One week later
Snow fell peacefully from the clouds, almost soothingly. A ship could be seen through the waves, and several people could be seen running from one side to the other. The people were wearing samurai warrior armor.
Most of Team 7, currently wearing cloaks and clothing for the cold, watched with interest as what was happening on the ship's deck. The blonde of the group watched the scene while holding a small notebook in which he was writing something down (although he stopped for a few moments to admire everything happening), and the reason for all this was very simple.
The blonde was watching 'Yukie's' performance because he was currently watching her act in one of the scenes from the Princess Gale movie. The jinchuriki, as well as the rest of Team 7, could only watch as the actress played her role. 'The way she plays her character is simply,' the blonde thought. 'Incredible,' Kurama said in Uzumaki's head.
They both watched the scene that, according to the director, was the part where Yukie and her group stole one of their enemies' ships to infiltrate the villain's kingdom to launch a direct attack and end the whole conflict. Both the Uzumaki and the Kitsune watched as the actress shot a pair of arrows at a group of 'enemies' at a relatively fast speed, while remaining in character and performing it with such naturalness that it was impressive.
She has talent. It seemed like she'd had combat and weapons training, or at least the basics,' the Kitsune mused in the blonde's mind. "I have to admit, Yukie-san is very talented," Kakashi said, still reading his porn and occasionally glancing at the scene unfolding on the deck. "Well, it's no surprise. It's not for nothing that she's considered one of the best actresses," Sakura said, watching the scene.
"TSK, ungrateful woman, how dare she reject my offer?" Sasuke said, looking away. "Well, if you hadn't been a complete idiot and told her you'd let her be one of your concubines, maybe she wouldn't have mistaken you for a pervert and maybe she wouldn't have sprayed you with that pepper spray," Naruto said, holding back his laughter as he remembered how the Uchiha had screamed when he was sprayed with said gas.
"That bitch should feel honored that I find her attractive enough to be one of my-!!" The Uchiha stopped when an arrow flew in front of his face and embedded itself in the wall. The Konoha group looked down, where the lead actress, Yukie, could be seen with a bow pointed in the group's direction, in a position as if she had just shot an arrow. The most striking thing about her was her look of satisfaction at the group's surprised expression.
Ignoring the Uchiha's complaints about almost having an arrow stuck in his skull, the actress continued filming. 'She seems to be in a better mood,' Naruto thought, watching his client finish the scene, recalling the events of the first day of his mission.
Wandering a bit, he recalled what happened on the first day of this mission. After Team 7 finished getting ready for their new mission as escorts to their new client's destination, actress Yukie had introduced the blonde to the main filming group on the first day of their mission.
Both the director and his representative, actress Sandayu, were a little hesitant at first because of the brief explanation he had given them, but after proving that he was the author of 'Heart and Soul', the two men had a brief discussion about how to make the film.
Flashback
It had been about three days since the Konoha group had joined the filming crew, where they watched over and, in some cases, assisted the cast. The director and Sandayu informed them that since they had finished filming on land, they would soon board a ship to continue filming.
Just as everyone was boarding the ship, the Hanyou had been called to the cabin Sandayu was using. The Uzumaki was currently sitting in a chair, looking at the actress's representative. "You don't know the honor you've done us by accepting our offer, Naruto-san," Sandayu said, looking at the blonde as he poured a glass of sake. He offered some to the Hanyou, who accepted. He then looked to the side, where he could also find Yukie sitting on a sofa, while the film's director was on the other side. A man wearing a simple suit with a black beret on his head and a pair of sunglasses over his eyes.
"The honor is all mine, Sandayu-san," Naruto said, taking a sip of the sake he'd been served before staring at the aforementioned man. "And would you like to adapt one of the books, or do you want a completely new sequel?" asked the Uzumaki. "Well, being able to adapt one of your earlier works would be nice, but no-" Sandayu commented before stopping at that comment. The representative opened his eyes and looked at the jinchuriki, only to step forward and stand in front of the blonde.
"Do you have a new volume ready?" asked the film director as he brought his face close to the blonde's, who moved his head back. "Yes, now please step aside," said the Uzumaki, causing the director to step back. Seeing the bespectacled man step back, the Uzumaki pulled out one of his seals to extract a large number of sheets, surprising everyone present, and handed them to Sandayu.
"I was thinking of using it to publish the fourth book, but seeing the work you're doing, I'm sure you could make a good movie adaptation," Naruto said.'Yukie' had a smile of pure excitement and looked at the blonde, who returned it. This caused a slight blush to appear on the blonde's face when he saw the actress so excited.
"This is incredible! I can't wait to start producing this movie, it'll be a hit!!" said the director, adjusting his sunglasses. "If just adapting one of the first books would have been a sure success, but this won't, it will undoubtedly make us millionaires," said the director with stars in his eyes. Wiping a drop of sweat from the entire group, Sandayu ignored the eccentric director and read the title of Uzumaki's play, "Heart and Soul: The Heat of Ice." This made him smile a little. The actress approached, and they soon began reading some passages from Hanyou's play.
"It will undoubtedly be a success... no doubt, wherever we're going, we can use the terrain for the first scenes," said Sandayu, too focused on reading the Uzumaki's play that he had forgotten who the person next to him was."What do you mean by that, Sandayu? According to this, the first scenes would have to be shot in a snowy environment," said the woman, causing the aforementioned man to shudder. "The only place to film would be..." Yukie's words were cut off as an idea flashed through her mind, causing her eyes to widen."Don't tell me..." Both the actress's words and her facial expression showed pure fear and disbelief, and the Uzumaki could feel the fear emanating from the brunette, which grew even more when the gray-haired man nodded his head.
"No, no, no!!" Yukie's screams grew louder, and everyone saw the lead actress running out of Sandayu's office. The actress soon approached the side of the ship and, grabbing the railing, the brunette looked in surprise as the ship had already set sail. But this didn't stop the woman, who stood at the edge of the safety railings where it seemed she was about to jump into the sea. However, Yukie stared at the ocean water for a few seconds, and just as she seemed about to jump, she was grabbed by Naruto, who caught up to her in a blur of speed. "LET ME GO," yelled Yukie, trying to get away from the blonde, who didn't move an inch.
Naruto was shocked by what was happening and the sudden attitude of his client. After struggling with the Uzumaki, he felt the woman stop struggling when he felt she had calmed down enough. He dragged her a little away from the railing and returned her to the cabin they used. After a long, very long complaint from the woman to her representative, Naruto left the ship's room and stood next to the door, where he managed to hear things like, "I never wanted to go back!" she yelled.' or 'Just thinking about that place brings me pain,' As he remembered what Kakashi told him.
End of Flashback
Needless to say, 'Yukie' was quite annoyed with both Sandayu and Naruto, so the actress didn't speak to the blonde for the first two days they were on the ship, although this eventually ended. "Cut, she's staying," the director said through a microphone, causing the entire group to take a break.
"Okay, Team 7," Kakashi said, causing all his students to look at him. "You already know the schedule. Sasuke and Sakura, it's your turn to train. Naruto, it's your turn to escort Yukie-san so she can stay on the ship," the silver-haired man said.
This was because Yukie tried to escape from the ship on more than one occasion during the first few days, so each member of the Konoha team took turns trying to prevent that from happening. The entire Leaf group nodded. Soon, the Uzumaki headed in the actress's direction, to the place where she would change and put on makeup.
"You better teach me something useful this time, Hatake," Sasuke said, walking to the back of the ship. Sakura followed behind him, sighing and muttering something unintelligible. "What did I ever see in him to make me act like an idiot in the first place?" Sakura wondered, following him emotively. Kakashi could only sigh a little and head to the back of the ship.
With Naruto
The Uzumaki was waiting for Yukie to change as he stood near the changing room where the lead actress was taking off the costume she had previously worn. Soon, the Hanyou was allowed to enter the actress's dressing room, and he saw that she had already changed and was wearing a white kimono instead. Yukie was sitting in front of a mirror where she was removing her makeup with a wet towel, when the actress saw how Naruto had entered and continued looking at himself in the mirror.
"Are you going to complain to me about shooting your partner with an arrow?" the woman asked, looking in the mirror and removing some of her makeup. "Why would I do that? Not only did you show your talents, but you also gave that arrogant prick," said the Uzumaki, making both of them laugh a little. "You have good aim," said Naruto, with a light chuckle.
"What are you talking about?" said the woman with a puzzled face and looking at the blond as if she didn't understand what he was talking about. "I missed that shot," said Yukie with a smile that made the blonde look at the woman for a few seconds.
While Naruto held back his laughter for a few minutes, Yukie put her hand over her mouth. When the blonde's laughter subsided. "Hey, Yukie-san, can I ask you something?" said the hanyou, watching the actress put on some makeup. Yukie looked at him for a second and, to be honest, didn't find any problem with it. "Sure, no problem, Naruto-san," said the actress, finishing putting on her makeup to look at the blonde.
"Why did you want to jump ship when the Land of Snow was brought up?" asked the blonde. This made the woman freeze in place. Seeing this, he thought he might have touched a sensitive subject, making him think Kakashi was right.
"If you don't want to tell, sorry for asking," said the Uzumaki, seeing the dark-haired woman's downcast expression. For half a minute, there was silence between the two, but then the Uzumaki could hear the woman let out a sigh. "The truth is, the place we're going to, the one Sandayu was referring to, is a place where I have bad memories, and it's no longer the place it once was. It's too cold and lonely," the woman said, unconsciously grabbing the necklace she had under her kimono.
"Everything in that place just freezes to death," the actress said with a distant look. "Do you have any good memories of that place?" the jinchuriki asked. The woman stared at the blonde upon hearing that question. "Yes, I do," Yukie said with a smile as she remembered her childhood, memories that seemed so distant to the black-haired woman, but gave her a sense of tranquility and a certain melancholy.
"Then that place can become a warm and lively place again," said the hanyou, making the woman look at him in disbelief. "I know it's hard to believe that the place that hurt you can change, but that doesn't mean it'll stay that way forever," said the blonde, looking at his client with a smile. "You speak as if that were possible," said the woman as she finished getting ready. "In that place, even hope ends up frozen," said the actress, lowering her gaze sadly.
"Frozen doesn't mean dead, so in that case, it can resurface," said the blonde, gaining the actress's attention. "If you ask me why I'm so sure of that, the answer is very simple: because it's possible," said the Uzumaki. "Because if my life, which was a living hell, could improve, why can't other lives improve?" said the jinchuriki, making the woman look at him. "And before you say I had an easy life," he said, taking a sheet of paper out of the seals in his hand and handing it to the woman.
Yukie looked at the sheet of paper and was shocked by what she read. What she had in front of her was a record, a record of the multiple assassination attempts carried out by the village mafia on several occasions against a person whose name was written in blood on the first sheet of paper. While Yukie was flipping through the record, the Uzumaki remembered how he had managed to obtain it.
After training with Kakashi, Anko, and Yugao, Naruto managed to infiltrate one of their complexes they used—this was a kind of stealth and information retrieval training, according to his teachers/current lovers—and managed to steal one of several records he had stolen from the mafias who attacked him in the past. In that record, he had most of the dates where he was tortured, beaten, poisoned, etc., both in the past and for future attempts against him. After looking at the entire record, the Uzumaki discovered that the mafia was financed by several people who wanted him dead because of the Kyubi issue.
The blonde could only grunt, but then he noticed that when he reached the date of his sixth birthday, he noticed that that date wasn't in the record. Instead, he found that another gang had attacked him on that date. Given this fact, the blonde slowly began to remember other attacks against him that weren't in the record. This led him to the conclusion that there were other groups, a hypothesis that was confirmed when he managed to find another similar group and another record with dates that complemented the dates of their attacks to some extent.
The jinchuriki decided to keep these records as a deterrent to the various mafias, which reduced his assassination attempts somewhat, but unfortunately not entirely. "Remember this, 'Yukie,' things can always improve, even in the worst of situations," said the blonde, smiling at the woman. Before he could say anything else, they both heard the director calling the actors onto the set. Before anyone could say anything else, the director called everyone back onto the stage. "Y-y-I'd better get ready to go out," the brunette said, heading to her dressing room while trying to get rid of the blush on her cheeks. "Yeah... go ahead," Naruto said, standing there for a few seconds.
"Well, I'd better go call Sakura, unless you want to stay and help you with your wardrobe," Naruto said, trying to calm the atmosphere. "Yukie" blushed at the comment, looking away to stay calm."I wouldn't mind if you did," Yukie said to herself, but instead said it out loud, causing both the Jinchuriki and her to stop immediately. Yukie's face was so red it looked like a ripped tomato. "I see Kakashi has started to corrupt you, offering to 'help' a famous actress change makes me question yourintentions," Kurama smirked. Ignoring the comment, the jinchuriki continued walking along the side of the ship until suddenly his eyes flickered for a few seconds.
Naruto headed to the top of the ship, stopping next to an iceberg. Naruto watched as the crew began to place and secure the ship next to the ice structure. He looked ahead to where his team was watching over the entire film crew. Team 7 watched as the entire crew was exiting the ship and beginning to set up some sort of stage."Something I missed," the jinchuriki said, drawing the group's attention. "Well, according to Sandayu-san, the director saw how this place could be a perfect setting for the film's first confrontation," Kakashi said, his gaze still fixed on his orange-covered book. "And for safety, we'll be helping with the entire filming process."
"Wait a minute, Kakashi-sensei, I don't think-" Sasuke began to speak, but that didn't last long. "And whoever doesn't will be punished, and I won't train them for the next two days," Kakashi said, silencing the Uchiha, who, upon hearing the threat, only growled instead. With all the genin nodding, Team 7 went down to begin. To help with all the preparations for the next scene in the movie. "Sakura, go help Yukie and watch her," said Kakashi as Sakura nodded.
With Sakura
Sakura was assisting the lead actress on Kakashi's orders while she was helping him properly position the "weapons" he would be using in his performance. "And that concludes," Sakura said after arranging the actress's attire. "Thank you..." said Yukie, her voice trailing off."Sakura, Haruno Sakura, Yukie-san," said the pink-haired kunoichi. The woman looked at the pink-haired woman for a moment until a question came to mind. "Excuse me, Sakura, can I ask you a question?" said the actress with some hesitation, but upon seeing the Leaf kunoichi nod, the brunette continued.
"Can you tell me what kind of person Naruto-KU... Naruto-san is?" the woman corrected herself at the last moment, feeling a little embarrassed for almost calling the redhead in such an intimate way. Sakura saw this, but let it go, already having a guess."Well, if I had to find out, I think the simplest way to describe him would be that he's a person who can see the best side of people, sides that even they don't know about," Sakura said, looking at the woman.
"He's kind, cheerful, gentle, and holds no remorse toward those who once hurt him," Sakura said, which made Yukie remember the papers the blonde had shown her. To say she was impressed and mortified was an understatement. She even wondered if what the blonde had told her was possible.
"Even with the burden he carries and the things that have happened to him, he doesn't give up even when the odds are against him. He also has such a calming, warm aura that naturally draws you in." The kunoichi's eyes were filled with love and admiration, realizing what she had just said, caused a blush to appear when she heard what she was talking about, only to deepen when she saw the woman's gaze. "You like him, don't you?" asked Yukie. "We are a couple, yes and no," said Sakura with a smile. "Yes, and No, what do you mean by that?" asked a confused Yukie. "I mean we are a couple, but Naruto-kun, do to being the last of his clan, is on the CRA Clan Restoration Act allowing him to take multiple wives," said Sakura.
"What, so he has a harem?" asked/yelled Yukie. "Yes, the only thing is he did it for someone he loved, and he only accepts people who love him. But don't tell anyone he doesn't want too many people to know," said Sakura hurriedly as if realizing something. "You don't have to worry, Sakura-san. Your secret is well kept," Yukie said, placing her hand on Haruno's shoulder before leaving her dressing room."You see a side of people that they don't believe they have," the brunette thought, walking toward the stage. "I wonder what you see in me," Yukie thought, looking at the stage.
Team seven
As Yukie walked in to start filming. Naruto, sensing something, turned his expression to the water. He could see he was starting to get thicker, prompting him to narrow his eyes in suspicion. He could feel the chakra in the air that powered the mist that now began to envelop the boat. "We got incoming!" Naruto yelled to the rest of Team 7 and the film crew, alerting everyone to the coming threat, quickly jumping away from his position to regroup with his team.
Immediately, everyone began to run for cover as some of the film crew sought refuge within the ship, as the others were instructed to keep filming in case they could get something they could use for the film, causing Naruto to roll his eyes, though he supposed it would look good on film. As this happened, Kakashi began to bark orders at the genin. "Sasuke, you protect Yukie!" He called out. "Sakura, I want you to protect Sandayu-san, and Naruto, you protect the film crew!"
Immediately after the orders were given, three individuals landed on the bow of the ship, prompting the four Konoha shinobi to take up a defensive stance close to their assigned detail. All three were fitted with an armor-like outfit that none of the Konoha shinobi had ever seen before. Grinning, the smallest of the trio spoke. A pink-haired girl with her hair tied up in pigtails, peeking out through her hood that covered most of her head.
"How cute, the princess got herself some bodyguards who want to play ninja." At the word princess, Kakashi, Sakura, and Naruto cast their eyes towards Yukie. All three are coming to the same conclusion. 'At least Kakashi sensei and Naruto felt they were hiding something and warned us,' said inner Sakura."So, we can do this the easy way, and you just hand Princess Koyuki over to us, and you get to live." A tall, slender man with lilac colored hair tied back into a ponytail commented. "Or we do this the fun way, and you resist, and we kill you and then take the princess."
"Seriously, has that ever worked on anyone?" Naruto remarked sarcastically as he pulled out his sword, choosing one of defense and counterattack if needed, his main priority was the film crew. Though he didn't miss the now-identified Princess Koyuki's eyes widen in fear at her identity being revealed, out of the corner of his eye.
"Fun way it is then." The large snow shinobi stated with a laugh. A large man with short, cropped purple hair with a thick, muscular face. Earning chuckles from the other two snow shinobi. "If you're smart, you'll give up now." The emo arrogantly stated with a smirk. "Because you're going up against an Uchiha Elite," said Sasuke.
'Hmph, I wouldn't say elite with current score of 0-3' said Kurama inside Naruto's mind as he pondered. 'let's see, he lost to Zabuza, Haku, oh lets not forget he lost to Kiba and Shino" Kurama said started talking about the times he lost in the academy in taijutsu. "you could also argue for him losing to koyuki-san" said Naruto. "Oh right she cared him shitless HAHAHAHa" laughed Kurama. "Ha, this brat is funny." The larger of the three snow shinobi laughed. "He thinks we give a shit about his name."
"You dare mock the might of the Uchiha clan!?" The emo seethed, only earning more chuckles from the three enemy shinobi. Which only served to infuriate the last Uchiha further. "Enough talking, get the princess Mizore, kill anyone that gets in your way!" The lilac-haired man ordered as he moved to engage Kakashi. "Fubuki, you deal with the arrogant brat."
"Damn, I wanted to play with the duck ass." The larger of the three commented, but moved to carry out his orders regardless."Understood, Nadare." The pink-haired snow shinobi replied with a grin as she readied herself for combat. "Sakura! Back Sasuke up." Kakashi called out as he focused on the apparent leader of the snow shinobi."I don't need help, I'll take them both!" The Uchiha exclaimed as he leaped forward to engage both of the charging enemy shinobi.
Before the rest of Team 7 could respond, the sole Uchiha had charged the larger snow shinobi, leaving Koyuki completely unprotected. This, of course, caused Naruto to growl in frustration as the arrogant emo refused to follow orders. Quickly, the blonde hanyou summoned half a dozen shadow clones to not only protect the film crew and director, but also lead them away from the battlefield. Despite the director's insistence to capture the action on film. This was simply solved by one of the clones taking the camera to capture the confrontation between the six shinobi.
Of course, Sasuke's blind attack on the large, purple-haired man did not go as the Uchiha had planned or envisioned, as Mizore proved to be far more agile than the young genin had expected, despite the snow shinobi's size. Twisting gracefully out of the raven-haired boy's attack and countering with his own as the larger man grabbed Sasuke by the foot and effortlessly tossed him in the direction of the pink-haired snow shinobi.
Seeing his opening, Mizore launched his metallic-like gauntlet towards the now exposed princess. However, before the clawed hand could reach Koyuki's position, the princess disappeared and was replaced by a grinning Naruto as he caught the gauntlet with his left hand and yanked hard on it, forcing the larger man to sail forward with no control towards the waiting blonde. Naruto wasted no time and clotheslined Mizore into the deck of the ship with a sickening crack as the boards threatened to break under the impact.
Not giving the fallen man a chance to counterattack, the blonde hanyou quickly leapt back to where Koyuki now stood in complete shock, having experienced being switched for the first time. "Are you alright?" He asked her, only receiving a nod in reply from the dumbstruck princess. Satisfied with her response, the blonde turned to his pink-haired mate and motioned for her to come to his location with Sandayu.
"Can you protect these two while I handle the Jolly Green Giant over there?" He asked, gesturing towards the large man who was struggling to stand once more, as Sakura approached him with Sandayu in tow behind her, getting a quick nod from the pinkette. Knowing that his mate could easily defend the two, Naruto stalked towards Mizore, who was once again on his feet and in a foul mood due to being taken down so easily.
"Damn brat." He grunted as he narrowed his eyes at the blonde in front of him. Naruto said nothing as he simply dropped into a wide stance that was unfamiliar to the larger man. His fists balled up and extended outwards, set to either attack or quickly defend and counter. Mizore didn't get long to contemplate this as the blonde quickly shot out from his position and began to assault the larger man with a flurry of elbows and knee strikes, as well as a series of powerful punches and kicks that sent the snow shinobi staggering backwards from the onslaught.
However, the larger man failed to notice his position and was soon thrown off the side of the boat due to a brutal jumping knee strike to the chest, accompanied by a vicious elbow to the top of his head, causing white dots to cloud his vision as he spilled onto a smaller ice berg next to the ship. 'Damn kids elbows feel like steel.'
With Sasuke
Meanwhile, on one of the larger icebergs just off to the side of the boat, Sasuke was evading a flurry of ice attacks from his pink-haired opponent as he countered with his katon jutsu. More than once, he had nearly been trapped within one of the ice techniques that the snow shinobi was using, only barely escaping with a split-second substitution with various items, and at one point, a poor seal that was resting on the iceberg. "You're good at running." She commented with a grin, trying to get under his skin. "Is this all the mighty Uchiha is capable of?"
"Try this!" The raven-haired teenager exclaimed as he went through another series of hand seals before launching a massive fireball towards her. Fubuki countered with another series of hand seals before slamming them to the ground, forcing a large ice wall to shield her and begin to surround the lone Uchiha.
Attempting to trap him once more. However, Sasuke saw her intent and quickly bounded back as the ice began to enclose him faster, nearly capturing him once more before he was forced to substitute himself with an oil lamp with an explosive tag on it. As the tag went off, sending a shower of ice and snow everywhere, the Uchiha used the explosion as a distraction and launched a pair of ninja wires around the area in an attempt to capture the snow shinobi, hoping to catch her in the explosion.
It had almost worked, though the pink-haired shinobi was quick on her feet and activated a pair of wing-like apparel from her armor that cut through the wire before using the heat from the explosion to push her upwards into the sky and away from the fire, and a bit towards the ship. Smirking, she went through another series of hand seals before launching a barrage of ice-shaped birds towards the sole Uchiha. Forcing him to evade once more, though not before getting cut a few times by the razor-sharp wings.
Taking a moment to gauge the location of the four Konoha shinobi, seeing that all of them had their attention elsewhere, the pink haired snow shinobi reached into her pouch and produced a simple scroll and tossed it in the direction of the princess, whom had quickly picked it up and stuffed it in her pocket, hoping to avoid any attention. However, neither of the two women expected a sole shadow clone to witness the exchange.
"If that is all you can do, then I am not impressed," Fubuki commented as she landed a good distance away from the raven-haired Uchiha, earning a growl from her opponent.
However, before they could continue their fight, both were forced to jump back as two massive whales made of ice landed between them. Forcing them to retreat to higher ground to avoid being sent to the icy waters below them. Meanwhile, Sasuke leapt to the boat for safety. Fubuki watched as the Konoha shinobi managed to return to the ship, as her teammates landed beside her. Though Mizore looked like he had seen better days with his chakra armor full of dents and blood running down from the top of his head.
"The hell happened to you?" Fubuki asked. "That blonde brat." The big man replied with a groan. "Damn gaki has hands of steel," he grunted. "Either way, we should inform our failure to Doto-sama," Nadare stated.
With Team Seven and Koyuki
As Team Seven saw them retreat, Sakura went to check the last Uchiha, only to push her. "I don't need your help, you useless bitch," he said angrily as Sakura sighed before punching him in the head, making him fall to the ground. That was amazing. All those fights were splendid. No doubt this will be a great movie," said the director, with money symbols in his eyes, as the ship began to sail away from the destroyed iceberg.
Kakashi, deciding to ignore this, went over to where Sandayu was, who was next to Koyuki, who was still being escorted by Naruto's clone. When the clone noticed him coming puffed into smoke Kakashi arrived where the two mentioned were and went to the man "Very well, Sandayu-san" those as mentioned above was a little nervous at the neutral look of the jonin "I think you owe us an explanation of what's happening don't you think" said Kakashi while his student stood behind him. Sandayu sighed and looked at the white haired man. "Well, I'll tell you what's going on," said the representative.
Kazahana Castle
"This is unacceptable!!" Doto shouted as he slammed his hand on the armrest of his throne while glaring at the two people in front of him. "How is it possible that a mere group of Shinobi defeated them!!" Doto shouted furiously.
Then he took a breath, where to calm down the subject let out a deep sigh and held the bridge of his nose.
"What are your excuses, Roga, Fubuki?" said the tyrant of the snow village to the two shinobi in front of him.
"The group of genins turned out to be more than we expected," said Fubuki, remembering how she faced the red-haired jinchuriki
"They also had Kakashi Hatake, the Copy Ninja, as the leader of the group, which made the mission even more difficult," said Roga, who was kneeling in front of his leader respectfully.
"As soon as Mizore can recover," Doto said to one of her servants, who gave a small bow to the man.
"Due to all the blows he received, several of his bones and organs have been damaged, his condition is delicate, a full recovery is almost impossible, it would be a miracle if he survived this week," said the maid who had black hair and light skin, along with dark charcoal eyes.
"TSK, I need all my men in good condition. These riots have been a real nuisance," Doto said, massaging his head with one hand. "Tell the troops we will begin to mobilize," the Kazahana said, causing the maid to open her eyes slightly.
But she quickly just nodded, the maid bowed and left the place. "Now, you pair of useless people have one last chance to fix your mistakes," said the rebel Kazahana as he stood up from the throne and walked past his two subordinates
"We'll do whatever it takes, Doto-sama," Roga said, while Fubuki had her gaze on the ground.
"I hope so, otherwise I will have to look for new subjects to occupy their positions," said the Kazahana, making his two subordinates tremble slightly. "Go fix your suits, because this will be your last chance to correct your mistakes, withdraw," said the snow tyrant.
When he saw his entire team of shinobi leave, he simply grunted and looked at another servant who was in the room.
"Inform the development group to get my suit ready for tonight, I don't care what they have to say, I need that suit now or the blood of their families will run through the floor!" said Doto making the servant nod and soon leave the place, with that done the Kazahana got up from his place and left the throne room.
Meanwhile, the pink-haired snow shinobi walked alongside her teammate in silence. While her face wore her trademark, cocky grin, on the inside, she was worried. She was worried for her best friend and those with her, as she had no way to get word out of the planned ambush without arousing suspicion. She could only hope and pray that the Konoha shinobi as a whole would be able to keep everyone safe. 'Please be safe, Koyuki-hime.' She silently prayed.
With team seven
The entire team 7 was standing inside one of the ship's private rooms, and in front of them was Sandayu, who was standing in front of the group, and the now-called Koyuki, who was sitting on a sofa in the room. "First things first, I am Sandayu Asama, main samurai chief serving the Kazahana family, and I am the personal guard of Princess Koyuki Kazahana, the true heir to the throne of the Snow Daimyo and true ruler of Yuki no Kuni." Sandayu got straight to the point, causing almost the entire group of genins to widen their eyes in surprise.
Naruto looked over to where Kakashi was, who was paying attention to the entire conversation. "Well, you were right, Kakashi sensei, this mission might be higher than we expected," said the blonde, making everyone look at them. "Haha, Naruto-kun is right, I know both Koyuki-sama and Sandayu," said the Hatake to laugh lightly, "I even know the leader of the group that attacked us... this almost seems like a reunion." Kakashi said while sighing, "It happens that once I had a mission to eliminate a group of lost shinobi who settled near the country of Snow. After finishing my mission by chance, I met Sandayu and Princess Koyuki, and I helped them leave the country," said Kakashi, remembering those times
"Before I could leave the Land of Snow, Roga appeared and tried to kill Koyuki-sama. I managed to trick him and seriously injure him, but it seems he managed to survive and now he's come to settle the score," Kakashi said, letting out a slight sigh. "You've changed since we last saw you. It's nice to see you again, Kakashi-san," Sandayu said with a smile as the white-haired jonin scratched his head in slight embarrassment.
"I apologize for not having recognized you before, Koyuki-sama, Sandayu-san, although I have to admit that I did not expect to find out that the two people I saved in the past would be the princess of a country and her bodyguard," said Kakashi, looking at Sandayu. Who simply nodded and looked at the rest of the genins. "You see, I originally served as a Samurai captain to the leader of the Kazahana house and the previous ruler of Yuki no Kuni, Soutetsu Kazahana," said the gray-haired man, causing the entire Konoha group to pay attention.
"Several years ago, Soutetsu-sama's brother, Doto Kazahana, started an uprising against his brother. Unfortunately, Doto obtained half of the military forces that were used in a coup d'état, causing most of the Kazahana family to die when he carried out his coup," said the former Samurai. For her part, Koyuki, upon hearing those words, put on a sad look as she remembered the massacre that occurred in her family's castle.
"Thanks to Soutetsu-sama's efforts, I managed to delay Doto's forces long enough for Koyuki-sama to escape. Shortly after, we met Kakashi-dono, and he helped us leave the country. After a few years, I got a job as Koyuki-sama's manager, and she began her acting career," Sandayu concluded. "Who were the other two Shinobi who attacked us?" Sakura asked. "And what did the pink-haired one throw a scroll at you?" asked Naruto, making Koyuki stiffen as everyone looked at her before she made her sigh. "Sh-She's my best friend," Koyuki said, as she took the scroll out of her pocket. "We've discreetly kept in contact throughout the years after I was forced to leave when my uncle murdered my father."
"If she's your friend, why is she working under that bastard who usurped the throne?" asked Kakashi. "She's been acting as a spy since he has her family is being held hostage," said Koyuki, a bit sad. "And what was the reason you are returning after so many years?" Kakashi asked. "It turns out that in recent years Doto turned the Snow Country into a militaristic dictatorship, several people have died or have been oppressed under his rule, if this continues, the Snow Country will soon disappear," said Sandayu, looking sadly and then turning to the Snow Princess.
"Koyuki-sama, I ask you, please, to return to your people, without you, we will be lost," said Sandayu, kneeling in front of the woman who had a look that indicated internal conflict. Koyuki stared at the man's kneeling figure for a few seconds, debating what to do. "I… need to think about it," said the actress/princess, standing up from her spot and then going out to clear her thoughts. Sandayu understood his leader's doubts about this decision since he was practically asking him to return to the place where she lost her entire family, so he turned to where Team 7 was.
"I know you have no responsibility to us, so I'm not going to stop you from leaving," Sandayu said, knowing that even with a team of ninja on their side, they wouldn't be able to defeat all the forces that attacked their former lord, making it even more difficult for the legitimate heir of the Snow Daimyo to regain her throne.
"Well, Sandayu-san, the decision to continue with this mission, which I assume is at least B rank, depends on the decision of the entire team," said Kakashi, who looked at his group of students. "First the Wave and now this," Naruto said with a smile. "With the luck we have, they should start giving us A rank missions right away, don't you think?" Naruto said, making both Kakashi and Sakura laugh a little.
"Well, if you put it that way, it seems like the most logical thing to do is to help these people," Sakura said. "Fighting an entire country will be a piece of cake, plus I have a score to settle with one of those idiots that I'm dying to settle," Sasuke said, pounding his fist into his palm. Kakashi glanced at his team, then looked over to where Sandayu was.
"Well, Sandayu-san, it seems you have our support," said the Hatake, making the man only thank them from the bottom of his heart. "Although this service will not be free and you will have to compensate for having lied about the mission, well, those are details that can wait for later," said the copy ninja. Sandayu nodded with a few tears in his eyes, kneeling in front of the entire group. "Thank you, really thank you so much," said the man, placing his head on the ground as he continued to shout thanks to the group.
"Sasuke, I want you to watch over the princess today. I don't doubt they might try to attack again," said Kakashi, looking reluctantly at Sasuke, hoping he doesn't do any Sasuke things. "Sakura, I want you to protect Asama and the film crew. Naruto, you have the most important job scouting for enemies and possible ambushes, especially when well," said Kakashi, taking command of this situation as Koyuki made to leave.
"I will be retiring to my room for the rest of the afternoon," Koyuki stated, before looking to the producer. "And I will not be doing any shoots today," finished Koyuki. "Of course, Koyuki-hime," Asama replied with a slight bow of respect. Pushing up from the table, the wayward princess made her way out of the room, while the others separated to do what they were instructed to do. Only to frown as the Uchiha quickly fell into step behind her at an uncomfortable close distance for her liking. Reaching her assigned cabin on board the ship, she paused at the door before turning to face the Uchiha, seeing that he fully intended to follow her into her bedroom.
"I have no need for you inside my quarters, Uchiha-san." She briskly stated, causing the Uchiha to scoff. "You say that now, but here soon you will be begging me to come to bed with you," Sasuke smirked, ignoring the scowl that grew on the princess's face. "After all, only I will be able to give you a strong heir for your throne." he finished "Before you thought I was a stuck up, spoiled little bitch." Koyuki narrowed her eyes towards the Uchiha. "But now that you know my true identity, you think I am just going to invite you into my bed."
"You would be a fool not to." The raven haired teen cockily replied. "I am the last of the mighty Uchiha clan; you should feel honored to bear my children," he continued arrogantly. "If I were to invite anyone into my bed for the sake of siring an heir for my throne, I would take Naruto-kun before anyone else." The young princess stated, though unsure why she singled out the blonde genin over everyone else. "And what does that doe have that I don't?" The Uchiha demanded, infuriated that yet another woman would choose the blonde loser over him.
"Aside from that, he's strong, intelligent, and above all compassionate," Koyuki listed off the top three qualities the blonde hanyou possessed. "Now, I do not need you." Not giving the brooding Uchiha a chance to respond, she disappeared into her room and roughly shut the door behind her, letting out a huff of frustration and mentally cursing the masked jonin for assigning the egotistical emo as her guard. Why couldn't Naruto have been instructed to guard her? She found his presence much more enjoyable, not to mention they could talk about several things, as the blonde made himself very approachable, no matter the topic.
Meanwhile, Sasuke glared at the door, once again having his pride bruised from the princess's rejection of his advances. Scoffing, he turned and left the doorway, putting his hands in his pockets as he stalked away. Grumbling about how the blonde dobe was ruining everything for him, as he slowly made his way to the deck of the ship. Where he saw that Kakashi was talking with Naruto as the latter was hugging Sakura, as she smiled, looking happier than ever. As he got closer, he heard bits of the conversation they were having.
"Sakura, I see you are still lacking in chakra reserves and lacking in taijutsu, but your strength has increased. Maybe we can start helping you create your style," said Kakashi. "As if these two dobes could create their style unlike me and Uchiha," Sasuke spoke up, catching their attention as Sakura sighed, thinking what she saw in him before, Naruto shook his head, and Kakashi got a headache coming. "You are supposed to be guarding Koyuki-san." The masked jonin chastised the raven-haired teen, "Hn." Sasuke grunted with a shrug. "She refuses to allow me to enter her room."
Sakura giggling whispered to Naruto, "Meaning he probably tried to flaunt his Uchiha arrogance, on her," said Sakura as she kissed Naruto. Kakashi only sighed and shook his head, not saying another word about it. "She probably rejected him right away. I told him to try and make good impressions on people of high standing to help him in this world.''
However, before they could converse any longer, a black puff of smoke erupted just in front of Naruto. Putting the Sharingan duo and Sakura on alert as they took defensive positions. Naruto simply knelt in front of the now-clearing smoke, which revealed a slender, light blue snake with golden eyes.
"Hello Nagini-chan? How are you, and did somehappenppened to Anko-chan or the others?" asked Naruto, wondering if something had happened to Anko as the snake slithered into his jacket knowing full well that his current location wasn't exactly ideal for his slender friends.
"I've been doing good, Naruto-ssssama." The snake hissed from inside the blonde's jacket. " Though Mistress Anko wished to inform you that you have a new guest staying with you." The blue snake answered. "I see, thank you for letting me know, Nagni-chan. You should head back to your realm and warm up," said Naruto. "Thank you, Naruto-sssama." The snake hissed once more before disappearing into another cloud of smoke.
"When did you get a summoning contract?" said Sasuke Envy clearly in his eyes. "Anko is a snake summoner, I wouldn't be surprised if she let him sign it," said Kakashi, surprising many. "Yes, it was after graduating, and she did it partially," said Naruto, surprising everyone. "Anyways, I believe I should be keeping a lookout for any potential threats. So, if you'll excuse me." Having nothing left to say, Naruto left. "Well, since my mate is leaving to do his duty, I should go, as well," said Sakura, leaving with a smile. Meanwhile, Sasuke was seething with jealousy that the blonde loser had abilities that should be his, not wasted on some talentless loser.