Land of Snow.
Takuno, wearing that familiar fox mask, walked through the snow-swept mountains.
Given this weather and terrain, even he wouldn't come here without a reason, which further confirmed the safety of the location; no ninja would come here idly unless they had a mission.
Now, he needed to figure out how to find Kazahana Dotō.
If his strength included that armor, he could barely be counted as a Special Jonin, though without the armor, he was nothing.
His three subordinates, known as the Snow Ninja Triumvirate, included one who had managed to drive off Kakashi during his time in the Anbu, confirming that his strength could reach the Jonin level.
The other two were weaker, and while their exact strength was uncertain, they were likely around the Chunin level.
He also didn't plan to go directly to the center of the Land of Snow to find Kazahana Dotō.
Because confronting Kazahana Dotō directly would definitely trigger a fight, attracting too much attention from the Land of Snow, and Takuno needed to proceed discreetly.
"It seems I need to find the Hidden Snow Village first." Takuno made his decision. Since the opponent could command the Snow Ninja Triumvirate, he must have significant ties to the Hidden Snow Village.
Therefore, if he could find and control the Hidden Snow Village first, he would be able to draw Kazahana Dotō out.
"The Hidden Snow Village..."
Takuno looked at the map, feeling a headache. The map of the Land of Snow was not very clear. Although the location of the Hidden Snow Village was marked, the area was a vast expanse of white, making the map's utility limited.
Moreover, with such heavy snow and wind, his summoned beast, the crow, would find it difficult to fly here to locate the Hidden Snow Village.
Thus, he could only rely on himself to search.
"Kujaku Myōhō: Wings."
The Chakra wings once again materialized behind Takuno, and he flew into the sky.
However, he quickly flew back down.
Sure enough, he could fly in this weather, but the consumption of Chakra was too great because of the conditions.
Short-distance flight was fine, but long distances consumed too much.
"Troublesome."
After complaining, Takuno oriented himself and moved forward. While continuous flight was impossible, it could still be used occasionally for orientation... "Is this the Hidden Snow Village?" Takuno looked at the village shrouded in ice and snow, feeling a bit emotional, as he had spent a great deal of time and effort searching for it.
At this point, he did not take immediate action; charging directly into their village would be unwise regardless of the circumstances.
Moreover, this kind of village was difficult to investigate because it received virtually no outsiders, and he couldn't enter the village pretending to be an outsider merchant.
Therefore, if he wanted to investigate, he had to do so secretly without alarming anyone in the Hidden Snow Village.
After thinking for a moment, Takuno sighed, feeling it might be better to simply declare war on the Snow Ninja Triumvirate.
The three of them were likely the pillars of the Hidden Snow Village; everyone else was just a small fry.
Although he could instantly subdue the three of them through investigation and pre-emptive ambush.
The problem was that if he subdued them through underhanded means, they might doubt his strength, and what he needed was a relatively stable experimental base.
Even if the subordinates weren't entirely unified, they must at least be too intimidated by his strength to take action.
Therefore, this battle must not only be fought openly but also fought splendidly!
Takuno formed hand seals, and a pair of Kujaku Myōhō wings appeared behind him once again, flying toward the sky above the Hidden Snow Village.
Soon, he found the most luxurious location in the Hidden Snow Village, which was likely the Snow Kage's office.
Takuno took out a piece of white paper, wrote a declaration of war on it, placed it on a Kunai, and threw it down.
After completing this, he flew toward the agreed-upon location.
After the Kunai landed in the Snow Kage's office, a figure appeared there and picked up the letter.
If Takuno had been there, he would have recognized that the person was Kazahana Dotō, the one he was looking for!
Originally, he had planned to subdue the Snow Ninja Triumvirate first and then use their connection to Kazahana Dotō to summon him, but he hadn't expected Kazahana Dotō to be right there in the Hidden Snow Village!
At this moment, Kazahana Dotō finished reading the letter and frowned.
"My Lord, let me go. I will certainly deal with him," said Roga Nadare, Kazahana Dotō's subordinate and the only Jonin.
The audacity of the opponent to provoke them like this was unforgivable.
"The fact that he dares to challenge us proves he is either confident or has an ambush set up there." Kazahana Dotō did not immediately agree to Roga Nadare's request.
"But are we just going to pretend this didn't happen?" asked Fuyukuma Mizore, the future Jonin standing nearby.
"Of course not." Kazahana Dotō snorted coldly. If they didn't respond to such a provocation, outsiders would find out and laugh at them, which he could not accept.
"Roga Nadare, Fuyukuma Mizore, Fubuki Kakuyoku, the three of you should first send subordinates to check for traps, and once it's secure, go capture him, dead or alive!" Kazahana Dotō said sinisterly.
"Yes!"
The Snow Ninja Triumvirate immediately responded and then departed separately.
Kazahana Dotō watched their retreating figures, not taking the matter too seriously. He was very confident in the strength of these three carefully trained subordinates.
They might not be considered strong in an external environment, but this was the Land of Snow! A place perpetually swept by wind and snow.
Compared to this, he was more concerned about matters related to his older brother.
His brother had been acting mysteriously lately, seemingly researching some incredible power.
Thinking of this, anger flared up in Kazahana Dotō's heart. What kind of power could he not be allowed to know about?
If such a power truly existed, he had to obtain it. With that power, he might be able to lead the Land of Snow out of this barren, snow-swept land and find a more suitable place to live!
Of course, he didn't care about the lives of the people in the Land of Snow; he cared about expanding his territory, increasing his strength, and being in a position where everyone looked up to him!
For this reason, coldness flashed in Kazahana Dotō's eyes.
If his brother truly didn't intend to tell him about that mysterious power, then he shouldn't be blamed for being ruthless!
On the other side.
Takuno also saw the Snow Ninja surrounding him. He had anticipated this situation; since his opponent wasn't someone who valued his subordinates, he naturally chose to use these common ninja to scout ahead.
Looking at these ninja, Takuno smirked. Then, he would properly demonstrate the power that would leave them only able to gaze up at him!
"Kujaku Myōhō: Dragon Snake!"