Kaito, akari, amaya and kenji then continued their journey to the ice solstice, still on the lookout for guards who were now searching for them
After a while of walking, they finally see a village a few miles away "is that the village of the ice solstice?" Akari asked as she pointed to the village
"Yes were finally here" kenji said as he followed Akari's finger "uh guys there's some guards following us" amaya said as she glanced back and pointed at the guards who were now running towards them
"How did they follow us?" Kaito asked as he prepared to fight "i don't know but we have to fight them" kenji said as he took a fighting stance
Soon they were surrounded by guards "no where to run now" one of the guards said mockingly while the others snickered
The guards began shooting fatal fire attacks at them while akari used her wind manipulation to create a tornado around her and her friends, making all the guards attacks fly back to them
"How is she doing this?!" One guard said as he dodged his own attack "what kind of Lunar manipulation technique is that?!" Another guard said as he dodged an attack of his teammate
Akari then began to make the tornado bigger, causing the guards to fly back from the wind
"Kaito then attacked by creating a huge firewall between them and the guards to make sure they can't attack them
Kenji and amaya then summoned two water dragons who began attacking the guards simultaneously
The mountains has now turned into a battlefield with the guards getting overwhelmed by the power of Kenji, amaya, kaito and akari
Soon akari managed to send a huge blast of wind to the guards, making them fly away from them
"That was exhausting" amaya said as she panted from fighting many guards "yeah but were almost there" kaito said as he glanced at the ice solstice ahead
"We should get going, its late" kenji said as he began walking to the village while amaya, kaito and akari followed behind him
Soon they arrive at the village of the ice solstice where there were ice guards positioned at the gates
"Im Kenji kage, we come in peace" kenji said as he raised his hands respectfully to the ice guards at the gate
"Kenji kage, what brings you here?" One of the ice guards asked, recognizing kenji as an ally
"Were having a mission and we have to go through the mountains to go back to Lunaris since the other paths are heavily guarded" kenji replied
"And who are your accomplices?" The other ice guard asked as he glanced at the children suspiciously
"Their part of my mission" kenji replied keeping it brief and direct to not attract attention from the villagers
"Very well then, come inside we'll speak of this somewhere private" the ice guard said as he opened the gate and led them inside
The village was built from snow and ice which looked like ice igloos, the three children were fascinated by the unique design of the village of the ice solstice
Soon they arrive to a big palace made of ice and snow which they entered to see a huge hall with ice and crystal chandelier that shined beautifully
"Wow its beautiful here" akari said as they walked through the halls "yes it is" kaito replied as he looked around in awe
Soon they arrive to a room with a long table where a man in a white beard and wore an ice crown was sitting and facing them
"Kenji long time no see" the man said as he gestured for them to sit "yeah it has been a while Itsamu" kenji replied as he smiled warmly at Isamu
"What brings you here?" Itsamu said as his gaze swept over kenji and the others "were on the run from Solana" Kenji replied as he sat down next to Itsamu
"Ah i see, and this must be the hybrid everyone's been talking about" Itsamu said as he glanced at akari
"Yes she is, we need to stay here for a while before continuing our journey back to Lunaris" Kenji replied
"Don't worry you can stay here for as long as you like, I'll take care of everything" Itsamu said as he stood up
"You don't have to do so much trouble for us" kenji said as he shook his head, amused from Itsamu's generosity
"This is my way of repaying the kage's" Itsamu said "especially Takeshi" Itsamu added as he glanced at akari, his eyes warm with a hint of familiarity
"Let's talk somewhere, Itsamu" kenji suggested as he got up "ok" Itsamu replied as he glanced at akari "and you akari, you have big shoes to fill" Itsamu said before leaving with kenji to another room
"What did he mean by that?" Kaito asked as he watched the two men leave "i don't know" akari replied as she glanced at them
"And who's this Takeshi?" Amaya asked as she glanced at akari then back to the door where kenji and Itsamu disappeared
"I don't know either but kenji might know him" akari replied as she thought for a while when suddenly a butler arrived
"Miss akari, miss amaya and sir kaito please come with me to your rooms" the butler said as he turned around to lead them
"Ok sir" amaya said as she began heading towards the butler and kaito followed but Akari stayed in place, looking at a photo
The photo showed three men in Ninja clothes all smiling at the picture. Akari noticed one look like Kenji and the other looked like Itsamu while the third one felt familiar, like she saw him before
"Hey akari you coming?" Kaito asked as he glanced at akari and the picture that she was staring at
"Wait that looks like kenji and Itsamu but who's the third one?" Kaito asked as he pointed at the third person
"I don't know but he seems familiar " akari replied as she kept staring at the picture, trying to figure out who the third man is