Naruto: The Nine-Tails' Legacy

"So that's why this became an A-rank mission."

That was Sasuke's conclusion.

"So they're Snow Ninja?"

That was Hinata's wary observation.

"What's a Snow Ninja?"

That was Naruto's confused question.

Everyone immediately turned toward Naruto.

Seeing the genuine ignorance on his face rather than a joke, Kakashi sighed while rubbing his forehead.

"Naruto…"

"You don't seriously think only the Five Great Nations possess hidden villages and shinobi, do you?"

"Eh? They don't?"

"Besides the major hidden villages belonging to the Five Great Nations, many smaller countries also cultivate their own shinobi."

"They possess their own ninja traditions, techniques, and titles."

"The so-called Snow Ninja are simply shinobi from the Land of Snow."

Naruto suddenly understood.

Meanwhile, the two captured Snow Ninja nearly burst into tears.

So this brat captured them without even knowing who they were?!

Both of them were elite Snow Ninja trusted with secret operations outside the country.

No matter how underestimated they were, there had to be a limit!

What they didn't know, however, was that this genuinely wasn't because Naruto looked down on them.

With Naruto's ability to sense malice and Hinata's all-encompassing Byakugan vision, any form of stealth tracking was practically a joke.

Continuing from that topic, Kakashi briefly explained the current world structure to Naruto, finally helping him remember those seemingly incomprehensible cultural lectures from the Academy.

After all—

Compared to Minato's lively "comedy routine" teaching style inside Naruto's dreams, the dry and boring classroom lectures at school were already a miracle if Naruto stayed awake through them.

And Minato Namikaze himself had died too early to properly explain the current state of the smaller nations and villages.

Back in Minato's era, nobody even knew how many tiny hidden villages disappeared from the map every year due to war.

"Alright, enough small talk."

Kakashi's gaze shifted back toward the captured Snow Ninja.

"You two should start talking honestly now."

"W-We absolutely won't—"

Before the two Snow Ninja could even properly demonstrate their "unyielding loyalty," Kakashi directly lifted his forehead protector.

The three-tomoe Sharingan spun instantly.

Genjutsu activated.

For shinobi, unless protected by special sealing techniques or similar safeguards, attempting to hide secrets purely through willpower or loyalty was completely impossible.

And clearly—

The Land of Snow lacked sealing experts.

Naruto had already checked that beforehand.

Clap.

Soon afterward, Naruto and the others stepped back outside.

Asama Sandayū—who had anxiously waited outside the whole time—immediately rushed forward.

"Well? Did you learn anything?"

"Hmm…"

Kakashi shrugged.

"They confessed everything."

"But their status within the Land of Snow isn't especially high."

"Outside of details related directly to their mission, they don't actually understand the full situation either."

"According to them…"

Hinata calmly organized the information they extracted and began explaining.

"They were dispatched long ago by the current ruler of the Land of Snow, Kazahana Dotō, to search for the missing Princess Koyuki…"

Noticing the surrounding staff nearby, Hinata respectfully avoided directly exposing Yukie Fujikaze's real identity.

"However, because Yukie-san always traveled with guards while filming movies, they couldn't get close enough to confirm her identity."

"Only after she wandered off alone this time did they finally confirm it."

"Their original intention was simply to capture Yukie-san and bring her back for rewards…"

After hearing Hinata's explanation, Sandayū realized he could no longer hide the truth.

Thus, he finally revealed Koyuki Kazahana's real identity to the crew.

The entire film staff instantly exploded into chaos.

"Eh?! Yukie-san is actually the princess of the Land of Snow?!"

"So this trip to the Land of Snow isn't really about filming a movie at all?"

"The real goal is reclaiming a stolen kingdom?"

"Wait, hold on! I'm only playing a sacrificial side character! Don't tell me this is becoming real life now?!"

"If Princess Gale is a real princess…"

"Then as the male lead, maybe I'm secretly a fallen prince too—"

"Yeah, no. That's definitely impossible."

The entire crew immediately erupted into loud discussion.

Yet amid the excitement, a trace of sadness appeared within Asama Sandayū's eyes.

After all, now that the truth was exposed, there was no way the crew would still willingly head toward the dangerous Land of Snow.

Which meant the carefully prepared infiltration plan they created—disguising themselves as a film crew to enter the country unnoticed—had completely collapsed.

Unexpectedly, however, the director sitting calmly nearby suddenly spoke.

"How strong are those two Snow Ninja exactly?"

"I know a little about them."

Sandayū honestly answered, confused by the director's intentions.

"Since they were trusted with external operations, while they aren't the strongest…"

"Outside of Dotō's three personal Snow Ninja elites, they should still rank near the top."

"So they're considered fairly famous in the Land of Snow, right?"

The director's eyes instantly lit up.

"Naruto-kun."

He turned directly toward Naruto.

"If enemies at their level appeared…"

"How many could you handle?"

"Eh?"

Naruto seriously thought about it for a moment.

"No clue."

"Feels like however many there are would probably be fine."

"Then I'm relieved!"

The director suddenly slammed his leg excitedly.

"We're definitely filming this Land of Snow trip!"

"A real battlefield!"

"A real princess!"

"Real national conflict and tragedy!"

He stood dramatically.

"As a film director pursuing true artistic perfection, how could I possibly miss something this incredible?!"

The old director's eyes now burned with blazing passion.

For a brief moment, Kakashi almost hallucinated Might Guy possessing his body.

"But director…"

The assistant director nervously interrupted.

"Wouldn't this still be too dangerous?"

"Hm?"

The director looked toward him like an idiot.

"Have you people still not figured it out?"

Then he dramatically pointed toward Naruto.

"There are Konoha shinobi here!"

"One random Genin child already effortlessly captured elite Snow Ninja!"

"And there are THREE of them!"

"Not to mention an even stronger Jōnin who hasn't properly acted yet!"

"With people like this protecting us, what danger is there to worry about?!"

The director looked utterly disappointed in everyone.

"We can film actual battlefield footage!"

"Real national conflict!"

"I can't even imagine how amazing this movie will become!"

"The director is brilliant!"

"That actually makes total sense!"

"The director's words completely enlightened me!"

"I'm fired up now! Let's go to the Land of Snow!"

"Saving an entire country… that sounds unbelievably cool!"

"Eh?"

Standing nearby, Koyuki Kazahana herself looked completely dumbfounded.

Originally, after the staff retreated in fear, she fully intended to ruthlessly mock Sandayū's ridiculous dream and convince him to give up.

Instead—

Every single person around her somehow looked even more enthusiastic about reclaiming the Land of Snow than she—the actual exiled princess—did.

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