Naruto: Passerby and Returnee

Chapter 251 When the Snow Falls

On the second day after arriving in the Land of Snow, Yukie ran away again as expected. But this time, neither the crew nor the Konoha ninjas were in a hurry to find her, because there were more important things they needed to figure out. Only Santayu was sweating profusely.

"Princess is missing!" San Taifu slammed the door shut with a loud bang, startling Sakura who was eating breakfast. Her teammates, however, remained quite calm, perhaps because they were still half asleep.

Actually, ninjas usually dislike traveling by boat. Their senses are far more acute than ordinary people, so they really dislike the feeling of being adrift at sea, unable to find solid ground, and they simply can't sleep well. Having finally arrived at their destination, and with a familiar host providing comfortable accommodations, it would be a shame not to catch up on sleep after all the hardships of the journey.

Therefore, everyone slept very well last night; it feels good to have someone on guard duty.

"She's wandering around the city..." Naruto yawned widely. When it comes to the person who needs the most sleep in the world, he's probably second to none. The liberation of the Land of Snow had finally achieved a partial victory, and Konoha's mission was half complete, so he was enjoying a rare good night's sleep.

"Is she all alone? That's so dangerous! Aren't you all going to watch over her?" The Third Doctor became even more anxious.

“She’s eighteen, not eight. Feng Hua Nu Tao is dead. What danger could she possibly face if she went out alone?” Sasuke glanced coldly at the door. He hated being disturbed during his rare moments of relaxation.

“But…not many people in this country would recognize her. What if someone offends the princess…” Third Prince was a strategist loyal to Yuki’s father, and the concept of hierarchy was ingrained in his very being. He had lived through the most chaotic era of the Snow Kingdom, witnessing firsthand how starving and cold-blooded peasants cruelly harmed their own kind. With Feng Hua Nu Tao’s ruthless methods, this country was destined for widespread suffering, especially given the recent change of power. He was genuinely afraid someone might harm the beautiful princess.

"Mr. Asama, you said you wanted to save the people of this country, but you have so little confidence in your own country?" Naruto finally woke up completely, even choosing such a tricky angle to retort. However, he didn't intend to continue scaring Santayu, and added, "Tan was on guard outside last night, and when he saw Miss Yukie go out alone early this morning, he followed her. Don't worry."

San Taifu was still not satisfied. "The mission I issued was to protect Her Highness the Princess. You're just leaving it to others like this?"

“Mr. Santau.” Kakashi, who had finished eating and was curled up reading a book, suddenly spoke up, saying, “We have the right to refuse missions that require us to conceal important information. We’ve already done a good deed by coming with you. We are certain that Hui’s people would never harm a young girl. Please put your mind at ease.”

"Also, could you please close the door? The heat is escaping."

The world covered in snow is quiet.

Yukie wandered aimlessly through the streets. Yesterday, she'd heard from the Konoha ninjas that Kazeka Nutō was dead, and she simply couldn't believe it. Her childhood, marked by the destruction of her family and forced wandering, was all thanks to that guy. Deliberately forgotten memories began to surface: the fire that burned down the palace, the overwhelming, omnipotent enemies, the mirror maze with no exit—these things shaped her past. Now, suddenly someone was telling her the nightmare was over, but the shadow of that nightmare had been looming over her just the day before. How could he believe it?

Ten years have passed, and she has long since grown accustomed to running away. She ran away when her enemy was alive, and she ran away even after her enemy died. She doesn't really know what she should do; she can only clutch tightly to the last thing her father left behind, trying to escape the film crew, escape the expectations of San Taifu, and escape this hometown that brings only endless pain whenever she thinks of it.

"Hey girl, you're a new face. Are you patrolling the streets?" The sudden conversation startled Xuehui. Only then did she notice that people were gradually appearing on the street. The person she was talking to was a woman carrying a cloth bag.

Years of acting experience made Yukie realize that this person had mistaken her for someone else. Although this was her hometown, it had lost all trace of her childhood. Yukie dared not be presumptuous and quickly adjusted her expression, forcing a smile.

"No, I just came out for some fresh air." Xuehui neither denied the person's guess about her identity nor admitted that she was performing her duties, speaking a mix of truth and falsehood.

"You've been running around so much lately, you should take a break, don't overwork yourselves." The woman actually nodded in agreement, then rummaged through the cloth bag as if looking for something, but couldn't find it anywhere.

Yukie was ready to leave politely; she was feeling indescribably bad and simply didn't have the energy to deal with any more social interactions.

"If there's nothing else, you can go ahead and do your work. I'll be going now..."

"Wait a minute!" The woman suddenly grabbed her and took out a small, pale purple seashell from her inner clothes, saying, "If it weren't for you, I don't know if my child would have survived this winter. Please accept this little gift."

That shade of purple looked so familiar. She remembered; at a birthday party, her father had given her a beautiful seashell necklace, which included several such seashells. At the time, she had no idea of ​​the seashells' value. After playing with them for a few days, she grew tired of them and had the servants put them in her small storeroom. Later, when she fled to the mainland and saw seashells of that quality again, she couldn't possibly buy even one, even if she sold everything she owned.

The outstretched hand finally landed on the woman's rough palm, and Yuki forced a smile.

“It’s what we should do.” She didn’t deserve such gratitude.

It took Xuehui quite a bit of pulling and tugging to shake off the woman. She carefully chose to pull up her hood, but the pedestrians on the street and her clothing seemed so out of place. The woman's sleeves felt so thin, her hands were cold, only her palms had a little warmth. These people were dressed similarly to the woman, and they didn't look warm at all. But they still went out, heading in a certain direction.

She saw a makeshift tent and several stoves burning brightly, but it was still a drop in the ocean compared to the large crowd. In front of a building with its doors wide open, people lined up, all carrying empty bags. Those emerging from the building, however, carried bulging bags and left cheerfully.

"What is this?" Yukie muttered to herself, but to her surprise, someone responded.

"This is distributing food rations to those in need." Tian Dan, who had guided them yesterday, was now standing behind her.

Upon meeting someone she was relatively familiar with, Yukie, who had been startled twice in one day, said somewhat speechlessly, "Do all you ninjas like to stalk?"

However, the answer she received gave her a third shock.

Tian Dan smiled and said, "These are necessary security measures, after all, you are the last member of the Feng Hua family."