34 The Land of Snow Part 2

Kibo was ready to fight as he turned to the rest of the team and said, "Go. Follow Naruto. I'll hold off the Yukikage."

Kakashi looked to Kibo and asked, "You got this?"

Kibo nodded his head in response, Kakashi gave the signal for the rest of the team.

Karin wanted to stay, but Kibo convinced her to go because he confidently said, "I'll be fine. You know I don't bluff. If I was in any danger I would have already left with you guys."

Karin nodded her head as she chased off after the rest of the team. Kibo performed a series of hand signs as he unleashed a Great Yang Fire Ball.

The Jutsu shot towards Setsuna, melting the ice pillar attached to his leg at the same time.

The gold flames erupted covering what was left of the train, turning into a pile of molten slag, a new quest alert chimed in his head before he found himself dodging dozens of Ice spikes that came out of the snow beneath him.

[Detain the Yukikage without killing her. Reward, 1 Teleportation Relic, and 1 Star Chamber Relic]

Kibo didn't wait around before using his Wind Lord's Step. His body shot around the battlefield, evading and breaking through the ice branches,

With his wings stretched Kibo took into the air, charging towards Setsuna.

"Ice Storm Giant's Hammer!" Setsuna called out as an enormous 100 foot, crystal clear double-sided ice hammer smashed into Kibo's body and sent him tumbling to the ground.

Before he could move, the hammer repositioned itself and struck down on his guard. Kibo's feet sank into the snow as he held up the massive construct of Glacial Chakra with a single hand.

"Impressive. Your physique is quite strong. Let's see how well you handle two." The Yukikage summoned another Ice Hammer and smacked onto the top of the hammer Kibo was lifting.

A shock wave spread out cracking the land for miles as Kibo sank deeper into the Earth.

"What a shame," Setsuna said as she turned her back and started to walk away.

However, the Yukikage paused when she heard Kibo suddenly shouting "Raijin's Spear!"

As she turned around, a sharp purple-colored lightning bolt shot past her cheek and landed on the mountain behind her.

Not only did he destroy her constructs, but the Jutsu bored a gaping tunnel all the way through the mountain and into the distance before exploding in a massive discharge of electricity.

Blood dripped down her cheek while the Kibo used another one in front of her. The lightning bolt rotated it collected energy from the environment before it grew into a large 300-foot ancient-looking Samurai's spear made of pure Chakra.

Kibo pointed the lethal weapon at the Yukikage. With a quick flick of his finger, Setsuna found herself unable to react to the speed at which it was thrown.

The spear brush past her body and flew into the sky beyond them, clearing up the clouds and letting the sun fall over the land.

The snow beneath them and around the mountains had completely evaporated, leaving a green field of grass in its place.

"Defeating you is easy. Doing so without killing you, now that's a challenge," Kibo stated as he looked at the shocked expression on the Yukikage's face.

"You intend to defeat me without the intent to kill? Foolish!" Setsuna shouted before gathering her Chakra.

Kibo smiled as he put his body into the Azure Dragon's Tree Stance. His feet entered the ground by a few inches and he placed his arms upward in a boxer's blocking position, covering his face, jaw, and lungs.

Next, Kibo placed his thighs together while flexing out his body to the best of his ability. In response, every muscle and joint in his body pressed together tightly. giving him solid protection of all his organs and vital areas.

He then pulled in a large source of Earth Essence and smiled before saying, "Come on, Yukikage. Show me what you got."

Setsuna was baffled. Although she could attack him from any direction, she felt as if there were no openings for her to exploit.

The most frightening thing was that the longer he stood there, the more focused and concrete his stance became. She felt like she was looking at a massive tree that could withstand all the weight of their world.

Neither storm nor flood could affect the roots that the young Ninja's set in his stance.

"Ice Giant's Shuriken!" Hundreds of massive spinning ice shaped snowflakes appeared out of the atmosphere.

They all hurled towards Kibo at an alarming speed, whistling through the air as they charged towards Kibo.

As they made contact with his body, the snowflake-like Shiriken shattered, only leaving small cuts and bruises.

Kibo stayed firmly in this position until the barrage ceased, being battered by the Jutsu while the Gate of Healing in his body began to make its move.

Within seconds of channeling his Profound Gate of Healing, Kibo's wounds recovered almost instantly.

"Really such a terrifying physique." The Yukikage said as she used her lightning-quick hands to perform a new Jutsu.

"Yin Ice Dragon!" A pitch-black crystal scaled ice dragon soared out from her fist as she punched at Kibo.

The black ice ran into his body sending shivers all down his spine. The Yin-Type Ice attempted to invade his lungs, but Kibo continued to absorb crazy levels of Earth energy to fend off the attack.

After a few seconds, the black ice fell from his body, and Kibo felt the stance's defenses become even stronger.

Kibo watched as a new Yin Dragon had appeared around her fist, but it didn't stop there, Setsuna continued to gather more of her chakra. Two smaller versions of the flood dragon slithered around her arms like snakes, then three appeared and four.

By the time Setsuna had completed charging her attack, there were 9 Yin Dragon outlines forming into one.

"Dance of the 9 Headed Hydra!" The giant dragons shot out and circled him, making a powerful tornado of black ice warp his surroundings.

Every now and then, sharp icy projectiles cut against his flesh, boulder-sized ice blocks smashed into his body, and the frost began to chill his blood.

Kibo fought through the pain and laughed to take his mind off of it. He laughed so loudly that Setsuna was beginning to question his sanity.

As the attack came to the peak of its might, the dragons all dived into the eye of the cyclone charging directly on top of Kibo's head.

The 9 Dragons exploded upon impact, turning into a super-massive ice flower that stretched out for miles.

Setsuna believed the boy to be dead. She shook her head and looked off into the distance where Kakashi and the others had run off to.

She was about to give chase, when suddenly, without any warning, the grounds began to shake.

"AHHH!" Kibo screamed as the ice flower started to crack.

"Impossible!" The Yukikage exclaimed with great surprise on her face.

Kibo had entered his wood sage mode, and thanks to being in his Dragon Stance, it increased his defenses dozens of times higher than it would be if he chose to activate his Earth Sage Mode.

His body remained in the Dragon Tree stance but the Chakra waves coming off his body made him look like a mighty oak tree standing on a withered frozen mountain.

Kibo sucked in a mouthful of air through the cracks, and with a single mighty Dragon's Roar Jutsu, the air shook around him and the ice cascaded off his body like millions of pieces of glass.

"How? How are you unharmed!?" The Yukikage was beginning to think that this wasn't a kid at all, but rather a monster in disguise.

Kibo had to admit that her attacks were very powerful. If he had taken any of them outside of his stance or sage form, he definitely wouldn't have been just severely injured, it might have even been able to kill him.

"I see, the environment empowers your Jutsu to incredible heights. It's not a sage mode, but the frost from the terrain is enough to make as strong as one," Kibo said through chattered teeth.

His body was covered in wounds, but only small ones that looked worse than they really were. His gate of healing began to push out the black ice particles from his skin and bone before healing at a rapid pace.

The wood sage form was the best choice for this stance, it granted him additional healing properties and augmented the effects of the Dragon Fist stance with much greater synchronicity than if he'd used his earth form.

The Dragon Tree Stance weakens Earth and Water Chakra and strengthens Wood, if he had relied on his Earth sage form, he would have weakened both his form and defense.

Setsuna started to see hope as she said, "I wonder if you can really keep me here long enough for your friends to succeed."

Kibo chuckled before replying, "Well, if you're having trouble with me, then the rest of team 7 can easily beat down your false Daimyo."

Speaking of team 7, Naruto had arrived at a large stone fortress that looked like a Gothic Medieval Castle.

Naruto stayed hidden and followed the Ninjas that were carrying the princess in tow. They proceeded through the castle's maze-like interior where one could see countless bridges crisscrossing one another leading into multiple dead ends.

After a few minutes of tailing the Yukigakure Ninjas, they arrived in a room full of concrete and iron-barred prison cells. The two Ninja then stopped next to a cell in the center of the narrow halls and threw Koyuki inside,

Moments after they could lock the door, Naruto jumped out of the shadows, knocking out the Ninja's with a kick jab and kick to the jaw.

Naruto then knelt down, stealing the keys to the cell before he looked over to Koyuki.

While swinging the iron key-chain around his finger, Naruto smiled before he asked in a cocky tone. "Did ya miss me, Princess?"

"Naruto when?" Koyuki questioned with surprise,

"I've been here since they took you away; I was just waiting for the right chance to strike," Naruto explained as he unlocked the prison cell.

He moved inside and removed her restraints as well before picking her up and saying, "Hold on I'm gonna move fast."

A few moments after Naruto started to run, the castle shook with a massive explosion.

Koyuki looked worried when Naruto said, "Don't worry. That's just Kakashi Sensei and the others. How about it, do you want to see the fall of the pretender to the throne?"

Koyuki looked up to him; she couldn't understand how Naruto could be so strong and persevering. "Where did you get your confidence from? How can you believe so firmly in your ideals?"

Naruto looked to her like an idiot, "If you give up on your dreams, isn't that the end of your life. You can run, but you'll never escape forever. Eventually, someday, you'll come to regret not making these hopes dreams come true. Especially when you know it's possible through the use of your own hard work and efforts. Rather than live with regrets, I'd rather live my life to the fullest!" Naruto managed to say all this as he was jumping around the building's interior.

While Koyuki was lost in her thoughts, and Naruto was busy running over one of the bridges, a ninja in a standard Yukigakure outfit appeared in Naruto's path.

The Uzumaki put Koyuki down and charged at his enemy.

When the foe blocked his first punch a familiar voice rang out in Naruto's ear.

"Easy Naruto! It's me!" Kakashi said as he pulled down his disguise.

"Kakashi Sensei!" Naruto said as he saw more enemy Nin being beaten up by his fellow teammates.

Once Hinata saw him, she rushed up and leapt into his arms while shouting, "Baka Naruto!"

Everyone was surprised, this was the first time they heard Hinata scold him.

"How could you leave on your own!? Why didn't you wait for us?!" Tears flowed from her eyes.

In response, Naruto hugged Hinata and said, "I'm sorry! I won't go off on my own again. Please stop crying!!!"

"I hate to break this moment up, but we should probably get moving," Yamato said as there was a large group of enemy Nin incoming.

Kakashi picked up Koyuki princess style and ran in front of Team 7. Being given directions by Koyuki and only needing to keep up with Kakashi, they made their way through the castle without getting lost or confused.

After running for a few minutes, the group ended up in a large spacious throne room. There was a single flight of stairs that led up to a platform with only the Daimyo's stone throne on its surface.

Doto was sitting on his brother's throne looking down at the 7 Ninjas who invaded his territory. His fingers tapped against the stone chair arm as he said, "Well this was faster than expected. I hope you didn't disappoint me Kakashi. I trust that you brought what I desire."

Kakashi grunted as he placed his hand over his pocket. However, after a quick pat, Kakashi realized that the hexagonal crystal key had vanished from his pocket.

Koyuki then quickly ran up the stairs and stopped next to Doto.

She smiled when she looked back at team 7 before giving over the key to her uncle and saying "What were you expecting? I mean, I am an actress after all!"

Just as Doto took hold of the item he desired, Koyuki pulled out a sharp dagger and jammed it into her Uncle's chest.

Being taken by surprise, Doto growled before he placed out his hand and grabbed her neck. Using his free hand, Doto grabbed the knife and pulled it from out of her grasp.

The sound of cloth tearing reverberated throughout the hall as it revealed Doto's Chakra armor. It was made of some kind of pitch-black metal that looked somehow flexible. The material was set close to his skin.

Blue metal outlines on the armor accentuated his stout built body's muscles, two blue chords that circled around his neck, focused into a component in the center of his chest which had a blue and white Yin-Yang inside its concave circular center.

Lastly, he had two black metal arm guards that wrapped around his fist and opened up near his elbows.

"What is that armor Kakashi?" Yamato asked.

However, before he could speak, Doto answered for him, "This is the latest type of Chakra Armor Prototype. Only the Yukikage is able to wear the perfected version. But it's still more than enough to deal with you all."

Everyone tried to move in order to rescue Koyuki, but Doto wasn't having it. He lifted the knife Koyuki tried to assassinate him with and placed it next to her neck before shouting, "If you move so much as one hair! Niece or not, I'll cut her down!"

A drop of blood started to drip down Koyuki's neck when a large explosion went off behind team 7's backs.

A dozen or so squads of Yukigakure Ninja's invaded the throne room and began their assault.

As they used dozens of Ice type Jutsu, Team 7 was forced to avoid the attacks.

Doto, taking advantage of the confusion, sent a grappling wire through a hole in the roof and started to pull himself out of the sticky situation he found himself in.

While holding Koyuki at the edge of a blade, Doto quickly ascended as he said, "Come, Koyuki. Let us go to where your father hid his treasure. Let us go to the Rainbow Glacier."