"So that's how the internal structure works."
Kiyohara stroked his chin as he examined the components inside the Chakra Armor.
Although it was called armor, most of it was actually covered by a special type of fabric.
The most remarkable feature of this armor was its automatic identification capability.
It could directly generate a layer of chakra barrier for defense.
This caused Kiyohara to fall into thought. If he used chakra to imitate the structure of the Chakra Armor, would it be possible to create a similar ninjutsu?
A ninjutsu capable of automatic defense?
After all, in the shinobi world, anyone could die if they were caught off guard.
Even someone as powerful as Kaguya Ōtsutsuki would be directly sealed by Six Paths: Chibaku Tensei if she were successfully ambushed.
Even Six Paths Naruto and Sasuke could die if a vital area were struck unexpectedly.
"I wonder if it would work against Kotoamatsukami and Infinite Tsukuyomi as well."
Kiyohara was curious.
The current version of the Chakra Armor was still far from the advanced model that would exist more than ten years later. Its resistance to genjutsu was actually quite weak.
It would be best to develop countermeasures in advance.
Kiyohara silently made a note of it.
There were far too many techniques in the shinobi world capable of altering a person's mind. It was impossible not to guard against them.
Then Kiyohara looked toward Nadare Rouga.
At the moment, Nadare Rouga was wearing nothing but a black skintight chainmail suit. Snowflakes landed on his wounds, causing pain so intense that he bared his teeth.
Yet he did not dare relax for even a moment.
"Ice Release: Breaking Tiger Dragon!"
Kiyohara used the same ninjutsu Nadare Rouga had just performed. Ice crystals condensed into a ferocious beast that lunged forward and tore toward him.
"AAAAH!"
A miserable scream echoed out.
Blood dyed the snow red.
Kiyohara did not even bother looking again.
What Yukigakure had attempted was no different from an armed coup.
Since they had chosen this path, they needed to be prepared to pay the price.
"Kiyohara can use Ice Release?"
Kurenai widened her eyes.
While dealing with Snow shinobis trying to rush toward her, she continued glancing in Kiyohara's direction.
"No. It's because of the Land of Snow's unique environment. Any shinobi capable of using Water Release can become an Ice Release user here."
Shizune explained.
"I see."
Kurenai nodded.
She vaguely remembered Kiyohara mentioning something like this before.
Aboard the airship, Kazahana Doto's expression became incredibly ugly.
Nadare Rouga had been killed by Kiyohara.
Fubuki Kakuyoku had been subdued.
Mizore Fuyukuma was already dead.
The remaining Yukigakure shinobis simply could not break through.
"A bunch of useless trash!"
Doto frowned.
Then he jumped from the airship and landed heavily in the palace square.
The Chakra Armor covering his body began to glow.
As the newest model, his armor provided far greater enhancement than the versions used by Nadare Rouga and the others.
He raised his head and looked directly at Kiyohara.
"Brat, don't get carried away."
His hands formed seals.
Chakra was extracted from his cells and amplified the instant his ninjutsu was unleashed.
"Ice Release: Black Dragon Blizzard!"
Two black dragons formed from ice and snow erupted from his sides with thunderous roars.
Each dragon stretched dozens of meters long.
Their bodies were composed of countless ice crystals, and wherever they passed, frost spread through the air itself.
Opening their enormous jaws, they charged toward Kiyohara.
The power of this attack far surpassed Nadare Rouga's One-Horned White Whale by several times.
Kiyohara stood calmly where he was and watched the approaching dragons.
Three tomoe slowly rotated within his eyes.
The Sharingan.
Under the Sharingan's vision, the flow of chakra within the dragons became perfectly clear.
From the formation of hand seals...
To the infusion of chakra...
To the transformation of shape...
Every detail was reflected in his eyes.
"I'll return it to you."
Kiyohara formed hand seals.
"Ice Release: Black Dragon Blizzard!"
Two identical black dragons materialized beside him and roared as they charged toward Doto's dragons.
The four dragons collided in midair.
BOOM! BOOM!
Ice and snow exploded.
Violent winds howled.
The entire square was engulfed by a storm of ice.
Kazahana Doto's eyes widened.
"Impossible! Impossible!"
His jutsu...
Had been copied?
That brat...
Had copied his technique after seeing it only once with the Sharingan?
"Nothing is impossible."
Kiyohara's voice emerged from within the snowstorm.
Doto raised his head.
A cloud of smoke exploded around Kiyohara.
When the smoke dispersed, an enormous white serpent appeared in the center of the square.
The giant snake was covered from head to tail in pure white scales.
But its most terrifying feature was its heads.
Eight of them.
Eight enormous serpent heads rose high into the sky.
Each one opened its mouth, revealing rows of chilling white fangs.
It was none other than...
The Eight Branches Technique!
Everyone raised their heads and stared at the gigantic serpent coiled before the royal palace.
Its body occupied nearly the entire square.
Eight serpent heads swayed in the sky, gazing down upon the tiny humans below.
Standing in the distance, Kurenai almost dropped her Red Moon sword.
"Kiyohara... he..."
She had seen Kiyohara's Sage Mode.
She had seen his Curse Mark transformation.
But she had never seen anything like this.
Could that still be considered human?
Shizune's eyes widened so much that an egg could have fit into her mouth.
"So... so huge..."
Tsunade stood at the entrance of the palace with her arms crossed.
A slight frown appeared on her face.
When had Kiyohara developed this technique?
For some reason, Tsunade felt there had to be some connection between this jutsu and Orochimaru.
That brat...
Just how many secrets was he still hiding?
The Daimyo of the Land of Snow felt his legs go weak.
He could barely remain standing.
Were foreign shinobis really this powerful?
Supporting himself against the palace doors, he gasped for breath.
As for Doto...
He stood frozen in place.
His head tilted upward as he stared at the eight serpent heads looming above him.
Eight pairs of golden vertical pupils locked onto him simultaneously.
"You... what kind of technique is this...?"
Doto could clearly sense that Kiyohara's aura had become much stronger as well.
"The effect is pretty good."
Kiyohara silently thought to himself as he observed Doto's reaction.
The Eight Branches Technique provided comprehensive enhancement to both ninjutsu and physical abilities.
It was Orochimaru's greatest and most powerful S-Rank secret technique.
It was also the embodiment of his lifelong obsession.
Kiyohara felt that its greatest weakness was probably its inability to withstand the legendary weapon known as the Totsuka Blade.
Orochimaru had spent his entire life searching for such a weapon capable of countering him.
In the end, he discovered that it was actually in the possession of Itachi.
To be honest, that aspect had always been somewhat vague.
Whether the Totsuka Blade was an actual chakra weapon from the shinobi world or merely a weapon formed by Itachi's Susanoo chakra remained an unanswered mystery.
Seeing that Kiyohara had no intention of answering, Doto glanced at the Daimyo of the Land of Snow.
He knew there was no longer any path of retreat.
So he extracted every last bit of chakra remaining in his body and pushed the Chakra Armor to its absolute limit.
"Ice Release: Twin Dragon Blizzard!"
Enhanced by the Chakra Armor, the attack surged forward like two dragon-shaped tornadoes.
Kiyohara first observed the technique carefully.
Only afterward did he command all eight serpent heads to open their mouths simultaneously.
Deep within their throats, chakra began gathering.
All eight serpent heads used Ice Release: Twin Dragon Blizzard at the same time.
Sixteen black dragon tornadoes formed from ice and snow erupted from their mouths with deafening roars.
In midair they converged.
They intertwined.
They merged.
Eventually, they transformed into a colossal torrent of ice and snow.
The overwhelming flood swept forward toward Kazahana Doto.
Compared to that massive torrent, Doto's two black dragons looked as insignificant as earthworms.
BOOOM!
The torrent swallowed them.
It swallowed Kazahana Doto.
It swallowed the gigantic airship behind him.
Ice exploded.
Winds screamed.
The entire royal palace trembled violently.
When everything finally settled down, a massive trench had appeared in the palace square.
The trench began in front of Kiyohara.
It cut through the entire square.
It extended all the way to the distant city wall.
A huge gap had been blasted through that wall.
And at the far end of the trench lay Kazahana Doto.
Everything below his waist had completely disappeared.
Only his upper body remained, lying in the snow.
Blood stained the surrounding white landscape crimson.
Yet he was still alive.
His eyes remained wide open as he stared at the eight serpent heads towering above him.
His lips moved as though trying to speak.
But only bloody foam emerged.
The eight serpent heads lowered themselves simultaneously.
Kiyohara's voice echoed from among them.
"Do you have any last words?"
Doto stared at him.
For a long time.
Then suddenly he laughed.
The smile was twisted.
Mad.
Filled with the final remnants of stubborn defiance.
"Brat..."
His voice came out in broken fragments.
"You... think... this is... over...?"
Kiyohara simply watched him.
"The Land of Snow's... treasure..."
Doto coughed up another mouthful of blood.
"You... will never... find..."
His eyes began to lose focus.
His body twitched several times.
Then it became completely still.
He was dead.
Kiyohara felt that compared to the original story, Kazahana Doto was actually somewhat fortunate.
At the very least, he died firmly believing that the legendary treasure of the Land of Snow truly existed.
In the anime, Doto spent his entire life scheming for that treasure.
He even murdered his own brother in pursuit of it.
Only after obtaining it did he finally discover the truth.
It was not some divine artifact.
There were no mountains of gold or silver.
It was merely a machine capable of altering the environment.
Not only that, it was only a half-finished machine.
Upon learning the truth, Doto immediately suffered a complete mental breakdown.
The object he had pursued his entire life had turned out to be nothing more than that.
Soon afterward, he was defeated by Naruto.
The eight serpent heads slowly rose and turned toward the Yukigakure shinobis collapsed in the distance.
The terrified shinobis nearly lost their souls.
Crawling and stumbling, they fled in panic.
Kiyohara withdrew his gaze.
The gigantic serpent body gradually shrank until it returned to normal.
This state consumed a tremendous amount of chakra.
Still, Kiyohara felt it was manageable.
It could be considered an alternative version of Susanoo.
A substitute that worked quite well.
Behind him, Fubuki Kakuyoku stared blankly at Kazahana Doto's defeated body.
This was completely different from what they had planned.
Kiyohara's strength had exceeded all of their expectations by an enormous margin.
Watching the fleeing Snow shinobis, Kiyohara made no attempt to pursue them.
Instead, he raised a hand.
The Chakra Armor covering Doto's upper body immediately began disassembling into individual components.
The pieces floated through the air toward Kiyohara.
Nadare Rouga's armor core had been located in the left shoulder.
This newer version's core was located in the chest.
That was why Kiyohara had held back slightly and intentionally left Doto's upper body intact.
Afterward, he stored the armor away.
The gains from this trip were quite good.
He had even acquired several new ninjutsu techniques.
However, Kiyohara felt that once he left the Land of Snow, "Ice Release: Twin Dragon Blizzard" would probably have to become "Water Release: Twin Dragon Blizzard."
"He's dead?"
Kurenai walked over and looked at Kazahana Doto's lifeless body.
"He's dead."
Kiyohara nodded.
Shizune also ran over. Looking at Kiyohara, her eyes were filled with curiosity and admiration.
"Kiyohara-kun, that technique just now... what exactly was it?"
"The Eight Branches Technique."
Kiyohara replied.
"A secret technique... that transforms the user into a giant serpent."
Shizune nodded as though she understood, though not completely.
At that moment, the Daimyo of the Land of Snow finally emerged from the palace.
His legs were still trembling slightly, but the color had returned to his face.
When he reached Kiyohara, he bowed deeply.
"Thank you... thank you to everyone from Konoha for helping us."
Kiyohara gave a slight nod.
"It was part of our mission. There is no need to be so polite."
The Daimyo straightened up and looked toward the corpse in the distance.
Kazahana Doto's corpse.
A complicated expression flashed across his eyes.
That had been his younger brother.
The brother who had grown up beside him.
The brother who had played with him.
The brother who had studied alongside him and learned how to govern their nation.
When exactly had everything changed?
He let out a long sigh.
"Sandayu."
"Yes, Your Excellency."
Asama Sandayu stepped forward.
"Handle the aftermath. Then announce to the entire nation that the rebellion has been suppressed."
"Understood."
Sandayu accepted the order and left immediately.
The Daimyo then turned around and looked at Koyuki, who was standing behind Tsunade.
Tsunade hated the sight of blood, so she had not come out and had remained inside the building behind them.
The little girl was currently peeking out from behind the doorway, secretly observing Kiyohara.
"Koyuki."
The little girl raised her head.
"Father?"
"Come here."
Koyuki trotted over and stopped beside him.
The Daimyo crouched down and looked at her.
"Are you afraid?"
Koyuki thought for a moment before shaking her head.
"I'm not afraid."
Her gaze landed on Kiyohara.
"Big Brother is amazing."
Kiyohara looked at her.
There was no fear in her eyes.
Only admiration.
She looked completely different from the little girl who had shut her eyes in terror earlier.
Then she seemed to remember something.
Reaching into her clothes, she carefully pulled out the clay flower.
The petals had become slightly wrinkled from being held so tightly, but she still treasured it.
"Big Brother, can this flower... still bloom?"
Kiyohara accepted the clay flower.
He infused it with chakra.
The flower slowly blossomed in his palm.
Its petals gently unfolded, and the pale pink stamen at the center trembled slightly.
Koyuki's eyes lit up immediately.
"So pretty..."
She carefully took the flower back and cradled it in her hands.
"Thank you, Big Brother."
Kiyohara smiled faintly.
"You're welcome."
By evening, the crisis in the Land of Snow had been completely resolved.
Kazahana Doto's followers were eliminated one by one.
The Yukigakure shinobis who had participated in the rebellion were all imprisoned.
The Daimyo of the Land of Snow regained full control of the government.
Before Kiyohara's group departed, he personally ordered someone to deliver their reward to Tsunade.
It was ten million ryō in cash.
Several large boxes were filled to the brim with banknotes.
"This is your reward for saving our country."
The moment Tsunade saw the boxes of money, her smile became impossible to suppress.
This counted as an additional reward.
Besides that, their team could still claim the official payment for completing an A-Rank mission.
"This was simply the duty outlined in our mission commission. There is no need for Your Excellency to be so generous."
Although Tsunade said that, she immediately had Shizune carry the boxes.
At the same time, she was already calculating how the money should be divided among everyone.
How much debt her share could repay.
And how long she could enjoy herself at the casino afterward.
"Daimyo-sama, what exactly is the treasure of the Land of Snow?"
Unlike Tsunade, Kiyohara paid no attention to the money and instead asked with a curious expression.
The Daimyo smiled bitterly after hearing the question.
"It is actually a device developed jointly by myself and the scientists of the Land of Snow."
"The Land of Snow is located in a remote region. Even the current Third Great Shinobi War has not reached us. Unfortunately, the environment here is extremely harsh. It is cold all year round, and our people have always lived difficult lives."
"My dream has always been to change the climate of the Land of Snow."
"And the so-called treasure of the Land of Snow is a machine capable of transforming the environment."
"It's just that the project is still unfinished."
This had always been the goal toward which the Daimyo had worked tirelessly.
"Unfortunately, scientific research requires money."
The Daimyo revealed an apologetic expression.
Otherwise, how could the reward for saving an entire nation amount to only ten million ryō?
The Land of Snow might be small, but it was still an independent country.
"It could be transformed into a nation supported by tourism."
Kiyohara offered a suggestion.
The scenery of the Land of Snow was actually quite beautiful.
In the future, many film crews from the Land of Fire would come here to shoot movies.
"You could attract tourists and film production teams."
Kiyohara explained.
If that happened, large amounts of money would naturally flow into the country.
Although the Land of Snow was remote, much of its technology ranked among the best in the shinobi world.
Snow vehicles.
Trains.
Airships.
With sufficient investment, building transportation routes suitable for tourists would not be difficult at all.
"But..."
The Daimyo hesitated.
"I can invest some money myself."
Kiyohara said.
If he did so, his influence within the Land of Snow would naturally increase.
At the same time, he also wanted to see how far the Chakra Armor and the environmental transformation machine could be developed if the nation were given more time and resources.
When the Daimyo heard this, his eyes immediately brightened.
The idea seemed highly feasible.
As a result, he pulled Kiyohara aside and discussed various details with him.
Kiyohara also left behind a Flying Thunder God kunai within the Land of Snow.
That way, he could travel here whenever necessary in the future.
Once everything had been finalized, Kiyohara and the others prepared to leave.
The Daimyo looked at his daughter standing behind him.
"Koyuki, come here."
Koyuki ran over and stood beside her father.
Today she was dressed in thick winter clothing.
Her long black hair had been braided into two plaits hanging in front of her chest.
The clay flower remained carefully held in her hands.
She had taken very good care of it.
The petals were still intact, although their edges had become slightly yellow.
"Big Brother and Big Sister are leaving."
The Daimyo gently reminded her.
Koyuki raised her head and looked at Kiyohara and the others.
She understood that her father was reminding her to say goodbye properly.
Her eyes were large and bright.
Now, however, a thin layer of mist had formed within them.
"Big Brother... Big Sister... you..."
Koyuki spoke softly.
"Will you... come back someday?"
Kiyohara crouched down so that he was at eye level with her.
"We will."
Kiyohara answered.
"We'll come back."
"We will."
Kurenai added with a smile.
If tourism truly developed here in the future, Kurenai felt that visiting the Land of Snow for a vacation would not be a bad idea at all.
A spark of hope appeared in Koyuki's eyes.
"Really?"
"Really."
Kiyohara reached out and gently rubbed the top of her head.
"When you grow up, you can come to Konoha and find me."
Koyuki nodded vigorously.
"I definitely will!"
After a brief pause, she raised the clay flower in her hands.
"I'll take good care of this flower. When Big Brother comes back next time, I'll return it to you."
Kiyohara smiled softly.
"You don't need to return it."
He stood up.
"It's a gift for you."
Koyuki pressed her lips together.
After a moment, she finally nodded.
"Thank you, Big Brother."
Kiyohara turned around and began walking toward the city gates.
Kurenai followed at his side.
Before leaving, she glanced back one last time.
Koyuki was still standing there.
The little girl held the flower carefully in both hands as she silently watched their departing figures disappear into the distance.
"Kiyohara."
Kurenai suddenly spoke.
"Hm?"
"That little girl... really likes you."
Kiyohara smiled.
"She's still young."
Kiyohara replied.
(End of Chapter)