The daimyo of the Land of Snow admitted it openly.
"My younger brother has informants among my own people. That's why I sent Sandayū to seek shinobi help, and in the end, we chose Konoha."
"Our informant says they'll make their move tomorrow."
The daimyo's voice was steady, but the strain beneath it was obvious. He had spent this entire stretch of time in constant anxiety, day and night, praying for Asama Sandayū to return as quickly as possible.
"At most, we can protect you. We won't get involved in a struggle for political power."
Tsunade shook her head.
That was a taboo for shinobi.
The more they got entangled in politics, the easier it became for power itself to fall into the hands of shinobi, and that would destroy the balance.
Under the one-country, one-village system established by Hashirama Senju and the original Five Kage, the shinobi village handled military force, while the daimyo oversaw politics, economics, and the rest.
The shinobi village protected the daimyo, and the daimyo provided the money. That was how the two sides were meant to coexist.
That said, while the Kage of each village were considered equals among themselves, their position was still technically lower than that of a daimyo.
A Kage ruled over a shinobi village, and no matter how large that village became, it was still only the scale of a super-city.
A daimyo, on the other hand, ruled an entire country.
"I understand that."
The daimyo of the Land of Snow nodded.
"You only need to protect us—especially my daughter, Koyuki."
"That won't be a problem."
Tsunade gave a small nod.
While the two of them were speaking, Kiyohara sensed something.
Just as he was about to probe further, Uzumaki Kiyohara's voice rang out in his mind.
"They've made their move."
Kiyohara's brows shifted slightly.
He had sensed it too.
A cluster of unfamiliar chakra signatures was rapidly approaching the palace.
"There's no time."
Kiyohara suddenly interrupted the conversation between the daimyo and Tsunade.
The daimyo froze.
"No time for wha—"
Boom!
Before he could finish, a violent explosion erupted from the rear of the hall.
The next moment, the sounds of battle, screams, and crashing ninjutsu all blended together.
The palace doors were thrown open.
A guard stumbled inside, injured and covered in blood.
"Y-Your Highness!"
He dropped to one knee, his voice shaking.
"The Snow shinobi… they've broken into the palace. They're demanding that Your Highness hand over… hand over…"
"Hand over what?"
The daimyo of the Land of Snow had gone pale.
The guard swallowed.
"The treasure key—the Hexagonal Crystal."
The daimyo staggered.
Almost instinctively, he looked toward his daughter, Koyuki, standing beside him.
Koyuki looked up in confusion, still clutching the clay flower Kiyohara had given her.
Around her neck hung a necklace.
That necklace was the treasure key.
"Father…"
"It's alright."
The daimyo of the Land of Snow took a deep breath and forced down his fear.
Then he turned to Tsunade and Kiyohara.
"Please…"
Tsunade was already on her feet.
"You don't need to say it."
"Since we accepted the mission, we'll see it through."
Kiyohara stood as well.
"Shizune. Kurenai."
He looked at the two of them.
"When the fighting starts, you two handle them first."
Shizune blinked.
"We will?"
"Yeah."
Kiyohara nodded.
"I'll deal with the strongest one."
Kurenai took a breath, summoned Red Moon, transformed it into a short blade, and took it in hand.
"Alright."
She nodded.
Outside the hall, everything had already descended into chaos.
In the sky, a massive airship was slowly descending, its hull marked with the emblem of the Hidden Snow Village.
A dozen or so figures leapt down from it, landing atop the palace rooftops and in the courtyard below.
At the front stood a middle-aged man wearing a cloak.
Kazahana Dotō stood at the edge of the airship, looking down over the chaos below with a cold smile.
Behind him stood three men and women in pale gray-white shinobi outfits.
Nadare Rōga. Kakuyoku Fubuki. Fuyukuma Mizore.
Beyond them were dozens more Snow shinobi—roughly fifty in total—already clashing with the royal guards of the Land of Snow.
"Brother."
Dotō's voice drifted down from above.
"Hand over the thing, and I might spare your life."
His tone was mild.
It was a lie, of course.
He had no intention of leaving anyone alive.
Once everyone was dead, he would burn the place down and erase every trace.
The daimyo of the Land of Snow stood at the entrance to the hall, looking up at the airship.
"Dotō…"
For a moment, he couldn't find the words.
"You were born of the same blood. Why drive each other this far?"
Kiyohara said lightly.
Royal families were brutal like that.
The legitimacy of the daimyo was such a deeply ingrained rule in the ninja world that ninety-nine percent of shinobi followed it without question.
It had been the norm for a thousand years. No one had overturned it, so it had become common sense.
But within royal families themselves, brutal internal struggles still took place over who would inherit the throne.
Ordinary people didn't particularly care which royal sat on the throne, because they all shared the same blood.
But for the people born into those royal families, it was a matter of life and death.
Hearing Kiyohara's words, the daimyo glanced at him.
He hadn't expected a shinobi to speak so elegantly.
Then he looked back up at his younger brother.
"There is no treasure in the Land of Snow! You've been deceived by rumors!"
he shouted.
"Rumors?"
Dotō laughed.
"Rōga, take some men and show him what 'rumors' look like."
Nadare Rōga nodded and leapt down from the airship.
He landed in the plaza before the hall, wearing a pale gray Chakra Armor lined with intersecting blue patterns.
On his left shoulder was a taiji-shaped crest, half blue and half white—the clear core of the armor.
"Lord Daimyo, I'd advise you to hand it over."
Rōga's tone was lazy, dripping with contempt.
The military strength of the Land of Snow meant nothing to him.
The only thing that actually felt troublesome to him was the group of Konoha shinobi.
"The Hidden Snow Village is tired of waiting."
The moment he finished speaking, two more figures landed beside him.
Kakuyoku Fubuki, with her cold, beautiful face and pink hair.
Fuyukuma Mizore, a broad, heavily built shinobi.
The three of them stood shoulder to shoulder, all wearing similar Chakra Armor.
Behind them, more than a dozen Snow shinobi dropped down and completely surrounded the hall.
"Koyuki!"
In a blur, Fubuki shot forward. A pair of wings extended behind her, and she flew straight toward the hall entrance.
Her target was the small girl standing beside the daimyo.
"No!"
The daimyo instinctively reached out to shield his daughter, but he was too late.
Fubuki's hand had already caught hold of Koyuki's collar.
And in that exact instant—
A figure appeared in front of her.
Kiyohara caught Koyuki, flashed away, and reappeared more than a hundred meters behind the hall.
Still shaken, Koyuki looked up and saw that it was that same handsome big brother.
"You alright?"
Kiyohara asked.
"I'm fine. Koyuki's okay."
she said quickly, waving both hands.
"Sensei, I'm leaving Koyuki with you."
Kiyohara said.
Tsunade couldn't fight directly, but she could still act as a deterrent.
The enemy had no idea that Tsunade currently suffered from hemophobia.
Tsunade nodded and beckoned Koyuki over.
Koyuki hurried over on her little feet and went to stand by Tsunade.
Only then did the daimyo truly let out a breath of relief.
All of that had happened in mere moments.
"So that was Flying Thunder God…?"
Fubuki murmured, puzzled.
She couldn't understand why Kiyohara had moved so quickly just now.
To be able to rush from the airship that fast, she herself had relied on the folding wings behind her.
Her Chakra Armor was similar in color to Rōga's and Mizore's, but the finer structural details were different.
Most notably, she had a pair of wings.
Even the design of her armor was closer to a qipao in style.
While Fubuki studied Kiyohara, Kiyohara studied her too.
Though her pink twin-tail hairstyle was a little unusual, her figure was excellent.
Full in all the right places, only slightly less striking than Tsunade.
That said, Kiyohara had no intention of personally dealing with her.
"Kurenai, you take her."
He intended to give both Kurenai and Shizune more chances to test themselves, so his gaze shifted instead toward Kazahana Dotō and Nadare Rōga in the distance.
"Ice Release: Swallow Snowstorm!"
Dozens of ice crystals shot toward Kurenai.
Kurenai raised Red Moon. The scarlet eye set in the guard flared bright.
Fubuki's body suddenly locked up.
She felt the blood in her body go slightly out of control, making her skin flush unnaturally red.
In the next moment, Kurenai was already standing in front of her.
The edge of Red Moon was pressed to her throat.
On the other side, Mizore had also been intercepted.
Shizune stood before him, several unusually shaped kunai in hand.
When Fubuki had gone after Koyuki, the other Snow shinobi had continued their attack.
"Move!"
Mizore threw a punch.
His fist was coated in thick ice, carrying enough force to shatter stone.
Shizune twisted aside and dodged.
At the same time, one of the kunai in her right hand flew out.
It slipped past his armor and stabbed toward his armpit.
Mizore instinctively dodged.
But there were too many kunai.
And each one shimmered green at the tip, clearly coated in potent poison.
"Damn it!"
Mizore roared.
His movements were already beginning to slow.
The kunai hadn't struck a true vital point, but several had sliced his skin.
The Chakra Armor did not cover the entire body. The head and certain joints were exposed.
Once the skin was broken, toxins could enter.
"Konoha shinobi…"
he gritted out, trying to counterattack.
But Shizune had already retreated.
She stood at a distance and formed seals.
"Ninja Art: Poison Mist!"
Shizune transformed chakra within her body into a special chemical substance and exhaled it. The moment it touched the air, it turned into a purple toxic mist so deadly that even inhaling a little could be fatal.
The purple cloud instantly engulfed the area.
Mizore's vision turned into a blur.
He couldn't see anything. All he could hear were footsteps moving through the mist.
The footsteps shifted constantly—near, then far, left, then right—making it impossible to locate her.
"Damn it… damn it!"
He roared and punched wildly, hitting only empty air.
His Chakra Armor could increase his strength and defend against ninjutsu and genjutsu, but it had no ability to neutralize poison.
The toxin sank deeper and deeper.
His movements grew slower and slower.
At last, he dropped to one knee, gasping.
Shizune chose that moment to hurl another volley of kunai.
In the plaza, Nadare Rōga's expression darkened.
Fubuki had already been subdued. Mizore had been hit.
Those two female Konoha shinobi… were actually that strong?
He gripped the sword at his waist and prepared to move.
Then a figure appeared directly in front of him.
"I'm your opponent."
Kiyohara said.
Rōga was clearly much stronger than either Fubuki or Mizore, so Kiyohara planned to handle him personally.
After all, if Kurenai or Shizune faced him, they would still have to work for it.
"Good. Killing you will be even more interesting."
Rōga looked around at the snow-covered palace and felt his confidence return.
This was his home field.
Even Tsunade in the back, he felt, would be beatable here.
Before he had even finished speaking, Rōga blurred and appeared behind Kiyohara, sword already drawn.
Ice crystals coated the blade, enhancing its sharpness.
"Ice Release: Ice Cutter!"
Clang!
Kiyohara raised his right hand.
That hand caught the descending blade—along with the sharpened ice on its edge.
Steel Release.
Steel Release: Earth Spear.
Rōga's pupils contracted.
He watched his sword strike Kiyohara's bare hand, sparks flying between blade and skin—but it couldn't cut in even the slightest.
"What…?"
He didn't have time to think.
Kiyohara's left hand was already clenched into a fist, and that fist slammed straight into his chest.
Rōga's Chakra Armor flared with violet light, as if trying to resist Kiyohara's strike.
Bang!
In the next moment, Rōga was launched backward, smashing through a stone pillar in the plaza and gouging a deep trench in the ground before finally coming to a halt.
He clutched his chest and gasped.
The Chakra Armor across his torso had cracked wide open.
The fracture spread outward from his chest, and the whole armor began to break apart.
"Impossible…"
he muttered.
That was Chakra Armor. Chakra Armor that could withstand a direct A-rank ninjutsu strike.
And it had been shattered with one punch?
Kiyohara stood where he was and lowered his hand.
Chakra Armor was impressive, yes—but it still had limits.
If those limits were exceeded, it could be broken.
Sometimes Kiyohara genuinely couldn't understand where these shinobi from minor countries got their confidence.
Sure, they had a trick or two.
But logically, they should have been targeting neighboring minor countries, not charging headlong at shinobi from one of the great powers.
There was a phrase that suited them perfectly:
Small-country arrogance.
The farther a country was from the Five Great Nations, the more blindly confident it tended to become.
"The world is a big place. Get out and see more of it sometime."
Kiyohara shook his head.
"Hmph!"
Rōga snorted.
Kiyohara might only have the advantage in taijutsu.
But the real advantage was still his.
Rōga glared at him.
"Ice Release: One-Horned White Whale!"
His hands flashed through seals, and under the amplification of the Chakra Armor, the technique became even more powerful.
A gigantic ice whale slowly formed in the sky above.
Its whole body gleamed crystal-white, dozens of meters long, its mouth wide as it dived down toward the ground.
That one strike was enough to level half the palace.
From the airship above, Dotō watched the fight below.
He was curious to see how Kiyohara would respond.
He wasn't in a hurry to join the battle himself. He wanted to gather as much information on Kiyohara and the others as possible first, to make sure nothing went wrong.
As for the palace being destroyed, Dotō couldn't have cared less.
It could always be rebuilt.
Kiyohara looked up.
He watched the plunging ice whale and raised his right hand.
Monster Strength.
One punch.
Boom!
The dozens-of-meters-long ice whale shattered in midair.
Countless chunks of ice sprayed outward and crashed all over the palace grounds, collapsing parts of the buildings.
Rōga stared with wide eyes.
His mouth opened, but no words came out.
One punch shattered the One-Horned White Whale?
What kind of monster was that?
Even Dotō's expression shifted.
Like his brother, he was actually talented in research and engineering.
He knew exactly how strong Chakra Armor's defense was, but he had never imagined Kiyohara would destroy it with one punch.
Under normal circumstances, the only real weak point in the armor was the core—but whenever an attack came in, it would automatically gather chakra to form a defensive shield.
Fire Release, Water Release, Ice Release, even genjutsu—it was supposed to react to all of them immediately.
"Ice Release: Tearing Dragon Fierce Tiger!"
When Dotō's disdain faded, Rōga refused to accept it and formed seals again.
A ferocious tiger made of ice crystals roared and pounced toward Kiyohara.
Kiyohara raised his hand.
The same response.
One punch.
Boom!
The tiger burst apart.
Rōga's eyes widened even more.
How the hell could taijutsu just ignore ninjutsu like that?
He stumbled backward a few steps, then suddenly thought of something and snapped his head toward the airship above.
Dotō stood there, looking down over the battlefield.
"Get over here!"
Rōga shouted to the Snow shinobi nearby.
They immediately abandoned the soldiers of the Land of Snow and rushed toward him.
"Kill him!"
Rōga barked.
He intended to fight from range now.
If he took another punch from Kiyohara, he felt like the Chakra Armor would completely shatter.
He was fast. In a blur, he was already running toward the distant airship.
But the instant he leapt up, he felt a tremendous force from behind.
Kiyohara's hand had already caught his ankle.
"Did I say you could leave?"
Kiyohara asked calmly.
The Snow shinobi trying to circle in from behind him were far too slow to matter.
Speed was one of Kiyohara's greatest strengths.
To him, their attempted encirclement meant nothing.
With the slightest exertion of force, Kiyohara swung Rōga around and hurled him back into the Snow shinobi charging up from behind.
"You—!"
Rōga rolled across the ground with several of them, coughing blood, and in that moment gained a much deeper appreciation for just how terrifying Kiyohara's speed really was.
But what he understood even less was why Kiyohara had let him get that far in the first place.
If he had started moving at that speed from the very beginning, he could have caught him instantly.
What Rōga didn't know was that Kiyohara had simply wanted to observe the abilities of the Chakra Armor, study the chakra flowing through it, and copy a few techniques along the way.
"Your Chakra Armor doesn't seem as advanced as Dotō's."
Kiyohara said lightly.
Under the effect of his Magnet Release, he flicked his hand—
and Rōga's Chakra Armor was dismantled on the spot.
All kinds of components floated apart into the air.
In front of Magnet Release, this sort of chakra-tech construction was weaker by nature.
Like a laboratory mouse facing a wild cat—no matter how capable it was, it would still be suppressed.
His whole setup had simply been hard-countered from the start.
~~~
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