"I don't know who that person was, but the Sound Ninja are very mysterious. We still don't even know who's in charge of them." Shikaku said gravely.
"But it looks like he's already gone. We should get back to the village and look into this as soon as possible," Guy said. The others agreed, and they left.
"Is he already that strong...? That kunai was incredibly fast, and then he vanished in an instant... Flying Thunder God... What is that...?" Neji watched Yin Xiang's retreating figure with a grave expression. They were the same age, and Neji was called a prodigy. But this person was so much stronger than him. Then he...
After Yin Xiang and the others left, someone appeared from behind a tree. He peeled off a layer of skin from his face, and blood trickled down his cheek. Seeing the scorched marks on the skin mask, he extended his long, snake-like tongue and licked the blood from his cheek.
"Minato's adopted son. How interesting." This person was none other than Orochimaru. Seeing Yin Xiang had reminded him that he was Minato's adopted son. Thinking of Minato brought back the memory of Minato taking the Hokage Position from him. But Minato was already dead, so his murderous intent toward him now fell on Yin Xiang. Yin Xiang had sensed that brief burst of killing intent.
It was because he sensed that instant of killing intent that Yin Xiang had thrown the Lightning Style Kunai and injured Orochimaru.
"The Chunin Ninja Exams... I'll have to pay special attention to that brat."
A smile appeared on Orochimaru's lips.
Yin Xiang and the others soon returned to the gates of Konoha.
"I'll report what happened outside the village to the Third Hokage," Guy said, then left with his Team 3. Tenten waved at Yin Xiang.
Yin Xiang smiled and waved back.
"That person's reactions were incredibly fast. He dodged even the combined attack of Flying Thunder God and Rasengan. He must be at least an elite Jonin. Someone like that appearing near Konoha..." Yin Xiang still hadn't realized that the man was Orochimaru. He assumed the man was an elite Jonin among the Sound Ninja, there to gather intelligence.
"He was probably here to gather information. The Anbu will investigate," Shikaku told Yin Xiang. "Still, you managed to make an elite Jonin suffer a setback. That's impressive."
"I just caught him off guard. Even then, I couldn't injure him. If we'd fought face-to-face, I probably would've been dead in no time."
"You're not arrogant or conceited. Good." Shikaku nodded in satisfaction.
"It's getting dark. Let's meet again tomorrow, Shikaku-sensei." Yin Xiang glanced at the sky. Shikaku nodded, and the two went their separate ways.
Yin Xiang walked through the streets of Konoha, then went to Ichiraku Ramen for a bowl of ramen. Afterward, he walked alone to the lake and sat down by the water, gazing at its surface.
The water rippled gently, and Yin Xiang's thoughts stirred just as slowly. Since inexplicably arriving in this world, things had gone fairly smoothly. With his current strength, he could fight when he could win and run when he couldn't. He could live a peaceful life now.
But he was still far too young, and he also had the responsibility of protecting Naruto. To protect Naruto, he would have to face his enemies: Akatsuki, the Otsutsuki Clan, and the rest. His current strength was nowhere near enough. He would have to get stronger.
But if he did that, his peaceful life would be over.
"Even now, I don't know how I came to this world. What's the point of drifting through life here without knowing?" Yin Xiang tossed a stone into the water. It sank straight to the bottom.
"Who are you?" a voice sounded from behind him.
Yin Xiang turned around. It was Sasuke Uchiha. He stood up. "Yin Xiang," he said to Sasuke. "You're Sasuke Uchiha, right?"
"Yin Xiang?" Sasuke furrowed his brow, as if he'd heard the name before. "Yin Xiang Bofeng. I remember now."
"Yeah." Yin Xiang nodded.
"This is my spot. Leave," Sasuke said bluntly, making it clear that Yin Xiang was on his turf.
"Is that so?" Yin Xiang just smiled and walked up to Sasuke. "You don't look like him at all." After saying something that left Sasuke completely baffled, Yin Xiang walked away, leaving Sasuke puzzled. What didn't look like whom...?
"You're nothing like Naruto. So much for being Asura and Indra reincarnated. Sigh." Yin Xiang shook his head, then went home, got ready for bed, and turned in.
After that, he continued doing boring missions, right up until the day Naruto was assigned to a team. As usual, Yin Xiang and Shikaku headed to Training Ground No. 3 to meet up. After a simple breakfast, Yin Xiang had grabbed an apple on his way out. But today, a few extra people were there.
Yin Xiang and Shikaku approached from opposite directions. Three people were already sitting in the clearing. Yin Xiang looked over and saw Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura. It seemed today was their meeting day.
"Huh? Yin Xiang! What are you doing here?" Naruto jumped to his feet as soon as he saw Yin Xiang and ran over to him.
"I always meet here," Yin Xiang said as he walked over. "You guys... have been assigned to a team?" He hesitated.
"Yeah. Kakashi-sensei told us to be here at seven, and he said not to eat. But he still hasn't shown up!" Naruto said, clutching his stomach. As if on cue, it growled.
"You haven't eaten? This is all I have. You can have it." Yin Xiang pulled the apple he'd grabbed that morning from his pocket. He hadn't expected it to come in handy for Naruto.
"Whoa? Awesome! I finally get something to eat!" Naruto took the apple from Yin Xiang without hesitation and started eating. Yin Xiang smiled at him. By then, they had reached Sasuke and the others.
"Wait... you're Yin Xiang, right? Naruto, you know him?" Sakura asked as Yin Xiang approached. She'd seen him from a distance on the street before, but only now, up close, did she realize how handsome he was.
"Yeah, we've known each other for ages." Naruto was too busy eating to answer, so Yin Xiang spoke for him and smiled at Sakura.
Yin Xiang's smile sent Sakura into a lovestruck daze, and she suddenly started grinning foolishly.
"All right, Yin Xiang. Let's go on our mission," Shikaku said. Yin Xiang nodded. "Naruto, I'm heading out. Watch out for big brother Kakashi."
Naruto nodded as he ate the apple, then quickly finished it. "See you!" he called after Yin Xiang.
Yin Xiang waved to Naruto without turning around.
Before you continue