Looking at Kazahana Doto's confident grin and Kazayahana Koyuki's expression of grief and fear, Naruto couldn't help but feel exasperated.
With a sigh, Naruto turned to Kazahana Doto and said:
"I feel like I need to interrupt you. I don't think you can kill me."
"N-Naruto!"
Kazayahana Koyuki's face lit up with joy, but her next words left Naruto speechless again.
"Your speed is so fast! Let's just run! That chakra rail train can't catch us. If we leave the Land of Snow, we'll be fine!"
Naruto rolled his eyes.
"Big sister, seriously, it's not that bad."
Kazahana Doto's chakra was strong, Naruto could sense that. The aura even seemed to surpass Kakashi's. But while it was strong, it felt… hollow, as though it was all for show.
Probably because Kazahana Doto hadn't fought much in the last ten years.
Kazahana Doto ignored Naruto's remark and turned to Koyuki with a mocking smile.
"Koyuki, do you think you can outrun the pursuit of so many Jonin?"
Koyuki's face turned pale again.
"Jonin?"
Naruto was full of confusion.
"Those guys in the car? Aren't they just Chunin? Their chakra levels are about the same as Iruka-sensei's. That counts as Jonin now?"
Kazahana Doto didn't respond, but Nadare Rouga sneered:
"A ninja like you couldn't possibly understand the power of chakra armor. Even a Chunin can become a Jonin with it. Ordinary, standard-issue armor can achieve that."
"The ninjas of Konohagakure are just a bunch of ignorant country bumpkins,"
Kazahana Doto concluded arrogantly.
"With chakra armor, we can mass-produce Jonin."
Naruto stared at them, dumbfounded.
Do these people even know what a Jonin is?
Even Mizore Fuyukuma and Kakuyoku Fubuki wouldn't qualify as Jonin in Konohagakure. At best, they'd be considered Special Jonin. Sure, chakra armor is intimidating for a Chunin, but let's not kid ourselves.
But that's a jonin! Do you even know what being a jonin means?
Combat skills, battle instincts, mastery of ninjutsu, experience, strength—everything, even knowledge, is essential to becoming a jonin. It's not just about being strong enough.
Didn't you notice in the original story? Naruto and Sasuke could take on the entire ninja world and still stayed genin—because one of them couldn't pass his written tests, and the other never even took the exams.
Here's a fun fact: even in Boruto, Naruto was still a genin before becoming Hokage. He never took the chunin exam.
Same for Sasuke.
Even Naruto knows that being a jonin isn't just about strength. So where did these guys get their confidence from?
Out of the group, only Nadare Rouga could barely be called a jonin—not counting Kazahana Doto.
Naruto let out a long sigh.
"I get it now."
Don't ask what he understood. The point is, he understood.
"Kazahana Doto!!!"
Just as Naruto put Kazayahana Koyuki down, ready to fight,
a group of people suddenly appeared on a nearby hill. Leading them was their client, Asama Sandayu.
Sandayu wore modest armor, with three swords at his waist. His eyes burned with anger as he shouted at Kazahana Doto below:
"Ten years ago, you staged a coup and stole the throne. But now, our princess has returned! Of the fifty of us still standing, every one of us has spent these ten years yearning for revenge!"
Kazahana Doto glanced at Sandayu and said coldly,
"So many of you still remain uncleaned."
"My apologies. I'll handle it right away," Nadare Rouga replied, kneeling slightly, completely dismissing the group before him.
And it was true—they were up against ninja. The people on the hill weren't even samurai, just ordinary folks in armor. Any random genin could take them down, let alone someone like Nadare Rouga.
Despite Doto's indifference, Sandayu was furious. He drew his sword, raised it high, and shouted,
"Comrades! Now is the time to reclaim the Land of Snow for our princess!"
"Yeah!" The group roared, raising their weapons as their battle cries filled the air.
"Charge!" someone shouted, leading the fifty warriors down the hill with their weapons held high, determined to face whatever obstacles awaited them.
For a moment, even Naruto was moved by their spirit.
"Sandayu…" Kazayahana Koyuki clutched the hexagonal crystal at her chest, her eyes glimmering with a trace of hope.
The war cries and the will to fight swirled around them. They charged forward fearlessly, one after another, unafraid of hardship. They—
"Are you kidding me?!" Kurama slammed his paw against the seal's gate.
"Who do they think they are? The strongest land-warfare rabbits? Even rabbits wouldn't charge like this! Naruto, if you don't step in, they're all going to die!"
Naruto snapped out of it, shaken by Sandayu's speech, and suddenly realized that these were just regular people!
Ordinary people charging at ninja?
That's basically offering themselves up as a meal!
Without hesitation, Naruto sprinted forward, shouting,
"Sandayu, stop!"
At the same time, a panel on the side of the train slid open. A cold gleam flashed, and countless kunai shot out like arrows, cutting through the air with a sharp whistling sound and heading straight for the people on the hill.
There was no time!
Naruto's expression changed drastically. The kunai were too fast. Even if he used his teleportation technique to save Sandayu, he couldn't save everyone else!
At that moment, a cold voice rang out:
"Ice Style: Nadare Rouga!"
The snow on the ground suddenly surged, forming a massive wave that roared forward faster than the eye could follow. The wave transformed into countless snow wolves, each as large as a grown man, pouncing on Sandayu and his group.
The wolves then shifted into a wall of snow, blocking the kunai and shielding everyone behind it.
Seeing this, Naruto shouted excitedly,
"Great job, Sasuke!"
Sasuke landed in front of everyone, flanked by two giant wolves formed from snow.
Blocking all the kunai, his Sharingan spun as he spoke in his usual calm tone:
"Naruto, blow up that train now!"
Kunai kept flying in waves, and it was clear Sasuke couldn't hold them all off forever. After all, the snow he controlled with his chakra wasn't an actual wall and couldn't last long.
"Oh, right!"
Naruto quickly realized the same thing. Without hesitation, he tapped into Kurama's chakra, forming a small Tailed Beast Bomb in his right hand. Instead of charging forward, he tossed it directly, hitting the far side of the train.
*Boom!*
A powerful explosion erupted, flames shooting into the sky as the chakra carried ice and snow everywhere. The train was lifted off its tracks, and the area struck by the blast shattered into pieces, disappearing completely.
The Tailed Beast Bomb—always reliable!
Watching the train break apart and fall into the nearby canyon, Naruto grinned.
"Such a big target—even if I didn't aim carefully, I'd still hit it."
Kurama gave him a sidelong glance.
"You're proud of that?"
"Hehe," Naruto chuckled sheepishly.
With the kunai attack stopped and the train reduced to fragments, Sasuke let out a quiet breath and released his jutsu.
The snow wolves slowly vanished, and the avalanche began to calm down. Sasuke stood up and glanced behind him. Sandayu and the others were staring in confusion, clearly unsure of what had just happened.
And understandably so. From the moment Sasuke appeared to when Naruto destroyed the train, less than five seconds had passed. All they knew was that something knocked them over, pinned them down, and when they managed to get up, the enemies were gone.
After a moment, they noticed the countless kunai scattered across the ground. Almost everyone quickly pieced together what had happened, and the realization made them gulp nervously.
Sandayu looked at Sasuke with a mix of fear and awe.
"Sasuke… did you save us?"
"It's just the mission," Sasuke replied without looking at Sandayu, walking toward the edge of the cliff. His Three-Tomoe Sharingan focused on the area below.
Naruto jumped to his side.
"Did we really take care of those guys that easily?"
"Impossible," Sasuke answered.
"The leader's armor was different. You might not have noticed, but my Sharingan did. The moment your Tailed Beast Bomb hit him, his chakra armor lit up and completely blocked the blast's aftermath."
"Blocked the Tailed Beast Bomb?"
Naruto was surprised.
"So that guy isn't going to be easy to deal with."
"No matter," Sasuke said, taking a deep breath and deactivating his Sharingan.
"We just need to protect the mission target. Where's the princess?"
Naruto pointed back with a grin.
"I left her over there…"
What they saw froze them in place.
Kazahana Doto stood there, holding Kazayahana Koyuki by the neck, his gaze mocking as he looked at Naruto and Sasuke.
Naruto: "…"
Sasuke: "…"
Kurama (narrating):
"Such reliable Konohagakure ninja~"
----
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