The island of ice split cleanly in two, throwing the entire scene into chaos.
Team Seven scrambled to protect the production crew and get everyone safely back aboard the ship, while Akio simply picked Tsukika up and used the Body Flicker Technique to return with her.
Once the chaos settled, Nadare Roga and Mizore Fuyukuma had disappeared.
Nearby, the eccentric director was practically bouncing with excitement, loudly narrating his own imaginary movie.
"A mysterious warrior suddenly appears! With a single slash, he cleaves an entire island in half and rescues the princess from the Demon King's clutches! Oh, that's COOL~!"
Kakashi walked over to Akio with a helpless expression.
"Senior… your special effects were impressive, but they also let those two escape."
"Special effects?"
Naruto looked confused.
"Idiot. There's no way Kakashi-sensei could cut an entire island in half!"
"Huh? I knew Kakashi-sensei wasn't that strong!"
Naruto's eyes widened with realization.
"So Great-grandpa did it!"
Kakashi:
"..."
Akio smiled and set Tsukika down, patting her head.
"Go film your scene. Watch that old pro playing the Demon King and learn from him. His ability to improvise under pressure is something even I have to respect."
"Okay, Great-grandpa!"
Akio looked toward Kakashi.
"Like I said, I'm only here to handle the special effects."
Kakashi paused.
"You mean Nadare?"
Akio chuckled.
"That explosion was mostly for show. The actual blast wasn't particularly powerful."
He pointed toward the direction Nadare had fallen.
"That guy was only pretending to be unconscious. He was lying across that big guy's back while secretly forming hand seals."
Kakashi covered his forehead.
"…I should have realized."
How was he supposed to know that Akio and Nadare had accidentally coordinated their performances so perfectly?
"Great-grandpa, even if he was pretending to be unconscious, what could he have done? Naruto and I"
"Ice Release: One-Horned Ice Whale Technique."
Akio interrupted him.
"That technique is unusual. It can create a massive ice whale from the frozen island we were standing on."
He became more serious.
"But its target wouldn't have been you."
"It would have gone straight for Princess Gale."
"And Tsukika was standing right beside her. The risk was too high."
Akio spread his hands.
"So Great-grandpa had no choice but to give you three an extra-special special effect."
After a lengthy explanation, the three genin were left completely speechless.
Akio quietly gave himself a mental victory sign.
Fortunately, they didn't ask why he hadn't simply stopped Nadare and Mizore himself.
They had accepted the mission.
They would finish it themselves.
They had their pride.
Team Seven's side of things was now settled.
The production crew, however, wasn't nearly as easy to convince.
Apart from the director, none of the staff or actors were idiots.
They had been attacked by enemy shinobi while filming a movie.
The battle had been anything but fake.
And there was now a mysterious "special-effects expert" casually standing among them who could apparently blow up icebergs.
There was no way they were going to keep quiet.
Everyone began shouting questions at once.
Akio shrugged.
"Kakashi, go explain everything to them. Keeping this from ordinary civilians isn't going to work anymore."
He grinned.
"Looks like it's time to announce the romance!"
"Romance?!"
Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke immediately perked up.
Kakashi sighed.
"Senior, please don't"
"Kakashi!"
Koyuki's voice suddenly came from behind them.
Kakashi froze.
He pulled his mask a little higher and quickly turned around.
Akio laughed and shook his head.
"Young people…"
...
Kakashi, Koyuki, and Sandayū eventually explained the truth to the entire production crew.
Silence descended over the ship.
Several members of the crew looked absolutely horrified.
They were ordinary civilians who had suddenly discovered that they'd been dragged into a national rebellion.
Anyone who wasn't terrified by that revelation would have to be crazy.
The director was apparently crazy.
"COOL~!"
Everyone stared at him.
"Yukie… no! Princess Koyuki, you're actually a princess?!"
His eyes practically sparkled.
"Wait…"
He suddenly turned toward the cameraman.
"Delete everything except the footage from that battle! I'm rewriting the entire script!"
The cameraman stared at him.
"I want to make a movie about Princess Koyuki's real story!"
He pointed dramatically toward Koyuki.
"You'll still be the lead!"
Then he pointed at Tsukika.
"And Tsukika can play Princess Koyuki when she was little!"
Akio raised an eyebrow.
"Huh?"
He rubbed his chin.
"That script actually sounds pretty good."
Then he frowned.
"But isn't that basically stealing the original story?"
The rest of the crew immediately erupted in protest.
Nobody wanted to get caught up in a real political conflict.
Akio straightened his collar.
This was clearly the moment when Great-grandpa needed to unleash a couple of spectacular special effects and give these civilians some confidence.
"THUD!"
Before he could do anything, the director suddenly dropped to his knees.
"Please!"
He burst into tears.
"If we can't finish this movie, the entire production company is going bankrupt!"
Everyone stared at him.
"Don't let the success of The Adventures of Princess Gale fool you! We spent an absolute fortune on the special effects!"
He clasped his hands desperately.
"Please! We need everyone's help!"
The crew exchanged uncertain glances.
Akio slowly stopped.
His mouth twitched.
So that's why this director hadn't reacted normally to anything.
He wasn't crazy.
He was simply desperate.
They argued for more than an hour.
Eventually, the ship finally set sail again.
Destination:
The Land of Snow.
...
Meanwhile — The Land of Snow
At the daimyo's residence, Nadare Roga and Mizore Fuyukuma arrived before the usurper Doto Kazahana looking considerably worse for wear.
"You failed?"
Doto's expression remained unreadable.
"And Fubuki died?"
He narrowed his eyes.
"Hatake Kakashi truly lives up to his reputation."
Nadare and Mizore exchanged grim looks.
Fubuki was an elite jōnin.
For her to be taken out in an instant…
That was terrifying.
"It wasn't just Hatake Kakashi."
Nadare remembered the strange explosion.
"There seems to be another powerful shinobi hiding among them."
"If we want to kill Koyuki and take the Hexagonal Crystal Necklace, I'm afraid you'll have to deal with this personally."
Doto fell silent.
Since becoming daimyo, he'd spent most of his time playing politician rather than shinobi.
His once-formidable combat abilities had deteriorated considerably.
He didn't want to fight personally.
He certainly didn't dare.
What if Kakashi cut him down with a single strike?
"Useless."
Doto muttered under his breath.
He stood and walked toward the side of the room.
A beautifully decorated birdcage stood there.
Inside was a gray-black messenger bird.
Doto opened the cage, pulled a small message from his sleeve, tied it securely to the bird's leg, and announced:
"The Land of Snow requests emergency assistance from the Akatsuki!"
The bird blinked.
It didn't move.
Doto:
"..."
The bird:
"..."
Doto's expression slowly darkened.
Was this organization a scam?
They'd specifically told him that every small country under their protection would have a messenger bird available for emergencies.
So why wasn't this thing doing anything?!
...
Land of Rain
Inside a building near the Akatsuki's central tower, Ajisai was counting on her fingers.
"Number five… no, number six…"
Yahiko looked over.
"Ajisai, are you mixing up the messenger birds again?"
Ajisai puffed out her cheeks.
"It's not my fault! You had me contract forty of them at once! How am I supposed to remember which bird is which?"
She sighed.
"Now I have to start counting all over again…"
She continued pointing at the birds.
"One… two… three…"
"Thirty-three!"
She suddenly brightened.
"That one!"
Fortunately, Ajisai summoned Bird Number Thirty-Three before Doto got so frustrated that he decided to turn his messenger into dinner.
"Um…"
She tilted her head.
"Which country was Number Thirty-Three stationed in again?"
It took nearly half an hour before Yahiko finally received the emergency message from the Land of Snow.
He read it and sighed.
"Another civil war?"
He rubbed his forehead.
"Does the Akatsuki ever get called for anything other than cleaning up these disasters?"
Then he read the next line.
"Wait. Konoha shinobi are involved?"
His expression became serious.
"Hatake Kakashi…"
"Konoha…"
Yahiko sighed again.
"This is going to be a headache."
He looked toward Ajisai.
"They need someone there within a day."
He paused.
"Can I even make it there that fast?"
"Yahiko?"
Ajisai looked worried.
"Are you okay?"
"I'm fine."
Yahiko smiled gently.
"Go contact the Iwagakure shinobi who's stationed in the area. Deidara."
"Find out which country he's currently assigned to and tell him to head to the Land of Snow as quickly as possible."
"We'll pay him for the trouble."
"Yes, Lord Yahiko!"
"One more thing."
Yahiko's expression became stern.
"Tell Deidara to stop the fighting if he can, but under no circumstances should he attack the Konoha shinobi."
"I'll personally head there as well."
"I should be able to arrive within three days."
Ajisai blinked.
"You're going yourself?"
Yahiko nodded.
"With Konoha shinobi involved, I have to."
He paused.
"And remember: make absolutely certain Deidara doesn't start a fight."
"Understood!"
---
[Every 50 Power Stones = 1 Bonus Chapter Drop]
For early access to advanced chapters visit my P@treon:
P@treon/ Dexy3
Thank you so much for your support and for reading!