## Ten Years Ago – Snow Country – Naruto: Age 5 ##
Danzō assigned Naruto to a reconnaissance mission in the Snow Country—his very first assignment.
Shortly after reaching the capital and starting to take notes, chaos broke out at the Daimyo's palace.
An attacking force composed of mercenaries and ninja from a newly founded hidden village—the Snow Hidden Village—launched an assault on the Daimyo's royal guards.
He stayed concealed in the shadows, dropping his notes and focusing on escaping before being drawn into the fight.
As he left the besieged city, he spotted one of the Hidden Leaf's most renowned ninja—Kakashi Hatake.
The man was dragging a sled, ferrying a young girl—four years Naruto's senior—away from their pursuers.
Naruto tugged his plain white mask down and jumped into a clearing between the retreating Kakashi and the chasing forces.
Stepping forward to face the attackers, Naruto swiftly performed hand seals and tightened his fists:
[Wind Release: Fist of the Wind God!]
A powerful gust erupted from his knuckles, catching the advancing enemies by surprise.
However, one of them survived by leaping over the attack.
The man lunged downward, launching a kick toward Naruto. Naruto rolled aside, landing on the icy surface.
Naruto studied his opponent closely. His forehead protector bore a symbol resembling the mark of the Second Hokage, only emblazoned with the insignia of the Snow Shadow Village.
He sneered mockingly:
"So this is who they sent to protect the princess? A child and Kakashi?"
He glared coldly at Naruto.
"You let Kakashi and Princess Koyuki get away. I'll deal with you first. Lord Nadare might reward me."
Drawing his tanto slowly, Naruto charged at the enemy. The man rapidly unsheathed a kunai and met Naruto head-on:
"Get your toy out of my way!"
Naruto felt himself being pushed back.
Even though physically he wasn't weaker than his opponent, he was still just five years old. The man's sheer size became the decisive factor.
Grabbing Naruto by the collar, the man hurled him backward. Naruto crashed to the ground, sliding several feet before coming to a stop.
Grimacing through the pain, Naruto pushed himself up and raised his tanto just in time to block a kunai hurtling toward him.
Taking advantage of the opening, Naruto rolled sideways and kicked the man's legs from under him.
As the man tried to rise, he kicked Naruto hard across the face, knocking off his mask as he crashed to the ground.
Shaking off the daze, Naruto staggered back to his feet.
The snow ninja stabbed toward him with a kunai, which Naruto barely deflected using his tanto but still suffered a wound, gasping painfully as blood flowed onto the ground.
Despite losing a lot of blood, he managed to lift his tanto once more.
"Ignorant brat," the man mocked. "You actually think you can kill me—Nadare Roga? I am the strongest shinobi in the Snow Hidden Village."
Blood filled Naruto's mouth as he gritted his teeth inwardly:
"I can't die here! This is my first mission! I promised Grandpa Danzō—I'm going to become the strongest ninja in history!"
"Do you want to live, kid?"
No one else was around, but Naruto remembered something Danzō had told him soon after his training began.
The Nine-Tails had been sealed within him at birth. Danzo once said it could be used as a weapon, but he'd never felt anything from it... until now.
"Can you give me enough strength to survive?"
The demon's laughter echoed in Naruto's mind while Avalice's figure circled around him like a predator.
"To give you just enough strength to survive? Why not let me wipe this pathetic human out all at once?"
Naruto immediately felt his entire body surge with energy. His wounds healed completely within seconds.
Avalice, witnessing this, prepared to attack before things got worse.
Naruto slashed at Avalice's kunai with his tanto.
His heart pounded rapidly in his chest.
He noticed his fingernails had turned into sharp claws. He raked them across the man's exposed face, making him recoil in pain, then quickly punched him away.
Without looking back, Naruto fled the country.
##End of Flashback##
Night fell, and everything on the ship grew still.
By now, Naruto had made his way to the deck and sat there quietly.
"I can understand why she doesn't want to return to Snow Country. After all, everything forced her to leave. But still..." He closed his eyes in thought. "It's just for the movie. Once filming's over, she can leave again. As long as no one recognizes her, she'll be fine."
##The Next Day##
The team carried out basic security duties on the ship while the film crew shot the scenes they could manage.
Naruto had never watched any of Koyuki's movies before, but he had to admit—she truly was a brilliant actress.
Honestly, Naruto was surprised she'd downed so much the night before yet showed no sign of a hangover.
"The second the camera rolls, she becomes someone else entirely," Sakura Haruno remarked nearby, and Naruto nodded in agreement.
******
The film crew and ninja escorts disembarked near the massive glacier set.
As the crew began setting up lights and preparing the scene, the director ran around excitedly:
"This is perfect! It's absolutely ideal for the fight scene!"
As soon as filming began, the glacier exploded, causing large chunks of ice from its peak to break off and crash down toward the crew.
Naruto quickly sprang into action, rushing forward, forming hand seals, then clenching his fists together and thrusting them outward.
[Wind Release: Wind God's Fist!]
Naruto shattered the falling ice into dust.
"Form a defensive formation!" Naruto warned his teammates.
"Just like last time!" Koyuki began panicking. "I shouldn't have come back here!"
She turned and started running away.
"Haruno Sakura!" Naruto shouted. "Go find Koyuki and bring her back to the ship. Keep her safe."
Sakura nodded and took off after her.
As Sakura approached Koyuki, a tall figure riding a giant snowboard came speeding toward them.
Tenten spotted the attacker and broke ranks to intercept.
She quickly pulled out a scroll, summoning a spiked metal ball bristling with kunai, and hurled it at the figure.
The ball suddenly exploded, but the enemy glided effortlessly across the snow, dodging every shard and fragment.
"I remember that jutsu," Naruto muttered, narrowing his eyes as memories surfaced.
"And I remember that face all too well."
"
Suddenly, a Snow Country ninja appeared before Naruto and Sai—the same one Naruto had encountered during his adventure in the Snow Country.
"It's good to see you again, kid."
Naruto grinned mockingly, "Still got that little souvenir I left you the first time we met? Right under your eye?"
He was referring to the small, vertical scar just beneath the man's right eye.
Those words instantly enraged the man.
Naruto shouted, "Sai, go help Tenten! This guy is their captain."
Sai nodded and rushed over to assist Tenten against her opponent.
Avalice held out his hand. "Hand over the princess, brat!" he barked. "You couldn't beat me back then, and you sure as hell can't now!"
Naruto dropped into a fighting stance and charged at Avalice.
Suddenly, a powerful gust of wind blew up snow and chunks of ice. Seeing the glacier beginning to crack, Avalice assumed the boy wouldn't escape.
However, his illusion was quickly shattered.
Naruto flew from the rising cloud of snow and landed a stunning punch that sent Avalice flying into an ice wall.
Naruto dashed toward the ship, shouting to his teammates, "Sai! Tenten! We're getting out—this whole place is coming down!"
Naruto, Tenten, and Sai made it back to the ship, watching as the glacier began to collapse and sink beneath the water.
Sakura Haruno ran over. "Is everyone okay?"
Naruto checked his fingers and toes:
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