Chapter 350: Mission Ended
As the most important festival in the Land of Snow, the Snow God Festival was taken very seriously by both the officials and the common people. The usually quiet country became lively and bustling on this single day.
Ordinarily, the Snow God Festival centered on worshipping the snow god.
This year, however, there was another major event: the conferring of the title of Ice and Snow Hero.
After news spread that the enormous ice sphere on the battlefield had been created by Mugetsu, the people of the Land of Snow became even more eager to see this Ice and Snow Hero with their own eyes. In their hearts, that feat had already become a miracle.
The title ceremony was held at Kazahana Castle, specifically on the very battlefield where Mugetsu had clashed with the Snow ninja. Because of his rampaging ninjutsu, the area had already been flattened, with almost no trace of the original buildings left.
Even though the space was wide, there were far too many curious spectators. Sosetsu had no choice but to dispatch a large number of guards to maintain order and prevent any accidents.
The giant ice sphere Mugetsu had made still stood there. To make absolutely sure it would not crash into Kazahana Castle, he had reinforced it in advance with ninjutsu.
"How could such a massive ice sphere even be made? Is this Ice and Snow Hero the reincarnation of the snow god, come down personally to save the Land of Snow?" an elderly man who devoutly believed in the snow god exclaimed.
Even the country's ninja had admitted that Mugetsu's techniques were unbelievable. For ordinary people, it was nothing short of supernatural.
"If only the hero's hair were blue, it would be perfect," someone else said, feeling that Mugetsu's aura was too warm and bright, more like sunshine than ice and snow.
Before the ceremony officially began, people voiced their thoughts one after another, each more animated than the last.
As the formal proceedings drew near, the guards began pushing the crowd back into place, trying to bring the noise down to something resembling solemnity.
Once the ceremony started, Sosetsu walked toward Mugetsu with a dignified expression, carrying a beautifully made blue cloak in his hands. At the same time, an official began to read aloud an emotional account of the coup, carefully emphasizing Mugetsu's deeds.
It told of the initial discovery of Doto's treason, of how intelligence had been gathered, and of how Sosetsu's hesitation had caused them to miss the best chance to arrest his brother, plunging the country into crisis.
Then, just as the situation reached its most desperate point, Mugetsu stood up alone, defeated hundreds of Snow ninja by himself, and crushed Doto's usurpation plan.
Originally, this narrative had glossed over Sosetsu's misjudgment and focused only on his later cooperation with Mugetsu.
Although Sosetsu had indeed made the mistake, he was still the Daimyo. Officials were concerned that publicly mentioning it would damage his prestige.
But it was Sosetsu who insisted it be written truthfully. He believed that since he had erred, he should admit it openly. It could also serve as a warning to future rulers.
When Sosetsu reached Mugetsu, he personally draped the cloak over his shoulders and spoke with clear, ringing sincerity.
"Thank you, Mugetsu, for all that you have done for the Land of Snow. You will always be our Ice and Snow Hero."
Thunderous applause exploded from the crowd. The people of the Land of Snow celebrated the birth of a hero.
Next came the conferring of the warrior titles.
The deeds of the three Ice and Snow Warriors were announced as well, followed by formal blessings and symbolic gifts.
When the common people saw what the three warriors actually looked like, they were shocked. Obito and the others were far too young, practically still children.
But once they heard that those same children had protected the Daimyo's daughter and personally defeated Doto, the looks in their eyes changed.
They were truly accomplished at such a young age.
"The gap between people really is huge. At that age, all I knew how to do was play in the snow," one onlooker muttered.
"They are promising young men and women. When they grow up, they may end up just like the Ice and Snow Hero," another said, applauding and offering heartfelt blessings.
Obito drank in the lively atmosphere, looking at the smiling faces all around. His chest swelled with pride.
One day, I will also become a hero in the Land of Fire, in Konoha, he vowed silently.
This time, his status as a "hero" of the Land of Snow had been more or less attached to Mugetsu's glow, and Obito knew it clearly.
But he was sure that if he kept walking the path before him, then one day, he would become just like Mugetsu, a true hero in his own right.
After the ceremony concluded, the Snow God Festival shifted back into its usual schedule.
First came the worship of the snow god at the shrine. After that, everyone was free to enjoy the festival's many activities, from ski races and snowman building contests to ice fishing competitions.
Because Mugetsu's group was technically still on a mission, they simply followed wherever Koyuki wanted to go.
And since Koyuki was full of energy and curiosity, she wanted to try everything, so they ended up experiencing almost all of the festival events.
Wherever there was competition, though, rivalry was never far behind.
Koyuki laughed herself silly over Obito's terrible skiing, watching him fall again and again.
Refusing to accept defeat, Obito promptly activated his Sharingan and copied one of the expert skiers on the slopes. His skills shot up instantly, prompting Koyuki to proclaim on the spot that it was cheating.
In the snowman building contest, Kakashi once again sculpted an intricate snowman so perfect that Obito loudly accused him of using Earth Release to cheat. But after careful inspection, it turned out that he really had built it using nothing but snow.
"Is it not normal for my snowman making to improve after staying in the Land of Snow for so long?" Kakashi replied in a bored tone.
"Some people think that if they cannot do something, then others must be cheating," Koyuki quietly added.
Obito could only squat down and sulk, drawing circles in the snow with his finger and muttering under his breath.
Rin could not help but laugh at the scene, and quickly captured it with Obito's camera.
Later, when they arrived in an area covered in deep, untouched snow, Obito could not resist bending down, packing a snowball, and hurling it at Kakashi.
Kakashi, ever cautious, sensed it and dodged with a quick sidestep. The snowball sailed past him and smacked squarely into Koyuki, who had been happily skipping ahead.
She turned around, dazed, glanced around, and then locked on to Obito, who was standing there with his hands suspiciously hidden behind his back.
"Seeing such clean, beautiful snow, anyone would want to make a snowball, right? And once you make a snowball, it would be a shame not to throw it," Obito tried to explain.
"Sure enough, it is that rude Obito. You even dared to attack a princess. Death penalty, death penalty," Koyuki declared, repeating the phrase she had learned from Mugetsu.
She took a deep breath, then hurled a snowball from each hand straight at Obito.
Because she had envied Obito and the others freely playing in the snow, Koyuki had gone to Mugetsu for guidance.
Seeing how diligently she had cooperated with them all this time, and with the promise of chakra ore from the Daimyo, Mugetsu had specially altered the basic Breathing Technique to suit ordinary people and taught it to her.
This version of the Breathing Technique only served to strengthen the body. It did not require high frequency training and was useless for shinobi, but it suited Koyuki's needs perfectly.
Even so, she was still an ordinary person. Obito easily dodged her snowballs, only to be struck from the side by a surprise snowball Kakashi casually lobbed his way.
That was all it took to ignite a full scale snowball free for all.
Even Rin joined in, unable to resist.
To better hit their targets and avoid being hit themselves, Obito immediately entered Focused Breathing and activated his Sharingan.
Seeing Obito pull out his Sharingan, Kakashi calmly activated his Transparent World in response, sharpening his perception.
Rin did not have as many tricks as the two of them, but she did have the Water Prison Technique, which she used as a rotating shield to block incoming snowballs.
Under Koyuki's wide eyes, a simple snowball fight soon escalated into something that looked suspiciously like a battle between monsters.
She suddenly felt very small, very pitiful, and very helpless.
But once Mugetsu was dragged into the fray, everyone else became just as pitiful and helpless as Koyuki.
He calmly formed snowballs and then used Wind Release as covering fire, hurling them with the momentum of a thousand arrows raining down from the sky.
Of course, keeping his client's feelings in mind, Mugetsu controlled everything precisely. Only one snowball flew toward Koyuki, while the overwhelming majority of his barrage focused on Kakashi and Obito.
"Mugetsu sensei, this is completely unfair," Obito shouted, overwhelmed by the barrage. He had no time at all to counterattack.
"Did you not also use ninja power?" Koyuki immediately stood up to mock him, seeing him pinned down.
Obito fell silent.
Could his pitiful ninjutsu really be compared to Mugetsu's? That was Mugetsu sensei. Even if he handicapped himself by giving up both hands, Obito still would not last long.
By the end of the day, Obito and the others were exhausted.
On paper, they were there to protect Koyuki, but in practice, they had spent the entire day playing with her from one end of the festival to the other.
As for Koyuki, who had less stamina than any of them, she practically fell asleep the instant she returned home.
That kind of day continued for three full days.
On the fourth day, the Snow God Festival came to an end, and Mugetsu's team had officially completed their mission.
"Mugetsu sensei, can you stay a little longer? I can ask Father to send more missions to Konoha," Koyuki said, reluctant to see them go.
They had not known each other long, but she had grown genuinely fond of him.
He was handsome, good at telling stories, always praised her cuteness, and had taught her many things.
"Of course not. When a mission ends, it ends," Mugetsu replied with a gentle smile. "If I have the chance in the future, I will visit the Land of Snow again."
He had gained a lot on this trip.
He had acquired a good stockpile of chakra ore, as well as several sets of Snow ninja chakra armor and the related research materials.
"Mugetsu sensei, can you not turn into many copies of yourself? Why not leave one here in the Land of Snow?" Koyuki tried again, grasping at any excuse.
Before Mugetsu could refuse, Sosetsu spoke up.
"Koyuki, do not make things difficult for Mugetsu. There may be other places in the world that need him even more."
If someone as powerful as Mugetsu could remain in the Land of Snow permanently, Sosetsu would have agreed without hesitation.
Even so, naive as he sometimes was, even he knew that was impossible.
"Goodbye. Do not cry sad tears just because we are leaving, all right? I hope that next time we meet, you will be a little more like a princess," Obito said, still hung up on the fact that Koyuki did not match his idea of a proper princess.
"When Mugetsu sensei leaves, when Sister Rin leaves, when Brother Kakashi leaves, I will all be sad. Only when you leave will I be happy," Koyuki snapped back as soon as she heard Obito say she was not like a princess again.
For Koyuki, who had made up her mind to become a kind, righteous, good princess, Obito's words were truly unforgivable.
"Tch. And here I even prepared a farewell present for you," Obito said with a wounded look.
Hearing that, Kakashi's mouth twitched.
In his opinion, Obito's gift could only be described as "doing to others what you would never want done to you."
"A gift?" Koyuki eyed Obito suspiciously.
"There really is one. Everyone prepared something for you," Rin added gently.
With Rin speaking up, Koyuki finally believed it was not just Obito spouting nonsense.
"Then I take back what I just said. For today, I will not dislike you. I am sad that all of you are leaving," she corrected herself seriously.
"Make sure you open the gifts after you get home," Obito instructed.
Koyuki did not know why he was so insistent, but she suppressed her curiosity and nodded. It was true that opening them outside would not be very proper.
"Goodbye, Mugetsu sensei. You must come play in the Land of Snow when you have time," Koyuki shouted, waving with all her strength as Mugetsu and the others boarded their ship.
Mugetsu responded with a warm smile.
Rin smiled and waved.
Kakashi gave a small nod.
And once the ship finally started moving, Obito burst out laughing in triumph for no clear reason.
After returning home, Koyuki eagerly began opening the wrapped gifts.
The first was Mugetsu's.
Inside was a calligraphy piece he had written just for her, along with a thin booklet explaining body strengthening through the Breathing Technique.
Koyuki's smile blossomed. She decided to treasure the calligraphy carefully and train her body diligently, so that next time she would be able to hit Obito and the others more often during snowball fights.
The second was from Kakashi.
Koyuki opened the box and found an exquisitely carved statue of herself.
She was delightfully surprised and gently set the little statue on a cabinet where it would be safe.
The third was Rin's.
It was a painting, capturing the scene of all of them visiting the Snow God Festival together.
Koyuki had it framed and placed by her bedside so she could see it every day and never forget those memories.
Finally, she reached the last gift.
Obito's.
When she opened it and saw what was inside, Koyuki's expression froze.
It was a very thick stack of papers, each covered in dense writing.
"Is this a farewell letter…?" she wondered, then began to read more carefully.
"Who was the first person in the Land of Snow to receive the title of Ice and Snow Hero?
Junpei Miyauchi 2. Natsuki Tahara…"
"Please read the above reference materials and analyze the causes of the Land of Snow's perpetual winter climate…"
She read two full pages and realized that this was not a letter at all, but a pile of test papers full of questions.
Her fists clenched.
Koyuki felt her knuckles crack.
She swore to herself that if she ever became the Daimyo, she would give Obito a mission, and the mission content would be to complete one thousand test papers.
"Hmph, I will just not do them," Koyuki said, deciding that she had absolutely no obligation to complete Obito's tests.
Then she saw the small line of text at the bottom.
"These test papers are based on Mugetsu sensei's and are necessary training to become a qualified princess. If you can complete them all, maybe Mugetsu sensei will see you in a new light the next time you meet. Good luck."
Next to the words "Good luck" was a tiny drawing of a clenched fist.
Koyuki stared at it, her expression wavering.
If she could become a truly qualified princess, and if that meant Mugetsu sensei would look at her differently next time, then maybe it was not impossible.
Surely, questions made by that rude Obito could not possibly defeat her.
…
"What a pity. If only I could have seen her face when she opened the gift," Obito said regretfully on the ship.
"How did you even make those, Obito? There were so many different knowledge points on those test papers. Did you study a whole pile of books about the Land of Snow?" Rin asked, still puzzled.
"I just used Mugetsu sensei's test papers as a template. The actual questions were written by the scholars here in the Land of Snow," Obito answered, chest puffed out with pride.
Kakashi looked at him in speechless silence.
Obito's mind, he thought, only ever became this sharp when it came to tricking people.
And so, without any further incidents, Mugetsu and his team returned safely to Konoha, bringing their mission in the Land of Snow to an end.
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