This chapter took way longer than usual because I took a few days break. Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto and the characters within the Naruto universe.


The people of Konoha were offered the rare sight of Tsunade and Jiraiya walking side by side once more in Konoha. "Tsunade-sama and Jiraiya-sama have returned…" "I can't believe it. Is that Tsunade-sama?" The people whispered among themselves as the yet to be announced Godaime Hokage walked through the streets of her village. A smile was plastered on her face as she realised that she had finally returned home.

Upon reaching the Hokage tower, she was met by an obstacle. Konohamaru stood in front of the doors of the Hokage office refusing to budge.

"Move it kid or I will move you," Tsunade ordered.

"No! This office is Jiji's! I won't let you enter!" Konohamaru said as he crossed his arms and sat on the floor. "You'll have to move me or I won't move at all."

Before Tsunade could do anything, Naruto stepped in. He crouched in front of Konohamaru and placed his hands on his shoulders. He gazed into his eyes and saw the anger and at the same time sadness behind them. "Let's take a trip, shall we?" Naruto said as he used a shunshin with Konohamaru.

Shizune and Tsunade stood confused at what they just witnessed. "That was Konohamaru Sarutobi, sensei's grandson. Just leave him with Naruto, they are quite close," Jiraiya filled in. He opened the doors to the office and bowed to Tsunade, "your office Hokage-sama…" he said.

Tsunade was instantly struck with a wave of nostalgia as she entered the Hokage's office. She remembered the times she sat in the office and listened to her grandfather tell her stories of the past. She remembered spending time with her grand uncle after he became Hokage. She remembered sitting across her sensei with the Hokage mountain as a background. She traced the Hokage's table with her hands and could feel every groove, every bit of the piece of timber specially chosen and grown by her grandfather. She sat down in the Hokage's chair with a sigh.

If anyone were to say to her she would become Hokage a few years back, hell even a few weeks ago, she would've laughed. Even when she received the announcement of Minato becoming the Yondaime Hokage, she had not believed in the position. To think that the son of said Hokage was the one who convinced her to return home and be in the seat. She turned around and gazed down on the village. It seems as if her life has come full circle. She was home.


Naruto and Konohamaru appeared on the Hokage mountain. "Why did you take me here?! I can't let that lady just replace Jiji!" Konohamaru shouted angrily. Naruto didn't say anything and just went past him to sit on Hiruzen's stone head. Konohamaru continued to vent his anger at Naruto and after a few moments he stopped.

"Are you done? If you are, sit," Naruto said as he patted the space beside him.

Konohamaru huffed angrily and sat down beside Naruto with his arms crossed as a sign of his anger. Naruto gazed at the village below before his sights went to the Hokage tower. "I know that you're angry, but the truth is we need a new Hokage," Naruto said softly.

"What?! Then we're just going to forget Jiji?!" Konohamaru said, his voice still raised but not fully shouting.

"Ah, but I didn't say that, did I?" Naruto pointed out. "I said we need a new Hokage, not forget a past Hokage."

Konohamaru wanted to speak but was cut off by Naruto. "Let me finish. I know why you're upset. How can people just move on from Jiji? How can they replace him like that? That's what you're thinking of, am I right?" Konohamaru nodded silently.

"Well, what you're thinking is wrong. Yes people move on, but that is part of life. If you never move on, that's when life stops. If you're forever stuck in the past, your life can never progress, it just stops. However, moving on doesn't mean you entirely forget someone. The memories of Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Sandaime Hokage will forever stay within people like you and me. I know you miss him, so do I…" Naruto said as Konohamaru started crying. Naruto held him closer as Konohamaru continued shedding tears.

"Every Hokage, past, present or future is unique. They have traits that make them different from others. Jiji can never be replaced so easily. You should be open to the new Hokage and stop thinking like that. Did you know the new Hokage was taught by Jiji?" Konohamaru perked up and shook his head. "Well…Tsunade Senju is one of the Densetsu no Sannin and that makes her the student of Jiji. Doesn't that mean Jiji's legacy is still alive?"

Konohamaru's eyes widened as he realised what Naruto was trying to tell him. "The village needs a Hokage and there's nobody better than Tsunade. Now, stop crying and apologise to her," Naruto said as he stood up. Konohamaru wiped his tears away and grabbed Naruto's hand as they used a shunshin. They appeared in the middle of the office and Konohamaru apologised.

"Look here kid," Tsunade said as Konohamaru looked up at her. "I'm not here to replace your grandfather, but I will try my best to live up to him. Now, go and skedaddle home," Tsunade said with a small smile. Konohamaru nodded as he turned to leave with Ebisu who had been looking frantically for him. "Thank you, niichan" Konohamaru said before he left.

"You too, Naruto. You should go home and rest."

"Ok. Goodbye, Shizune-neechan, Ero-sennin, Baachan!" Naruto narrowly dodged a flying paper weight and jumped out of the window.

Seeing Naruto jump out of the window, Tsunade turned her gaze to Jiraiya. "He's picking up some bad habits from you…"

"Hey, what do you mean bad?" Jiraiya asked in a mocked hurt. "Windows are much better than doors. Anyways, I don't think I'll be needed for your Hokage meetings. I have some research to do," Jiraiya said as he leaped out of the window.

Tsunade groaned as she massaged her temples. 'And the headaches start...I still have to deal with the council..Errr….'


Next Day

Naruto was currently in the office of the newly announced Godaime Hokage. In the morning, Tsunade was announced as the new Hokage in front of the whole village. Everyone was thrilled to once again have a leader and a Senju at that. Naruto looked to his left and saw Shino and Shikamaru wear their newly minted chunin vests. Naruto had a large grin on his face. He was one step closer to his goal to be Hokage.

"Genin Naruto Uzumaki, please step forward," ordered Tsunade. Naruto gladly took a step out of line and looked Tsunade in the eyes. He could see, momentarily, a gleam of pride in her eyes before they disappeared in a blink. "For your accomplishment in the chunin exams finals and your effort in aiding the village during a time of emergency, you are hereby promoted to chunin," Tsunade said seriously before a smile made it to her face. "You've earned it, Gaki. Here, take your vest and wear it proudly."

Naruto took the chunin vest handed to him with both hands and bowed, "thank you, Hokage-sama." Naruto returned to the line and whispered to Sasuke, "told you, I would get chunin before you." Sasuke smirked before he too was called by Tsunade and handed his vest.

It was official, team 7 was the first team where all members were promoted to chunin on their first try since the Sannin. Kakashi couldn't be happier at the sight of his three cute little genin wearing their chunin vest proudly. That night, Team 7, 8, 9 (Gai) and 10 celebrated the promotion of their friends together at one of the barbecue joints Choji's family owned.

Naruto stood away from the celebration for a minute to get a drink. He leaned against the wall as he waited for his drink to be made. He watched with a smile as Gai challenged Kakashi to another rival contest while Asuma and Kurenai were the judges. He watched as his friends mingled around with one another, chitchatting. He watched as Sasuke ate with Shino in silence. What they were doing varied but there was one thing that they had in common, the smiles on their faces. Seeing the group of people in front of him, Naruto could not feel happier. It was an image that would forever be etched in his memories.

"You should join them," the voice broke him from his thoughts. He need not turn to see who it was as he recognised the voice well.

"Why aren't you?" He asked as he turned to stare into white pupiless eyes.

"I wanted to talk to you, Naruto-san," Neji said. Naruto raised an eyebrow but Neji continued, "I wanted to say thank you." That statement caught Naruto completely off guard.

"Thank you?"

"Your words during our match have indeed helped open my eyes to see more. To see that life isn't merely following the thread of fate. Thank you, for also being an amazing opponent that I look forward to fighting once again. Thank you…" Neji said.

Naruto was dumbfounded. This was the last thing he had expected. "No need to thank me, Neji. Your views weren't without merit and I was just giving my opinions. I too look forward to fighting you again. Also, please call me Naruto, no need for any honorifics" Naruto said as he extended a hand towards Neji. "Friends?"

Neji looked towards the extended hand and looked back at the blond. He looked into his blue eyes and saw that he genuinely wanted to be his friend. Taking his extended hand into his own, Neji said with a small smile, "gladly, Naruto."

Naruto gave him an eye smile before he ran towards his friends, dragging Neji with him. "Come on, Neji! We can't let our friends have all the fun and food!" Naruto exclaimed as he joined his friends who were eating the newly arrived barbecue meat.


Two Months Later

Naruto breathed in the cool ocean breeze as they sailed through the water. Currently team 7 were on a rare A-ranked mission to protect an actress and her filming crew. Yukie Fujikaze was a famous actress who was well known for her Princess Gale movie series. Naruto could feel the air around him slowly dropping in temperature, indicating that they were slowly moving into the Land of Snow. They had travelled to the Land of Snow to film scenes for the latest instalment of Yukie's famous movie series.

"Remind me how this mission is even considered A-rank? I would think this would usually be a B-rank," Sasuke asked Kakashi, who was reading his favourite book.

"Famous people like Yukie are usually targeted because people know they could get some ransom money. But I have to agree with you on this being a B-rank," Shikamaru said lazily as he watched the crew set up the next scene while leaning against the wall.

"Maybe she pissed off a bunch of people, that's why this is a A-rank," Naruto said.

Kakashi shrugged. "Naruto's right. We don't know who would hold anything against Yukie and if those people were possibly shinobi," Kakashi added.

The team turned towards the set that had been prepared as they drew closer to filming the next scene. Yukie was sitting by the side as she had her makeup done by one of the crew members. Naruto held some dislike towards the actress, probably due to the first time they met.

Naruto had to avoid being nearly trampled on by Yukie's horse twice in the first ten minutes they had met. Firstly, he was nearly trampled when Yukie was filming a scene for her movie. Secondly, he was again nearly trampled when he had confronted Yukie on nearly trampling him the first time. She had plainly ignored and rode her horse and nearly trampled Naruto. Safe to say, they did not meet on good terms.

"Yosh everyone! Let's get this scene in a single take!" The voice of the director broke Naruto out of his little flashback. Yukie took her place at the centre of the set with a bored face.

"ACTION!" Like a flick of a switch, Yukie's bored expression turned to one of distraught. She was leaning over an "unconscious" man and was nearly crying. No matter his dislike for the actress, he would give credit where credit was due. She genuinely looked sad. 'She is quite good…"

"Cut! Sorry, everyone. Sandayu can you please bring me my eye drops so I can cry," Yukie said as her assistant came with the eye drops.

'…never mind I take my words back,' Naruto thought with a shake of his head. He turned away from the set and took out a book he recently bought. He never thought he would be reading a romance novel but it seems there was a first time for everything. 'Can't believe Shizune-neechan managed to influence me into buying a romance novel…'

The rest of the day went smoothly as the crew shot more scenes while Team 7 sat around waiting for anything to happen. The next day, it was basically the same as the previous day. The crew would shoot more scenes while Team 7 would stay prepared. The only difference being the overall temperature of the air. They had fully entered the Land of Snow and the shinobi trio had resorted to wearing thermal cloaks while Kakashi only wore a scarf.

The next morning, Naruto woke up to the giddiness of the director as he ordered the captain to change course. He had spotted an iceberg close by and thought it was the perfect place to shoot one of the scenes. "He's too cheerful for this weather…" Shikamaru said before yawning.

They docked with the iceberg a few minutes later and the crew rushed to set up for the next scene. Naruto was watching the scene and held himself back from laughing at the man who played the villain. The robes he wore made him less threatening than a pigeon. However, this wasn't his movie so he continued to watch in silence.

Suddenly, he stiffened as he sensed several foreign chakra signatures in his sensory range. His team noticed this and prepared for the incoming attack. "10 o'clock, 12 o'clock and 2 o'clock," Naruto whispered. "Now!"

Kakashi, Sasuke and Shikamaru threw explosive tags wrapped around kunai in various directions. Three distinct explosions were seen and heard. Kakashi leaped in front of Koyuki with Naruto as Shikamaru and Sasuke stood at the back of the crew to defend. "Everyone, get back!" Kakashi ordered.

Naruto watched as the smoke from the explosions were blown away by the wind. In front of him stood a man with blue hair who wore a shinobi headband he did not recognise with ear mufflers and a body suit of blue and white. "Welcome to the Land of Snow," he said gleefully.

"You," Kakashi whispered as he recognised the man in front of him.

To his left, stood a woman with pink hair who wore a similar outfit to the man. "Welcome back to the Land of Snow, Koyuki-hime. I do hope you still bring around the hex crystal," she said as she looked towards Yukie.

Kakashi's eyes widened as he glanced back at the actress. "Koyuki-hime?!"

To his right, the last man revealed himself. He was quite a large man and he wore a strange contraption on his left arm. 'Can't believe we were guarding an actual princess this whole time, not some actress acting as one. It seems Kakashi knew her too…'

"As expected of Kakashi Hatake's students," commented the man on his right.

"Everyone get back to the ship! Naruto, Sasuke, and Shikamaru protect Yukie!" Kakashi barked out.

The lady and the man on his right took note of this and immediately jumped towards the actress. Kakashi confronted the other man as it seemed that they had past dealings to settle. "Shika, protect them while they get to the ship!" Naruto shouted as he intercepted the man while Sasuke confronted the lady. Shikamaru's earth style jutsu were the best for defence compared to Naruto and Sasuke's.

The large man hopped onto his snowboard and rushed towards Naruto. Naruto jumped out of the way as he sent three kunai at the man. Instead of striking the man like he expected, the kunai seemed to have bounced off him.

A few metres away, Sasuke was dodging ice crystals and was melting them with his fire jutsu. " Hyoro no Jutsu (Ice Prison jutsu) !" Came the voice of the woman as giant ice pillars rose from the ground towards Sasuke. Sasuke used a kawarimi before the jutsu could trap him. " Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu (Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu) !"

Naruto was repeatedly dodging the man's attempt at barreling into him with his snowboard. He figured out that any jutsu he threw at the man would just bounce off him. 'Damn, whatever that armour is, its stops any of my jutsu.'

He turned his gaze to Yukie and saw that she was shivering and breathing heavily. 'What happened there?' Naruto had no time to dwell on his thoughts as his opponent blitzed passed him and made a beeline to the actress/princess. "Shika!" Naruto called.

Shikamaru noticed the man approaching and went threw hand signs. " Doton: Doryuheki (Earth Style: Mud Wall) " Shikamaru spat out a large amount of mud which formed a wall separating Yukie and Sandayu, who was by Yukie's side, from the large man. He then threw smoke bombs before creating a shadow clone to carry a now fainted Yukie- when did that happen? - and Sandayu back to the ship. The man crashed into the mud wall and grabbed the two figures behind it by the neck.

"I've got you now!" The man exclaimed only to see two Naruto clones when the smoke cleared.

"Nah, I don't think so," one of the Naruto clones said smugly as the original came behind the man and kicked him where the sun didn't shine. The man recoiled from the kick, releasing the clones. One of the clones kicked him in the stomach and the other followed up with a roundhouse kick to the head which sent the man flying into the iceberg. 'I knew it. Taijutsu still works on that armour,' Naruto thought as the clones dispelled.

He felt Kakashi land behind him, still keeping an eye on the man in front of them. "Kakashi-sensei, what is that armour?" Naruto muttered.

"It's chakra armour designed in the Land of Snow. It's much more powerful than before…"

Naruto resisted a sigh at their bad luck. "So you do remember…" Kakashi's opponent said as he smirked smugly. The other two shinobi landed by his sides. The lady seemed to have mechanical wings while the large man came on his snowboard. "Our armour increases our chakra and strengthens our jutsu. A chakra barrier gathers around us, able to deflect the chakra of our adversaries."

Of course, Naruto had mostly figured that out on his own. Since it deflects chakra away, taijutsu is still effective against it. The man then went through hand seals, " Hyoton: Haryu Moko (Ice Style: Tearing Dragon Fierce Tiger) !" Not intending to waste time, Kakashi blitzed through his own hand seals and a water dragon emerged.

As the two jutsu clash, Naruto intercepted the large man who was heading for the ship. "Oi, where do you think you're going?!" Naruto shouted as he prepared a rasengan.

The man smirked seeing the ball of chakra. A jutsu like that would do no damage to him. However, the rasengan wasn't aimed at him but at his snowboard. "I hope you won't miss this, Rasengan! " Naruto thrusted the orb of chakra into the snowboard and it shattered into pieces.

"You bastard! You'll pay for that!" The man readied a punch for his face but Naruto used a light step to avoid it.

"Too slow fatass!" Naruto mocked as he continued to avoid the man's angry punches. Suddenly, the iceberg shook vigorously as an ice whale crashed into it. "Naruto, Sasuke! Head back to the ship, we're leaving!" Kakashi shouted as Naruto waved a mocked salute to his opponent and disappeared like the wind.

"That was a very nice jutsu, Nadare. I think I'll borrow it," Kakashi said as he went through hand seals. " Hyoton: Ikkaku Hakugei (Ice Style: White Whale) !" A large whale with a horn made of snow formed.

"Stealing my jutsu as usual, Kakashi. But we can't settle this with the same jutsu," the man now known as Nadare said as he went through the same set of hand seals.

"Settle? Who said anything about settling this?" Kakashi said lazily.

Nadare looked up to see Kakashi's whale crash into his own, bringing it down into the iceberg. The resulting crash caused the iceberg to split into two causing it to slowly sink into the ocean. As the debris cleared, Kakashi and the ship were no longer seen.


The Next Day

Team 7, Sandayu, the Director and his assistant gathered in a meeting room. Yukie/Koyuki had fainted the day before and was currently resting in her quarters. "It seems she has some sort of trauma which cause her to faint," Shikamaru stated.

"That's not surprising considering what happened," Kakashi said. "I can't believe it's been 10 years…" He murmured. Seeing the curious faces staring at him, Kakashi sighed.

"Yukie Fujikaze is an alias, her real name is Koyuki Kazahana. She is the heiress to the throne of the Land of Snow."

"HUH?!" Came the voices of the director, the assistant, Sasuke and Shikamaru. Naruto had already known this fact from when he was fighting the day before.

"You knew, didnt you Sandayu?"

"Yes," Sandayu responded with his head down.

Kakashi frowned at this. "Then you should've known how she'd react knowing she's coming back here."

"It was the only way to get her back here," Sandayu said with a sigh.

Sandayu and Kakashi explained what happened ten years prior. The coup de tat attempt, Kakashi fleeing with Koyuki to Sandayu finding her once again years later. Naruto felt sympathy for the man. He worked his whole life to bring back the princess to the Land of Snow yet, the princess didn't believe in his sacrifices.

"It would've been better if I had died back then." Everyone's attention was turned to the princess who was leaning against the frame of the door.

"So, you were using us all this time…" the assistant said in disbelief.

"I sincerely apologise, but it was for the good of this land," Sandayu said in a slight bow. Sandayu stood from his seat and went to Koyuki. He dropped to his knees and bowed, "please come back to the Land of Snow. Be its rightful ruler and help its people. I will protect you with my life!" Sanduyu's forehead was kissing the floor.

"I don't think so," Koyuki said bluntly.

"W-what?" That was clearly not the answer Sandayu was expecting.

"There's no way to defeat Doto. The people don't concern me!" This pushed Naruto over the limit. She had brushed off Sandayu's sacrifices and plea like nothing.

"Oi!" Naruto shouted as he smacked the table. "Don't you dare brush Sandayu-san off like that. He poured his heart for you, he spent years looking for you. He would sacrifice himself just for you to come back. Why are you giving up before even trying? If you insult him for that, then you and I will have a problem!"

Sandayu was wide-eyed. He hadn't expect Naruto to come to his defence.

"As long as there is hope when we dream, and with those dreams the future comes. I like it, that will be the theme for the new Princess Gale movie." Naruto smiled at the director's opportunistic and positive thinking.

"Does that mean we'll continue filming?"

"Yup."

"Usually when this situation occurs I would head back to the village," Kakashi said.

"No need. We are more then capable for this mission," Sasuke said determinedly. He would beat that flying woman if it's the last thing he does.

Shikamaru sighed, "I still don't know where you guys get this determination from. But, I agree that we're more than enough."

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

"You can change that with determination!" The director exclaimed, silencing the princess.

"Alright it's settled then, we're going to bring Koyuki back and you guys will continue filming!" Naruto exclaimed.

Koyuki couldn't believe what she was seeing. Doto was too strong, they couldn't hope to defeat him.


As soon as they docked, they were travelling through the icy landscape of the Land of Snow. They were travelling in vehicles made in the Land of Snow called Snow Caravans. It made traversing through the constant snow and rocky terrain much easier. They were currently taking a break on a mountain path when trouble struck.

"Koyuki is missing!" Shouted one of the crew members.

"What!!" Sandayu exclaimed in shock.

"It's ok, we will find her," Kakashi said as team 7 dispersed and headed in different directions.

Koyuki was running through the forest as fast as she could. 'They're foolish. How could they think Doto can be defeated?' She thought before she tripped on a rock and was sent tumbling down a hill. She landed on a blanket of snow with a thud. "Oww…" she muttered. She looked around and saw that she was still surrounded by snow and trees. "You lied father… spring will never come. There's only snow, I don't know what I was thinking when you said that…"

Her monologue was heard by a third party which had been watching her for quite a while. "Pathetic…" The voice drew the attention of Koyuki as she turned to see Naruto sitting on a tree branch. Her eyes were wide and staring at Naruto. "Do you plan to keep running away?" Naruto said before he dropped onto the ground beside Koyuki who was speechless.

"Come on, let's go," Naruto said as he crouched down and turned around so he had his back towards her. Koyuki was hesitant before eventually getting on his back and Naruto carried her back. Naruto hated her silence, it was the sound of someone who had given up and lost hope.

"I've met someone like you before - someone who lost hope and had given up," Naruto started. Koyuki gave no indication that she would say anything so he continued, "she lost everything. She lost her family, true love and most importantly her hope. I know how you feel, why must I return to a place that causes me so much pain? Well, all I have to say is that it would remain such a place if you don't make a change. And the only way to change something is through effort and dedication to make your dreams come true."

Koyuki was silent but she listened to every word he said. She stared at Naruto who turned his head and gave her an eye smile. 'How can someone be so unwavering in his belief?'

Their silence reigned for several minutes. The only sound was Naruto's footsteps and their breathing. 'I don't know why you put up with people sometimes.' Kurama commented.

Naruto just smiled. 'I put up with them because I believe that everyone has a chance to change. People like Koyuki or Tsunade, they have lost hope and if I can, I will help them regain that hope.'

'Just like the old man and his beliefs…' Kurama thought.

The silence outside his mind was broken by Koyuki. "Why did you find me?" She asked.

"It's my mission. My mission is to protect you and I will always find and protect you until we're done." Naruto replied. His gaze momentarily flickered to her to see her reaction and saw it was blank. 'She's still an actress nonetheless…'

"When we get back, I will only act for the camera and nothing else," she stated.

"Can't fault you for that. I do my job and you do your job," Naruto said. Although he really wanted Koyuki to fight for the Land of Snow, it would not work well if she was forced to do it. She needed to do it on her own accord. Suddenly, he heard crackling from around the tunnel they were in. He sensed a surge in chakra around the area and saw the snow around them melt. He paused and leaned down as the snow melted to present tracks. Then he heard some sort of whistle. He turned around to see lights lighting up the tunnel and it was getting bigger which in turn means it's getting closer.

He turned back and started to speed up and made his way to the end of the tunnel. "Train!!" Koyuki exclaimed from her position on his back. He turned around to see said train turning a corner and making its way straight towards them.

'Ah shit.' "Koyuki, hold on tight and I mean really tight," Naruto said as he released his resistance seals. He felt Koyuki tighten her hold on him. He breathed a deep breath before breaking into a run.

He ran as fast as he could towards but the train was gaining on him. "We're gonna get run over!" Koyuki cried.

"Oh hell no. We're not getting run over anytime soon," Naruto said as he pushed chakra into his legs. The surroundings blurred past them as Naruto continued to push his muscles.

"It's impossible!"

"Nothing's impossible!" Naruto cried as he pushed more chakra into his legs and blitzed forward. As soon as they entered the light, Naruto jumped to the side away from the train tracks. The sudden decrease in motion caused them to tumble for a while but they were still alive.

Naruto was sprawled on the ground and Koyuki was on all fours as the train went past them. That was the first time he had seen a train and was definitely not the way he intended to be introduced to them. "Hahaha, what a thrill!" Naruto exclaimed as he felt his heart pumping and the adrenaline flowing through his body. 'Maybe I should get chased by trains more often…on second thought, never mind.'

Naruto stood up and eyed the train that had stopped right after it exited the tunnel. "It's been a long time, Koyuki…" a voice amplified by a microphone called out.

Naruto saw Koyuki stiffen and a sense of dread fell on her. "Doto…" she muttered.

Doto was a large man with hair pulled back. He wore a large coat and reminded Naruto of Gato with the way he groomed himself. He had an evil and imposing aura to him. Nadare stood behind him. "It's been 10 years, Koyuki. Let me see that beautiful face of yours."

By now, Koyuki was paralysed with fear. Her breathing was fast and erratic and she was sweating cold sweat. Her mind kept on showing her memories of the day she left the Land of Snow. She was shocked when she saw the back of Naruto in front of her. Naruto stood in front of Koyuki as he met Doto in a stare. Before Doto could talk, several logs rammed into the side of the train. Everyone's attention was pulled to the group of men wearing samurai armour standing on the side of the mountain.

"Everyone! Koyuki-hime is here to witness us! Victory is coming soon!" The voice of Sandayu blared from the front of the group of samurai. The group cheered but Naruto's face was in terror.

"Doto Kazahana, today is the day you perish! I, Sandayu Asada, and fifty samurai warriors will avenge our late Sosetsu Kazahana-sama!" Sandayu exclaimed as the group of samurai rushed down towards the train.

He saw Doto whisper to Nadare who smirked and relayed the order. Dread wrapped around his heart as he realised what was about to happen. "Sandayu, STOP! Don't charge in recklessly!" Naruto shouted, even using chakra to increase the volume of his voice. He couldn't reach them in time, even with his speed. They were already too close to the train.

Naruto and Koyuki watch wide eyed as the train carriages open to reveal kunai launchers. Hundreds, maybe thousands of kunai launched towards the group of men who were in the open. It was a slaughter, they couldn't even themselves as the kunai impaled them. Amidst all of this, Naruto noticed Doto laughing and anger welled up within him. The barrage of kunai lasted no more than 10 seconds but the job was done.

Sandayu, who was bleeding out due to several kunai, stood up and faced Doto once again. More kunai were shot at him but a Fuma Shuriken landed in front of Sandayu and covered him from the kunai. Sasuke appeared and threw kunai with explosive tags at the train as more explosions occurred at the top to cause an avalanche. It was caused by Kakashi and Shikamaru.

Seeing the avalanche, the train started moving away when an explosion occurred underneath it and caused one of its carriages to be separated. The filming crew came out of their hiding place and started to search for any survivors.

"That's what happens when they never give up. If they had never stood up to Doto, this would never have happened," Koyuki stated. Naruto felt his anger starting to grow within him and wanted to lash out but was stopped when Kakashi came towards them. Kakashi and a few of the crew members came with a heavily injured Sandayu on a stretcher. From his injuries, Naruto could see that he didn't have long left.

"Koyuki-hime…please forgive me…I should have never gotten you involved…in all of this. It's just that…every single one of us here… were able to keep believing in spite of everything…cause we knew you were alive. You have always been just as I, Sandayu, believed. So too must you believe… in yourself. Please do not waste your tears on me…" those were the last words of Sandayu.

"You're such a fool, Sandayu. I can't cry because you have my eye drops…" she whispered.

Koyuki got up and turned towards Naruto, "are you satisfied now?" Naruto didn't let the disgust he felt go to his face. If let his emotions go, God knows he will fail the mission immediately.

"Let's just go home already. If we stay here any longer, we won't be safe."

Naruto watched Koyuki's retreating form and spoke, "but where will you go?" Koyuki paused and turned around to look at him. "The Land of Snow is your home isn't it? Where the hell are you going back to? Your place is here. Now, face Doto and put your house in order."

"You know nothing. Spring doesn't come to this land, our tears are frozen over. Our hearts hardened with the cold."

"But don't you have the power to change that?" This time it was Shikamaru who spoke. Everyone turned around to look at him in surprise. Shikamaru wasn't usually the one for emotional words but he couldn't hold back anymore with how idiotic the princess was acting. "If you become the rightful leader of the land, don't you have the power over it? No matter how much you don't want to care, nobody is able to watch that massacre and turn around feeling normal. Those men were fighting for their land, your land. You were their hope, that was their belief, what Sandayu believed."

Koyuki gritted her teeth. "Can you stop spouting nonsense? Tsk," she said as she turned back around and walked away.

Naruto could see that behind her facade, some of Shikamaru's words got through. He elbowed Shikamaru playfully, "never thought you'd say something so emotional, Shika."

"Tsk, troublesome blonde, you're rubbing off on me. But she was getting on my nerves."

Naruto followed Koyuki who was getting further away as Shikamaru and the camera crew started cleaning up while Sasuke and Kakashi buried the dead. Koyuki turned around to ask Naruto to stop following her when she noticed that he was looking past her shoulder. Koyuki turned around and her eyes widened. 'An airship?!'

A side door on the passenger compartment opened to reveal the man who Naruto fought earlier. He aimed his metal gauntlet in their direction and quickly realised what it was for. "Koyuki, move away!"

The metal arm reached Koyuki at the same time as Naruto. He grabbed onto Koyuki's coat but his hand slipped when she was reeled in towards the airship. At the same time, several kunai were launched towards the rest of team 7 and the filming crew. The kunai had blue stones attached to them which exploded into large icicles that were easily the size of trees.

"Scatter!" Kakashi ordered as the icicles sprouted from the ground, aiming to pierce any one of them.

Sasuke's Sharingan scanned around frantically, looking for any casualties. His eyes widened when he realised, "where's Naruto?"

"Don't tell me he…" Shikamaru said as he turned to the retreating airship.

Naruto had used a kunai with a rope tied to it to attach to the airship. Tying the rope around his waist, he made the snake seal and clasped his hands together. ' Futon: Reppusho (Wind Style: Gale Palm) ' he thought as he used a small amount of chakra to create enough wind to push him towards the airship. He swung towards the airship and stuck to it using chakra as soon as he made contact.

He stuck to it upside down and collected his kunai and rope. He looked towards the ground and watched the passing landscape. "Damn, what a view…" The green of the trees stuck out against the blanket of snow under them. He made his way to the same side door as before and saw that it was locked.

He picked the door lock easily thanks to Yugao's training. 'Never needed to pick locks till now. Gotta thank nee-chan for the lessons.' The door opened to show the engine room. He entered and looked around to find that the main door was the only way out. The few vents that were in the room were to the outside of the airship. With a sigh, he headed towards the door where he could sense several chakra signatures on the other side.

He could hear Doto from the other side of the door, "…our country can gain superiority over the five great nations."

"I never get why villains always have to monologue about their evil plans," Naruto said nonchalantly as he leaned against the frame of the door while playing with a kunai in his fingers.

"You!" Exclaimed both Koyuki and Doto. Although one was in surprise while the other was in displeasure.

"You, how did you get in here?!" Doto demanded with a scowl.

"Magic," Naruto said as the kunai in his hand disappeared with a wave. "Cool right?" He loved the scowl on Doto's face that he received in return.

Four shinobi pounced on him at once with ninja wire. All eyes in the room widened when they caught nothing but air. "Maa maa, that's not nice," Naruto said from the ceiling as he wiggled his finger. Sensing even more shinobi heading his direction, Naruto knew that his capture was inevitable. The small interior of the airship did not allow him to fight properly, else they came crashing down or worse, the airship exploded.

Naruto dropped and turned around immediately to grab a kick aimed for the back of his head and stabbed a kunai in the thigh of the man. The man screamed in pain before he was knocked out with a punch to the head.

A large man came with both arms seeking to crush him but Naruto slapped a pre-made paralysis seal on him before using a kunai to slice at the neck. Two more came from behind him, one with a kick aimed for his head while the other with a low kick. They were too slow for him as he jumped in between them and sent a shuriken to each of them which struck true. 'Why does Doto have genin-level shinobi with him?'

Three more shinobi entered the room and Naruto rushed towards them with a light step. The occupants in the room saw nothing but a blur before all three were knocked out on the floor. He felt more signatures flooding their way towards the room. What he did next, some may call him an idiot while others may call him ballsy. He rushed towards Doto with a kunai ready. He lowered his speed so he was not surprised when Doto easily caught his wrist with one hand while the other grabbed his neck.

Any attempts to struggle out of his grip was for naught. 'At least he looks as strong as he is,' Naruto thought.

"Pathetic," Doto spat out in disgust.

Naruto was thrown like a stick as he crashed into the ground. This time, he was tied with ninja wire by the man himself. He didn't let it show that he was experiencing pain or discomfort and kept a stoic face. The door opened once again and Naruto saw Nadare and Sasuke's and his opponents from before.

"Sorry, boss. We didn't realise there was an intruder onboard," Nadare said with a bow.

"Don't worry Nadare. He's a fast and slippery one. He managed to kill three of my shinobi while knocking another four out before attempting an attack on me," Doto said to the surprise of Nadare and the woman.

"He's quite strong, boss, should we try out the new equipment?" asked Naruto's opponent.

Naruto saw Doto's face turn into amusement and an evil smile graced his face. Seeing that as a yes, Nadare retrieved a device and approached Naruto. Naruto didn't react as Nadare lifted him up and slammed the device on Naruto's stomach. Immediately, wires spread out from the device and he could feel his chakra draining. The pain he felt was excruciating and holding his emotions in became harder than he thought. His nails dug into his palm.

"W-what?" Koyuki managed to stutter out as she watched Naruto squirm in place.

"It's a chakra restraining device. It drains the chakra of the person using it and stores it under a chakra barrier that can't be broken," Doto said proudly as he took pleasure from Naruto's pain.

"You're no ninja. Just a kid playing one," Nadare said.

"Heh, much more than you'll ever be with that armour." Naruto saw Nadare's face become red from anger before all he saw was black.


Naruto stirred awake in a dark room. It was clearly a prison cell from the bars, barren room and the distinct cool breeze that blew into the room. He shivered from the cold as. He realised that he was only wearing his regular clothes and his thermal cloak and mask were gone. 'Seeing as my mask is gone, it must mean that the seal I have that stops people from taking off my mask has been nullified. I can barely sense anything. Kurama, you there?'

"The machine is sucking your chakra, not mine. Even if it was, it'll take a very long time to get rid of me."

He looked up to see handcuffs around his wrists which held him floating from the ground. He could barely move his hand but his fingers could still wiggle around. Suddenly, he heard a door slam open and footsteps approaching. He quickly fell limp, to act unconscious. He heard the prison cell opposite his open before the sound of footsteps retreating away.

He opened his eyes to see Koyuki in the cell opposite his, on the floor with her legs to her chest. She turned and locked gaze with Naruto. They stared at each other silently for several moments before Koyuki spoke, "serves you right."

Naruto smirked. "You too."

"I guess so…"

"No spring…you said that just now. What did you mean?" Naruto asked the question that has been on his mind for a while.

"My father used to say, 'wait till the spring comes, Koyuki.'" She went silent for a while as memories of her father played through her mind. "This land has no spring. My father died and I fled from the Land of Snow. I stopped believing. I was running…lying to people but mostly I was just lying to myself. Becoming an actress, it was about the only thing good I could do in this world."

Naruto pulled on his handcuffs and chains to have a feel for their sturdiness. However, Koyuki mistook it for an attempt to escape. "See, it's better when you give up."

"It must be so easy when you've given up," Naruto said as he lifted his head and stared right into her eyes. "Nobody will bother about you, care about you. It may look like the better option but it definitely doesn't feel like it. The hatred, the pain you feel from their stares. But worse of all, it's their ignorance. When in their eyes, you don't exist. They rather acknowledge a rat over you and it doesn't get worse than that. I can't believe you'll prefer to live like that!" As he went on, his voice got louder and louder. Koyuki was taken aback by the passion in his voice.

A sad smile showed on his face for a few moments which Koyuki noticed. He said in a softer voice, "until recently, I could count the number of people that acknowledge me on one hand. But I've always been grateful for them. You see no matter what, I can never give up. I have people who I love and people who love me back, nothing but the end of the world would stop me from going back to them and that includes never giving up."

"I have a dream - to be Hokage. To be someone who can protect those precious to me. Nothing will stop me from achieving that dream!"

Koyuki's eyes widened as she heard the determination and belief behind Naruto's voice. There wasn't a single drop of doubt and Koyuki could feel something stirring in her - hope.

However with hope, came the fear that it would be ripped away from her once again. "But how will you get out?" She asked.

'That's what I want to know too. What are you gonna do without chakra, kit?'

Naruto smirked. "You might want to look away. It might get uncomfortable," he said as he moved his hands close together. Using his left hand, he placed it on his right thumb before giving it a push, causing it to dislocate. Seeing the thumb in an unnatural position, Koyuki winced and started to look a bit green. Naruto then dislocated his pinky. This allowed there to be space for his hand to pass through the handcuffs.

Kurama was impressed. He was not expecting Naruto to do such a creative escape.

Returning his fingers back to their natural positions, he grabbed a pin hidden under his sandals and started to pick the lock of the other hand cuff. With a click, the handcuff opened and he dropped down from his hanging position. He dropped down and did a silent cheer of victory.

He grinned as he saw Koyuki's face much more green than before. "You okay?"

The silence that came after spoke for itself. Naruto hummed in amusement.

"So how was that for an escape?"

Naruto saw Koyuki turn a bit more green at the reminder but he saw a small smile on her face. He himself smiled as he saw that as a victory. He will slowly instil hope back into Koyuki. "Now what?"

Naruto sighed and sat down, leaning against the wall. "The bars are probably gonna hurt me if I touch it, so we wait."

"Wait for what?" Koyuki asked, confused.

Naruto merely smiled at her, "just be ready." It caused Koyuki's confusion to deepen, although she found that she was interested in helping Naruto in whatever plan he had.

'Kurama, do you think you can break this device by overloading it with chakra?'

'Of course. The fact that you doubt my power disgusts me.'

'Geez talk about hitting a nerve… So can you do it, please…'

'No, I want to see what you can do without chakra. I'll help if you're desperate enough.'

'Troublesome furball…'

'Oi, how many times have I said not to call me that!'

'Eh, live with it…' Naruto tuned out whatever retorts Kurama had as an explosion occurred. Koyuki looked alarmed but she saw Naruto's grin.

'This must be his plan…' she thought as she sat back down on the floor and played along.

'Very observant of her…' Kurama commented.

Naruto laid on the ground to look as if he had been knocked out after he had escaped from his handcuffs. A few moments later, two snow shinobi passed by Naruto's cell and noticed him on the ground.

"Hey, how did this brat-"

They pulled the paper seal that locked the cell and entered to reattach Naruto to his handcuffs. However, they froze when Naruto opened his eyes and had a menacing grin on his face. "Maa maa, how nice of you to let me out," Naruto said in a sweet voice that betrayed what occured next. In a moment, both nin were on the ground with their bodies in rather unnatural positions.

Naruto gave a middle finger to the two bodies before approaching Koyuki's cell. Koyuki couldn't help but snort in amusement at Naruto's action. Quickly opening the door to her cell, Naruto held his hand out for Koyuki to grab. After she grabbed it, they headed straight for an elevator and took it to the highest level they could.

As they exited the elevator and headed for the exit, a ninja wire shot up in front of them and stuck to the ceiling with a snow-nin following behind it. Naruto felt Koyuki stiffened and that she was about to panic. However, Naruto didn't attack the shinobi in front of him. "Took you long enough. Thought you were slacking off again," Naruto said as Koyuki frowned in confusion.

The snow-nin tore off his clothes to show Kakashi. "Oh shut up. We were waiting for the right time to attack," Kakashi said as he threw Naruto his hip pouches.

"How did you know Kakashi will be coming?" Koyuki asked Naruto.

"Trust," Naruto simply replied with a smile before he put on a spare mask he carried in his hip pouch.

'Trust…' Koyuki was shocked at the amount of trust Naruto held for his team. She didn't know if she could trust herself. Putting those thoughts aside, Koyuki glared at Kakashi. "You swapped my crystal for a fake, didn't you?"

"Sorry about that but I figured that was what they were after," Kakashi apologised as he gave Koyuki the real crystal. Suddenly, a large explosion occurred and Shikamaru and Sasuke came running around the corner.

"We couldn't hold the room, there's too many of them!" Shikamaru shouted a swarm of snow-nin could be seen not too far behind.

"Come on, follow me!" Koyuki beckoned them forward towards an alternative exit.

"Shikamaru, cover us!" Kakashi ordered as Shikamaru started hand seals.

Shikamaru turned around and placed his palms on the ground, " Doton: Tojinbo (Earth Style: Fighting Blade Rod) !" Multiple earth columns sprouted out from all directions and covered the entire open area. The jutsu created a maze for the snow-nin while also holding the castle's foundations just in case their previous explosions did more damage than needed.

"Nice going, Shika!" Naruto praised as they made their way up the stairs.


After running through the castle and passing many halls, they were led to a large dark room. When the lights turned on, Doto was revealed to have been sitting on a throne in the room. "Well done, Koyuki."

"What?!"

Before anyone from team 7 could ask Koyuki what was going on, she ran away from them to Doto. Kakashi tried to stop her but was blocked by the same three snow-nin from before. As soon as she reached Doto, she gave him the real hex crystal. turning to team 7, she said, "it seems you've forgotten that I'm an actress."

The team was stunned at Koyuki's betrayal. Naruto narrowed his eyes on her. 'Did the words I shared mean nothing? No…back in the cell, she showed the most emotion I've ever seen this whole mission and they were so genuine. Something's wrong…'

Doto's laughter brought back his attention. "Hahaha. Exactly, this was all an act by Koyuki."

Their attention was turned to Koyuki. Their eyes widened as they saw Koyuki pull out a tanto. "Yes, it was all an act." Koyuki unsheathed the tanto, turned around and stabbed Doto in the stomach. Doto stared at her in shock and disbelief. "I told you didnt I? I'm an actress."

"Damn you," Doto grunted as his hand wrapped around her throat.

'Koyuki…why?' As if hearing thoughts, Koyuki spoke, "I knew this already, Naruto. That when I return to this land…I would die. That's why at least…"

"Stop talking, Koyuki!" If she continues, she'll only run out of breath faster.

Koyuki gritted her teeth, "it's all…thanks to you, Naruto. I could finally stop running…"

"No! This is exactly like running away!"

With one last push, Koyuki and Doto went over the edge of the platform they were on. They fell in a heap but to their surprise, Doto quickly stood back up. "Hmph, a toy dagger like that, will do nothing to me." Doto picked up Koyuki, who was regaining her breath, like she weighed as light as feathers. He shrugged off his robe to reveal a chakra armour that looked similar to the ones the three snow-nin were wearing. "This is the new advanced chakra armour."

"Let's go, Koyuki, to the place beyond the rainbow," Doto said as the roof came crashing down while a wire shot out from Doto's back and he was pulled out of the castle.

"Koyuki!" Naruto called as he threw a kunai with a rope attached to it. The rope wrapped around Koyuki's arm and he was pulled along for the ride.


'Hais… if I had a ryo for every time I was hanging in the air by a rope attached to a kunai today, I would have two ryo. Which isn't a lot but it's weird that it's happened twice.' Naruto once again found himself sailing through the air of the Land of Snow. Of course, Doto would notice the extra weight he had not long after. He smirked and swiftly cut off the rope.

"NARUTO!"

He heard Koyuki scream as gravity pulled him down to the ground. In spite of his current situation, Naruto was calm. 'Hey, Kurama. I think this is a good time to overcharge this stupid machine.'

'Hmph, you pathetic humans can't do anything without chakra…'

Naruto wanted to retort that even with chakra, he still won't be able to fly. However, he was more concerned about not dying than arguing with his companion. He felt Kurama's chakra surge through his coils as it was sucked by the mission. He noticed that the chakra was being sucked into the part where there was some sort of glass Yin-yang symbol. Eventually, the glass broke to show an orb within it before the orb shattered with the device.

Naruto smirked at the feeling of his chakra once again rushing through him. 'All right, let's do this.' Naruto flipped his body so that he was facing the ground and created two clones. " Futon: Reppusho! " He shot wind from his palms to slow his descend. After slowing down enough, he took out a kunai and stabbed it into a passing tree. The kunai tore through the tree but his fall was broken and he landed safely on the ground. 'Sorry tree, but it had to be done.'

He looked up to see Doto flying further away without looking back once. 'Confident bastard that one. Didn't even check if I died properly.' A sound to his side made him turn to the right. The filming crew was on some sort of mechanical sleigh. "Hop on!" The director called out.

Naruto joined them on the sleigh as they chased Doto and Koyuki. 'That yin-yang symbol, I saw it on the chakra armour too. From the looks of it, it looks like a power core… That's it! That's the weakness. That is the only thing not made of the same material as the rest of the armour, and it was also the first thing to break.'

Unbeknownst to him, the rest of team 7 had also made the same link.


Naruto hopped off the sleigh when he sensed Doto was close enough. Using his already fast speed, he launched off the sleigh and made a beeline towards where he sensed Doto and Koyuki. He arrived just in time to see the surrounding snow starting to melt. Doto and Koyuki stood in middle of a circle of massive mirrors of some kind.

"Naruto!" Koyuki was relieved to see Naruto alive and unharmed. She was starting to believe that nothing could really stop Naruto from achieving his goals.

Doto gritted his teeth. He was annoyed and very pissed off for two very good reasons. Firstly, the great Kazahana treasure turned out to be heat generators. Secondly, the blonde just won't stop chasing after him. He swiftly went through hand seals and called out his jutsu, " Hyoton: Kokuryu Bofusetsu (Ice Style: Black Dragon Blizzard) !"

As the name suggests, Naruto found a black dragon heading straight for him. The jutsu got closer and closer, but he didn't react. Not yet anyway. The jutsu was about to crash into him when he used a light step to move away. Boom! The jutsu crashed into the ground sending up a massive cloud of ice and snow.

Gato smirked triumphantly while Koyuki gasped in shock. Gato's sense of victory ended nearly immediately as he received a roundhouse kick to the back of the head. The sound of Gato slamming into the ground was music to Naruto's ears. 'Your armour may block ninjutsu and genjutsu but there's always taijutsu.'

Gato stood up and stared daggers at Naruto. His anger was boiling and his frustration kept on growing. The konoha-nin kept on ruining his plans and the brat in front of him was the one that gave him the most trouble. He started jogging towards him which changed into a run. He was going to smash the kid's skull into the ice lake below them. "Die brat!"

Doto grabbed Naruto by the neck and with all his strength slammed him into the icy lake. The ice under him shattered like it was made of glass. He stood over Naruto with a menacing grin and watched him slowly sink. His grin was wiped off his face when the Naruto in the water dispelled in a burst of smoke.

While the clone was confronting Doto, the real Naruto made his way to Koyuki who had sunk to her knees thinking Doto had killed Naruto. Naruto appeared behind Koyuki and placed a hand to cover her mouth. Before Koyuki could start panicking, Naruto grabbed her away in a shunshin.

They appeared several metres away. Koyuki started squirming against his grip but stopped when she heard Naruto's voice. "Shh, he might hear you…" he said with an amused smile. He let her go after seeing Koyuki calm down. She turned around wide eyed before frowning and smacking an unsuspecting Naruto on the head.

"You couldn't have told it was you? Huh?" Koyuki asked as she bonked Naruto on the head. "You gave me a heart attack thinking I got kidnapped again."

Naruto rubbed his head where Koyuki had hit him. 'Where did she get the strength to do that?' "Sorry, sorry. That was an oversight on my part," Naruto apologised.

"Oversight your ass… Hmph" Koyuki said as she turned away from Naruto and crossed her arms.

"Is that any way a princess should talk? You-"

"Thank you…" Koyuki muttered.

Naruto was taken aback. "I'm sorry, what was that?"

"You heard me," Koyuki said with her back still facing him.

Naruto couldn't hold back the smile on his face. "You can thank me when you become queen. In the meantime…"

"Oi, Naruto," Sasuke called as if on cue. Shikamaru and Sasuke rounded the corner. "We realised a weakness in the chakra armour."

"Is it the Yin-yang symbol?" He received two nods of agreement. "Figured as much."

"I want to take a shot at him," Sasuke said.

"Sure, be my guest. He just killed my clone. Shika, you want to fight him?"

"Nah, it's too troublesome. Besides, I'm running low on chakra. I'll get Koyuki to the filming crew," Shikamaru said as he and Koyuki disappeared in a swirl of leaves. Naruto and Sasuke gave each other a knowing look and smirked. 'Doto is so going down.'

The swirling sound of the rasengan caught the attention of Gato as he turned to see Naruto approaching him. "You cannot hope to defeat me, now that I know where you are!" He shouted at Naruto.

"Oh yeah? Let's try it," Naruto said as he broke out into a run with a rasengan in his right hand.

Doto prepared himself, confident that he could smack Naruto aside. So, he was hilariously unprepared when he heard the sound of birds chirping from his left. As soon as he turned his gaze, he was too slow to react to Sasuke appearing beside him and thrusting a Chidori into his armour. The glass Yin-yang symbol cracked but before Sasuke could do more damage, Doto smacked Sasuke aside.

'The armour is definitely stronger than the other,' Sasuke thought as he crashed into a wall of ice. "The rest is up to you, Naruto…" Sasuke muttered as blood dripped from his mouth.

Seeing Sasuke crash into the wall, he turned to Naruto and pointed a finger at him. "You are next!" He announced arrogantly as he blitzed through hand seals. " Hyoton: Soyru Bofusetsu (Ice Style: Twin Black Dragon Blizzard) !"

This time, instead of one, two black dragons made their way towards Naruto. The two dragons crashed where Naruto stood creating a large black twister. The twister created strong winds which could be felt by the filming crew who were several metres away. When the twister died down, Naruto was nowhere to be seen.

"Naruto…no…" Koyuki muttered as she saw the destruction. Even the filming crew was worried.

Shikamaru merely smiled. "Always with the dramatic entrances…"

The filming crew and Koyuki looked at him confused but their attention was pulled back to Gato. "Haha, it's over! The brat's dead!" Doto started laughing like the mad man he was.

"It's not over, till the director says cut." Doto's head whipped to the side to see the blonde shinobi with an orb of chakra slightly bigger than his hand.

Naruto slowly walked towards Doto with the rasengan held back. The clouds cleared to show the sun rising over the horizon. The sun rays refracted against the ice to shine a rainbow light all around the surrounding area. It made, in Naruto's opinion, a very badass image.

"Doto Kazahana, you are hereby found guilty for the death of the previous king of the Land of Snow! The kidnapping of Princess Koyuki! And most of all, for being a motherfucker of the highest level and for trying to stop a happy ending! I, Naruto Uzumaki, sentence you to death!"

"Naruto!" Koyuki called out. "I believe you! I acknowledge that you are the strongest shinobi!"

Naruto grinned as Koyuki's words fueled his courage. "I could've told you that myself!" He started running up towards Doto, his gaze unwavering as he stared into Doto's soul. The light rays that were scattered by the ice, were absorbed by the rasengan. The rasengan glowed brighter than ever as a rainbow trail swirled around it. The sight was truly breathtaking.

And in Doto's case, it was literally breathtaking. He tried to swipe the rasengan away but Naruto was too fast and avoided his arm. Naruto thrusted the rasengan into Doto with a shout of victory, "HIIYAAAAAA! Take this, RASENGAN !!!"

The armour stood no chance after it was weakened by Sasuke. The rasengan powered through the armour's core as the core shattered. Everyone, including Kakashi who just arrived, watched wide eyed as the rainbow rasengan caused the ground beneath Naruto to crack. The large amount of pure chakra that was put into the jutsu was only something Naruto could do. Once the power core shattered, the armour was rendered useless and Doto was sent flying. Naruto need not check on Doto to know that he wasn't surviving.

As if it was a fairytale, the land started to prosper as soon as the evil villain died. The snow around them melted and flowers started to bloom. To the surprise of everyone, the large mirrors glowed before a large projection of a young Koyuki appeared.

"Believe in the future and spring will surely come," was the voice of Sosetsu Kazahana.

Koyuki watched in amazement and slightly teary eyes. She remembered the moment being projected. Her father asked what she would become when spring came.

"I want to be a princess!"

"What kind of princess?"

The young Koyuki thought for a moment as she tilted her head in wonder. "Hmm…A strong and kind princess…and one who fights for justice!" She said, smiling from ear to ear.

"You'll have to work hard for that!" Sosetsu said with a chuckle. "But never give up on that dream, and you'll become a princess," Sosetsu continued in a softer, more encouraging tone.

Koyuki watched the memory as tears streamed down her cheeks. She missed her father.

"But there's one more thing I want to become!" The young Koyuki suddenly announced.

"And what's that?"

"An actress!"

Everyone chuckled at the young Koyuki's announcement. Oh how life comes full circle sometimes.


Team 7 stayed a week more in the Land of Snow/Spring. Koyuki was considering changing the land's name to spring. Due to the heat generators that her father built, it was possible for them to keep the entire land warm and melt the snow. They helped Koyuki take out any remaining rebels who followed Doto's ideals and also helped Koyuki settle down in her new life. Koyuki's coronation took place at the end of the week where team 7 was invited as special guests.

Currently, team 7 stood in front of Koyuki with her council of advisors behind her. Koyuki wanted to see them before they headed home. "We can't express how thankful we are. Without you guys, who knows what could've happened to me or the Land of Snow," Koyuki said as she bowed.

Team 7 bowed back. "No problem, Koyuki. We, ourselves, wanted to see the Land of Snow free. Right guys?" Naruto received nods of agreement from the other three members. Naruto was probably the only person who dared call Koyuki, Koyuki. Everyone else called her Koyuki-sama or Koyuki-dono. Koyuki didn't want those who had helped her such as team 7 and the filming crew to call her by such a formal name. However, Naruto was really the only one who called her Koyuki.

Koyuki had a smile on her face all week long. She hadn't been this happy in a long time. "My council and I have agreed to thank you properly. No, you cannot reject this," she said as she saw the konoha-nin about to turn it down. "Kakashi Hatake, Shikamaru Nara, Sasuke Uchiha and Naruto Uzumaki… All four of you will forever be guests of the Land of Snow no matter what time period. As long as you are alive, you will forever be allowed in the Land of Snow and we will help you the best we can if needed."

Koyuki hummed in amusement as all four members went wide eyed. "You helped save this land, so it is only right for you to enjoy it."

Kakashi bowed and his three students followed. "Thank you, Koyuki-sama."

"No, it is we who must thank you."

After that, Koyuki and her samurai guards personally escorted the team to the main gate of the capital. Koyuki gave Naruto her best hug which he returned with a chuckle. "Goodbye, Naruto. Please come and visit us again," she said as they continued their embrace.

"Of course… Koyuki-sama -Oww" Naruto received a swift smack on the head courtesy of Koyuki.

"What did I tell you about calling me that? Huh?" She asked with her hands on her hips.

'Man, where does she find the strength and speed to suddenly do that?' "Hehe, I'm just kidding Koyuki." He said with an eye smile. "You're going to do great. Your father will be proud of you."

Koyuki's smile widened. "Thanks. Now, get going you guys or you'll miss the ship back," she said as she waved them goodbye.

"I want to be a princess! A kind and strong princess…who fights for justice!" The words of her younger self played in her head. 'I hope I can live up to that dream, father…'


Now, you might be wondering: Why the hell have I just read an entire movie?

Firstly, props to those who actually read the whole thing. If you didnt, I suggest you read the last part at least.

As to why the Land of Snow? I wanted a break in the story - an interlude ig - before the next major cannon event which is Sasuke Retrieval Arc. Another reason is I have plans for the Land of Snow and Koyuki. I didn't introduce them to the story without reason.

Thanks for your opinions about the Konoha Council. You will see that next chapter. It might be a bit dry but politics, it's a necessary evil. Thanks for reading :0