Because of Konoha's departure, both Princess Koyuki Kazahana and the Third Doctor finally realized something.
The Konoha shinobi couldn't protect them forever.
If they wanted to reclaim the Land of Snow, they would have to rely on Naruto and Karin — the two who were determined to make this frozen land their home.
That was why Koyuki's attitude toward Naruto changed so drastically.
After spending a few days together, Koyuki discovered that Naruto wasn't as terrifying as she had imagined.
He was actually quite reasonable.
At the Third Doctor's request, Koyuki began to take the initiative to approach Naruto, hoping to work with him for the restoration of her country.
However, this quickly stirred up Karin's jealousy.
But Koyuki didn't care about Karin's feelings at all — in fact, she became even more forward with Naruto.
Today, she even took the initiative to greet him first, something she had never done before.
This made Karin furious. She ran over, clung tightly to Naruto's arm, and glared at Koyuki.
"Hey! You scheming woman! Don't get so close to Naruto! You've got an agenda, and Naruto knows it!"
Koyuki, however, remained unfazed by Karin's outburst.
Naruto, on the other hand, was preoccupied. He had been searching for Doto Kazahana for several days without any results, and his mood was heavy. He ignored the two bickering women and went straight to Jiraiya to discuss where to search next.
The Land of Snow was vast. Even with Naruto's Kagura's Mind Eye, it wasn't possible to completely search every corner in a short period.
And if Doto was constantly changing locations, the search became even harder.
After some discussion, Jiraiya suddenly proposed a new idea — a rather unorthodox one.
They would wait and see.
It sounded foolish at first, but the logic made sense.
Wasn't the reason Doto hadn't shown himself yet precisely because Naruto and Jiraiya were there?
If they disappeared, the treasures in Koyuki's possession would become irresistible bait for him.
After all, Doto Kazahana was an ambitious man — a dreamer obsessed with using ninja technology to conquer the world.
There was no way he could stay patient for long.
Once they finalized the plan, Naruto and Jiraiya informed everyone and began executing it.
They created Shadow Clones and publicly "departed" the Land of Snow by ship in a grand farewell.
Meanwhile, their real bodies stayed hidden within the country.
The Third Doctor and Koyuki moved to a more secluded area, pretending to stay in hiding to avoid Doto's attention.
Koyuki's role was crucial — she was the perfect bait for Doto Kazahana.
As expected, when she was eventually captured and brought before Doto, Naruto, who had been observing remotely through Kagura's Mind Eye, immediately teleported to the scene with Jiraiya and Karin using the Flying Thunder God Jutsu.
It turned out that sometimes, the best way to catch the prey… was to become the bait yourself.
The plan went off perfectly.
Doto's subordinates, scattered throughout the Land of Snow, soon discovered that Naruto and the others had supposedly left Koyuki behind.
They quickly relayed the information to Doto.
Unable to restrain himself any longer, Doto sent his men to capture Koyuki.
The Third Doctor and Koyuki pretended to flee for a while before deliberately getting caught.
Because of their importance, Doto's subordinates didn't dare harm them before presenting them to their leader.
From several kilometers away, Naruto tracked everything through Kagura's Mind Eye.
He watched as the captives were dragged through the snow to the foot of a desolate mountain and then taken into an inconspicuous cave.
Seeing this, Naruto finally understood why he couldn't locate Doto earlier.
Kagura's Mind Eye had a weakness — it couldn't penetrate too many solid barriers.
If Doto's base was underground, Naruto could only scan a few meters deep without intense focus.
No wonder he couldn't find him before.
But now, the situation was clear.
Naruto followed Doto's men quietly, waiting for the perfect moment.
Inside the cave, the Third Doctor was thrown into a cage while Koyuki was dragged before Doto himself.
At that moment, Koyuki was trembling uncontrollably.
She had seen this scene countless times in her nightmares.
To her, Doto was an unshakable nightmare — a monster she could never defeat.
Even though she knew Naruto would come for her, fear still gripped her body.
"Haha! Isn't this our little princess?" Doto sneered, looking down at her trembling figure. "You've been hiding for so long… and now you return to the Land of Snow to accept your fate?"
Koyuki didn't answer. She only lowered her head and silently prayed for Naruto to arrive.
On the other side, Naruto had already locked onto Doto's exact location.
He turned to Jiraiya and Karin. "Let's move."
Moments later, three figures appeared around Koyuki — a white-haired old man, a blond boy, and a red-haired girl.
Doto froze, his eyes widening in disbelief.
He stared at Jiraiya and asked in shock, "You… you're the one who killed my best commander, aren't you?"
But no one answered him.
Naruto ignored his words and said to Jiraiya, "The Third Doctor is imprisoned underground. Please go rescue him."
The Third Doctor was their ally — an essential part of this operation. Leaving him behind was not an option.
Jiraiya nodded. He wasn't worried about Naruto's fight — he knew the boy was strong enough. In fact, he suspected Naruto wanted to use this battle as training for Karin.
So, without hesitation, Jiraiya located the underground passage and left to save the doctor.
Seeing them act so casually enraged Doto.
"How dare you ignore me!?" he shouted furiously. "Do you look down on me that much—"
He suddenly froze mid-sentence.
Because he just witnessed something impossible.
The special restraints his research team had developed to suppress chakra — the very ones binding Koyuki — had just been shattered effortlessly by Naruto's hand.
"What… what is this power?" Doto muttered in disbelief.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
You can visit my Patreon page:
Patreon.com/PhoeniXcel
There are 100+ advanced chapters available for you to read.
Your support would be greatly appreciated.
Check out my new Naruto fanfic!
[Naruto: I Don't Want Recognition]