As Rengoku flew down, he spotted a group of people sneaking toward the palace from a distance.
The woman leading them looked somewhat familiar.
So he flew over, carrying Kazahana Doto's corpse, and landed beside her.
The people behind Koyuki immediately stepped in front of her nervously.
But Koyuki herself looked dazed.
When she was a child, Doto had murdered her father and seized the throne. For over ten years afterward, he had hunted her down relentlessly.
Even Asama Sandayu, who had stayed by her side as her manager, had died before her eyes.
She had stopped making movies years ago, dedicating herself to overthrowing Doto's rule.
She had never expected him to die here so easily today.
Rengoku looked her over, "Are you Fujikaze Yukie?"
Koyuki suddenly came back to herself.
"Fujikaze Yukie" had been the stage name she used as an actress.
She hadn't expected the man before her to recognize her, "I... I am. And you are?"
Rengoku waved a hand without answering immediately, then turned around.
Karin and the other three were all standing on an ice mirror Haku had created. None of them had fallen into the pit below.
They stepped off the mirror and jumped down.
"Shishou, what do we do now?"
Karin had found the assassination of Doto pretty exciting, but now that it was over, she had no idea what Rengoku's plan was.
Rengoku gestured toward Koyuki, "She asked who we are."
Only then did Karin realize it. She pulled out her Konoha forehead protector and gave it a wave.
She had lived in the village for years and rarely wore it anymore.
Besides, they hadn't come out on a mission this time, so none of them had been wearing their forehead protectors.
"So you're shinobi from Konoha. Thank you for eliminating Kazahana Doto for our Land of Snow."
Koyuki bowed to Rengoku and the others.
Although she still had some doubts about their identities, that wasn't what mattered.
What mattered was that they had helped her.
Rengoku waved his hand, "I know you're Kazahana Koyuki. Kazahana Doto has been dealt with."
"If you're willing, I can support you in becoming queen."
Koyuki froze, a thoughtful look appearing in her eyes.
She was no longer the actress who had only cared about making movies a few years ago.
After Asama Sandayu's death, she had matured a great deal.
Many resistance groups had wanted to overthrow Doto all along.
Their cause had always been that Doto had murdered the rightful ruler and usurped the throne.
The true heir was Kazahana Koyuki.
But now that Doto had suddenly died, she had no confidence in how many people would still remain loyal to her.
She also understood that nothing came for free.
She bowed again, "What does my lord want in return?"
Rengoku looked her over.
Sure enough, the key to the Ice Wall hung around her neck.
He pointed at Koyuki.
"I want your..."
Koyuki's face instantly turned pale.
She had become one of the most famous actresses in the ninja world. She knew she was fairly attractive.
She hadn't expected...
"...necklace."
As soon as Rengoku finished speaking, Koyuki's face went from pale to bright red in an instant.
After calming herself down, she covered the necklace at her neck. After only a brief hesitation, she took it off, "So my lord is after the treasure of the Land of Snow."
"This is the only keepsake my father left me."
"But if you need it, I'll give it to you."
She glanced at Asama Shiro and the followers behind her.
If she had a choice, she naturally didn't want to part with her father's keepsake.
But these people had followed her all this time, and she couldn't afford to be selfish.
Rengoku looked at Koyuki in slight surprise.
In his memory, this runaway princess had a terrible temper.
She had also been fragile, always ready to retreat at the first sign of trouble. Giving up had been what she did best.
Now, it seemed that Naruto never accepting her mission years ago had allowed her to grow over the past few years. She had become a different person.
Rengoku extended a hand, and a silent barrier spread out from his palm.
It enclosed only Koyuki.
She was startled when she saw him set up the barrier, unsure what he intended to do.
At the very least, she knew that someone capable of creating a formation with their bare hands had to be a master of sealing arrays.
Such a person was far beyond anything she, or even the Land of Snow, could afford to provoke.
Rengoku accepted the necklace from her.
"I think you've misunderstood."
"This necklace is indeed the key to the treasure, but the treasure isn't what you think it is."
Koyuki's expression changed, "My lord knows what the treasure really is?"
Rengoku nodded slightly, "Come with us. Just bring a few people."
With that, he dispelled the silent barrier.
Koyuki had little choice now. She selected three people to accompany her.
Rengoku led everyone out of the palace, crossed a mountain, and arrived at the plain where the famous Ice Wall stood.
Over the past two years, however, Doto had been mining crystal ore here, so no one had been allowed to approach.
When Rengoku and the others arrived, the place was deserted. Whether the guards had fled or gone elsewhere, no one knew.
He looked up.
Twelve enormous ice walls, each as massive as a mountain peak, stood across the frozen plain.
Each wall was several hundred meters tall, arranged into a giant six-pointed star formation, two overlapping hexagrams, one inside the other.
At the very center of the formation was the keyhole for opening the Ice Wall.
Rengoku handed the necklace back to Koyuki.
"You should open it yourself."
He pointed toward the circular keyhole in the center.
Then Rengoku reached toward the ground beside him.
"Universal Pull."
An irregular chunk of crystal ore rose from the ground and flew into his hand.
"What dense natural energy."
Rengoku couldn't help sighing.
Using this kind of crystal merely to power chakra armor was a complete waste.
Koyuki steadied herself.
Back when her father, Kazahana Sosetsu, had still been alive, he had told her that this necklace could open a treasure.
But she had never known what that treasure actually was.
She had even been hunted by Doto all these years because of it.
Now that she was finally about to open it, she couldn't help feeling excited.
Suppressing her emotions, she inserted the key.
A beam of violet-white light shot into the sky.
It spread rapidly along the lines of the hexagram formation.
Soon, the light reached all twelve Ice Walls.
At once, the ice walls shimmered with hazy rainbow colors.
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