Journey to the Land of Honey

"Although we are going, everything must be discussed at length. We need a detailed plan before we can take action upon arriving in the Land of Honey," Shikaku said after nodding.

"Thank you so, so much!" The guard knelt and kowtowed to them directly; after all, this was a matter of saving his country.

"The reward is adjusted to one million, and it may increase depending on the situation. Remember to pay the reward after successfully rescuing the Land of Honey," Yin Xiang said, then turned to leave.

"Thank you..." Miji also jumped down from the shadow and bowed to thank Yin Xiang and the others.

"Hey... but are we really going to do this S-rank mission? It feels very dangerous," Tenten said, catching up to Yin Xiang.

"The strength of the enemy's jonin is likely only that of a chunin in our village, and their chunin are only as strong as our genin. To us, genin are just ordinary people who can throw kunai. As long as we scout the terrain well, wait for opportunities to ambush and assassinate, reduce their numbers, and prevent them from using human-wave tactics, this mission can be completed," Yin Xiang told Tenten.

"You've already thought of a plan!" Tenten's eyes lit up. She had always known Yin Xiang was smart, but she hadn't expected him to be this smart.

"But we cannot let our guard down. We cannot rule out the possibility of someone sacrificing themselves, so we must act with caution." Yin Xiang nodded. After all, he had never killed anyone before. Although talking about ambushes and assassinations sounded easy, when it came time to actually do it, Yin Xiang really didn't know if he could bring himself to do it.

Although ninjas were instilled with the idea of killing the enemy from a young age and never showed mercy when killing, Yin Xiang was a modern person after all. The modern thoughts instilled in him were more prevalent than ninja ideology. In his heart, he believed that one should not kill the innocent, and that one should not even trample on the life of a dog.

Now that he had to kill, Yin Xiang still needed to prepare himself mentally.

Miji was too embarrassed to let Yin Xiang carry her anymore and followed along on foot. Seeing this, Yin Xiang retracted his shadow, took a military ration pill from his bag, and swallowed it to recover some chakra.

"...Why are you eating a military ration pill? Is the Shadow Secret Technique that taxing on chakra?" Tenten asked, looking at Yin Xiang.

"Yes." Yin Xiang nodded. "It's not just chakra; it's also very physically demanding. The path the shadow takes, plus the path I take—I've actually walked twice the distance you have." Yin Xiang gave a bitter smile.

"Ah? Then if this shadow gets hurt, the injury will transfer to you? A jutsu that harms your own body like this... is it..."

"Shh." Yin Xiang quickly covered Tenten's mouth. Such a jutsu would indeed be classified as a forbidden jutsu, but Yin Xiang didn't want it to be. If the first jutsu he created was listed as a forbidden jutsu, wouldn't that mean he was inheriting the mantle of the Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama?

What if all the jutsu he created in the future became forbidden? Wouldn't that mean he had been poisoned by Tobirama's influence?

"I won't say anything... but you should use this jutsu less in the future. You can't use a forbidden jutsu just to avoid carrying someone," Tenten said, transforming into a nagging old woman.

"Alright, alright, I know, old woman," Yin Xiang said with a perfunctory nod.

"Who's an old woman! You... old man!... Damn it!" After saying that, Tenten suddenly felt that their conversation was a bit ambiguous. "Old woman," "old man"—weren't these terms used by an old married couple? She had fallen into Yin Xiang's trap again.

"Haha." Yin Xiang laughed.

The group continued their journey. To reach the Land of Honey, they had to cross the ocean, but there was still a long way to go before reaching the coast. It took a week for the group to finally arrive at the seaside.

Why did it take so long? It was because of this delicate princess. She would say she was tired after walking for a short while, and even when carried by the guard, she kept complaining of fatigue. Stopping and starting like this, it took a whole week to reach the sea.

Over this week of living together, everyone learned that the guard's name was Yamashin. The relationship between Yin Xiang and Team 3 had also improved. Hyuga Neji finally stopped looking at Yin Xiang with that hostile gaze he used to have; he had always viewed Yin Xiang as his rival.

Although he still viewed Yin Xiang as a rival now, he also considered him a friend.

After renting a boat, the group began their voyage across the sea. Yin Xiang sat on the edge of the boat, looking at the ocean, his heart filled with infinite emotion. The only difference between this world and his own was the culture. There were no skyscrapers, no laws or regulations. In the end, he was just living in a world created by someone else.

As for the person who created this world, from within the world, that was the Sage of Six Paths; from outside the world, that was Masashi Kishimoto.

Miji's supplies were mostly depleted by now, but fortunately, the Land of Honey was almost here, and her food would hold out. Everyone had prepared food for this mission, and unlike Miji, Yin Xiang and the others had prepared food that was easy to store, like bread and biscuits. The environment in the ninja world was very clean; if they needed water, they could just draw it directly from a lake.

"What are you thinking about?" Tenten leaned over the side of the boat, looking at Yin Xiang, who was sitting on the edge.

"Nothing, just thinking about who I'll marry in the future," Yin Xiang teased.

"You really are..." Tenten was speechless, but she also blushed. How could she not know that Yin Xiang was flirting with her?

"We haven't encountered any ninjas from the Land of Filling along the way. It seems the Land of Honey has already fallen, and the daimyo is likely dead. When the time comes, the task of comforting Miji will be left to you," Yin Xiang said to Tenten.

"Why leave it to me..."

"Because you're both girls. Do you expect Rock Lee or Neji to comfort her?"

"This..." Tenten imagined it.

"Miss Miji! Don't cry! Let us forget your father and start burning with new youth!" That was Rock Lee.

"Don't cry... don't cry... don't cry... so annoying..." That was Neji.

Tenten was instantly covered in cold sweat. Those two definitely didn't know how to comfort people. If Guy-sensei tried to comfort her, it would probably be the same as Rock Lee, and Shikaku-sensei would find it troublesome. As for Yin Xiang... no, she couldn't let Yin Xiang do it! Tenten shook her head.

"Fine, I'll comfort her when the time comes," Tenten said after thinking it over, nodding.

Although Yin Xiang didn't know how rich Tenten's inner thoughts had been just now, he smiled and nodded when he saw her agree. "Miji probably has an idea, too. Her father is likely not going to survive, but since she hasn't seen it with her own eyes, there's still a glimmer of hope in her heart. Once she truly learns the news, she will collapse."