The Snow ninja were temporarily detained in a warehouse in town.
Kakashi and Shin-chan did not stay long in Kazami Town.
After replenishing their food and water and buying two thick white cloaks, the two continued on their journey.
The farther north they went, the fiercer the wind and snow became.
"Kakashi." Shin-chan's white breath condensed into a cloud in the air.
"Mm?"
"How long have we been walking?"
"About four hours."
"Four hours?" Shin-chan asked. "Then why haven't I seen a ramen shop yet?"
Kakashi did not even look back. "This is the Land of Snow."
"I know it's the Land of Snow."
"Maybe the Land of Snow doesn't have ramen."
"Any country with dignity should have ramen."
"Then you should raise that issue with the Daimyo of the Land of Snow."
"Okay. When I meet him, that'll be the first thing I tell him."
"What will the second thing be?"
"The second thing will be asking whether the heating in the Daimyo's residence works well."
The corner of Kakashi's mouth twitched slightly. "The situation at the Daimyo's residence is urgent. We need to move faster."
"How do you know?"
"Since someone tried to intercept us at the border, it means Kazahana Dotō's rebellion has already begun."
"Kazahana Dotō?" Shin-chan tilted his head. "That sounds like an angry ocean wave."
"He is the younger brother of the Daimyo of the Land of Snow," Kakashi explained. "This S-rank mission is to protect the Daimyo, Kazahana Sōsetsu, and stop his brother's rebellion."
"Does the Daimyo have chocolate?"
Kakashi: "No..."
"Then why are we protecting him?"
"Because it's our mission." Kakashi rubbed his temples.
...
Several hours later, the blizzard gradually weakened. A gap briefly opened in the clouds, and sunlight poured through it.
Across the vast white landscape, a massive city appeared in their field of vision.
"There are far more guards than I expected." Kakashi stopped walking. "It seems Kazahana Dotō has already taken control of the Daimyo's residence."
"Then what do we do?"
"We infiltrate." Kakashi pointed toward the western wall. "There are fewer guards there. We'll enter from that side."
"Infiltrate?" Shin-chan's eyes lit up.
"Yes."
"Great! I love playing hide-and-seek."
Kakashi: "...This isn't hide-and-seek."
"Close enough." Shin-chan waved his hand. "Whoever finds the Daimyo first wins. The loser has to buy chocolate ice cream."
Without waiting for Kakashi to react, Shin-chan disappeared using the Body Flicker Technique.
"Wait." Kakashi hurriedly called out. "I haven't even explained the plan yet."
But it was already too late.
Only a few falling snowflakes remained where Shin-chan had been standing.
Kakashi held his forehead and let out a deep sigh.
He knew this would happen.
...
On the western wall, two Snow ninja were standing guard.
"The snow is really heavy today." One Snow ninja rubbed his hands together. "I wonder when our shift will end."
"Soon," the other Snow ninja said. "In another hour..."
Before he could finish speaking, an unfamiliar voice sounded behind him.
"Excuse me, where is the Daimyo?"
Both Snow ninja stiffened at the same time.
They slowly turned around and saw a young boy wearing a red coat standing behind them.
"W-who are you?" one Snow ninja stammered.
"I'm Nohara Shinnosuke," Shin-chan said. "I'm not very familiar with this place."
The two Snow ninja exchanged a glance and drew their swords at the same time.
"An intrud—"
Before they could finish shouting, Shin-chan clapped his hands together.
"Ice Release: Ice Lollipop Technique!"
Two enormous ice lollipops appeared out of thin air and precisely stuffed themselves into the mouths of the two Snow ninja.
The Snow ninja's eyes widened. They tried to spit the ice lollipops out, only to discover that they had already frozen firmly to their mouths.
"Shh." Shin-chan placed a finger against his lips. "Keep your voices down, or someone else will notice."
After saying that, he walked between the two Snow ninja and casually placed sealing formulas on them.
"Thanks for telling me which direction to go."
The two Snow ninja: "..."
When had they told him anything?
Just then, Kakashi finally climbed onto the wall.
He looked at the two despairing Snow ninja with ice lollipops stuffed in their mouths, their bodies sealed in place. Then he looked at Shin-chan's retreating back and let out another deep sigh.
Once this mission was over, he absolutely had to get some proper rest.
The inside of the Daimyo's residence was even larger than it appeared from outside.
Countless corridors and courtyards crisscrossed one another like a gigantic maze.
Shin-chan poked his head out from a hallway and looked left and right before boldly walking out.
"The essence of infiltration is using the main entrance," he muttered, nodding to himself. "Because the enemy would never expect anyone to use the main entrance."
However, after walking for less than three minutes, he became completely lost.
"Strange. I was clearly walking this way just now." Shin-chan scratched his head and stared at three identical branching paths in front of him. "I should've brought a compass."
Since he had no idea which way to go anyway, Shin-chan left a Flying Thunder God formula on a nearby pillar.
"This way, even if I get lost, I can come back."
As he placed his seventeenth formula, hurried footsteps came from the distance.
"Search this side! Check every room! Don't let her escape!"
"My lord said he wants to see her alive—or her corpse if she's dead!"
...
Inside a cabinet in a storage room, Kazahana Koyuki tightly hugged her knees and buried her face in her arms.
Her body trembled uncontrollably, but she did not dare make a sound.
That very morning, she had still been acting spoiled in her father's arms, begging him to take her to see the aurora of the Land of Snow.
But when her uncle, Kazahana Dotō, entered the Daimyo's residence with a group of people wearing strange armor, everything changed.
Her father pushed her through a side door and said only one thing.
"Run. Don't look back."
She ran.
Behind her came her father's voice, followed by the sound of something falling to the ground, and then her uncle's laughter.
She would never forget that laughter for the rest of her life.
Since then, she had done nothing but run, moving through the countless corridors of the Daimyo's residence and avoiding everyone she knew and did not know.
She did not know what had happened to her father or how many of the samurai loyal to him were still alive.
She only knew that her uncle's men were searching for her.
"This room hasn't been searched yet!"
"Break down the door!"
The voices of samurai came from outside.
Kazahana Koyuki's entire body stiffened in fear, and she even forgot to breathe.
With a bang, the wooden door of the storage room was kicked open.
The freezing wind rushed inside.
Koyuki curled herself into an even tighter ball.
She could feel the samurai walking around the room. Every sound of their feet stepping on the wooden floor felt as if they were stepping directly on her heart.
"She isn't here."
"Check the cabinet over there!"
The footsteps moved toward the cabinet where she was hiding.
Koyuki closed her eyes and thought in despair:
It's over.
Just then, an unfamiliar voice suddenly sounded inside the room.
"Excuse me, what are you looking for?"
The samurai froze and turned around at the same time.
"Who are you?"
"I'm Nohara Shinnosuke." Shin-chan walked into the room. "I was passing by, heard a lot of noise inside, and came in to take a look."
~~~
Patreon(.)com/Bleam
— Currently You can Read 70 Chapters Ahead of Others!