Chapter 72

Last Time:

"When we get to the castle, chain her up in one of the dungeons. I can guarantee you her friends will show up for her." Doto said as he looked towards his approaching fortress.

Now:

~ With Naruto ~

Naruto slowly looked around the courtyard the blimp landed in. 'Great, now where the hell am I?' He wondered as he looked around. He was in the middle of a large winter wonderland, various flowers and trees frozen in ice. 'Hmm..' He mused as he looked around. "Damn it, let me go!" Koyuki's voice demanded across the courtyard. He looked to see various ninjas in their assigned uniforms forming a perimeter around her. "Take her to the prison cells and make sure a guard is posted 24/7." Doto said, getting various "Hai's" in return from his ninja forces. "Carry on." Doto said as he handed Koyuki to his nins and retreated to his chambers.

'Great, now what am I supposed to do?' Naruto wondered a shinobi approached his position. "Yea, I'm just going to check the blimp to make sure everything is fine with the blimp!" The man called out loud and proceeded to the rear of the blimp. As soon as he was close to Naruto's position, Naruto grabbed the man by the neck and slammed his head into the blimp, knocking him out. 'Know, what the hell am I supposed to do here?' Naruto wondered as he took the uniform and forehead protector off the snow nin. He quickly put them on, adjusted the hood on his head, hogtied the man, and then hid him in a dumpster.

"Hey buddy!" Naruto called out in a gruff voice as he grabbed a nearby clipboard, making the man turn to him. "What's the matter?" The man asked. Naruto looked to the clipboard, then back to the man before him. "I got orders here that these barrels are to be moved against the east wall." Naruto stated as he patted a barrel of fuel, sticking a small explosive tag on the top. "I don't know man, that fuel was supposed to be left there for the vehicles." The soldier replied. "Fine, you tell Doto his direct orders were ignored." Naruto said as he turned to leave. "W..Wait!" The man called out before Naruto could leave, then motioned to five other men stationed in the courtyard.

"You guys, with me! We need to move these barrels to the east wall!" The man said out loud, making Naruto smirk under his hood. "Be assured, Doto will hear about your excellent work ethic!" Naruto assured the man. "Now, which way are the prisons?" Naruto asked. "Just go straight and there should be an elevator shaft. Go to the bottom floor and there are the most recent prisoners." The man informed him as the others began moving the barrels of fuel. "Alright, carry on!" Naruto finished and turned towards the elevator shaft.

~ Outside The Castle ~

Samui carefully studied the perimeter of the large ice castle, but found no weaknesses. "Damn it, what the hell are we supposed to do!" She growled as she slammed the binoculars on the ground. Darui looked to the whole perimeter, but it was well guarded with a patrol every ten minutes. "Samui-chan, I'm disappointed in you.." Yugito's voice drifted towards her. Samui turned to see Yugito unrolling a small storage scroll. "I thought you knew Naruto-kun." Yugito muttered as she pumped a small amount of chakra into the scroll. "What are you getting at?" Samui asked. "Think about it, what would Naruto do if he couldn't find an entrance?" Yugito asked as she held up a kunai with an explosive tag attached to the hilt.

"He'd make one." Samui muttered in realization. "Exactly!" Yugito replied with a grin scarily similar to Naruto's. "We have been spending entirely too much time with him.." Samui muttered as she went to study which wall seemed to be the least protected.

~ At The Elevator ~

Naruto sighed as he looked around. 'Well, everything's going a bit too easily..' He mused as he reached into the coat, only to feel something warm in his hands. He pulled to see a scarf before him and put it on so it covered the lower half of his face. The large elevator came to a stop as he reached the last floor. He stepped out and looked to the left, seeing a man posted before a prison cell. "Hey buddy!" Naruto called out in his gruff voice, making the man turn to him with a kunai poised ready to strike. "What is it?!" The man demanded, a slightly cautious edge to his tone. Naruto sighed, then turned to his clip board.

"Ain't that like them, they tell me to report to this cell to stand guard, and now you're already here. Well, what the hell." Naruto said as he turned to walk away. Before he could get far, the guard walked up behind him. "Well, if you were sent here to relieve me, get to your damn post!" The man yelled at Naruto. "But, I was about to leave." Naruto replied in a weak tone. "No shirking duties!" The man yelled and left, slightly glad that he had someone to take his position and stand in front of the ice cold cell for hours on end. Naruto grinned as he took his position and looked forward, seeing how Koyuki was holding up.

~ With Koyuki ~

Koyuki lay in a small corner of the ice cold cell, a dead look in her eyes. "Serves me right for not giving up.."She muttered, making Naruto's ears perk up. "This land has no spring.." She muttered as she thought back to the first time her father told her about spring. 'My whole life has been nothing but a big charade..' She realized as she thought about all of the lies she had told to get where she was, all of the fake smiles, every aspect of her fake attitude. "My life is nothing but a big lie.."She muttered. "Becoming an actress is about all I was really cut out to be." She muttered, only to be snapped out of her thoughts and Naruto slammed his hand into her cell bars.

"Keep it quiet!" He yelled. She shrunk and stayed quiet, making Naruto sigh. 'She still doesn't get it..'He realized. "Must be real easy for you princess, to give up." He stated, making Koyuki look at him. "How would you know?" She demanded, angered that a lowly guard would try to sympathize with her. Naruto looked above the large walls that confined the prison. "I was alone at one point in my life. I was disowned by my family, and truthfully, I just wanted to give up. I had never felt the sorrow I felt when my mother and father announced I was no longer clan heir. By proxy, I was also no longer part of the clan." Naruto stated as he remembered that night.

"I just.. ran. I wanted to keep running into the night so the morning couldn't catch up to me, you know? I didn't want it to be true. I just wanted it to be a bad dream. I wanted with all of my heart to jolt awake with my mother at my bedside, telling me it would all be alright." He muttered, his gruff voice actually softening. "But I didn't give up because I knew.. I just couldn't. I found a real family, one that didn't see me as a lost cause. One that saw the potential I had in me and that helped nurture it." Naruto said. "A lot of good that did, if you're working as a guard for Doto." Koyuki stated with slight venom to her voice.

"And little by little, they became my real family. She became my mother, and they became my father figures, showing me right from wrong and instilling me with my morals." Naruto said as he thought to his time with the Avengers. "And little by little, I kept improving. I never gave up because I knew I could be so much more.." Naruto said. "And I began gaining friends, precious people I will lay my life on the line for." He said as he thought to the grateful faces of Tazuna and Inari, then to the faces of Karui, Omoi, Yugito, Samui, A, Bee, Mabui, hell even Atsui. Koyuki was looking to the floor when Naruto turned to see her.

She completely ignored him until she heard the sound of metal striking metal. She looked up to see him open the door and take off the scarf and forehead protector. "So I'm not giving up on this mission or you. Your father and Sandayu believed in you, so I'm going to make sure you don't give up." Naruto stated as he pulled her up and picked her up, then sprinted to the elevator. She looked up at him, determination steeled in his eyes as he looked at the levels on the elevator. 'So this is what never giving up gets you, huh?' She mused as the elevator began climbing levels. As soon as the elevator hit the top floor, Naruto ran out.

~ With Samui and Yugito ~

Yugito growled as she watched the patrol disappear. "Ready?" She asked Samui, who nodded. With deadly precision, She threw the kunai to the structurally unstable points of the wall. "Boom." Samui muttered as she got up. A large explosion rocked the west wall, making a large hole by which they could enter.

~ With Naruto ~

Naruto pushed another ninja off the top of the cliff holding the prison cells and kept running until the large explosion rocked the castle. "What the hell was that?" Koyuki demanded, only to get a grin from Naruto. "Help." He whispered, then channeled a small amount of chakra to the explosive tag he had put on the barrels that were now piled on the east wall. An even louder explosion was triggered, rocking the castle and momentarily stunning the ninja forces. "Now, let's hurry up. We don't have much time." Naruto informed her, until a ninja with a hunched back appeared before him wielding a tanto.

Naruto quickly attacked with his sword, metal striking metal as an intricate web of attacks was weaved and aimed at the approaching ninja. "Whoa, Naruto-san!" The man yelled out, making Naruto stop his attack. He watched as the man ripped his uniform off to reveal Darui standing there in a relaxed position. "Sorry about that. I should have warned you who I was at first." Darui said, making Naruto relax. "Where are Yugito and Samui?" He asked, only for another explosion to rock the castle. "Never mind.." Naruto muttered under his breath. He turned, but was met with the angry face of Koyuki.

"One of you switched my hex crystal with a fake without my knowledge of it." She said in an accusing tone. Naruto stepped up and reached into his hand. "Actually, it was Sandayu who did it. He may have had hope, but he wasn't the fool you make him out to be." Naruto informed her and handed her the real Hex crystal. Before Koyuki could retort, yet another explosion rocked the hall, making Naruto look around. "Alright, they have been spending entirely too much time with me if they're overdoing the explosives this badly.." Naruto muttered under his breath. In a split second, two blonde figures rushed into the hallway.

"Samui-chan, Yugi-chan!" Naruto said in a happy tone. "Baka." Yugito replied, slightly annoyed he left them behind and relieved he was alright. "No time for that, guys! This place is crawling with ninja!" Samui stated before Naruto and Yugito could start their little dispute. "Shit, we need a way to get out of here, and we need it yesterday." Naruto said as he unsealed his bow and shot an arrow to the ceiling of the hall, then detonated it to seal the hall off. "Follow me!" Koyuki said as she took off in the opposite direction. "You heard her!" Naruto stated and followed after her.

~ Throne Room ~

Naruto looked around the dark blue room. "I got a bad feeling about this one guys. Be ready for anything!" Naruto stated and unsealed his bow and arrow. "Well done, Koyuki." Doto's voice resounded through the room as the lights rose, allowing him to be seen sitting at the throne. Koyuki looked down in shame, but ran towards her uncle with the Hex crystal in her hands. "Koyuki!" Yugito yelled out to the girl. "Very well done, Koyuki.." Her uncle complimented. She then turned to the others with a smug smile on her face. "Well, what do you expect? I am an actress." She said in a 'matter of fact' tone.

"Another great performance by the great Yukie Fujikaze!" Her uncle taunted. Naruto was about to sprint to her, but suddenly found Doto's three guards before him. "Ah, ah, ah!" Nadare said in a smug tone and tried to uppercut him away. Naruto quickly grabbed Nadare's upwards flying fist and pulled it over his back, flipping the man and slamming him in the ground. Before Nadare could retaliate, Naruto poised a kunai at his neck. "Let us go or he dies!" He called out, only to get a chuckle from Doto. "Kill him." He said as he approached Koyuki. "Yes, I am just an actress.." She muttered as she unsheathed a knife Sandayu had on his body when he died.

She quickly charged her uncle and pushed it into the vile man's ribcage, making him yell in pain and look at her with hate filled eyes. "What did you expect?" She asked with a smirk adorning her face. "After all, I am just an actress." Koyuki asked as she pushed the blade deeper. Doto's arms raised and wrapped around her throat. Naruto growled and slammed Nadare into his fellow ninjas. He quickly sealed his bow and unsealed his Shield. "Attack!" He yelled, and all hell broke loose.

A/N: Aww, the land of snow arc is going to be resolved soon.