[63] Infiltrating the Royal Capital

By the time Sora and Kakashi arrived at the mission location, they were met only by an ordinary soldier—there was no sign of Doctor Sandayū or Princess Koyuki Kazehana.

"You two… are you shinobi from Konoha?" The soldier ran over breathlessly upon seeing them.

Kakashi nodded. "We're from Konoha. Where's our employer?"

Even as he asked, both of them already knew something had gone wrong.

The surrounding area bore clear signs of disturbance—upturned earth, patches of melted snow, and general disarray pointed to a recent battle.

Sure enough, once the soldier confirmed their identities, tears welled in his eyes. "Rebel forces under Kazehana Dotō discovered this location. They've captured Her Highness the Princess and Lord Doctor Sandayū !"

"Please… please save them!" he cried, falling to his knees with a thud.

Seeing Kakashi glance his way, Sora clicked his tongue in irritation.

In the original story, Kakashi never had to storm the palace to rescue anyone. Why was it that the moment he arrived, Koyuki was already captured?

Still, there was no helping it. He nodded. "We'll go get them. Just tell us where."

"The palace is just up ahead—less than five miles away!" The soldier shot up and pointed toward the capital.

Sora instructed him to hide and stay safe, then he and Kakashi made their way toward the Snow Country's royal capital.

"Handling this one's on you. Unless it's an emergency, I won't step in," Sora said as they moved.

His true goal was to bring Koyuki back to Konoha. If he wiped out Dotō here and now, there wouldn't be anything left to work with.

Given his strength, even if Dotō's armor were several times more powerful, it still wouldn't be enough to scratch him.

But if he showed too much force, Doctor Sandayū would likely refuse to leave the country.

Kakashi didn't fully understand the reasoning, but he nodded in agreement.

Before long, they arrived near the capital, observing the patrolling guards from a distance without moving in.

"We'll use Earth Style: Hiding Like a Mole Technique to get close and jump the wall," Kakashi suggested after seeing Sora wasn't taking the initiative.

"Sure. Works for me."

With Sora's approval, Kakashi disappeared into the ground, phasing through the snow-covered earth.

Sora followed suit—only to shiver the moment he entered the ground. "Damn, this dirt's freezing!"

He'd used this jutsu plenty of times back in the Land of Fire, where the earth was just mildly uncomfortable—mostly pressure, not cold.

But here, in the Land of Snow, the soil felt more like solid ice. It took him a moment to adjust.

Watching Kakashi's unfazed demeanor, Sora couldn't help but be impressed.

He was clearly shivering, yet still maintained that stoic, expressionless face. Respect!

While his thoughts drifted, they reached the base of the city walls. Waiting for a patrol to pass, they emerged from the ground.

Exchanging a glance, they infused chakra into their feet and ran straight up the wall.

Once at the top, they leapt into a clear, guard-free area. Only after landing did they begin surveying their surroundings.

"So that's why you didn't stay underground—you saw the rock foundations?" Sora commented, recalling the stone he'd seen beneath the walls.

The jutsu could traverse through soil, but not through solid rock.

After observing for a bit, they noticed the streets were eerily empty. Likely due to the recent coup, commoners stayed indoors.

Even so, a patrol passed by every five minutes—tight security.

"We need to capture a patrol and find out where they're keeping Koyuki and Doctor Sandayū ."

Having determined their next move, the two hid in silence, waiting for the next patrol to arrive.

By their estimate, they had three minutes.

Sora was already getting sleepy—he was that bored.

To him, the Snow Country felt like a toddler—he could slap it into submission at any moment.

Thankfully, he didn't have to wait long. Just two and a half minutes later, a group of soldiers appeared around the corner.

There were five of them—all regular humans without chakra, and none wore the Snow Country's armored suits.

Before Kakashi could act, a flash of lightning burst beneath Sora's feet—he instantly appeared behind the five soldiers.

"So fast!" Kakashi exclaimed in shock. Even with his Sharingan active, he hadn't seen Sora's movement clearly.

Thud, thud, thud, thud!

Four of the soldiers collapsed instantly. Sora grabbed the last one and tossed him to Kakashi.

Catching the incoming body in a fluster, Kakashi blinked in confusion. Meanwhile, Sora calmly stashed the unconscious four out of sight and watched with amusement as Kakashi began his interrogation.

Unfortunately, things didn't go as expected—Sora was hoping for some resistance, but the soldier, upon learning they were Konoha shinobi there to rescue Koyuki, immediately spilled everything like a leaking faucet.

Princess Koyuki and Doctor Sandayū were being held in the palace dungeon. They had a key to a mysterious treasure—Dotō's ultimate goal.

The dungeon was guarded by over a hundred soldiers and Dotō's trusted lieutenant: Rouga Nadare. It was impenetrable to ordinary people.

"Let's move."

After watching Kakashi knock the man out and hide him, Sora took the lead again.

He still felt a slight envy for the Snow Country's chakra armor—but quickly dismissed it.

At best, those suits were comparable to a Jōnin. Pathetically weak.

In the Fourth Great Ninja War, even a million of them wouldn't stand a chance against a single top-tier shinobi's onslaught.

Plus, based on what he knew, the armor's production costs were sky-high. No wonder the Snow Country only had four suits total.

Even for a small nation, they couldn't be that poor—unless their leadership was utterly incompetent.

And that's exactly what Dotō was. Instead of advancing Snow Country's tech and leading it into prosperity, the man obsessed over a "treasure."

Sora scoffed. He knew what that treasure really was—a glorified, high-output heating system.

It could restore the palace gardens to springlike conditions—for a few minutes.

With all that time spent chasing Koyuki, Dotō could've been researching tech and raking in piles of money by now!

But whatever—it wasn't Sora's concern.

All he needed was to bring Koyuki back to Konoha. Once he did, he could kickstart the golden age of entertainment in the village.

Now that sounded like a real win.

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