The pier was bustling with noise.
Tazuna, once the bridge-building hero of the Land of Waves and now the "Special Consultant to the Engineering Department" of the Land of Snow, stood on a high command platform, dressed in thick, oil-stained work clothes.
His face was glowing, and he was waving a command flag, directing a giant crane in unloading operations.
"Careful!"
"That's a precision lathe!"
"If you knock it, even selling all of you wouldn't cover the cost!"
After shouting this, Tazuna unscrewed his flask and took a gulp of strong liquor.
Looking at the busy steel jungle before him, he couldn't help but exclaim.
"Tsk tsk, the technology here is truly changing with each passing day—if I had these machines back in the day, forget about building a bridge, I would have dared to try reclaiming land from the sea."
Just then, a ship's whistle sounded long and loud.
The transport ship carrying Team 7 and the film production crew struggled to break through the floating ice and slowly docked.
The gangplank was lowered.
Sandayu, whose eyes were already red and swollen from crying, helped the dazed Princess Koyuki Kazahana walk down.
Looking at everything strange before him, Sandayu wanted to express his feelings about the "pain of a lost nation" once more, and was even prepared to kneel and kiss this native land.
"Wuu wuu—this defiled land, we will finally—"
Beep! Beep! Beep!
A shrill reversing alarm suddenly blared behind him.
Sandayu shuddered in fright, and the emotion he had just built up instantly vanished.
"Hey!"
"You old man!"
"Are you blind?"
Tazuna walked over with a displeased look on his face.
He looked up and down at Sandayu, who was wearing old-fashioned noble attire and still wiping away tears, looking very annoyed.
"Don't block the main road!"
"Can't you see the truck behind you is about to drive through?"
Sandayu was stunned, pointing at himself with a trembling hand.
"How bold!"
"I—I am a retainer of the former daimyo—"
"Retainer?"
Tazuna scoffed, as if he had heard a joke, his tone extremely perfunctory.
"I don't care if you're a retainer or a servant; in this port, there are only workers."
"Don't stand here wailing; if you delay logistics efficiency, selling you wouldn't cover the losses!"
After saying this, Tazuna didn't even glance at this group of bumpkins again, turned around, and shouted at the crane in the distance.
"Group Two!"
"Hurry up!"
"If we don't meet the quota by tonight, everyone gets points deducted!"
Sandayu stood frozen in place, completely bewildered by the scolding.
Kakashi, who had just disembarked, watched Tazuna walk away, feeling that the person looked vaguely familiar.
In a warm tavern private room on the commercial street of Kozuki City.
Taking advantage of the gap while Kakashi led his team to handle entry procedures, Sandayu secretly gathered several former subordinates with Princess Koyuki Kazahana.
The private room was well-heated, and the table was filled with steaming food and strong liquor.
"Everyone!"
Sandayu stood up, raised his glass, tears in his eyes, and began his long-prepared passionate speech.
"I know you have suffered!"
"For these past years, you have endured humiliation and heavy burdens, just waiting for this day!"
"The princess has returned, and reinforcements from Konoha have arrived!"
"As long as we coordinate from inside and out, we will definitely be able to overthrow the invaders called the Northern Border Mutual Aid Society, restore the glory of Lord Sosetsu, and let the legitimate royal family rule this land again!"
However.
The passionate response he envisioned did not appear; there wasn't even a sound of agreement.
The private room was deathly silent, with only the sizzling sound of grilled meat.
Princess Koyuki Kazahana just sat in the corner, dazed, completely ignoring what Sandayu was saying.
Several former subordinates looked at each other, their faces showing extreme embarrassment, awkwardness, and even a hint of looking at a fool.
"Um—Lord Sandayu."
A former samurai captain, now wearing a decent uniform, rubbed his hands somewhat nervously and interrupted Sandayu's speech.
"This matter of rebellion—could it be temporarily shelved?"
"What did you say?!"
Sandayu widened his eyes, simply unable to believe his ears.
"Have you forgotten the kindness of Lord Sosetsu?"
"It's not a question of kindness or not."
The man pointed to the badge on his chest, somewhat proudly and somewhat embarrassedly.
"To tell you the truth, I am now a small supervisor, managing dozens of people, and besides—"
"If I work for just a few more months, I can apply to redeem a Type II enhancer for my son."
"I heard that thing can improve physical constitution, and might even allow ordinary people to refine chakra."
"By then, our family could produce a ninja too!"
Upon hearing that he was about to have enough points, the others cast envious glances.
They began to compare whose points were higher and whose year-end bonus was more generous.
The topic instantly veered off course.
The originally deathly silent atmosphere suddenly became lively, with absolutely no one paying attention to any grand cause of restoring the nation.
Sandayu stood there, like a clown abandoned by the world.
"You—you traitors!"
"Running dogs!"
Sandayu was trembling with rage.
He violently overturned the table, scattering food and drink all over the floor, pointing at their noses and cursing.
"Those people are invaders!"
"That potion is poison wrapped in a sugar coating!"
"Where is your Bushido spirit?!"
"Where is your loyalty?!"
Watching the crazed Sandayu, the eyes of the former subordinates changed.
From awkward to cold, and even carrying a hint of hostility.
Their current life was something they had earned by working desperately, and whoever wanted to destroy all of this—
To keep their current jobs, and to avoid being implicated in this farce destined for failure, the supervisor quietly pressed the security report button on the wall behind him.
"I'm sorry, Lord Sandayu—we don't want to go back to the days of freezing and starving."
At the same time, on the outskirts of the Land of Snow border.
The wind howled, and heavy snow covered all traces.
A ninja squad wearing white tactical vests and with dark skin was lurking in the ice and snow like snow leopards.
It was an elite reconnaissance squad from the Hidden Cloud Village.
"Captain, the intelligence is accurate."
A sensory ninja withdrew his hand, looking solemnly at the brightly lit laboratory in the distance.
"This kind of strategic-grade potion that can enhance physical vitality and even heal hidden injuries is actually produced by this small border country."
The Kumogakure captain looked at the steel jungle in the distance, a flash of greed and wariness in his eyes.
If this technology were mastered by Kumogakure, combined with the taijutsu that was already prevalent in their village, Kumogakure's strength would see a significant boost.
Conversely, if left unchecked, allowing this potion to flow to the Land of Earth or the Land of Fire, Kumogakure's advantage would cease to exist.
"Since it cannot be obtained through trade—"
The captain slowly drew the ninja sword from his back, his voice cold.
"Then we will go directly to their laboratory and take the formula."
"If we can't take it, we will completely destroy it."
"Move out!"
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Several figures instantly pierced through the wind and snow, crossed the border, and raided towards the defenseless laboratory.