"You'll pay for that!"
Dotō lunged forward, reaching for Yukie's throat.
His hand closed on empty air.
She slipped away with a shinobi's speed and came to a stop ten meters from him.
Dotō froze.
Since when could his niece move like that?
Before he could make sense of it, excited voices drifted across the clearing.
"Look at this place!"
"It's beautiful!"
He turned toward the sound.
Another Yukie was approaching with Hinata, Neji, and the film crew.
Dotō stared, then whipped his head back toward the girl standing before him.
A puff of smoke burst around her.
When it cleared, Naruto stood in her place.
The Transformation Technique.
The boy had been playing him from the beginning.
Naruto grinned at his stunned expression.
"What's wrong? Still trying to figure it out?"
Dotō's face twisted with fury. His hands flashed through a series of seals.
"Ice Release: Black Dragon Blizzard!"
A long black dragon surged toward Naruto, roaring as it twisted through the air.
Naruto's eyes brightened.
"A dragon? That looks interesting."
He formed his own seals.
A blue-green dragon of wind coiled into existence and rushed to meet the black one.
Through his [Wind God Form], Naruto had mastered both shape transformation and nature transformation for Wind Release.
Until now, he had mostly relied on hurricanes. They had been enough to defeat most of his opponents, so he had barely explored the ability's full potential.
Shaping his wind into a dragon was well within his reach.
The two dragons collided with a deafening crash.
Ice churned through Dotō's black dragon, lending weight to its attack. It began forcing its way through the opposing current.
Naruto poured more chakra into his technique.
The wind dragon swelled.
Its jaws widened, and its twisting body surged forward, tearing through the black dragon before swallowing Dotō.
He had no time to react.
Thousands of wind blades ripped through his body inside the roaring vortex.
When the wind dispersed, Dotō was dead.
His rule over the Land of Snow had ended with him.
At that moment, the surrounding heat generators began projecting enormous images onto the stone walls.
One showed Koyuki as a little girl.
The other showed her father.
Yukie stood motionless, staring at the figures.
Then the tears came.
Naruto studied Sōsetsu Kazahana's image. The man wore glasses and had the gentle, scholarly appearance of a scientist.
That explained a great deal.
The Land of Snow's advanced technology must have owed much to him.
"Naruto-kun…"
Hinata approached his side.
"When Dotō rebelled, why didn't Yukie-san's father just show him what the treasure really was?"
Naruto took her hand.
"Maybe he was afraid Dotō would destroy the heat generators."
Then he gave a small shrug.
"Who knows what he was thinking? It doesn't matter anymore."
…
With Dotō and his three chūnin subordinates dead, no one remaining in the Land of Snow could stand against Naruto.
The images her father had left behind finally gave Yukie the resolve to accept her responsibilities.
She would become the country's daimyō and continue the work he had begun.
With Sandayū Asama and his loyal followers at her side, she reclaimed her rightful position. Their ragged band of elderly, injured, and frail supporters had finally lived to see the country freed from Dotō's rule.
There were scattered attempts at resistance, but Naruto and his teammates dealt with them easily.
Afterward, Naruto visited the country's most valuable research facility.
Scientific equipment filled the vast building, and hundreds of researchers worked among its laboratories.
He looked around with undisguised interest.
These people and their work were worth far more than a room full of gold.
"Lady Koyuki," he said, turning toward Yukie, "I assume Sandayū has told you about our agreement?"
She wore elegant court robes suited to her new position. The rich fabric and her dignified bearing made Naruto pause for a moment.
Then he tightened his grip on Hinata's hand.
"Yes. I'll honor it."
Yukie's voice was as pleasant as ever.
"My father researched chakra armor and the heat generators because he wanted our country to prosper. He also supported my uncle's efforts to establish Yukigakure."
Her eyes darkened.
"He trusted him. And then…"
Naruto smiled.
"Don't worry. I'm a shinobi. I have no interest in becoming a daimyō."
His next words carried a different weight.
"Besides, if I wanted to seize the entire country, you wouldn't be standing beside me alive."
Yukie regarded him with a curious smile.
This Konoha shinobi was only three or four years younger than she was, yet he spoke to her without the slightest hesitation.
He had ambition, strength, and the confidence to act on both.
"Anyway, my companion will be here soon," Naruto continued. "You can discuss the details with her."
He promptly led Hinata away.
Yukie's attention was flattering—perhaps a little too flattering.
He had better leave before he allowed himself to get carried away.
…
Outside the castle, Naruto walked with Hinata through the garden.
"Hinata," he asked quietly, "will you tell anyone about what happened here?"
She looked up at him, her pale eyes full of trust.
"I… I believe in you, Naruto-kun. You wouldn't do anything to hurt your friends or the village… would you?"
Something in Naruto's expression softened.
The lingering image of Yukie slipped from his thoughts.
Yukie's interest served another purpose. Hinata's affection did not.
She cared for him, and she trusted him without hesitation.
He already knew how steadfast that love had been in the original story, through more than a decade of hardship.
"Aren't you worried I'll report you?"
Neji's voice came from behind them.
Naruto turned.
Neji stood a short distance away, his expression unreadable.
Naruto answered with a single sentence.
"I can remove the Caged Bird seal."
Neji went rigid.
"You…"
His jaw tightened. For several moments, he could only stare at Naruto.
"How do I know you're telling the truth?"
"Take a chance. Let me try."
Naruto met his gaze.
"Unless you'd rather spend the rest of your life trapped by the Hyūga."
Beside him, Hinata lowered her head.
She sympathized with the branch family, but sympathy had never given her the authority to change anything.
Her father had already turned his attention to Hanabi, preparing her younger sister to become the clan's next heir.
Hinata feared that, once Hanabi took that position, she too might be forced into the branch family.
She had no way of knowing that, in the original story, her future would lead to a life with Naruto instead.
Noticing her expression, Naruto gently put an arm around her shoulders.
"Don't worry. I really can break that seal. And I won't let anyone force you into the branch family."
Hinata looked up at him.
"Thank you, Naruto-kun."
Neji remained silent.
He remembered his father's death.
He thought of all the effort he had put into training, of the talent everyone praised—and of how little any of it mattered beneath the mark on his forehead.
However strong he became, the main family would still hold his life in its hands.
His fists clenched.
"I'll try it."
Then his eyes narrowed.
"What do you want in return?"
"Your loyalty for three years," Naruto replied seriously. "After that, you're free."
Three years.
By then, Naruto expected to have the power to rule this world.
"Agreed."
Neji did not hesitate.
He was only thirteen. Three years of service in exchange for decades of freedom was hardly a difficult choice.
Naruto smiled.
"You'll be glad you made this decision."
Then he addressed the system silently.
Purchase [Hyūga Cursed Seal: Caged Bird].
"Ding! [Hyūga Cursed Seal: Caged Bird] acquired. 500 points deducted."
In the system shop, an A-rank ninjutsu usually cost 100 points.
The [Eight Trigrams Sealing Style], capable of securely sealing a tailed beast, was also listed at 100 points. The [Hyūga Cursed Seal: Caged Bird], however, had cost him 500.
The S-rank [Reaper Death Seal] was more expensive still, at 1,000 points.
With his exceptional [Sealing Talent], Naruto quickly began making sense of the knowledge he had acquired.
Before long, he understood how the Caged Bird seal worked.
And how to break it.