Outside the daimyo's castle in the Land of Snow, a sizable resistance force gathered at the very heart of the country's rule.
At the front stood Kazahana Koyuki. She looked at the fortress before her, both familiar and distant, her emotions tangled beyond words.
She had grown up here, only to be forced to flee at a young age. For years, she had lived in hiding, constantly pursued, forced to abandon her identity. And now… she had finally returned.
Not far behind her stood the members of Kaede Kitahara's team.
Kaede Kitahara kept his hands in his pockets, casually observing the daimyo's castle in the distance. It wasn't particularly grand to begin with, and given that the Land of Snow was a remote, impoverished country, the castle itself felt even less impressive.
Having seen the majestic palaces of his previous life, this kind of Japanese-style Tenshukaku held little appeal.
Early that morning, after yesterday's draw, Kaede Kitahara had already instructed Kazahana Koyuki to gather the remaining resistance forces and prepare to strike back at the Tenshukaku, reclaiming her rightful position.
After witnessing Kaede Kitahara's stunning performance the day before, Koyuki's confidence in him had soared. Without hesitation, she had assembled the surviving resistance at first light.
"Koyuki, I didn't expect you'd still dare to show your face in front of me."
From within the Tenshukaku, a figure shot out into the open.
It was Kazahana Doto, the current daimyo of the Land of Snow, clad in Chakra Armor.
The moment Koyuki saw him, her body trembled instinctively. But then she felt a warm hand rest on her shoulder—Kaede Kitahara's.
He stepped forward, placing himself in front of her.
"Damn Konoha ninja."
The moment Doto noticed the Konoha flak jacket and forehead protector, rage flared across his face.
"Wind Release: Black Dragon Blizzard!"
Without hesitation, he unleashed a black ice dragon. Amplified by the Chakra Armor, the technique carried power on par with an A-rank jutsu.
With the armor's enhancement, Kazahana Doto's combat strength was at least comparable to an elite jonin.
The ice dragon roared as it charged toward Kaede Kitahara.
Kaede Kitahara didn't panic. He simply took a small step back and drew the sword at his waist.
"Thunder Breathing, First Form: Thunderclap and Flash!"
The refined Thunder Breathing surged through his body, chakra erupting with the force of lightning. In an instant, he became a streak of light and shot forward.
With a deafening crash, his blade tore straight through the ice dragon.
But he didn't stop there.
His momentum carried him directly toward Kazahana Doto in midair.
Doto had no time to react. He had always assumed that with his ability to fly, no Konoha ninja—no matter how strong—could threaten him. As long as he stayed cautious of projectiles like shuriken or ranged jutsu, he believed himself safe.
What he hadn't anticipated was that Kaede Kitahara would go straight for a decisive strike without hesitation.
Thunder Breathing's First Form was already incredibly fast, and combined with the Eight Gates Kaede Kitahara had secretly activated, his speed reached an entirely different level.
In a blink, he was right in front of Doto.
"How can he be this fast?!"
Doto couldn't even mount a defense. All he could do was hope that the energy barrier generated by his Chakra Armor would hold.
It didn't.
In the next instant, the barrier shattered under Kaede Kitahara's blade.
The sword's arc cleaved straight through Kazahana Doto, tearing him in two.
An instant kill.
Even with strength comparable to an elite jonin, he had no chance of resisting that strike.
Kaede Kitahara landed lightly on the ground.
For a moment, the resistance fighters in the distance stood frozen in shock.
Then, as realization set in, cheers erupted.
They had fought for years in the Land of Snow, struggling without hope. If not for Kazahana Doto's brutal rule, they might have long since abandoned the fight and returned to ordinary lives.
Now, the tyrant was dead.
"Did… did we win?"
Koyuki's voice trembled with disbelief. The nightmare that had haunted her for years had vanished just like that.
Tears streamed down her face as she murmured, "Father… did you see that? We won."
"All done."
Kaede Kitahara sheathed the Sword of the Thunder God.
This Ninja Clash in the Land of Snow mission had posed no real challenge for him. With his current strength, it felt like a high-level player returning to a beginner zone and sweeping through it effortlessly.
Of course, Kaede Kitahara knew very well that beneath the seemingly calm surface of this world lay far more dangerous forces.
After killing Kazahana Doto, the group escorted Koyuki back into the Tenshukaku. Along the way, the castle's guards surrendered one after another. With Doto's corpse in tow, the sight of their leader's death shattered any remaining resistance. Aside from a few diehards, most gave up immediately.
After all, Doto's rule had been brutally oppressive. Very few had ever truly supported him.
It was only because of his personal strength and the isolation of the Land of Snow that he had managed to maintain control for so long.
With Koyuki's return, the Tenshukaku was finally restored to its rightful owner.
The very next day, Asama Sandayu wasted no time in reinstating Koyuki as daimyo, sending messengers to announce the news to other nations.
By the third day, Yukigakure dispatched representatives to pledge their allegiance, seeking cooperation under Koyuki's leadership.
After all, the world's dominant structure remained one country, one village. In theory, ninja villages were meant to serve under the authority of the daimyo.
Complete independence simply wasn't realistic.
By the time Koyuki had fully stabilized the situation, a month had passed. Only then did Kaede Kitahara lead his team, along with Team 7 and a delegation from the Land of Snow, back to Konoha.
The mission left everyone exhilarated. As genin and chunin, they had never expected to take part in something as significant as rebuilding a nation.
To express her gratitude, Koyuki upgraded the mission to S-rank. In addition to the standard reward, she provided extra compensation. Kaede Kitahara alone received ten million ryo, while everyone else earned three million each.
It was a massive payout.
For Uzumaki Naruto and Sakura, whose finances had always been tight, the windfall was especially overwhelming.
It was more than they could have earned from countless D-rank and C-rank missions combined.
The mission had been an overwhelming success, and what made it even more remarkable was how little actual hardship they had faced. There had been no desperate, life-or-death battles—everything had unfolded almost effortlessly.
A month later, Kaede Kitahara escorted the Land of Snow's delegation to Konoha. The country intended to establish friendly relations with Konoha, partly to balance the influence of Yukigakure and prevent another rebellion.
After all, such an uprising had already happened once.
Upon returning, Kaede Kitahara headed straight to the Hokage's office.
"During the mission, we were attacked by ninja sent by the current daimyo of the Land of Snow. After eliminating them, we discovered that our target, Kazahana Koyuki, was actually the daughter of the former daimyo. Following the coup by Kazahana Doto, she had fled to the Land of Fire and lived under the identity of the famous actress Fujikaze Yukie.
"To protect the client, we had no choice but to intervene in the internal conflict. I later eliminated Kazahana Doto, resulting in a change of power. The new daimyo has since sent a delegation to Konoha to propose a treaty of friendship. That concludes the report."
Kaede Kitahara delivered his account to the Third Hokage.
Naturally, he omitted several key details—such as the fact that he had already known Fujikaze Yukie's true identity from the beginning.
Instead, he framed himself as someone who had been drawn into the conflict midway through the mission. Anything else might have crossed dangerous political lines.
After all, it involved the replacement of a daimyo, even if it was in a remote country.
"I see."
Sarutobi Hiruzen puffed on his pipe. He had already received word of the situation when Kaede Kitahara sent a message back during the operation.
Anbu had been dispatched to investigate, and their findings aligned closely with his report.
From beginning to end, it appeared that Kaede Kitahara had been an uninformed participant caught in the situation.
Still, Hiruzen recalled Hatake Kakashi's assessment—that Kaede Kitahara's strength was on par with his own.
That explained how he had managed to carry out a regime change.
An ordinary chunin could never have accomplished something like this. Even the weakest daimyo would have jonin-level guards.
"You've done well on this mission. I'll have its rank officially upgraded to S-rank."
For Konoha, this outcome was an unexpected windfall.
A previously unrelated country was now willing to form ties with them, bringing significant benefits. Even a share of that nation's mission commissions could yield substantial gains.
As for any dissatisfaction from Yukigakure?
It was irrelevant.
A small ninja village like that could be wiped out at any time. What right did they have to complain?
Hiruzen might have grown more cautious with age, but that only applied when dealing with the Five Great Villages. Minor villages didn't warrant such restraint.
"Additionally, after discussion with the advisory council, we've decided to grant you a special promotion to Tokubetsu Jonin."
As he spoke, Hiruzen pulled out an official appointment letter from his drawer and handed it to Kaede Kitahara.