Chapter 344: Flipping the Table
[Name: Kanko Hifu]
[Chakra: 45000]
[Skills: Water Release Chakra Nature Transformation (Mastery: 3400/15000), Wind Release Chakra Nature Transformation (Mastery: 300/15000), Water Release: Black Dragon Blizzard (Mastery), Water Release: One Horned White Whale (Mastery), Water Release: Wolf Fang Avalanche (Mastery), Water Release: Swallow Snowstorm (Proficient)...]
After seeing Kanko Hifu's status, Mugetsu could only conclude that courage was a wonderful thing.
Chakra volume was supposed to be Mugetsu's weak point, yet even his "weakness" still completely eclipsed Kanko Hifu. Mugetsu's chakra was already close to eighty thousand, almost double Hanhu's.
As for skills, there was no comparison at all. Not only did Mugetsu outstrip him in sheer number, he also crushed him in quality.
Even so, this little reconnaissance was still very valuable in Mugetsu's eyes.
Kanko might be an opponent Mugetsu could easily defeat, but for Kakashi and Obito at their current level, he was an enemy they absolutely could not handle.
To be safe, Mugetsu decided that from now on he would assign two Shadow Clones to protect his disciples. One clone would guard them in the open, while the other would move in the shadows and respond according to the situation.
"Since Sosetsu may have already noticed us, we need to change the plan."
Doto took a sip of hot tea, eyes half lidded.
"In the next few days I will prepare a probing operation. Once we confirm anything unusual, we launch the coup immediately."
If he could not root out the traitor in Snow Ninja Village, then he would test Sosetsu and Mugetsu directly. If there was anything suspicious about them, he would flip the table at once.
Originally, Doto had wanted to slowly pull all the officials over to his side and then move, so the coup would cause as little damage to the Land of Snow as possible.
But now, it seemed there was no more time for that.
"Understood. I will arrange a few reliable Jonin from Snow Ninja Village to stay by your side," Kanko replied with a nod.
The core of this coup was Doto himself.
He was the Daimyo's younger brother, and his status was the key to making everything work.
Mugetsu kept his Byakugan active until he saw Doto leave the office. Then he turned his vision elsewhere, continuing to sweep across Snow Ninja Village as he searched for the so called chakra armor.
The Byakugan really was a terrifyingly convenient ability. It allowed long distance, penetrating vision, making it easy to locate any special facility.
He soon found the underground laboratory.
The defenses there were lighter than Mugetsu had expected. Perhaps it was because the Land of Snow was remote and rarely touched by the major ninja wars.
But whether there were many guards or few, it did not matter much to Mugetsu.
If there were many, he would break his way in. If there were few, he would simply walk in. The result was the same either way.
Inside the lab, he found only a single chakra armor being used as a research sample. From that, Mugetsu judged that the completed armors had already been distributed to Snow Ninja Village's upper echelon.
He did not take the armor from the lab.
Instead, he took out a camera and carefully recorded every page of the Snow Ninja's research data.
Since Snow Ninja Village could build chakra armor at all, it meant the materials definitely existed within the Land of Snow.
As long as he had the technology, Mugetsu would never have to worry about obtaining chakra armor in the future.
After he finished recording, he slipped away without a sound.
From the bottom of his heart, Mugetsu even hoped that Snow Ninja Village could make another breakthrough in a short time.
That way, he could freeload their results again when the time came.
…
"Father, why are all four seasons the same in our country?"
After dinner, Kazahana Koyuki looked up with a puzzled expression.
"In our country, there are no flowers in spring, and summer is not hot," she said. "How can that be four seasons?"
When Mugetsu had explained the concept of four seasons, he had mentioned that the Land of Snow's location was special. At the time, Koyuki had not understood what that meant at all.
"Because our country is at the northernmost tip of the ninja world, and the climate is far too cold," Sosetsu replied, gently rubbing his daughter's head.
Although Sosetsu was the reigning Daimyo, he was not particularly interested in grand political maneuvers.
What truly fascinated him was knowledge, especially modern science and technology.
Before he had become Daimyo, Sosetsu had once visited the Land of Fire. He still remembered the beautiful spring scenery there even now.
The Land of Fire was indeed beautiful, but it was not his own country.
The Kazahana clan were the royal family of the Land of Snow. For them, travel expenses were nothing, but most of their citizens could not afford to leave their homeland to see blooming spring flowers in another land.
Therefore, even before ascending the throne, Sosetsu had made a decision: he would change the environment of the Land of Snow through technology, so that every citizen could one day see the beauty of spring flowers in their own country.
After becoming Daimyo, Sosetsu cut Snow Ninja Village's budget and reduced military spending in order to invest more resources into civilian technology.
He had visited several small nations without ninja villages that still functioned perfectly well, which convinced him that the Land of Snow did not truly need Snow Ninja Village to survive.
"Then… can we not move the whole country a little farther south?" Koyuki asked, still not really understanding.
Sosetsu laughed heartily.
"Our country is not some small rock you can just pick up and move," he said, amused by his daughter's innocence.
"Then will our country never be able to welcome spring?"
Koyuki's voice was full of disappointment.
When she had not known what the other seasons were like, winter had simply been normal.
But now that she knew there were places where flowers bloomed in spring and summers were warm and bright, she found it hard to accept that her own homeland only had cold and snow.
Even a rude guy like Obito could live in a place where spring existed, yet she, the well behaved and adorable Kazahana Koyuki, had to spend her entire life in ice and bitter wind.
"Of course not."
Sosetsu shook his head.
"As long as we firmly believe spring will come and work toward it, the Land of Snow will definitely welcome its own spring one day."
The funds he had cut from the ninja were not wasted.
The Land of Snow possessed a rare mineral, and Sosetsu had discovered that it contained a mysterious energy.
Adding just a tiny amount of this ore to heating equipment could dramatically increase its effectiveness.
The Snow ninja called it chakra ore, but Sosetsu preferred to call it Spring Warmth Ore.
In his eyes, it was the key to the Land of Snow's spring.
He planned to build a massive heating system that would cover the entire country and fight against the brutal cold.
"Really?" Koyuki asked, staring at him with shining eyes.
"Of course it is true. How could I possibly lie to my cute Princess Koyuki?" Sosetsu said with a smile, gently pinching her round cheek.
With such beautiful expectations in her heart, Koyuki returned to her room and fell asleep.
In her dreams, she saw the endless fields of flowers that Mugetsu had described.
She watched as the harsh winter of the Land of Snow ended and spring arrived at last.
Just as she reached out to pick one of the flowers for a closer look, a voice called to her from far away.
"Princess Koyuki, it is time to get up and eat."
Woken from her dream, Koyuki immediately recognized her personal maid's voice.
She felt a little annoyed. She had been just about to examine the beautiful flower closely, only for everything to vanish in an instant.
But as a kind and just princess, Koyuki would never scold her maid for something like that.
She simply puffed out her cheeks to show her displeasure.
"Princess Koyuki, I am so sorry. I must have disturbed your beautiful dream," the maid said quickly.
She knew Koyuki well and immediately understood the meaning behind that expression.
Koyuki calmed down completely and happily finished her breakfast.
…
"Brother Mugetsu, can you tell me more stories about the Land of Fire today?"
After breakfast, Koyuki found Mugetsu and tugged at him, her tone soft and spoiled.
"I still want to hear them."
"I also have stories about the Land of Fire. Do you want to hear mine?" Obito suddenly cut in, struck by what he felt was a brilliant idea.
"You?"
Koyuki instantly clung to Mugetsu's sleeve, looking at Obito with open suspicion.
"Do not look down on me." Obito puffed out his chest. "Back in Konoha, I am known as the King of Land of Fire Stories."
He lied to the child with a perfectly serious expression.
Mugetsu watched from the side, curious about what Obito was planning.
"Really? Then tell me one. I will judge for myself," Koyuki said, still not entirely convinced.
"Ahem. Then you had better listen carefully."
Obito cleared his throat twice, then began his performance.
"During the Warring States Period, there were two great ninja clans. One was the Uchiha, and the other was the Senju. The two clans were sworn enemies who clashed again and again.
"But the heirs of these two clans met when they were children and formed a deep friendship. And from there, things took a turn…"
Obito repeated the history he had heard from Mugetsu, even imitating Mugetsu's tone and pauses.
His imitation was not exactly perfect, but the story itself was convoluted and legendary enough that Koyuki was soon completely absorbed.
"Based on the material above," Obito continued solemnly, "predict whether the two clans can successfully form an alliance, and explain why. Then analyze how the era influenced the alliance process…"
Just as the story was reaching its climax, he suddenly rattled off a whole string of questions.
Koyuki, who had been listening intently, subconsciously tried to think about the answers.
Within moments she felt like her brain was overheating. Her gaze went blank.
She understood every single word Obito was saying, but together they made no sense at all.
"Obito, you…" Rin was left completely speechless.
Even Kakashi could not help but let out a small laugh.
The child had asked you to tell a story, and you turned half of it into a history test. That was some grudge.
"This is not a story at all!" Koyuki snapped once her head cleared.
She immediately denounced Obito's behavior.
In that instant, Kazahana Koyuki officially declared Uchiha Obito to be her number one enemy.
She had never met someone so cunning.
"What is a princess doing listening to stories all day?" Obito shot back with a straight face.
"You are going to inherit the throne and become queen. You should be studying more. If you do not, how are you going to govern this country in the future?"
Every time he had declared he would become Hokage, Kakashi had mocked him with similar lines.
Now he finally had the chance to throw them at someone else.
Koyuki froze.
She vaguely felt that Obito was not coming from a place of kindness, but his argument sounded oddly reasonable, and she had no idea how to refute him.
Her little face flushed red with frustration. She wanted to fight back, but the problem was that she really did not know what to say.
"Koyuki, can you take me to see your father?"
Mugetsu extended two fingers together and tapped Obito lightly on the head, then turned to the girl.
"No problem. It is not Father's work time yet. Actually, I think he does not have to work today at all," Koyuki said, mood instantly improving when she saw Obito clutching his forehead.
"Then please take me to him," Mugetsu said, patting her gently on the head. "There is something very important I need to discuss with your father."
Since Doto still wanted to test him, Mugetsu had already decided.
He would flip the table first.
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