April 13th 2002:

Countless snowflakes drifted downwards from the bright sky. Cold wind blew in the grim faces of everyone in the snow covered area. A haze of violent sunlight illuminated the shadows around all of them.

Ryomen Sukuna and Doto Kazahana gazed at each other in amused and prudent silence. Circling Sukuna, Doto checked out the anomalous features of his opponent and adjusted his Chakra-Armour.

Behind Sukuna, Naruto Uzumaki and Koyuki Kazahana witnessed this stare down and waited to see who would make the first move. Naruto clenched his fists, red eyes flickering a bright vermillion in pure anger.

On the platform of the train on the tracks, Nadare Roga kept his vigilant gaze planted upon the rebellion group who opposed Doto. Sukuna had stopped them from being killed by the Kunai cannons.

Unbeknownst to most of the people in this spacious sector, Kakashi Hatake and Sasuke Uchiha were creating a plan to destroy the train. Naruto glanced at Koyuki—who had remained frozen in raw disbelief.

Unlike the members of his specialized squad, Doto relied more on Taijutsu than Ninjutsu or Genjutsu. Concentrating on the reincarnated child, Doto stepped forward, lashed his leg out, and disappeared.

Unsurprised and unimpressed by Doto's commendable speed, Sukuna lifted both of his fore-arms to repel a powerful kick away. Doto smirked at him, unadulterated fascination flaring in his cold eyes.

Four crimson eyes widened a little. "His physical strength is higher than I expected. Mizore's physical power is less than Doto's, though."

"You were able to withstand my kick." Doto lowered his leg. "You are an interesting individual, I cannot sense any chakra in your body."

Keeping his silence, Sukuna reached a calloused hand forward, flicked three of his fingers downwards, and launched a merciless Dismantle into Doto's chest-plate. Doto staggered backwards.

Tapping his undamaged chest-plate, Doto wasted no time in body-flickering behind Sukuna and punching the back of his head. Sukuna turned around, upper-cutting his jaw in retaliation.

Rubbing his bruised jaw, Doto hummed. "This child's physical prowess is more than I had anticipated. Mizore did say he could be a threat."

"The metal his armour is made from really is durable." Sukuna thought to himself, laughing. "But who the hell cares? This makes it more fun!"

(-)

Naruto watched the ongoing battle between his teammate and the individual who had plunged the Land-Of-Snow into an era of chaos. Tangible anger leaked from Naruto's posture and facial expression.

All of Naruto's attention was directed towards Doto—who had been responsible for the despair the Land-Of-Snow had suffered from. Chakra was spread across his body, increasing his physical ability.

Snow crunched and cracked underneath Naruto's feet. More and more crimson chakra bubbled out from his irises alone. Descending upon the battle-field, Naruto clicked his teeth and pulled his arm back.

In the midst of his chaotic battle against the reincarnated child, Doto noticed a distortion of pure crimson that approached him. Nadare left the platform on the train, intercepting Naruto and grabbing his neck.

However, both Doto and Nadare were stunned for a brief second from the appearance of Naruto's nails elongating into sharp claws. Naruto's teeth turned into fangs while his red eyes glowed brighter in pure rage.

Kicking Nadare away from himself, Naruto declared. "I'm going to dismantle this damn era you sound so proud of, Doto!"

"And how will you dismantle this era of mine?" Doto had forgotten about Sukuna for the time being. "You're nothing more than a brat."

Determination lingered in Naruto's low voice. "You and your friends are the bastards who are behind all of the suffering in this land…"

"I refuse to lose to bastards like you!" Naruto blurred forward, then extended his clawed hand out. "I'll end you two myself if I have to!"

Engaging Nadare in a match of endless Taijutsu, Naruto and his opponent punched and jabbed each other in the faces. Doto refocused on Sukuna—whose four vermillion irises glinted in joy.

A ruthless punch to the stomach hurtled Doto into the snow. Sukuna channelled a suitable amount of cursed-energy throughout himself. Mouth twisted into an excited smirk, Sukuna entered a stance.

Despite the durability the metal of his armour had, Doto could feel himself rattle and shake from the aftermath of the powerful blow. Fascinated, Doto adopted the stance of a person experienced in combat.

Since Rock-Lee and Might-Gai had trained him themselves, Sukuna's natural style of Taijutsu was calamitous, destructive, and tumultuous. Doto got these details from a simple glance, readying himself.

Multiple cracks emerged from the ground beneath Sukuna before he vanished in an unnatural burst of vicious speed. Arm raised, Doto looked around his immediate surroundings to scope out the boy.

Once Sukuna had reappeared behind him, Doto knocked a chakra-enhanced elbow into his nose. Not caring about the damage to himself, Sukuna then slammed his knuckles into Doto's chest-plate.

Some type of second impact had been used on the chest-plate. Sukuna imbued more cursed-energy into his fists, deciding to pummel a multitude of Divergent-Fists into Doto's entire body.

Much to Sukuna's hidden confusion, Doto looked as though he was much more intrigued than surprised by Divergent-Fist. A loud chuckle slithered out from Doto's mouth. "You have such odd capabilities!"

Minuscule cracks had built up in Doto's chest-plate over time. Sukuna remained somewhat impressed by how much endurance it had. Moving his hand down, Sukuna fired a Dismantle in Doto's direction.

Unable to perceive or sense the Dismantle, Doto extended his hands out to touch his broken chest-plate before it burst into chunks of metal. Sukuna maintained his position, smiling in mockery and amusement.

Even more intrigued than a minute ago, Doto said. "Incredible! You have a Jutsu that is capable of penetrating and breaking my armour!"

Sukuna listened to the man prattle on and on. "Unlike my subordinates' armour, it took around six years to develop mine."

Intending on escalating their battle to a more intense level, Sukuna blinked his eyes in mild shock as the train on the tracks was consumed in an enormous hurricane of both flames and lightning.

No longer hiding from Sukuna and Naruto, Kakashi and Sasuke ascended from the fumes of the destroyed train. Doto smiled at Sukuna, turning around and disappearing. "We will meet again…"

Unamazed by Doto's departure, Sukuna then snorted. "He really is boring to me. But his skill in Taijutsu is something to be careful about."

(-)

Naruto had endured every single attack that Nadare had thrown at him. Bubbles of red chakra escaped his healed wounds. Hands clasped together, Nadare pulsed his chakra out into the surface below him.

Manifesting itself out of nowhere, a serpentine creature created from flames lunged towards Naruto and stuck its serrated tongue out. Naruto grabbed the fire-constructed snake's tongue, ripping it off.

Refusing to lose to such an inferior opponent, Naruto growled. "I'll tell you idiots again if I have to—I will stop you two and your friends!"

"How amusing." Nadare crossed his arms in response. "Lord Doto and myself do not think of you or your teammates as real threats to us."

An entertained glance was directed at the destroyed train. "The Hexagonal-Crystal is all we want—won't you just let us take it?"

"Who cares about what you want?!" Naruto crushed the fire-made snake in his clawed hand. "What's so special about that necklace?"

Chin cupped in one gauntleted hand, Nadare hummed. "Lord Doto believes the Hex-Crystal is the key to the next stage of his goals!"

Deciding to ignore Nadare, Naruto squinted his red eyes in focus. "Ninjutsu is useless against these bastards—so Taijutsu it is!"

Bending himself to the side, Nadare raised his hand to fend off Naruto's ruthless strikes of endless aggression. In retaliation, Nadare buried his knuckles into Naruto's gut and hurtled him into a tree.

Crashing into the enormous trunk of the grand tree, Naruto rose to his feet, healed the damage to his body without realizing, forged onwards, and vanished in a vermillion flash of speed before he reappeared.

Both Naruto and Nadare's fists blurred around the air, creating a small shockwave of chakra. Unknowing of how the gauntlets of his armour had been cracked, Nadare then pushed himself forward.

This Chakra-Armour had been designed by the top members of Doto's research team to nullify every type of chakra-based attack. There was one glaring issue—Naruto was the vessel for the fearsome nine-tails.

Many people knew about how potent the chakra of a Tailed-Beast could be whenever it was released from their Jinchuuriki. In essence, the Chakra-Armour was unable to withstand a Tailed-Beast's chakra.

"Impossible!" Nadare's gauntlets crumbled into shards of metal. "Just what is that repulsive red chakra coming out of that damn brat's body!"

Huffing to himself in annoyance, Naruto deflected two punches from Nadare and roundhouse kicked his hip. The armour cracked even more from the pure strength in Naruto's leg before Nadare snarled.

In a flash of impressive movement, Sasuke landed next to his friend. Regardless of everything else, Naruto had recieved substantial damage from this battle. His red chakra had faded into his seal.

Red eyes morphed into blue ones. "Sasuke, you bastard! Why the hell did you, Kakashi, and the film-crew disappear on me and Sukuna?!"

Uncaring of Naruto's indignant tone, Sasuke replied. "It was all apart of the plan Kakashi had created. We were able to destroy the train."

"Also." Sasuke looked at Naruto, eyes unimpressed. "Why did you leave Koyuki unguarded? You're lucky they haven't taken her yet."

Interrupting their discussion, Nadare chuckled. "Destroying the train won't hinder our schemes at all. Take a good look above yourselves."

Stealing a small gander at the clouds in the sky, Naruto and Sasuke widened their eyes a brief moment later. From the ashes of the broken train, a blimp of sorts had ascended into the air to carry Doto away.

During Naruto's battle against Nadare, Sasuke had left a Fire-Clone of himself to make sure Koyuki remained safe. Sasuke rushed to where he had left his duplicate and Koyuki. Naruto followed him from behind.

Suspended in the air, the door to the blimp opened and Mizore Fuyukuma had stepped out. The piece of his chest-plate Sukuna had damaged had been repaired by Doto's team of engineering experts.

A hand-sign had been cast by Mizore—who summoned three spikes created from water to dispel the Fire-Clone that Sasuke had made. Extending his hand downwards, Mizore activated his grappling hook.

"Damn it!" Naruto watched the grappling hook grab Koyuki by the arm and drag her high into the air. "I'll use Wind-Bullet to sever the rope!"

Instincts flaring at him to warn him of an impending danger, Sasuke shoved Naruto away, lifted his fore-arms, and felt Nadare punch him. Sasuke's feet scraped against the snow-covered ground in this clash.

Distracting Naruto from his self-imposed mission, Nadare smirked in glee once Koyuki had been secured on the blimp. Distancing himself from Sasuke, Nadare turned on his grappling hook and chortled.

After connecting his grappling hook onto one of the sections of the blimp, Nadare flew into the air and boarded the vehicle. Enraged, Naruto drew chakra out from his seal and enhanced his legs.

Sasuke stumbled back from the cob-web of cracks that Naruto had formed as he jumped into the air, landed on the blimp, and grunted. Picking up more and more speed, the blimp flew into the distance.

Blinking in stunned silence at Naruto's brash actions, Sasuke scowled. "What is that idiot doing? He does realize he can't fight all of them off."

"I thought he would do that." Kakashi appeared next to his student. "Sukuna had been fighting Doto—but he managed to get away."

"The situation has become more intense." Sasuke spoke in a cold tone. "What should we do? The dumbass went off on his own."

Unworried about his most troublesome student, Kakashi replied. "Such a lack of faith in Naruto. I'm sure he'll be fine without us three."

"If he dies, I'm blaming you." Sasuke concentrated on their next course of action. "Did you defeat the men who escaped the train?"

Nonchalant in his response, Kakashi nodded. "More survived the train's destruction than I thought. But they weren't much trouble."

Kakashi then pointed into the bushes—where members of the camera crew recorded them. "I also had to ensure they didn't get too close."

Hiding his irritation, Sasuke sighed to himself. "They really are shameless, recording our battles in these life and death situations."

"Where's Sukuna?" Sasuke composed himself a second later. "You mentioned earlier that he was fighting off Doto Kazahana, right?"

Nodding a second time, Kakashi then answered. "I told him to watch over Sandayu and the members of his rebellion group."

(-)

Sukuna had seen how Naruto had jumped onto the blimp from the area he was located in at the moment. Standing in front of Sandayu and his comrades, Sukuna observed the blimp fly across the sky.

If Naruto hadn't been on the blimp, Sukuna would have used a Dismantle to bring it back down to them to impede Doto and his specialized team. Sukuna slumped his shoulders, indifferent.

Sandayu tapped Sukuna on the shoulder. "Thank you for stopping those Kunai being launched at us. We hadn't seen them in time."

Shrugging Sandayu's hand off of his shoulder, Sukuna said. "Yeah. Could you tell me where Doto's blimp would be going by any chance?"

"Doto has many hideouts." Sandayu scratched his chin, unsure. "Though, I do believe he would be heading to his main castle."

Overhearing this exchange of information, Sasuke and Kakashi approached them. Makino and his film-crew had emerged from their hiding spots to review their footage while the rebellion group listened.

Butting into the conversation, Makino yelled. "What incredible fights! This movie will be a popular one, I swear it! It's a true masterpiece!"

Dismissing Makino from their discussion, Kakashi sighed. "His passion for films really is something. Moving on, I've decided what to do next."

Arms crossed in frustration, Sasuke chimed in. "The dumbass can't take all of them on at once. I assume they've restrained Naruto."

"Doto is someone you should not underestimate." Sandayu said. "He's more formidable than all three members of his special team combined!"

"We were both holding back in our earlier fight." Sukuna grunted. "Doto's Chakra-Armour is much better than his team's armours."

"Cleave should be able to damage it, though." Sukuna pondered to himself. "The metal Doto uses for his armour has good durability."

"Yet you managed to break his chest-plate." Kakashi curved his eye up into a crescent of sorts. "That's why you'll handle Doto, Sukuna."

Having staggered back in shock, Sandayu shouted. "Are you sure?! Sukuna is strong, yes, but Doto is on a whole other level of power!"

"That makes sense." Sasuke inclined his head. "Sukuna's bloodline limit lets him damage the armour, so Doto can't rely on its abilities."

Surprised, Sandayu lifted both of his eye-brows. "It does? But the Chakra-Armour is designed to nullify everything chakra-related!"

Cutting into their chatter, Sukuna said. "Focus on the details of my blood-line limit later. That blond dumbass is still out and about."

A small chuckle surfaced from Kakashi's concealed mouth. "He is the most bothersome out of the three of you and the most unpredictable."

Sukuna shook his head. "Whatever—we don't have much time to waste. Sandayu, take us to wherever Doto's damn hideout is."

(-)

Naruto had leaned his back against the wall of the prison cell Nadare had thrown him in for the time being. Bruises were plastered across his whiskered face while thin lacerations had damaged his shoulders.

Most of his chakra had been sealed away by a strange stone Doto had imbued into his hand-cuffs. Eyes closed in concentration, Naruto directed his attention onto the task of accessing the Kyuubi's power.

When he had entered the blimp, Nadare and Fubuki Kakuyoku had ambushed him and had been able to defeat him. Alongside these events, Doto had also stolen the Hex-Crystal from Koyuki's clutches.

However, it had turned out the Hex-Crystal that Koyuki had been wearing was a fake replica of the original necklace. Koyuki and Doto had both realized Kakashi was the one who performed the switch.

"This stupid rock!" Naruto glared at his hand-cuffs. "I can't access that stupid fur-ball's chakra at all! Hell, I can't even use my own chakra!"

Sapphire eyes widened at the sound of a door being opened before Koyuki entered, two guards escorting her to her cell. Naruto shut his eyes in an instant, intent on making them think he hadn't awoken yet.

Once these two guards had vacated the sector, Naruto opened his blue eyes, took a good look at Koyuki's emotionless features, and decided to ask her a question. "Does the weather here ever change?"

Face twisted in impassivity, Koyuki sighed. "No, not at all. There is no spring here in the Land-Of-Snow. I'm sure you've realized that by now."

"No spring?" Naruto lifted an eye-brow in pure curiosity, rattling his hand-cuffs. "What the heck do you mean by 'no spring' in this land?"

"My father believed spring would come here." Koyuki replied. "But, after everything I've seen, I'm not sure there's hope for this land…"

She glanced at Naruto, eyes cold. "But there is no spring. My father died, I fled from the Land-Of-Snow, and I stopped believing…"

Breathing out in contemplation, Koyuki said. "I lied to so many people, became an actress, and realized my life has been one big charade."

Naruto flexed his muscles to break his hand-cuffs instead of responding to Koyuki's back-story of sorts. Seeing his determination, Koyuki shook her head. "In the end, all you can do is give up on this."

Unrelenting, Naruto replied. "I bet everything gets easier, once you've given up. At first, no-one had ever cared about me. It was rough…"

"I used to think there was no place in this world for me." The gem in Naruto's hand-cuff electrocuted him a little. "But I met my first friend."

Smirking at Koyuki, Naruto spoke. "He's a damn asshole—but I can count on him whenever. After that, I met my second friend and rival."

"I didn't give up and good things happened!" Naruto endured the damage inflicted upon his body. "Giving up means to lose!"

Giving the hand-cuffs one more tug, Naruto broke them. "And I refuse to lose to anyone until I can be Hokage!"

Speechless, Koyuki heard Naruto speak some more. "Don't give up on yourself or your people! To give up is the same as defeat!"

(-)

Doto was seated upon his grand throne that overlooked the entirety of the room he was in. One of his fists was placed underneath his chin and his free hand tapped on the arm-rest of his profligate chair.

At the moment, the one who had plundered the Land-Of-Snow into a new era of chaos was thinking about Sukuna—someone whose Jutsu could damage the Chakra-Armour created by himself and his team.

The chest-plate Sukuna had obliterated had been fixed after he had returned to his castle and had placed Naruto into a prison cell. A moment later, Doto's train of thought was interrupted by a loud boom.

"Oh?" Doto blinked to himself, then smirked in amusement. "It must be Kakashi Hatake and his team of brats trying to save their teammate."

Urgent, one of Doto's underlings entered the room and yelled. "Bad news, lord Doto. We're under attack! We're ready for any battle, sir!"

"Right on time." Doto clenched his fist on the arm-rest of his throne. "Regardless of that four-eyed boy's power, I intend to win this…"

(-)

Sukuna blurred through the numerous hallways in the palace, knocking out whoever crossed his tumultuous path. Dismantle was fired into an enormous wall, opening up another entrance for him.

Many individuals in different outfits noticed Sukuna and rushed at him. Grinning in demented joy, Sukuna fended off their punches and kicks. Sukuna took a step forward, then appeared behind all of these people.

They all sank down to the ground, unconscious and defeated. Sukuna opened his lower two eyes, seeing a door in the corner of the wide room. Without any time to waste, Sukuna pushed it open and ran in.

It was a dead-end. Nothing was in the room except a few chairs, tables, and what Sukuna assumed was board-games. Indifferent to this discovery, Sukuna activated Spiderweb on the carpet below him.

Dissolving into a spread of cracks and caving into itself, the surface underneath Sukuna shattered. Flying downwards, Sukuna repositioned himself once he had landed on the bottom floor.

"Huh, Sukuna?!"

Sukuna looked at the source of the familiar voice—Naruto was staring in his direction in disbelief from his prison cell. Amused at the sight, Sukuna laughed. "Hah! I knew you'd get yourself caught by them!"

Teeth clicked together in irritation, Naruto snarled at his friend. "Shut up! Can you break this cell? Its iron bars are stopping my chakra."

Approaching the cell, Sukuna applied Cleave onto its bars and destroyed them. "I still can't believe you let yourself get captured."

"Shut up, would you?" Naruto stepped out of his cell, elbowed Sukuna, and said. "Can you get Koyuki out of her cell? We've got to hurry."

Dismantle was launched into Koyuki's cell and disintegrated it. Rushing into her cell, Naruto grabbed her by the wrist, nodded at Sukuna, and guided her to an elevator so that they could escape.

Following them from behind, Sukuna double-checked the area to ensure there were no more people around them. Settled into the elevator of sorts, they travelled up to one of the higher floors.

Leaving the elevator behind them, they sprinted across a long strip of some type of surface protected by guardrails. Someone appeared in front of them as Naruto mixed his hands together into a hand-sign.

Sukuna stopped Naruto, pointed at the disguised man, and spoke. "Calm yourself down, would you? That's just a disguised Kakashi."

Transforming into his original form, Kakashi said. "Sorry to keep you waiting on us so long, Naruto. And, princess, you look alright."

"Yeah." Koyuki turned away from him. "You switched my Hex-Crystal for a fake replication of it without even telling me about it, didn't you?"

"He did?" Sukuna blinked his four eyes in brief confusion. "Why is Doto so keen about getting the Hex-Crystal, I still don't understand."

"I apologize for that." Kakashi handed her the real necklace. "But it was to make sure Doto didn't get his hands on the real version."

From one of the two entrances at the end of this strip of surface, three men were hurtled into a wall. Strolling towards Koyuki and his team, Sasuke grunted. "These nuisances wouldn't leave me alone at all."

Composing her emotions, Koyuki sprinted towards the other entrance. "Come on!" She yelled, gesturing for the four of them to follow her.

Sukuna and his teammates followed her down a corridor that was fortified by a unique metal until they rushed into an enormous room. All of them, except Koyuki, were stunned by the sight in front of them.

Seated on his magnificent throne, Doto gazed down at each of the members of team seven and chuckled at them. Rising from his throne, the man spoke at last. "I've been waiting for you all, welcome!"

"Doto!"

Doto directed his gaze to Koyuki—who then smirked and climbed the stairs that were connected to his throne. "Good work, Koyuki…"

"Wait!" Kakashi rushed in to stop her—but was stopped by the three members of Doto's specialized squad. "She joined Doto? It can't be."

Naruto was frozen in shock while Sasuke thought. "This doesn't make sense. Isn't Doto her uncle—the one behind her father's death?"

Unimpressed and bored, Sukuna sighed. "I don't really give a shit. What I want is a good fight from one of these bastards."

Once Koyuki handed Doto the Hex-Crystal, she smirked at the four of them. "This shouldn't be a surprise to any of you. I am an actress."

"There you have it! Another brilliant performance from Yukie Fujikaze!"

Dull eyes looked off to the side. Koyuki held a sheathed blade in her hand, hidden from Doto and his team. "Yes, this was all an act!"

She turned towards Doto, unsheathed her hidden blade, and stabbed Doto in the shoulder—one of the unprotected parts of his body. Stunned by her actions, Doto growled and grabbed her neck.

"You wretched nuisance!" Doto choked her, enraged. "I will ensure that my era remains and your father's era will not! I have won this battle!"

Keeping the blade in her hand, Koyuki struggled and gasped. "I knew I would die here if I returned to the Land-Of-Snow, I knew it all along."

Having lurched forward, Naruto yelled in response. "Don't do it! Don't even think about giving up, princess! Don't give up on this, you hear!"

"It's thanks to you, Naruto." Koyuki glanced in Naruto's direction. "It's thanks to you that I could stop running away, here at the end…"

Doto pulled the blade out of his undamaged shoulder, throwing Koyuki down to the floor beneath his throne and descended alongside her. Koyuki collapsed to the ground, coughing. Naruto shouted. "Princess!"

Unable to stop him in time, Sukuna watched as Naruto rushed towards Doto and saw him being backhanded away. Doto shed his robes, revealing his superior Chakra-Armour in its glorious entirety.

"Your chakra was still drained by those hand-cuffs I gave you." Doto smiled. "It will take some time for your reserves to be replenished."

"His chakra was drained?" Sasuke looked at his teammate. "Naruto's reserves are massive—how much chakra did he lose in this place?"

"Now, Koyuki." Doto grabbed her, activated his grappling hook, and ascended into the air. "Let us head to your father's favourite place."

Everything around them started to crumble for some reason. Doto's team used their grappling hooks to escape. In desperation, Naruto wrapped a Kunai wire around her hand and was dragged into the air.

Kakashi and Sasuke moved out of the area, realizing Sukuna had vanished. Up in the air, Doto turned on the wings of his Chakra-Armour and cut off the Kunai wire Koyuki had grabbed.

Falling downwards, Naruto heard Doto laugh at him before he flew away into the distance. Crashing into the snow, Naruto climbed to his feet and shouted out. "This ain't over! You can't hide from me, Doto!"

All of a sudden, Sukuna appeared next to Naruto to keep him on his feet while Makino and two of his assistants slid towards them on a mechanical sled of sorts. The director yelled. "Come on, get on!"

(-)

Doto had taken Koyuki to an area where multiple pillars of ice surrounded them. In the middle, there was some type of keyhole. Approaching this keyhole, Doto brought out the Hex-Crystal.

"This place again." Koyuki was feeling nostalgic. "The place my father was obsessed over. I can't believe I would ever return here…"

After Doto had inserted the Hex-Crystal into the keyhole, an abundant amount of light illuminated the large pillars of ice and everything else. Doto waited in anticipation, waiting to see what else was next for him.

However, much to their shock and confusion, the ice began to somewhat melt and rivers of water formed around them. Doto clenched his teeth. "A heat generator was our clan's hidden treasure?!"

Koyuki felt the snow in her hands melt. "Could this be what my father was talking to me about all those years ago—spring in this land?"

"Koyuki!"

Doto and Koyuki saw Naruto and the others sliding towards them on a mechanical sled through the unmelted sections of snow. Hopping off of the sled, Naruto ran at them until he fell to his knees in fatigue.

"You foolish brat!" Doto grinned in derision. "You're suffering from chakra-exhaustion! You can't even hope about defeating me!"

Mouth twisted into a mischievous smirk, Naruto said. "What's wrong? I don't plan on losing to you, Doto! Like I said, I refuse to give up…"

"Naruto!" Koyuki rose to her feet. "That's enough! If you don't stop, then Doto is going to kill you! Please, you have to stop this!"

"Have a little faith." Naruto struggled, returned to his feet, and declared. "I refuse to give up and I refuse to lose to him, you hear!"

In a flash of movement, Doto rushed into Naruto's guard and knocked him down into the massive lake of water behind him. Unable to rebalance himself, Naruto stumbled and sank deep into the water.

Koyuki collapsed to her knees in disbelief, thinking he had drowned. Doto gritted his teeth as he heard a bout of familiar laughter. Sukuna had descended upon the battle-field. "It's that four-eyed boy again…"

"What shall you do, brat?" Doto asked him. "Your friend shall perish soon enough. And my subordinates will handle the rest of your team."

Sukuna slid his hands into his pockets. "That idiot isn't dead. I doubt your damn henchman will be able to handle Sasuke or Kakashi."

"Give it a second." Sukuna smirked, glanced at the water, and saw red chakra erupt out from it. "I guess he can access Kurama's chakra…"

A clawed hand reached out from the water. Naruto climbed out of the massive lake and returned to his feet. Red eyes glared at Doto, flickering an aggressive vermillion. Sukuna spoke. "You scared?"

"Of course not." Naruto smirked, fists clenched. "Come on, Doto!"

They all entered combat-based stances.


A/N: Thanks for reading.