Chapter 343: The Plans of Both Parties
"Sigh, novels really are all made up. Protecting a princess is so boring."
Obito squatted in the snow, listlessly poking at a snowdrift with his finger.
The greater the expectations, the harder the crash. He was just as disappointed now as he had been excited when they first arrived.
In Obito's imagination, a princess escort mission looked like this:
A kind and beautiful princess. A powerful and evil enemy. A narrow, desperate victory where he saved the princess and became a hero.
The reality of the princess escort mission looked like this:
The princess was a little brat. There was no sign of any enemy. And there was absolutely no way to become a hero.
"You can look at it another way," Rin Nohara said softly. "If someone does come to assassinate the princess, they will probably be very strong. It would be a really tough fight."
"But if I never defeat any strong enemies, how am I supposed to become a hero?" Obito groaned, completely deflated.
"If you are really that bored, come build a snowman with me," Rin said, already rolling a ball of snow in her hands. "It feels like a waste not to build a few snowmen when the snow is this good."
"Then let's have a contest and see whose snowman looks better," Obito said, his eyes suddenly lighting up.
The mission might be disappointing, but building a snowman with Rin was definitely something to be happy about.
"Kakashi, you too," Rin called out. "I feel like you would make a very detailed snowman."
Obito's smile dimmed. The moment Kakashi joined, the atmosphere would change.
"Just because he is good at sculpting does not mean he is good at building snowmen," Obito muttered. "Besides, he always relies on Ninjutsu like some kind of Snow Release sculptor."
"Is that so?" Kakashi replied, glancing over. "I still think my snowman will look better than yours, Obito."
He had originally not intended to join in, but now he felt like letting Obito experience the difference in skill firsthand.
"Then just you wait!"
Obito's eyes darted around as he picked a spot and started to work seriously on his snowman.
Kazahana Koyuki watched the three of them from indoors, their laughter drifting in through the open door. She badly wanted to join them.
Children never hid their emotions, and the guard at her side immediately noticed.
"Lady Koyuki, it is far too cold," the guard said quietly. "If you play in the snow, you will catch a chill."
"I know that. I never said I was going to play in the snow," Koyuki pouted.
She understood the guard was worried about her, but that did not make it any less frustrating to only be able to watch from the side.
Her father had taught her that a good princess should not curse people, so Koyuki only let her expression show her displeasure.
"Princess Koyuki," Mugetsu said gently, "would you be willing to act as their judge? Any competition needs a judge. Without one, it is hard to decide a winner."
As an ordinary child, Koyuki really might have gotten sick from rolling around in the snow, even at her age. Mugetsu had thought of a way for her to take part without actually playing outside, so she could still feel involved.
"Can I?" Koyuki looked up at him, eyes bright with surprise. Then she remembered herself and forced her expression to steady.
"Ahem. I mean… although I am a princess, I am also very kind and generous. Since you are asking me, I will reluctantly agree."
"Then we will be counting on you, Princess Koyuki," Mugetsu said, playing along with a small smile.
She still had to stay indoors, but because she was now the judge who would comment and score their snowmen, Koyuki suddenly felt excited.
She started thinking about how she should nitpick the rude Obito, and what she could say to praise Rin if Rin's snowman turned out ugly.
"Brother Mugetsu, does it snow like this in your country too?" Koyuki asked, full of curiosity about lands beyond her own.
"It snows there as well," Mugetsu replied, "but not as much as here, and not as heavily. It only starts in winter."
"I see. I used to wonder why they called it four seasons when they all felt the same," Koyuki said, only half understanding.
"That is because the Land of Snow's location is special."
Mugetsu thought for a moment, then continued, "In truth, all four seasons are very different. In spring, for example, even though it is not hot, it is much warmer than winter. Many flowers bloom then. Summer is the hottest season of the four…"
He patiently gave simple examples, describing the changes between spring, summer, autumn, and winter in detail so that a child Koyuki's age could grasp it.
As she listened to Mugetsu describe a spring full of blooming flowers, a look of longing flashed in Koyuki's eyes.
That was a scenery she had never seen in the Land of Snow.
If Obito had been the one saying these things, she might have doubted him. To her, scenes like that sounded like something from a dream.
"Rin, how is my snowman?"
Once his snowman was finished, Obito immediately called out to Rin.
He was very confident. He had even activated his Sharingan while building it so he could judge the proportions more precisely.
Rin was just about done as well. She turned toward his voice and saw a snowman that looked almost exactly like Obito.
"It looks very similar," she said, smiling.
"Right?" Obito puffed out his chest.
To complete the likeness, he had even taken off his own goggles and put them on the snowman's face.
He had worked hard ever since the gift incident with Kakashi, practicing all kinds of small skills so he would not be one sidedly crushed every time. Now he could finally show off.
"It is really good," Rin praised. "I did not expect you to be this good at building snowmen, Obito."
Then she proudly revealed her own work.
Rin had not made a snowman of herself. Instead, she had made two small snowmen.
Both snowmen had slightly ugly expressions, as though in the middle of an argument. One had a strip of black cloth over its face, and the other had a little branch sticking out like goggles on its forehead.
Although it was a bit abstract, Obito immediately understood. It was their daily quarrels with Kakashi.
"You two bicker so easily," Rin said. "It feels like every memory I think of is just another argument."
She wanted to use the snowmen to gently nudge them toward getting along better.
"I am not the one who wants to argue. Kakashi is just too annoying," Obito said, firmly pushing all responsibility onto Kakashi.
"I should be the one saying that," Kakashi replied calmly, refusing to let Obito frame the story.
Only then did Rin notice Kakashi's snowman.
He had actually made a snowman in Koyuki's likeness, and it was even more detailed than Obito's.
"It feels like you are good at everything, Kakashi," Rin said, genuinely amazed as she looked at the sulking snowman that seemed to be pouting.
Hearing her, Obito immediately rushed over to see for himself.
The more he looked, the more shocked he became. The snowman was so lifelike and still made entirely of snow, and Kakashi had finished it in such a short time.
"Are you all finished?" Koyuki called out from inside. "Then the judge will now give out scores."
"You are going to be the judge?" Obito stared as she walked outside, clearly doubting her taste.
"Hmph. If Brother Mugetsu had not invited me, I would not bother looking at your snowman at all," Koyuki said, lifting her chin.
Since Mugetsu had been the one to suggest it, Obito could only swallow his complaints.
Koyuki made a complete circuit, examining each snowman carefully before giving her verdicts.
Her evaluation of Obito's snowman was:
"Using real goggles on a snowman ruins the feeling. It is not pretty."
Her evaluation of Rin's snowmen was:
"I do not really understand it, but I feel like Sister Rin's snowman just looks good."
"You hateful Land of Snow brat," Obito grumbled inwardly, his temper flaring at her blatant double standard.
He admitted Rin's work was good, but how could anyone say his snowman did not look good at all?
When Koyuki finally stood before Kakashi's snowman, her eyes widened in surprise.
The pouting expression made her feel a little embarrassed, but there was no denying it looked just like her.
"Why did you give it such a weird expression?" Koyuki asked, unable to hold back.
"Because I felt like it," Kakashi answered lightly.
His reason for making a snowman shaped like Koyuki was simple. Since she had been stuck inside the house, he wanted her to feel included somehow. As for the expression, he just found it more amusing that way.
"Something is not right," Obito muttered, staring at Kakashi's snowman. "This thing looks fishy."
The more he looked, the stranger it seemed. He finally reached out and poked the snowman's arm, only to feel something solid beneath. He scraped away a bit of snow and discovered that the inside was layered, with rocks used as a base.
"Why did you poke my arm?" Koyuki demanded, glaring at him.
"Kakashi, you cheated!" Obito ignored her and pointed accusingly at Kakashi instead.
"You used Earth Release to make a statue first and then built the snowman over it, didn't you?"
"That is right," Kakashi admitted. "Is there any rule saying a snowman cannot be made that way?"
Obito opened his mouth and then closed it again.
Who would ever write rules for building snowmen?
"In any case, I refuse to acknowledge this kind of snowman," he declared. "It is not pure."
"But it is fast to make and looks good," Kakashi replied matter of factly. "What is the problem?"
"I think you are just jealous that Brother Kakashi made a good snowman," Koyuki said. As the judge, she decisively took Kakashi's side.
Mugetsu watched the scene unfold and did not intervene.
Sometimes a few extra exchanges like this were better than no communication at all.
"I wonder how the real body is doing," he thought, glancing off into the distance.
Even on a mission, his true self was not so idle that he would personally be the one telling stories to children. When he had free time, he would much rather study Sealing Techniques or refine Breathing Techniques.
Aside from the first day in the Land of Snow, the "Mugetsu" by Koyuki's side had always been a Shadow Clone.
The real Mugetsu's plan was simple: as long as nothing unexpected happened, he would spend the entire mission researching.
Unfortunately, someone intended to ruin that plan.
On the second day, Mugetsu noticed that ninja were secretly watching them.
If they had been sent by the Daimyo, Mugetsu would not have minded. It was natural for a father to want extra eyes on his daughter's escort.
But the Daimyo's guards did not need to skulk in the shadows. His intentions were very clear. He had already arranged several visible bodyguards to follow Koyuki openly.
When Mugetsu's true body investigated further, he found that the ones hiding in the dark were Kazahana Doto's people. Judging from their chakra and gear, they were clearly ninjas from Snow Ninja Village.
Mugetsu was very familiar with this story line. The moment he saw that, he guessed that Doto was probably already preparing for a coup.
A coup was not something you decided on the spur of the moment. Preparations laid down in advance were normal.
Mugetsu did not move immediately.
He first observed the current Daimyo, Kazahana Sosetsu, to judge the man's character.
After confirming that Sosetsu truly could be called a benevolent ruler, Mugetsu made up his mind to cut this coup off at the root.
He was not some saint who wanted to save everyone, but he was more than willing to do good when it was within his capability.
If a war hungry leader like Doto seized power, the people of the Land of Snow would definitely suffer.
Based on what he knew of Snow ninja from the original story, Mugetsu was confident that the affairs of the Land of Snow were within his reach.
So he started to act.
Still, this was a real world, not a script, and there had not been that many Snow ninja on screen in the original story. For the sake of caution, Mugetsu decided to first map out all the forces on Doto's side.
With his Appraisal Technique, that was not difficult.
…
"Have you found the insider yet?"
Doto held a cup of hot tea, but instead of drinking it he just warmed his hands around it as he asked the question that bothered him most.
Until the traitor was found, he would not feel safe.
For his own protection, he had his subordinates use Transformation Technique to attend court sessions in his stead, and he had Snow ninja watching the Konoha shinobi closely. Caution came before everything else.
"I sent ninja to investigate thoroughly, but could not find any insider like you mentioned, Doto," Kanko replied. He downed his own tea in one gulp and shook his head.
"Maybe you are being a little too sensitive. Those Konoha ninja might really just be here for a simple princess escort."
It was a major event, after all, a coup to overturn the country.
Once he had received Doto's message, Kanko had immediately carried out a strict investigation of Snow Ninja Village.
In the end, he had found nothing suspicious.
"Our plans are still in the preparation stage," he continued. "It is not that easy for anything to leak. And right now, only the top leadership of the village knows. How could they betray us for some naive Daimyo like Kazahana Sosetsu?"
"Everything we are doing is to strengthen the Land of Snow. No Snow ninja would betray their own country."
Kanko set his empty teacup back down with a quiet click.
Doto was also of royal blood, so Kanko did not feel that helping him take the throne was betrayal. On the contrary, he believed that Doto's vision was far more suitable for a Daimyo.
"Even so, this Hayate Mugetsu is a ninja with a decent reputation," Doto said slowly. "If Sosetsu really brought him here to deal with us, he will be a troublesome opponent."
After hearing Kanko's analysis, Doto had relaxed a little, but his concern had not vanished entirely.
"So what?" Kanko leaned back slightly and smiled. "Dotō, do you not trust my strength? He is just some young upstart under twenty."
If the one guarding the princess had been one of the Sannin, he would have been more cautious. Their fame shook the entire ninja world.
But Hayate Mugetsu was someone he had only recently heard about. As the leader of Snow Ninja Village, Kanko did not feel the slightest need to shrink back.
"Of course I trust your strength, Kanko." Doto smiled. He had been waiting for those exact words.
"By the way, how is the village's chakra armor coming along?" Doto asked once he had completely relaxed.
"There are some initial results," Kanko answered, frowning slightly. "It can increase the power of Ninjutsu, but because funding has been too tight, it is hard to continue development."
"There will be more money soon," Doto said calmly. "Once the plan succeeds."
Kanko's eyes narrowed in satisfaction and he nodded. That promise was exactly why he supported Doto's ambitions.
But neither man realized that somewhere in the darkness not far away, someone was silently observing them.
"Chakra armor that enhances Ninjutsu?" Mugetsu thought, his Byakugan active as he watched. "Interesting. I wonder if it can work like an external power bank."
With his Byakugan, he could watch from a safe distance, and his experience in Root meant he had long since mastered lip reading.
Even from far away, he could clearly follow their conversation.
He turned his gaze on the Snow ninja leader and activated Appraisal.
Mugetsu wanted to see exactly what gave this man the courage to look down on him.
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