As the flames spread, a jonin dragged a Snow ninja across the ground like a dead dog and threw him before Wen Lan. Dropping to one knee, he reported:
"Third Elder, this is the leader of the Snow Ninja Village.
And something strange—there wasn't a single jonin in the entire village."
The Snow ninja leader trembled violently.
When he looked up and saw Wen Lan's cold expression—and Princess Koyuki standing nearby—his body shook even harder.
He immediately kowtowed toward her.
"Princess! I was forced into this! It was that traitor Kazahana Dotō who ordered me! I only wanted to survive!"
But Koyuki, shielded behind Asama Sandayu, did not dare speak.
Wen Lan looked at the Snow leader indifferently.
"Where are the jonin from your village?"
The man shuddered. He had already realized Wen Lan was the one in command.
"All the jonin… were taken into the royal palace by that rebel Dotō."
"What forces are stationed there?"
"Thirteen jonin… and fifty-three chunin."
He answered everything without hesitation, desperate for even the smallest chance to live.
Wen Lan stared down at the man crawling on the ground.
His finger lifted slightly.
A thin blade of wind slid silently across the man's throat.
Blood burst outward.
The Snow leader's head fell instantly to the ground, his body collapsing heavily as blood sprayed from the severed neck.
Wen Lan's expression did not change— as if he had merely brushed away a speck of dust.
"Move. We're going to the palace."
He turned and led the group forward across the snow, his cloak snapping sharply in the freezing wind.
Footprints marked the ground behind them—
only to be quickly erased by fresh snowfall.
The formation advanced rapidly.
No one spoke.
Only the howling wind filled the silence.
In the distance, the outline of the royal palace emerged—
towering, silent, like a slumbering beast.
Wen Lan made no effort to conceal himself.
More precisely— he had no interest in hiding.
The palace gates stood shut, heavy rings buried beneath layers of snow.
Wen Lan raised a hand.
Shisui whistled.
In the next instant, the flat white snowfield erupted with movement.
One by one, Uchiha shinobi rose from beneath the snow.
Dozens of Sharingan ignited crimson in the storm, like a legion of demons emerging from the night.
Jien hurried forward and bowed respectfully.
"Third Elder, we've completed reconnaissance.
There are thirteen secret tunnels connected to the palace. All have been sealed and guarded.
Since the encirclement began, no one has entered or exited."
Wen Lan nodded slightly, his gaze sharp as a blade as it swept across the sealed gates.
"With the turtle already trapped in the jar—
there's no need for restraint."
He spoke coldly:
"Leave no one alive."
"Leave no one alive?!" Shisui stared at him in shock.
Destroying the Snow Ninja Village without mercy made sense—it contained only shinobi, no civilians.
But inside the palace were innocent people:
maids, cooks, musicians, servants.
Wen Lan looked at Shisui calmly.
"I understand your concern.
But can you guarantee those servants aren't loyal to Kazahana Dotō?"
He paused.
"After we leave, if they assassinate Princess Koyuki—
will you take responsibility?"
Shisui answered quickly:
"We could use genjutsu to examine their minds and determine their loyalty."
"Unnecessary," Wen Lan said coldly.
"A waste of time."
He was, by nature, a ruthless man.
Toward friends and allies, he could show restraint.
Toward enemies, he never showed mercy—
and never tested fate.
"If a ruler is humiliated, his ministers should die defending him.
If they were civilians, that would be one thing.
But as retainers and servants, when the previous Daimyo was killed, they neither fought nor died protecting him—
they chose to survive.
That alone stripped them of the right to exist."
Jien did not hesitate like Shisui.
He immediately raised his arm.
Dozens of Uchiha ninja moved into position like phantoms.
"You're with me," Jien ordered.
"The rest maintain the perimeter. Anyone who tries to escape—kill them immediately."
He stepped toward the gate.
A squad of palace guards stood there, half-asleep.
Jien formed hand seals rapidly.
"Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation!"
A roaring wave of flame erupted from his mouth.
The inferno swallowed the gate.
The guards—and the massive iron doors—were reduced to ash in seconds.
Almost instantly, alarm bells rang throughout the palace.
Sirens echoed across the snowy night.
Lights flared to life across the complex.
Jien led the assault team forward like a black tide surging into the palace.
Their feet crushed frozen tiles beneath them.
They killed everyone they encountered.
No survivors.
During the slaughter, a shadow suddenly dropped from the rooftop, a kunai flashing toward Jien's throat.
Jien glanced sideways.
His Sharingan instantly read the attack trajectory.
Without moving his body, his short blade rose and blocked the strike perfectly.
"Overestimating yourself."
Before the words finished, two shinobi lunged from behind.
The attacker flipped backward in panic—
but slipped on broken tiles.
Jien formed seals instantly.
Flames erupted again.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
The fireball engulfed the figure and the rooftop in one blazing explosion.
Under the firelight, the palace corridors became a chaotic nightmare of blood, screams, and collapsing structures.
Jien stepped over burning beams, scanning the surroundings with cold, electric focus.
"Ice Release: Wolf Fang Avalanche!"
A voice rang out.
Snow and ice around them suddenly gathered, forming pack after pack of snarling ice wolves that lunged at the Uchiha forces.
"Ice Release?" Jien frowned slightly.
Then he understood.
"No… it's just chakra manipulating nearby snow into shape."
The wolves looked ferocious—
but against elite Uchiha shinobi, they were meaningless.
Flames reduced them to vapor instantly.
"Ice Release: One-Horned White Whale!"
Suddenly, the ground erupted.
Snow and ice fused into a massive white whale with a single horn.
It let out a deep, haunting cry as it leapt high into the air—
then crashed down toward the Uchiha.
"Fire Release: Dragon Flame Song!"
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
"Fire Release: Great Fire Dragon Technique!"
Multiple fire techniques erupted simultaneously.
Before the whale even touched the ground—
it was completely incinerated.
Jien's eyes sharpened.
He stomped the ground.
His body shot forward like an arrow, blade drawn, charging directly toward the hidden caster.
Steel clashed against a metal gauntlet with a shrill burst of sparks.
The opponent flipped backward and landed atop the ruined wall.
As the white cloak fluttered away—
her identity was revealed.
A young girl.
Pink hair.
Wearing the distinctive chakra armor of the Land of Snow.
These suits enhanced the user's techniques—
and could absorb enemy chakra to convert into their own power.
She placed one hand on her hip and smirked.
"Well, well… didn't expect Konoha ninja to react this quickly."
This was Tsurugi Fubuki.
Her expression was full of arrogance, completely dismissive of Konoha's strength.
Jien shook his head slowly.
"A little bit of power, and you think you're invincible.
That's the common disease of minor ninja villages."
His gaze turned icy.
His hand seals accelerated sharply.
"Since that's the case—
let me show you what a real ninjutsu looks like."
"Fire Release: Grand Flame Technique!"
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