Once everything here was resolved, perhaps they'd never meet again. There was no reason to get emotionally involved.
"Hey... can you take me away from here?" Yukie Fujikaze suddenly turned around, her voice trembling, eyes glistening with tears. "I really don't want to stay."
"No," Kaito replied firmly, shaking his head. "This may be the place that hurt you the most, but even if I take you away… where would you go?"
He paused, voice calm. "You should rise from where you've fallen. As for Kazahana Doto, I'll deal with him."
"What are you saying? Are you kidding me?" Yukie snapped, her expression cold and defeated. "Do you really think you can beat someone like him?"
Kaito stayed silent. Their perspectives weren't even on the same level. In terms of ninja strength, Kazahana Doto was no more than an elite jonin at best.
"Hah! Silent now?" Yukie sneered bitterly. "Did I hit the mark? If you really defeat him, I'll marry you."
Without waiting for a reply, she turned and walked back toward the cabin, exhaustion dragging her steps.
Kaito looked at her retreating figure, he wasn't really interested in her. But once he was sure she was asleep, he left behind a shadow clone and sprinted off toward Kazahana Doto's stronghold.
He knew the final boss in the Snow Princess' Book of Ninja Arts was Kazahana Doto. As long as he was defeated, the mission would be complete.
After that, everything could be handed over to Asama Santarou. Kaito would return to Konoha—saving plenty of time.
This was already decided the moment he chose to protect Yukie Fujikaze.
With lightning at his feet, Kaito sped across the snowy plains and arrived swiftly in the Land of Snow.
Kazahana Doto's residence was impossible to miss. The massive central castle stood tall—clearly the main stronghold.
At the castle gates, two Snow Ninja guards stood alert.
As Kaito approached, one of them stepped forward. "Who are you? What do you think you're doing here? Don't you know this is His Majesty's castle?"
"That's exactly why I'm here—to find Kazahana Doto," Kaito replied coolly.
Before the guards could react, he grabbed both by the throat in a flash.
Crack!
With a twist of his hands, the guards collapsed, lifeless, eyes frozen in shock and fear.
Kaito cast their bodies aside without a second glance and strode into the castle.
"Who goes there?!"
The commotion alerted patrolling Snow Ninja, who quickly surrounded Kaito. Their leader stepped forward with a scowl. "You dare break into the castle, kill our guards? Capture him! If he resists, execute him!"
Kaito didn't speak. He simply shook his head. "How ignorant."
Whoosh!
In the blink of an eye, he appeared above them, his entire body glowing with red lightning—an ominous, blinding light.
Suddenly, thousands of red lightning bolts rained down like arrows.
Crack! Crack!
Screams erupted from below. The Snow Ninja had no time to react. The bolts tore through their ranks with terrifying speed and power.
Within moments, the battlefield was littered with bodies, and the air was thick with the sharp stench of blood.
Kaito landed silently amidst the carnage, his face unreadable.
He continued deeper into the castle, knowing that Kazahana Doto would be waiting in the most secure chamber.
Along the way, more patrols tried to stop him. None survived.
These men had followed Kazahana Doto in his rebellion ten years ago, betraying the rightful daimyo and slaughtering Yukie's father, Kazahana Sosetsu. Their hands were drenched in blood.
Kaito didn't hesitate.
Slash!
After eliminating the last Snow Ninja standing between him and the throne room, he pushed open the towering doors.
Inside sat Kazahana Doto, clad in chakra armor, his expression calm—as though he'd been expecting this.
After all, with so many of his men dead and such destruction echoing through the halls, it would be pathetic if he hadn't noticed.
"Welcome, shinobi of Konoha," Kazahana Doto said, smiling faintly. "I assume Langya and the others have already fallen by your hand?"
There wasn't a hint of sorrow or fury in his voice, even at the loss of his strongest lieutenants.
Whoosh!
Kaito blurred into motion, a flicker of light and thunder. In a heartbeat, the chirping of a thousand birds pierced the silence.
Raikiri—bright red and surging with violent chakra—crackled in his hand, slicing through the air as he lunged straight at the weak point in Kazahana Doto's chakra armor.
But Doto was ready.
The moment Kaito vanished from sight, Doto formed rapid hand seals. "Ice Style: Twin Dragon Blizzard!"
Two massive black ice dragons burst forth, snarling as they raced toward Kaito, fangs bared.
The air in the throne room turned frigid. The dragons' eyes glowed red, filled with savage malice.
Kaito formed a hand seal with his free hand.
"Fire Style: Great Dragon Fire Technique!"
A blazing fire dragon erupted from his mouth, spiraling upward with a roar, its heat driving back the icy cold.
One against two.
In moments, the fire dragon collided with the twin ice beasts, melting them into steam and vaporizing them in a hiss of pressure and light.
The room filled with mist, but Kaito wasn't done.
Without slowing, the fire dragon barreled toward Kazahana Doto.
The daimyo sneered, eyes flashing with pride. "This armor is a new model. Your ninjutsu won't work on me."
CLANG!
The fire dragon slammed into an invisible barrier and was instantly repelled.
Kazahana Doto chuckled triumphantly. "See? It's useless."
But Kaito wasn't aiming to win with just fire.
While the dragons clashed, he had already closed the distance.
With Raikiri in hand, he thrust his arm forward—
CRACK!
Lightning pierced the barrier protecting Doto's armor and struck the exposed weak point dead-on.
BZZZT!
The barrier shattered. Sparks flew. Raikiri surged with full force.
CRUNCH!
The next moment, Kaito's arm punched clean through Kazahana Doto's torso.
Whoosh…
Kazahana Doto gasped, blood spilling from his mouth, eyes filled with disbelief and pain.
"No… it can't be…"
He collapsed to the ground, lifeless.
The tyrant of the Snow Country… was dead.
---
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