kurama's chakra coursing through him, he was warmer than anything in the surroundings.

They entered the cave, and Naruto deliberately walks so that he has some time to reflect on his feelings about her actions. Her dislike for her had not yet decreased, not after she dismissed Sandayuu, but he tried to understand her feelings, her reasons for being like this.

His thought process was interrupted by his passenger. "Why is it always you who finds me?"

Naruto's eyes flickered to her for a second before they focused back ahead. "It's my mission, and I'm being paid rather handsomely for it. Until this mission is completed, I will always find you."

She didn't notice, but the place where his hand was supporting her right leg now had a seal on it. This way, he would be able to keep a track on her.

"Go back. I'll only act in front of the camera- nothing else," she stated blankly.

"You do what's right by you, can't expect more than that," Naruto replied softly, but the words were hard as stone. A hitch of her breath made him contemplate if he should say a bit more, but a sound caused him to pause. A crackle caused him to look down, eyes narrowing at the tracks that suddenly appeared. He could feel chakra in them, defrosting them very fast. A sound in the darkness caused him to look up. It sounded somewhat like a…whistle?

A bad feeling coursed through him, confirmed by the hair on the back of his neck rising up.

"Time to go," he whispered, feeling her nod on his shoulder. He turned around and started sprinting, not pausing to see what he already knew was coming after them. He could see a light behind, highlighting his shadow on the ground. Koyuki's stutter only confirmed his fear.

"T-Train!"

He cursed and put more effort into the sprint. "It's heading right for us!"

Her words only spur him to speed up. If only he could release the resistance seals on him, but Jiraiya made them so only he would be able to do that. He was still not fully used to his current level, so he was not running at full speed. He could not do handseals for a body flicker, because the Koyuki's imbalance might cause him to trip, and there was no way he could afford that right now. It was his bad luck that there was no marking at the end of the tunnel, nor any of his team members had it. And he couldn't perform a flash step as well, otherwise the sudden jerk might snap her neck, even with her bracing herself.

The train being right behind them was the only thing that was causing him to run faster, faster than he had ever run in his life in a full out sprint, damn the seals.

"We'll be run over!" She cried.

"Like hell we will!" He snapped back, pumping chakra into his legs to stay ahead. There was no way he would be outrun by a train, not today.

"It's impossible!" Koyuki insisted.

"It's not! I won't give up!" He shouted, though it was more to himself than to her. If he was listening right, the train was right behind them.

You have to run faster, Naruto!

Kurama's snarl gave him another boost, and by now, soreness was starting to creep in, he's never pushed himself this fast for so long before. The train let out a whistle, and when the cave steadily got lighter, he knew the train was gaining on them.

"Even if you do this it's pointless! It's over!" Koyuki argued.

Naruto snarled, but he dare not look back. "I won't let it end! I'll never give up! Even if you do, I will never, ever give up!"

He pushed himself even further, ruthlessly shoving aside the physical exhaustion through sheer willpower, and went even faster. If his team were to look at him right now, they would be gaping at the way his legs literally became a blur.

A growl ripped out of his throat as he went faster. Koyuki looked at him, having a hard time believing that this boy, a mere five and a half feet, was going fast enough to give a horse a run for its money. Just how was it possible for him to outrun a train?!

Glancing back, fear gripped her heart when she saw that the train was starting to gain on them again. Naruto's legs were burning like fire now, and the next time he met his perverted master, he was going to beat him within an inch of his life. This was exactly why he had insisted that he be in control of the resistance seals, but the man had just dismissed his concerns, saying he would be just fine.

Perhaps because of the urgency of the moment, he hadn't attempted this, but now he had no choice but to do it. He made a desperate gamble, manifesting a shadow clone, relieved that it was running right beside him, instead of being squashed right when it came into existence under the train. The clone knew exactly what to do, and he blurred ahead of them in a series of flash steps.

Reaching the exit faster than prime, he jumped off the tracks and to the sides, wasting no time to make a ram seal. Within a moment, Naruto and Koyuki appeared beside him, Naruto having flashed onto the seal the clone had on him. He took harsh breaths of relief, knowing that they were safe. Man, he sure didn't expect to be introduced to trains like this!

On the other hand, he gave grin at the way his heart was pumping madly, the adrenaline rushing through him. What a thrill!

Rarely ever he had come so close to death like this after starting his ninja career.

Never before had he been so glad to learn Hiraishin and shadow clone.

Beside him, Koyuki was on the ground on all fours, staring at him wide eyed.

She couldn't believe that they had made out of that cave in an instant. She had been surprised when his double- a clone, she reminded herself- appeared beside him, and disappeared in an instant. Not used to Naruto's speed, she had thought he had disappeared. She had given up all hope, when the next moment, she found herself outside the cave, right next to the clone.

She knew not what to think, but she was alive. Naruto had not given up, and they had survived.

Well done, came Kurama's voice, he could almost see the toothy grin.

The train exited the tunnel, blurring past them. Rapidly recovering, he stood up from his crouch, staring at the train suspiciously when it stopped, the last of its cargo nearly past the turn.

"It's been some time, Koyuki." A deep voice greeted the princess, distorted a little due to speaking through a mike.

Koyuki stiffened beside him a little, dread forming on her face. "Kazahana Doto."

"It has been ten years, Koyuki. Let me see your face."

Squinting his eyes a little, he managed to see the owner of the voice. Doto was a tall, large man with an imposing presence of authority. He wore a draping cloak, hair pulled back in a regal manner. Despite his voice, his face was hard and cruel. Koyuki was frozen in terror, however, her terror of the man making her unable to react.

She was surprised, when she was suddenly looking at the back of the green vest Naruto was wearing.

Naruto's cold gaze met Doto's own, not backing down. Just as the man began to speak, his train was rammed from the side with various logs. Everyone looked up to see men standing on the cliff, draped in samurai armor. Even Sandayuu was standing amongst them.

Horror broke out on his face as he heard Sandayuu's voice boom. "Everyone, our Koyuki hime-sama is watching us! Victory will be ours!"

The cheers of the men were deafening.

"Kazahana Doto! We have waited a long time for this day! I, Asada Sandayuu, and fifty loyal warriors, will avenge our late Kazahana Sousetsu-sama, here and now!"

"YEAH!"

The men are eager, but Naruto was gazing at them in increasing horror, or in Koyuki's case, daze, as they run down the cliff. Emotional fools! You can't win against ninjas!

There was no way that him, or even his clones would be able to reach them in time to perform a shielding jutsu, even with flash steps. Dammit, why does everyone let their emotions get the best of them at the worst times?!

He roared as loudly as he could, even enhancing his voice with chakra. "STOP! SANDAYUU! BACK OFF!"

But above the sound of their roars, it was hopeless for his voice to reach them. A mechanical click makes him turn to the train. Something opened on the sides, but whatever it was, it wasn't in the men's favor.

From the train, the sides reveal miniature cannons, thousands of them lined up systematically.

From the cannons, thousands of kunai shoot out at high speeds. Their targets were hit dead in the center, burying themselves into the bodies of the warriors, blood spraying with shouts of pain. He and Koyuki watched with wide eyes and faces frozen in shock as they could do nothing but watch them all fall to the kunai.

It was a slaughter, a carnage of a devastating scale. Doto was laughing, but Naruto wasn't paying attention to him at all. What was the use of being one of the fastest if he couldn't save people in time?!

His eyes widened when he saw Sandayuu still alive, but bleeding badly. "Sandayuu…"

Naruto stiffened when another volley of kunai were shot out, right towards the lone, not-for-long survivor. But a fuma shuriken landed in front of him at the last moment, deflecting the kunai. Sasuke flashed from behind the stones, throwing kunai with explosive tags at the train. Another explosion caused him to look up, an avalanche falling right towards the train. Naruto suspected that Sakura's attack was to force the train to skedaddle, rather than burying it in ice.

It worked, because a loud whistle from the train signaled its departure. Another explosion, this time from below, but Doto managed to escape by sacrificing one of the compartments.

Turning back, he was about to ask if she was alright, but frowned when she just stood up and clutched her coat, walking forward slowly. He lets his gaze go around, seeing the camera crew looking for survivors. He felt a surge of rage go through him- had they just been watching this whole time?!

But the search revealed that only Sandayuu was alive, and even he was about to die shortly. Naruto made his way to him, standing beside Sakura and Kakashi. Sasuke was standing beside Kakashi, and the director and his assistant were in front of them, all watching grimly.

"That's the result of their refusal to give up." All heads turned to Koyuki, who was standing a few yards away. For some reason, the ice felt warmer than her voice.

"If they had just given up, not resisted against Doto, this wouldn't have happened," she continued. But the last straw for him was the scorn on her face, as if she just found the sacrifices nothing more than distasteful.

"If you mock his sacrifice One. More. Time," Naruto spoke softly, his eyes glaring icy daggers at her, "I won't hesitate to hit you, regardless of you being a woman."

Koyuki flinched slightly at that, but stayed silent after that. Naruto turned to say Kakashi and the others carrying Sandayuu towards Koyuki. Naruto felt bad for the man who gave his life for his princess, yet received less than nothing.

Sandayuu turned his head towards Koyuki, pain clear on his bleeding face. "Hime-sama….."

Koyuki walked forward and Sandayuu continued, his voice rough, making it clear just how difficult it was for him to speak.

"I'm very sorry . . . to have put you in this. It's because you were around that I . . . and everyone else could continue to hope. From birth, until now . . . you have always been our princess. That's what I believe you are. So please believe in yourself, and . . . please . . . don't cry . . ." Those last words were a rough whisper, a last breath.

Sandayuu finally passed away.

A pause, then Koyuki spoke. "You are such a fool, Sandayuu," she whispered, shocking the other around her, "The drops for my tears are with you."

Naruto squashed the rage that wanted to make itself known, schooling his face into a neutral expression. Koyuki got up, and spoke again. "Are you satisfied now?"

Naruto doesn't let the disgust he feels towards her show on his face, no matter what. A man ruled by his emotions is a dead man, especially in the field.

"Let's go home. If we stay here anymore, you won't be able to return safely."

"But where will you go?" Naruto asked her retreating form. She paused, and turned around to look at him.

"Yuki no kuni is your home, isn't it? We can always return home, but you can't. If you want to go home, remove Doto from your path and return with your head high," he continued in a tone that cut through her, and he felt a twisted sense of pleasure at her discomfort.

Her reply reflected her nature of having given up. "You don't know anything. There is no spring in this country. It's a place where your tears will freeze and you heart will turn to stone!"

Interesting choice of words. I wonder how many times she practiced in front of the mirror to say it like that, Naruto wondered, drawing a snort from Kurama.

"But aren't you the one who can change that?"

Sakura was unable to stay silent at the princess's constant, bratty nature. There was no way she could not say something after seeing the slaughter of brave men who wanted to free their country. "At least, Sandayuu-san believed that."

Koyuki grit her teeth. "Will you stop spouting nonsense?!"

She brisk walked back to the trucks. Naruto sighed and slowly followed her. "Save it for the camera. Let's at least wrap up the movie!"

Koyuki turned around to shout at him because was so damn frustrating. But she saw him looking over her shoulder with a quizzical and a curious eye. Turning back, her eyes widened in stupefaction.

Rising up in the air, was a giant, black airship.

Is that an airship? I've never seen one before, let alone this close! Naruto thought in slight excitement and amazement, but soon turned serious. There was no doubt that it belonged to Doto. The door of the passenger compartment opened, revealing the nin who Naruto beat earlier. Funnily enough, the middle of his face was wrapped in bandages. He aimed his metal arm to the ground, and Naruto realized who his target was.

"Koyuki, move!"

His shout was accompanied by a flash step to her, but the metal arm seemed to have improved, for it reached Koyuki the same time Naruto reached her. It pulled her away just as Naruto reached for her winter coat, which slipped from his hands.

But he wasn't giving up.

Flashing to her right now would be a reckless move, for she was in enemy territory. This required some infiltration.

Several kunai dropped to the ground, a bluish-green stone wrapped to them.

Kakashi cursed, and the team leaped for cover instantly. As soon as the kunai hit the ground, icicles over twenty feet long and shaped like the bark and branches of pine trees. They impaled the trucks and lifted them up, but thankfully, no one was harmed.

Sasuke landed on an icicle, wildly looking around, searching for any injuries on the group of people or any casualties. His eyes widened. "Sakura! Where's Naruto?!"

Sakura gaped for a moment before looking up with realization. "No way! Is he…!" Her eyes turned to the rapidly shrinking airship in the distance.

Indeed, Naruto gave a small frown as he dangled in the air, only held there by a kunai and a thin rope. Wordlessly taking out a Hiraishin kunai, he threw it where it landed right next to the regular kunai. He promptly flashed away to it, anchoring his feet to the compartment, sitting upside down. He then made a shadow clone, who blurred away in a shunshin to inform Kakashi of his plans.

Collecting and putting his supplies in his pouches swiftly, he looked down towards the ground, giving it a look of thought.

"Hm…..nice view."

That was all he said before making his way inside. It was a child's play to pick the lock. Contrary to what it looked from the outside, the compartment was surprisingly big from within. He spread out his senses, easily getting a lock on a large chakra signature, along with several others, no doubt because of the chakra armor.

He quickly made his way towards it, stealthily though. Soon enough, he found himself waiting outside the main engine room. Looking up, he tried to find an alternative means of entrance, probably through a vent or something, but frowned in disappointment when he found them to be too small for him.

"The front door it is," he muttered as he entered, catching Doto saying something about being more powerful than all the great five.

"Good luck with that," Naruto called out with a smirk.

"You!" Koyuki and Doto shouted, in surprise and displeasure respectively.

As he expected, Doto demanded. "How did you get in here?!"

"The god of space-time opened a portal and dropped me here," Naruto replied without missing a beat. That was the truth…half-truth, technically. He liked the scowl Doto sent him at his wisecrack.

One of the first lessons of combat taught to him by Anko-sensei was to always mind your surroundings. Which was why he was able to flash step in time when ninja wire attempted to bind him, the eyes of everyone in the room widening when they saw the afterimage he left behind. Having already sensed all eleven chakra natures, he knew that his capture was unavoidable, as was the retreat with Koyuki. But that didn't mean he couldn't do some damage before being captured.

Slow perception combined with his sensing ability allowed him to swiftly slash the necks of the six ninjas, three on each side, before they had a chance to react. Genin level, he mused.

The large behemoth tried to crash into him, attempting a one-hit knockout, but he was all too easy to avoid due to his comparatively smaller size. The next stage of the plan was rather risky, gutsy even. One that completely went against the way he operated.

He dashed straight towards Doto with a kunai in hand, lowering his speed on purpose. So he was entirely unsurprised, when Doto's hand came up swiftly to grab him by the throat. Naruto's attempts to struggle were wholehearted this time as he clutched the large hand with both of his, attempting to dislodge it.

Well, Doto was certainly as strong as he looked.

Doto of course took notice of his notice, but just scoffed in disgust. "Pathetic."

He threw Naruto back as if he were just a lightweight, and damn if that didn't grate on his nerves.

The behemoth didn't miss his aim this time, and sent him crashing into the ground with a blow to his back. He was bound in ninja wire by the beefy man himself, from head to toe. He refused to fall down though, balancing himself on his knees, leveling Doto with a stoic expression.

The door behind him opened, and Sasuke's and Kakashi's opponent step in, eyes widening at the intruder they didn't even know about. Naruto didn't even deign a reaction to their entrance, staring dead at Doto.

Nadare immediately jumped to Doto's side. "Pardon me boss, we weren't aware that an intruder had slipped by us."

Doto just waved away his apology. "Don't worry Nadare, he is a slippery one. Fast enough to kill six of my ninja in moments and attempt an attack on me. You couldn't have known," he revealed, to the surprise of Nadare and the woman.

Naruto's former opponent spoke up, but there was a note of ire in his voice, as if he were saying something that distressed him. "He's quite powerful boss. Should we use that new equipment?"

Doto stared at the blonde with a speculative gaze. He was well aware how close he came to killing Mizore in their earlier fight, and Mizore was no pushover. "Yes, we have an interesting subject for our experiment," he said in a pleased tone.

Nadare grabbed something from a compartment and approached Naruto, who didn't show any sign of worry on the outside. The dumbass hauled him up straight, so that Nadare could attach whatever that device was, to him. Nadare reared his hand back and slammed it into Naruto's stomach. He winced in pain when cable wires sprouted from the device and sunk into him. He grit his teeth, a short scream escaping him when a sharp, shooting pain went through him, as if he was being electrified.

Trust me, you are.

His nails sank into his palms, because holding back his scream was proving more difficult than he thought. The device was forcibly draining his chakra, and for someone with monstrous reserves such as him, it was very painful.

Koyuki looked at the spectacle before her. "W-What?"

"It's a chakra restraining device. It absorbs all the chakra in his body, and places a powerful barrier around it, which cannot be broken or destroyed." Doto sounded proud of his invention, and Naruto couldn't wait to see his face when he breaks the device apart.

Koyuki couldn't tear her eyes away from Naruto's pained face, watching as he slowly starts going into unconsciousness.

"You're no real ninja," Nadare sneered at him. "Just a brat playing one."

Naruto gave a weak smirk in return. "And you're just a sheep wearing a lion's mane."

Nadare's face scrunched up in anger at the jab, and Naruto saw a fist coming at his face right before he went unconscious. His last thought was he hoped the shadow clone reached Kakashi in time.

XXXXXXX

When Naruto woke up, it was in a dark place. It was clearly a prison cell, and there was a distinct chill in the air. Which meant the machine on his stomach had nullified the seals on his clothes which kept him warm, or cold, depending on the conditions.

By that logic, it meant that my access to my chakra has been completely blocked. I can't even sense anything right now. If not for this machine, the Nawanuke no jutsu might have come in handy…

Then perhaps you should improvise?

Naruto scoffed at his tenant's unhelpful, unrequired suggestion. His reply was an impressive deadpan. No, really?

He looked up to his handcuffs, accessing the situation. The cuffs were thick, and covered his wrists well. They were put over his sleeves, which meant he would have to put some effort to get his sleeve out of them, along with his hand. He had a hairpin on him, hidden beneath his shoe. Though he could bring it to his mouth, he wasn't skilled enough in the art of escape to spit that pin from his mouth to his hand.

Maybe he would have to visit Anko-sensei again after this mission was over.

On a better note, the clone had made it to Kakashi, just in time.

The sound of incoming footsteps, three pairs to be precise, caused him to fall limp, feigning his unconsciousness. He hears a door of a cell in front of him open, then close. Two pairs walk away, and he could tell without opening his eyes just who was in the cell in front of him.

Opening his eyes, he saw Koyuki sitting down with her knees close to her chest, looking as resigned as ever. She turns and meets his gaze.

"Serves you right."

Naruto smirked.

"You too."

Koyuki turned away from him to stare at the floor of her cell. "I guess so."

Seeing the look of hopelessness caused him to ask a question that had been on his mind for a while. "When you said that there is no spring in Yuki no kuni….did you really mean it?"

Koyuki is silent for a moment, after which she tell him of an old memory of her with her father, who told her to never give up and believe in the future, for spring was sure to come.

"But there is no spring in this country. My father is dead, and I escaped….and I stopped believing."

Naruto could detect faint hints of sadness in her voice, despite the aloofness she was trying to portray. "I just ran and lied, ran and lied…..even to myself."

Naruto relaxed in his hold, looking up and purposely giving a short tug to the shackles, frustrated at the lack of trust she had in herself. Of course, being the pessimist she was, she mistook his frustration for an attempt at escape.

"See? It's better if you give up."

Naruto snorted. "It must be so easy to just give up." Lifting his head, he stared her in the eyes, a sad smile on his face. "No one will bother you. No one gives a crap about you. Perhaps it may look like it is better than being hurt or hated, but the ignorance….is the most painful of all. I hated it! And I can't believe that someone would deliberately choose to live like that! They'll acknowledge a rat before you, and I can't think of going lower than that."

The strength in his voice had steadily increased, until he was literally urging her to believe him. Taking a deep breath, he continued in a softer voice. "I've had a taste of acknowledgement….I have people who I love, people who love me back….and nothing less than the destruction of the world is going to stop me from going back to them.

"I have a dream, a dream to become the greatest of the Hokages, and I absolutely refuse to give up before I reach it!"

Her eyes were wide as she witnessed the determination with which he spoke. There wasn't an ounce of doubt on his face, because of which Koyuki felt something stirring within the deep corners of her mind. Something which she had long given up on.

Hope.

Refusing to believe that there was hope, because of the fear that it would only be ripped away from her again, she asked him in desperation. "But how will you escape? You can't even move!"

Naruto smirked at that. "Don't underestimate a shinobi of Konoha."

With that declaration, Naruto waved his fingers to her. "Watch this."

He wasn't some hyper-active knuckleheaded who would punch his way out of everything, shouting idealisms at the top of his voice.

He was a professional.

XX

In another universe, a short, blonde boy in an orange jumpsuit suddenly felt very depressed, drawing circles on the ground, while his team looked at him in confusion

XX

His hands were close enough that they were touching, and the shackles allowed at least some range of movement in his arms. He gripped his right thumb with his other hand, and with a deft push, dislocated it.

Seeing his thumb bend rather unnaturally, along with the accompanying sound, Koyuki winced.

Naruto chuckled on seeing her uncomfortable expression. "Don't worry," he assured her, "it's just dislocated."

…..Huh, Kurama looked on, interested at his choice of escape.

With that revelation, she looked a bit green.

Naruto pushed aside the acute pain of his thumb being pulled out of its socket and straining his abdominal muscles, he heaved himself up with a sharp exhale of breath, until his mouth was level with his right hand.

Slowly and carefully, he poured the spit that he had been gathering in his mouth for the past few minutes onto the hand, wiggling his fingers so that the spit was spread evenly. He emptied all the spit onto his mouth, drenching it completely along with a part of his sleeve.

Quickly gathering some more, he did this a few more times until his hand was entirely covered with his spit. He didn't have time to be grossed out, and he pushed aside the perverted thoughts of Temari doing the same thing to him with her spit in their bedroom. He let himself drop harshly, and pulled his hand with all the strength he could muster in his current position, a look of intense concentration on his face.

The sleeve only posed a minor problem, and soon enough, slowly but surely, his lubricated hand started slipping through the shackle, causing him to grin triumphantly. With a final pull of his hand, and with a whispered cheer of victory, his right hand slipped free, leaving him hanging with just one hand.

He grinned smugly at Koyuki, who still looked a bit comfortable, no doubt imagining the pain he went through. "You alright?"

Her silence spoke for itself.

Snorting in bemusement, he raised his hand near his left hand and with another swift movement, pushed the thumb back into place. He pulled his legs up to his chest, and pulled out the hairpin from where it was stuck.

With practiced fingers, he opened it and pushed the pin into the shackle. After a few seconds of messing around, he heard the sweet sound of his cuff opening, letting him fall to the ground, the chains making a rattling sound. Quickly pushing his pin into the locks, his feet were free in a matter of seconds.

Color me impressed, Naruto. That was rather surprisingly creative of you, Kurama complimented with a bemused smirk.

I do what I can, Naruto replied with mock humility. You think you can break the machine with your chakra?

Kurama snorted, taking offence. The fact that you doubt my power disgusts me!

So can you please do it? Naruto asked in exasperation, long used to the fox's fragile ego.

I'll do it when you're desperate enough. I want to see just what else you can do without chakra.

Naruto quelled his frustration at just how much of an asshole Kurama could be sometimes.

He leveled a smug smirk at Koyuki. "How's that for an escape?"

He felt it was a victory when her lips broke out in a soft smile. "Now what?"

Naruto crossed his arms. "I'm sure that touching these bars is dangerous, and I don't have my hip pouches with me. So all I can do right now is wait for my team."

Koyuki frowned in confusion when she saw him sit and lay down. "How would your team know where you are?"

"I managed to give them a message of my situation before I was captured," came the reply, as he closed his eyes.

"They should be coming anytime now. Stay ready for a signal."

Unsure as to the meaning of his words, Koyuki thought that she should keep some sort of watch.

But interestingly, she found herself wanting to know a bit more about her fellow prisoner. "What's it like to be a shinobi?"

Naruto sat up, surprise flickering through his eyes at the fact that Koyuki had initiated a conversation, one that didn't focus on giving up. He regarded on what to tell her, the cold truth or the kid version.

The decision was easy enough to make.

"To those who aren't shinobi, it may look like we're just soldiers who fight to win, using powerful techniques and weapons. And while that is true to some extent," Naruto's eyes hardened, not unlike his father, causing Koyuki to shiver at the diamond hard resolve and coldness in them, "it's only a small part of our lives. We are killers, who exist to endure, to protect those who can't protect themselves. We kill, we maim, we seduce, we destroy, we betray…at the end of the day, we excuse all of our actions in the name of our village.

"You may think we are pleasant from how we act, but don't forget, that being a shinobi is all about deception."

The ice cold truth served to make her look at Naruto in a whole new light, a light containing a small darkness of terror. To think that she had an impression that he was just a kid soldier. She could see from his eyes alone that he was a ruthless killer, who wouldn't hesitate if was required to kill….

"Then again, we are a weird bunch," Naruto said, shrugging as if he hadn't just said something mind scarring.

They lapsed into silence again, waiting for the signal Naruto knew would make itself know soon.

Sure enough, both of them heard an echoing boom from somewhere far in the building, most likely an explosion of some sort. Koyuki's head snapped up, wondering who could have done that. But the moment she looked at Naruto, she found herself quite unnerved but the absolutely terrifying grin on his face. The fact that his canines were sharper, and larger than normal, did not ease her terror at all. His earlier words echoed in her mind, when he gave her a mere glimpse of who he really was.

She was suddenly very glad that Naruto was on her side.

Naruto positioned himself so it looked like he passed out in exhaustion after successfully freeing himself from his cuffs. Just five minutes later, two snow ninja race into the corridors, stopping by Naruto's cell.

"What the- How did this kid…?!"

They scrapped of the piece of paper on the cell lock, and opened it, to transport the unconscious prisoner to a new cell. The fact alone that the shackles were opened clean, without break should have been alarming in itself, but these two clearly did not know of the word "caution."

The snow nin was frozen in his place when Naruto's eyes snapped open, a disturbingly sweet smile spreading on his face. His eyes, however, betrayed the maliciousness.

"So nice of you to bring in the keys."

Koyuki watched as he made short work of the snow ninja, and within seconds, he stood outside his cell, twirling the keys on his finger in triumph.

Looking back at the now dead nin, he scoffed.

"Pussycats."

To his pleasant surprise, Koyuki snorted at his choice of word, unable to smother her amusement. Leaping over to her cell, he quickly unlocked the door, holding out his hand for her to take. Once she had, they raced towards the elevator at the end of the hallway. Naruto pulled the lever inside, taking the elevator as high as it could go.

Naruto checked the hallway, making sure it was clear before he leaded her out of the elevator. Seeing that that they were on some kind of bridge, and therefore, an open area, he hurried to get to the safety of the shadows again, keeping lookout with all his available senses for any unwelcome surprises.

Which was why only Koyuki panicked and not him when a wire shot up in front of them and attached to the ceiling, a snow nin following shortly. It only took him a moment to place why the nin didn't attack them on landing.

"Took you long enough," he sniffed in a mock superior manner.

To Koyuki's surprise, the snow nin glared at Naruto in indignation before tearing off his clothes, revealing Kakashi's form.

"Shut up, you," Kakashi muttered before throwing throwing Naruto's hip pouches to him.

He was surprised when Naruto's clone had come back to them, relaying what the original was planning to do. He had been a bit anxious when he heard that Naruto was planning to infiltrate the enemy territory to break Koyuki out. His concerns were same as the clone's when he informed them that it was possible that Naruto would likely be caught and restricted.

That statement was proven right when the clone dispelled without warning, telling Kakashi and the genin that something had happened to the original Naruto.

Meaning, they had to hurry.

Finding the place where Doto most likely was a child's play. That big-ass, obnoxious looking castle couldn't be hidden even in a storm, let alone soft snow. Kakashi quickly hatched out a plan with Sasuke and Sakura to infiltrate the castle to find out anything important Doto might be planning with the Hexagonal crystal, while he searched for Naruto.

He knew just how resourceful the blonde was- he had to be, he was the most ruthless prankster in Konoha after all- and therefore, not entirely surprised when he found him escaping with Koyuki, a distinct lack of injuries on both of them. A strange contraption seemed to be latched on to his stomach though.

He supposed it was a device to suppress chakra.

Naruto quickly attached his hip pouches to him, thankful that they weren't destroyed.

Koyuki glared at the copy nin. "You switched out the crystal for a fake one, didn't you?"

Kakashi walked up to her, giving his apologies. "Sorry, I thought that this was what they were after…" he handed her the real one. She looked at it with a worried frown, but before she could think anything, another explosion took place, this time much closer to them.

Sakura and Sasuke ran around from the corner towards them. "We couldn't hold the room!"

She smiled when she saw Naruto, relieved that there were no injuries on him. Even Sasuke gave the smallest of smirks on having his teammate and rival back.

"This way!"

Koyuki beckoned them, and without waiting for them, ran to the steps. As they exited the prison sector, Naruto found himself wondering just where the princess was leading them. Finally, after passing through many halls, they entered and stopped in a large room.

A light suddenly turned on, revealing Doto sitting on an elevated throne. The man rose up, walking some steps forward. "Well done, Koyuki."

"What?!"

Kakashi turned to Koyuki, who ran away from them and to Doto. He tried to grab for her, but was blocked by the same team of snow nin that encountered them before. Having reached Doto, she put the real Hexagonal crystal in his hands without hesitation.

Turning to Team 7, she stated loud and clear. "It seems that you all have forgotten that I'm an actress."

While the team gaped at her for betraying her entire country, Naruto just narrowed his eyes at her, not relaxing from his stance. There was little he could do right now. While he was no slouch in speed without chakra, he wasn't fast enough to do a quick grab and retreat.

But something else seemed at play here. The emotions he had felt from her, back in the cells had been too genuine for her to suddenly betray them like this.

What the hell was going on?!

Doto chuckled. "Exactly. It was an act put on by Koyuki."

But the shinobi were no longer paying attention to him. Their sights were set on the tanto that Koyuki was slowly pulling out of her sleeve. Her expression became closed. "Yes…..it was all an act."

Unsheathing the blade, she turned around and with a thrust, sunk the blade into an unsuspecting Doto's side. Doto stared at her in shock, unable to believe that he had been stabbed by the girl. "What?!"

"I told you, didn't I? I am an actress!"

"D-Damn you!"

Doto's hand whipped out, wrapping around her throat and choking her. Her hand drops from the blade, clutching around her uncle's hands.

Naruto let out a whisper. "What are you doing, Hime-sama?"

As if having heard him, she started speaking. "I knew this already, Naruto….." Koyuki whispered. "That when I returned here, I would die." She grit her teeth, "That's why…..I at least wanted to…"

"Stop speaking!" Naruto shouted; she would only run out of air faster.

But she appeared to not have heard him. "Naruto…it's all thanks to you. That I could stop running in the end….."

Naruto slashed a hand in denial, snarling at her. "Wrong! This is exactly like running away!"

With one last push, she and Doto are sent over the edge that she was inching towards, falling to the ground in a heap. Naruto clenched his fists- he dare not run towards her right now, not when the nin from earlier were standing there and his chakra suppressed. But to their surprise, Doto stood up from where he had fallen, seemingly without any sign of being stabbed.

"Hmph! You can't kill me with a toy dagger like that," he sniffed disdainfully before shrugging off his robes to reveal black armor similar to other ninja. "This is the newest advanced model of chakra armor!"

Naruto opened his mouth to deliver a wisecrack, but Koyuki chose to stir in that moment. She began coughing as the air rushed into her lungs. Doto reached over to pick her up as if she was a child. Naruto simply glared at the noble, letting him know of the utter disgust he felt at him.

Koyuki struggled in his hold, fists beating against him, but Doto looked as if he wasn't even feeling them. Looking down, he smirked at her.

"Let us go, Koyuki…to the place beyond the rainbow!"

With that, the ceiling began to collapse on them, forcing them to dodge the large chunks of rocks. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a wire shooting from behind Doto, pulling him up along with his hostage.

"Oh no you don't!" Naruto whispered to himself, attaching ninja wire to a kunai before spinning it and throwing it to the retreating duo. Koyuki was quick to grasp onto the wire, letting it wound around her arm so the Naruto was lifted up along with them.

As he was pulled along for the ride, Naruto looked down, hoping the others made it out safely.

He turned his attention back above. Doto unfurled a pair of wings, just like the woman who was Sasuke's opponent, and flew high into the air with them. A sense of déjà vu went through him, and he gave a small smile.

That's the second time my life is hanging on a thread on this mission, he reflected wryly.

Of course Doto would notice the little bit of drag he had, and he looked down to see his tail. He smirked, and changed direction, flying past Naruto, cutting the rope.

"NARUTO!"

Koyuki screamed as she watched him fall, most likely to his death.

Gravity took hold of him as he plummeted down to the ground. But despite his rapidly approaching demise, his thoughts were calm.

I think this is a good time for you to break that device, don't you think?

Hmph! Looks like there isn't much you humans are capable of without access to your chakra.

Naruto wanted to tell him that even with chakra, humans were unable to fly with the exception of the Tsuchikage. Even back in the room, the odds were against them.

But a warm feeling gathered in his stomach- Kurama's chakra- and the glass on the face of the device cracked. The next moment, the device shattered completely, and Naruto grinned wolfishly when his powerful, dense chakra flowed through his body once more.

Seeing he was on course to collision with the branch of a pine tree, he swiftly whipped out a Hiraishin kunai from his hip pouch, throwing it to the ground. It cut through the air, and Naruto flashed to it right before he could break the branch with an extremely ungraceful landing.

With the speed he was falling, even landing on his feet would have broken the branch.

Naruto watched the sky impassively as Doto flew further away, until he lost sight of him. Pulling out the kunai from the ground, he scoffed. "As if he can run away from me so easily."

But he had a theory, another possible weakness of that armor. As solid it was, the yin-yang symbol couldn't have been drawn on it just to decorate the armor, or just for the sake of not making the armor look dull. It seemed to be sunk a bit into the plates, like a different piece of the armor altogether.

A different piece! That's it! Most likely, it's the exposed part of the armor, a possible power core!

A sound made him turn to the right. It was the film crew on a mechanical sledge of some sort. The director pointed his horn at him. "Hop on!"

Naruto debated whether to run or just take the ride. In the end, he just decided to take it.

Doto had no reason to kill Koyuki just yet, and this sledge could go faster on snow than he could, much to his grudging admittance.

He didn't want to waste chakra on body flickers just yet.

XXXXXXX

Sakura and Sasuke ran through the woods, dodging the icicle kunai of the flying woman.

"Sakura!" Sasuke exclaimed, getting frustrated.

"Not yet," she replied, ducking just in time. Then, her eyes widened. "I got it! 20 degrees left in five seconds! 30 meters! Aim by that branch!"

"Finally!" Sasuke cheered, stepping aside and throwing ninja wire at a branch, creating a web withing seconds that was testament to his expertise.

The beefy nin, Naruto's previous opponent, taunted Sakura. "Anything you do is useless!"

That's what you said last time, Sakura mentally smirked, recounting the sound defeat the nin suffered at the hands of her teammate. She opened her cloak to reveal several kunai with small, pink bags attached to them. Without wasting time, she threw them at him, not being deterred even when the nin blocked them with his armor.

Eventually though, the small pieces of paper that burst out of the bags became enough to block his sight, and he jumped off his board, looking around for the pink haired girl. He watched curiously when one piece of paper settled onto him- a seal written on it.

Sakura jumped from her branch, an explosive tag kunai in her hand. "Ninpo: Sakura Fubuki no jutsu!" (Ninja art: Sakura blizzard jutsu)

She threw the kunai at him, landing it before the nin on the ground, detonating it along with all the other tiny tags.

Sasuke had dealt with his opponent as well. Caught in his wires, she managed to glide to a branch, cutting them with her wings with a smirk. "Snow ninja can't be brought down by something as weak as that!"

"Didn't think so!"

The voice came from behind her, causing her to let out a sound of shock. "Shishi Rendan!"

The barrage of hits sent the woman flying back down, right towards her teammate who she crashed into. An explosion took place as soon as they came into contact.

Sasuke hit the ground, right next to Sakura. "Huh, what do you know? His suspicions were right."

Sakura smiled at her teammate. "That seems to be the norm with him, Sasuke-kun."

Sasuke scoffed, but had a smirk on his face. What a magnificent bastard.

"But not only that," she continued with a frown, and Sasuke looked at her with a raised eyebrow, "I'm not sure, but I think I may have found a weakness in the armor."

XXXXXXX

Kakashi faced off against an old opponent, determined to bring him down this time.

"You think you can win? You ran away back then."

Kakashi replied in his usual, indifferent tone. "Looks like I don't have a choice. I'll show you…my original!"

Three handseals later, his hand is cackling with lightning. "Raikiri!"

Nadare made his own hand signs, giving a gleeful expression. "Hyouton: Roga Nadare no jutsu!"

An avalanche from the cliff beside rushed towards Kakashi, the falling snow taking the form of giant wolves. He scoffed at the arrogance of the man to name the jutsu after himself.

Kakashi didn't hesitate at the sight of them, running forward and jumping over the wolves, letting them fall over the edge. One wolf manages to stop in front of him, jaws opening to devour him, but Kakashi thrusted his hand forward, the lightning splitting the wolf like a hot knife through butter. His Raikiri flared brightly, and Nadare jumped back, not noticing the yin-yang symbol on his shoulder, the core of the armor, cracking and shutting down.

Nadare still looked like the fight was in his favor. "Too bad!"

Both he and Kakashi jump off the edge on seeing the avalanche advancing towards them. Nadare let out a sound of surprise when Kakashi's arms holding his own together tightly.

"Even without ninjutsu and genjutsu, a shinobi still has taijutsu! You depended on your armor far too much!"

The last sentence was said in a decidedly savage, mixed with victorious tone. As the ground neared, Kakashi let go of Nadare with a final push, smashing him headfirst into the ground. His neck broke instantly, and the rest of his body fell like a strings cut from a puppet.

With one final glance, Kakashi was out of there to regroup with his team.

XXXXXXX

Naruto jumped off the sledge when he felt Doto's chakra was close enough to him. Using the already fast speed with which they were moving as a springboard, Naruto sprinted ahead, leaving the crew behind.

He arrived just in time to see the ice starting to melt off. Feeling that victory was closer than ever, he kept running until Doto and Koyuki were in his sights. Leaving a Hiraishin kunai for a safe retreat, he continued his path, down the cliff.

"Naruto!"

Koyuki was beyond relieved to see the blonde, not a single scratch on him. She was starting to feel that there really was nothing that could stop him from achieving his goals.

Doto grit his teeth at the sight of the blonde brat. He was starting become an annoyance now. Slowly, but swiftly forming the handseals, he called out his jutsu. "Hyouton: Kokuryu Bofusetsu!" (Ice release: Black Dragon Blizzard)

He thrust his fist out, and Naruto found a black ether-like dragon making its way towards him. But his reaction was so out of the place that it threw everyone for a loop.

Koyuki watched in complete bewilderment when Naruto stopped, and actually pumped his fist in the air, a tri-pronged kunai in his hand. "YES! I REALLY WANTED TO TRY THIS ONE OUT!"

Naruto's heart pumped wildly as the dragon neared him. This was the best opportunity he could get to try the Flying Thunder God: Guiding thunder on a big target like this. This would also allow him to test out his theory of whether the armor protected the user against his own attacks.

But FTG took priority right now.

Snake-Horse-Rat-Ram. Holding the kunai in his right hand, reverse grip, he pushed his hand forward, molding the chakra in the required way, keeping the seal firmly in mind.

Everyone watched with eyes nearly falling out of their sockets, even the film crew, when the dragon stopped just in front of Naruto, and columns made of kanji characters spread out from where it had stopped. Their jaws started unhinging when the black dragon slowly started disappearing right in front of him, as if entering a completely different space, a void of some sort.

In a matter of seconds, the entire dragon was gone, and Naruto flicked the kunai towards Doto, his expression one of sadistic enjoyment. The maliciousness in his words chilled Doto to the bone. "Right back at you."

Naruto gave a savage grin when the black dragon appeared right in behind Doto and crashed into him, sending him high into the air. Doto didn't have a clue when Naruto marked his hand when he was holding him by the throat.

Doto slammed into the ground with a crash that was music to Naruto's ears. What just happened?! His armor was supposed to deflect any enemy ninjutsu and genjutsu back to them!

Unless, he realized in excruciating pain, that was my own jutsu.

It was such a gross oversight on his part that it was unforgivable. His armor wasn't designed to protect him from his own chakra, so obviously, his own attacks had a greater chance of harming him than any other attacks. It hadn't even occurred to him that an enemy was out there who was capable of sending the attacks back to the owner.

He pushed through the pain and glared hatefully at the blonde. Intense frustration and rage filled into him, at being foiled at every turn by the Konoha shinobi, especially this one. He had thought that Hatake Kakashi was the one who would give him most trouble in his quest, but this kid had proven that he was just as capable.

Getting up, he broke into a jog, then a run, intent on smashing him into the ground, followed by the cold waters underneath. "DIE!"

Doto's hit was so powerful that the ice broke under him like plywood, crumbling to reveal the freezing waters.

But he had struck nothing.

Being a noble who depended too much on his chakra armor, his senses had been too slow to comprehend that Naruto had flashed away at the last moment, to the kunai buried on top of the cliff he came down from. His head whipped from side to side, trying to see where he was, and just how the blonde had been able to dodge that.

So distracted he was, he failed to pay attention to what was going on behind him.

Behind him, Koyuki sunk to her knees, her eyes being too slow as well to see that Naruto had escaped. Suddenly, to her great shock, Naruto appeared beside her and before she could utter a word, she was whisked away.

Appearing on top of a cliff so suddenly, she was about to yelp when a hand covered her mouth.

"Shhh," Naruto shushed her with an amused smile, "don't make a sound. He doesn't know you are here, so stay low."

"Oi Naruto!"

Sasuke and Sakura appeared beside him, the former staring at him with a scowl, as was natural for him. "I want to have a go at him. Sakura has scoped out a possible weakness in the armor."

"Is it the yin-yang symbol?"

If he hadn't been teammates with Naruto for so long, he might have been surprised that Naruto had arrived on the same conclusion as them. He gave him a stiff nod.

Naruto nodded back, "Then get ready. I'll flash you to him."

Sasuke nodded and flashed through seals, and like Kakashi, his hand started cackling in lightning. "Chidori!"

The sound of chirping birds brought Doto's attention to the top. Shock rose withing him when he saw the blonde up the cliff, along with his black haired teammate, whose hand was now covered in lightning. The shock gave away to a smirk. He shouted out to them, "NOW THAT I KNOW WHERE YOU ARE, YOU CANNOT HOPE TO LAND AN ATTACK ON ME!"

Naruto and Sasuke gave him identical smirks- this asshole was going down. Sasuke called back to him. He spoke in a normal volume, because of which his mock was more effective. "I don't believe you! In fact, you will see it coming, and you still won't be able to stop me!"

Such was the beauty of Naruto's Hiraishin.

Putting his hand on Sasuke's back, he pushed him through the slipstream, right to Doto's marking.

One moment, Doto prepared himself for when the brat would come running down the cliff, absolutely sure that he would be able to smack him aside with little difficulty.

So he was, in Naruto's and Sasuke's opinion, hilariously unprepared when Sasuke appeared right in front of him, hand reared back and ready to strike.

And strike he did. He pushed the jutsu forward as near to the center chest piece as he could get. The armor was much stronger, he thought, because his chidori only managed to make a crack in the symbol before Doto smacked him to his right with a strong blow. Sasuke crashed into a wall of ice, making a crater in it.

"Ha ha! Your pathetic jutsu is useless against my armor!" Doto laughed, unknowing of the small crack in his armor.

Sasuke smirked, a trickle of blood sliding down his chin. "The rest is up to you, Naruto," he whispered.

Doto turned his head away from Sasuke dismissively, and looked at Naruto with arrogance in his eyes. "You are next!"

Naruto gave a snort at that, pulling out a kunai and a seal tag. Wrapping it around the kunai, he threw it into the air. Within seconds, the one kunai became hundred, raining down towards Doto like swords of death from the heaven. He doubted that Gojo kunai rendan would be successful, but it was worth a try.

Doto was momentarily shocked, but then growled, making seals. "Hyouton: Soryu Bofusetsu!" (Ice release: Twin Black Dragon Blizzard)

This time, instead of one, two black dragons emerged from his fists, swirling and moving around each other to create a large, black twister, which repels all the kunai. The winds eventually died down, the jutsu stopping along with it. All the kunai were scattered all over the grounds, but when he looked up, he couldn't see the brat anywhere. Where was the kid?!

Looking at the damage around, Doto started laughing like a mad man despite the pain he was in. "It's over! It's all over!"

"It's over, when I say it's over!"

Doto's head whipped around to stare at the increasingly annoying voice of the blonde. As the white clouds of dust and ice cleared, he saw the brat- no, shinobi, he corrected himself- holding a glowing ball of chakra, slightly bigger than his hand as he stared at him with a smirk.

Naruto started walking forward, holding the rasengan back, intending to finish this in the most efficient, and most badass way possible. "Kazahana Doto! For betraying and killing the true leader of this country, attempting to dispose of the true heir, being a megalomaniac and having evil plans to take over the world and lastly, for being a motherfucker of the highest order and an obstacle of a happy ending, I, Uzumaki Naruto, jonin of Konoha, sentence you to oblivion!"

Koyuki stood up from her hidden place, Naruto's never-give-up and never-say-die attitude filling her up with courage and strength of purpose once more. "Naruto! I believe you! You are the strongest ninja that Princess Gale acknowledges!"

Naruto's eyes didn't waver once from Doto, whose head whipped around in shock. He never knew that Koyuki had rescued by that meddlesome shinobi already!

Turning back, his eyes met the unbreakable resolve of Naruto's eyes, and he found that he couldn't move from his place. The shinobi marched towards him like a reaper coming to deliver judgement.

"That goes without saying!"

Hearing Koyuki's words caused his heart to soar. It felt great to his heart that she had finally came out of her slump. He gave a terrifying smirk, displaying his canines, to Doto. He spoke in a tone that caused a shiver to go down Doto's back.

"As for you….don't worry. I'll end this in a flash."

Doto was, frankly speaking, completely scared by now, which he tried to mask with his anger. As he neared Doto, the sun rose over the peaks of the mountains, and its rays hit the mirror like structures in the valley. The light reflected by them was absorbed by the rasengan, causing it to glow brighter than ever before. The trails of rainbow colors swirl around it.

It looked magnificent.

He couldn't understand what happened next, because it happened to fast for him. One second, he was walking towards him. He blinked, and the blonde was right in front of him, hand reared back to thrust the jutsu into him. It happened so suddenly, so instantly, that Doto's senses were far too slow to perceive, his reflexes infinitely slower to react.

With a shout of victory, Naruto thrust the rasengan into the yin-yang symbol on Doto's chest. "HAAAAAAAAAA!"

The armor, already weakened by Sasuke's chidori, stood no chance at all against, raw, destructive power of the rasengan. So much power was packed into the ball of chakra, that the ground beneath them cracked. Sasuke, along with Sakura and Kakashi, who had just arrived, watched with wide eyes as the snow around them was blown up from the ground.

The rasengan blasted Doto away, its incredible rotation of the jutsu sending him spinning like a fan and crashed him into the mirror like structure, causing a spider web of cracks to form. Naruto turned away- he did not need to see what happened to the noble.

Doto was dead, as simple as that.

The death of a tyrant always brings something truly happy to the land. Like a switch was flipped, the land changed, ice giving way to lush, green grass. Flowers bloomed across the land, and a cool breeze flew all around, instead of the shivering cold air.

Naruto watched with some surprise as the mirrors glowed, and somehow, a projection of a younger Koyuki speaking to the late Kazahana Sousetsu appeared in the air, almost like a mirage.

"Believe in the future, and spring is sure to come."

Koyuki watched in amazement, remembering this particular memory of the past. Her father had asked her what she wanted to be, and she remembered the answer she gave.

"I want to be a princess."

The kind voice asked her again. "What kind of princess?"

Naruto turned to fully watch as the chibi, much cuter version of Koyuki tilted her head adorably in thought. "Hmm…a princess who is kind, strong….and a fighter for justice!" she finished with a bright smile.

Sousetsu laughed, and Naruto found it to be a lot more pleasant than the way his twisted brother laughed. "Well, you'll have to work hard for that!"

In a much gentler, encouraging tone, Sousetsu continued. "But never give and believe in that dream…and you will become that princess."

He stood behind the younger Koyuki, hands on her shoulders, both seemingly looking right at the older princess. Tears streamed down Koyuki's face as she recalled the happy memory.

Watching the memory, Naruto couldn't help but feel the absence of his own parents. Nonetheless, he pushed aside the sadness and gave a smile of genuine happiness.

"But there's one other thing I want to become!" The chibi Koyuki piped up.

"Oh, and what's that?"

"An actress!"

Sousetsu's fading laughter was heard all over the valley before it vanished, and Naruto was sure that what he felt now, was a small glimpse of what true peace was like.

He was sure that Jiraiya would have loved it here.

Naruto slowly sat down beside Sakura and Sasuke, who were leaning against a rock. He sighed, feeling relaxed for the first time on the mission.

"Man, what an adventure," he breathed out with a smile.

Sakura returned his smile. "Yeah…..the ending was just like a movie."

Naruto's eyes twinkled in amusement, turning to her. "Oh trust me, we will be in a movie."

When Sakura looked at him confused, he flickered his eye towards the film crew, who had been recording the whole time. Sakura looked like she could squeal in happiness, but chose to sigh dreamily.

Sasuke snorted. "Didn't know you had a flair for the dramatics, Uzumaki."

"What can I say, I picked it up from you," Naruto quipped back.

The entire team 7 snorted at that, and leaned back on the rock to relax. The spring around them really filled them with a sense of accomplishment.

XXXXXXX

A week later, the Team 7 were special guests to Princess Koyuki at her coronation as the new leader of Yuki no kuni. Naruto and Sakura were happy to sample the rich delicacies of Yuki no kuni, with Naruto feeling a sense of win over his wife. Too bad he couldn't take this food back with him.

In Konoha, Temari didn't know why she suddenly felt very jealous of her husband.

Koyuki makes her way to them as soon as she comes down to greet people. She moves forward and gave her best hug to Naruto, who returned it with a laugh.

"So how does it feel, your highness?"

Koyuki swatted at him for his attempt to tease her, pouting when he pulled back out of her reach. Leaning against a table, she replied, "Well, it is something I always wanted to be. I'm sure my father would be very happy for me."

"I'm sure he will be," Naruto smiled.

"But you're such a good actress, and now you would have to retire from acting?" Sakura asked her.

"Who said anything about retiring?"

"You're not?" Sakura asked, tilting her head.

Koyuki winked at them, waving a script she took out from her robes, part of the title covered. Naruto tried to make out what it was, but Kakashi recognized it right away.

"I-Is that….?!" He stammered, hand shaking. Naruto looked at it more closely, and suddenly realized what made Kakashi stammer like that.

I wonder if the pervert actually passed out when he received the offer of Icha Icha Paradise becoming a movie.

"I will rule in Yuki, and still keep up my acting career. After all," she winked at Naruto, "it's stupid to give, right?"

Koyuki giggled, picking up the front of her robes and hurrying over to a group of children calling for her, asking for an autograph.

"Now that she would be so busy, it was good that I picked up an autograph for Temari before today," Naruto mused, fingering the piece of paper in his jonin vest.

He had been asked by Temari to get an autograph for her before he left for the mission, but Koyuki filled his arms with gifts and souvenirs to take home, on top of the autograph.

"That reminds me," Sasuke spoke up, taking out an envelope from his pocket, "she signed an autograph for you as well."

Naruto blinked as he took the envelope from his friend. He found it hard to imagine Sasuke walking up to Koyuki with a paper and a pen, politely asking if she could sign it for him.

He missed the wicked gleam in Sakura's eye and the smirk on Sasuke's face.

He opened the envelope and pulled out a picture, eyes bulging out as he gazed at it. The photo was of him, staring at the camera with a broad grin and a large blush on his face, one hand in pocket and the other flashing a peace sign, as Koyuki placed a kiss on his cheek, in full get up of Princess Gale.

Funny thing was, Naruto didn't remember standing for this picture. His wife would kill him if he did.

Looking up with a scrunched up face full of confusion and mouth gape, he aimed a deadpan expression at the pinkette whose shoulders were shaking with suppressed laughter.

Looking over to Sasuke, even his lips were tightly pressed together, and he was avoiding looking over to the blonde.

Behind him, Kakashi stood absolutely still to avoid suspicion. But his stillness gave away his involvement as well.

Pieces came together in his mind and he whispered, shaking his head in amazement. "You guys are so mean."

Sakura finally let out her laughter. "Oh come on, Naruto! It was worth seeing your face!"

Naruto held up the photograph. "You know Temari would kill me if she ever saw this, right?"

No answer came from his team except for chuckles, causing him to shake his head in disbelief. He turned over the picture, and saw a message written in black.

"To Uzumaki Naruto,

Don't give up until you've become Hokage!

-Yukie Fujikaze"

Naruto snorted softly, still gazing at those words. He looked up and stared at his team. "I will have my revenge for this," he promised, but his eyes conveyed his acceptance of the picture.

"By the way, who transformed into me for the picture?"

Sasuke and Kakashi immediately pointed their fingers at a guiltily grinning Sakura.

Sakura shoved his shoulder lightly. "Maybe Temari-san will allow you to frame it on a wall."

"Maybe….." Naruto murmured, putting the picture back in the envelope, putting it in a pocket of his jonin vest.

He could only hope that Temari listened to his explanation first.