The wind howling across the snowfield bit into his exposed skin with a bone-chilling cold, and countless snowflakes couldn't obscure the darkness in his eyes.
The sharp blade in his hand cut down one enemy after another.
Hot, steaming blood spilled onto the vast white expanse, only to be buried instantly beneath the falling snow.
A white-haired youth, carrying a sleeping child on his back, raced across the endless snowfield. Behind him thundered a massive pursuing army.
As far as the eye could see, there were soldiers armed with crossbows, bows and arrows, and rifles.
Beyond them, high in the wind-whipped, snowy sky, an airship shadowed him closely. It was precisely because of that airship that Kakashi had never managed to shake the army's pursuit in the Land of Snow.
Kakashi even suspected the airship was equipped with something like radar or infrared.
He was too exhausted to gripe about this world's lopsided technology tree—he'd been through situations like this too many times already.
He was being hunted by the Land of Snow's rebel forces, which, in addition to the country's regular troops, included roughly a thousand ninja.
Even though those thousand ninja would be wiped out in an instant by Konoha, a distant ally couldn't solve his immediate crisis.
Kakashi could only focus on rescuing Princess Koyuki Kazahana of the Land of Snow, exactly as the mission required.
In the original story, how had Kakashi pulled off saving Koyuki Kazahana in a situation like this?
Even while evading an entire army, Kakashi still had the spare energy to grumble to himself.
Carrying the sleeping Koyuki Kazahana, Kakashi wove through a hail of arrows and bullets. His body crackled with electricity and churned with swirling winds. The two chakra natures, which should have clashed, fused perfectly in Kakashi's hands. With both chakras active at once, his speed surged.
In a single heartbeat, he left the Land of Snow's troops far behind.
Ahead lay the border between the Land of Snow and the Land of Demons. If he could just cross it, Kakashi would be in the clear.
Large-scale forces couldn't cross the border without facing scrutiny from the Five Great Nations. Doto Kazahana wouldn't dare offend the five great powers of this world over a single Koyuki Kazahana.
With that thought, Kakashi yanked off his hood and scooped up Koyuki Kazahana, who was strapped tightly to his back. Lightning surged beneath his feet, and each step exploded the snow underfoot into a spray of white.
"He's too fast—we can't keep up…"
"As expected from the famed Kakashi…"
The blue-haired, ponytailed man in pursuit gritted his teeth, desperate to close the gap.
Wolf Fang Avalanche, the leader of this pursuit unit.
But in that moment, all he could do was watch helplessly as the youth—no older than sixteen or seventeen—pulled farther and farther away.
Kakashi glanced back at the troops he'd left in the dust, then, without a second thought, bolted toward the horizon.
Three years had passed since Kakashi arrived in this world.
He had mastered the shape and nature transformations of all five elemental chakras: wind, lightning, water, fire, and earth. He had also successfully fused wind, lightning, and fire chakra into the White Fang sword style.
If Kakashi wanted, he could have carved through the pursuing forces behind him, in and out seven times over.
But… there was no need.
His mission was to rescue Koyuki Kazahana, not to crush the rebellion.
He would do exactly what he was paid for.
In that respect, Kakashi was strikingly similar to the money-obsessed Kakuzu.
There was another reason, too.
Kakashi didn't like killing.
It wasn't out of pity, kindness, or a soft heart.
He simply didn't like it.
But if it became necessary, Kakashi wouldn't hesitate to bare his fangs at his enemies.
The border between the Land of Snow and the Land of Demons loomed ahead, a bottomless canyon barring the path. Yet Kakashi's speed never wavered. He leaped, and a powerful wind enveloped his body. An invisible gust lifted him and the sleeping Koyuki Kazahana in his arms, carrying them gliding forward.
The delayed pursuers could only stare in frustration as their target—like a duck already cooked—flew away right under their noses.
Kakashi landed smoothly, cast one last glance at the troops on the far side of the canyon, then vanished into the snowfield without looking back…
"Princess Koyuki!"
As Kakashi reached the prearranged rendezvous, a black-haired middle-aged man gazed at Koyuki Kazahana in Kakashi's arms, tears streaming down his face.
"She's asleep."
That wasn't entirely accurate; Kakashi had found Koyuki Kazahana's loud demands to see her father too annoying, so he'd knocked her out with a chop to the neck.
"Thank you, thank you!"
"As expected from Konoha's renowned Kakashi!"
Taking Koyuki Kazahana into his arms, the man named Sandayu thanked Kakashi profusely, his eyes brimming with tears.
"All right, mission complete. I'll be heading out."
Kakashi waved a hand, already turning to leave.
This mission had taken half a month. If not for the twenty million he still owed the Uchiha Clan, Kakashi wouldn't have accepted such a lengthy assignment.
Though Uchiha Fugaku had said there was no need to repay it, Kakashi hated owing anyone anything.
If possible, it was better to settle the debt.
Yet in three years, even with Kakashi taking missions constantly, he'd only managed to save half the amount.
High-level missions were scarce; most were routine B-rank escort jobs.
This trip to the Land of Snow had been a rare S-rank. To keep the full reward from being split among teammates, Kakashi had come alone.
"Thank you so much. The final payment has already been transferred to Konoha's account."
Kakashi nodded at Sandayu and left without the slightest hesitation…
Three years. The Konoha main gate hadn't changed a bit. After handing his pass to Kotetsu Hagane and Izumo Kamizuki, who were stationed there, Kakashi headed straight for the mission desk to close out the Land of Snow assignment.
"Kakashi, you were gone a while this time."
Izumo Kamizuki greeted him warmly.
"Yeah, it did drag on."
Kakashi smiled, ready to move on.
"Peace is coming…"
At that moment, Kotetsu Hagane suddenly said something odd, making Kakashi arch an eyebrow. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"You've been away, Kakashi, so you probably haven't heard."
"The Kumogakure peace delegation has already arrived in the village. It won't be long before the war ends for good."
"This is a huge event—it's shaken Konoha and the entire ninja world."
Kotetsu Hagane grinned at Kakashi.
As a gate guard, the Kumogakure delegation had passed right by him, so he was naturally in the know.
"The Kumogakure peace delegation, huh…"
Kakashi murmured, then bid Kotetsu Hagane and Izumo Kamizuki farewell before heading toward the Konoha mission desk.