Border Sea :
Near Land Of Snow :
The calm waves rolled over the blue carpet of water as a large ship steadily cut through it. The chilly air blowing across the deck was different from the usual ocean breeze, as it kept getting Cold & Cold , but this came as no surprise to anyone on board.
After all, their destination was the Land of Snow—a nation shrouded in ice and snow 90% of the year.
While the weather was cloudy and biting, the atmosphere on the deck of the ship was lively. Everyone was gathered around, watching the filming taking place right on the deck.
It wasn't a that kind of shooting, something Americans seemed to love doing in their Local schools , this was an actual movie shooting. It featured the most popular actress in the Land of Fire, Yukie Fujikaze, starring in her highly anticipated upcoming film:
The Adventures of Princess Gale.
"Please, Princess! Take care of yourself. This subject wishes you well with his last breath..."
"No, General! Please don't !"
" ....your higness can you please fulfill one last wish of your Loyal subject "
" Please tell me , my loyalest Egneral , as llong as i can , I will "
" Then please , before these eyes of mine close forevver , one last time ......PLease suck my d---"
Sakura watched with stars in her eyes as Yukie went into full acting mode. Despite the actress's earlier antics, Sakura had to admit that Yukie wasn't just beautiful—she was a tremendously talented actress.
(...I still don't understand why she gave us so much trouble about coming to the Land of Snow,) Sakura thought in between as se watched over everything on the deck .
She remembered the past two days, during which the "princess" had run away time and time again, absolutely hellbent on not going to the Land of Snow under any circumstances.
But dealing with her runaways was exactly why Team 7 was there.
The Bodyguard Assignment: Team 7 had been assigned to protect the popular movie star Yukie Fujikaze during the filming of her latest movie.
Kakashi stood near Sakura, his visible eye somehow focused on both the ongoing movie shoot and the little orange book held open in his hand.
Konoha's ace had absolutely no shame, happily reading his highly questionable 'literature' in public, completely regardless of the audience or presence of 12 year old kids .
The man didn't even glance at the most beautiful actress in the Land of Fire just meters away from him. Except for his book, his eye only occasionally swept the surroundings for security threats.
As for Princess Gale herself?
Especially after the ridiculous shenanigans he'd witnessed over the last two days, Kakashi's opinion had already solidified.
Once again...
(.....2D waifus are the best.)
Kakashi refocused on the latest edition of the Icha Icha series he had recently procured from the Toad Sage. He giggled to himself.
Come Come Paradise
( ... Hehehe... Now that;s a princess I would Love to --)
Just as Kakashi was about to turn the page, Sasuke's voice drifted over.
"...Is this really an A-rank mission?"
Hearing Sasuke's skepticism, Kakashi answered without a pause.
" ..That it is. Sometimes, missions are just like that."
"..."
"Regardless, we have to protect her. She is our client, and this is an important mission for the village."
Hearing this, Sasuke leaned on the ship's railing, looking out at the cold sea while wearing a scarf .
"...I don't think it will be hard to protect a single person. Actress or not."
Sakura, overhearing the conversation between her sensei and her crush, walked over to chime in.
"Yeah, Kakashi-sensei, Sasuke-kun is right! There's no way someone would actually want to hurt Princess Gale! I mean, it's Yukie Fujikaze!"
Hearing his two students, Kakashi's visible eye twitched. He slowly closed his book with a snap and looked at them.
"Wrong."
"Huh?"
"..."
Seeing their confused silence, Kakashi decided to elaborate.
"Famous people are always targeted. Especially someone as beautiful and famous as our client."
"..." x2.
"A rival actress might want to harm her. Someone might want to ruin her face. Some people might just want to sabotage the movie so it never finishes."
"..."
" And some wealthy individuals might just want to capture her to... well... spend time with her every night........ without her consent."
Kakashi carefully rephrased his words so the twelve-year-old genin would understand the darker, grittier reasons why others would target Yukie.
Hearing Kakashi's explanation, Sakura kept nodding at first, but slowly, her face paled as the horrifying implications dawned on her.
Sasuke's expression also hardened. He slowly turned around and started scanning the crew and their surroundings, finally taking the bodyguard aspect of the mission seriously.
While looking around, Sasuke's eyes moved toward the front of the ship. Sitting on the figurehead, completely silent, was the blonde member of their team, staring blankly at the sea.
(...Just what is going on with him? He has been like this for days,) Sasuke thought, narrowing his eyes.
Days.....
Or maybe since the exact day Uchiha Itachi attacked.
Remembering that day, Sasuke's Sharingan flared to life, his eyes hardening with a different, more complex emotion than before.
Despite everything, Sasuke vividly remembered how Naruto had stopped him from getting his revenge. He had been just a step away from confronting Itachi, only to be attacked from behind by the blonde and knocked unconscious.
When he finally came to, it was already evening. When he tried to find Naruto to confront te Blonde, the only answer he got from his sensei was the HOspiyal ......and from the hospital staff was:
(.....Hospital... ICU... NO VISITORS ALLOWED.)
Hearing that, Sasuke's heart had plummeted. His anger had evaporated that day, completely replaced by deep curiosity and concern. It was only later, when he met with Kakashi, that he found out the official story of what had happened.
Itachi and his partner had attacked Naruto. Naruto had somehow managed to hold out until the Hokage and the Toad Sannin arrived. In the ensuing clash, one S-rank rogue was killed, and Uchiha Itachi was forced to retreat from the village.
Despite hearing the official report, Sasuke still wanted to know everything. He wanted to hear it directly from Naruto's mouth—especially the reason why Naruto had knocked him out and stopped him from taking his revenge.
Deep down, Sasuke already knew the harsh truth: he was no match for Itachi. And after days of persuasion from Kakashi, he somewhat understood the logical reason for Naruto's actions.
But...
(...I am not reconciled.)
Bottling up his turbulent emotions, Sasuke had waited. But almost ten days passed without any news from Naruto, who was still strictly confined to the hospital.
His frustration slowly converted back into concern. Sasuke couldn't help but remember what happened the last time Squad 7 faced an S-rank rogue like Orochimaru in the Forest of Death, and how Naruto's shoulder had almost been severed to protect them.
It wasn't just Sasuke; Sakura and all of Naruto's other friends had been deeply concerned. Seeing their worry, the Hokage had finally lifted the curfew and allowed them to visit Naruto, whose condition had seemingly 'stabilized' in her view.
Sasuke had visited during that time. But seeing the blonde so distracted, sitting there with that always Irritating smile completely wiped from his face
the Avenger had held his tongue.
Since then, Sasuke had noticed that the Uzumaki had gone completely silent. He was constantly distracted. The only time he spoke was with Kakashi or during mission briefings. The uncharacteristic silence was starting to make the Uchiha deeply uncomfortable.
(Without that blonde rambling all the time.... Sakura has completely lost all her restraints. My head has been hurting for days. One keeps chirping non-stop, the other is dead silent.... and then there's Kakashi....... ANNOYING.)
Feeling he'd had enough, Sasuke decided to break the silence. The village and his sensei had been keeping quiet about Naruto's true condition, but the Uchiha already understood that something was very wrong.
"...What's going on with Naruto?"
Hearing Sasuke's sudden question, Sakura and Kakashi both looked toward the front of the ship. Seeing Naruto sitting alone in the biting wind, Kakashi stayed silent for a few moments before speaking.
"Well... he is coping with the aftereffects of some th—"
"Stop lying."
"..."
"I don't need the Sharingan to see that something is wrong with him," Sasuke interrupted, his tone sharp. "...And you're our sensei. What happened to all that 'comrade' talk?"
"..."
"...Are you saying that, as his comrades, we don't deserve to know what's going on with him?"
Sasuke glared directly at Kakashi. While using Naruto as an excuse, Sasuke was also showing his deep dissatisfaction with his sensei. It wasn't just about Naruto; Kakashi hadn't given him any straight answers regarding Itachi or the events of that day, either.
The only answer they ever got was:
(S-RANK SECRET...... What bullshit... I deserve to know anything regarding Uchiha Itachi.)
Kakashi looked at Sasuke silently. His visible eye flicked to Sakura, who was shivering in the cold, glancing nervously between the two of them. She had also noticed Naruto's state, but Sakura being Sakura, she hadn't pushed.
Looking back at Sasuke, Kakashi decided to speak. The kid's words had resonated with him. Closing his book, Kakashi looked at Sasuke seriously.
"Well... what do you want to know?"
"I want to—"
"...Just so you know, I can only tell you the bare minimum," Kakashi interrupted firmly. "...Within boundaries. It is an S-rank secret, after all."
Hearing Kakashi relent, Sasuke took a deep breath. He had thought Kakashi would just deflect again.
(As expected... using his own words about 'comrades' seems to get through to him.)sasuke smirked internally as he started
Sasuke asked his first burning question.
"...What happened to Itachi?"
"Itachi retreated after the Hokage and reinforcements arrived. Especially since his partner was surrounded.... He betrayed his comrade and used him as a distraction to cover his own escape."
Kakashi spoke the edited version that the village council had decided to announce. While it was true that Naruto had personally killed Kisame, the village had decided to give the 'merit' of the kill to Tsunade and Jiraiya.
For the World to undersatnd KOnoha's strength .
That way, no outside eyes would focus on a twelve-year-old genin disguised as Jinchuriki , who could butcher an S-rank shinobi.
Hearing Kakashi's words, Sasuke's Sharingan spun with pure hatred.
(as expected of that Monster ...........That bastard slaughtered his own mother, father, and entire clan... betraying a partner is nothing new for him.)
While thinking this, Sasuke asked his next, and arguably most important, question.
"...What was Itachi's purpose for invading the village?"
Kakashi fell silent. He racked his brain for the right answer, anticipating the follow-up questions that would inevitably arise.
(....Hmm, maybe some things can safely come to light,) Kakashi mused.
"Itachi came to the village to target Naruto," Kakashi answered simply.
Sasuke paused, taking a few seconds to process this. His voice dropped lower, becoming much more serious.
(...Why Naruto, of all people?)
"...Why?"
"...The answer to that cannot be spoken here. ....Maybe later, when we're back in the village."
Hearing Kakashi's firm refusal, Sasuke took a breath. He looked around the ship, watching the busy film crew, before turning back to Kakashi.
"...What happened to him? To Naruto?"
Kakashi looked at Sasuke. The Avenger had finally asked about his comrade's well-being. Though Kakashi had hoped for this, he still understood why Sasuke was asking it right now.
(He's only asking because knowing Naruto was Itachi's target... made him curious about what happened during the fight.)
"Some aftereffects after fighting off two S-rank shinobi," Kakashi answered smoothly.
"That's not what I'm asking. He looks fine. Tell me the real answer."
Kakashi rubbed his chin beneath his mask. "...Well, consider it an illness, I guess."
"Ill?" Sasuke repeated the absurd word. Someone as energetic as Naruto being ill sounded ridiculous.
"....Is he sick?" Sakura finally chimed in, stepping closer.
Seeing her genuine concern, Kakashi nodded in relief and replied.
"Well, it's an illness that requires long-term treatment. He just found out about it, so it's normal that he's a bit distracted."
"...Is he going to be alright?" Sakura asked again, her brow furrowing in worry.
(It seems, at the very least, she's still a good kid deep down.... as long as she can focus her mind away from Sasuke for five minutes,) Kakashi mused inwardly.
He offered them a reassuring eye-smile. "Of course. It just requires long-term treatment. Tsunade-sama is personally helping him with it.... It's nothing life-threatening."
Hearing Kakashi-sensei's reassurance, Sakura sighed heavily in relief. But that relief was broken by Sasuke.
"Is he okay to do missions?"
"Huh?"
"He's not going to hold us back... right?"
Hearing this, Kakashi's eye-smile slipped just a fraction. "No problem there. He is perfectly fit for missions. Hokage-sama personally gave her approval."
(Though... the Hokage really just wanted me to observe Naruto's psychological reactions in different environments and combat situations,) Kakashi added inwardly.
The rest of the evening was spent with the three members of Team 7 talking quietly. The conversation didn't drag on for long, as Kakashi point-blank refused to answer many of their direct questions. Still, it gave Sasuke and Sakura plenty of new information to chew on.
For Sasuke, he got crucial info regarding Itachi and Naruto's connection. As for Sakura... well, she just listened while staring dreamily at the side of Sasuke's face.
In this way, the day ended & freezing morning finally broke.
Team 7 woke up to the frantic shouting and commotion of the ship's crew. Kakashi, Sasuke, Sakura, and Naruto stepped out of their assigned quarters and walked out onto the freezing deck, only to hear the crew panicking.
"D-Director...!!"
"What happened?"
"Look ahead! We're in trouble!"
Team 7 and the rest of the crew rushed to the front of the ship. They watched in awe as their route was completely blocked by a massive, towering iceberg—as big as a mountain.
"What is this?! Shouldn't it take more time to reach the Land of Snow?!" the director yelled.
"No, Director! This isn't the Land of Snow yet!"
"Huh?! Then what is it?!"
"When I woke up this morning, the route was already blocked! What should we do?!"
The director looked incredibly troubled for a moment, rubbing his chin. But soon, his eyes lit up with fanatic inspiration.
"We'll do it here, then!!"
"Eh?!"
"Fools! This location is absolutely ideal! The lighting! The dramatic ice! It would be a total waste not to film a scene here!"
"EH?!"
"EVERYONE, GET READY TO LAND AND SHOOT!"
And So with The Director's command , The ship slowly docked near a naturally formed ice pier. Over the next two hours, while Team 7 watched closely, the crew members slowly disembarked and arranged all their heavy Shooting equipment across the freezing, natural set.
Naruto stood around the perimeter, keeping a vigilant watch over everything. Just like him, Kakashi and Sasuke were focusing their attention on the other two directions, while Sakura stayed close to keep their client company.
Naruto stood silently in the snow, with A white Cloak around his body that covered his whole body , The cloak was silver white with a feathered hoodie , something Naruto specially bought to fight against snow and also for camaflouge in the snowy region .
narutos eyes were scanning the area with a lollipop casually rolling around in his mouth.
(...Alright, let's stop everything else and focus on the mission.)
Naruto slowly deactivated his [MindHub] skill, which had been running constantly in the background to deduce a cure for his condition , and now He finally decided to shift his full attention to the bodyguard mission.
It wasn't that he hadn't been focusing before; it was just that, previously, he had only left one mental partition to keep an eye on his surroundings while the vast majority of his focus was dedicated to his 'situation' .
But now, shifting gears, Naruto decided to put 100% of his effort into the job at hand.
(Land of Snow.......don't know when they'll come.)
Naruto rolled the lollipop to the other side of his mouth and activated his [Kagura's Mind Eye].
(.....Hmm. There they are... are they waiting for something?)
Naruto easily found the chakra signatures of the enemies. They were being quite blatant about it, not even bothering to mask their chakra before this so-called 'ambush.'
(......Well, masking chakra is a high-level skill. How could a small country manage it?)
Naruto thought silently, remembering the logistical problems of the Land of Snow and other minor shinobi nations.
While it looked like the Land of Snow possessed highly advanced chakra armor, at the end of the day, even with that technology, these people had been wiped out by Kakashi and three genin (well, technically two chunin-level fighters) in the original timeline.
(...Hmm? There are 10 chakra signatures... How strange. In the movie, from start to finish, didn't only three snow shinobi appear?)
Naruto analysed the chakra levels of the ten people lurking in the distance.
(...Hmm. Seven genin... and then three weird chakra signatures... Must be because of those armors, I guess!)
The so-called genin were literal genin. Technically, if Naruto hadn't actively focused his senses, he might have missed them. Their chakra reserves were almost on par with Sakura's.
Or maybe even less?
(...No wonder they desperately developed chakra armor.)
Considering that even with their advanced armor, their leader had still been utterly wiped out by a Sharingan-wielding/Low BAttery Kakashi, Naruto understood why the Land of Snow focused on technological crutches, and why the Five Great Nations didn't take them seriously.
(Well, since it's chakra armor.... it must contain chakra metal... right?)
One of Naruto's primary goals for this trip was to harvest as much chakra metal as possible. Judging by the armors shown in the movie, and finally the 'Ultimate' armor used by their leader, Naruto had high expectations. It would be the perfect material for his next project.
Yes, his next project. In the end, how could a few life-threatening setbacks stop a protagonist as reckless as Naruto?
(....Well the next Project is non-threatning anyway )
Suddenly, Naruto felt movement in his sensory net from the Snow shinobi.
(...Hmm. They moved once they confirmed that everyone..... including the princess and the entire crew, was off the ship and on land........... Not totally brainless i guess )
Naruto moved his hands, weaving a hand seal. Dozens of shadow clones popped into existence, surrounding him in the snow.
( But , If It was me , I would have intercepted the ship and blown it up in the middle of the sea ........and then confronted Kakashi while taking the princess dead or alive )
Once the clones materialized, a few of them immediately scattered, moving toward the other members of Team 7.
As for the rest, some buried themselves deep beneath the snow, while others vanished into the white landscape using camouflage cloths that perfectly matched the snowy terrain.
The sudden flurry of movement from Naruto's side instantly drew the attention of Kakashi, Sasuke, and the princess's confidant, Sandayu Asama—the loyal vassal to the Kazahana family who was secretly trying to restore Koyuki to the throne.
Naruto's clones moved, slowly converging on Kakashi and Sasuke's positions. As for Sakura's side? Well, no clone moved to her side; they decided it was best to consult with Kakashi first.
"OKAY, scene 36, cut 22... ACTION!!"
Click!
With the snap of the clapperboard, the scene commenced. Princess Gale confronted the evil Mao and his retainers amidst the freezing snowy landscape.
"SO, YOU HAVE COME ALL THE WAY HERE... PRINCESS FUUN!!" the actor playing Mao boomed, wearing his Purple Black Overalls of the Main Villain .
"MAO...!!!" Yukie yelled back dramatically.
"IF I KNEW YOU MISSED ME SO MUCH, I WOULD HAVE NEVER PISSED IN YOUR MOU—"
Suddenly, an actor playing a vassal cut off Mao's highly questionable, unhinged script right in the middle.
"YOUR HIGHNESS, PLEASE STAY BACK!!"
Another black-painted vassal spoke up, striking a pose. "WE WILL DEAL WITH HIM... JUST MAKE SURE THE REWARD IS PREPARED!"
Hearing this, the Princess continued her lines, placing a dramatic hand over her heart. "DON'T WORRY! I ALREADY BATHED AND WORE YOUR FAVORITE EXPENSIVE BLACK LINGE—"
The Princess's words were cut short as the 'jealous' and enraged Mao thundered aloud.
"WHATEVER YOU ARE... NONE OF YOU ARE A MATCH FOR ME.... WHETHER IN BATTLE OR IN BED—"
BOOOOM!
Suddenly, right in the middle of Mao's bizarre speech, a massive explosion went off in the background, showering the set with ice and snow.
The great Evil Mao lost his shit, immediately breaking character as he looked back in terror.
"...What is the meaning of this?! No one told me about special effects?!"
Just as the actor playing Mao was standing there in total confusion, he suddenly found Kakashi standing right between him and the Princess.
"Everyone, get back," Kakashi ordered, his tone dropping its usual laziness, replaced by deadly seriousness.
Seeing this sudden intrusion ruining his perfect take, the first person to react wasn't the enemy, but actually the OLd Fart of the movie director.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING, YOU HENTAI SHINOBI?!"
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Author's NOtes :
some thoughts for Team 7and their eaction among the other things with Sasuke .
Somtime I feel that the so called comradeship and firendship between Team 7 memebers i almost
WEll One Sided ......you mean what i say right .
Well let's forget that
Hmm , Fight next chapter
I have decided to atleast upload 3-4 chapter a week min.
So
Next chapter tomorrow .
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