Facing the pink-haired girl before him, Han had no confidence in winning. Furthermore, the Uchiha behind her was also a troublesome fellow.
Han didn't want to offend this pink-haired girl just for the sake of Doto Kazahana. Moreover, she had previously owed him a so-called favor.
Han turned and left, and Sasuke, who had his hand on his sword hilt, slightly relaxed his grip. Behind Sakura Haruno, Doto Kazahana watched all this, his breathing becoming heavy. Was he... a captive now? You must be joking! He was the Daimyo of the Land of Snow! A Daimyo above ten thousand people! These two damn, lowly ninja were actually disposing of a Daimyo so casually!
Doto lowered his eyelids, revealing a glint of dark metal beneath his sleeve. As the researcher and developer of the Chakra Armor, Doto always wore the latest model. So... he raised his hand, aiming at Sakura's back.
Black Dragon Blizzard!
"Roar!"
A swift black dragon erupted from Doto's hand, rushing toward Sakura, who had her back turned to him!
However...
With a sidelong glance of her emerald eyes, the young girl raised her palm, blocking the black dragon's path. The palm of the seemingly delicate girl stood in the black dragon's way like an impregnable wall of bronze and iron! Then, she crushed it! The black dragon's head exploded instantly, and fierce winds accompanied by a blizzard surged out through the broken carriage windows!
"That armor of yours isn't bad."
Sakura glanced indifferently at the dumbfounded Doto Kazahana, then ordered Sasuke to tie him up. Sakura didn't care much about Doto's sneak attack; instead, she complimented his armor. Doto's sneak attack meant nothing to Sakura. As she was now, if she wanted to, she could shatter that Black Dragon Blizzard with her forehead. Moreover, her praise for the armor was sincere. Doto's actual strength was merely that of a Chunin, about the same as Nadare Roga from before, but with the enhancement of this armor, he was firmly a Jonin.
A single suit of armor could turn a Chunin into a Jonin.
If mass-produced, one wouldn't need many. Just five hundred suits of armor equipped on five hundred Chunin would mean five hundred Jonin. What was the concept of five hundred Jonin? This was absolute combat power capable of sweeping a battlefield! Before Sakura mastered Yang Release, even she would have had no choice but to flee when facing five hundred Jonin. Or perhaps it could be said that, barring the presence of Tailed Beasts or freaks like Hashirama Senju, Madara Uchiha, or Pain, five hundred Jonin could bulldoze through an entire Great Ninja Village.
Sasuke walked up to Doto Kazahana with an unkind expression. Looking at the dazed Doto, he stepped forward and unhesitatingly knocked him flat on the ground. Ignoring the man's wails, he pulled wire strings from the ninja tool pouch at his waist and hogtied him. When Sasuke dragged Doto—who looked like a dead dog—before the crowd, everyone couldn't help but slightly open their mouths at the sight. After all, in a sense, this was the Daimyo of a country. To think he was treated so roughly by ninja.
Sandayu Asama saw this and let out a cold laugh, stepping forward to Doto and kicking him directly. "Doto Kazahana, when you staged your coup back then, did you ever imagine this scene today?!"
Because of the protection of the Chakra Armor on Doto, Sandayu's kick was completely insignificant physically. But the naked humiliation made Doto's eyes split with rage.
"That's enough."
"He is my prisoner of war. Once matters here are settled, I still need to take him back to Konohagakure."
Sakura glanced at Sandayu, her tone slightly cold. She didn't like this guy.
"...Yes, Lady Sakura."
The moment he learned of Sakura's battle record, Sandayu dared not treat her like an ordinary ninja. Even for an outsider like him, upon knowing the achievements of the girl before him, a thought would emerge: The future Hokage would most likely be this pink-haired girl. In other words, the person before him was Konoha's quasi-Hokage. Sandayu could not afford to be presumptuous.
Koyuki Kazahana looked at the man lying on the ground with a complex expression. This man was her biological uncle, the murderer of her father, and her nightmare for so long. Yet, she hadn't done anything, and he was resolved so easily by ninja.
"Stop staring. Prepare for the next step." Sakura glanced at Koyuki.
Before Koyuki could react, Sandayu responded immediately.
"Yes, yes, yes, Lady Sakura is right!"
"Princess Koyuki!"
Sandayu came before Koyuki Kazahana, unhesitatingly knelt on both knees, and buried his forehead deep into the snow.
"Please ascend the throne as the Daimyo of the Land of Snow!"
"Save the people of the Land of Snow from their suffering!"
"Aside from you, no one else can do this!"
Looking at Sandayu kneeling before her with earnest words, and the Konoha and Iwagakure ninja watching her, a trace of sorrow revealed itself in Koyuki's eyes. She slowly bent down and helped this blindly loyal, foolish old man up from the snow.
"Alright."
A single word escaped Koyuki's lips.
Sandayu, do you realize? Because of your choice, the sovereignty of the Land of Snow no longer belongs to the Land of Snow. Is this your loyalty? Is this your repayment to my father?
In front of the Konoha and Iwagakure ninja, even though Koyuki's heart was full of grievance, she could not voice it.
"Yes!"
"Lady Koyuki!"
"Your subject, Sandayu, greets Her Highness Koyuki Kazahana, Daimyo of the Land of Snow!"
"We, the followers of Lord Sosetsu, have already prepared everything for you, Lady Koyuki!"
Looking at Koyuki before him, Sandayu was incredibly agitated. Looking at Sandayu before her, Koyuki turned and walked away. As she left, she could finally no longer hide the sorrow in her heart. A crystal droplet fell from the corner of her eye, freezing into ice in this world of ice and snow.
The one who would not shed tears was Yukie Fujikaze, not Koyuki Kazahana. She hated this tragic life, this miserable kingdom, and these foolish old subjects to the core.
Father, are you watching? These are your old subjects, your retainers. Retainers who think they have saved the Land of Snow, yet have buried it with their own hands!
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