Drifting

by AlphaDelta1001

Naruto is many things; troublesome, wild, unpredictable, adventurous, untamable, unique. But there's a benefit to being wild and unpredictable; no one has the faintest idea what you're going to do next. NarutoHarem

32. Land of Snow Arc - Changing Winds

Author's Note: Merry Christmas everyone! I hope you're all having a great holiday, because I've posted the next chapter just for you.

I hope you all enjoy this one.

And also, to all the Naruto fans out there, I ask this question to all of you. This arc is important to my story as it sets the foundations for the three year gap to follow after the next two arcs, but there are also some changes that have taken place.

Can anyone identify each of the villains that appear in this? They are all from the Naruto world, so you should know them.

Happy holidays.

---

NARUTO

Drifting

The Changing Winds

That same night…

True to the thoughts that had plagued his mind throughout his entire march up the main road, Naruto was welcomed back to the studio's central building by the collective masses of both his teammates and his clients, all of whom were absolutely baffled by the sight of the blonde haired Jonin trudging up the highway with an unconscious Yukie flung over his shoulder. While Sandayuu nearly fainted at the sight of his beloved star actress and the condition she was in, the jinchuriki ended up having to face the expected chewing out by Sakura for treating their 'package' and one of the most famous women on the face of the planet so carelessly. However, she didn't take her lecturing of him too far for two good reasons.

One was because he outranked her and two, even though he was one of her closest friends, the kunoichi hadn't forgotten what he'd done in the Chunin Exams to earn him his rank. The boy had proven in all of the matches he'd fought that he could be scary strong when he wanted to be, and that kept her more volatile tendencies towards him pacified.

Naruto eventually explained to the group that the princess didn't exactly make her retrieval from the village easy on him, so any further discussions on the matter were quickly settled once his case had been pled and he was able to set Yukie in the carriage that would take them down to the coast. Once the actress had been secured and all were present and accounted for, the shinobi team then wasted no time in getting everyone moving and after about two hours of fast-marching, the entire convoy eventually arrived at the docks and were soon loading up the ship intended to transport them.

While the film crew finished up moving supplies into storage and the shinobi squad oversaw the final boarding procedures, Naruto used that time to carry a still unconscious Yukie into her cabin and dropped her onto her bed, leaving her in the clothing he'd found her in while he yanked the covers over her still and sleeping form.

With the homemade drug he'd given her, the movie princess would be out for quite a bit, enough time for the crew to safely move all their supplies on board before eventually putting them to sea. Though it was guaranteed that she was going to be alright, the actress was still going to have a splitting headache when she eventually woke up. That was the main drawback to downing so much alcohol and then being unceremoniously knocked out by a cocktail of berries and herbs you would not be able to find growing in your backyard.

That's what you get for overindulging.

As Yukie lay there in her bed, sleeping peacefully under the rays of moonlight dripping into her midst, Naruto stood quietly by her side with his hands in his pockets, a serious gaze fixed on her delicate face and a firm expression in play, which failed to lift even when the boy shook his head at the state of her.

She was very pretty. There was no arguing that. Of the numerous times he'd seen the girl on screen, you would swear her personality in real-life would mimic exactly what she put forth to the general public. But in reality, the great Yukie Fujikaze was nothing like the characters she portrayed in her films. Her attitude needed a serious adjustment… and perhaps some therapy to help with her alcoholism. She was a cold, hard case, plain and simple, which had been made glaringly obvious to the young Jonin back in the bar when the two of them had had some alone time together, even when one of them had been stone drunk and completely open to flirting with complete strangers.

After giving his appraisal of the woman, Naruto slowly turned to leave, only for his foot to suddenly scrape against something on the floor of the chamber, causing him to look down in surprise. When he did, he saw a necklace with a chain lying under his heel and, figuring it to belong to Yukie, reached down and picked it up. Admiring the purple crystal at the end for a moment, sensing some significant importance behind it, the blonde then set it down beside the girl's bed on the cabinet before walking out.

"I've never seen someone so adamantly against the idea of going to another country before," Naruto thought as he shut the cabin door behind him. "Perhaps the reason will turn up a little later down the line."

It was an issue that was bothering him somewhat, but not enough for him to call off the assignment that had been set for him. Seeing as how this was a simple escort mission and all he and his squad knew about where they were going, were what they knew about the country and that their destination was a glacier somewhere within it, there was very little he could do to prepare except to wait and see what will happen.

Once out on deck again, Naruto then proceeded to watch alongside the rest of his team as the crew finished boarding before the ship finally set off onto open waters. With all men and women present, the movie crew turned in for the night, leaving only a couple of the ship's staff awake and Naruto to oversee the clear and steady course of the vessel. Due to the hectic nature of the day beforehand, including both the traveling, manual labor and chasing after the roguish, runaway star, it was safe to say that everyone was pretty beat. The only one who didn't really feel the strain at this time was Naruto.

The boy just stood up at the bow end of the vessel looking out over the waters as they cruised along at a steady pace. Feeling the night wind wash over him as well as the ocean waves gently rock the ship as it cut across the waters, the boy looked down at his hand and flexed his fingers.

"Having trouble sleeping?"

Hearing the familiar voice, Naruto smiled and looked over his shoulder to see Tenten stroll up to him along the deck to stand next him. When she secured her spot, the blonde gave a lighthearted chuckle. "No, not really. Besides, someone's got to keep an eye on the crew during the night shifts. Since we're pretty much guarding celebrities, we need to have our eyes and ears open at all times."

"Heh. Yeah. I can agree with you on that." Giggling, the girl with brown hair tied into buns saddled up on his flank against the railing and nudged him in the arm. "But try not to worry about it too much. Sure, it's important to act professionally, but the best you can really do at this point is be yourself."

"Focusing on my work of being an awesome ninja is what I normally do… although every now and again I like to mix it up a bit and add a little more 'crazy' to the mix," Naruto responded confidently while running a hand through his hair. He then looked at the kunoichi with an inquisitive expression. "How do you take your mind off of these sorts of things? What do you usually do to chill out?"

"Oh… stuff. Training, tinkering, hanging out at the weapons store I work at, sparring, going out on the town, dango stands, making new swords … that sort of stuff," Tenten chirped brightly while giving the blonde a wide grin. "I recently got myself a new toy. Want to try it out?"

"A little later," Naruto replied quickly, at the same time looking to see the small pout thrown at him by the girl. "Now don't give me that, Tenten-chan. We're supposed to be on a mission."

"I know, I know," Tenten sighed while resting her chin against the railing. She glanced forlornly towards the boy when he also rested his on his arms, which he had folded in front of him too, "I guess I'm still a little bit disappointed that we didn't get to fight in the tournament stage of the exams."

"Yeah. You don't need to tell me. I was looking forward to fighting a lot of people in that round. Only half of them ever made it to step up to the plate, and the other half got cut out early." The jinchuriki then threw the girl a grin. "I was especially waiting for a chance to knock heads with you in center ring. Perhaps challenge you to a knife fight if it ever came down to one."

"I would have riddled you with kunai the second the bell was rung."

"Really?"

"Damn right I would have. You move faster than lightning travels along a straight line. There's no way I'm touching that at close range." Sure, an exaggeration, but the boy was bloody quick.

"Heh. If you say so. Everyone's been on their toes ever since those final matches. Maybe the mood on those two days was so hyped up that it's taking a while for all of the intensity to completely die down."

"No kidding. When Neji and I went to visit Lee over at his place to see if he was okay, the guy was doing one-armed pushups on his bedroom floor," Tenten stated while rolling her eyes. "The guy's muscles were shredded from using the Eight Gates and his limbs were shot from battering Kiyoko around through the air like a pinball, yet he can still find the effort to get back into his usual training regimen. In all good conscience he should be bedridden until further notice."

"Heh. You should strap him to the frame next time."

"We did, but he managed to get out somehow when we came back to see him at lunch."

"Tranquilizers?"

"Hmm… never thought of that? Though we would probably need the same amount it would take to drop a bull elephant to put old wonder-brows down for the count."

"Agreed," Naruto nodded, both parties looking thoroughly amused at Lee being drugged into unconsciousness and drooling at the mouth. "What about Neji? Is he doing alright?"

"You gave him a concussion from smacking his brain from above and below with that knockout White Fang combo you gave him. He spent the first day home in the hospital getting checked out. He's okay now."

"Mission?"

"Yeah. He has an assignment with Sasuke and Kotetsu escorting an ambassador back to Kumogakure over the next couple of days. They should be home by the time we get back," Tenten responded informatively, earning another nod from the jinchuriki. As they looked over the sparkling waters under the night sky, the kunoichi smiled. "I wonder what Yuki no Kuni will be like?"

"A country that snows all year long? Probably cold."

"Should've brought more winter clothing," Tenten muttered. "All I've got are a couple of long-sleeved items, a scarf and arm warmers." A pair of gloves and socks would've been nice. She then looked across at the jinchuriki and sized him up, taking an extra long minute to notice his chiseled front under his unzipped jacket and vest. "I noticed your bag wasn't carrying anything heavy."

"What you see is what I've got."

"Forget about me. I think you should be more worried about yourself."

Naruto smiled and looked across at the girl. "I warm myself up with my chakra. But this jacket isn't just used for style, you know." Case in point, he zipped it up and pulled the blue hood over and threw his arms out grandly, earning an amused expression from the girl watching his poses. "Double-woven and padded for extra protection."

A sly smile coming over her, Tenten then stepped towards the blonde and, taking advantage of his lowered guard, opened up his jacket so that it exposed his chest and wrapped her arms around him, pressing her front against his. This action surprised Naruto a bit, as did the instance when her nose brushed against his.

It was funny that they were about the same height now. Nobody had really seemed to notice that the jinchuriki had grown quite a bit.

"Well… you can keep me warm anytime you want, stud," Tenten chuckled. "I won't mind."

Blinking, Naruto grinned. "This is awfully forward of you, Tenten-chan. Any particular reason why?"

"No reason. It's just that I like messing with you from time to time," the girl with the buns said simply while resting her head against his shoulder. She was genuinely pleased when she felt the boy reciprocate her actions, his arms wrapping over and around her. "You're so strong. It's more fun getting you flustered than anybody else."

"Careful. It's really dangerous to be around me."

"I'll bet."

Just as their flirtatious bantering was getting kick started, the pair was interrupted from their whisper talk by a clearing of a person's throat next to them, causing them to look up to see Sakura and Kaede standing nearby. Quickly they identified the stunned look on the pinkette's face, as well as the curious look from the boy in white, the former of which then pointed up at them in shock and gestured between the two.

"Y-Y-You… two?" Sakura gulped before choking out the rest, "Her as well?" This was a question mostly directed towards Naruto, and when the boy and his apparent third partner eventually answered with a nod, the pink haired kunoichi shook her head before allowing her arm to drop unceremoniously to her side. "Pandemonium."

Tayuya, Samui AND Tenten. Were there anymore girls she had to be concerned about?

What the hell was wrong with the world?

With the surprise subsiding, Kaede then struck a pose and rested a hand on his chest before gesturing grandly with stars twinkling around him. "Ah… young love under a pale moonlight and an ocean sky! This truly is the finest expression of a person's passions and desires, as well as a joining of-"

"Not a good time, Kaede!" Sakura said loudly, while the sudden mutterings from the boy caused Naruto and Tenten to giggle between themselves. "I'm still trying to come to terms with the fact that I have a serious polyamorous for a teammate."

XXX

The next day…

It was business as usual for the shinobi squad on guard duty, with Naruto and his team standing on the sidelines as they watched the film crew in action aboard the ship shooting scenes for their newest project. With Yukie having woken earlier than expected that morning to the rocking of the ship on the ocean waves, you could say that the star actress was pretty pissed to learn that she'd been taken on the excursion to the Land of Snow while she'd been unconscious and against her wishes no less. She'd had it out with Naruto for a minute or two when she found him, before eventually resigning herself to her fate.

After dressing their little diva up, the main cast and the deck of the ship for the shoot, which the shinobi present found quite remarkable at how ambitious and creative the director was with his setups, they then proceeded to watch the gorgeous princess 'mourn' over the defeat of the male lead before four different cameras. To say that her performance was impressive was an understatement. Even though the team was slightly put-off by the fact that Sandayuu had to step in every once in a while to apply the eye drops for Yukie to cry, since she couldn't, the rest of her act was fantastic.

Having seen a great many of her films and finally getting to see one of her movies being made in person, Naruto could not deny she was a fantastic actress. Had her character actually come with an equally fantastic personality then they would have had something marvelous, but unfortunately she didn't. She fell short in some areas while climbing high in others, and that kind of detracted from the overall experience.

With Kaede sitting on the deck concocting his 'witches brew', otherwise known as his tea beside the rest of the squad, which he planned to share with everyone there, Sakura, Naruto and Tenten stood watch leaning against the railing as Yukie went through another take with the cast.

"She's good," Tenten said quietly with a smile and her arms folded.

"That acting talent would be perfect for shinobi work," Naruto also remarked. "She'd be able to impersonate and charm anyone with her wordplay."

Sakura raised an eyebrow as she watched Yukie flourish before the camera while at the same time being swooned by one of the male cast members. "I'm having a bit of trouble following the story. Have they already shot some of the other scenes before this?"

"I'm… pretty sure that they have. I guess they shoot scenes at specific times whenever the sets and cast are available, and then put them all together in post," Tenten replied.

"It makes sense. You can't really film an entire movie in just one location… unless it's supposed to be in that one location," Naruto added while rubbing his chin thoughtfully. He then shrugged when he was able to summarize all of the information swirling around in his head. "This is probably what it's like for a lot of major productions. The original creators and producers put a lot of money into the product to make a masterpiece assembled in the most exotic locations."

Sakura's face then crinkled into an uncomfortable one, "Couldn't they have shot the movie on a tropical island instead of a cold, unforgiving landscape covered in snow. Everyone will be freezing their butts off up there."

"The crew is going up there to shoot the final scene of the movie," Tenten answered, looking across at their team leader and dredging up memories of the mission specifications he'd shared with them. "Apparently the bad guy freezes the entire country, with the rainbow glacier being the epicenter of the technique he used. The princess and the heroes defeat him, after which the landscape then cuts back to a warm, spring-time setting, marking the defeat of the main villain and the end of the battle."

Naruto chuckled, "It's kind of a cheesy plot, don't you think?"

"Yeah. But people love it," Sakura said, a smile coming upon her again as she clasped her hands together and nudged her teammate in the side. "So do I. I think it's going to be fantastic!"

"Maybe they can cut out the special effects and just have real shinobi fighting. Perhaps then the film would have more clout," Tenten suggested with a grin, her expression reflecting hope of possibly starring in a movie one day.

Silence fell amongst the four youngsters again as they watched from a distance the crew flip through several more scenes, with a majority of the shots requiring them to be absolutely quiet. Eventually, once the crucial segments and some of the extra shots had finally been recorded, the head of the project nodded with a satisfied look on his face before holding up his hand.

"AAaaaa-d… CUT!" the director shouted through his megaphone, glancing across at his camera and sound guys immediately afterwards. "Did we get all that? There wasn't any interference?" After a moment of running through the hour of footage they'd shot, checking the ambient noises in the background and making sure no unnecessary background sound had been captured, the crew members then turned to the director and gave him the thumbs-up. "Good job everybody! Take five!"

With everyone scattering and the cast retiring to their seats, Kaede saw this as the perfect opportunity to add his little contribution to the group. With a tray of tea and a kettle in hand, he strode from his spot over to the movie stars, with Yukie being the first one he approached.

The boy gave both a sincere and hopeful smile as he held out his offering to the crew. "All of you have worked so hard. Please, have some. This tea will help soothe your throats and replenish your vitality."

Sakura looked up in alarm when she realized what Kaede was doing and was about to jump in to stop him when she was held back by Naruto and Tenten, both of whom looked on with amused grins as the crew took the tea from the boy and drank their fill of the delicious smelling concoctions. The group then proceeded to watch as the majority of the cast spent the next few minutes bent over the side of the ship gagging and hurling into the ocean, with Tenten eventually going over to console Kaede who found a quiet corner immediately afterwards to sulk.

As far as the shinobi were concerned of course, their mission was going splendidly…

Even with the attempted 'assassination' by Kaede.

XXX

Two days later…

Early morning…

The shinobi guard and the crew were suddenly roused prematurely from their sleep by the head cameraman freaking out all over the ship when he went to wake not only the director but the captain as well. When everyone eventually trudged up onto the deck, most of whom were still dressed in their pajamas including Sakura and Tenten, they saw exactly why the man had gone and flipped his lid when they saw an enormous glacier standing in their path.

"I was going up to check our course with the officer in charge and he found this in our way. I don't know what happened, it just… appeared," the second in charge exclaimed in panic.

The director however, after surveying the problem for himself in his robe and nightcap, suddenly turned to everyone with a manic look in his eyes, causing even the shinobi present to lean away in surprise. "No! This is perfect! We're going to tear down our previous setup and replace it with this! Our second fight scene will happen right here!" He then grinned and clenched his fists excitedly under the stunned looks of his crew. "Cherish this moment people; the movie Gods are smiling down upon us! EVERYONE, PREPARE TO DISEMBARK!"

And so they did. Once every able bodied crewman had their game faces on, the ship was landed on the icy shore and all of the movie equipment was quickly unpacked. Showing the resolve and hard work of a cinematographer on a shinobi continent, the people were quick to set the stage for the epic fight between the main villain and the heroes, in which the primary antagonist would emerge the victor. Everyone was psyched for it, especially the main cast.

After warming themselves up by the portable furnace, with Naruto and Yukie sharing a simultaneous yawn at the early-morning start, much to the crew's amusement, the shooting began. For the next half an hour after that, the usual hooray of line-reading and improvisation took place, with the main antagonist being framed by the mountain of the enormous icy glacier behind him and the heroes standing in the snow at the base of the cliff. Things were going well and it looked like it was going to be a spectacular battle.

However, just as the main villain was preparing to unleash his 'Storm Breaker' or whatever technique it was called to take out the good guys, Naruto suddenly picked up something intruding on the very edge of his senses. Having been unable to sense it due to the cold, it took him a little while to register to the sudden feeling of intent rolling in over the area.

Looking around quickly in paranoia, moments before his eyes fixed on the mountain above, he then saw something out of place sitting against the icy side in the form of a sheet of white cloth over a ledge. Realizing that was not a natural part of the glacier and that the killing intent was leaking out from under it, the blonde suddenly vanished in a Shunshin and reappeared directly in front of the main cast, his right fist uncorking in a swinging overhand.

"Everyone, get back! Fūton: Senpūken!" (Wind Release: Whirlwind Fist)

The second he let his punch fly, an enormous tornado of wind, much larger and more powerful than his ordinary Hien attacks, blasted from his knuckles and shot straight towards the top of the glacier at the speed of a bullet. The force of the attack literally took off the top of the mountain in an earthshaking explosion, sending rubble and slabs of ice flying in all directions. However, when the powder and smoke eventually cleared, it revealed his attack had barely scratched the spot he was aiming for.

As the dust settled, the sheet of cloth rose up from the ground. Along with the snow on top of it, the canvas was thrown off, revealing a man with a ponytail and dressed in shinobi uniform with a headband worn proudly upon his crown. Folding his arms, the man grinned, "Welcome everyone… to Yuki no Kuni."

Naruto's eyes narrowed. "That headband… a Yukigakure shinobi?" He then sensed another presence and glanced to his left, as did everybody else, where they then saw another shinobi in uniform, a woman with pink hair, standing on the tip of a pillar of ice.

"Greetings, Princess Koyuki," the woman waved with a lecherous smile. "I do hope you're still carrying around the Hex Crystal."

The team of shinobi on the ground noticed the sudden looks of shock that came across a couple of the crew's faces, most notably on Yukie and Sandayuu. However, before any of them could press the group for further information, Naruto then switched to his right when he sensed another foe make an appearance to the scene. Snow being thrown off of a second tarp, a hulking figure in more impressive battle armor unveiled himself, with the gears of his mechanical left arm twitching and hissing.

"You're pretty good, Naruto Uzumaki. The skills you displayed in this year's Chunin Exams do not disappoint at all," the man spoke with a rough and clearly amused tone of voice.

Gritting his teeth, realizing that these shinobi were here for Yukie, Naruto spun around and began barking orders. "Tenten, Sakura, Kaede, protect Yukie. Defensive formation! Everyone get back to the ship, now!"

At first everyone on the crew was confused, merely standing around and muttering to themselves. However, the moment the Konoha contingent rushed forward and formed a ring around the actors, the people on the set slowly started to realize the growing danger of the situation.

They'd hired shinobi as bodyguards for a reason, and that reason just so happened to drop down right on top of them.

Seeing the enemy form up brought a smirk to Nadare's face, who then nodded to his two subordinates. "Fubuki, Mizore… I leave the princess and the cannon fodder to you." He then leapt down from the ledge as his own team sprang into action, albeit with a little bit of disappointment from his kunoichi partner.

Jumping up onto the glacier's cliffs, Naruto met the enemy boss on a separate ledge, with both shinobi coming to stop and glare across at each other, one looking utterly confident while the other was completely serious.

"So I'm going to venture a guess that you're the squad leader," Naruto said with a frown.

The snow shinobi chuckled, poking his nose into the air and looking down at the boy beneath him. "Correct. Nadare Roga. At your service."

The jinchuriki smirked and cracked his neck. "Naruto Uzumaki. Now that that's settled, I think it's about time I kicked your ass."

"How vulgar," the Jonin remarked while rolling his arm, "But I guess that's to be expected from a new Jonin fresh out of the oven. I hope that you don't disappoint me… otherwise I'll just have to consider this whole expedition to this deserted iceberg a waste of my time."

"We'll see how disappointed you are when I start stomping your face into the snow." Slamming his foot into the ground, the jinchuriki vanished in an orange blur, as did his opponent, only Nadare hazed out in a white blur.

Loud bangs rang out as the two leapt at each other through the air and up the mountain side, the pair trading and parrying blows meant to deal the other a great deal of damage. Smacking a fist to the side, Nadare countered with a flying kick when the two shinobi climbed in altitude from a simultaneous jump, only for his smaller opponent to hook his leg around his and swing under it, countering with a swinging punch across the man's face. The blow landed with a deafening crack, sending the Jonin sailing back with blood flying from his jaw. Gritting his teeth, the older shinobi then landed against the side of the cliff and sprang up, with his opponent in hot pursuit.

Leaping from ledge to ledge and apex to apex, trading blows every time they passed each other, the pair eventually climbed to the very top of the glacier, where they both rested on separate peaks. When they stopped and looked across at each other, Nadare spat out the blood from his mouth while Naruto nursed his arm from blocking a particularly solid hit.

"As I expected, your taijutsu is sublime. I should really keep my distance from you."

"Heh. You can sure take a hit and counterattack like a Jonin should. But your own attacks have no edge to them and there is absolutely no flow in your movements," Naruto replied, setting into another stance. "Just keep me away if you can."

"Don't get conceited brat," Nadare replied with a sly grin, "You haven't seen anything yet,"

With that, the pair shot at each other once again, Naruto leading with a left overhand while his opponent threw a right hook.

OOO

(With Sakura and Tenten)

Rushing out into the open and setting herself into a wide stance, Sakura gritted her teeth when she suddenly saw the large man up on the snowy ridge suddenly come barreling down at the group on a foldable board. Careening towards the film crew at speed, kicking up snow behind him, the man charged straight at the pink haired kunoichi when she drew a cluster of shuriken and tossed them at him.

Showing superb maneuverability, the man dodged the first barrage and swung at the girl, only for the kunoichi to leap out of the way of his dangerous looking melee weapon. Realizing he'd missed, he came back around and accelerated towards her again, aiming to plow the youngster into the snow but missing the kunoichi yet again when she leapt out of the way.

Just as he was coming back for another swing, Mizore completely missed the sight of a series of kunai flying across the snow and shooting towards him. The blades slammed into the man's side all at once, only to bounce off of him when an odd colored shield of light unexpectedly repelled them. Completely unshaken, the Yukigakure shinobi trained his gaze upwards to see the girl with brown hair wrapped into buns flip through the air, unfurl a large scroll and summon three Fuma Shuriken, which she then hurled at the man with a yell of effort.

Seeing the enormous blades converging on him, the hulking Mizore crossed his arms in front of him and took them all head on. For the second time in a row, the metal stars slammed into the weird multi-colored barrier, the steel shoulder pad helping to shatter the enormous windmill blades and scattering their remains across the snow.

Cursing, Tenten landed in the snow and glared up as she watched the man turn in her direction, at the same time ignoring the shuriken bouncing off of him from the pink haired kunoichi aiming at his blind spot.

"Take this!" Letting out a yell, Tenten drew another scroll through the air in front of her and launched a third salvo of kunai and shuriken. The wall of weapons exploded forth from her sheet and converged on their target, only to once again bounce off of the same shield that had appeared to block her first shots when the man plowed through her attack. The sight of her favored projectiles effortlessly being knocked away alarmed the kunoichi. "What the hell!" She then jumped straight into the air, hiking off of the man's back when he attempted to drive into her with his shoulder, but ended up missing the nimble teenager. "Why isn't anything working?"

Mizore laughed as he casually surfed along on his snowboard, spinning around and rocketing back towards the girl now landing a safe distance away. The increase in his speed however allowed him to close ground on her just as she was turning to face him again. "Sorry little girl, but none of your pathetic weapons will be able to touch me while I'm wearing my chakra armor."

"Chakra armor?" Tenten murmured before her face creased into displeasure. "Seriously? They make stupid junk like that?" What a cheat.

"Say that again after I bury you!" Mizore then accelerated at an alarming speed, blasting towards the kunoichi and hooking at her with his arm.

Leaping out of the way, the kunoichi drew a couple of kunai and tossed them at the ground in front of him when he decided to come around again. She was getting sick and tired of him snowboarding all over the place and she figured it was about time she leveled the playing field a little. As soon as her knives embedded the snow, the two blades went up in two simultaneous and concussive explosions, knocking the man flying into the air and off of his board.

Mizore was able to recover with a flip, crashing to the ground before, without missing a beat, charging towards the shuriken user. With a roar of anger, he leapt at her and cut at her with his armored arm. Reacting quickly, Tenten sprang away, beginning to dodge excessively as the man lashed at her with heavy, swinging blows one after the other, using a heavy-handed and swift taijutsu style that punched holes into the ground wherever he landed. After managing to cause the girl to stumble at an inappropriate evasion, he then cocked his armored arm back and, with the help of gas venting out the back, plowed it straight into her and sent her flying.

Letting out a cry of pain, Tenten barreled backwards along the snow before righting herself, gritting her teeth in frustration.

"Alright, this guy is pissing me off." She then summoned a three-section staff from her scroll and threw it through the air in front of her before connecting the pieces together into a metal pole. "I'm going to knock your lights out."

Back on his target, Mizore charged again, only to get shoulder plowed in the side by Sakura jumping at him and sending him crashing to the ground. When he got up and saw the pink haired girl join the party, he grumbled in displeasure and leapt to his feet as well.

"Annoying rat!"

"Don't ignore me," Sakura shouted, flipping through hand seals before bringing her fingers to her lips and inhaling sharply. "Try this on for size. Ninpo: San no Kumo!" (Ninja Art: Cloud of Acid) She then spewed a powerful purple cloud of toxic gas straight at the approaching enemy, the fumes rocketing towards the giant yeti like a fireball.

Mizore spotted the incoming attack and, reacting in alarm, leapt back to avoid it. However, he didn't get far enough when the clouds crashed into him before consuming him entirely. When it seemed like the technique had taken him out for hood, Sakura and Tenten then watched in shock as the purple smoke suddenly lifted from the area, revealing an utterly melted ground and a smoldering crater with their opponent standing perfectly inside of it, arms crossed over and a smirk on his face.

Sakura looked on in disbelief. "That should have melted the skin off of his body. How is he still standing?"

OOO

(With Kaede)

On his end, Kaede was having his own problems against his opponent.

Leaping backwards across the snow, the boy avoided the kunoichi cutting at him with a kunai before taking his distance at long range. As soon as he did so however, his opponent had already flown through a series of hand seals and, upon landing on the tiger sign, cut her hand back and threw it forward.

Snow kicked up around the grinning kunoichi in a cloud before forming into hundreds of miniature swallows. "Hyoton: Tsubame Fubuki!" (Ice Release: Swallow Snow Storm) The sharp winged projectiles scattered before all of them made a beeline straight towards their target.

Reacting instinctively, Kaede cart wheeled out of the way, avoiding the initial run before the swallows suddenly came around and flew back at him. The youngster responded instantly, flipping through seals as he faced the attack headlong before his cheeks inflated. Taking aim, the Genin then ground his feet into the snow and fired.

"Suiton: Suidanha!" (Water Release: Water Severing Wave) A high-pressure stream of water then shot from his mouth at high speed. With sniper like accuracy, he managed to knock all of the ice birds out of the air, cutting them to shreds thanks to the blade-like function of his water jet.

"Oh, you're pretty good. How about this?" Fubuki exclaimed before forming more seals and dropping to the floor, jabbing her fingers into the ice. "Hyoton: Hyourou no Jutsu!" (Ice Release: Ice Prison Jutsu) The second she made her move, huge boulders of ice began jutting out of the ground in pursuit of Kaede, forcing the boy to back off quickly before leaping into the air.

As soon as he was airborne, the wily Konoha Genin flipped through more seals before bringing his fingers up to his lips, his chest inflating. "Suiton: Utakata Shikibuton!" (Water Release: Foam Mattress) He then blew a thick stream of white foam straight towards his target below, the wave smashing into the ground and charging towards its intended targeted en masse.

Manipulating her chakra, Fubuki formed another seal, more ice pillars shooting out of the ground in front of her and forming a protective wall. This defense managed to block the wave of bubbles, repelling and separating the foam as it washed around her. The waves settled before hardening seconds later, leaving Fubuki unharmed behind her element and allowing Kaede to drop back to the ground safely, a disgruntled look upon his normally cool and cheerful visage.

Fubuki grinned at the youngster before licking her lips. "Interesting jutsu, kid. Got any more?"

Kaede cursed and set himself into another stance. "Water against ice. I think it's safe to say that I'm at a bit of a disadvantage at this point."

If he had a chance of beating her, then he was going to have to change his strategy and use something with a little more bang to it.

OOO

(With Naruto)

By this point in time, Naruto was getting sick and tired of playing tag with Nadare who, for the better part of their fight, had been keeping well out of reach of the blonde to prevent his opponent from getting any good hits on him. Even though he wasn't as fast as the youngster, the man was determined to keep his distance. Every time he got away he would lob either kunai or shuriken at the boy, pissing the jinchuriki off to the point that he'd decided that they'd played hopscotch across the glacier long enough.

"Fuck this!" Naruto shouted from a ledge below, hiking up the side of the cliff and starting to sprint up towards the man. Throwing his gauntlet arm forward, he fired a cluster of three paper balls that ignited, before he cocked his right arm back and threw it forward in a punch while still in motion. "Katon: Uzusenpuhi no Jutsu!" (Fire Release: Fire Whirlwind Vortex Technique) Launching a tornado from his fist again, the jinchuriki caught the exploding paper balls in midair, stifling their explosions inside the attack and transforming his wind tornado into a fiery one. The attack gushed up towards his target in the form of a blazing firestorm that literally started to melt the ice all around them on its approach.

The sight of the bellowing flames had a still bewildered Yukie below look on in horror before collapsing to her knees. Sandayuu quickly rushed to her side to help her, while the shinobi continued to do battle with their respective opponents.

Grinning in amusement at the sight of the approaching wall of fire, Nadare slapped his hands together to form a hand seal before flying through several more. He then gritted his teeth and took aim from his position up above. "Time for a counter. Hyoton: Haryu Moko!" (Ice Release: Tearing Dragon Fierce Tiger) The moment he made his incantation, the ice behind him exploded forward in the form of an enormous tiger, which let out a bellowing roar as it charged towards the approaching flames.

The attacks slammed into each other and exploded with concussive force, the ice neutralizing the flames, which in turn, fast melted the giant tiger. When a cloud of steam bellowed out from the point of collision, Nadare expected his foe to have gone down with the ice. However, all his initial hopes were dashed when the cliff wall behind him exploded outwards and, emerging from the blast of snow, Naruto appeared with his hand cocked back and aimed right for his opponent's back.

"Surprise, motherfucker!" He then threw it forward, only for his hand to slam into some sort of colorful barrier that knocked him backwards. Flying from the unexpected and violent rebound, Naruto then skidded to a stop along a plateau of ice further below and looked up with a start. "What the hell? What was that?" It was then he sensed something off about the air around his foe and his eyes narrowed into a glare. "Wait a second… that armor you're wearing…"

Nadare, spotting his opponent behind him, grinned down at the boy and his attempted sneak attack. "Like it? All shinobi of Yuki no Kuni are outfitted with these suits to help them in battle. They are the pinnacle of shinobi technological research." The man as well as his cohorts leered at the stumped Konoha shinobi surrounding them and showed off their respective gizmos. "The armor increases the chakra flow within the body, strengthening a handful of the more useful jutsu. A chakra barrier gathers around us as well, able to deflect the chakra of our adversaries. As a result, ninjutsu and genjutsu are rendered useless. The field output is also strong enough to deflect projectile weaponry."

Baring his teeth, Naruto then looked down towards the field where he saw Sandayuu and a couple other men trying to get a catatonic Yukie to move, while a panicking camera crew hastily made their way back to their ship, at the same time filming all of the battles taking place. Feeling the odds kind of stacking against them, due to the strength of their opponents and the new battlefield element facing them down, the blonde opted on the most reasonable course of action he could take as a leader.

Retreat.

But he wasn't going to go out quietly.

OOO

(With Kaede)

Fubuki giggled as she sent another wave of ice boulders jutting towards her opponent, forcing Kaede into another hasty retreat across the frozen landscape. Eventually the wall of ice converged on him from two sides, forcing him into the air.

On his way up however, the boy's foot was suddenly caught up by one of the jutting ice pillars, the boy looking down with a start when he felt his momentum stop. "Crap!" He was then flash frozen inside the block of ice, which incased and froze him in an instant. The chain of attacks stopping, the water user was left suspended within the transparent prison, leaving an unharmed Fubuki looking gleefully at her success.

"That takes care of him. It's a shame. He was such a cute thing too," the woman chirped, only to blink in surprise when she suddenly saw the boy's form within her ice prison suddenly transform into a portable furnace, alerting her to a kawarimi technique.

It was the exact same furnace the camera crew had brought along with them. But how the heck was he fast enough to make the switch…

And attach an explosive tag to it at the same time?

The second the pot appeared, the explosive tag on its front ignited before going up in flames. The contents of the furnace then began rocketing down the lane of ice in the form of a wall of burning death, at the exact same time two kunai shot from the flames, trailing wire behind them. Before Fubuki could dodge, the kunai wrapped around her and bound her against the ice wall, locking her in while the explosion careened towards her.

Unwilling to be incinerated by the counterattack, the kunoichi then did something completely unexpected and unfolded a pair of wings from the back of her suit. The mechanical appendages snapped the wires and upon spreading, allowed the young woman to escape the firestorm that nearly roasted her alive. Since it was an explosion fueled by natural elements and not chakra, she was not about to risk her armor taking the brunt of the blow while killing her in the process. She escaped into the sky in time to avoid receiving third degree burns, leaving Kaede on the ground watching her soar out of reach.

The Genin blinked as he observed the woman perform an aerial spin and frowned. "Majestic… but deadly…"

OOO

(With Tenten)

Standing back with her staff drawn, a serious Tenten could be seen glaring across at her opponent, who was currently in a grappling match with Sakura.

The pink haired member of Team 7 had managed to intercept the hulking Mizore and engaged him in a clash of brute strength. Due to her increased physical prowess, she was able to trade hits evenly with him before ending with the two locking hands and trying to overpower the other. On her end, Sakura was holding up pretty well, but it wouldn't be too long before her brute of a foe decided to toss her aside and press forward.

Pulling out some more blades from her pouch to try and peg the guy while he was occupied, Tenten then looked behind her to see Sandayuu still fussing over Yukie. The sight had the girl growl and snap at them. "What are you doing? Get back to the ship!"

"Princess! Please! We have to go!"

"No!" Yukie cried out, clutching her head in her hands as her eyes shimmered with unbridled fear and distress. "NO! I won't go back to Yuki no Kuni! I can't!"

Before Tenten could do anything, she suddenly heard a shout from Sakura and looked just in time to see the girl get thrown aside by her opponent. The moment she was out of the way, Mizore pointed his gauntlet arm towards the downed Yukie and fired, his artificial hand rocketing from his launcher at speed.

Seeing it was a cable weapon, Tenten quickly leapt in the way of it and, spinning her staff in her grip, slammed a counter into the claw, intercepting it. Her weapon easily knocked the projectile away, before the teen watched as it retracted back into its user's limb and reset itself.

Mizore growled in annoyance and took a stance, seeing his opponent also assume a defensive one. "You girls are starting to get on my nerves!"

OOO

(With Naruto)

Forming his cross-fingered hand seal, explosions of smoke signaled the arrival of a squadron of shadow clones that began rushing back down to ground level to help with the others. The original Naruto mixed in with them as he left his opponent standing on his ledge.

Nadare smirked. "Leaving so soon? I don't think so!" He then slammed his hands together and flew through more seals. "Hyoton: Ikkaku Hakugei!" (Ice Release: One Horned White Whale)

Upon executing his technique, the ocean right next to the glacier to Naruto's right suddenly exploded upwards in a wave, and an enormous white whale composed entirely of ice shot straight into the air. The shadow of the colossal creature from the ocean fell upon the jinchuriki and his squad of copies, with the original glaring up at the thing before throwing back his left hand.

"That's it! I'm ending this stupid fight right now!" Stopping directly under the whale and watching it begin its descent, the blonde took aim at it and threw his hand out. "Stop this if you can! Jet Hand!" His palm made contact with the falling ice with a tap, a split second before an ejection point exploded against its side and sent the enormous ocean mammal careening towards the enormous glacier behind him.

Nadare's eyes nearly bugged out when he saw his own attack fly straight at him and yelled as he barreled out of the way. "Damn it!"

Thanks in part to his armor, but mostly to his quick reflexes for getting the hell out of dodge, the squad leader of Doto's guard was able to avoid the enormous ice whale crashing onto the very peak of the glacier he was standing on and smashing right through the entire berg in one go.

As the attack plowed through the icy peak, Naruto and his clones made it to Yukie and, without a moment's hesitation, picked her up and ran for it. The original shouted for the others to fall back, which they gladly did as the fields of snow and ice started to crumble all around them. The impact the redirected attack Nadare had thrown was catastrophic, causing the entire mass of floating ice to shake violently and bob around on the waves as it was carved in two by the white ice giant making complete landfall. Within seconds, a great chunk of the glacier was crushed and now in the process of caving in on itself, the cry of the whale echoing out as it gleefully returned to the sea.

By the time the rough waves settled and the clouds of perspiration and snow returned to the water, it revealed the camera crew safely aboard their ship, filming the magnificent spectacle of the final techniques separating the two groups. With all cameras rolling, the director threw his megaphone up and shouted.

"Aaand… CUT!"

"Man… I hope we got all that," the DOP breathed exhaustedly.

Clearly it had been one hell of a getaway.

Sharing the same deck, the team of shinobi that had managed to get the people safely out of harms way, Yukie included, who was now lying unconscious in her quarters, stood around nursing whatever injuries they had sustained.

Tenten, sporting some bruised ribs from the train that had plowed into her thanks to her mechanically juiced up foe, gritted her teeth angrily and looked up towards the glacier sinking in the distance. "Those guys were lucky. I was just seconds away from bombarding that fat-ass with enough explosives to level the place. I would have sunk that entire glacier myself just to prove my point."

"What point?" Sakura asked, rubbing her shoulder from the rough landing caused by the same opponent throwing her.

"That chakra armor is a ridiculous copout."

"Too many factors kept us from ending that battle… most notably the terrain," Kaede also spoke, looking a little winded from performing so many attacks and defensive plays against his own opponent. He'd taken on a Chunin level kunoichi and drew with her, even forcing her to retreat with his spirited assault. "Had it been on solid ground, we may have been able to finish those three off."

"That armor saved them… for now," Naruto stated, looking across at his team from the ship's railing with a serious expression in play. "However, just because they've got a few impressive toys doesn't mean we can take it easy against them. All three of those guys are seriously tough. The armor makes them more dangerous because ninjutsu and throwing weapons don't work on them, and genjutsu won't work either. That means we'll either need to fight smart and get around their shields somehow, or take them down using taijutsu."

Sakura smirked and glared back at the remains of the glacier they were now drifting away from. "The next time we fight them, the outcome will be much different." Both she and Tenten had a score to settle, and they were going to settle it with interest.

"I wholeheartedly agree with that statement, Sakura-san," Kaede replied, also feeling he'd left that glacier with unfinished business.

Be that as it may, in light of recent events and a surprising change in circumstances, the scope of their mission had just increased tenfold, and presented them with a new question they all wanted to have answered. It was something that came up before their respective fights with each of the snow ninja.

The true identity of Yukie Fujikaze.

XXX

The next day…

Morning…

After checking up on Yukie and making sure she was alright, Naruto excused himself from her cabin and went back out on deck to check on things. Shutting the door behind him, he found that the ship had finally pulled in to dock at the country where the film crew would be shooting the last of their footage. As soon as he learned of the exact whereabouts of their landing, he and his team then helped with the unloading of the vessel, where all of the camera equipment and supplies were then transferred onto a convoy of vehicles waiting for them nearby.

When the trucks were soon loaded up and Yukie was moved to the back of the main wagon, the cast, crew and shinobi set off. Things went on smoothly from the port after that, with the trucks and cars hitting the dirt road and making their way into the snowy countryside that was Yuki no Kuni. For most of the crew and team things were alright, though some of those in the group didn't find the conditions that much to their liking.

"It's so cold," Kaede murmured, arms folded as he sat back at the table of the main vehicle. Even with the truck's central heating, it was still incredibly unpleasant.

"By contrast, the glacier wasn't that bad. The further North we actually go, the colder it's going to get. How annoying," Tenten also added, running her arms up and down the long sleeves of the red thermal she was wearing under her regular pink top. "Now I can see why those snow ninja were wearing such bulky clothing. They're perfectly acclimatized to this weather."

"Yeah, and we're made for the trees on a warm, summer's day," Sakura added with a sigh. "Even though we have snow during our winters, we never have it all year round. That's the difference between us and them, and how unused to this landscape we are. Is it true that there's really no spring in this country? It's like this twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week?" She directed this question towards Sandayuu, who was sitting at the end of the table under the serious gazes of Naruto and the directors of the project.

The man in the glasses bowed uncomfortably and nodded, "Y-Yes."

"Heh. Well doesn't that just suck," Tenten chuckled while shaking her head incredulously. "The agriculture here must be nonexistent."

It was this thought that also struck Sakura and Kaede curious, who began thinking about how the people in the country actually made a living and survived in such conditions. You couldn't farm on lands that were iced over for years at a time. Even if you did manage to find a way, it still must have been a real pain growing stuff. The oceans were freezing cold and so were the rivers. The terrain was covered in feet of snow, the sky was clouded over most of the time… what exactly could you do here to make ends meet? How did the country survive?

"Even before the terrible events that transpired in Yuki no Kuni all those years ago, the people here had to work hard in order to survive. We toiled at the land and built a great civilization, a strong one that was recognized amongst even the great shinobi nations of the mainland," Sandayuu informed before a smile crossed his face. "Despite the adversity of the environment, the people who lived here were happy and were enriched by the many things we were able to build and achieve in such an untamed place. We were industrious and ambitious, and we thrived on the technology we were able to craft. Our daimyo spearheaded this endeavor and put everything he had in advancing the world through technology, and the country grew from it. But… then…"

"But then that happened," Naruto spoke, arms folded as he looked across at the man intently.

After their fight on the glacier, the team went to confront Sandayuu regarding the real identity of the actress they were guarding and the reason why they had suddenly been attacked by shinobi of Yukigakure. Over the remainder of their journey across the ocean, the manager revealed to the squad of shinobi that he had been a loyal soldier and bodyguard to the country's former daimyo Sosetsu Kazahana and, under his leadership, was a member of the 50th Brigade. He'd been a servant to both the lord of Kazahana Castle and his only daughter, Koyuki Kazahana.

They also learned that a coup had taken place in the country years ago, which saw the death of the daimyo, the destruction of the great landmark that was his domicile and the takeover of the country by his younger brother Doto Kazahana. The same shinobi that had attacked the team and the camera crew on the berg were the exact same shinobi that had led the attack on the castle, something that left a bit of a sour taste in everybody's mouths. What's more, on the same day that the coup took place, Koyuki managed to escape the country thanks to the help of a shinobi from Konohagakure. Though the exact details on her escape were minimal, what the team did find out was that upon escaping the country, Koyuki assumed the identity of Yukie Fujikaze, and has been living under that name for all these years as the world famous actress.

Sandayuu shook his head as he massaged the bridge of his nose. "Our country is in great turmoil. Ever since Doto took over, he squandered every last bit of gold he stole from the people and kept all of the country's riches for himself. He cares not for what happens to the villagers or the country. All he uses them for are stepping stones, a means to an end. He treats them like the dirt at his feet and trash on the street. Nothing more. Because of his wanton neglect of the nation and his greed, all of our industry and progress in the land has stopped dead. Families are starving and the people are suffering, and all of it is because of what he did all those years ago."

Sniffing, the man held his hand in front of him firmly and bit his lip to stop the tears, "As I watched the crown of our kingdom, the great Kazahana castle burn to the ground, I thought for certain that the princess had perished along with it. But then, just as I was beginning to think all was lost, I later learned that she'd in fact survived the attack and went out in search for her. The day I finally found our country's princess alive and well after months of searching, I was beside myself." Wiping the tears that brimmed at his eyes, the man sniffed before looking up again. "I was… so happy."

"I should have died that day."

Hearing the voice beside them, every person in the dining cart turned to see Yukie herself standing in the doorframe, arms folded and dead eyes rested on all of them.

Upon seeing her up, Sandayuu rose to his feet. "You shouldn't say such things, princess. The people of the nation of Snow… everyone feared the worst for you. We never stopped praying for your life."

"I may be alive… but my heart is dead," Yukie said without a single tell on her face. "That day… all those years ago… any and all tears that I had left dried up."

Wiping his eyes dry upon hearing the heiress speak in such a manner, Sandayuu turned to face the shinobi team listening intently to the dialogue going back and forth. "Ever since I found the princess and became her manager, I have been biding my time, waiting for the day when I could finally escort her safely back to Yuki no Kuni."

The director's assistant and head of camerawork looked shocked, "So… you mean to tell us you've been using us all this time?"

"Yes. I apologize for deceiving you. All of you," Sandayuu bowed repentantly before rising to his feet and rushing around the table to bow before Yukie on his hands and knees. "But all of this was for the people of the Land of Snow. Please, Koyuki-hime. I beg of you. Confront Doto, end his reign and take your rightful place as ruler of Yuki no Kuni. I will sacrifice myself without hesitation to protect you. Please. Take up arms and lead our people against him."

Yukie raised an eyebrow before huffing indignantly. "I don't think so." Seeing the man recoil at her words, the actress turned away. "You've got to be joking."

"P-Princess…"

"Forget it."

"B-But the country needs you, Koyuki-hime. The people need you!"

"I could care less about them or this damned place," Yukie argued back with a tight scowl. From the way she held her ground, you could see the resolve she had in sticking to her decision. When she heard the man begin to stammer again, she turned on him with an angry gaze. "Just drop it! Look, it doesn't matter what you do or how hard you try! In the end it's all meaningless! You can't defeat Doto!"

"He's that bad, huh?"

His voice unexpectedly breaking into the conversation, everyone in the room turned to Naruto sitting at the other end of the room to see the boy leaning back in his seat with his feet kicked up on the table. Having listened to both Sandayuu and Yukie bicker, taking in every little detail of their arguments, the jinchuriki had scrunched his face up and looked ahead of him contemplatively. "He killed his brother, usurped his throne and is now basking in all the spoils he managed to get his hands on after becoming leader, and at the expense of thousands of people?" After juggling this around in his head a moment longer, a wide grin then spread across his lips and a chuckle soon followed.

Upon reaching a decision, the jinchuriki dropped his feet back to the floor and stood up, hands in his pockets and a confident look on his face.

"Alright then. It's settled." He glanced across at Tenten and the others. "Since I've got nothing better to do this week… and since we're already here on a mission, who feels like taking down an asshole?"

This question got a jaw drop response from both Yukie and Sandayuu, with Tenten on the other hand flashing the boy a grin and giving him a thumbs-up.

"I'm in. Sounds like fun."

Kaede smiled and folded his fingers on the table in front of him sagely. "Considering the circumstances, the only way out of this situation is to move forward. Because Naruto-san is the team leader, I am obligated to follow him wherever he goes as both a close friend and a shinobi of the hidden leaf. You have my full support in this."

"You can count me in too," Sakura chirped while raising her fist determinedly. "There's no way we can turn back now, not with everything we've just heard. If we're in this, we're in it to win it."

"Are you all nuts?" Koyuki shouted incredulously at the shinobi and kunoichi present. "Doto will kill each and every one of you! None of you can beat him!"

Frowning, Naruto rolled his head around on his neck before glaring back at the fuming girl directly across from him. "Look your worshipfulness, I've been fighting against assholes like Doto ever since I was kicked out of the orphanage. I've beaten up entire street gangs with my bare fists, fought against whole armies of mercenaries, defeated a girl who was practically a walking slab of metal and one who could literally turn herself into lightning, rescued two countries from a fucker named Gato, and killed an S-Rank nuke nin who wouldn't die no matter how many times you stabbed him in the face." That last one got strange looks from his friends and he waved at them. "Yeah… that was a bullshit day for me; ask Tayuya. The point is that there's not a single creature on this beautiful ball of water and dirt, living or dead, that I can't beat. Fact."

"Wow, you really know how to sell yourself," Tenten commented in surprise.

"You guys shouldn't have any troubles either," Naruto said while looking across at Sakura and Kaede. "Aside from their armor, those other two have nothing on you. Think you can get through them?"

Rubbing her chin, the pinkette gave it a moment of thought. "They've been using that stuff for so long that they don't even bother trying to dodge most of the attacks thrown at them. It's something I noticed while we were fighting them. Their reaction times were shocking." Smiling, the girl faced her teammate again with a confident gleam in her irises. "I think we can manage."

Naruto nodded, "Good."

At that, the director started speaking quietly, eyes closed and an intense look pulled across his face as he absorbed everything that was being said. "As long as there is hope, there is a dream. As long as there is a dream, there is a future… I like it! This is the perfect theme for the final chapter of the Princess Gale Movie! We're rewriting the entire second half of the film right here and now!"

Sakura looked at them with a sweat drop forming on her head, "You're seriously going to keep filming, even after everything that has happened?"

The director nodded with absolute self-assurance and a big smile on his face, "It's like I said to you all back at the glacier; this movie is evolving. How often do you get to make a film with a real-life princess in it? It's a complete game changer… a once in a lifetime opportunity!"

"You're right!" the assistant said, liking the idea more and more as the realization of their position settled in. "The buzz about this film will be enormous! Think of the ratings! We won't just be making a blockbuster… we'll be making a movie that will be remembered for all time! This film will springboard off of the big screen and into the history books! Even the 'making of' will be a hit!"

"Hey!" Koyuki shouted, only to be cut-off by Kaede.

"Unfortunately, we don't have a choice. In our current situation, there's only one possible course of action we can take," the boy said while folding his arms.

Tenten nodded in agreement, getting what the boy was leading them onto as he looked across at the actress. This prompted the others to do so as well, "Now that Doto knows that Yukie is really Koyuki Kazahana, he will never leave this alone. He will continue to chase after her, even to the ends of the earth. The only option we have left is to fight."

Knowing that the status quo has changed, Naruto continued rewriting his plans. "So… in addition to protecting Princess Koyuki, as per the terms of the assignment given to us, we will also need to finish off Doto. When we do, this whole thing will end." Even if that meant bumping up the A-Rank mission to an S-Ranked one, he didn't care. The paperwork was going to be ridiculous either way when he got home.

Getting angrier and angrier as the discussion on the matter amongst the shinobi progressed, Koyuki stomped forward, "Stop joking! This isn't some movie! This is real life! There is no happy ending!"

Hearing this, the director responded in kind. Though he was far better off, he still reacted defensively in the face of his practice and passion being pulled into question, "Of course there is if you're willing to fight for it!"

Naruto looked out the window of the truck as it trundled along, watching the evergreen trees of the snow-covered wilderness outside pass them by. "Even if we were to send a message to Konohagakure for backup they wouldn't be able to get here in time. This whole thing should be mopped up in the next couple of days." Smiling, he looked back at his crew. "Normally I'd be doing something like this on my own. But since I'm the team leader on this mission, you guys are my responsibility. Nadare is clearly the heavy hitter of the group. He's tough, about a league or so beneath Kakashi-sensei, and he's got a good set of skills on him, but he shouldn't be too much trouble once I get past his armor. You three are more than enough to handle this." Seeing the smiles come about on all of their faces, the jinchuriki then turned to Sandayuu, who was back on his feet. "Though this is stretching the limits of our contract, this is still a mission, and I hate leaving things unfinished. You've got us for as long as this lasts."

The man beamed with tears in his eyes and bowed to the shinobi, "I knew I could count on you, Naruto-san. Thank you. Thank you all so much."

The director laughed as he watched the scene before him play out, "That settles it. We're definitely moving ahead with this picture."

"And you can bet this one will have a happy ending!" the assistant said boisterously as well.

While the crew went about making plans and the shinobi also laid out their own strategies, Koyuki continued to look on from her position by the door with a sense of complete detachment.

Closing her eyes, the girl breathed out irritated. "Fools…"

OOO

A couple hours later…

Following the talks in the dining hall of the main cart, the caravan continued on its journey unimpeded. As the convoy passed into the mountains, following the winding road further into Yuki no Kuni, Naruto and his team came up with a plan of attack should Nadare's team show up again. Since they all had scores they wanted to settle, neither one of them had any problems with the arrangements. Each of them decided who would fight who and what strategies they were going to use to get past that stupid chakra armor they were wearing. Tenten especially wanted to get past it as a personal challenge.

Understandably, Naruto also thought up a possible strategy to use against Doto should he eventually run into him as well. He got all the details he could from Sandayuu on their trip through the cave system, in which the man happily informed him of what kind of person the guy was and what his strengths were. With this information, Naruto was easily able to formulate a clear picture of a favorable outcome.

He just needed the right setting to perform it.

After passing through the caverns and stopping outside of them, the director instructed everyone to fan out while Sandayuu approached the team of shinobi again, "Our hideout is not too far from here. Once we've finished shooting on this spot I'll let my people know of our princess's safe return. I'm certain that they will be able to rest easy after that."

The director standing nearby agreed with this and waved for his crew to spread themselves with the equipment. "We'll definitely be able to get some good footage here. Let's get this show on the road people!"

Suddenly, the head DOP suddenly came barreling out of the main carriage in a panic. "Director! We've got a problem!" Frantic, the man skidded to a stop in front of the two teams. "Yukie has up and vanished again!"

"What?!"

Narrowing his eyes, Naruto turned to look over the cliff where large expanses of snow-covered forests and mountains laid stretched out before them. His team did the same thing, all of them gathering alongside him as he scanned the horizon line.

"She must have jumped ship when we stopped at the entrance to the cave," Tenten said.

"That's just great," Sakura sighed while palming her face, "How in the world are we going to find her this time. She could be anywhere out there." This country was huge and, for the most part, the territory was relatively unknown. There were plenty of places for her to hide.

"She couldn't have gone far," Naruto spoke, turning back to his team and the camera crew. He smiled at them when he saw the concern etched on their faces. "Don't worry, I've got this. Tenten." He turned to the girl with brown hair, "You're in charge until I get back. While I'm gone, protect the camera crew."

The kunoichi nodded upon receiving her orders, "Yes."

"Good." Now he had free reign to do as he pleased.

He needed to find this girl and fast, before anything unsavory happened to her. Even so, he wasn't going to risk using shadow clones for this task. Sending out hundreds of doppelgangers in all directions to find just one person lost in a snowy wilderness wasn't such a good idea at the moment. Not only were they currently resting in potential enemy territory, but if Doto's men were out there hunting for them, shadow clones would only give away their position.

Though he couldn't use his copies, Naruto still had other more fun and interesting methods to work with.

Stepping closer to the cliff, the jinchuriki then took a deep breath and, turning towards the woods on top of the slope behind them, gave a loud howl that echoed out across the range.

Everyone in the vicinity stood baffled as his wolf-like call reverberated across the region, startling those standing closest to him due to the unexpectedness and sheer volume of his cry. When silence eventually fell, both the crew and the team watched and waited with baited breath to see what would happen. It didn't take long for the youngster's call to be answered when, seconds later, another howl echoed back, followed by a chorus of calls that grew louder and louder with every second. The cameramen backed up fearfully from the direction the howls came, until low growls filtered over the area as a pack of wolves suddenly came dashing down from the forest.

The people closest to the slope screamed when the hunters dashed into their midst, the squad of shinobi also backing up when the pack leader ran to a stop directly in front of Naruto while his clan circled. The boy smiled and knelt down, seeing the wolf with the scar on his face look up at him attentively.

The boy faced the group's leader like he were an equal, before pulling out something from his vest pocket and holding it up to him. "A girl from our crew has run off. Do you think you and your kin can find her?"

The people watched curiously as the wolf sniffed the thing in Naruto's hand, before the boy retracted it and allowed a few of the other wolves to smell. Waiting for a few seconds as the head wolf sniffed the air, he then huffed towards the blonde waiting on the sidelines and took off along with the others.

Naruto turned to his stunned team and grinned, "Be back in a flash." He then disappeared over the cliff with the wolves, leaving everyone standing in silence.

The director, blinking, turned to the cameramen watching on the sidelines and pointed, "Did any of you get that?!"

"Got it boss!"

"Same here!"

"Me too!"

The head of the project grinned, "Outstanding!"

OOO

Meanwhile…

Not too far from the last stopping point of the convoy, but still a considerable distance for someone like Koyuki to cover, the star actress could be seen running through the woods away from the crew as fast as she could. Panting heavily, the young princess winded through the trees, not caring where she was going but wanting to get as far away from this place as she could.

"There's no way! Absolutely not! I won't go back there!" the girl thought in desperation.

She was so focused on running that she failed to spot the heap of snow lying in her path, which her foot ended up getting caught on. Letting out a cry of surprise, Koyuki fell forward at speed and ended up rolling down the slope ahead of her, where she eventually stopped at the bottom and laid there, motionless. Vision fading, the girl gazed through the cold, dark forest of tall evergreens as her eyes closed her off from the rest of the world.

"You lied to me father. There is no spring in this country."

Memories of a time long past flashed through her head, as she was taken back to the Kazahana castle, to the room where her father worked. She remembered seeing mirrors standing all around her, reflecting her image back as her beloved dad spoke with her, promising her a dream that he was certain would come to pass, but never did.

It was a past Koyuki had thought she'd buried long ago, but had managed to climb its way back to the surface.

After a short while of lying there in the cold, completely immersed in her dreams, the actress's eyes drifted open to the sound of light footsteps approaching her. When the girl looked up, she found herself staring at a pack of wolves watching her from the edge of the clearing, a sight that had her wake with a start and leap to her feet. Panicking, Koyuki backed away, only to stop and look behind her and realize she was surrounded. The wild animals cornered her on all sides and glared at her, while their pack leader, a big wolf with a pure white coat and a scar across his eye, circled the ring.

Just as Koyuki was beginning to believe she was going to be killed, she suddenly heard more footsteps approaching and looked back around to see the familiar form of Naruto step out from behind a tree. When he appeared, he frowned at her before breathing out a sigh, "You know, I've seen and done a lot of things in my life, and I gotta say… it's so much better to face down your problems instead of running away from them. People won't be able to stab you in the back so easily when you're looking them in the face." Glancing down, the jinchuriki nodded towards the head wolf, who gave a huff in response before scampering off along with the rest of the pack. "Let's go. Everyone's waiting."

After being faced down by eight full grown wolves, Koyuki made no fuss or fight as the boy approached her from his spot and pulled her onto his back. Once she was securely fastened to his shoulders, the jinchuriki then began making his way back to the others.

"This has been an interesting few days, hasn't it princess?" Naruto asked in a conversational manner as he leapt up the mountain side back onto the main highway. Upon reaching it, he then turned and began making his way through the same cave system the convoy had cut through in order to get to the path on the other side. "Maybe next time you should consider shooting your movies somewhere with a little more grass and sun… perhaps even on a beach." A mischievous grin then spread across his lips. "I bet you'd look great in a two-piece bathing suit."

The girl sitting on his back gave the boy a dirty look before turning away stubbornly. Even though she didn't put up much of a fight, her mood was still incredibly despondent. "You're a pervert."

"Hey, I'm only speaking up on behalf of every man on the face of the planet. I mean… can you blame me? You're beautiful."

Koyuki scrunched her face up nervously at his compliments before frowning again. "Then every man on the face of the planet is a pervert."

Naruto chuckled good-naturedly, "You could be right. But hey, food for thought."

While his footsteps echoed throughout the labyrinth of caves as he followed the road out of it, Koyuki looked back around at him and towards his face. When she saw him looking ahead of him intently with a casual expression in play, she considered him for a good, long moment, before narrowing her eyes. "Why? Why do you always come looking for me?"

"Because it's my mission. It doesn't matter how much you hate it… I'll keep coming after yah," Naruto responded with a small smirk. "Just try to hide. I'm gonna find you."

The girl raised an eyebrow at him curiously when he said that, "Those wolves… were they…"

"In the neighborhood. This was their territory and we were in it. I just asked them for a little bit of help," Naruto answered with a shrug.

"How?"

"Simple. I can talk to animals. It's something you pick up on after living with them for more than half your life," Naruto replied, glancing back at the princess to see her surprise before staring ahead of him again. He then grinned confidently when another thought came up, "And also because I'm awesome. Sure, you hear a lot about famous shinobi out there in the world who can do extraordinary things, but in my own humble opinion… I'm better then all of them combined."

Koyuki gave a small smile at that, "You're a modest one, aren't you?"

Naruto chuckled. "When you're stuck in a corner with nowhere to go and no one else to turn to, the only one you can really count on is yourself. That's how it is sometimes."

After that, Koyuki's smile dropped and she returned to her usual, cold disposition, "You can drag me back all you like. All I'm going to do is act in front of the camera, finish this movie and leave. That's all. You got it?"

"Whatever you say," Naruto said, shouldering the girl further up his back as they continued down the tunnel. However, just as they were about halfway through, a sudden tremor stopped the boy in his tracks followed by a distant whistle behind them. Turning around, both the Jonin and the movie star blinked in confusion. "Wait… was that…?"

OOO

Standing outside the tunnel, everyone looked on in surprise when a train track suddenly appeared on the ice. Sensing something off about it, Sakura and Sandayuu approached it, with the former kneeling down and rest a hand on the railing. "There's chakra running through this."

It was upon hearing this that Yukie's manager reacted in alarm, "He's here." He then turned towards both the crew and the shinobi team scattered across the area, "Everyone, get out of here! It's not safe! You can't let them find you!" The man then hopped over the tracks and began sprinting up the nearby slope, up into the woods.

"Wait! Sandayuu-san!" Kaede called out in surprise, "Where are you going?"

Seeing the boy about to run off in pursuit of their client, Tenten jumped in front of him, "Don't go after him." She then turned to the camera crew, "You heard the man! Everybody clear out! Pick up your cameras and get the trucks out of the way!"

OOO

A light suddenly appeared from down the tunnel both Naruto and Koyuki had already traversed. Seconds later, another whistle bounced off of the icy walls around them in the form of a deafening wail and the steel hull of the enormous locomotive shot into view, causing alarm bells to go off in both teens' heads.

"It's a train!" the actress shouted.

"Oh, that's just perfect!" Naruto exclaimed in a sarcastic and irate manner, at the same time the rumbling of the approaching vehicle shook icicles from the ceiling and caused the debris of the cave to cascade all around them. Not needing to be told twice, the jinchuriki spun around, slammed a foot down on the ice and leaned forward, "Hang on!" He then took off at full speed, with Koyuki crying out in surprise at his sudden burst of acceleration that saw them shooting down the length of tunnels in a blur. However, in spite of the boy's impressive speed, the train was quickly on his heels. "What the fuck? How fast is this thing?" Even with slabs of ice and boulders standing in its way, it just plowed through them like they were part of the air.

"It's no good! It's gaining on us!" Koyuki cried out as she held onto the boy tightly.

"Not if I can help it!" Naruto bellowed right back.

"We'll never make it!"

"Of course we will! Think positive!"

"There's no way you can do this! We'll be run over!"

Naruto glared back at her, "Look, if you're not going to think positive, then shut the fuck up and let me run, lady! I'm trying to find my Zen here! I've come too far to be put down by a God damn hunk of metal!"

Koyuki shook her head as she looked back at the locomotive baring down on them. It was now just feet away, "It's impossible! You can't do it!"

"WATCH ME!" Naruto roared, immediately picking up speed till he was traveling much faster than the train was, his head cutting the air like an arrowhead as everything blurred out around them. The actress bouncing on his back looked on in shock as he literally shot into a different time zone.

Seconds of winding through the tunnels, passing by icicles and rocks that would soon be decimated by the train, a light up ahead signaled the end of their short yet epic journey, with Naruto springing off to the side the second he was out. Upon sliding down the slope to a stop, the boy spun around and glared up at the gaping hole, where he saw the locomotive shoot out several seconds later. Both watching the enormous transport coast to a stop several yards away the blonde haired jinchuriki then gave a victorious grin before raising a fist in triumph.

"Did… you… see… THAT?" Not forgetting his passenger, the jinchuriki set Koyuki to the ground, only to have her knees buckle and drop her on her tail bone. The blonde jumped on his toes and began dancing on the spot, "WOO! My feet are burning baby! They're burning! I gotta tip-toe!" Taking his time, the boy started skipping on the snow and whispering 'tip-toe' with every two steps he took. Upon expressing his satisfaction at his performance, the blonde then stopped and smirked down at the girl behind him, before sticking his nose in the air assuredly. "And you said I couldn't do it."

Panting as she saw the boy extend a hand to her, Koyuki then gave a small chuckle for the moment before being pulled back to her feet. As soon as she was up and gazed across at the blonde that had managed to save both their asses, she was then shocked into silence at the voice that came next.

"It's been a long time… Koyuki."

The princess's head snapped towards the vessel and its line of cars in bewilderment, "I knew it… Doto."

There, standing on the locomotive atop a raised platform alongside Nadare, a large man with long brown hair, a chiseled jaw and adorned in ornate robes stood holding a microphone and an arrogant smirk upon his wretched face as he gazed back towards the tunnel they'd just exited. Seeing the young lady standing beside the tracks, the man lifted the speaker phone closer to him and made his presence completely known, "After ten years, it's good to see you again my dear. Come. Don't be shy now. Let's have a look at that pretty face of yours."

Shirking under his gaze, Koyuki stepped away. As a menacing grin began to form on the dictator's mug at the telltale signs of fear reflected upon the girl's expression, he was suddenly cut off from any further exclamations when Naruto came to stand between them. Hands in his pockets, the boy glared back at him.

"So you're the Doto guy I've been hearing so much about? You don't look so tough."

Before anymore words could be spoken between the two parties, a mass of logs from the top of the slope suddenly rode down the hill at speed before crashing into the train. The force of impact smashed two of the carts and knocked the wheels off of the tracks, disabling the train and causing everyone to look up to the crest of the rise. When all attention fixed on the rocky outcrop, Doto's horde, Naruto and Koyuki saw a line of armored warriors standing there.

Heading the group of samurai to emerge from the woods, Sandayuu stood at the front, also adorned in battle garb and glaring down at the train just as the rest of his legion was. Drawing the katana from his side, the man in glasses breathed in deeply before speaking at the top of his lungs, "Do you see men? Our beloved princess has returned to watch over us! With her at our side, victory will be ours!" A cheer went up amongst the men, with the commander raising his sword and pointing it towards the man on the train. "Doto, we have waited a long time for this day of reckoning to arrive, and here our patience has been rewarded! Sandayuu Asama and fifty loyal warriors under Lord Sosetsu stand before you to avenge our fallen leader and to take back Yuki no Kuni! Today, you shall breathe no more!"

Under the eyes of the cameras trained from hiding spots along the ridge and the bewildered looks of Koyuki and Naruto, Doto eyed the line of soldiers distastefully before looking down at his right-hand man. "I thought you got rid of the last of the insurgents."

Nadare bowed his head with a frown, "My apologies, Lord Doto. We will get rid of them immediately."

"No, no. No need to waste energy." Smirking, the would-be leader of Yuki no Kuni looked up amusedly as a battle cry rang out and the soldiers on the ridge began charging down the slope. Following the path of the logs, they aimed all their sights on Doto, who raised a hand and signaled the soldiers on his train into action. "With men such as these, the only thing they'll be able to understand is total annihilation."

The second his hand gesture was made, doors all along the side of the train snapped open, revealing a battery of projectile firing weapons, including mounted turrets at the tops, all controlled by foot-ninja under Doto's command. When all systems were trained and activated, the carriages then began lobbing hundreds upon hundreds of kunai at the approaching warriors, a rain of metal death peppering the brave men and mowing them down in a single stroke. Soon, the entire slope of snow and ice was covered in kunai, blood, and forty-nine bodies riddled with shuriken.

Naruto was gob smacked, having not expected the train to be carrying something like that. "The fuck? They have weapons like that?" He then bit his teeth together and glared furiously across at the man responsible for the attack.

No. It wasn't an attack. It was a massacre.

The only one out of the whole platoon of soldiers still standing after such an onslaught was Sandayuu, who remained swaying on the spot with kunai sticking out of his body. Upon seeing the man, Koyuki's eyes shimmered in disbelief while Doto raised his hand and ordered one last salvo to finish him off. With a wide grin, the ruthless man let loose another round. However, just when it seemed like the shuriken were about to hit, a massive, spiked metal shield suddenly dropped down from the sky and landed in front of Sandayuu, deflecting the kunai and allowing the man to drop backwards into the snow.

Tenten appeared directly on top of the shield and fired off a series of kunai from her scroll, the knives slamming into the sides of the carriages and detonating one after the other. Doto then watched on in annoyance when explosions at the top of the cliff suddenly sent an avalanche careening into the side of the armored train, taking out the rest of the volley guns before the carriages started to move again, the locomotive chugging furiously to get them out of dodge.

While Tenten continued lobbing kunai with explosive tags, Kaede stood further along the ridge above from where Sakura set off the charges, and flung a wall of foam from his mouth down the way, which slammed into the front two carriages and hardened like concrete. This pretty much stopped the train and forced the locomotive to detach itself from the rest of the assembly. Thanks to its enhancements, it was able to take off at speed and avoid any further attacks.

Responding in kind to the assault being mounted by his team, Naruto rushed forward and slammed his hand into the back of the last cart. With a loud growl, his Jet Hand exploded into life and sent the caboose careening into the carriages in front of it. The speed and force it shot off at was simply immense, the sonic boom that occurred being only the start of it as the other carriages were blasted off of the tracks and sent flying in all direction in pieces, as the rear carriage ripped through them one after the other before barreling into the back of the retreating locomotive. The occupants on the platform outside actually had to duck and cover as it took out the podium before the caboose itself smashed to pieces, leaving an absolutely ruined armored train, a ruined track, and a collapsing bridge.

When the dust settled from the battle, the camera crew was finally able to come out of hiding, and everyone quickly saw to the soldiers lying scattered across the open ground. Sakura and Kaede quickly ran to help out, while Tenten returned to Naruto's side as he and Koyuki strolled through the remnants of the one-sided slaughter. While the dead were tended to, they arrived at Sandayuu's side, where Sakura was now doing her best to try and fix him up.

"This is awful," the pink haired girl murmured while gritting her teeth angrily as she applied gauze to the man's wounds, "What the hell kind of monster is he?"

A callous look on her face, Koyuki looked around at all the men that had been taken down by the hail of kunai and scoffed at the sight. "This is what comes from never giving up. If they hadn't stood against Doto… then none of this bloodshed would have happened."

"No. Sandayuu told us," Kaede spoke, glancing up at the actress with a deep frown on his face, "That man is cruel. Women… children… the elderly… this man killed hundreds of people he suspected were against him. He didn't care. This land was left to rot under his heel." This put an even deeper look of hatred and sadness on all the present people's faces, including Naruto's as he glared across at the princess to see if she responded in kind.

But she didn't. She just stood there, looking on with an expression of utter disinterest.

Koyuki's eyes narrowed when she returned to looking down at Sandayuu and a stunned Sakura. "They put their faith in the wrong person."

As her manager laid there barely breathing, Sandayuu cracked his eyes open through the blood dripping down his face and looked up at the raven haired actress. When he saw her kneel down beside him through a blurry vision, he spoke in a hoarse, yet determined voice, "Please… forgive me princess. I should have never gotten you involved in all this. But… every one of us believed in spite of everything, because we knew you were alive. That alone was enough to keep us going to the end. You must believe in yourself… not just for me, but for your people… and for your country. You have always been… our last ray of hope." The man's voice grew quieter as he struggled to speak, before sprouting the smallest of smiles. "Please… don't… waste your tears on me." With that, the last of his strength left him, and the man's head fell limply to the side as the last of his life left him.

Sakura's hands left the man's chest when she realized he was gone, her expression conveying complete shock. As the others looked on solemnly, Koyuki continued to stare at the man's lifeless form with an emotionless air, before rising to her feet, "You are such a fool, Sandayuu. I can't cry… you have my eye drops." She then looked at the director and the Konoha ninja, expecting to see nothing but defeat wrapping all of them. Panning from face to face, she then pointed down at the man, "Are you all satisfied? Let's go back. If you stay here, your lives will be forfeited… just like his. Let's go home." She then turned and began walking away, back to the convoy of trucks sitting on the side of the ruined tracks,

"Your home is here."

The voice of Naruto stopped Koyuki dead, who then glared back to see the boy standing there with his hands in his pockets and a scowl fixed squarely on her. It was clear from his eyes that he had not turned away from her for even a second, not even after she spoke her last words to Sandayuu.

"This is our mission. Of course our lives are in danger. Sandayuu hired us to protect you… and that is exactly what we're going to do," Naruto stated firmly, before turning to her completely. "And even if we wanted to, we can't turn back now. Doto knows who you are and he'll keep coming after you until either he or you are dead. No matter how fast or how far you run, you're not going to be able to keep him away."

"What would you know about any of this?" Koyuki snapped at the boy, her frustration growing with every word he spoke. "Spring doesn't come to this country. Our tears are frozen over and our hearts are hardened from the cold. There's nothing here anymore."

"That's not true," Naruto replied while glaring at her, "There's still something here that can fix all of that." He pointed at her, putting her in the spotlight. "You. You can change this country yourself if you'd just stand up, face your past and do what you know you have to do to make things right. While it's true that we can pick and choose our destinies, when there's something that you and only you can do, you have to step forward and take responsibility for it."

Tenten glared angrily at Koyuki and the completely detached way she was dealing with this whole thing. "Sandayuu believed in you. He lived his entire life taking care of you and keeping you safe so that you might come back here and free the country one day." She then stormed towards the actress and raised her fist. "You haven't even shed one tear for his sacrifice because you're a spineless coward!" She then threw a punch, only for it to be caught by Naruto stepping in front of her, stunning all parties in the area.

Looking at the kunoichi, Naruto shook his head. "There's no need for that, Tenten-chan." Releasing his grip on her fist and watching the shuriken user calm down, the blonde then looked back at Koyuki. "Fact of the matter is; she's stuck here with the rest of us. This is her fight as well, whether she likes it or not."

It was then, when it seemed like Koyuki was about to argue back, a shocked look came across Naruto's face when he and everybody else saw something rise up from over the cliff. A large war blimp ascended into view, with the bottom boarding door open and revealing the hulking form of Mizore standing in its frame, his grappling arm extended. Just like before on the glacier, as soon as he had a clear shot, he fired, the hand grabbing hold of Koyuki and snatching her up.

Before Naruto or anyone else could react, the high-flyer Fubuki swooped over them and launched a barrage of kunai that, upon striking the ground, exploded into dozens of ice trees that branched out and impaled everything in sight. It was a miracle that everyone managed to avoid the barrage of icy death, because the entire mountain top was completely riddled with the stuff.

The shinobi who were the intended targets leapt out of the way and landed on the various branches that had sprouted when the trees eventually stopped growing.

"You've got to be kidding me!" Tenten shouted while glaring hatefully after the blimp now starting to make its escape. Since it was a giant balloon with air, it didn't move very fast, but was still putting a great deal of distance between them and the Konoha contingent. "They have more of this shit?!"

"I'm not one for swearing, but mother-hubbard," Kaede cursed as he stood at the defense of the director and the DOP huddled up under the ice pillars.

"What do we do now, Naruto?" Sakura asked, glancing across at the blonde to see him set down the two cameramen he'd managed to save from the hail of ice weapons.

Frowning, Naruto bit his thumb and flipped through hand seals, seconds before slamming a hand into the ground. "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" (Summoning Technique) In a large burst of white smoke, two enormous swallows stepped out from the cloud and ruffled their feathers under the cold that greeted them.

Though not sporting the impressive crest and crown like Saito, the two large birds were still armed, groomed in white and black feathers, and battle-ready. Upon spotting Naruto, the two birds bowed in greeting before crouching down in the snow, while everybody in the vicinity awed at the sight of the majestic creatures. Even those who'd already seen his summoning partners were in awe at seeing the pair of avians.

Forming a few shadow clones and having them round up the film crew, the original turned toward his team. "Hop on. We're going for a ride."

As enthusiastic as Naruto was however, he couldn't help but feel annoyed at the amount of twists and turns that were taking place on this mission.

"I bet Sasuke doesn't need to put up with this crap…"

XXX

Meanwhile…

Land of Fire border…

Marching down a distant road, side by side with their hands in their pockets, Sasuke, Neji and Kotetsu walked along in absolute silence just looking around at the landscape passing them by. Having escorted their ambassador client up to Kumogakure and stuck around for the main proceedings that required their presences, the group was then instructed to return home, while their client remained in the village tending to whatever paperwork he had to do. There was to be a rotation in guards while negotiations continued with the country over some unspoken agreement between the villages, but the trio of Chunin paid little mind to the details and just followed-through with the job.

With their time their over and done with, the squad then made their way back to Konohagakure. Though the B-Rank mission was a success, it had still been quite eventless for the most part. Save for the little bandit encounter on the way to the nation that was their destination, nothing else of interest had taken place over the course of their assignment. It left a very sterile taste in the Uchiha's mouth.

"So…" Kotetsu spoke up, grinning down at the two new Chunin that had put on such smashing performances back in the exams, "How was your first B-Rank assignment to another village?"

"Surprisingly relaxing," Neji replied, marching along with his eyes forward while Sasuke was looking off in another direction. "Everything went swimmingly from start to finish."

"I expect there was a good reason for the three of us really being there," Sasuke murmured, voicing his concern over the lack of action for them.

The senior Chunin chuckled at this and nodded, "Of course. I'm sure you can guess at this point why our client was so set on having you two along. Due to the reputations of both your clans and in an effort to try and set aside past discretions with Kumo, they had both of you, a Hyuuga and an Uchiha, tag along for the major bulk of the ceremonies. You can say it's also a way for us to show off, if in a not too subtle manner."

Though Sasuke always appreciated a flexing of biceps every once in a while, he'd still hoped for something more challenging. Even after the hectic routine of the exams, he still hadn't been satisfied by the competition. Like many of the others, he'd wanted more of a chance to stretch his wings out there in the ring, something to adequately test his skills against. Unfortunately, Tsubaki and a couple of other aspects in that tournament prevented them from going that far.

"By extension, we also served as representatives of our village," Neji added after a moment of careful thought.

"Yep. It was all part of the deal after all. A shinobi can take on any number of roles, whether small or big," Kotetsu stated while looking across at the other two boys. "I'm sure you all remember the D-Rank assignments you'd been given in the past."

Sasuke grumbled at that and rolled his shoulder, at the same time adjusting the Chunin vest he now wore, "No need to remind us."

Kotetsu laughed at the distasteful look the youngster put on, "All of us had to go through that same shit, kid. Why do you think I always pick gate duty with Izumo? As a Chunin, you're free to pick and choose any of the missions you want."

"Even so, we still need to complete the missions that we are chosen specifically to participate in," Neji said sagely while his eyes closed. "That's also part of our roles as shinobi."

"Exactly."

Sasuke, somewhat curious, looked across at the spiky haired man with the bandage over his nose, "Mind telling us what other assignments you've been on besides gate duty?"

The older Chunin grinned and stuck his nose into the air. "Glad you asked…"

While the senior officer began to enthrall the two boys in his tales of past heroism and what not, with the young pair listening in with some intent and focus to his stories, as the small band passed through a particularly rocky area of the forest road they were following, the squad failed to notice a group of onlookers up high watching them from a distance. Under the glare of the sun sitting in the perfectly clear sky, the faces of a team of sinister figures looked down upon the valley with smirks and grins in play as they stood and observed the Konoha squad and their primary target amble across the countryside.

Though most of the men up on that plateau were wearing the same uniform, thick white suits with hoods, dark gloves, purple vests, headbands all baring a symbol affiliating them to a hidden village, and carrying large, gold colored machines on their backs resembling gliders of some sorts, there were a handful among them that differed from their squadron. There was a large man with a hulking frame, large hands, long brown, spiky hair with a chiseled face, big nose, and wearing beige green battle attire with a blank forehead protector, and two women, both dressed in pink and green knight-like armor respectively, both with long, golden blonde hair and red eyes.

These three stood out from the ten men dressed in uniform and were clearly the leaders of their little band. Though they easily originated from completely different places, it was also obvious that they were all on the same side.

What side exactly however was, as of now, still a mystery.

"So… that's the target the boss wants us to snag a piece off of?" the young girl in the pink armor asked while licking her lips, "He looks scrumptious."

"Cool your jets, Ranke. Those three down there are supposed to be tough," the other woman in green armor spoke up while smirking across at the others. "We'll cut them off further up the road and take them on separately. They won't be able to help each other out while we have all of them occupied." She then looked over at the men standing behind her. "You all know what to do?"

"Yes, ma'am," one of the masked shinobi replied.

"Very good," the female knight in green chirped before looking over at the big man with the excited grin in play, "Ready for this, big boy?"

"Of course," the brutish form of Kongo replied, his fists tightening. "I'll take the brown haired one. He looks fun to hit."

The woman in the green armor and cape smirked in return and threw her hair back, as she too readied for action, "That's the idea."

XXX

Back in Yuki no Kuni…

Sitting on the table near the helm of the blimp, Koyuki sat glaring at the very man who'd murdered her father. In spite of her repressed loathing of the person, she was still conscious enough not to forget her manners and remained in her place quietly as the current leader of the country beamed at her. It was a reunion the man had obviously been waiting a long time for.

"You have really grown quite beautiful, Koyuki. Even though it's been years since we last saw each other, I can still recognize the face of my sweet little niece," Doto spoke with a sickeningly warm smile. He stepped towards the teen sitting with her legs crossed and her chin resting on her knuckles. "But as much as I would love to spend time catching up with you, I have important business that must be attended to and cannot be kept waiting any longer. Do you have the Hex Crystal?"

"Yes," the actress replied, eyeing the man with suspicion as he slowly approached her under the watch of the three snow ninja he had on his beck-and-call.

"Very good," the man responded, his tone conveying a sense of satisfaction, "It is the sole link to the Kazahana Clan and the key to unlocking its greatest treasure."

Koyuki looked up in surprise at this statement, this being the first time she'd expressed any form of emotion in the man's presence, "Treasure?" What treasure? She didn't know of any kind of treasure? Hell, her father didn't mention anything like it to her.

Doto breathed in and straightened up, "When I… wrested control of the nation from your father the resources of our once great clan were all but dried up. Sosetsu obviously hid his treasure somewhere, so I searched high and low for it before finally finding it, buried deep within the country's great landmark, Rainbow Glacier. There I found a keyhole, which can only be opened by the Hex Crystal… an ingenious little design and very complicated. I spent years trying to forge a second key, but the lock only responds to the crystal carved from it, as the two pieces are connected." A haughty smile then came across his face. "Once I acquire the fortune hidden there, I'll be able to use the riches to gain military superiority over the Five Great Shinobi Nations."

Surprised at hearing this, the princess's expression steeled once more when she saw the man extend a hand out to her and close within easy arm's reach of her.

"Now," Doto spoke with expectancy reflected in his eyes, "I will have the Hex Crystal, please. After all, you don't need it… and once I have it I will allow you to go free. Simple as that." The sickening grin he wore however didn't bode well for the young actress, who eyed him with an enormous level of suspicion. However, after several seconds of silent debate, Koyuki eventually relented and surrendered the crystal to him. Upon passing it on to the man, she watched her uncle analyze the crystal before his expression scrunched up in anger. "What is this?"

"W-What?" Koyuki asked in surprise, unable to comprehend the man's sudden shift in temperament.

Doto then violently picked her up from her seat by the collar and held the necklace up to her, "You think that I can't recognize a fake when I see one? Where is the real crystal?!"

"No. Th-That's impossible," Koyuki stammered, before realization hit her. "No way… he couldn't have… Naruto?"

The uncle's expression twitched at that name, "What?"

Nadare, who was standing by his fellow subordinates, clicked his tongue impatiently and glared out the window in the direction they'd come, "That little blonde speck of a Jonin that chucked the train cart at us. I never pegged him for the subtle type, but he's actually quite shrewd. He managed to pull a bait and switch on us."

After feeling herself get dropped back in her seat and watching Doto step away to catch his breath, Koyuki then went about looking around the bridge of the blimp again, only to jump in shock when she suddenly saw a girl she didn't see before sitting at the same table across from her. With her legs kicked up on the desk, the newcomer with the white mane of hair, and purple and white battle robes sat there drinking from the bottle of wine provided while basking gloriously in the tense atmosphere that was now floating around her.

"I warned you guys that he would be a problem for you," the young adult sang while downing another glass of alcohol, "But you didn't listen to me, and now you've gone and fucked things up. Oh well. I guess some dreams just weren't meant to be after all."

Doto growled down at the young lady with an irate expression in play and hissed, "Karenbana… you…"

"Hey, don't get angry at me," the white haired kunoichi replied with a careless show of hands. "I wasn't the one who picked up the princess. That was your subordinate's fault."

Fubuki gave a sultry smile at that and placed her hands on her hips, "It doesn't matter. We know where the Hex Crystal is and we know that the blonde boy wonder has it. Give us till sundown and we'll have him and his entire band of school children rounded up and taken to the stockades."

With his mood slightly improved, Doto smirked back at his team of hired guns, "That will not be necessary. Knowing who they are, the brat and his team are bound to show up for the princess on their own accord. Until then… all we have to do is wait." Chuckling, the man crushed the fake crystal in his bare hand and tossed it aside, leaving a still shaken Koyuki sitting at the table.

OOO

That evening…

What Doto and his crew aboard the blimp didn't realize of course was that minutes after making their dramatic getaway with the princess, Naruto and his team had in fact been in hot pursuit of the kidnappers onboard their own specialized air force. This came in the form of the jinchuriki's two unique swallow summons; large, incredibly swift birds that were more than capable of taking on the weight of two shinobi apiece. Being animals bred and raised for battle in the most inhospitable mountains and skies you could imagine, the two flyers were more than prepared for the passengers as well as the cold conditions they'd been summoned to.

Soaring at high altitude just below the clouds, the two birds carrying the shinobi had flown for most of their journey across Yuki no Kuni within bare sight of the blimp far below. Due to the difference and quality in the two opposing forms of transport, it was easy for Naruto's crew to catch up to the slow moving vessel after the surprise attack mounted against them, and tail the enemy right back to their base of operations. It took some time thanks to the lack of speed of Doto's war machine, but after an hour of flying they eventually got there.

And what a base it was.

Upon watching the blimp settle in from a distant ridge and after seeing the sun sink over the horizon some hours later, Naruto directed the two birds he'd summoned back into the clouds to stay out of sight of any sharp, wary eyes watching from the fortress below. Not wanting to draw attention to them, he was sure to keep them as high above the radar of any onlookers as possible, and hid both him and his crew in the icy cold atmosphere above. Though all of them were dressed appropriately for the winter conditions, it was still incredibly nippy, as indicated by the warm breaths they were exhaling at that altitude.

However, this being a rescue operation, Tenten, Sakura and Kaede wisely chose to ignore the harsh temperatures and kept their opinions to themselves as the two giant birds circled the enemy headquarters.

It was situated atop of a mountain and was as impressive as any old castle could be. But unlike other citadels, this one had a much more modern and menacing feel to it. This one had been specifically designed and outfitted for war, where the walls and position of the very construct could fend off attacking armies for months. The design of the structure clued the others into the intentions and interests of the would-be leader of this nation, the knowledge of him being a tyrant being an even bigger giveaway.

In spite of the expenses and exhaustive efforts he'd put into constructing his war palace however, there was one thing Doto didn't count on, and that was air superiority and infiltration via the forgotten front.

After fifteen minutes of circling thousands of feet in the sky, Naruto nodded assuredly and brought up his wrist to look at his metaphorical watch.

"Check your clocks, guys. We need to be in sync for this," Naruto called up above the howling winds as the birds flew close to each other. The boy glanced across at Sakura and Kaede on the other bird, while Tenten gripped a hold of him from behind. When he hiked up onto the swallow's neck, the bun haired girl released and took control of the flight while the jinchuriki readied himself. "As soon as I go, give me exactly fifteen minutes. It shouldn't take me too long to clear house of enough of the guards to make it to Koyuki. After that, enter in from beneath the castle via the underground pipes and raise hell, just like we planned. We'll rendezvous outside the prison block."

Sakura smiled and gave him the thumbs-up, "Got it."

"You can count on us," Kaede called back.

Orders given, Naruto spared each of his friends a smile and a nod. Standing straight up, he then threw his arms out and, without warning, fell backwards and over the side of the swallow when his summon banked. His teammates then had the pleasure of watching their Jonin captain skydive however hundreds of meters they were above the mountains towards the enormous fortress far below, heading straight towards the main building's roof and vanishing in the night.

Even wearing orange he was still able to disappear against the night sky.

Furrowing her brow, Tenten then waved her hand and instructed the swallows to follow as dictated, and they vanished into the clouds once more.

OOO

Ten minutes later…

Prison Level…

Having been taken down to a cell by a couple of Yuki no Kuni foot soldiers under Doto the second the blimp had landed, Koyuki spent the next few hours upon her arrival just sitting there, with a miserable look on her face and her knees pulled up to her chest. Every ten minutes or so a couple of guards would come by to check on her, while a few more would periodically stroll by on patrol not really paying her any mind.

In the confines of her room behind the steel bars, it was dark, cold and deathly silent; a world that allowed the young actress plenty of free time to her thoughts.

The only subject that really stuck out in her mind at that moment was the thought of complete and utter defeat. There was not a thing about her situation that didn't tell her that she was finished and that this was the end for her. Everyone around her was going to die and so would she.

There was no ending she saw beyond this that had her walking into the sunset alive, happy and free. To her, this was the end of the line. All she had to do now was sit there, wait and see what dreadful sendoff her captors had in store for her.

However, by the pull of what she felt was another hour of nothing but quiet, Koyuki soon became aware of the sounds of dull thuds ringing out around the prison level. Head perking up at the distinct chorus of struggling reverberating off of the many walls, the actress looked out the gates of her cell across the walkway, the chasm, and to the cells on the far side.

The sounds of conflict eventually ceased, which earned a curious blink from the girl. Getting up, she went over to the bars to investigate for herself what was going on, only to let out a shriek when she saw a body fall from an upper level and crash to the ground directly in front of her.

Alarmed, she looked out and around, where she immediately noticed the collection bodies strewn all about the place, all of them either beaten up or bleeding out. A split second later, a person wearing orange materialized out of the air in front of her, and Koyuki looked to see Naruto straighten up and smirk confidently at her.

"Fifty guards and not a single one of them put up any kind of a fight," Naruto shook his head in amusement. "Is this a nation's idea of an army? Because if it is, I'm going to be completely honest with you… it's a bit of a joke." He then noticed the bewildered look Koyuki was giving him and placed his hands on his hips. "So… how's your day been so far?"

"How did you get in here?" Koyuki asked in utter shock, "How did you even find this place?"

Naruto scoffed and thumbed over his shoulder, "Tracking a blimp moving as fast as the wind can blow it isn't that difficult. Even without my winged friends I could have followed it on foot. It never left my sight."

The princess stared at him incredulously for a moment before her expression returned to its previous one reflecting nothing but a negative disposition. It even remained when the boy pulled out a random, low value ryo coin and flicked it into the bars of her enclosure. A clang followed by a spark of electricity sent the spare change flying over the chasm, with the boy and the actress watching the glowing piece disappear into the dark before the former grunted.

"That's annoying."

Koyuki wrapped her arms across her as the boy began checking the bars from top to bottom for any sign of the seal producing the current. "Just give up." Her voice had the jinchuriki snap to her again. "You can't win against Doto or his men. Not by yourself."

Naruto chuckled and reached into his pouch, aiming to retrieve the special key he normally used for these types of situations. "You've been with me for how long now and you still don't think I can do it?" He laughed in amusement at the look sent his way. "Trust me; I've been in far tougher situations than this. If you think I'm just yanking your chain then ask my teammates." Pulling out a kunai, he then saw the girl scowl and twirled it on his finger. "Come on. Why do you have to be so cynical all the time? What's wrong with having a little faith?"

Giving the jinchuriki a hard stare as he continued to examine the gate in front of him, Koyuki let out a sigh and looked away. Face darkening somewhat, she allowed her memories and her feelings regarding them to bubble to the surface and take the wheel. "You'll see when the spring comes, Koyuki. My father used to say that to me all the time. He told me that spring would eventually come… to imagine myself running through a field of flowers, feeling the warm sun beating against my skin and the butterflies dancing around me across the hills. He always said that if I never gave up, always believed, and never stopped dreaming, then spring would eventually come to Yuki no Kuni. To this country." She then breathed out and shook her head. "But this place has no spring. It's always snowing, always cold… never changing. My father died, I fled from here, and I stopped believing. In the years after that I was always running, always lying to people… but I've mostly just been lying to myself."

Naruto stopped looking over the door to stare at the girl, where he saw her dead eyes land on him again. In them he saw all her feelings reflected like light upon window panes, as well as her memories flickering through like he was actually there, standing right beside her. It was enough to have him stop and consider her for a moment before the girl brushed a few stray hairs out of her face.

"I told you before… back at the bar. I live in a world filled with lies and deceit, and I'm the best at it. Becoming an actress was easy for me and was the only thing I was really cut out for, because naturally my life was just one big charade."

Nodding at hearing this, Naruto allowed a moment of silence to pass before finally deciding to speak. "Okay. Sure. You've lived a life filled with lies and false promises, and because of that you've lost your faith in the world and the people around you. I get that." He then looked at her and met her gaze head on, "But even if you say your life was just one big act… one massive charade where you were forced to adapt in order to survive, you still chose that life. Yes, you felt the entire world was against you at one point. Yes, you were forced to run and were worked into a corner. But eventually you just quit. You gave up without even trying to change a thing or make a difference in your world, to set things right."

Spotting the tag over the lock, the jinchuriki stepped over to it and ripped it off. Scrunching it up and chucking it away, Naruto then examined the key hole quickly before his eyes flickered up to Koyuki's again. "I was given a poor start in life too, before I can even remember. People despised my existence all throughout my childhood and refused to acknowledge me as a human being. Everywhere I went I was hated, and I was beaten up a lot because of it. I got into a ton of one-sided fights and, for a while, I thought that I would have my face kicked into the ground by people who didn't like me for the rest of my life. It would be a while later till I realized why all of the villagers hated me so much and why I struggled so hard at the beginning. Turns out I had this mass of malicious, palpable, living chakra called the Kyuubi sealed inside of me on the day that I was born, and didn't even realize it was there until twelve years later. Heh… it's kind of funny when I think about it. But even though people turned their backs on me and others knocked me to the ground and treated me like trash, do you know what I did?"

"What?" Koyuki asked, her face showing her focus and surprise at the tale the boy was now telling her.

"I got up. I was put down repeatedly, but I never gave up and always got back to my feet each and every time. Even though I felt that the whole world was against me and that I was on the losing end of everything, I knew that I still had a chance to make things right, to change the world and make my life better. I started working hard, pushed myself to be the best that I could be and persevered to get people to acknowledge my existence. I fought, bled, worked, adapted, and did everything possible to get stronger, because if I was to become the best ninja in the world, there was no way people would not be able to recognize me," Naruto said with a smirk, holding his knife back before driving it straight into the lock. With a single twist, the latch came undone and, upon yanking the blade out, the door swung open with a metallic creak. "I'm not going to give up. I'm going to prove to the world that I'm the best by beating up every last person out there who wants to hurt others weaker than them, starting with the assholes ruling this country. So…" He threw the girl a grin. "Want to see me save a whole nation in one night?"

Processing everything that was said to her, Koyuki stared back at the boy momentarily before a warm smile appeared on her face. When the jinchuriki offered her his hand, she took it gladly and together they ran out of the cell towards the exit of the prison level, which took the form of a nearby elevator.

However, just as the two of them were running down the walkway, Naruto suddenly picked up something on his radar that he didn't notice before. Skidding to a stop, he then proceeded to sniff the air until his eyes narrowed on the levels and bridges above them, with the actress behind him wondering what had gotten him to unexpectedly coast to a stop.

It was only a few seconds later that she smelled it too.

"Perfume?" the princess murmured.

All of a sudden, the pair found themselves surrounded on all sides by a wall of flower petals floating on an unnatural breeze. The blonde and his client looked around at the vortex encompassing them for a few moments, wondering where the heck it had come from and what was going on before the jinchuriki's eyes widened and, picking Koyuki up, shunshined out of there in time to dodge the hail of kunai that impaled the ground on which they'd been standing.

Reappearing on the walkway across, Naruto set Koyuki behind him and instantly fired off a barrage of pellets from his gauntlet towards the icy wall a level up and across the chasm. The shot of paint rounds he sprayed splattered against something invisible before the camouflaged figure leapt onto the steel railing above, her form materializing out of thin air a split second later. The person that appeared from seemingly nowhere looked to be a young girl around the same age as Naruto with white spiky hair, a cute face, and white and purple battle robes with a blank headband.

Though the jinchuriki with her didn't express anything beyond a momentary snarl, Koyuki recognized the girl immediately and reacted in alarm, "It's her."

Grin on her face, the enemy kunoichi that was forced to materialize out of the air responded in a clear and boisterous tone, "The information about you was right after all. You are a sharp one."

Baffled by the appearance of the stranger, Naruto drew two kunai from his pouch and, holding them by the tips of their blades, cocked them back for a throw as the unknown adversary leered down at them. "She's not like those snow ninja from before. This one…" His eyes narrowed aggressively when he sensed something amiss about her. It wasn't the perfume she was wearing or the fact that she'd tried to kill them… it was the vibes she was giving off that made the blonde feel uneasy. She wasn't normal. "Who are you?" Naruto asked.

The young lady up above smirked and leaned forward childishly, "It's nice to finally meet you face to face, Naruto Uzumaki. The name is Karenbana." A giggle escaped her lips as she strolled forward, while her opponent continued to watch her with complete and utter intent. "Now that we've become acquainted, I suppose that makes us enemies now, huh?"

"Judging from your weird getup and forehead protector, I can tell you're not from Yukigakure. Heck, I don't even think you're from any of the hidden villages… but you're still working for the bad guys," Naruto murmured observantly, his eyes tracing over her form and taking in every detail about her.

"Working? Hardly. More like visiting," the white haired kunoichi chirped as she stepped forward some more with her hands behind her back. She then stopped in the middle of the causeway and gazed at the jinchuriki and the princess. "My job here was to try and negotiate with the jokers of this country for an alliance on behalf of my boss … but apparently Doto and his gang have other plans and are not interested in playing ball with our team. So really, my presence here is no longer required."

"And what team would that be, exactly?" Naruto asked. "Who are you working for?"

Karenbana grinned and wagged a finger down at him. "Sorry. Spoilers." She then slid into a fighting stance and formed a hand seal, putting both the jinchuriki and the princess on guard. "However, I am still curious to see how things in this place turn out. Maybe if I was to kill you and take the princess and the Hex Crystal up to Doto myself, he would be willing to reconsider our offer for an alliance."

The jinchuriki smirked, wondering what kind of a fight this person was going to give him. She was apparently strong, and there was something about her person that told him that she was barely even showcasing all of her power. He prepped himself for battle, ready to defend Koyuki with his life. However, just before any kind of sparks could start flying between them, an explosion somewhere inside of the fortress rocked the foundations the castle was standing upon and caused a great tremor to run through the ground.

When ice started to fall around them and alarms started blaring, Karenbana allowed a new grin to cross her lips and stood out of her stance. "Unfortunately, I'm not too interested in taking that bet… not to mention fighting you would only be a waste of valuable time and energy. It would also probably get me killed. Perhaps… on another day somewhere further down the line, when the conditions are more favorable." She then saluted the boy and turned her back on him, "It was nice meeting you." In a swirl of red flower petals, the young woman vanished onto the wind, leaving a startled Koyuki and a still glaring Naruto behind.

Her disappearing act really struck a chord with the two of them, something that placed the blonde on edge.

There was someone else playing their own dangerous games out there. Not knowing who they were gave Naruto real cause for concern.

After a moment of silence, eyes cutting around the prison level and his senses reaching out for anything malicious or dangerous remaining in the area, the jinchuriki soon felt that the presence of the individual was no longer within their midst. Knowing that the strange ninja had now left them, Naruto slipped his knives back into his pouch and took the princess's hand once more.

"She's gone. Come on," the blonde said, before running with said actress down the walkway for the exit.

They arrived at the elevators, where they quickly boarded and were taken back to the upper levels. While they were on the flight up, Naruto returned the necklace to the princess, setting the Hex Crystal in her open hand after he brought it out. When she recognized it as her piece, Koyuki gave the boy a hard look, which he responded to with an apologetic one of his own.

"I'm sorry, but after the fight on the glacier I figured that this was what they were really after," Naruto replied, nodding down to the jewel as she clenched it tightly in her hand. "If I hadn't had taken it… he probably would have killed you."

Koyuki breathed before shaking her head, "It's alright. The man may be a murderer, but I know that he wouldn't kill me without first letting me see all of his hard work realized. He's too much of an arrogant prick for that." After rolling the gem around in her open palm, she felt the elevator come to a stop and the doors open up before them. "All this trouble over this thing…?"

Upon exiting onto the upper floors, the pair then suddenly saw three Yukigakure shinobi drop down in front of them from the rafters above. However, when Koyuki first thought they were enemies, the jinchuriki next to her stepped forward and smiled when he sensed the familiar presences. "Nice work guys. Giving them hell?"

"Plenty," the shinobi in the middle replied before ripping off the disguise, revealing a smirking Tenten underneath. Sakura and Kaede also got rid of their own disguises as more explosions continued to reverberate throughout the castle. "We laid out bombs all over the place. It'll take them forever to put out the fires, but it should distract them long enough for us to get the heck out of here."

"Good," Naruto breathed, turning to Koyuki to see the girl looking at him. "I think it's time we seek the nearest exit, because I'm about to raze this place to the ground."

"How?" Sakura asked.

"Do you remember that last jutsu I used against Gaara in the final round of the exams?"

"Oh?" Sakura murmured, before her eyes widened in realization. "Ooh… you're going to use that in here?"

"More or less," the jinchuriki chirped.

"When in doubt, always follow your instincts," Kaede shrugged, smiling around at the other two who were also thinking about what their team leader was planning. After a few seconds of consideration, smiles came across their faces at the thought of the blonde absolutely leveling the entire mountain. "Should we get a better seat for this?"

Tenten nodded, "Lets."

"We need to move," Koyuki said, turning around and running across the walkway, "When they took me down here I saw a way out. Follow me." She then sprinted into the corridor on the other side, closely followed by the shinobi team.

The squad stuck to her heels as she led them further into the complex. The darkness of the hallways fell upon them as they heard more explosions echo out from many more paper bombs going off throughout the entire fortress. What with all the commotion going on caused by their carefully laid charges, the group was certain their way would be clear for them to make a problem free escape.

However, after a few minutes of running through the labyrinth that was the castle, the group suddenly coasted to a stop in the middle of an enormous chamber. There, the room was suddenly flooded by light from above as a throne atop a mountain of stairs suddenly came into view. The second the shinobi turned toward the high seat and spotted the person sitting in it, the man let out a menacing laugh and rose from his place to smirk down at the surprised troop.

"Well done… Koyuki."

In their bewilderment, the team was unable to react in time when Koyuki unexpectedly turned heel and ran towards the stairs. Just as Naruto was moving to intercept her, Nadare, Mizore and Fubuki appeared in front of him and his team, cutting them off. All the young group could do from that point on was watch as the girl sprinted up the stairs, reached the throne and placed the necklace she was holding into Doto's waiting hand.

While Fubuki grinned lecherously at Kaede, Naruto had to contend with the arrogant smirk sent his way by Nadare, who stood before the squad with his arms folded.

"Too bad. You lose, boy," the snow ninja exclaimed.

The jinchuriki's expression became stone cold as both he and his team held their ground, "The next chance I get, I'm going to cave in that shit-eating grin of yours. Understand?" He then trained his glare to the top of the podium, where the princess stood alongside Doto smiling down at them. "What the hell are you doing, Koyuki?"

The girl chuckled darkly, "This shouldn't be any surprise to you. I am an actress after all. It's my job."

Doto let out another amused laugh as he leered toward the hired help, "Yes. Another magnificent performance by the great Yukie Fujikaze! You played your part well, my dear."

"Yes," Koyuki nodded, her eyes lowering under the glares from the team tasked with her protection. When her gaze was trained downwards, for a moment everyone thought she'd played them all, that she'd in fact made a deal with her uncle to hand over her necklace in exchange for her life. However, just when they thought it was all over the girl suddenly pulled a tanto out from under her coat, the same one Sandayuu had wielded, and ran it right through the man's side. Her burying the blade into Doto's waist earned a shout of surprise from her target as the large man was driven back by the sudden attack, "I did play my part well, didn't I?"

Naruto and the rest of his team blinked in surprise.

"Whoa. Good move," the blonde exclaimed, before a grin appeared across his face. "So that was her aim all along?"

Doto growled as he grabbed the girl by the throat, trying to force her back, "Why you little…"

As the pair struggled, with the princess fighting against her uncle's powerful grip, she pushed forward, shuffling the two of them closer to the edge of the platform. "I always knew, Naruto… that if I was ever going to return to Yuki no Kuni… I was going to die here. At least in the end… I could…"

Naruto gritted his teeth and stepped forward, only for the snow ninja in front to shift into his line of sight. Cursing, he glared up at the struggling pair, "Don't be so dramatic! It'll be an empty victory if you kick the bucket now!"

Koyuki smiled weakly towards the boy and closed her eyes as she gave one final push, and both her and her uncle found themselves right on the edge, "It was thanks to you Naruto that I was able to return home and face my past." Then, without thought or hesitation, she pushed the two of them over the side. "I'm sorry father… Sandayuu," were her last conscious words as she and her last blood relative dropped a full story before crashing into the hard floor with a heavy thud.

"Koyuki!" Naruto shouted the second he saw them land.

Both the uncle and niece then lay there for the next minute motionless, with the princess having seemingly been asphyxiated into unconsciousness by the vice like grip that had previously been around her neck.

However, just as Naruto and the others looked on and prepared to move from behind the three snow ninja standing in their way, they suddenly saw Doto rise to his feet and let out an amused laugh, at the same time unfastening the belt of his robe. "Did you seriously think that little toy could hurt me?" When he removed the veil of his princely attire from his person, he revealed to the Konoha contingent a black armor hidden underneath, with a design reminiscent of the snow ninjas' own uniforms standing in front of him. This model however looked slightly different and even more impressive, with the core of the device positioned right on his chest, "The latest prototype chakra armor. Worth every bit paid for it." The tyrant then looked down at his side, where he saw Koyuki cough and sputter back into consciousness, prompting the man to grab her by the coat and hoist her up and under his arm.

"Hey! Let me go!" the girl shouted, punching the man's forearm desperately.

As she struggled, Doto laughed. "Don't even bother trying to escape, my dear. You won't be able to hurt me with this on. I'm invincible."

"We'll just see about that!" Naruto yelled, having waited enough on the sidelines and throwing a kunai with an explosive tag straight at Nadare's team.

Seeing the blade land at their feet, the three enemy ninja immediately took off using wires before the bomb detonated and took out the floor. Seconds later, the entire chamber started to collapse on itself as the other explosives planted around the fortress took effect. Doto laughed out loud as he fired a wire up into the ceiling and ascended at speed, carrying the princess with him, who continued to try and free herself before vanishing into the clouds of dust. The snow ninja managed to get out, and just as the room was starting to shake itself to pieces Naruto rounded on his team and yelled his orders.

"Take them! I'm going after Koyuki!"

Sakura, Kaede and Tenten did as instructed and disappeared as enormous chunks of rubble began raining down around them.

Making use of one of the fallen bits of ceiling, Naruto fired off his Jet Hand and flung it straight into a wall, taking it and several others behind it out and giving himself a straight shot out of the doomed throne room. Within seconds, the blonde managed to make it outside the fort, having blasted holes all the way through it and to the very edge of the structure. Escaping through one of the windows and making it outside the gigantic walls onto the icy slopes, the boy glared up towards the sky where he could see Doto gliding towards the horizon with his niece held securely in his arm, which brought an infuriated look to the Jonin's face.

Naruto began leaping down the rocky hill. "Oh no you don't!"

"Not so fast, boy," another voice called out.

Skidding to a stop to avoid the kunai impaling the floor at his feet, the jinchuriki glared to his left to see Nadare drop down from the fortress above him and land on the ledge across. Hand on his hip, the man leered in the boy's direction confidently before sticking his nose in the air.

"You're planning on running? We're not finished yet," the older Jonin spoke in an arrogant tone.

Standing on the cliffs at the base of the ruined fortress, Naruto clicked his tongue impatiently before a smirk crossed his lips. "You're right. We're not." The blonde then cranked his right hand back and set himself into a stance, their standoff resulting in both Jonin taking positions for a jutsu throw down. "I'm going to make good on that promise of mine and take your face off. Let's do this." In the blink of an eye chakra began to gather above the jinchuriki's knuckles, swirling and twisting before a tornado of rotating wind formed around him, with the starting point at the end of his fist formed into a drill. "Tsubame Gaeshi!" (Swallow Return) The second his technique was formed, Naruto exploded from his position and dashed towards his opponent at blinding speed.

"Impressive. Now it's my turn!" Nadare shouted while flipping through hand seals. An excited grin formed on his face when he finished the combination, "Hyoton: Roga Nadare no Jutsu!" (Ice Release: Wolf Fang Avalanche Technique) The snow gathered on the ridge above them then came to life and started cascading down the mountain side in the form of a wall of white powder and ice, before transforming into a row of charging wolves.

The enormous, ice made creatures thundered towards the attacking blonde, aiming to blindside him. However, when it looked like they were about to wipe him out, the nimble jinchuriki suddenly picked up speed and, turning into an orange blur, easily avoided them by causing the attack to miss him by several feet. The sight alarmed Nadare as he took a defensive stance.

"How did you…?" He bit his teeth together. "Shit! He's fast!" Growling, the Jonin then formed another hand seal.

Leaping through the air, Naruto let out a loud bellow and rammed his wind drill into the man on the plateau, or tried to anyway. For the third time since their first meeting, the jinchuriki's spirited attack was halted by the multi-colored shield of his opponent's chakra armor, which stopped the blonde dead as his fist ground into it.

Just as his jutsu continued to tunnel into the defense and the glass plate that was the core of the armor started to crack, the rest of the avalanche Nadare had launched barreled into them. While his chakra shield deflected most of the fallout, one of the wolves he'd created with his ice technique managed to blindside Naruto and took the boy into its crushing jaws, sending both it and the teen over the side.

The snow ninja grinned widely as he watched the boy get taken out, "What a shame. You almost had me there too." However, just as he was watching his attack drag the youngster down the rolling cliff, he suddenly saw the blonde go up in a puff of white smoke, which had Nadare's eyes widen. "What?!" Before he could fully comprehend what had happened and that his opponent had just been an ordinary shadow clone, the Jonin suddenly let out a yelp of shock when something small and fast-moving unexpectedly slammed into his back and sent him blasting down the cliff. "NO!"

Mounting his opponent's spine, Naruto landed right on top of Nadare with both his feet, one foot on the back of his head and the other right over his center of gravity, and remained in place as the Yukigakure Jonin slammed face first into the icy slope. Then, like a snowboard, the jinchuriki started to ride his irritating foe down the side of the mountain as fast as a mass of flesh could carry him. With the remnants of the avalanche cascading all around them, providing the perfect backdrop for an epic finish, and crouched atop his immobile opponent's form, the jinchuriki laughed loudly before standing up and, with absolute skill and precision, began guiding his adversary into every corner, bump, crevice and rock he could see, making his fun ride down the best he could possibly make it.

"SURF'S UP! WOOO!" Naruto cheered with his hands in the air, feeling the terrain become even rockier as he leapt over another gap and crashed into the snow on the other side, continuing on down the slope at blinding speed. Even though he was using a person as a board, Nadare was surprisingly sleek. "THIS IS AWESOME! HANG TEN, BABY! YEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

For the next few minutes the jinchuriki surfed the guy down the slope, hitting every turn hard and even doing a flip, before the ground eventually leveled out at the forest and the jinchuriki began coasting to a crawl. Timing himself, the boy crouched low before back flipping off of the man's spine, the momentum allowing Nadare's body to travel a few more meters before he crashed headfirst into the trunk of an evergreen with a dull thud. Making a perfect landing immediately after jumping off, Naruto dusted himself down and approached his opponent to see if the guy was out for the count.

"Yo. Dude. You okay?" Naruto asked, reaching for the man's hair and pulling his head up to take a look. He then cringed at what he saw and dropped him back into the snow, "Yeah. You're not okay."

He'd shaved his entire face clean to the bone. His entire front was caked in blood. The guy was dead.

Scrubbing his head, Naruto then looked around his icy setting before beginning to walk, stepping on Nadare's body for good measure. "Now let's see… Koyuki went…" Before he could finish, the sound of an approaching engine drew the jinchuriki's eyes toward the thick of the woods, where he quickly spotted the director pull up on a mobile snow trolley being driven by his head cameraman. He also had another man operating said camera, filming every second of their journey.

The ambitious movie man and head of the project grinned, and waved the boy over, "Come on!"

The sight of the machine had Naruto smirk excitedly and rush over. As soon as he hopped on, the crew took off in hot pursuit of their beloved princess and her kidnapper, intent on finishing this once and for all.

It was just seconds after they'd left the area that the group completely missed the sight of a pack of wolves coming out of the woods to surround Nadare's dead body, where the familiar leader of the clan looked in the direction Naruto had gone before turning his full and undivided attention to the corpse.

In this harsh environment, food was scarce.

Oh well. Circle of life.

OOO

Meanwhile…

Land of Fire border…

While it had been a hope that Sasuke and Neji held onto when they first stepped out on their B-Rank mission to eventually encounter a challenge somewhere along their road, the level of degree it eventually came at turned out to be a bit of a shock. From out of nowhere, while the escort squad from Kumo was returning to Konoha to make their report of a job well done to their Hokage, they were suddenly blindsided by an attack from above in the form of a rain of bombs.

The unexpected ambush from the group of aerial assassins separated Sasuke, Neji and Kotetsu and forced them to leave the highway, before each of them were then confronted by separate factions of an unknown enemy group and run down into a hasty retreat.

The senior ranking Chunin of the trio took to the trees as he was pursued by the group of flying shinobi, all of them lobbing kunai at him from weird rifle-like launchers they were all carrying. Thanks to the cover of trunks and ground, Kotetsu was quick to down two of them through clever use of his terrain before the rest of the squadron started strafing the area with bombing runs from high above the canopy, and began to level the area with incendiary explosives.

Sasuke had the two women in armor chasing after him, whom he met in the forest and its many clearings in a heated clash. Immediately, the two golden haired attackers displayed a unique and almost terrifying range of abilities, with the knight in green sprouting wings from her arms and taking flight and the girl in pink hurling bolts of electricity at him. Since the former kept out of reach of him for the most part, he was forced to engage the heavy hitter of the two and the pair squared off.

Neji however was chased off by a hulking figure with a blank headband. At first the boy was confident he could take him, but after nailing the guy cleanly with a few staggering blows, he suddenly found his attacks repelled by an invisible barrier and quickly sprang away.

When he activated his Byakugan to see what had stopped him, the Hyuuga was surprised to find he could not see the man's chakra circulatory system under the weird body plating he was wearing, and that his vision was being distorted by a continuously fluctuating sphere of chakra encompassing the enemy shinobi.

Kongo laughed at Neji's bewildered expression and patted his chest, "You can't hurt me with those pitiful attacks, boy. Not while I'm wearing this."

Staring for a moment longer, the new Chunin then frowned after getting a fair bead on his target. "Interesting. That armor is repelling all of my Juken strikes and preventing me from inflicting any internal damage." Though he found use of the uniform a cheap shortcut, as would any self-respecting ninja, it was still an ingenious way of doing battle. "Since you seem to favor taijutsu, it would make sense you would be sporting something like this to protect you from attacks specifically aimed for your internal organs and involving chakra."

The bulky shinobi chuckled and stomped forward, his hands curling into fists once more. "I never used to wear something like this. I was always strong, but my boss said it would do me a lot of good to start wearing this armor to help boost my chakra levels and strengthen my attacks."

"… I see," Neji replied before scowling as his eyes fixed firmly on the individual now advancing on him. "If that's the case, then I'm going to need to attack him without chakra. Just pure taijutsu. But with insufficient power, I do not think I'll be able to overcome this opponent. However…" He then extended his palms and settled into a wider stance. "If I am smart about this, I will be able to beat him."

The enemy leered dangerously, "Well? Are you going to play with me or not?"

"If you wish for me to fight, then so be it!" Neji responded, dashing forward and quickly ducking under a wide swing. As soon as he got up close to the man, he pummeled the guy's side with swift palm strikes, followed by blows under his arm. However, thanks to the addition of the armor and his natural insulation to physical attacks, the wandering ninja effortlessly repelled the damage and responded with a quick, swinging counter.

Dodging the fist, which buried the ground behind him, Neji swept around his foe and quickly struck at his back with swift attacks, forcing Kongo to stumble forward. When he righted himself, the man spun around and came at the boy with a swinging overhand, which the Hyuuga grabbed and, quickly positioning his arms around the limb, tossed the giant over his shoulder. The man crashed and tumbled across the ground painfully, only to get up and smile at Neji like the throw had no effect whatsoever.

"That was fun."

Neji remained stone-faced. "This is a life or death battle. It's not supposed to be fun."

"Then why don't we make it so," Kongo suggested before charging straight at the boy at speed, quickly hurling a punch, only to have it parried and receive a counter to the chest. He responded to the boy's new assault with a kick, sending the Hyuuga leaping away for distance. "Wow. You're quick." The man sounded just like a child.

The Hyuuga frowned and then began running a wide circle around his foe, with the intention of giving him a wide berth. "Despite his simple-mindedness, he's incredibly powerful and extraordinarily light footed for his size. I have to tread carefully from now on if I am to avoid his attacks."

For some strange reason, Neji couldn't help but believe this person was only toying with him just to hold his attention. Sure he was mounting an adequate defense against the brute's shocking speed, ferocity and nerve rattling punching power, but there was just something off about the way he was attacking that the Hyuuga prodigy couldn't quite put his finger on.

It was almost like the guy was stalling.

Kongo chuckled and rushed towards his prey, seeing him slide to a stop and respond in kind. "Ready or not, here I come!" They then swung at each other, both parrying and both crossing blows that exploded outwards in a shockwave, which cracked the ground at the force.

OOO

(With Kotetsu)

Grunting after dodging another hail of kunai, the Chunin spun to the ground and landed skillfully upon the grass before glaring up towards the trees. There, he saw a lone Sky ninja strafing the canopy and dodging branches, at the same time trying to take pot shots at him with his launcher.

"These guys are starting to annoy me," Kotetsu thought. While they weren't individually strong, they were irritating as a group and would always fly out of reach of his attacks. Though their technology was impressive and they presented a grave threat as enemies, they had a very one-dimensional way of battle when it came to aerial stratagem. Were they to conduct themselves on the ground they would probably be more of a threat. "This is the second time I've ever seen a ninja fly."

The first time was in the Chunin Exams when both Tsubaki and Naruto displayed to the world their amazing abilities to defy gravity. That was something to talk about.

While the two youngsters manipulated the air for flight in their own ways, the kunoichi due to the versatility of her kekkei genkai and the jinchuriki thanks to his control over wind, these ninja were using their chakra in a different manner. Combined with the science of gliding, they were able to stir their energy within the wings of the machines on their backs, change the air pressure and create lift. This way they were able to fly gracefully through the air, even in tight corridors, without a worry or care. Sure, it required a sort of handicap, but you had to give these guys points for creativity and the ninja-know-how that went to creating those things.

Responding to the next barrage with a pair of kunai and explosive tags, Kotetsu hammered his persistent foe around and forced him to run, allowing him to acquire some breathing space.

"I'm getting nowhere fast. As long as they maintain that distance I won't be able to touch them, even with shuriken," the spiky haired Chunin thought before taking to the trees. When he did and looked up ahead, he saw two more enemies burst out from the canopy and come charging at him. As the two flying shinobi trained their weapons on him, the man smirked. "Looks like I'm going to have to be a little more aggressive."

Acting evasively, Kotetsu began springing off of trees in a zigzag pattern, confusing the two approaching shinobi before the Chunin sprang at one of them and nailed them with a kick across the face. The blow sent the man spiraling into a branch, where he clothes-lined into it before crashing to the ground, his glider smashing to pieces on impact.

The wingman shot past Kotetsu when he singled out his partner, but the Chunin wasn't done yet. While spinning around from the kick and still moving from the momentum of his jump, the wily Konoha ninja drew a scroll from his pouch and unfurled it, running his blood across the front and forming a seal. "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" (Summoning Technique) With the incantation, a burst of smoke came from the scroll before an enormous, pink conch shell flew out from the cloud and slammed into the back of the retreating enemy.

The sheer speed and size of the summoning destroyed the Sky ninja's wings and sent the man spinning to the earth. The second he scored the hit, Kotetsu called his conch mace back by the chain he had it extended on, and caught it skillfully by the handful the moment he landed.

The Chunin smiled at his success, "That's four down." He then trained his glare up through the canopy, where he saw another sky ninja fly by and scatter a twentieth round of bombs. Spotting the spheres Kotetsu frowned and took flight as well, barely avoiding the explosives that lit up the area he'd previously been in and set the trees ablaze."Six more to go."

As much of a ball this was, Kotetsu couldn't help but ask himself who the hell these people attacking them were and where they'd come from.

Hell, from the symbols he was able to spot on the headbands of the flying ninja, Kotetsu knew it was a village. But what village, he had no idea.

OOO

(With Sasuke)

"Chidori!" (One Thousand Birds) Sasuke shouted, driving his lightning imbued hand into the electric field of his opponent and digging into it as the pair clashed.

So far, this match had been pretty even between them. The Uchiha had managed to get in some killer shots onto his foe and even managed to chase her off a couple of times. Thanks to her partner however, the boy was only able to do so much and could only take his two-on-one fight so far. It was only after Sasuke started to really gain the upper hand in the fight that his female opponent in the pink armor did something completely unexpected, and transformed from a curvy, incredibly attractive young lady into a repugnant, golem like monster with the same purple and pink color pattern as her armor.

Not only did her form double in size and her body change shape to accommodate her increase in power, but her electric based attacks also increased in strength several times over. This meant Sasuke's once advantageous position in terms of overall combat skill, speed and strategy had been worn down to the bone. He was now fighting with everything he had in his arsenal to try and defeat his opponent.

With a roar of anger through a bruised face, the raven haired boy in the black ensemble eventually managed to pierce the plasma shield and strike through it with his signature jab, slamming his hand into the woman's chest at the shoulder and impaling her. The transformed Ranke let out a yell of pain as she stumbled back, feeling the boy's attack burn her as he thoroughly ran her through, only to quickly counter his blow by slamming a knee into his stomach and forcefully throwing him away.

Spinning to recover, Sasuke landed at a distance and glared up. Ignoring the blood running from his lip, the boy's Sharingan eyes fixed onto his foe, a frustrated growl escaping his lips when he saw her breathe agitatedly and fix her own gaze on him in kind. "Just like I thought. The density of her muscles has increased as well with that form."

Fighting her when she was just as agile as him had been challenging enough. In this form, she turned her once graceful fighting style into that of a berserker one. The fact her speed increased as well meant he was having a tougher time contending with it.

While the boy gripped his arm and recovered from his attack, at the same time trying to think up a way around her powerful defense that didn't require such an enormous sacrifice, Sasuke then had the pleasure of watching with silent intrigue as the gaping wound in the woman's shoulder suddenly healed over. Hearing bone snap back into place and seeing the lady brush the blood off of her chest, the Uchiha narrowed his eyes.

"What?"

Ranke laughed at his expression, "It'll take more than your little, electric cutting knife to beat me, boy. Nice try though."

Sasuke glowered at her condescending tone as he saw his foe begin to circle him once more, her footsteps stomping along the ground. "Thanks to her shield she was able to move in time to avoid most of the damage from my attack, but she was still able to heal her injury like it was nothing." He gritted his teeth when he replayed the scenario in his head. "Damn it. On top of her weird jutsu, she has an accelerated healing factor as well."

Concern growing at his situation, Sasuke saw his opponent stop and leer dangerously at him again.

"Now… it's my turn!" Eyes widening, the girl then charged, her approach mimicking that of a rhino's.

Gritting his teeth, the Uchiha quickly brought his hands up and flipped through hand seals. As soon as he finished the combination, his cheeks puffed out and he brought his fingers up to his lips. "Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu!" (Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique) He then spewed an enormous sphere of flames at his opponent, which rocketed towards her in the form of a rolling ball.

However, instead of avoiding it like she did in her previous form, the transformed woman simply plowed straight through it. The plasma barrier surrounding her split the fireball right down the middle and she exploded out the other side, dispelling much of the attack and sending the embers on the wind. "Pathetic! That level of attack won't be able to get past my defense!" With a roar of effort, she sprang at her foe and thrust a swinging hook down at him, only for the stoic Uchiha to spring right over the punch and, using her back as a mount, leapt off of her.

Flipping through the air, the genius brought out a series of kunai and prepared for a counter with some explosive kick to it, only to get sidetracked by a loud screech followed by a black shadow suddenly slamming into him from the side while he was still airborne. The fast moving attacker smacked the boy back to the ground, where he crashed into the base of a tree and coughed up blood. Biting away a shout of pain, Sasuke prepared to stand again, only to feel his forearms grabbed and slammed against the trunk above him.

Pinned by both the one hand and a knee atop of his chest, Sasuke looked up through a blurred vision to see his hulk of an opponent, now reverted back to her normal human form, leering down at him from up close.

The girl in pink armor chuckled at the hateful glare on the youngster's face and shook her head at him, "Sorry brat, but as fun as this has been I'm afraid playtime is over." Ranke then looked off to the side to see her partner land next to her, changing back from her bat-form to the knight she had been before, with both powering down from their exciting battle. With their foe now lying completely at their mercy, they had nothing left to fear from him. "You put up a good fight. I'm sure you would have had me if it was a one-on-one battle and it was just the two of us. Unfortunately though, we had a numbers advantage."

Sasuke scowled at the cocky female and attempted to break out of her hold, but was unable to due to his center of gravity being pressed under foot. "Then why don't you just kill me then?"

A laugh came from Kamira, "Kill you? Why would we want to do that?"

"Our boss has other plans for you," Ranke informed the boy, drawing his gaze over to her to see the knight reach behind her and fumble around for something. "He said that he wants to change this world by transforming it into a perfect utopia… a utopia that we all want, and promised us a place at his side as his knights to help rule over it. But in order for him to create this world, he needs certain… items to help accomplish his goals."

"As it turns out, you just happen to be one of those items," Kamira shrugged, before smirking confidently, "Well… your assets anyway."

Sasuke's glare deepened and sweat began to drip down his head.

That did not sound good, nor was the sight of a small flask that Ranke suddenly brought out from behind her and placed on the grass next to her. As soon as the container with the transparent liquid appeared, the woman then brought her free hand up and began reaching towards the boy's face. The sight of her extending fingers quickly had Sasuke's eyes widen in horror and he began thrashing about violently.

But thanks to the knee pressing down on him and his hands being held by the woman's, the best he could do was writhe.

Keeping the fingers away from his face by clenching his eyes shut and violently twisting, Sasuke was then forced to submit by his head being grabbed by Ranke's partner kneeling down beside them. The woman in green armor turned his mug around and had the Uchiha face forward, allowing the other pinning him a clear shot.

"NO!" Sasuke shouted desperately. "GET OFF ME!"

"In order for a new world to be born, the current one must be destroyed. To do that, chaos must be brought down upon the land to touch every living soul in existence. The fires of war will scorch the earth and from the ashes of the old world, new life can be born," Kamira informed as Ranke forcefully opened Sasuke's right eye with her fingers. "Your eyes will help guide us toward that eventuality."

"Think of this as a stepping stone towards that final goal. The two of us are just… helping to speed it along." The woman in pink shrugged as her fingers kept the boy's eye open. "Our boss said only an Uchiha can unlock the full potential of their Sharingan, but wants to test that theory for himself, so be grateful that we're leaving you with just the one," Ranke chirped before giving the boy a bright smile. She completely overlooked the terrified stare she received from the raven haired youngster beneath her. "Buck up, kiddo. This might sting a little."

A split second later, Sasuke's bloodcurdling scream echoed across the forest, marking the end of the conflict in the area…

OOO

Meanwhile…

Back in Yuki no Kuni…

Leaping through the trees, dodging the various ice pillars that were being dropped by Fubuki, Tenten tossed a barrage of throwing weapons from her scroll at the giant that was chasing her on his snowboard.

Mizore, doggedly pursuing his foe, smirked as the knives and ninja stars she threw at him bounced off of his shield, scattering all around him as he kept up the pace. Weaving through the evergreens, he kept a sharp eye on the retreating girl, who at the same time continued to pepper him with weapons from up high. "We've been through this already, little girl! Your attacks are useless against me!" He then picked up speed when he saw said kunoichi land up ahead and started towards her.

Standing up with her scroll still in hand, Tenten gave a very confident grin and waited for the man to come within range. As soon as he was, the girl dropped to the ground and slapped her scroll down. "Try this on for size then!" In a puff of white smoke the kunoichi summoned a new tool; a black spiked shield that arced over her and caught her approaching opponent completely by surprise. A loud clang rang out when the man mounted it unexpectedly and was thrown forward through the air, right over Tenten's head, "Have a nice flight!"

Letting out a cry of shock, the snow ninja was clothes-lined by a low hanging branch. Thanks to Tenten's careful timing, the man flipped and spun back down toward the ground, where he crashed into it in a shower of ice and snow. Groaning from the pain, the man stood up and was just about to shake his head down from the impact when a large, ominous shadow overcame him, forcing him to look up towards the canopy prematurely. When he did, Mizore saw an enormous spiked, iron ball three times his size plummeting towards him with explosive tags protruding from its spikes.

Wielding it by its whip-like handle, Tenten let out a roar of effort as she dropped the mass of metal right on top of the startled man, the explosive tags exploding on its rear sending it into its target using the recoil as its momentum. Mizore's yell of terror was muffled by the ball crashing down on top of him with concussive force, the impact shaking the entire area as he was flattened by the gigantic spiked weapon. Due to the ball's sheer size and weight, his shield could not stand up to the force put behind it, and was literally busted by the power of the titanic hit.

Seconds after impact, the paper tags underneath the weapon along the spikes exploded as well, the blast bouncing the ball into the air before dropping it back down on the now thoroughly dead and crushed snow shinobi.

Landing from her successful pitch, Tenten grinned triumphantly and ran her thumb under her nose. "That little baby was called Jidanda (Stamping), the perfect weapon for attack and defense. It sure flattened your fat ass," the kunoichi exclaimed brightly with a playful wink.

He had been pancaked and blasted at the same time. There was no way he was picking himself up after that.

OOO

(With Kaede)

Flying through the trees and avoiding the ice pillars exploding upwards from the ground to impale him, Kaede quickly picked up speed and dropped down to low level. Beginning to weave between the trunks at the bases of the evergreens, he glared over his shoulder toward the canopy above him, where the outline of his airborne foe could be seen flipping and spinning between the branches.

Tired of being on the receiving end of their game of tag, the Genin with black hair and wearing the white jumpsuit cranked his left hand back and tossed a series of kunai up at his opponent in kind, setting the canopy ablaze when the paper bombs exploded one after the other. Showing some real skill, the kunoichi effortlessly weaved through the blasts, her laugh echoing out over the area as she teased her foe with her maneuvers. She retaliated with another hail of kunai, riddling the floor and causing more ice trees to explode and branch outwards.

Flipping through hand seals, Kaede spun around from his barrel roll and took aim. "Suiton: Suidanha!" (Water Release: Water Severing Wave) Cheeks puffing out, he fired a high pressure stream of water skywards, attempting to cut his opponent down but only ended up slicing up the tree branches above.

Dodging the beam, Fubuki grinned, "Nice try, but it'll take more than a single jet of water to-"

Snapping his teeth shut, Kaede broke up the single beam into several, causing seven high pressure jets to fan out and slice up more trees. The spread of shots were repelled by Fubuki's shield, the kunoichi crossing her arms over her face in surprise before some heavy branches from above suddenly dropped on top of her and smashed her towards the ground. Losing control, the young lady spiraled through several more branches before righting herself and landing safely on the ground. Wings gone, she spun about and smirked at her opponent across the way.

"Ha! You're dealing with a ninja from Yukigakure here. It'll take more than that to stop me!"

Just as she was preparing for a second engagement, the woman suddenly saw a fog drift in from her right and envelope her opponent in a wave. When the smoke cleared up seconds later, it revealed Kaede was no longer there and that a light mist was now covering the ground. Baffled, Fubuki began looking around wildly, wondering what was causing this strange phenomenon before a shadow darting through the woods caught her attention.

Spinning around, the woman began looking more intently through the forest, before an enormous wolf suddenly leapt out from the shadows of a tree and lunged at her with a roar and its jaws stretching wide open to chomp down on her.

The kunoichi let out a shout of terror and leapt away before the enormous animal could devour her. However, the second she did, her face was suddenly smashed to the side before her vision went completely black.

Unfortunately for Fubuki, the second she sprang back to avoid the 'wolf', she was knocked unconscious by Sakura rushing out from behind a nearby trunk and nailing her in the face with a wicked right overhand. With her superior punching power, the girl knocked the kunoichi off her feet and sent her barreling across the snow covered ground. Slamming into an evergreen several yards away, the kunoichi cracked it on impact before dropping to form a crumpled heap upon the ground.

The second she was down, Sakura dusted her hands and smirked proudly. "The core for your shield broke when you crashed through those branches. Guess it was more fragile than you originally thought. I hit you with my genjutsu the second you landed and nailed you while you were under." That was the cleanest punch she remembered getting in on anyone.

It was safe to say the woman was not going to be getting up for a while but when she did, she was going to have a wicked headache.

Landing next to his teammate, Kaede smiled at their joint handiwork and looked across at her, "Nice punch, Sakura-san. It was truly an awe-inspiring blow."

The girl brushed her knuckles against her winter poncho and beamed, "Thanks. She was really starting to get on my nerves." She then glanced towards the unconscious enemy and pointed at her unconscious form, "We should tie her up."

And that's just what they did, leaving the pink haired Chunin thrown up against the tree trunk bound in rope.

OOO

Sometime later…

Rainbow Glacier…

"Where is it? Where is the treasure?! The Kazahana fortune? It's got to be around here somewhere!" Doto shouted impatiently as he looked around frantically. After using the Hex Crystal on the center console, which had taken the form of a small shrine situated directly in the middle of the towering pillars making up Yuki no Kuni's most famous 'natural' landmark, the man had then dumped Koyuki next to him and stood back to watch the place open up and reveal its dirty little secret to him. The secret he'd been obsessing over for ten years.

However, once the key had been turned and the hum of the glacier started to fill the air, after several agonizing minutes of waiting, nothing had happened. The land was failing to reveal anything. No secret passage. No anything. All there was in the area was a white haze of fog hovering in the air and the sensation of more of it pouring in from every corner of the region. It was almost like walking into a horror film.

The sounds of loud hissing began filtering into their midst, followed by another cloud of heat. Feeling the kiss of moisture against his skin, Doto ran a hand down his face and looked at the moisture that collected. Koyuki did the same, only she felt the other sensation that came with it and began looking around more intently. Together, both she and her desperate uncle saw the ice and snow begin to melt off of distant rocks and away from the ground, revealing solid earth.

The sight had the princess blink in surprise, "It's so warm…"

"This… THIS is it?!" Doto yelled in outrage, throwing his arms out, "A heat generator? This is what I've spent all this time looking for?! A damn…" Eyes widening at the sound of a distant motor, the man spun around to see what was making that irritating noise, where he quickly spotted a motorized trolley approaching them from a distance. Recognizing the director and members of the film crew, the tyrant then watched as the vehicle suddenly changed course and shot across the terrain, at the same time dropping off a small figure to stand in the middle of the icy wasteland.

Appearing out in the open within the glacier's walls, the familiar form of an orange clad Naruto stood side-on and glaring across at the main villain behind this entire conundrum. His jacket zipped up and game face in play, the young Jonin of Konohagakure smirked and pointed at the unwanted leader of the nation.

"You and I have some unfinished business to settle, big guy," the jinchuriki exclaimed before jabbing a thumb into his chest. "You're mine!"

Koyuki's eyes widened, "Naruto!"

A low growl came up from Doto's throat at the sight of the pest, "You little half-pint!" Slamming his hands together, he then flipped through seals before cranking his right fist back. "Take this!Hyoton: Kokuryuu Boufuusetsu!" (Ice Release: Black Dragon Blizzard) He then threw his attack forward, a blast of twisting black wind and ice shooting forth from his knuckles in the form of a massive tornado. The head of said attack then morphed into a dragon with a gaping red maw and blazing eyes, which let out a terrifying roar before converging on its target in a matter of seconds.

Naruto was struck full on by the attack, which slammed into the ground and caused an explosion reminiscent of a landmine going off, sending chunks of ice and earth flying in all directions. Upon seeing his attack land, Doto's expression became manic with excitement, before his eyes widened in shock when the smoke and dust dissipated, and nothing, not even bits of body, could be seen lying in the crater that had formed.

"What?!"

Jerking upright when he heard two cracks of wind, the man turned around, where he saw Naruto standing many yards away with Koyuki in his arms and his glare set firmly onto him. The sight of the boy that had seemingly teleported with the princess in tow had alarm bells going off inside of the tyrant's head, as he looked back at the spot where his hostage had been, before looking across to see the boy set the girl to her feet.

"H-How in the world did he do that?" Doto gasped as his eyes shook in disbelief. "He's so fast."

"So that's it, huh?" Naruto asked, cracking his neck while beginning to march out to face the man. "From the look of surprise on your face, I can safely say that you've never fought a real shinobi before. All you've got on you are a couple of tricks, some chakra armor and your size. You're just a bully. An animal disguised as a man who's all bark and no bite. That's the most pathetic thing I've ever seen. It's almost laughable." Even Nadare had a more impressive presence than this joker.

"You dare insult me?" Doto bellowed, sweat dripping down his face and anger climbing even higher. He became so enraged in fact that his rage was almost palpable. All of the work he'd put into acquiring the Hex Crystal had been all for nothing. "I'm the ruler of this land and the most powerful warrior in this country! No one can touch me!"

"Want to put that to the test?!" Naruto asked, grinning enthusiastically as he rolled his shoulder. "Alright then! Bring it!"

Koyuki looked across at her savior fearfully as he moved out, intent on engaging Doto in one final clash, "Naruto… please, don't die."

The boy chuckled and glanced back at her, "Me? Die? Please." He glared back at his opponent, who was damn near frothing at the mouth. "There's no way in hell I'd let myself get put down by a guy like this. Just have a little faith in me. I'll be back before you know it."

Eyes shimmering admiringly, the princess then braced against the cold and smiled brightly, with rays of hope reflected in her gaze, "You can do it, Naruto! You're by far the strongest shinobi I have ever known! I believe in you!"

Naruto grinned, "I've been waiting for you to say that. Thanks." The boy then wasted no time in launching himself from his spot and sprinting across the icy terrain, before vanishing in an orange flash.

Eyes widening in panic Doto crossed an arm over his face, only to feel a fist bury into his side straight through the flexible pads of his armor with a deafening crack. Reeling forward in shock, the tyrant choked up air before a right hook slammed across his face and sent him stumbling to his right, where he then wiped away the throbbing bruise before rounding on his opponent. In a fit of blind fury and rage, the man then charged at the boy like a mad bull, bellowing out in anger and swinging a punch down at him with the intent to bury him in the ice. The young Jonin however leapt over the man, evaded his attack and, as a result, was able to watch the brute smash a gigantic crater into the ground with the force of a cannon, sending huge chunks of ice flying in all directions.

Pulling his fist back, Doto turned again to see his opponent dart across the open ground towards him, zigzagging like he was teleporting from side to side, before the tyrant countered with a wide, sweeping left hook.

Naruto effortlessly slipped under it and hiked off of the man's forward leg, before leaping up his chest and slamming a downward roundhouse kick across his face. The blow sent blood splattering as well as his opponent staggering across the floor. When he eventually stopped himself, Doto glanced over his shoulder, stunned to see the jinchuriki skipping on the spot with his arms at his sides.

"Good old-fashioned taijutsu," Naruto grinned, "Works every time. Let's see your invincible armor protect you from that."

Growling angrily, Doto turned again and immediately began flipping through hand seals, "Don't underestimate me, you jumped-up, little shit!"

Noticing the man going through the verses, Naruto sprang away for distance and cranked his right fist back. When he did, wind began visibly running up and down his arm in the form of a miniature tornado, which twisted and kicked up snow behind him.

Throwing both fists forward, Doto yelled, "Hyoton: Souryuu Boufuusetsu!" (Ice Release: Twin Dragon Blizzard) Two tornadoes of twisting black snow shot forth from his knuckles, the two wind drills forming dragon heads that converged around each other into a singular attack that then blasted towards their target with a howl.

"Fūton: Senpūken!" (Wind Release: Whirlwind Fist) Naruto responded in kind, throwing his right forward in a killer overhand as a powerful gale of twisting winds exploded from his knuckles. The attack shot forward with the sound of a cannon going off, the spearhead of his attack ramming into the dragons headlong with concussive force.

The result of the two attacks colliding was catastrophic. When the jutsu smashed into each other, they meshed together before exploding outwards in a blast of snow and wind. The explosion freaked Doto out and forced the man to shield himself with his arms as plates of ice, snow and earth were sent hurling his way, with Naruto doing the same as the attacks met in a clear tie, dispelling each other equally while having the exact same aftershocks as a result.

Even Koyuki, who was standing well away from the dueling pair, couldn't help but let out a cry of fear at the vortex that exploded in the center and nearly lifted her off the ground from the gale force winds that blasted out from the shockwave. Biting against the storm, the princess then looked up to see an utterly ruined landscape and both opponents still standing across from one another.

Glaring, Naruto looked up, "Not bad… for your best attack." He then cranked back his right hand. "Now I'll finish you with this one."

Hearing this over the settling dust and reverberations of their attacks, Doto scoffed, "Another jutsu? Don't make me laugh." He then clapped a hand against his chest, "I've got chakra armor! You can't touch me!"

"You know, you shouldn't rely on that armor of yours so much," Naruto chirped before disappearing in an orange haze. Doto's eyes widened at the boy's sudden display of speed and looked down in alarm. "Chaser!" A loud crack rang out when the blonde reappeared a split second later out of thin air, driving a solid kick straight into the core piece on the tyrant's chest and literally burying his heel into and shattering the main panel. "It can really let you down."

The blow caused the tyrant to stumble, with the man quickly glancing down at his suit to see sparks flying out of the hole formed in the glass. It was a sight that told him only one thing.

"What? NO!"

"Oh yes!" Naruto shouted, vanishing in another orange flash and reappearing behind the dictator. As soon as he did, he clapped his hand against his back, getting Doto to look around in horror. "Here's the setup. Jet Hand!" In a blast of wind, the blonde sent his opponent rocketing across the field with a sonic boom ringing out; an effect which ripped apart the ice plates from the ground and dug a trench into the earth in the direction the man flew in.

Before Doto could travel too far however, Naruto reappeared in his path several yards ahead, right hand cocked and his fist imbued in blue, flaming wind chakra that went up and down his arm. Koyuki was astonished at the speed the boy displayed, seeing him take aim at his approaching foe and ready for a wallop of a lifetime.

However, just as Doto pulled within meters of the blonde, the sun rising over the mountains caused light to fall upon the valley and the pillars of the glacier surrounding them. The rays reflected off of the panels in a shining aura, which fell upon Naruto's chakra incased fist and caused it to glow in seven different colors. The sight of his chakra wafting multi-colored embers and light had Koyuki and everybody else's eyes widen at the sight, with the director and his crew nearby making sure to film every second of the phenomenon.

"Is that… rainbow chakra?" the princess whispered in amazement.

It was just like how it was in her movies.

Unfortunately, Doto didn't have time to admire it, as he was too busy flying towards his opponent who, upon stepping forward and slamming his right foot into the ground with a deafening crack, creating the perfect windup, threw a killer right cross into his approaching target's face. "And here's the swing! TSUBAME GAESHI!" (Swallow Return)

The impact of the fist plowing into Doto's mug stopped the dictator dead. Time freezing at that exact moment, you could see the man's face cave in as his entire body was violently forced to change directions, the attack burying into him further and further as the young Jonin's fist continued to travel forward. A split second later, but what felt like several seconds from Naruto's point of view, the jinchuriki then let fly his opponent with the earsplitting crack of the sound barrier being broken, as Naruto then sent his opponent blasting across the ground at speed, kicking up a whirlwind of snow and trailing chakra from his opponent's face.

Doto bounced bonelessly across the field before spiraling up towards one of the glacier panels, where the man then slammed right into its center and shattered the ice covering it. Form sprawled out across the monolith, the tyrant's face conveyed a look of complete and utter surprise as blood dripped freely out of every orifice above his neck thanks to his brains literally being scrambled from the crushing blow. Seconds after being embedded in the pillar, the man then fell free, with huge slabs of the structure falling away with him to reveal the real panel concealed underneath.

An instant silence fell over the entire region when, all of a sudden, the scenery took an instant and unexpected change. With the fall of Doto and the glacier's engines still churning strongly, the full effects of the heater were realized when in the blink of an eye, all of the ice and snow across the countryside fast-melted, revealing a gorgeous, spring rich setting underneath it. Fields of snow were replaced by fields of grass and flowers. The mountains also fully unsheathed themselves from the white and the water, which had previously been frozen over, melted to reveal glistening lakes and rivers weaving across the landscape.

The transformation washed over the whole valley in an instant, stunning Naruto, Koyuki and the film crew present, who watched it all happen from their respective places.

"C-Could this be…" the director gasped before a manic grin formed on his face and he threw his arms out, "Holy shit! Yes! We're making this movie 3-D!"

"Believe in the future. When you do, spring will come…"

Hearing the voice echo out across the fields, Koyuki's head perked up and looked towards the center above the shrine. "F-Father?"

When everyone's eyes panned to the middle of the glacier cluster, the panels of which hummed with a warm, soothing glow, they saw a projection of a young Koyuki Kazahana appear before them. Obviously a recording of a time long ago, the hologram appeared in the air and began replaying a scene from the princess's memories.

"What will you do when the spring comes, Koyuki?" the unseen male of the projection asked.

The little girl smiled brightly and threw her arms out with enthusiasm and joy, "I want to be a princess!"

"Really? What kind of princess?" the voice chuckled.

"Let's see,"the young Koyuki murmured before counting off of her fingers, "I want to be one that's strong, kind, and most of all… one who fights for justice!"

The male voice followed up with another lighthearted laugh, "That's some dream."

The real Koyuki watching from down below couldn't stop the tears welling up in her eyes as she listened and watched the projections of her past. Sniffing, she brought a hand to her lips. "D-Did I really say all that?"

"As long as you believe in your dreams and never give up, then one day you will become a princess." All of a sudden, a man appeared behind the little Koyuki. He slipped the necklace around her neck and took her by the shoulders, before leaning in to smile towards the camera they were speaking to along with his daughter. From the real Koyuki's perspective, it looked like they were speaking directly to her. The smile of her father in his square glasses and with his kind face beamed down at her like a spirit from another world, talking to her as if he knew she was there. "You can see it right… a beautiful princess standing before you? That's her."

At that, the present Koyuki's tears fell freely, and a small smile formed on her face.

The younger princess in the frame blinked before speaking up again, "There's something else that I want to be."

"Hm? And what's that?" Sosetsu Kazahana asked curiously.

The young Koyuki grinned and threw her arms out spiritedly, "An actress!"

This answer got a laugh out of her father and the real Koyuki Kazahana, who began shedding tears of joy as she watched the last of the projection play out. "So that's why he asked me all those silly questions." It puzzled her greatly why her dad had wanted her to play out all those things back then before the mirrors. But now she knew why.

It was all for this.

The effort the man had gone through to record this scene had not gone to waste, as it filled the princess's heart with warmth that she thought she'd lost long ago. This feeling burned brightly in her chest as she listened to her father laugh warmheartedly and the images started to fade away.

"Sweetheart… you can be anything that you want to be."

Dusting the melting chunks of ice off of him, Naruto smiled up at the hologram and breathed a sigh of relief. Upon hearing Koyuki's own laughs and seeing her smile up at the projected faces of her past, the boy then looked up towards the rising sun and past the shimmering panels of the glacier.

"Normally I'd say something cool right about now, but this is good enough."

OOO

Sometime later…

Elsewhere…

Regaining consciousness after however long she'd been out of it, Fubuki could honestly say, without a shadow of a doubt, that she'd never woken up to something like this before. The sight of a spring setting in a country that was renowned for being snow-covered and having a winter season all year round was perhaps the biggest surprise she'd ever had in her entire life. No joke.

What should have been a pile of snow resting underneath her turned out to be freshly cut grass surrounded by countless wild flowers. Hell, there were even birds and insects fluttering about the area that shouldn't have been part of the original backdrop. It was simply astonishing.

For the next few minutes after returning to the real world, the pink haired snow ninja now baking under the warm temperatures in her uniform, spent the time admiring the scenery until a small twister of flower petals appeared in front of her, shortly followed by the appearance of Karenbana.

The white haired kunoichi smirked down at the wounded snow ninja with a sly glint in her eyes, "So you went and got yourself beat by a couple of kids. That must be embarrassing."

Expression turning foul, Fubuki snapped back, "Why do you care? You didn't even bother to help us."

"If Doto had wanted my help, all he had to do was ask for it. Since he didn't, the best I could do was kick back, watch from the sidelines and play the role of the good old Cheshire cat," Karenbana responded in a sing-song voice, "Ghostly, playful and mysterious."

Huffing, the snow kunoichi glared at the annoying visitor before speaking again, "It doesn't matter anymore. Considering the change in the scenery, Doto is probably dead."

"True. The big man is dead… but you're not," Karenbana said while leering at the woman.

Fubuki's expression then became perplexed at the implications behind her sudden tone, "W-What are you saying?"

"I'm saying that even though you're now unemployed and lying in the gutter, there's still plenty you can do with your life… or whatever's left of it," Karenbana chuckled, kneeling down and placing a finger on the woman's collarbone. She then ran it down and through the middle of her sizable chest playfully, making the woman shiver with uncertainty and concern. "A fine thing like you… would make for a very valuable asset in our organization."

Teeth clenching, the snow woman glared at the mercenary ninja seriously, "Yeah? How?"

At this question, Karenbana grinned dangerously.

"By being plugged into the system."

TO BE CONTINUED…