"What the hell?" Ino was completely bewildered. After clarifying the location, she quickly rushed over.
Upon arriving, she discovered that the three problem children, Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura, had indiscriminately knocked out all the security personnel, including Fuji Kazehana Yukie's manager, Asama Santayuu.
Among them, Naruto, who had been cooped up, was the most excitable, even using his Shadow Clone Technique to deal with a group of ordinary people.
"Hey, hey? What are you guys doing?" Ino untied the ropes on Santayuu, the manager. The old man was over fifty, with white hair and beard. He had been hit with a hand chop by Sasuke, who had recently become obsessed with practicing his sword, and then fell off his horse. He looked extremely disheveled.
Ino helped the old man up, surveyed the scene, and asked, "Is Ms. Yukie acting up again?"
The old man picked up his glasses from the ground and put them on, letting out a long sigh.
He said pointedly, "The Ninja of your Village are truly impressive."
Ino chuckled along with him, while secretly waving to the three impulsive individuals, signaling them to quickly retreat.
Aside from Naruto, who was oblivious, Sakura and Sasuke both realized they might have been a bit too reckless.
The three quickly ran off. Ino spent a little time and soon found Fuji Kazehana Yukie, who was trying to skip work, and the commotion quickly dissipated.
That afternoon, Ino, Shikamaru, Choji, and Hinata once again met Asama Santayuu, Fuji Kazehana Yukie's manager, in the Hokage's office.
The old man officially submitted an A-rank mission request to the Village, asking Konoha to dispatch Ninja to escort the film crew to the Land of Snow for filming. During the filming, they were to ensure Fuji Kazehana Yukie's personal safety, prevent her from escaping, and protect her from Ninja attacks, among many other detailed clauses.
"So troublesome!" Shikamaru dreaded such bothersome tasks the most.
Choji's focus was different from ordinary people. He quietly asked Ino, "Where is this Land of Snow?"
"A very, very distant place."
A hint of joy actually appeared on Choji's chubby face: "Then I don't have to participate in the Chunin Exams, do I?"
Ino narrowed her eyes at him: "Unfortunately, there's plenty of time. Most of the filming will still be in the Land of Fire. The Land of Snow is just for location scouting, lasting less than ten days. There's still about a month and a half until the Chunin Exams, so…"
The fat man instantly deflated. The Land of Snow, it sounded like a very cold place, and he hated the cold the most!
Naruto, who was having remedial lessons next door, was quite interested. Let alone the Land of Snow, he would go to the ends of the earth. Staying in the Village all the time, he felt suffocated.
However, his request was sternly rejected by Jiraiya. The Akatsuki Organization was currently plotting to capture the Nine-Tailed. If he wasn't staying in the Village, why would he go to the Land of Snow? He should honestly stay home and do his remedial lessons.
Jiraiya continued to use his homework as an excuse, forcefully keeping Naruto in check.
Asuma had recently left the Village for a mission.
Tsunade and Jiraiya had discussed Ino's feat of defeating the Hidden Cloud Village's Two-Tailed Jinchuriki. This achievement was absolutely top-tier in the Ninja World. She and Hinata were already considered part of the film crew. With the resourceful Shikamaru and the brave and skilled Choji, even without Asuma, this team was strong enough.
Santayuu explicitly stated that they would encounter enemy Ninja. After some deliberation, Jiraiya dispatched their small team to carry out the mission.
Ino served as captain, Shikamaru as support, Hinata temporarily joined to handle reconnaissance, and Choji charged. The team configuration was very reasonable, more than capable of handling an A-rank mission.
Hinata looked utterly bewildered. Only after leaving the Hokage's office did she realize that she had never agreed to act in a movie. How did she vaguely become both an actress and a bodyguard?
Kakashi stopped Ino and whispered, "The Ninja of the Land of Snow are not weak. When I was an ANBU Ninja, I once went there. They can use a unique Ninjutsu called Ice Release in snowy environments."
Ino asked, "Is it a Bloodline Limit? Like Haku's?"
"It doesn't seem to be. I suspect it's a type of Water Release under special environmental conditions."
Kakashi recounted all the information he knew.
When he went to the Land of Snow, he was about the same age as Ino is now. At that time, his defeat was mainly because he had just acquired the Sharingan, and his Chakra was severely suppressed. Ino doesn't have that burden. She is already a Ninja skilled in Water Release, and with the cooperation of Ino–Shika–Choji, a few Ninja from the Land of Snow shouldn't be difficult to handle.
"Ninja from the Land of Snow, huh? I understand, I'll be careful."
Hinata was forced into acting.
She acted in two scenes with Fuji Kazehana Yukie, who played the female lead. Her natural performance, showing a hint of stubbornness within her timidness, earned the director's approval. Audiences weren't as critical back then. Starting weak and then having a powerful breakthrough would give the audience a lot of satisfaction, so adding this female supporting character was not a problem.
The tale of the gutsy ninja eventually became a movie about the female lead, two male attendants, and a female disciple.
Hearing that the protagonist of this movie was based on herself, Tsunade even strolled back to the Village to watch two days of live filming. She thought it was great! Jiraiya, like a sycophant, could only give a thumbs-up, saying, "You're right, this change is great! Very gutsy!"
Once the director and all the crew members were in place, they immediately took a boat to the polar Land of Snow for outdoor filming of something called the "Rainbow Ice Wall."
Life on the boat was not easy. The crew seized every opportunity to do some filming, while Ino and their four Ninja inquired about mission details from Santayuu in their room.
The old man had spent seven hundred and fifty thousand ryo to hire the Konoha Ninja, almost half of his life savings, so of course, he had to clearly explain the mission situation.
An A-rank mission is certainly not as dangerous as an S-rank mission, but the enemies encountered in the mission would not be too weak either.
In the original timeline, the pursuit of Gaara and the retrieval of Sasuke were both A-rank missions. The God of Destruction, Kannabi Bridge, which affected Kakashi and Obito for their entire lives, was also an A-rank mission.
This was definitely a Jonin-level mission, and Ino listened very carefully.
Santayuu began to recount the past.
Actually, the story was quite simple.
Ten years ago, the Daimyo of the Land of Snow, Kazehana Soyuki, was killed by his younger brother, Dotou Kazehana. The Daimyo had a good plan: he would be the Daimyo, and his younger brother would be a Ninja. The two, one in the open and one in the shadows, would protect the country.
Upon hearing about a secret treasure in the Land of Snow, the younger brother, as a Ninja, killed his defenseless elder brother and then became the new Daimyo.
The elder brother's daughter was rescued by a young Kakashi. She is now Kazehana Koyuki, known by her stage name Fuji Kazehana Yukie. Santayuu was the minister at that time.
Santayuu had always wanted to return to his homeland, overthrow Dotou Kazehana, and then have Kazehana Koyuki regain control of the Land of Snow. Unfortunately, Kazehana Koyuki was very resistant to these past events. This time, upon hearing that they were going to the Land of Snow for filming, she even staged a horse escape. Santayuu could only make things clear and hire Konoha Ninja to help their side restore the country.
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