After Kaede Kitahara explained why he had come, Kazahana Koyuki readily agreed.
The time they had spent together before had left them on good terms. Since they were also close in age, they naturally got along well.
Kazahana Koyuki might have held the lofty position of female Daimyo, but that meant little to a Jonin from Konoha like Kaede.
Besides, Kaede himself had been the one to secure her position. Their relationship had never been one between a superior and a subordinate.
There had still been dissent within Yukigakure after Kazahana Koyuki took the throne.
Kaede had gone in alone and wiped out every remaining snow ninja who had once supported Kazahana Doto. He had also falsely claimed that he was acting on Konoha's orders.
Only then had Yukigakure finally become obedient.
Ninja were proud and unruly by nature. Getting them to follow orders was never that easy.
Even the relationship between Konoha and the Land of Fire was complicated.
In theory, the Hokage was appointed by the Land of Fire's Daimyo. In practice, once Konoha chose its own Hokage, the Daimyo had no real option to reject the decision.
Outside Konoha's system, the Land of Fire's Daimyo also maintained a force of ninja under his personal command.
Besides the Guardian Ninja who served openly, there were also ninja clans that lived within the Land of Fire without joining Konoha and instead served the Daimyo directly.
As a result, the Land of Fire had developed a dual power structure.
The Land of Fire was the strongest nation of the era, while Konoha was the strongest hidden village.
Naturally, their arrangement became the model that other countries tried to imitate.
There were exceptions, of course.
The independent Uzumaki Clan had established both the Land of Whirlpools and Uzushiogakure.
The leader of Uzushiogakure and the Daimyo of the Land of Whirlpools had been the same person.
Unfortunately, the country had been destroyed years ago.
The Uzumaki Clan had simply made too many enemies.
Even Konoha's involvement in the matter had always been somewhat murky.
After all, Uzushiogakure had maintained an alliance with Konoha.
Yet when the village was destroyed, Konoha only brought back Uzumaki Kushina, its princess. Everyone else had been left to scatter across the world.
That was difficult to justify.
Uzumaki Nagato and Uzumaki Karin were obvious examples.
If Kaede were only reading a manga, he would naturally assume the author simply hadn't thought that far ahead.
No one could have known from the beginning that the story would grow into such an enormous, long-running series. Many details had clearly been added later.
But this was a real world.
He couldn't treat it like a manga.
Kaede had already left a Flying Thunder God Mark near the Rainbow Ice Wall.
After notifying Kazahana Koyuki, he turned and teleported there directly.
"Your Highness!"
Kazahana Koyuki stared at the spot where Kaede had vanished, her gaze unfocused as if lost in thought.
Asama Sandayu, who had been standing behind her so quietly he might as well have been invisible, finally called out to her.
Ever since helping Kazahana Koyuki reclaim the throne, he had naturally become the Land of Snow's chief minister.
Within the country, he now held considerable authority.
"What is it?"
Kazahana Koyuki turned to look at him.
"Jonin Kitahara has already left. You can stop staring now."
Asama Sandayu smiled.
Kazahana Koyuki had no way to deal with him, so she could only roll her eyes.
"Your Highness, Jonin Kitahara is close to you in age and exceptionally gifted. Have you ever considered him?"
Asama Sandayu asked carefully.
"Considered what?"
Kazahana Koyuki understood exactly what he meant, and a blush immediately spread across her face.
"Your Highness has reached the age when marriage should be discussed. Jonin Kitahara is close to you in age, remarkably powerful, and backed by Konoha. If you could take him as your husband, your position as Daimyo would be completely secure."
Asama Sandayu hurried to explain.
Over the years, he had traveled throughout much of the Shinobi World and seen a great deal.
That was precisely why he understood how exceptional Kaede Kitahara truly was.
Being promoted to Tokubetsu Jonin at fifteen or sixteen during peacetime was already extremely rare.
More importantly, Kaede's strength far surpassed that of an ordinary Jonin.
Asama Sandayu had personally watched him kill a Jonin from the Land of Snow in an instant.
The average Jonin from the Land of Snow might indeed be far weaker than one from Konoha, but the man Kaede had killed had not been some worthless fraud.
If those snow ninja hadn't helped Kazahana Doto consolidate his rule, the resistance wouldn't have suffered so badly.
Asama Sandayu understood their strength better than most.
For someone like Kaede, rising into Konoha's upper ranks was only a matter of time.
He was still young and had plenty of time ahead of him.
If Konoha and the Land of Snow eventually became connected through marriage, it would undoubtedly be a tremendous blessing for the Land of Snow.
"Oh, we can talk about that later. Besides, he might not even be interested in anything like that."
Kazahana Koyuki's face turned bright red.
Kaede had practically supported her every step of the way until she took the position of Daimyo.
After spending so much time with someone as brave and decisive as him, how could she not have developed at least some affection?
But Kaede seemed to have ambitions elsewhere, so she had never known how to bring it up.
Now that Asama Sandayu had suddenly raised the subject, her thoughts fell into complete chaos.
Meanwhile, Kaede had already arrived before the Rainbow Ice Wall.
In the vast, empty valley, he sat cross-legged before the towering wall of ice.
It wasn't long before he opened his eyes again, delight spreading across his face.
"Just as I thought. This really is a place filled with Natural Energy."
Kaede grinned.
His earlier guess had been correct.
In the Shinobi World, Natural Energy was much like water. Its concentration varied from one place to another.
The places with the greatest concentrations had probably been claimed by the nonhuman creatures known as sages and turned into so-called sacred regions.
After living for countless years immersed in Natural Energy, those creatures had developed intelligence and gained extraordinary powers, forming systems that could even rival Chakra.
The Natural Energy in Konoha was only average.
It couldn't compare to the energy around the Rainbow Ice Wall.
By Kaede's estimate, the concentration here was several times greater than in Konoha.
Training here would naturally be far faster than training back in the village.
Even entering Sage Mode would be much easier.
With that thought, Kaede remained seated and motionless, beginning his Sage Mode training.
A month passed in the blink of an eye.
Kaede trained before the Rainbow Ice Wall for an entire month.
"Sage Mode!"
Kaede shouted softly.
Natural Energy surged into his body, and he entered Sage Mode.
Black markings appeared at the corners of his eyes, dark as ink.
They were the sign that he had successfully entered Sage Mode.
"It still takes me at least a full minute of preparation. I'm nowhere near Naruto or Senju Hashirama at their peak, when they could enter Sage Mode instantly. There's still plenty of room for improvement."
Kaede assessed his progress.
His improvement had been remarkably fast, but he was still far from the level he ultimately wanted to reach.
For now, though, he had no choice but to end his seclusion.
The Shadow Clone Jutsu he had left behind in Konoha had already sent him a message.
His vacation was over.