Naruto: The Nine-Tails' Legacy

"Please enter!"

Koyuki Kazahana hurriedly called out.

A messenger's voice had just sounded from outside the door.

"My lady, the Konoha shinobi are waiting outside."

The moment the doors opened, Sasuke walked in calmly.

"Naruto already improved the sealing techniques. He's currently in the prison handling the remaining Snow Ninja."

"According to him, Kazahana Dotō has basically become a living plant for the foreseeable future—unable to move and capable only of answering questions."

Then Sasuke paused slightly after noticing Koyuki's troubled expression.

"Hm?"

"What problem are you dealing with now?"

As someone who had just helped her reclaim an entire nation—not to mention someone she still owed greatly—Koyuki immediately explained their current financial difficulties.

Originally, she simply intended to reassure him that she would eventually gather enough money and fulfill her earlier promise.

However—

After listening quietly, the Konoha boy responsible for protecting her gave a suggestion Koyuki never could have anticipated.

"Do you need me to lend you money?"

"Eh?"

Inside the daimyō residence of the Land of Snow—

Now transformed from endless frozen wasteland into blooming greenery thanks to the geothermal system—

The nation had finally welcomed its new ruler.

Koyuki Kazahana sat upon the symbolic seat of authority.

Several important Snow Country officials stood nearby.

Honestly, nobody really knew how some of these people survived beneath Dotō's brutal rule all these years.

Even Koyuki herself looked surprised seeing them again.

Apparently, their survival instincts were genuinely incredible.

Asama Sandayū also stood nearby.

After all, he was one of the true architects behind reclaiming the nation.

In the future, he would undoubtedly become the highest-ranking minister beneath the queen herself.

Today, Koyuki wore elegant royal robes and a daimyō crown.

With a graceful smile, she waved toward the gathered citizens of the Land of Snow.

Noble.

Beautiful.

Regal.

"Honestly, Yukie-san… no, I guess we should call her Her Majesty now…"

"She really is beautiful."

"And she definitely has the aura of a queen too!"

"Probably just acting skills though. After all, she left the country when she was still young."

"But she's the star of our entire film crew! Tons of people watch the Princess Gale series specifically because of her."

"Acting like a queen should be easy for her."

The film crew continued chatting casually while eating.

"Honestly, after all the snow melted, this place became almost as beautiful as Konoha."

"Hahaha! Well, Konoha is located in the best area of the Land of Fire after all."

Naruto's group and the film crew had all been arranged into honored guest seating.

Yet despite the prestigious setting, nobody behaved too formally.

They simply chatted while watching the ceremony.

Earlier, Kakashi had actually suggested whether they should notify Konoha so official representatives could attend.

After all, the Land of Snow would now establish an alliance with Konoha.

However, Koyuki firmly rejected the idea.

If official Konoha envoys arrived, the current ceremony would look far too simplistic.

And compared to distant politicians, the people of the Land of Snow genuinely felt more grateful toward Naruto's group personally.

Having them present was already enough.

Of course—

Only Koyuki herself truly knew how much of that decision came from trying to save money.

After the simple yet still dignified coronation ceremony finally ended, Koyuki and Sandayū walked toward Naruto's group.

"So you're preparing to leave already?"

The moment she heard their plans, visible disappointment crossed Koyuki's face.

"Yeah."

Naruto nodded brightly.

"Once the mission's finished, we obviously head back to the village!"

"Though we'll still wait for Sandayū-san to finish handling his affairs."

Kakashi calmly added:

"After all, modifications to the mission terms still need someone to formally explain things back at Konoha."

"Please don't worry. Konoha will later dispatch official escorts to safely accompany Sandayū-san back here."

"Excellent!"

Sandayū immediately nodded excitedly.

"I'll quickly finish arranging things here."

"If that's the case, then we can depart tomorrow!"

Meanwhile, standing nearby, Koyuki's face practically screamed:

You idiot, can't you read the atmosphere?!

Yet poor Sandayū remained completely oblivious.

"Oh, don't look so lonely."

The director—currently praising Hinata's camerawork—suddenly turned toward them and laughed loudly.

"We won't be leaving immediately anyway."

"Our next film will probably use the Land of Snow as its main setting too."

"Yukie—"

The director suddenly froze awkwardly.

"Ah, sorry. Force of habit."

"It's fine."

Koyuki smiled gently.

"I'm not changing my stage name anyway."

"You can still call me Yukie just like before."

"Eh?"

Naruto blinked in surprise.

"Even after becoming the daimyō of the Land of Snow, you still want to continue acting in movies?"

"Well if I stop acting, then how am I supposed to pay ba— ah, no!"

Koyuki instantly panicked after accidentally exposing her thoughts.

"I mean, my dream of acting was always genuine!"

"I'm going to manage both being queen and being an actress at the same time!"

Looking at Naruto's innocent and completely trusting expression, Koyuki's eyes awkwardly drifted elsewhere.

Then she unconsciously glanced toward Sasuke standing quietly at the edge of the crowd eating the Land of Snow's local cuisine without saying a word.

For some reason—

A strange feeling of grievance suddenly welled up inside her.

This hurts…

I kinda wanna cry…

When I was wandering around before, at least I still had financial freedom.

Now I became queen and somehow inherited mountains of debt…

"Hahaha! That's even better!"

The director burst into laughter again.

"If Yukie completely quit acting to become a full-time queen, then what happens to my Princess Gale finale?"

Then he excitedly handed over a new script.

"Here! This is the source material for our next movie series!"

"Ah!"

At that moment, even Kakashi—who had remained mostly indifferent until now—suddenly reacted sharply after seeing the cover.

Isn't that the early Make-Out Paradise volume I couldn't buy in Kirigakure last time…?

Amidst all the lively chatter and laughter, another pleasant day quickly passed.

The next morning—

Koyuki Kazahana arrived at the city gates extremely early.

As the newly crowned queen of the Land of Snow, her very first order had been arranging a grand send-off ceremony for the Konoha group.

"Naruto…"

"Sasuke…"

"Hinata…"

"And Kakashi-san…"

As she watched the departing figures, Koyuki softly murmured:

"Please take care of yourselves."

"And truly…"

"Thank you for everything you did for the Land of Snow."

Then she slowly exhaled and steadied her emotions.

Turning around, she began walking toward the prison beneath the daimyō estate.

Because—

It was finally time for her to face her uncle personally.

And fulfill her responsibilities as the queen of the Land of Snow.

Meanwhile—

Inside Konoha's Hokage office—

The Third Hokage stared deeply at the newest intelligence report in his hands.

His brows furrowed tightly.

At the moment, the office held not only Hiruzen himself, but also Nara Shikaku, Homura Mitokado, Koharu Utatane—

And even Danzō Shimura.

"The Kirigakure Jōnin already returned."

"The report was personally delivered by her."

"Which means the authenticity of this intelligence can be confirmed."

"Still…"

One of the advisors frowned.

"This really is unexpected."

"And with this development, it's difficult to say whether the agreement Kakashi negotiated with Elder Genji still remains valid."

"More importantly…"

Another voice added.

"Kirigakure itself is likely about to experience major internal turmoil."

"And Konoha probably won't escape trouble either…"

"Enough."

The Third Hokage finally interrupted everyone.

He placed the intelligence report onto the desk and looked around at the room.

"No matter what…"

"This is now an undeniable fact."

"The fact Kirigakure willingly returned the body proves they still acknowledge the alliance between Konoha and Kirigakure."

"They chose transparency instead of concealment."

"So now…"

Hiruzen's expression turned solemn.

"We must decide who to send to Kirigakure for the handover."

Upon the report lying atop the desk were the following words:

"The Fourth Mizukage, Yagura Karatachi, has officially returned to Kirigakure."

"Konoha S-rank missing-nin Shisui Uchiha has been confirmed dead at the hands of the Fourth Mizukage."

"His corpse has been recovered and brought back to Kirigakure."

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