How Kurama Leads Naruto Astray

Her… Hinata Has No Opinion. 

-- Also known as: "Young Master Naruto, Your Princess Has Run Away Again!" --

Let's ignore that Naruto himself also relies on "outside help." Anyway, based on the information from Kakuyoku Fubuki, both Naruto and Sasuke subconsciously felt that Kazahana Doto's strength wasn't impressive.

Kazayahana Koyuki, not sure if she had lost her mind, walked out without saying a word after the interrogation.

Sasuke watched her back without speaking, but his eyes flickered, as though he was thinking about something.

"Sasuke." Naruto gently tapped Sasuke's back and asked, "What should we do with this woman?"

Sasuke snapped back to reality and instinctively replied, "Once we're done questioning her, just kill her."

This choice wasn't wrong. Generally, ninja battles end in death, since no one knows if the enemy ninja has any strange Ninjutsu that could transmit information.

So usually, if ninjas have conditions, they'll interrogate captives on the spot. Afterward, they bury them. If there are no conditions, they kill them and use sealing scrolls to take the body back. While the body doesn't provide much information, it's much safer than leaving someone alive.

During wartime, these were the usual choices, but now things are a bit more relaxed since it's not wartime.

When Naruto heard Sasuke's words, his face became slightly troubled. If it were in the middle of a battle, Naruto wouldn't feel anything about killing the enemy. After all, that's what battles are about. Even if he's naïve, he knows that life and death are decided in the heat of combat.

But now, it's not a battle. This woman is a captive, and he finds it hard to bring himself to kill her. He turned to look at Kakuyoku Fubuki, whose face had turned pale. After hearing Sasuke's words, she became even more desperate.

She trembled violently, her voice pleading: "Please don't kill me! Please, don't kill me!"

Is this person really a ninja?

Sasuke sighed. When he said to kill her, it was just an automatic response. Like Naruto, he wouldn't feel anything while fighting, even if he had to go all out. But when it came to killing a captive, it was hard for him to do.

However, Kakuyoku Fubuki's behavior was quite pathetic. A ninja shouldn't say "please don't kill me" in front of the enemy, even if they're scared. If it were Sakura who was captured, she'd be afraid, but she would never give in.

"You keep calling us fragile flowers, but your performance is even worse than ours." Sasuke shook his head, sighed, and then looked at Naruto. "I can't bring myself to do it. If you can't either, go find the perverted sage."

"Alright." Naruto nodded.

Jiraiya's ruthless nature was something Naruto and Sasuke had never seen, but they could imagine it. Jiraiya wasn't as naive as they were.

After speaking, Sasuke cast a Genjutsu on Kakuyoku Fubuki, making sure the guy hadn't intentionally spread any false information. He then left the room without another word. Naruto looked at Kakuyoku Fubuki with a hint of hesitation, as if unsure about something.

But after a moment, he sighed and shook his head, following Sasuke out of the room.

Inside the sealing space, Kurama nodded in satisfaction. Naruto had indeed changed from the Naruto in the original story—not just in how he spoke and acted, but in how he handled things. He wasn't as naive anymore.

Being kind to prisoners depends on who they are. Kakuyoku Fubuki clearly didn't deserve any special treatment.

Walking out of the ship's cabin, the ship had already left the giant glacier behind and was heading towards the Land of Snow. Kazayahana Koyuki, leaning against the side of the ship, held a steaming cup of tea while staring into the distance, lost in her thoughts.

Sasuke jumped off the ship to continue his training. He felt that recently he'd focused too much on Taijutsu and strategy development, and his control over Chidori hadn't improved much. During the last battle, he felt a bit awkward using it.

Simply put, his speed in gathering the Chidori didn't match his progress in Taijutsu and tactics. While it wasn't an immediate problem, it could affect his power if it continued, so Sasuke decided to focus on improving Chidori for the time being and put Taijutsu on hold.

Naruto approached Jiraiya and told him about Kakuyoku Fubuki. Jiraiya didn't show much emotion, made a shadow clone, and went into the cabin, after which there was no further discussion.

By the time Naruto returned to the cabin, Kakuyoku Fubuki was gone, and there were no traces of blood or anything else on the floor. Everything was clean.

It was as if everything had returned to normal. The director was still excitedly filming material, Kazayahana Koyuki was still unable to cry, Jiraiya spent his days lounging by the ship's side with his sake, and Sasuke was still training.

"Uzumaki Naruto, you can't be this lazy!" Naruto, as an extra, really hated his own laziness.

Then, he continued playing his part as an extra.

Time slowly passed, and on what seemed like the umpteenth morning, a vast snowy land appeared in the distance. Everyone knew they had arrived at the Land of Snow.

It took half an hour to dock. The feeling of solid ground under his feet made Naruto feel a little dizzy. He almost couldn't help but shout out, "Land of Snow, I'm here!" but his client, Sandayu, interrupted his buildup.

"Princess! The princess is missing!" Sandayu rushed out of the cabin, looking panicked, and bumped into several people along the way.

But no one blamed him.

Sasuke and Naruto quickly rushed to his side. Sasuke frowned as he asked, "When did she go missing?"

"I don't know," Sandayu said with a bitter smile, shaking his head. "I was about to call her down from the ship, but I searched the entire cabin and couldn't find her."

"This woman, she must have snuck off when everyone was getting off the ship. She probably ran off because she was scared," Naruto said angrily. He then turned to Sandayu, a look of determination on his face. 

"Don't worry, I'll find her."

Sasuke furrowed his brow as he looked around at the endless white snow. 

"No traces... this woman sure knows how to escape."

Sandayu sighed. Kazayahana Koyuki had escaped many times before when she'd heard they were going to the Land of Snow. At first, it was easy to find her because she wasn't experienced, and she left many traces. But as time went on, it became harder to find her. Eventually, she could escape right in front of them, and they'd only be able to chase her.

If Naruto hadn't left a shadow clone to follow Kazayahana Koyuki, it would have been really hard to find her.

Sasuke sighed and looked at Naruto. "This place is backed by a mountain on one side and the sea on the other. There are only two directions to escape. Let's split up, one of us take each direction."

"Mm." Naruto nodded. 

"We got on the ship together. Even if she can run, she won't get too far. Stay alert for anything unusual on the way. She might be using a disguise."

"Okay." Sasuke nodded in agreement.

With that, the two of them turned and headed off in opposite directions. A ninja's speed isn't really slowed down much by the heavy snow. What would be deep snow impossible for ordinary people to walk through, for ninjas, it's just like walking on solid water.

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