Mastermind of the Akatsuki

When Byakuya saw the Snow Ninja captain use Ice Release, he initially thought that the Yuki clan from Kirigakure, who possessed the true Ice Release kekkei genkai, might have fled here to escape Obito's persecution and joined the Snow Ninja Village. However, after defeating the captain, Byakuya realized that these Snow Ninja weren't from the Yuki clan.

Their Ice Release techniques relied on the frigid climate of the Land of Snow and the amplification from their chakra armor, which made sense. If they had true Ice Release, they would certainly be stronger than mere special jonin.

Hearing Byakuya muttering to himself, the Snow Ninja captain looked at him sharply and asked, "Who exactly are you? Lady Koyuki couldn't possibly afford to hire powerful ninja like you."

Nadare Rōga, the Snow Ninja captain, wasn't a fool. After suffering such a quick defeat at Byakuya's hands, he immediately grasped the overwhelming gap between their power levels. But it baffled him why ninja of this caliber would aid Koyuki. Snow Ninja Village held little of value for such individuals.

Realizing something, Nadare glanced down at his own chakra armor, a potential clue to his opponent's interest. However, Byakuya didn't give him a chance to speculate further. He activated a genjutsu, quickly extracting information about the Snow Ninja Village and its chakra armor from Nadare's mind.

The interrogation revealed that Snow Ninja Village was a small, weak village with only around a hundred ninja, but they had poured all their resources into developing chakra armor. This armor could boost the user's speed, strength, and chakra capacity to a certain extent.

After stripping Nadare of his chakra armor, Byakuya tried it on himself. However, given Byakuya's vast chakra reserves, the armor's effects were trivial. It couldn't even match a basic jutsu he could perform effortlessly. However, Byakuya had other plans for the chakra armor—it could be valuable for his Akatsuki underlings.

Though the chakra armor couldn't compare to techniques like Sage Mode or cursed seals, it had the advantage of being mass-producible and free from negative side effects, making it ideal equipment for strengthening the Akatsuki's weaker members.

At that moment, Konan approached him, having dealt with the remaining enemies, and asked, "Byakuya, now that we've obtained the chakra armor, our mission is complete. What's our next move? Should we stay here and help Koyuki overthrow her uncle, or leave it for later?"

"Of course we're staying to help Koyuki take the throne," Byakuya replied with a slight smirk. "Akatsuki needs more allied nations…"

He paused before adding, "I just learned the location of Doto Kazahana, the current daimyo. Let's take Koyuki and head straight to him."

With that, Byakuya turned and headed toward the port to retrieve Koyuki and Sandayū. Konan followed without hesitation.

As Byakuya and Konan left, a figure emerged from the snow-covered shadows and dashed toward the depths of the Land of Snow to report this new development to Doto.

---

Hours later, Doto Kazahana, daimyo of the Land of Snow and leader of Snow Ninja Village, received the urgent report. Doto held a unique position in the ninja world—he was both a feudal lord and the head of a ninja village. Years ago, to wrest power from his brother, he had hired mercenaries and established Snow Ninja Village, crowning himself its leader.

Upon hearing that Koyuki had reappeared, Doto allowed himself a smile. Ever since his successful coup, he'd been searching for her in hopes of unlocking the hidden treasure his brother had concealed in the land. He had, in fact, secretly ordered that she not be harmed, but she had managed to escape with the help of Konoha ninja.

But when he learned that two mysterious, powerful ninja accompanied her, his lips twitched. If these ninja had the strength to defeat Nadare, they were clearly formidable opponents. Over the years, Doto had pushed his chakra armor to its limits, making him nearly as powerful as an elite jonin.

Yet, even with his power, Snow Ninja Village had no other elite fighters. Even with chakra armor, the other ninja could only reach special jonin at best. Doto wasn't concerned if Koyuki had merely hired these two ninjas. However, he worried that they might be emissaries from one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages. If they sought to use Koyuki as a pawn, it would be difficult to resist.

Still, Doto reasoned, why would the Great Villages bother supporting Koyuki when they could just ally with him directly?

As he pondered his strategy, a sudden, thunderous explosion shook the ground. Looking out the window, Doto's jaw dropped as he witnessed a sight that made his blood run cold.

In the distance, two figures were rapidly approaching, effortlessly cutting through his troops. Each of his men fell like leaves before them. These figures, of course, were Byakuya and Konan. Byakuya had deliberately left a tracking seal on the Snow Ninja they'd let escape, making it easy to locate Doto's position.

Noting Doto's dismay, Byakuya smirked. His objective wasn't just to reach Doto but to reduce potential casualties by neutralizing his forces first.

As the duo closed in, Doto's face darkened, realizing the intelligence report he'd received had gravely underestimated their strength. These weren't elite jonin. They were more akin to village elders. Heck, he doubted he could defeat either one in a fair fight.

Taking a deep breath, Doto activated his chakra armor, feeling its energy course through him. Although he knew his chances were slim, he wanted to at least try. After all, if he couldn't defeat these two, his dreams of conquest and elevating the Land of Snow to a great power were mere fantasies.

With his chakra armor fully charged, Doto took to the sky, forming hand seals and shouting, "Ice Release: Twin Dragon Blizzard!"

Two spiraling tornadoes of snow and ice shot from his palms, twisting together like twin dragons and hurtling toward Byakuya. The immense whirlwinds consumed everything in their path, even making nearby buildings tremble.

In terms of raw destructive power, Doto's strength was nearly on par with a Kage. Even the elite jonin of the Great Villages would struggle against such an attack.

But to Byakuya, this level of jutsu was underwhelming. Quickly locating the eyes of the twin tornadoes, he placed his hands on the ground and invoked Wood Release: Advent of a World of Flowering Trees! Enormous trees erupted from the ground, anchoring themselves and sapping the force from the twisters.

Seeing the legendary Wood Release technique, Doto froze in shock, just before the massive vines ensnared him, silencing him before he could cast another jutsu.

With Doto subdued, Byakuya dusted off his hands, landing smoothly on the ground.