Naruto and his group took down the defending shinobi like it was just another warm-up round. Within minutes, the snow-covered courtyard was filled with defeated guards, bound by chakra ropes and groaning in the cold.
After securing the area, they finally entered the castle.
Inside, it was a different world. A grand central hall greeted them—its ceiling soared above, laced with intricate carvings of snowflakes and mountain spirits. Ice-crystal chandeliers cast soft, refracted light across the polished frost-mirrored floors, painting the room in glimmers of blue and white. Despite the cold world outside, warmth radiated from the floor—a gentle, steady heat maintained by chakra generators hidden beneath.
Koyuki paused, eyes glistening with memories. "It still feels like home… but it's also not."
Sandayu looked around warily. "Then let's settle for now. But I don't know what all he changed in here. Doto wasn't the type to leave things untouched."
Naruto cracked his knuckles. "Then let's ask the source."
He crouched beside the still-unconscious Doto and gave him a light—but sharp—slap across the cheek.
"Rise and shine, wannabe tyrant."
Doto groaned, eyelids fluttering open. The first thing he saw was Naruto's unimpressed stare. He winced. "Urgh… What—"
Sandayu stepped forward, arms folded. "Tell me, Doto. Did you change anything inside this palace? Or is it still the same as it was ten years ago?"
Doto's mouth opened to spew some excuse, but the moment his eyes flicked to Naruto—still crouched, still very much there—he stiffened.
"N-No… Everything's the same," he muttered quickly. "Didn't change a thing."
Naruto nodded, satisfied. "Cool."
Thwack.
Doto slumped back down, out cold once more.
"Sleep tight, Snow Prince," Naruto said, dusting his hands like he'd just shut a door.
Karin smirked. "That's your idea of diplomacy?"
Naruto shrugged. "Worked, didn't it?"
"Then, allow me to show you all to your chambers so you can rest," Sandayu said, ever the responsible right-hand man.
He led them through the icy palace halls, one by one, assigning rooms like a loyal but slightly overwhelmed hotel manager. The castle was huge—each hallway echoing their steps, each room filled with relics of a warmer past buried under layers of frost and time.
Meanwhile, Naruto had his own mission. With Doto slung over his shoulder like a sack of regret and the rest of the defeated shinobi trudging behind, he headed toward the underground prison Sandayu had mentioned.
His gaze roamed the vast halls as they walked.
"Man… this place is huge. So this is how the daimyo live, huh?" he muttered, half-impressed, half-jealous.
A sly grin crept across his face. "One day, I'll build a place like this in Konoha."
Karin, walking beside him, raised an eyebrow. "Why, nii-san? Isn't a smaller one better? You build something this big, and you'll spend more time getting lost than ruling."
Naruto scratched the back of his head. "Yeah… fair point."
She smirked. "You already took the wrong turn five times."
"…Okay, now you're just rubbing it in."
After what felt like a pilgrimage through the palace's frozen catacombs—filled with turns, locked doors, and one jump-scare from a squeaky mouse—they finally reached the underground prison.
Naruto shoved the iron door open with a creak, then tossed Doto and his three remaining shinobi companions inside. The cells were cold, but secured. Perfect for traitors.
"Get some rest," Naruto said dryly. "You'll need it for the trial."
He locked the door and turned to leave, brushing the frost from his jacket.
Up above, Sandayu had wasted no time getting to work. His heart still burned with loyalty to Koyuki's father and the dream they once shared.
He sent messengers to nearby villages, offering honest wages for those willing to work in the restored daimyo's service—cooks, cleaners, guards, and more.
But the scars Doto left ran deep. Many villagers were hesitant. The pain of betrayal and oppression still lingered in their hearts. Only a handful came—mostly those whose families were starving, desperate for coin.
Still, Sandayu welcomed each one with a warm smile and a warm meal. Because even the greatest kingdoms are rebuilt one brick—and one kind act—at a time.
The entire day, Sandayu had practically worked himself to the bone, hustling like a man possessed—ordering repairs, cleaning out storerooms, restoring rooms that hadn't seen warmth in years. If the palace had a soul, he was trying to breathe life back into it.
The others took the day slower. Some rested. Some, like Makino, wandered the castle with a camera-like gaze, scouting spots that would make perfect backdrops for filming Koyuki's return to the throne—cinematic, dramatic, poetic. Peak vibes.
The Next Morning
As the frosty sun filtered in through the high windows, a familiar scene unfolded in the main hall—a roundtable meeting, but this time with less urgency and more clarity.
Naruto, Team 7, Koyuki, Karin, and Sandayu all gathered around a polished, frost-glazed table.
Naruto leaned forward, hands folded. "Koyuki… do you know why Doto betrayed his brother? Why he was so desperate to capture you, even after all these years?"
Sandayu turned toward her, his face solemn.
Koyuki slowly reached for the necklace hanging around her neck—a hexagonal crystal, pale blue and shimmering like frozen starlight. She removed it gently and placed it on the table with a soft clink.
"For this," she said quietly.
Karin picked it up, inspecting it with a curious glint in her eyes. "I always thought it was just a pretty necklace… but this is what he was after?"
Koyuki nodded. "It was a gift from my father. Right before he died, he handed it to me and said… 'Spring will come to Yuki no Kuni.' That's all. Just those words."
Naruto's eyes narrowed slightly, studying the crystal. "Sounds like a code... or maybe a prophecy. What if it's not just a necklace? What if it's… a key?"
He leaned forward, eyes sparkling with curiosity. "We need to check the castle. Look for any place this could fit—some kind of mechanism, maybe a hidden chamber?"
Before the excitement could boil over, Sandayu cleared his throat, raising his hand calmly.
"I know where it might go," he said. His voice was firm, filled with conviction.
Everyone turned to him.
"There's a sealed chamber beneath the throne room," he continued. "Your father used to go there often, alone. I think this is key for it"
Naruto cracked his knuckles with a grin. "Looks like we've got ourselves a mystery."
Koyuki clutched the crystal tightly, her breath catching.
"Then… maybe… my father's dream is still alive," she whispered.
They all stood before the ancient chamber door.
It was enormous—etched with faded kanji, frosted over with decades of cold—but right at the center… a hexagonal indentation.
The same shape as Koyuki's necklace.
With a trembling breath, Koyuki stepped forward and inserted the crystal into the slot.
Clunk.
The mechanism groaned like it hadn't moved in a lifetime. Frost cracked and fell like powdered glass as the door slowly creaked open, revealing a narrow passage beyond—dimly glowing with an eerie blue light that pulsed like the heartbeat of the mountain itself.
They walked through the tunnel in silence, the walls humming with dormant chakra. Snow curled along the edges of the floor, stubbornly clinging to the cold.
At the end, another door greeted them—this one opening automatically as they approached, revealing a vast circular chamber.
At its center stood a towering device—part mechanical, part chakra-forged—clearly a geothermal system designed to control the climate of the entire region. And at the heart of that device, another hexagonal keyhole.
Without hesitation, Koyuki stepped forward and inserted the crystal again.
This time, instead of gears or grinding stone…
A soft chime rang through the chamber.
A voice echoed. Gentle. Familiar.
"Koyuki…"
Her eyes widened. So did Sandayu's.
It was her father's voice—calm, wise, filled with love. A pre-recorded holographic projection shimmered in the center of the room.
"If you're seeing this, it means Yuki no Kuni has survived the storm... and so have you, my precious daughter. This key isn't just a tool. It is hope. A seed buried in frost, waiting for you to bloom."
Tears streamed down Koyuki's face, and Sandayu clenched his jaw, his eyes misting.
"I built this device to warm our homeland once more. So our people wouldn't have to suffer the endless cold. And now… with your will… spring will come to Yuki no Kuni."
The image faded.
Then, like destiny answering its cue—the machine roared to life.
Pulses of chakra spread outward in rippling waves. The frost melted instantly in the chamber. Outside, the snow began to shimmer and soften. Trees budded. Water flowed. Steam curled from the icy earth as life slowly returned to the land.
A miracle. Ten years in the making.
Naruto looked around, smiling in awe. "Koyuki… your father was a genius. He didn't just fight for peace… he built it."
Karin grinned and wiped a tear from her cheek. "From now on, this isn't Yuki no Kuni anymore."
She turned toward the others, her voice proud and full of warmth.
"Let's call it Haru no Kuni. The Land of Spring."
The land once drowned in snow began to breathe again.
Across every village and valley, people stepped out into warmth they hadn't felt in decades. Snowdrifts melted into rivers, blossoms peeked through frostbitten earth, and the air tasted less like sorrow and more like spring.
Yuki no Kuni had changed.
Peace, long overdue, had returned.
With nearly everything resolved, the only matter left was justice.
Dōto Kazahana and his trusted group were sentenced to life imprisonment. Their betrayal, cruelty, and crimes against the people could never be forgotten.
However, Naruto—ever the seer of possibilities—noticed something else.
They'd need protection. Someone who knew the inner workings of Dōto's system, yet wasn't as far gone.
He spared one: Fubuki.
She would remain at Koyuki's side—not as a friend, but as a sentinel.
But Naruto wasn't playing nice.
He looked her dead in the eye, voice cold as ever."If you try anything… even once… you won't get a second warning."
Fubuki, shaken but aware of his strength, nodded silently.
With that, the nation turned a page.
Yuki no Kuni—the Land of Snow—had melted its past.And from its thawed heart rose a new name:
Haru no Kuni — The Land of Spring.
A place once lost to winter now stepped boldly into the future.