A Silent Quelling

Just as Kakashi was about to leap forward, exerting his full strength to rush back to the original location, he did not expect that before he had even dashed a few meters, he would see a familiar figure and hear a familiar voice.

"Hey, why are you all stopping here? Keep moving forward a bit; it's not safe here."

"Yang Xing!"

Kakashi stepped forward first, his gaze sweeping behind Yang Xing, but he suppressed the flood of questions in his mind and couldn't help but ask: "What about those people?"

"Ah, taken care of. But those guys were too strong; I had to put in a massive effort just to escape."

"Haha, you really are useless, actually resorting to running away." Obito's joking words came immediately; although the tone was teasing, his smile was sincere.

However, Kakashi's expression shifted slightly: "Is that so?"

Escaping from five ninja, and in less than ten minutes? How could that be possible? Unless those five ninja had suddenly dropped dead, which was even more impossible, as even he couldn't achieve such a feat.

"Yeah, I ran the whole way, I'm exhausted. By the way, are we still continuing the mission?" A panting Yang Xing asked indifferently.

Kakashi regained his composure. Although he didn't understand why Yang Xing was lying, he didn't call him out, only glancing at the B-rank mission and smiling bitterly: "Well, the mission is off. Let's head back first."

"That's perfect, finally we can go back. Damn, this trip was too dangerous; I really thought I was a goner."

"It's good enough that you were able to run away, you guy." Obito stepped forward and patted Yang Xing on the shoulder, half-jokingly.

Yang Xing smiled without saying a word, though for some reason, he felt that Rin Nohara's gaze toward him was a bit strange, and their eyes met.

It was very clear that she was clutching her chest and taking a deep breath, saying, "It's good that you're safe."

"You're lucky to have made it out alive, yeah, yeah," Obito continued to say, "Thanks a lot for this time."

Kakashi glanced behind him with concern and said with a serious face: "Alright, now is not the time for chatting. Let's move quickly; it will be troublesome if those people catch up."

Clenching his fists and lowering his head, he muttered to himself: "Ninja from the Land of Earth. This must be reported to the Third Hokage."

The group didn't chat much longer and set off again.

Their speed was no slower than when they arrived, and they continued their journey without stopping until late afternoon.

After nearly four hours of travel, plus the fact that they hadn't eaten at noon, they needed to find a place to rest their feet.

"I'm exhausted. I really want to drink an iced beverage." Lying on the ground, Yang Xing truly looked worn out. He had consumed too much chakra this time, and with his nerves stretched thin the whole way, it was no wonder he was tired.

Obito, however, glared at him irritably: "You guy, you almost lost your life, and you still have the energy to think about things like that."

"Haha..." Yang Xing curled his lips, glanced around, and realized Kakashi was gone: "By the way, where is Kakashi?"

"He went over there for something, said he was checking to see if anyone had followed us."

"Is that so?" Yang Xing replied casually, then took a military ration pill from the bag Rin Nohara handed him from the front, chewed it, felt his chakra recovering, and enjoyed the momentary peace.

"Right, I haven't given the military ration pill to Kakashi yet. His chakra should be about empty too." Picking up the bag of pills, Rin Nohara thought that Kakashi must be tired as well, and without much thought, she walked toward the location where Kakashi was.

Behind a large tree.

A masked youth was staring at a dog—a small pug wearing gear. The dog opened its mouth, and to one's surprise, it spoke in human language.

This sight caused the person behind the tree to stop in their tracks, unable to take another step forward.

"Kakashi... Pakkun?" Seeing Kakashi talking to a summoning animal, Rin Nohara, who had originally intended to step forward, stopped instead.

The annoyed pug spoke to Kakashi in a clearly adult tone: "Is the Fourth Hokage not around? What kind of trouble have you brats gotten into while the Fourth is away? You really do love causing a ruckus. I'll definitely have to report this matter to the Fourth."

Kakashi kept a cold face and interrupted the pug: "Alright, enough with the nonsense. What were the results of the investigation?"

"Oh, that matter you mentioned? Well, you did a decent job." The pug licked its paw and said with appreciation: "You really made quite a scene; the environmental damage is severe."

"It wasn't me. Also, what exactly happened?"

"It wasn't you? Then who was it?" The pug was clearly stunned.

Kakashi grew impatient: "Don't worry about that for now. Just tell me, what is the situation there, and how are the chakra fluctuations?"

"There are no traces of living chakra fluctuations, but..." The pug's expression turned serious as it recalled something, speaking earnestly: "I found the bones of several people. No, wait, it's more like the ashes of several people."

"How many?"

"Hmm, five in total. Based on my past experience, these people were all elite ninja who had undergone various types of training."

"You mean, all five of those guys are dead?" Kakashi's expression shifted.

Five elite-trained ninja dead, and this happened within ten minutes of him leaving? What exactly happened here? Did Yang Xing do it, or someone else? No, others couldn't have known about this location.

Kakashi's face turned slightly pale. Anyone capable of killing two elite chunin-level ninja would at least be a jonin. It couldn't have been Yang Xing; that was absolutely impossible.

"Yeah, five dead. Kakashi, you're really something."

"I told you, I didn't do it."

"Well, why are you losing your temper? If you didn't, you didn't. I'm heading back now. Also, don't forget to report this to Konoha quickly." The pug finished impatiently, and its body vanished into a puff of smoke.

Only a silent Kakashi remained, along with Rin Nohara, who was watching from that direction with an equally unsettled expression.

Yang Xing had single-handedly taken out five elite ninja who had driven them into a corner—this possibility, which they didn't want to admit, lingered in their minds.

Near late afternoon, after a lunch that didn't quite qualify as lunch.

"So slow. Where did those two go? Could it be...?" Enjoying the gentle sunlight, Yang Xing looked quite relaxed. "Well, that blockhead Kakashi probably wouldn't understand anyway."

"Ah, they're back. That guy Kakashi is really with Rin. Bastard!" Seeing the two approach, Obito's eyes were filled with a hint of jealousy.

Yang Xing sighed from the sidelines, nearly forgetting that there was another fool here.

Not caring why the two had taken so long, Yang Xing simply shouldered his backpack again, looking carefree. "Alright, let's get ready to head back."

"Mn." Kakashi nodded. For some reason, the face of this cool-acting guy seemed to be clouded with worry.

This surprised Yang Xing. "How come you look so pale?"

"It's nothing. We... we should just head back quickly." Looking as if he had more to say, Kakashi glanced at Yang Xing before going to pick up his own backpack.

"Then let's set off." Yang Xing didn't want to deal with this brooding guy, but he did glance at Rin Nohara and couldn't help but ask, "Right, I almost forgot. Rin, you aren't hurt, are you?"

"Y-yes, I'm fine." Looking up, Rin Nohara didn't dare meet Yang Xing's gaze. She even stuttered as she spoke, lowering her head with a slight blush on her cheeks.

Even a stuttering little girl—why did everything feel so strange?

Whatever, he'd rather get back early and check out that "aura" of his. Turning to walk away, Yang Xing's footsteps were very light.

Little did he know that Kakashi and Rin Nohara, who were following closely behind, were looking at him with eyes that had clearly changed—and changed significantly.

Compared to Kakashi's suspicion, Rin Nohara was filled with curiosity. She felt curious about everything regarding this guy who was originally considered an "outsider." That curiosity made her cheeks flush whenever she met Yang Xing's eyes.

Thinking back to the bell-snatching incident earlier, her face turned an unusually deep shade of red.

If Yang Xing was truly capable of killing five powerful ninja, then why did he treat her that way? Rin Nohara couldn't figure it out at all; she only felt her heart pounding like a trapped deer.