"Go and prepare the rescue team. Don’t worry about the rest."
"Okay." Koyuki nodded obediently, then pursed her lips and said hesitantly, "Can I... go with you?"
"Why would you want to go?" Naruto asked, looking up at her in surprise.
"I just... want to spend a little more time with you. You’ll leave again after completing your mission, won’t you?" Koyuki knew all too well how ruthless this man could be.
Half of the Land of Snow’s industries were practically his, yet he never spared them a second glance.
It was entirely possible that after finding the people he was looking for, he’d leave without a second thought.
"Spend a little more time? Hmm..." Naruto frowned. "A little might not be enough. Go have the rescue tools prepared first. We’ll talk about the rest later."
When Koyuki came out of the bathroom after brushing her teeth, she saw Naruto was already preparing to leave.
"You’ll come back after completing your mission, right?"
"I will." He said firmly.
Seeing his lack of hesitation, Koyuki finally felt reassured, unaware that this man never needed to think twice before lying.
She pursed her lips and said, "Time is short, but the team should be ready by now."
"Then I'll get going." Naruto said, turning to leave. He initially headed for the window, intending to jump out, but then changed his mind and walked out the door instead.
The Land of Snow was now a place of eternal spring, with flowers blooming all year round. Several Shinobi wearing Chakra Armor stood in front of the palace, accompanied by advanced snowmobiles.
Six years ago, he had helped Koyuki exact revenge, killing the new king, Kazahana Doto.
However, the change in power didn’t hinder the Land of Snow’s technological advancement. On the contrary, after Koyuki took the throne, she activated the geothermal heating system and, following Naruto’s advice, fully supported technological development.
Even though many people in the Land of Snow had never seen Naruto, they had heard his name and knew that the country’s current prosperity was inseparable from him.
After stepping outside, Naruto glanced at the team.
The far north was vast, making it nearly impossible to pinpoint exact coordinates. Even with Jiraiya’s vast knowledge, it would be difficult to determine their precise location. Being able to get a general sense of the correct direction was already a feat.
The distant snow-capped mountains, bathed in sunlight, looked like towering ice beasts sitting on the ground, their golden peaks encircled. The snowmobiles sped silently toward this icy realm.
The cold wind howled as Jiraiya summoned Gerotora and listened to its message. He blinked in surprise and glanced at Neji and Lee.
"Naruto is in the Land of Snow? Isn't he still trapped in the Land of Whirlpools?"
"I don't know about that. He told me that." Gerotora scratched its head and said in confusion, "You can ask him when you meet. This place is freezing!"
"The Land of Snow is very far from the island of the Land of Whirlpools, almost across the…" Neji said.
"Let’s not worry about that for now. Let’s get out of this godforsaken place first. We’re running low on food." Jiraiya said, looking out at the snowstorm.
"Let's find a general direction and meet up with them. I can’t wait to have a drink."
Neji and Lee both agreed. They were thoroughly sick of this place. Relying solely on themselves, they couldn’t find a way out. Even though they could survive on ice fish, it wasn’t a long-term solution.
After all, who wants to eat fish all the time?
The two groups continued to use Gerotora to relay messages, struggling but eventually managing to coordinate their locations. The poor toad was completely exhausted.
The snowmobile team was taking a break, and Hosokawa was checking the equipment when a fellow Jonin bumped into him. Hosokawa looked up and saw a face with raised eyebrows.
"What's the matter?" He asked.
"Why does Naruto-sama look so young? Even younger than us?" The Jonin asked with a playful smile, keeping his voice low, "How do you think he does it?"
"Does what?" Hosokawa was confused, but he still lowered his voice, "Don't talk about things unrelated to the mission. If you want to die, don’t drag me into it."
"Fine." The Jonin left, looking disappointed.
Hosokawa frowned slightly. Although he didn’t say anything, he understood what his teammate was getting at. The change in power in the Land of Snow had happened six years ago, and back then, Naruto had been just a teenager.
Toppling the monarchy of the Land of Snow, and even influencing its economy and technology with his investments… Their training had instilled in them loyalty to the Queen and to... Naruto’s technology.
The monarchy was formidable, but the Shinobi Village was also constrained by military funding. Such a large sum of money couldn’t have come from a Queen who had just returned from exile.
Add to that the various rumors about Koyuki and Naruto, and the people of the Land of Snow saw Naruto as a wealthy and powerful Shinobi.
It was not until today that the members of the search and rescue team discovered that the legendary Naruto was just a young man around their age.
Naruto looked tall and imposing, with golden hair, but he didn’t seem like some three-headed, six-armed deity. His speech wasn’t particularly grand either, and it was just like an ordinary person’s.
The more they saw, the harder it was to understand him. All they knew was that this young man had a special relationship with the Queen, which was why a team of Jonin had been sent to search for him.
The convoy continued its journey, and Naruto leaned against the snowmobile, half-asleep as Hosokawa talked about the technological advancements in the Land of Snow. Suddenly, someone shouted.
“There are people up ahead!!”
"We’ve found them! Over there! Let’s go!"
"That's a canyon over there. We can’t cross it. We’ll have to go around!"
Hearing this, Naruto immediately woke up, squinted his eyes and looked around. Sure enough, he spotted three figures in the distance. However, due to the cliff ahead, they’d have to take a detour.
Fortunately, it didn’t take long for the convoy to reach the other side. Naruto quickly pulled out a prepared onion extract and sniffed it, then his eyes instantly turned red.
As soon as he got out of the vehicle, Naruto stumbled over to the three of them, grabbing their tattered sleeves and choking up.
"Finally found you guys! You guys must’ve suffered so much!"
Hosokawa watched from a distance, his emotions complicated. He suddenly felt the urge to light a cigarette, ‘This guy... was a real piece of work.’