["Your Highness, you must defeat Kazahana Doto and become the new ruler of this nation!"
After delivering that earnest plea, Asama Sandayū stepped in front of Kazahana Koyuki, dropped heavily to his knees, bowed his head, clasped his hands before him, and cried out:
"Even if it costs me this old life, I will protect you to the end! So please—stand with us and stake everything on the future of the Land of Snow!!"
"I won't do it!!"
Sandayū's words had come straight from the heart, but there was still not the slightest trace of emotion on Kazahana Koyuki's face. The coldness in her eyes did not lessen in the slightest.
With those utterly unfeeling eyes, she quietly looked at the man kneeling before her. Without the slightest hesitation, she refused in a firm, decisive tone:
"And don't ever joke with me like this again."
"But the people of the Land of Snow are still waiting for you—"
"I already told you, those people and those matters have nothing to do with me! I absolutely refuse!!"
"Your Highness..."
Faced with Kazahana Koyuki's repeated, unwavering refusal, the passionate force in Asama Sandayū's voice faltered once more, turning hoarse with grief and disappointment he could no longer hide.
Yet his dejected state only made Koyuki frown. Her impatience deepened, and she could not help snapping at him:
"Haven't you people had enough already?"
"Are you all idiots? No matter how hard you try, you'll never be able to defeat Kazahana Doto!!"
"Instead of obsessing over dragging me back to save this country, you'd be better off figuring out how to lead those pitiful people you keep talking about out of the Land of Snow. That would at least be realistic—instead of sitting around waiting for some fantasy called hope!!"
Under the chill of Koyuki's words, Asama Sandayū opened his mouth, yet not a single word of rebuttal came out. All he could do was lower his head and tremble in unspeakable sorrow.
That sight finally pushed Naruto past his limit. Slamming his palm against the table, he shot to his feet and barked angrily at Kazahana Koyuki:
"How can you say something like 'give up' so lightly?!"
"This old man is practically ready to lay down his life to save this country that's on the verge of collapse, and you call him an idiot? Anyone who insults him like that—I won't forgive them!"
"Naruto..."
Hearing those words, Asama Sandayū's eyes grew hot. He turned and gave Naruto a grateful look.
Just then, the director—who had sat silently in the corner the whole time, saying nothing and only smoking—finally stubbed out his cigarette and spoke up in an unhurried tone:
"Because you don't give up, you can see hope. Because you see hope, you can reach the future. Doesn't that fit perfectly with the theme of Princess Fūun: The Final Chapter?"
"D-Director? Y-You... you're seriously going to keep filming?"
The production manager's eyes went wide as he blurted out the question, clearly never having imagined the director would say such a thing.
"Of course."
The director raised a brow, sounding as though it were the most natural thing in the world.
"Didn't I say so when I signed the sequel contract? This story has to be given a perfect ending."
Those words left the production manager stunned speechless. Meanwhile, the director leaned forward slightly, his tone taking on a faintly seductive edge as he continued:
"Besides, think about it carefully. How often do you get the chance to have a real princess play a princess? Do you have any idea how rare that is?"
The moment he heard that, the production manager—who had just been thinking through how to reject the proposal—suddenly felt his heart shift. Slowly, he began to think the idea might actually be worth considering.
After all, using a real princess as the hook would boost the film's popularity by more than just a little. Not only would it have a chance of breaking the highest box office record in the Land of Fire, it might even use that very angle to break into the markets of other nations.
If they really managed to finish the film, then the later revenue split alone would make him rich enough to overflow with money. No matter how he calculated it, it was a profitable gamble.
"Wait..."
Watching everyone talk back and forth and so easily decide the course of the voyage ahead, Kazahana Koyuki's face filled with confusion. She instinctively began to speak, wanting to object again.
But before she could finish, Kakashi's calm yet unquestionable voice rang out once more:
"Unfortunately, there are no other options now."
"Since Kazahana Doto and the others already know you exist, that means there is no longer any road left for you except this one. Other than fighting, there is no other way left for you to survive."
"More importantly, there are nearly a million people in the Land of Snow. It's impossible for that many people to abandon their homeland and leave. If you want to save them, then the only way is through fighting as well. As long as we can win in the end, every problem before us will naturally be solved."
The instant he heard that, Naruto's eyes lit up. He raised his fists excitedly and shouted:
"All right! Then we'll keep carrying out the mission!"
"Escort Princess Fūun back to the Land of Snow, beat the big villain, and bring the movie to its perfect ending—that's the best finale possible!"
"Stop joking about this already!!"
Naruto's repeated habit of treating reality as though it were part of the movie plot finally ignited Kazahana Koyuki completely. Her voice sharpened, filled with obvious resistance:
"Reality and movies are not the same! A perfect ending? In the real world, something like that doesn't exist at all!"
"Stuff like that—if you keep enough fighting spirit, you'll always find a way somehow!"
The director, just as deeply stirred by her words, answered by throwing his full presence behind the reply—an aura honed over decades of directing—shouting his rebuttal back at her.
As the creator of the Princess Fūun series and the overall director behind the project, he had always held to one belief:
As long as you kept going, as long as you never stopped moving forward, hope would never simply vanish.
It was because of that belief that he had been able to make a film that took the Land of Fire by storm. It was because of that same belief that he had dared to break through national boundaries and become the first director bold enough to attempt international shooting.
You could say that his entire life had been spent living out that conviction.
And because of that, how could he possibly be shaken so easily by Kazahana Koyuki's defeatist words?]**
—"Damn, this director is insanely bold. At a life-or-death moment like this, he's still thinking about finishing the movie. That's not just dedication—that's dedication taken way too far!"
—"The director is one thing, but Kakashi is the really outrageous one. He's an elite jōnin, and he still agreed to continue the mission? Seriously? Does Konoha never reject this kind of added-on mission content? Or is the Raikage right after all—that this really is just a propaganda film put together by Konoha??"
—"Damn Konoha! Damn Kakashi! How far are you trying to push this market before you'll finally be satisfied? Doing missions is already troublesome enough as it is—can you stop adding extra workload and difficulty for ninja from other villages?!"
—"Does anyone else feel like... with the way things are now, there ought to be some kind of momentum that'll help me take a dump??"
—"..."
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 175)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 115)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League (Chapter 119)
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter105)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter100)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter79)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter125)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 65
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 70
From Junkman to Wasteland 60
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 40
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 73
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 55
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 66
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass 64
The Way the Umamusume Look at 63
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 55
Naruto: Weaving the Future, Be 45
Zenless Zone Zero, but Kamen R 31
Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 31
My Cyberpsycho Girlfriend 31
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