Just as the girl finished speaking, several figures chasing behind them swished through the air, surrounding everyone.
"Princess Koyuki, give up. Stop running! Lord Dotou is waiting for you!"
The lead pursuer spoke coldly. Although his words seemed somewhat respectful, his tone was filled with murderous intent.
"That bastard Fukabuki Dotou killed my father, and now he won't even let me go?!" Fukaboshi Koyuki said through gritted teeth, her voice trembling with grief and indignation.
"Our mission is simply to bring Princess Koyuki back!"
The pursuers looked cold and unmoved. However, their constant chatter annoyed the cheongsam-clad beauty standing nearby.
"There's a limit to talking to yourselves! Who exactly are you brainless fools?! Answer my question!"
"Hmm!?" Only then did the pursuers turn their gaze toward the beauty in the cheongsam. One by one, their eyes glazed over, looking completely shaken.
At that moment, the handsome twelve or thirteen-year-old Blond Youth standing at the back spoke up: "Alright, Hancock! Take control of these people first. I think I might have some understanding of our situation now!"
The Blond Youth's words finally brought the pursuers back to their senses. At the same time, a look of wariness appeared in their eyes; they had clearly realized that this trio was not to be trifled with.
"Certainly, my Lord! Don't worry, I shall finish them all off with a 'pew'!"
Hancock turned her head with a brilliant smile that seemed to make the snowy ground glow. Before the group opposite could even feel any anger, they were completely mesmerized and dazed by her stunning smile.
But as soon as Hancock turned back, her brilliant smile vanished, replaced by a haughty sneer: "All of you, turn to stone! Mero Mero Mellow!"
Oh no! Kakashi, who had barely managed to break free from Hancock's charm, didn't know what that pink light was, but he felt a faint sense of intoxication. Without hesitation, he bit his tongue hard to regain his senses.
When he turned his head, he found that the Snow Ninja pursuing him had been completely wiped out, turned into stone statues. Eerily, those statues still wore intoxicated smiles as if they had seen some peerless beauty.
Shuddering slightly, Kakashi recalled what had just happened and immediately understood the activation condition for her ability: (As long as one is captivated by her appearance and feels even a hint of attraction, they are turned directly into stone?! To think... beauty could actually be used as a weapon!)
At the same time, Kakashi felt his back grow significantly heavier. The soft body of the girl who had been clinging to his back had also become extremely stiff. Without looking back, Kakashi knew that Fukaboshi Koyuki on his back had clearly fallen victim to the technique as well.
(Even women aren't immune... Indeed, that demonic beauty and charm have transcended the limits of gender... Is this some kind of rare Bloodline Limit?)
If it really was a Bloodline Limit, Kakashi had to admit his eyes had been opened. As expected, Ninjas were people who completely defied common sense. At the very least, he couldn't figure out whether this ability to turn people into stone was a Genjutsu or some kind of elemental Ninjutsu.
Now, Kakashi only hoped that his opponent was a standard secret-technique-type Ninja with weak combat capabilities in other areas. Otherwise... "Oh? You were actually able to resist my charm?" Hancock let out a soft exclamation but didn't hesitate, kicking out directly. With a poof, Kakashi exploded into a cloud of smoke. Clearly, that had just been a Shadow Clone.
"Hmm!? Is this some kind of Devil Fruit ability?" Hancock was briefly surprised before calming down. She quickly spread out her Observation Haki, and then her expression changed, revealing a look of extreme fury.
"You bastard, stop right there!"
A hand suddenly reached out from the snow behind them, grabbed the Blond Youth's ankle, and yanked him down hard!
"Earth Release: Headhunter Jutsu!"
In an instant, the Blond Youth was pulled into the ground, leaving only his bewildered head exposed.
Kakashi leaped up, holding a Kunai to the boy's neck: "If you don't want him to get hurt, stop right now!"
Hancock stopped in her tracks, coldness in her eyes: "I truly underestimated you! You shameless stray dog! If you dare to harm even a single hair on my Lord's head, I guarantee you will die a most miserable death!"
Kakashi shrugged, completely unbothered: "Sorry, Ninjas use any means necessary. Threats are useless. I think we can have a proper talk now, can't we?"
"Um..." The Blond Youth in the ground suddenly spoke: "Even though this is quite embarrassing, you don't really think you've caught me like this, do you?"
Hmm!? Hearing this, Kakashi's guard shot up. But before he could act, a flash of electricity sparked from the Blond Youth's forehead and struck him directly!
Simultaneously, the Kunai in Kakashi's hand wrenched itself from his palm and flipped around, pinning his hand to the ground!
"Ughhh!" Kakashi instantly began to convulse. What hit him wasn't some Lightning Release Ninjutsu, but the purest form of natural lightning. His nerves were paralyzed, his muscles contracted, and he shook uncontrollably.
By the time he recovered from the electric shock, one of his hands was pinned to the ground by the Kunai, and the blood flowing out had already frozen into red ice.
Wriggling his body, the Blond Youth burst out of the ground with a boom and slowly climbed out: "Although this body is very strong and its instincts are powerful, I'm still not quite used to it. As expected, I'm not some combat genius. Also, I can't use Elementalization anymore. Is it because I've changed worlds?"
The Blond Youth was, of course, Vegapunk in a different body. This body had extremely high talent and came with the combat instincts of a Master Swordsman. Even without training, its speed, strength, and defense were superior to the current Kakashi.
However, Vegapunk had never actually fought anyone before and lacked combat experience. In a direct confrontation, he might have reacted through physical instinct, but when ambushed by Kakashi's Headhunter Jutsu, he was momentarily confused and pulled straight into the ground.
Fortunately, in addition to his physical body, Vegapunk also possessed the powers of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit and the Magnet-Magnet Fruit. Even without these Devil Fruit powers, he could have broken out of the Headhunter Jutsu pit using sheer physical strength. As for Kakashi's Kunai, it probably would have struggled to even pierce his skin.