章節 287: Chapter 287 Can We Delay It For a Few Years?
"Don't even think about running away. I remember your scent. You won't run away." Naruto added without turning his head.
"Huh? What?" Koyuki was slightly startled and glanced at Naruto, "What did you say?"
His words sounded a bit too suggestive, and Naruto wasn't as clueless as he seemed. So Koyuki found it hard to continue treating him like a child.
Naruto didn't fully turn back but glanced at her sideways with his narrow eyes. With a hint of seriousness on his face, he pulled his hand from his other pocket and pointed at her, "You'd better not try anything."
"I know." Koyuki replied with a nervous laugh.
She did have some hesitation in her heart before and didn't have the courage to face her past. But after seeing how Naruto worked so hard for this mission, she couldn't bring herself to run away.
'If I just leave like this and cause him to fail this mission, I will probably feel guilty for a long time.'
With that thought in mind, Koyuki gritted her teeth and quickened her pace to catch up. She had intended to say something to show her determination not to run away, but before she could speak, she stumbled and lost her balance instantly.
"Aaahhh!!!!"
In order to maintain her balance, Koyuki stepped heavily on empty air, causing the snow to collapse. Two seconds after she screamed, she felt her wrist being grabbed.
Looking up at Naruto's slightly exasperated gaze, Koyuki had wanted to explain, but she felt that nothing she could say seemed right, so she decided to keep her head down in silence.
"I just slipped." She muttered.
"Oh." Naruto didn't say much and pulled her back up.
"Do you think I'm a burden?"
"You're not too bad." Naruto answered as he walked. He would now look back every few steps he took, in case Koyuki got into more accidents.
'What does 'not too bad' mean?' Koyuki thought to herself.
The wind howled around them, swirling snowflakes and icy shards that nearly slapped her in the face.
Unable to take it any longer, she walked a few more steps before moving closer to Naruto, "Let's find a place to take shelter."
"Okay." Naruto agreed without hesitation and quickly found a temporary cave for them to take shelter.
The snow outside grew heavier, and night had already fallen.
"We can't go any further today, so take a rest." Naruto retracted his head and then sealed the entrance of the cave with snow, leaving a small hole for ventilation.
Koyuki watched Naruto skillfully take out a pile of firewood from who-knows-where and couldn't help but narrow her eyes, 'Are all Shinobi like this?'
With a snap, the fire crackled to life, spreading warmth around them.
Naruto didn't even look at her. He just wrapped himself tightly in his coat, and sat down with his head lowered and eyes closed.
Koyuki stared at Naruto by the fire. She felt like she should say something, but she couldn't find a topic to talk about, as the other party seemed to know more than her about everything.
"Are you cold?" She finally asked, but then immediately regretted it.
'Wasn't this question showing off my stupidity? How could anyone be cold sitting next to a fire?? Besides, he is a Shinobi. What was the point of asking something like that? Damn it, why did my brain choose this moment to malfunction?'
Hearing this, Naruto opened his eyes and looked at her. His somewhat unfocused gaze sharpened for a moment before he asked, "What are you trying to ask?"
"I didn't mean to ask anything. What are you going to do?" Koyuki shrank back and reached for the fire, "I mean about the mission. What's your plan?"
"My uncle, Kazahana Doto, is the new Daimyo of the Land of Snow. He has many Shinobi under his command. They are very powerful and have a lot of advanced weapons."
"It actually doesn't matter." Naruto said, rubbing his temples.
"But you're just one person, and you're still injured." Koyuki retorted.
"I've fully recovered."
"I don't believe you… unless you show me." Koyuki responded quickly.
Naruto stared at her with a puzzled look on his face, "Why do you want to see my injury?"
"I'm just concerned about whether you can complete the mission." Koyuki said, "How can you deal with so many Shinobi from the Land of Snow by yourself?"
"You don't have to worry about that." Naruto replied, "In fact, the solution to all this is pretty simple."
"What is it?"
"Kill the old Daimyo and establish a new one."
"That's impossible. He's been in power for too long." Koyuki said dejectedly, "His forces are made up of Shinobi inside and out. It's impossible."
"Even if you succeed, then what? I'm just an actress. Forget about ruling a country, I don't even have the courage to defy my fate."
"The kind of ruler the people want is someone brave and unyielding, like Princess Fuun." She hugged her knees, "Someone like me is not worthy of being a Daimyo."
Although Koyuki had returned to Konoha and voluntarily asked to restart the mission, it didn't mean she was mentally prepared. She was still an actress, not the princess of an overthrown Daimyo.
Naruto glanced at Koyuki by the fire, watching the flickering flames cast shadows on her face. Her eyes shimmered with uncertainty. He frowned and said, "It's not about whether you are worthy of being the new Daimyo, it's that you have no choice but to be the new Daimyo."
After a pause, he continued, "You need to understand one thing: no one is asking for your opinion. Now that things have reached this point, you don't have any other option, and neither do I."
"To you, this is just a mission." Koyuki couldn't help but retort.
"It's more than just a mission." Naruto stood up, walked to in front of Koyuki, and stared at her condescendingly. Koyuki suddenly felt a little panicked.
"What are you…?" Koyuki looked up at the tall Naruto and her heart suddenly started racing.
"I've got an immature idea." Naruto said.
"Huh?"
"I forgot to tell you, but the Land of Snow may be frozen on the surface, but there's geothermal energy underneath." Naruto took out a necklace from his pocket and dangle it like a pendant before her.
"You remember this, right?" He asked.
"Yeah, I gave it to you when we were drifting at sea." Koyuki said gloomily, as if she was thinking of those days, "It's just a useless necklace."
"We won't know if it's useless until later." Naruto said with a smile, then put the necklace away and said, "I looked into it, and found that this is actually a key. I suspect there's some kind of geothermal device in the Land of Snow."
"So, what's your point?" Koyuki was getting confused by Naruto's roundabout explanation.
In fact, Naruto's reasoning was full of holes, but by this point, Koyuki had been so shocked by all his actions that she had stopped questioning him. Her brain completely gave up thinking, and everything that didn't make sense suddenly seemed logical to her when it involved Naruto.
"I'll help you secure the Daimyo's position and change the situation in the Land of Snow." Naruto said, "In return, you'll have to pay a price."
"A price? What price?"
"I want you…" Naruto spoke without stopping, but the first phrase made Koyuki's mind go blank, and she couldn't hear the rest of the words clearly.
"I want you to collect geothermal taxes from the residents of the Land of Snow. The tax rate won't be too high… Well, we can negotiate it later." He explained, "How about it? Do you agree?"
"Hmm?" Naruto looked at her, "What are you spacing out for?"
"Ah!" Koyuki blinked, "No, it's nothing. What did you just say?"
"I asked if you agree?"
"Uh, sure." She nodded, "But can we delay it for a few years?"
"Delay it?" Naruto frowned.
'Damn, the system option says that the residents of the Land of Snow have to pay taxes for the geothermal heat, but it doesn't say when the tax will start. If it was delayed by a few years, it should still meet the requirements, right?'
'On the other hand, it would take a few years for the Land of Snow to transition if the ice melted. The residents wouldn't be able to bear too many taxes right away.'
'Wait, we can start right away. But just set a low tax rate, or even a zero tax rate, which would still count as a delay, right?' After thinking for a while, Naruto finally nodded.
"Okay, that's fine."
"Oh." Koyuki's beautiful, world-weary face flushed for a moment in the glow of the fire.
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章節 288: Chapter 288 This... This...
Naruto vaguely sensed something was off, but seeing Koyuki lower her head without saying anything more, he chose not to press further.
Once dawn broke, everything in the Land of Snow would change.
The runaway princess had grown up, returned to her homeland, and brought with her... a blade-wielding demon.
Although Naruto was just an outsider and this matter was nothing to him, but who made the new Daimyo's position illegitimate, and Koyuki was still alive?
Moreover, Koyuki had requested his help. This made everything justified… both morally and procedurally right.
Just as 20 years ago, Kazahana Doto led a rebellion and killed the old king, Kazahana Sosetsu. Now, the wheel of fate had turned, and it was time to repay blood with blood, an eye for an eye.
It was late into the night.
Both of them went to sleep with their thoughts swirling. Naruto closed his eyes and did not move. In contrast, Koyuki tossed and turned, unable to sleep. She walked back and forth by the fire several times.
It is unknown what she's doing, she even squatted in front of Naruto, as if looking at him carefully.
Fortunately, Naruto didn't want to pay attention to her because he probably had to work tomorrow, otherwise, he would've pinned her down to stop her antics.
Koyuki, under the dim firelight, meticulously examined Naruto. He was wearing his regular Shinobi combat uniform, a slim-fitting jacket, with a straight and neat posture, and smooth facial lines.
Koyuki felt conflicted. Though Naruto didn't seem that young anymore, in reality, he wasn't that old either. Perhaps the recent pressure had been too much, so her thoughts had become confused and erratic.
But this would be the last time. After all, they had already reached the Land of Snow. Whether there would be a future together or not was uncertain.
It wasn't that she doubted Naruto's ability to handle the situation in the Land of Snow, but she simply couldn't bring herself to feel optimistic. After all, it was just the two of them. How could they possibly overthrow her uncle's rule?
She prepared herself mentally, thinking that if things really couldn't work out, then so be it. In the second half of the night, she thought through countless scenarios. At one point, she even wondered if she should just give up and return to Konoha, waiting for Naruto to grow stronger.
She slowly closed her eyes in a daze, but she felt like she had only slept for a few seconds before someone pushed her awake.
"Wake up, how long are you planning to sleep?" Naruto asked in an indifferent tone. The snow at the entrance of the cave had been cleared, and a ray of bright sunlight streamed in.
"It's morning already?" Koyuki asked with dark circles under her eyes.
"Well, who told you to pace back and forth all night? Who can you blame?" Naruto complained and walked out first, "Hurry up and follow me. Let's settle this matter today."
"You knew about last night?" She followed him and suddenly felt like dying due to the embarrassment.
"I didn't, but you kept walking around, making so much noise." Naruto said unhappily, "If I didn't know, I would have thought you were dancing there."
"I wasn't!" Koyuki gave up the argument.
"So, what are you going to do?" She instinctively looked at Naruto, who had a broad back and looked very powerful. He didn't appear skinny but instead exuded a strong sense of power. His posture was as straight as a young tree.
"What do you mean, what am I going to do?" Naruto asked without turning his head.
"How do you plan to overthrow Kazahana Doto... my uncle?" She asked. "He has many Shinobi under his command, and I've heard that the Land of Snow has been researching Shinobi Technology and weapons in recent years."
"You sure know a lot." Naruto praised.
"During the time I was away from Konoha, I collected some information about the Land of Snow." Koyuki explained, "The source of the information should be accurate, but the Land of Snow is remote, so information is scarce."
"How did you collect it?"
"Spend money." She said proudly.
Naruto was a little speechless. He felt she could've just given him that money. After all, he knew even more details. But he couldn't say that directly right now, so he shifted the conversation.
"I have information too, how about buying mine?"
"I don't have any money left." She suddenly said in frustration, "Someone scammed me with fake information about the Land of Snow. I gave him most of my money to him."
Hearing this, Naruto sighed, "… Okay, but I think you might be able to get that money back."
"What?" Koyuki was stunned, and she looked up at Naruto and asked, "But... but that person has already run off. I have no idea where to find him. How could I possibly get the money back?"
As the two continued walking forward, Naruto glanced back at her and rolled his eyes.
"You said it yourself… The Land of Snow is remote, and information is hard to gather. So, how did you get all that information? Someone must've deliberately sold it to you?"
"Deliberately sold it to me?" Koyuki frowned, "If that's the case, the only person I can think of is... my uncle, Kazahana Doto."
"Although he's a very scheming person, if he deliberately leaked information to me but didn't make a move against me, it's hard to explain. What does he want?"
"Yeah, what does he want?" Naruto responded perfunctorily.
"How would anyone know what he's after?" She exhaled heavily, "Anyway, it's definitely not because of some damned blood relation. He probably wishes I were dead already."
"Fine then, let's go ask him directly and find out what he wants."
"What?" Koyuki was stunned.
Seeing her fall behind, Naruto turned his head to glance at her, seemingly displeased.
"Hmm?"
"No way, you mean..." She rushed in front of Naruto, waving her arms frantically in the cold, snowy air, her breath turning into puffs of white.
"Are you saying... we just go to the castle and ask him?"
"What else?" Naruto responded, as if it were the most natural thing in the world, "It's the fastest and simplest way. He killed your father, seized the position, and even swindled your money."
"Since you've been wronged and Konoha has accepted your mission request, then Princess Kazahana Koyuki, we're now the righteous side."
"But... but he's the Daimyo of the Land of Snow, and he has a group of Shinobi under his command." Koyuki stammered, struggling to adapt to Naruto's straightforward approach.
"I think you haven't grasped the situation. Konoha, as one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages, has the authority to investigate and gather evidence on injustices in the Land of Snow."
"And you, as the mission client, the victim, and the rightful heir to the throne of the Land of Snow, have already provided valuable information for my investigation. Kazahana Doto has committed many crimes."
"And I, conveniently, am one of Konoha's higher-ups. Though I don't hold much power, I do possess a small, temporary decision-making authority, which exceeds that of a regular Jonin. For example, your words just now have been recorded as evidence, and I will now file a formal request to investigate Kazahana Doto."
As he said this, Naruto took out a mission order that he had prepared long ago from his pocket, with the seal of Konoha engraved on the front.
"Now, on behalf of Konoha's higher-ups, I will review your request, and after careful consideration, I will use my temporary decision-making authority to approve it."
Then, he pulled out a red stamp from his pocket, blew on it for effect, and stamped it heavily on the temporary mission order.
Under Koyuki's stunned gaze, Naruto raised the dazzling official paper in his hand and gave a reassuring smile.
"Alright, all the paperwork's done. Let's head out."
"This... this…!!!" Koyuki was overwhelmed, and her brain barely able to keep up, "But he's the Daimyo of the Land of Snow! And he has a whole team of Shinobi."
"Do you really think the Land of Snow compares to Kumogakure?" Naruto asked.
"No…"
"Then why do you think I would be afraid? Even Elite Jonin and Raikage from Kumogakure can't get anything from me. So why would you think the Daimyo of the Land of Snow, your uncle, Kazahana Doto, could?"
"They're just a bunch of weaklings! I'll just wipe them all out!"
'Right…' Koyuki was left dumbfounded.
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