"Kakashi-sensei, what's our mission today?" Naruto excitedly asked, staring at the mission scroll in Kakashi's hand.
"Well… today's mission requires you all to first go watch a movie." Kakashi pulled out four movie tickets as if performing a magic trick.
"The Adventures of Princess Gale?" Naruto read out the title from Kakashi's tickets, his eyes lighting up immediately. "Princess Gale!"
Kakashi scratched his head. "Go watch the movie first, then I'll explain the mission to you."
Hearing that they were going to watch Princess Gale's movie, Naruto couldn't wait and excitedly insisted on going to see it right away.
Furen, holding his movie ticket, smiled to himself.
"Princess Koyuki Kazahana…"
Sakura, who had been secretly observing Furen, noticed his smile and curiously asked, "Furen, why are you so happy?"
Furen patted Sakura on the head. "Isn't it worth being happy about watching a movie with you for the first time?"
Sakura was instantly flustered by Furen's words. Her blush, combined with her light pink hair, made her look extremely cute.
"He really does like me…" Sakura thought to herself, secretly delighted.
Team 7 headed to the cinema. Before the ticket inspection, Furen discreetly created a shadow clone to accompany Sakura and the others to watch the movie, while his real body left.
"If I remember correctly, it's around this time that Koyuki learns about Doto's plan to return to the Land of Snow and tries to flee on horseback," Furen muttered to himself as he stood near the back door of the cinema.
He waited there for over an hour, until the movie was nearing its end. Just then, the previously closed back door of the cinema burst open, accompanied by the sound of a horse neighing.
A beautiful woman in vintage clothing galloped past Furen. With just one fleeting glance, Furen was struck by her beauty.
Her features were as delicate as if they had been painted by a master artist. Though she wore an unusual orange eyeshadow, it didn't seem out of place. Instead, it added a touch of allure and elegance.
"Princess Koyuki is indeed beautiful…" Furen admired her stunning appearance, feeling a little amazed.
After a brief moment of admiration, Furen turned his attention to the group of people who were about to rush out from the theater. They hadn't even had time to change out of their costumes and were still wearing armor.
"Ice Release: Mirror Ground."
Furen placed his hand on the ground, and in an instant, a thin layer of frost began to form. Within moments, the frost solidified into a large sheet of ice, creating a mirror-like surface on the ground.
This was an original jutsu Furen had developed after obtaining Ice Release—his own creation!
After using Ice Release: Mirror Ground to wipe out Gato's men, Furen had spent the past few days conducting "in-depth" research with Haku, perfecting this technique.
This jutsu wasn't particularly useful for one-on-one combat but was more effective in situations where he was up against multiple opponents. It turned the ground into his domain, allowing him to launch surprise attacks using the ice on the ground.
At this moment, Furen only wanted to stall the pursuing group, so he activated only a portion of Ice Release: Mirror Ground's power, causing the horses to lose their balance, and the riders tumbled down.
"What's going on? Why is there suddenly ice on the ground?!" the fallen pursuers exclaimed in shock, staring at the ice beneath them.
Not only were the horses unable to stand on the icy surface, but the people themselves couldn't regain their footing either.
Leaning against the corner of the second floor, Furen waited until Princess Koyuki had successfully escaped before releasing the Ice Release jutsu and walking away.
Sure enough, ten minutes later, Kakashi gathered the members of Team 7.
Kakashi explained the mission to them: "This time, your mission is to protect the lead actress of The Adventures of Princess Gale, Miss Fujikaze Yukie."
Naruto and Sasuke looked completely shocked, while Furen remained calm.
"We're going to protect Princess Gale!" Naruto shouted excitedly.
"It's Fujikaze Yukie, not Princess Gale from the movie," Furen corrected Naruto.
"Same thing, same thing," Naruto laughed joyfully, not caring about the difference.
"Now, I have a task for you all…" Kakashi said seriously. "Miss Fujikaze Yukie has fled, and she is scheduled to board a ship to the Land of Snow tomorrow morning. We need to find her tonight!"
"Yes!" Team 7 responded in unison.
In a bar on the outskirts of the Leaf Village.
Fujikaze Yukie, now wearing a khaki-colored coat, sat at the bar, drinking glass after glass of alcohol.
She pulled out a purple hexagonal crystal pendant from her chest and held her head in one hand, absentmindedly swaying the pendant under the dim lights of the bar.
The faint light passing through the hexagonal crystal created a soft rainbow, and the hazy glow reflected in Yukie's eyes, making her expression even more lost.
"What a joke, I'm not going to the Land of Snow…" she muttered to herself.
The sound of the bar door opening interrupted her thoughts, and a handsome young man entered, sitting down beside her.
"Could you buy me a drink?" Furen asked, glancing at Princess Koyuki.
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A/N:
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