"Rin, Rin, look quickly, what a big chunk of ice!" Obito, feeling bored on the ship, looked around and suddenly spotted a massive iceberg in the distance.
Nohara Rin followed Obito's pointing finger and saw a huge iceberg reflecting light under the sun. Her eyes lit up. This was indeed a sight one couldn't see in the Land of Fire.
"This is nothing. When you reach the Snow Country, you'll see how common ice and snow really are," Asama Sandayu said with a smile.
The Snow Country has plenty, but it never lacks ice and snow, with the nation covered in it all year round.
"It should have already snowed heavily by this time of the year."
"Isn't it only September now? Is there snow at this time?" Obito asked Sandayu, puzzled.
"Yes, otherwise, it wouldn't be called the Snow Country," Sandayu replied with a hint of helplessness in his voice.
Although a white, snow-covered world is beautiful, if it snows this often, it's not a good thing.
Normally, people pray to the Rain God for rain and to the God of Wealth for fortune, but in the Snow Country, they worship the Snow God hoping for less snow.
As they got closer, Mokgetsu's Byakugan could already see the ice and snow-covered nation.
Throughout the journey, Mokgetsu frequently used his Byakugan to observe. He felt this peculiar environment at sea demanded caution, as the sea would become dangerous if the ship were destroyed.
Of course, for a ninja of Mokgetsu's level, it wasn't too concerning. He had packed enough food in his Scroll. Even if there were no ship, he could run across the water back to shore, and if tired, use Ice Release to make an ice block to rest on.
Upon nearing the Snow Country, sure enough, as Sandayu mentioned, it was snowing heavily, with snowflakes as large as feathers. On the ship, Obito was leaping about, catching snow with his hand, while Nohara Rin exhaled warm breath and looked up at the sky filled with snow. Kakashi was focusing on observing the surroundings.
Mokgetsu also extended his palm to feel the falling and melting snow, experiencing a touch of winter chill.
Actually, Mokgetsu quite liked snow and playing in it. The joy of childhood snowball fights with friends was one of the highlights of his youth.
Although he liked snow, Mokgetsu disliked the cold, leading to quite a contradiction — he wanted snow but didn't want winter to come.
Traveling to the Naruto World solved this dilemma for Mokgetsu, as with his current physical strength, he wouldn't feel cold even in winter without wearing clothes.
"Welcome to the Snow Country," Asama Sandayu said ceremoniously to Mokgetsu and the others as they landed.
"It's true, there's such a thick layer of snow!" Obito exclaimed with curiosity, grabbing a handful of snow from the ground.
Even though it was called the Snow Country, Obito honestly hadn't expected a nation covered in ice and snow before arriving, since the Land of Fire wasn't all volcanoes either.
"Watch out, Kakashi!" Seeing Kakashi with his back turned, Obito decisively molded the snow in his hand into a ball and threw it at Kakashi.
Even though Obito staged a sneak attack, the keen Kakashi still noticed the incoming snowball and quickly sidestepped it. However, Obito had anticipated this. Immediately after throwing the first snowball, he grabbed two more handfuls of snow, guessing Kakashi's dodge paths and throwing two snowballs there.
Feeling it would be hard to evade, Kakashi stopped dodging, grabbed several handfuls of snow, and threw them using ninja tools techniques, one of which hit Obito squarely in the face.
Pfft, Nohara Rin couldn't help but chuckle at Obito's snow-covered face.
"Darn Kakashi!" Obito roared inwardly, entering Full Concentration Breathing state and throwing more snowballs faster.
Kakashi also used Breath of Thunder speed to dodge swiftly and counterattack.
Their snowball fight left Asama Sandayu sweating, as he realized he couldn't even catch the movements of nine-year-old children having a snowball fight.
"This is what it means to be a ninja," Asama Sandayu sighed inwardly. Despite his samurai training, he couldn't compete even with ninja kids.
Smack! Smack!
Two transparent Qi Force strikes hit Kakashi and Obito's foreheads accurately.
"If you want to play in the snow, you can do so after completing the mission. Let's focus on the mission first," Mokgetsu said, withdrawing his hand.
After speaking, Mokgetsu showed an apologetic expression towards Asama Sandayu.
"It's no problem; the princess is still in Kazahana City and doesn't really need protection," Sandayu chuckled.
Kazahana City is the royal palace of the Snow Country, considered the safest place by Sandayu.
"After all, it's a guarding mission. We should at least know who we're protecting first," Mokgetsu suggested that Sandayu take them to meet the princess.
Sandayu found Mokgetsu's point reasonable, so he led Mokgetsu and the others to Kazahana City.
"A real princess, huh? I wonder what she's like," Obito recalled the descriptions of princesses in novels and began to feel excited.
The snowy landscapes in the Snow Country amazed Obito, but upon arriving at Kazahana City, Obito felt the Snow Country seemed ordinary again, as he had seen many such palace structures.
"Asama, are they the Konoha Ninjas who took on the mission?" a stern-looking man in black called out to Sandayu, questioning him.
"Yes, Lord Doto," Sandayu responded with a bow upon seeing Kazahana Doto.
Kazahana Doto, not only the Snow Country daimyo's brother but also a high official, is like the second in command of the Snow Country.
"Don't be fooled by their young age; they are strong Chunin, and Mokgetsu is a reliable Konoha Jonin," Sandayu added, worried that Kazahana Doto might underestimate Mokgetsu's squad due to their young age.