The mission in the Land of Waves ended faster than expected.
On the road back to the village, Shin-chan lay by the side of the carriage counting seagulls. When he reached the thirty-seventh one, he suddenly shouted, "I'm bored to death!" Then he leaned backward, and the back of his head accurately landed on Uchiha Toru's knee.
"What are you doing?" Uchiha Toru lowered his head and looked at him expressionlessly.
"Toru, you're not talking, and Kakashi isn't talking either. I'm so bored all by myself."
Hearing that, Kakashi did not even raise his head. "If you're bored, sleep."
"I already slept."
"Then sleep again."
"I want ramen." Shin-chan sat up again.
"Wait until we get back to Konoha."
"Then when are we getting back to Konoha?"
"Soon."
"How long is soon?"
Kakashi closed his eyes and decided not to answer anymore.
At this speed, the journey from the Land of Waves back to Konoha would take around four days, but a ninja's travel schedule never went according to plan.
So when a ninja hawk appeared on the horizon and dove straight toward the carriage, Kakashi's first reaction was to sigh.
The ninja hawk landed on his wrist. A long, thin metal tube was tied to its leg.
Kakashi removed the envelope and quickly skimmed through it.
"What happened?"
Shin-chan leaned over. "Is the village giving us a reward? Is there chocolate?"
"It's not a reward." Kakashi's expression was serious. "It's an S-rank emergency mission. Lord Hokage personally designated me and Shin-chan to carry it out."
Uchiha Toru froze. "What about me?"
"You have another mission." Kakashi shook his head. "Lord Hokage wants you to return to Konoha immediately and organize all the intelligence from this Land of Waves mission. And your Mangekyo Sharingan..."
Uchiha Toru leaned against the carriage wall and stayed silent for several seconds. "Understood."
"Can I apply to go with Toru?" Shin-chan suddenly raised his hand.
"No."
"Why?"
"Because the scroll has my name and your name written on it."
Shin-chan turned to look at Uchiha Toru, his expression seeming to say, "I already tried my best."
Uchiha Toru shook his head at him, meaning, "Don't worry about me."
There was no time for a longer farewell. Kakashi and Shin-chan turned north, their backs quickly disappearing into the dense forest and mountain road.
...
At the border of the Land of Snow, the cold wind howled, and snowflakes filled the sky.
"So cold." The white breath Shin-chan exhaled condensed into a cloud of mist in the air. "Why would anyone build a country in a place like this?"
"There are abundant fish and crystal resources here."
"Do the people living here get to eat ice cream anytime they want? There's ice everywhere anyway."
Kakashi shook his head.
"Then have you ever eaten ramen made from snow?"
"No."
"I'll make it for you. Add some chocolate too. It'll definitely be delicious!"
"No, thank you." Kakashi quickened his pace. "If we keep dawdling, we'll have to spend the night in the snow."
"Snow is great. Last time, I had a snowball fight with Hima and buried her whole face in a snowdrift. Then Misae beat me up."
Kakashi: "..."
After walking for about half an hour, the outline of a small town vaguely appeared in the curtain of snow ahead.
"We're here." Kakashi opened the map and confirmed it again. "Kazami Town, the last stop at the southern border of the Land of Snow. Farther north is the heart of the Land of Snow."
Shin-chan stood on tiptoe and looked toward the town. "It looks so deserted. Is there a ramen shop?"
Just as Shin-chan finished speaking, Kakashi reached out and pressed a hand on his shoulder.
"Don't move."
The moment his words fell, three figures walked out from the wind and snow.
They wore matching white combat uniforms, with a layer of metal armor covering their shoulders and chests.
"As expected, there are foreign ninja here." The Snow ninja standing at the front spoke.
Kakashi's hand was already resting on the hilt of his ninja sword. "Who are you?"
"Guardians of the Land of Snow." The Snow ninja moved his wrist. "Since you're here, don't even think about leaving."
After saying that, he formed seals with both hands.
"Ice Release: Ice Pillar Technique!"
Several ice pillars burst up from the ground, stabbing toward Shin-chan and Kakashi.
The two jumped back at the same time.
"Ice Release again. Are you from the Mizunashi clan too?"
The three Snow ninja all sneered at once.
"Our Ice Release is the power granted by the Land of Snow's eternal ice and snow."
"It isn't a kekkei genkai." Kakashi's gaze swept over them. "The Land of Snow stays at low temperature all year round. The air is filled with moisture and ice crystals. As long as chakra control is precise enough, one can use this climate to transform ordinary Water Style into Ice Release."
Shin-chan suddenly understood. "I get it. So if you use Water Style here, the water turns into ice on its own, right?"
The Snow ninja did not answer, but their eyes were full of mockery.
Rat, Dragon, Hare, Tiger.
Shin-chan quickly formed seals with both hands. "Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet Jutsu!"
A huge water dragon soared up from behind him with impressive momentum.
"Why is it water?" Shin-chan's tone was full of disappointment. "It's so cold here. Shouldn't it have turned into an ice dragon by itself?"
The leading Snow ninja sneered. "Ice Release isn't that easy."
He formed seals with both hands, and the chakra inside him resonated with his armor.
Ice and snow condensed in front of him, turning into a crystal-clear ice dragon.
Shin-chan released the Water Dragon Bullet Jutsu. Looking at that majestic ice dragon, he muttered to himself, "If it doesn't work once, I'll just try a few more times."
The Snow ninja's ice dragon roared and dove down.
Shin-chan thought about it carefully, then clapped his hands together.
"Ice Release: Ice Dragon Bullet Jutsu!"
His chakra erupted the instant his hands came together.
No hand seals.
No guidance.
No process that could be called a "jutsu formula."
His chakra surged out of his body like a flood bursting through a dam, crashing into the moisture filling the air.
Then, an ice dragon appeared.
It opened its mouth and bit down on the Snow ninja's ice dragon's neck, forcing it away from its original trajectory.
The smiles on the Snow ninja's faces froze.
"I-impossible." Another Snow ninja pointed at Shin-chan. "You only looked at it once. How could you possibly learn Ice Release?"
Shin-chan looked at the ice dragon and let out a satisfied sigh.
"I can use Ice Release now."
He turned his head to look at Kakashi, the smile on his face so smug that the words "Hurry up and praise me" were practically written on his forehead.
"As expected of you." Kakashi was also somewhat surprised. "How did you do it?"
"How did I do what?"
"The Ice Dragon Bullet Jutsu," Kakashi said. "You didn't form any seals."
"I didn't?" Shin-chan tilted his head and thought about it. "Ah, I really didn't. But hand seals aren't important. What's important is the feeling."
Kakashi looked at him and stayed silent for quite a while.
Shin-chan struck a pose that said, "Although I'm amazing, I'm not proud."
"Then can I make shaved ice for myself now?"
Kakashi: "..."
"The kind with chocolate sauce."
"Take care of the enemies in front of you first. Then we can talk about shaved ice."
~~~
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