On an island off the coast of the Land of Snow, Haku stood clad in the latest model of Chakra Armor.
He quickly formed several hand seals.
Ice crystals condensed throughout the air before transforming into countless shards that rained down upon the island.
Watching from a distance, Naruto couldn't help shouting at him.
"Hey! Stop using such weak ninjutsu! Didn't I give you records of the Ice Release techniques used by Dotō Kazahana and his subordinates?"
Dotō Kazahana was Yukie's uncle.
Three years ago, Naruto and his companions had killed him and helped Yukie reclaim the throne of the Land of Snow.
Dotō's subordinates had used several powerful Ice Release techniques. Although their techniques relied on the Land of Snow's environment and weren't true Ice Release, Haku could still use them as inspiration.
Hearing Naruto's criticism, Haku immediately formed another series of hand seals.
[Ice Release: One-Horned White Whale]
A colossal narwhal burst from the sea.
Although its entire body consisted of ice and snow, the creature looked almost alive.
Rumble!
The enormous whale crashed down upon the island, making the entire landmass tremble and slowly sink into the sea.
A flash of inspiration appeared in Haku's eyes.
He formed another hand seal and slammed both palms against the ground.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
Ice spread outward from beneath his hands.
The ground was rapidly buried beneath a thick layer of frost. In seconds, the entire island was covered in ice and snow.
The freezing wave continued past the shoreline, turning the surrounding sea into a vast frozen plain.
Every animal on the island was transformed into a lifelike ice sculpture.
"Freezing everything for miles…"
Standing beside Naruto, Neji stared at the frozen landscape in disbelief.
The technique was terrifyingly powerful.
If Haku used it against him, Neji's only option would be to flee.
The Haku from before could never have displayed such overwhelming strength.
As the ice spread toward Naruto's group, Naruto lightly stomped his foot.
A blazing wall of fire erupted around them, stopping the approaching frost.
"Not bad."
Naruto gave Haku an approving nod.
"It seems you can properly control the power I gave you. How do you feel?"
"I've exhausted all my chakra," Haku answered truthfully. "In a real battle, I could probably use a large-scale technique like this only once."
"That is a problem, but don't worry."
Naruto patted Haku's shoulder.
"You'll have more than enough chakra soon."
Naruto was already preparing to solve his own chakra problem.
When that happened, he could increase Haku's reserves as well.
Haku would then gradually become a true Kage-level powerhouse.
Naruto turned toward Yakumo Kurama.
"What about you, Yakumo?"
"I'm almost finished."
Yakumo had been painting throughout Haku's demonstration.
Now, the image on her canvas was finally complete.
It depicted the frozen island before them.
Yakumo raised her brush and painted a magnificent crystal palace in the center of the island.
Everyone's eyes widened.
It wasn't because of how beautiful her painting was.
A real crystal palace had begun forming at the center of the island!
Walls of transparent crystal rose from the frozen ground. Towers, halls, and countless intricate details appeared exactly as Yakumo had painted them.
[Fantasy Realization]
Yakumo had always possessed an ability that approached Fantasy Realization. In the past, she had created lightning from nothing and used it to strike the Hokage Building.
After Naruto used a [Bloodline Upgrade Scroll] on her, that power became infinitely closer to true Fantasy Realization.
Of course, her ability still had to obey the fundamental rules of this world.
For example, Yakumo couldn't simply paint a Transformer and make it real.
"Yakumo, could you freeze everything for miles like Haku did?" Naruto asked.
"Yes, but it would consume an enormous amount of chakra," Yakumo answered with a nod.
Naruto immediately understood.
The stronger or more complicated the object or phenomenon Yakumo wanted to manifest, the more chakra she had to consume.
He studied her current appearance.
Yakumo's hair had become a pure crimson, and her face was no longer sickly or pale.
Naruto had exchanged an [Uzumaki Clan Sage Body] for her.
It had greatly improved her weak physique, prolonged the amount of time she could fight, and allowed her chakra reserves to grow steadily.
The Sage Body's other abilities also greatly increased her chances of survival.
[Mind's Eye of the Kagura] allowed her to detect enemies attempting to approach or ambush her.
Meanwhile, the [Adamantine Sealing Chains] could restrain an enemy whenever she was in danger of receiving a fatal attack.
As both a long-range caster and an assassin, Yakumo was gradually overcoming her greatest weaknesses.
Her strength was increasing rapidly.
It wouldn't be long before she became a true Kage-level powerhouse.
Neji stared at his two companions in shock.
He had lived beside Haku and Yakumo for nearly three years and understood their previous abilities better than most.
Their strength had changed far too drastically.
He recalled what Naruto had said during their earlier conversation.
Naruto had given them these powers?
How was that possible?
Only a god should have been capable of something like this!
Yet how else could Neji explain the changes in Haku and Yakumo?
Neither of them had possessed such strength before.
For a moment, Neji wanted to question Naruto.
However, their three-year agreement was about to expire. Once it ended, they would probably go their separate ways.
Whatever secrets Naruto possessed would soon have nothing to do with him.
In the end, Neji remained silent.
Naruto looked at Yakumo and Haku before turning toward Neji and Hinata.
A confident smile appeared on his face.
"From this day forward, we'll officially enter the blood-soaked shinobi world."
He spread his hands slightly.
"Since we're forming a small organization, we should give it a name."
Yakumo immediately brightened.
Her childhood had been unusual. She had always dreamed of becoming a shinobi and displaying her abilities to the world.
Now that she finally possessed the strength to accomplish that dream, she could hardly wait.
"Why don't we call ourselves [Godslayer]?"
Naruto frowned and shook his head.
"Too tacky."
"Then how about [Demon]?" Yakumo proposed.
"Too edgy. No."
Naruto turned toward Haku.
"What do you think?"
"Perhaps… [Dream]?" Haku suggested tentatively.
"Too artsy."
Naruto rejected that name as well before looking at Neji and Hinata.
Both remained silent.
Neji shook his head, indicating that he had no suggestion.
In truth, he had no desire to participate.
He would be leaving soon, so the organization's name had little to do with him.
Naruto understood exactly what Neji was thinking.
He glanced at Neji's calm expression and raised the corner of his mouth.
"Hmph. Sooner or later, you'll come begging me."
Hinata remained quietly beside Naruto.
She held the corner of his clothing as if she were afraid he might disappear again.
Naruto considered the matter for a moment before finally deciding.
"We'll call it [Nightmare]."
The others soon departed and returned to the Hidden Snow Village.
Hinata remained behind and gently tugged on the corner of Naruto's clothes.
"Naruto-kun…"
She looked at him carefully, uncertainty filling her pale eyes.
"Are you going to defect from Konoha?"
Naruto fell silent for a moment.
"If I defect, it will definitely affect our relationship."
He pulled Hinata into his arms.
"And if I asked you to defect with me, you wouldn't be able to abandon the Hyūga Clan so easily."
Naruto took a deep breath before continuing.
"So I still need to think about it."
His arms tightened gently around her.
"But as long as you're beside me, anywhere is fine."