Being a rogue ninja is worse than being Hokage.

The immediate priority is to maintain Karin's body temperature in this cold environment.

Kazeka Koyuki hurriedly took off her own warm coat and put it on Karin, then pulled up the hood of the coat to cover Karin's head.

"Miss Xiaoxue..."

While Fuuka Koyuki was keeping Karin's body temperature warm, Karin, whose consciousness was fading, suddenly called out Fuuka Koyuki's name.

"I am here."

Karin's voice was very weak, and Koyuki Fuuka had to bring her ear close to Karin's lips to make sure she could hear what she was saying clearly.

"I... can still sense Naruto's chakra... please... save him..."

In her final moments of lucidity, Karin was not thinking of herself, but of Naruto, who had been swept into the lake by the raging waves.

With her last bit of strength, Karin conveyed her request to Fuuka Koyuki, before finally falling into a deep coma due to the exhaustion of her emotions and physical strength.

Fuuka Koyuki reached out and felt Karin's breath. Only after realizing that Karin had simply fallen asleep did she manage to breathe a sigh of relief.

She carried Karin into the crashed airship, which at least blocked the relentless cold winds from all sides, so Karin wouldn't have to lie on the increasingly cold ice.

And if something happens to me... at least Karin has a high chance of surviving.

Wearing only a thin undershirt, Kazahana Koyuki stood in front of the ice on the lake surface covered with tiny ice floes.

Although the geothermal generator is still continuously thawing the ice in the valley, the process is far too slow.

The temperature of the water vapor that occasionally escapes from the thawing is not enough to completely ward off the year-round cold of the entire valley.

Kazakura Koyuki stared at the bottomless lake. She knew that the longer she hesitated, the deeper Naruto would sink into the lake.

Her idea was actually very simple: Naruto and Karin rescued her from Fuuka Nutō and even defeated her.

Karin told Koyuki Fuka that Naruto was still alive, and Koyuki Fuka would naturally try to bring Naruto back.

So Feng Hua Xiaoxue took a deep breath, no longer hesitated, and jumped into the lake.

……

Meanwhile, in the pitch-black lake, Naruto, holding his breath to prolong his survival time in the water, was also thinking with his eyes closed.

As expected, the Uzumaki clan also strengthens their chakra through extreme emotional fluctuations.

And his plan did indeed work.

Karin successfully awakened the Adamantine Sealing Technique, but her talent was still considerably weaker than that of Kushina Uzumaki.

The first time Karin used the Vajra Lock, it only had one chain.

It's clear that a single chain cannot suppress a tailed beast.

But as the saying goes, everything is difficult at the beginning.

The most difficult beginning of Karin's Awakening Vajra Lock has been resolved.

Next, let Karin grow slowly, master the Vajra Locket, and increase the number of chains.

It's about to float...

Thinking this, Naruto opened his eyes.

Then Naruto was surprised to find himself in a situation that left him bewildered.

Naruto saw Kazeka Koyuki swimming towards him in the dark lake.

Feng Hua Xiaoxue puffed out her cheeks, clearly holding her breath.

She spotted Naruto and swam faster toward him.

Then, cupping Naruto's face, he pressed his lips to Naruto's, transferring the oxygen he had inhaled before jumping into the lake to Naruto.

The actress's lips were clearly well-maintained, and after being washed by the lake water, Naruto could feel the softness of Kazaka Koyuki's lips even more.

When Fuuka Koyuki's lips left Naruto's, she noticed Naruto's surprised gaze.

Kazeka Koyuki reached out and gently patted Naruto's face, then grabbed Naruto's waist with both hands and forcefully tossed him upwards.

Meanwhile, Fuuka Koyuki continued to sink deeper into the lake.

She was ultimately just an ordinary person. The coldness of the lake and the increasing water pressure as she went downstream caused Kazahana Koyuki to almost exhaust herself before she found Naruto.

She gave Naruto the last bit of oxygen and then used her actions to urge him to swim towards the lake on his own.

He had already given up on the possibility of survival.

Unable to hold on any longer, Feng Hua Xiaoxue suddenly exhaled a string of bubbles from her mouth. Her oxygen-deprived body made her instinctively breathe, but breathing in the water caused lake water to immediately fill her lungs.

She immediately became dazed and closed her eyes tightly.

Chapter 22 The New Daimyo of the Snow Country

When Fuuka Koyuki was the popular actress who played "Fuji Fuuka Koyuki," she also filmed a scene where she was drowning.

But all of that was just for show; Feng Hua Xiaoxue had no idea of ​​the pain of actually drowning.

The feeling would cause the body to struggle frantically involuntarily, but the mind of a drowning person would remain remarkably calm.

I wonder if others feel the same way.

But Feng Hua Xiaoxue truly felt that her mind was very calm.

She had always been terrified of death.

Time and again, in order to avoid being killed by the raging waves, I have been escaping ever since, starting ten years ago.

But when she truly faced her own death, Fuuka Koyuki suddenly felt very calm.

She now knew that the raging storm would never be her nightmare again, and Feng Hua Xiaoxue felt that she should be able to let go of the past.

Because I have let go of the past, I am no longer afraid of death.

However, before her consciousness completely dissipated and disappeared, Fuuka Koyuki thought again.

I wonder what Naruto and Karin will think of her, since they risked their lives to save her.

But in the end, she actively sought out and embraced death.

But this is fine.

Thoughts drifted to the wind, flowers, and light snow.

But is that really enough?

Feng Hua Xiaoxue's body was still unconsciously opening her mouth to breathe, trying to get oxygen that she couldn't get in the water.

futile breathing only allows the icy lake water to repeatedly fill your lungs, causing you immense pain.

But this time, Feng Hua Xiaoxue was surprised to find that she was no longer inhaling the cold lake water into her lungs.

It's fresh air, not just air.

"Cough, cough! Cough—!"

Feng Hua Xiaoxue suddenly opened her eyes, and her body's instinct made her vomit up all the small amount of water that had not yet been completely emptied from her lungs.

She could breathe again, and she was no longer stuck in the dark, lonely lake.

Feng Hua Xiaoxue gazed at the enormous ice wall before her; she was now lying on the land near the Rainbow Ice Wall.

land?

Feng Hua Xiaoxue subconsciously turned her head, wanting to confirm her feelings.

She wasn't lying on the ice, but on a grassy field with tender green shoots.

The surrounding climate is no longer cold.

Even though Feng Hua Xiaoxue only had a thin undergarment and was soaking wet.

All that can be felt in the gentle breeze, the soft snow, and the gentle breeze is warmth.

Then, Fuuka Koyuki saw the little girl with red hair who was still fast asleep in front of her.

"Karin..."

Feng Hua Xiaoxue clearly remembered that she put Xianglin in the airship.

But Karin is now lying on the grass with him.

"You're finally awake."

Naruto's voice rang out from the other side of Kazaka Koyuki.

"So we all died in the end."

Feng Hua Xiaoxue thought she had arrived in the afterlife.

Otherwise, why would a land of snow, which is only in winter, have springtime scenery that only exists in dreams of gentle snow and light winds?

"It's just that the geothermal generator is fully operational."

Naruto saw that Koyuki Fuuka's eyes were starting to well up with tears, and immediately realized that Koyuki Fuuka had misunderstood.

Upon hearing Naruto's words, Fuuka Koyuki noticed Naruto's disheveled appearance.

Naruto, sitting next to Kazahana Koyuki, was deathly pale, and even his lips had lost their original rosy color.

This is a manifestation of both blood loss and hypothermia.

If this were the afterlife, Naruto would probably appear much more "healthy".

We're all... still alive?

Fuuka Koyuki propped herself up with her hands and sat on the grass like Naruto, looking bewildered.

"Thanks to you."

Naruto didn't mind attributing the credit to Fuuka Koyuki.

Then, Kazama Koyuki suddenly stared at Naruto's face and asked, "So, what should I call you now? Menma? Naruto?"

Naruto glanced at Koyuki Fuuka. Now that the crisis was over, it was only natural that she would start to care again about Naruto's secret approach to her.

But Naruto didn't rush to answer. Instead, he deliberately changed the subject: "There's something more important to you right now than my answer."

"Something more important?"