"Alright Koyuki-nee! Any last words to share with your uncle before I send his ass off to the underworld?" Shiki asked.
With those words, Doto immediately realised that the niece that evaded him for years returned, just like he had learned from his informants but it seemed she brought some powerful helpers with her.
'Damn it! Why would such a powerful person be willing to help a mere actress and fallen princess left with nothing!?' Doto screamed internally.
'Maybe I can bring him to my side?' He thought, filled with false hopes.
"I have no words for this scdum! I merely want to see his end with my own eyes." Koyuki said in monotone, adding another line in her mind.
'It's the only way I'll truly feel like this long nightmare will finally be over and I can move on . . .'
Doto tried to speak for himself but Shiki wasn't even mildly interested in his words so he just increased the sealing power of the chains giving him a painful death, the same as he gave Danzo. The sheer indifference with which he delivered such a torturous and cruel death to someone shook up Sakura and Naruto.
Sasuke, ever edgy, looked at Shiki, clenching his fist while thinking.
'This is the kind of shinobi I want to be.'
Kakashi who was a war veteran was a bit worried that a "kid" could do this so casually but he was no stranger to torture so he wasn't shook at all. Koyuki on the other hand was glad and thought the man deserved nothing less for his crimes and it only made her appreciate Shiki even more.
Shiki himself noticed the reactions and examining Koyuki's he thought.
'When we walk out of here to Yuki-nin willing to cooperate with us, the princess's awe before my capabilities will be at its peak. I'll then give her another big shock by revealing the full truth of the matter under a Soul Contract Tag and that will be enough to trap her in my web for the rest of her days. Hehehehehe~'
"Okay then folks! We'll just wait for a bit here until I get the all clear from my friend and then we can just walk out like we own the place . . . 'Cause you know, Koyuki-nee technically now does!"
Shiki announced surprising everyone. They thought they would have to leave the same way they came and the fallout would be handled by Shiki's so called friend. Only after that could the princess take her rightful position. But according to Shiki, in a little while, they could just walk out. It didn't seem real to be honest.
Oh but it was! A few minutes later, Shiki got the signal form his soul clone and unsealed the room, opening the door for Koyuki to leave first.
She was a bit hesitant, worried she would be attacked the moment she stepped out but so far, Shiki had proven reliable and she was no coward, or at least she liked to think so, as such, she bravely took a step out of the door to a sight that utterly dumbfounded her.
This was a sight arranged by Shiki to maximize her shock and further elevate his capability and awesomeness in her heart.
The first thing she saw beyond the door, was a wide and large hallway, filled with Yukigakure shinobi, all bowing to her in a show of loyalty and greeting her.
"We welcome you back to the Land of Snow, Koyuki-sama!" They all said in tandem.
Obviously, these were not the original guards but a group that was not very appreciative of Doto and Loyal to Tatsumaki alone which was why they sounded sincere and not forced at all.
Part of it was acting, while the other part was because they were told by their trusted leader that during her reign, the village would proper even more.
Koyuki was not the only one surprised though and Kakashi, Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura were also wondering who the hell was Shiki's so called friend, too bad they would not find out, at least not anytime soon.
From that point on, things became simple, Koyuki was easily elected to the seat of Daimyo, the citizens who despite his flaws, loved the previous Daimyo were happy to support his daughter and rightful heir, specially after suffering Doto's oppression.
Sandayu brought back many of the old soldiers who served Kazahana Sosetsu with him, to support Koyuki in her endeavours.
Yukigakure was facing some expected problems, they needed to repair their image in the eyes of most of the citizens who still saw them as Doto's goons. Many Yuki-nin were avid supporters of Doto's regime and they needed to be placated.
Tatsumaki, Fubuki and the other higher ups who realised Doto's less than good intentions towards their village, worked quickly to suppress those voices and soon, with the man himself dead and the various resources promised by Shiki, they would almost completely die down.
Other than taking up her position with all her grace, Koyuki asked Shiki to accompany her to see what her father's secret project actually was in a show of great trust. after that was done, Shiki would then offer her the Soul Contract and tell her what she wanted to know.
Being a smart woman, naturally adept in scheming, Koyuki could tell somethings already, specially since Shiki kept throwing out bait in her direction to garner her interest but she realized that if he wanted to tell her, he would and if he didn't, her asking would do nothing good to their current relationship.
Koyuki's hope was that her trust in Shiki would be rewarded by his trust in her. And those were her thoughts as they both approached the site where Sosetsu' project, the secret treasure of the Kazahana was hidden and could only be safely revealed with the Hexagonal Crystal Key carried by Koyuki herself.
It was a huge circular plane with several protruding ice pillars surrounding it. After the key was properly slotted, the whole place started lighting up with the pillars giving of rainbow colored light.
At first, Koyuki didn't realize what was happening but then, the air around the two of them started heating up, becoming warm despite them being in a perpetually cold country.
"A-A Heat Generator . . ." Koyuki said in a low voice kneeling on the ground.
Shiki place his hand on her shoulder and said.
"So it would seem."
"You know . . . When I was a child, my father talked about how wonderful and beautiful spring was . . . He used to say that one day, our Land of Snow would turn into the Land of Spring . . ."
As she continued to speak in a low voice, Koyuki started tearing up.
"Spending everything to build this ,ay have been what lead to my father's demise . . . But his dream lives on . . . And will see it become reality!" She then turned to Shiki and asked, tears still in the corners of her eyes.
"Will you help me in this endeavour?"
With a cheeky smile, Shiki answered.
"You know I just can't refuse a beauty like you."
"Can't you give me a serious answer in such a solemn moment. The princess, now Daimyo chided.
Shiki hugged her from her back and said in a gentle tone.
"Oh but I am very serious . . . Koyuki . . ."
It was the first time, he called her name like that, and his actions through this adventure and touched Koyuki's heart, slowly but surely, she had fallen for him . . . But if she thought about it, Shiki had actually worked quite fast.
Still, such a tender moment needed a bit of lightheartedness no matter how dum and so shiki teasingly whispered close to the princess' ear.
"Now that this country will turn for the Land of Snow(yuki) to the Land of Spring(haru) should I start calling you Koharu instead?"
The dumb joke still got a chuckle out of Koyuki who said.
"You're such a dork!"
The Heat generator still required some upgrades and its area of coverage would need to be expanded. Shiki's expertise in fuinjutsu would help a great deal in the latter and he also suggested something that Koyuki found quite interesting and reasonable.
Cities and agriculture field as well as resorts and such that could be made would benefit from the power of the Heat Generator but with seals, Shiki would trap the environmental effects to those areas alone and leave the rest of the country covered in snow, the Land of Snow and Spring.
Not only would this make the land more scenic with a fusion of winter and spring but it would also leave a wide area of field advantage for the Yukigakure ninja in case the country was threatened.
Beyond that, since Shiki's relationship with Koyuki was very solid now, he thought it was high time to let her in on the plan and truly bring her into the fold . . .
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P.a.t.r.e.o.n is officially up!
The link is: https://www.p.a.t.r.e.o.n.com/lusoba without the extra dots of course.
You'll get to read up to FOUR week ahead, a full month, but I'll still post here.
There's also my other novel Archon of DanMachi, do check it out!
I would greatly appreciate any support since this is going to be my breadwinner.