"Sigh, novels really are full of nonsense. Protecting a princess is just so boring," Obito said, squatting on the ground and poking at the snow pile.
The greater the expectation, the greater the disappointment. Obito was just as disappointed now as he had been hopeful when he arrived.
Obito's imagined princess-protecting mission: "A kind and beautiful princess and a powerful evil enemy; the ending is a tough battle to defeat the enemy, save the princess, and become a hero."
The reality of the princess-protecting mission: "The princess is just a little brat, there's not even a shadow of the enemy, and no possibility of becoming a hero."
"Look on the bright side; if someone dares to assassinate the princess, they must be a really strong enemy, right? It would be quite the challenge," Rin consoled.
"But how can I become a hero if I don't defeat a really strong enemy?" Obito said, feeling quite frustrated.
"If it's really boring, come help me build a snowman! It's such good snow, it would be a shame not to make a few," Rin invited Obito while rolling a snowball.
"Then let's have a competition to see whose snowman looks better," Obito's eyes lit up as he immediately agreed.
Although the mission disappointed him, building a snowman with Rin was indeed something to be happy about.
"Kakashi, you should join us too; I feel like you could make a really detailed snowman," Rin invited Kakashi as well.
Obito's smile wasn't as bright anymore; after all, having Kakashi around changed the atmosphere.
"Just because your sculptures are good doesn't mean you'll be great at making snowmen. After all, there's no Snow Release Ninjutsu to assist with the snowman," Obito hinted that Kakashi's detailed work relied on Ninjutsu.
"Is that so? I think no matter what, my snowman will probably still be better than yours, Obito," Kakashi, initially reluctant to join, decided to show Obito what real skill looked like.
"Then just wait and see!" Obito said, quickly scanning the area and selecting a spot to start building the snowman.
Kazahana Koyuki watched the three having so much fun and wanted to join in the snowman competition.
Children can't hide their emotions, and the nearby guard immediately noticed Kazahana Koyuki's thoughts and reminded her, "Koyuki-sama, it's too cold now; playing in the snow can make you sick."
"I know that; I didn't say I wanted to play in the snow," Kazahana Koyuki pouted.
Although she understood the guard was worried about her health, it made her uncomfortable just watching others have fun.
But a good princess shouldn't scold anyone. Kazahana Koyuki remembered her father's teachings, so she only expressed her dissatisfaction through her expressions.
"Could Princess Koyuki please be their judge? A competition always needs a judge to determine the winner," Mutsuki requested with a smile.
As an ordinary child, Kazahana Koyuki's age could indeed risk catching a cold while playing in the snow, so Mutsuki thought of a way for her to participate without playing in the snow, giving her a sense of involvement.
"Is that okay?" Kazahana Koyuki asked excitedly, looking at Mutsuki, but then felt that this was unbecoming of a princess and changed her wording.
"Ahem, I mean, even though I'm a princess, I'm a kind and generous one. Since you've asked like this, I'll reluctantly agree," she said.
"Then I'll trouble you, Princess Koyuki," Mutsuki said with a smile.
Even though she still had to sit indoors watching Obito and the others play, Kazahana Koyuki felt a new sense of anticipation because she could judge and provide feedback. She thought about how to poke fun at the rude Obito and how to find something nice to say if Rin's snowman turned out ugly.
"Mutsuki-nii, does it snow like this in your country too?" Kazahana Koyuki asked, curious about other countries.
"It does snow, but usually not as much or as heavily, and it comes a bit later; we have to wait until winter for it to snow," Mutsuki explained.
"Is that so? I was wondering why we have four seasons when they all seem pretty similar," Kazahana Koyuki said, showing a look of confusion mixed with understanding.
"Because the Land of Snow has a unique location. In othe places, each season has its own characteristics. For example, in spring, even though the weather isn't hot, it's much warmer than in winter, so many flowers bloom in spring. Summer is the hottest season of the year..." Mutsuki explained the differences between the seasons.
Since Kazahana Koyuki was very young, Mutsuki tried to describe things in more detail for her understanding.
Listening to Mutsuki describe the scene of spring flowers blooming, a hint of longing flashed in Kazahana Koyuki's eyes—this was a sight she had never seen in the Land of Snow.
If Obito had said this, Kazahana Koyuki might have even questioned the authenticity of his words, as it sounded a bit dreamlike to her.
"Rin-chan, how does my snowman look?" After finishing his snowman, Obito immediately called out to Rin.
Obito was very confident in his snowman; he even used his Sharingan for more accurate proportions.
At that moment, Rin's snowman was also nearly complete, so she followed Obito's voice and looked over, seeing a snowman that looked quite similar to Obito.
"Pretty similar, right?" Obito asked proudly, even taking off his goggles to put them on the snowman for accuracy.
In order to avoid just watching Kakashi show off during gift-giving, Obito had practiced various skills, and now it seemed to have paid off a little.
"That's really impressive! I didn't expect you to be so good at making snowmen, Obito," Rin praised softly, generously showing off her own snowmen.
Unlike Obito, who made a single snowman, Rin built two that resembled Obito and Kakashi. The expressions on the two snowmen were not great, as if they were arguing. One had a black cloth on its face, while the other sported branch goggles on its forehead.
Though a bit abstract, Obito recognized that this represented his daily interactions with Kakashi.
"You two argue way too easily; it feels like any memory brings up a different argument," Rin suggested gently, hoping to encourage more harmony between them.
"It's not like I want to argue; Kakashi is just too annoying!" Obito retorted, throwing the blame onto Kakashi.
"This is something I should say," Kakashi interjected, not allowing Obito to slander him.
At that moment, Rin noticed that Kakashi's snowman actually resembled Kazahana Koyuki and was even more exquisite than Obito's.
"It seems like you excel at everything, Kakashi," Rin remarked, looking at the snowman with its pouting face, as if it were sulking.
Hearing Rin's words, Obito quickly turned to look at Kakashi's snowman. Seeing the lifelike figure, Obito found it hard to believe that a snowman could be made like this, especially in such a short amount of time.
"Is everything ready? Then the judge will need to give scores," Kazahana Koyuki called out as she got up from indoors after hearing the conversation.
"You're going to be the judge?" Obito questioned, doubting Kazahana Koyuki's aesthetic judgment.
"Hmph, if Mutsuki-nii hadn't invited me, I wouldn't even bother to look at your snowman," Kazahana Koyuki pouted.
Upon hearing it was Mutsuki's arrangement, Obito had nothing to say.
Kazahana Koyuki then carefully examined each of the snowmen and gave her evaluations.
For Obito, she said, "You even put a real pair of goggles on it. It ruins the whole look; it's not pretty."
For Rin, she commented, "I can't quite understand it, but it just feels like Rin-nee's snowman is beautiful."
"Damn little brat from the Land of Snow!" Kazahana Koyuki's blatant double standard made Obito a bit flustered.
Although Obito acknowledged that Rin's snowman was indeed good, he couldn't accept that his snowman was deemed unattractive.
When she finally reached Kakashi's snowman, Kazahana Koyuki was very surprised. Although the pouting expression made her feel a bit embarrassed, it indeed looked just like her.
"Why did you make such a strange expression?" Kazahana Koyuki couldn't help but ask.
"Because I wanted to," Kakashi replied casually.
His purpose in making a snowman that resembled Kazahana Koyuki was simple; he just wanted to give her a sense of involvement while she was indoors. As for the expression, Kakashi thought it would be more interesting that way.
"Something's off; this snowman looks wrong," Obito said, the more he looked at Kakashi's snowman. Unable to resist, he poked at the snowman's arm and discovered it was hollow, with stones inside.
"Why are you poking my arm?" Kazahana Koyuki glared at Obito with displeasure.
"Kakashi, you cheat!" Obito ignored Kazahana Koyuki and pointed out Kakashi's unethical behavior.
"Did you first use Earth Release Ninjutsu to make a statue and then cover it with snow?"
"That's right. Is there a rule against making a snowman like this?" Kakashi admitted but didn't think it was cheating.
Obito was momentarily speechless—what rules could there be for making snowmen?
"Anyway, I don't recognize this kind of snowman; it's not pure!" Obito declared, claiming it was an aberration in the snowman world.
"But the snowman you made is both quick and good-looking, isn't it?" Kakashi argued, seeing no issue with it.
"I think you're just jealous that Kakashi-nii's snowman turned out so well," Judge Kazahana Koyuki chose to support Kakashi.
Mutsuki Tsukimi didn't intervene in this scene; sometimes it's better to remain silent than to say a few words.
"I wonder how things are going back at the main body," Mutsuki said, looking out into the distance.
Although he was on a mission, Mutsuki wasn't so idle as to spend time telling stories to children; wouldn't it be better to research Sealing Jutsu or Breathing Technique instead? Aside from the first day he arrived in the Land of Snow, Mutsuki's Shadow Clone had been by Kazahana Koyuki's side the entire time.
Mutsuki's plan was to study Sealing Jutsu uninterrupted until the mission ended, as long as no one disturbed him.
However, someone was intent on disrupting his plans. The next day, Mutsuki discovered that there were ninjas watching them.
If they were from the Land of Snow's Daimyo, Mutsuki wouldn't mind much, since they were just protecting his daughter. But the Daimyo hadn't sent anyone to monitor them secretly, as it wasn't necessary; a few guards were already following Kazahana Koyuki, making their intentions quite clear.
Upon investigation, Mutsuki found out that these ninjas were from Kazahana Doto, and based on their appearance, they were identified as ninjas from the Snow Village.
Familiar with the plot, Mutsuki quickly guessed that Kazahana Doto might already be preparing to usurp the throne. After all, such a significant event wouldn't be something one could just act on impulsively; prior preparations would be quite normal.
Mutsuki didn't act recklessly. First, he observed the current Daimyo of the Land of Snow, Kazahana Sosetsu, and confirmed that he was a benevolent ruler. After that, Mutsuki decided to crush this potential coup in its infancy.
Mutsuki wasn't a naive do-gooder, but he was often willing to do what good he could when possible. If a hawkish figure like Kazahana Doto succeeded in a coup, Mutsuki believed the people of the Land of Snow would face considerable turmoil.
Based on the behavior of those snow ninjas in the original story, Mutsuki was confident that the situation in the Land of Snow fell within his capabilities, so he began to take action.
However, this was ultimately a real world, and there weren't many snow ninjas mentioned in the original work. Being cautious, Mutsuki chose to investigate all the forces on Kazahana Doto's side first, which was no challenge for him given his Identification Jutsu.
"Have you found out anything about the mole?" Kazahana Doto asked, holding a cup of hot tea without drinking it, prioritizing his most pressing concern.
He couldn't relax until the mole was found. For his own safety, Kazahana Doto had his subordinates use Transformation Jutsu to disguise themselves for the morning assembly and had ninjas closely monitor the Konoha ninjas, prioritizing safety above all.
"I sent ninjas to conduct a thorough investigation and didn't find the mole you mentioned, Doto. Are you being a bit too sensitive? Maybe those Konoha ninjas are just on a mission to protect the princess," Kanko Hyouketsu replied, shaking his head after finishing his tea.
Given the gravity of a coup, Kanko Hyouketsu immediately initiated a strict investigation of the snow ninjas after learning of Kazahana Doto's concerns, but found no issues.
"Our plans are still in the plotting stage; it's not that easy to expose anything. Besides, the only ones who know are the village elders. There's no way they would betray Kazahana Sosetsu, such a naive Daimyo."
"Everything we do is for the strength of the Land of Snow; no snow ninja would betray their own country," Kanko Hyouketsu said, setting down his tea cup.
As a member of the royal family of the Land of Snow, Kanko Hyouketsu didn't feel that assisting Kazahana Doto in his rise to power was a betrayal of the country. On the contrary, he believed that Kazahana Doto's ideals were more suitable for becoming the Daimyo of the Land of Snow.
"After all, if it's Mutsuki Yumi, a ninja with a notable reputation, it would be quite troublesome if he were truly hired by Kazahana Sosetsu to deal with us."
After listening to Kanko Hyouketsu's analysis, Kazahana Doto relaxed a bit and expressed his concerns.
"So what? Doto, do you not believe in my abilities? He's just a kid who hasn't even turned twenty," Kanko Hyouketsu replied, his tone brimming with confidence.
If it were someone like a Sannin, he might have some concerns, since they truly had a legendary reputation in the ninja world. But he felt confident that as the leader of the snow ninjas, he could handle someone like Mutsuki Yumi.
"Hyouketsu, I naturally believe in your strength," Kazahana Doto smiled, saying all of this just to elicit that response from Kanko Hyouketsu.
"By the way, how is the village's Chakra armor coming along?" Kazahana Doto asked, feeling completely at ease.
"We have preliminary results; it can enhance the power of Ninjutsu. However, due to budget constraints, it's hard to continue development," Kanko Hyouketsu replied with a frown.
"We'll have funding soon, once the plan succeeds," Kazahana Doto assured him.
Kanko Hyouketsu nodded with a smile; this was precisely why he supported Kazahana Doto.
What the two didn't know was that someone was watching them from a dark distance.
"Chakra armor that can enhance Ninjutsu? Interesting. I wonder if it could work as an external power bank," Mutsuki, using Byakugan, revealed a look of intrigue.
The Byakugan allowed him to conduct long-distance reconnaissance, and being from the Hyuga clan, he also mastered lip reading, so even from afar, Mutsuki was aware of the content of their conversation.
Mutsuki used an Identification Jutsu on the snow ninja leader, curious about where his courage came from.
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