Chapter Fifty-Nine: Breaking into the Village of Snow忍

“The Shinobi War…” Orochimaru sighed.

He stood atop the highest point of the moving fortress, which was now at full throttle, racing towards the Land of Snow. Though massive, the fortress moved with remarkable speed and agility.

“Five days to reach the Land of Snow, five days to subdue it, five days to return to the Sound Village.”

Such was Orochimaru’s plan for the fortnight.

He had abundant resources at his disposal and was unwilling to let them stagnate. He desired to unite the world’s strength to study Sage Mode, the Rinnegan, the Divine Tree, and other such powers together.

Then, he would organize these powers into a single system, so that both civilians and shinobi could train by its methods, allowing everyone to reach Kage-level strength.

After that, he would take the Earth itself into space to battle the Otsutsuki Clan.

“The world is on the verge of transformation. Will that lead me to the truth?” Orochimaru wondered. He had set out to find the truth and remake the world. Yet now, even as the truth eluded him, the world was about to be remade, and he could not know what revelations might arise from that.

“Speaking of space… it reminds me of the moon,” Orochimaru murmured to himself.

The thought of the moon led him to imagine piloting it. Looking down upon the moving fortress beneath him, a new idea formed.

“What if every city in the world became a moving city, each equipped with gigantic chakra engines, all linked by Infinite Tsukuyomi as the central control system? I could then direct the engines of each city, driving the Earth forward!”

A vision of piloting the Earth itself.

The idea was far from mature. Should the planet leave its present orbit, catastrophic natural disasters might ensue. Before attempting such a feat, a worldwide effort would be needed to construct a chakra shield to protect the environment.

But the prerequisite for all this was the unification of the shinobi world.

…

The Land of Snow was a mysterious, diminutive country, blanketed in snow year-round. Its shinobi were equipped with chakra armor, greatly enhancing their power.

At that moment, Kazahana Dotō, the country’s ruler, was in council with his subordinates.

In truth, the meeting had been going on for days, always circling the same topic: the Fourth Great Shinobi War.

Among Dotō’s retainers, Avalanche Fubuki advocated for joining the conflict.

“If you look back at shinobi history, every great war ended with the victors claiming spoils from the defeated, growing stronger for it. We’re just a small nation—if we ever wish to become a great one, war is our path!”

“But you’re being naive, Avalanche,” retorted Crane Wing Fubuki. “All the participants in this Fourth Great Shinobi War are major powers, and they’re united. Why would they let us join them? Even if we did, what’s to stop them from using us as cannon fodder? If that happened, victory would still mean defeat for us.”

Winter Bear Tōnyū, another proponent of war, chuckled. “You’re too cautious, Fubuki. Victory is victory, defeat is defeat. What do you mean, victory is defeat? Such timid thinking—no wonder you can’t get married!”

Fubuki, incensed, shot back, “That’s precisely why you can’t find a wife!”

“Oh, you want to fight?”

“Bring it on! Who’s afraid?”

…

Kazahana Dotō, upon his throne, let out a bored sigh—another day wasted. Neither side had convinced him. He had yet to decide whether to involve the Land of Snow in the Fourth Great Shinobi War.

Come to think of it, wasn’t Princess Koyuki Fujikaze nearly within his grasp? That girl was probably his brother’s daughter, and she possessed the secret to the Land of Snow’s treasure. Once he obtained it, he could decide about the war.

“Report! S-something terrible has happened!”

A soldier burst into the council chamber, gasping for breath, terror etched on his face.

Avalanche Fubuki frowned. “Do you think you can just walk into the council chamber?”

He drew his blade, prepared to strike.

“Enough.” Dotō silenced him. “What’s the matter?”

No trivial issue would warrant barging into the council chamber—such an act was punishable by death. Could something have gone wrong with Koyuki?

“L-Lord Dotō! A… a castle… a moving castle is coming this way…”

The soldier was so nervous he could barely speak.

Dotō’s expression darkened. “Speak clearly!”

The soldier took several deep breaths. “There’s a moving castle heading this way!”

A moving castle—such a thing was unheard of.

Dotō and his retinue hurried outside and, sure enough, saw a castle racing toward them at incredible speed.

“What’s going on? Lock down the city! Prepare for battle!” Dotō shouted.

Avalanche Fubuki and Winter Bear Tōnyū led the soldiers to meet the moving fortress, while Crane Wing Fubuki stayed behind to organize the defense.

Atop the moving fortress, Orochimaru stood upon the battlements, gazing serenely at the approaching Snow Shinobi Village.

An armored soldier climbed up, bowing respectfully. “Lord Orochimaru, Snow Shinobi Village lies ahead. A large group of shinobi are advancing to meet us. Shall we slow down?”

It was customary, after all, to exchange words before battle, discuss terms, and only fight if negotiations failed. The soldier had a sense that Orochimaru coveted the Land of Snow’s chakra technology.

But Orochimaru asked instead, “Slow down? Why would we slow down?”

The soldier was bewildered. “Snow Shinobi Village has sent an envoy…”

He truly did not understand Orochimaru’s intent.

“They can come if they wish. Pay them no mind. We keep going—straight ahead.” Orochimaru pointed directly toward Snow Shinobi Village.

“Oh, and can we go any faster? Push it to maximum speed,” he added.

The soldier’s eyes widened as he drew a sharp breath. Was he really going to ram straight into the village?

The fortress was enormous—its width alone was a fifth that of the village. If it crashed in at full speed, the consequences would be unimaginable.

“What are you waiting for? Go!” ordered Orochimaru.

“Y-yes, sir!” The soldier staggered away, dazed.

Avalanche Fubuki and Winter Bear Tōnyū, bristling with murderous intent, led their troops to confront the fortress. How dare these invaders approach without warning? They would teach them a lesson.

They planned to kill a few for show, but suddenly realized—the fortress wasn’t slowing down.

“Idiot, idiot, idiot, idiot! Scatter!”

Avalanche and Winter Bear darted aside, abandoning thoughts of killing. First, they had to avoid being crushed.

The moving fortress barreled toward Snow Shinobi Village and crashed straight in!

The village’s tall wooden palisade, which had seemed so sturdy, was flattened instantly. Dotō, who had been organizing his defenses, saw the fortress crash directly into the village—there was no time for anything else.

Run!

This was beyond reason.

The fortress rolled over the village and back again, flattening Snow Shinobi Village to ruins, then came to a halt atop its remains.

The shinobi of Snow Village, in utter disarray, cowered to the side, staring in terror at the calm man atop the fortress’s high walls.

That man was a demon.