"Although we're going, we still need to think this through carefully. Once we reach the Land of Honey, we'll need a detailed plan before we make our move." Shikaku nodded and spoke.
"Thank you so very much!" The bodyguard immediately kowtowed to them. After all, they were going to save his country.
"The reward is now one million. It may increase depending on the situation. Remember to pay us once we've successfully rescued the Land of Honey." Yin Xiang said, then turned to leave.
"Thank you..." Miji jumped down from the shadow and bowed to Yin Xiang and the others as well.
"Hey... are we really taking this S-rank mission? It seems really dangerous." Tenten caught up with Yin Xiang and said.
"The enemy's jonin may only be as strong as our village's Chunin, and their Chunin may only be as strong as a Genin. Their Genin are just ordinary people who can throw Kunai, as far as we're concerned. As long as we scout the terrain, wait for a chance to ambush and assassinate them, reduce their numbers, and keep them from overwhelming us with sheer numbers, we can complete this mission." Yin Xiang explained to Tenten.
"You've already thought up a plan!" Tenten's eyes lit up. She'd always known Yin Xiang was smart, but she hadn't realized he was this smart.
"But we can't let our guard down. We can't rule out the possibility that someone will die, so we have to proceed carefully." Yin Xiang nodded. After all, he'd never killed anyone before. Though he made ambushing and assassinating them sound easy, he really didn't know if he'd be able to go through with it when the time came.
Although ninjas were taught from childhood to kill their enemies and never hesitated to kill, Yin Xiang was still a modern person. The modern ideas he'd been taught outweighed the ninja mentality. He believed that one mustn't kill indiscriminately—not even trample on the life of a dog.
If he was going to kill someone now, he still needed to prepare himself mentally.
Miji felt too embarrassed to ask Yin Xiang to carry her again, so she walked behind them. Seeing this, Yin Xiang withdrew his shadow, took a Military Ration Pill from his bag, and swallowed it to replenish his chakra.
"...Why are you eating a Military Ration Pill? Does the Shadow Secret Technique use up a lot of chakra?" Tenten asked, watching Yin Xiang.
"Yeah." Yin Xiang nodded. "It doesn't just use up chakra; it takes a lot of stamina too. Between the distance my shadow travels and the distance I walk, I've actually walked twice as far as you guys." He gave a wry smile.
"Huh? And if the shadow gets hurt, you get hurt too. A technique that damages your own body like this..."
"Shh." Yin Xiang hurriedly covered Tenten's mouth. It was true that a technique like this could be classified as a forbidden technique, but he didn't want it labeled one. If the first technique he created ended up classified as forbidden, wouldn't that mean he'd inherited the Second Hokage Senju Tobirama's legacy?
What if every technique he created in the future became forbidden? What would he do then? Wouldn't he have fallen under Tobirama's curse?
"I won't tell anyone... But you should use this technique less from now on. You can't use a forbidden technique just to avoid carrying someone!" Tenten turned into a nagging old woman.
"Okay, okay, I get it, old woman." Yin Xiang nodded perfunctorily.
"Who are you calling an old woman? You... old man!... Damn it!" After saying it, Tenten suddenly realized that they sounded a little flirtatious. Calling each other "old woman" and "old man"—weren't those the kinds of things an old married couple called each other? Yin Xiang had gotten the better of her again.
"Haha." Yin Xiang laughed.
They continued on their way. To reach the Land of Honey, they still had to cross the sea, and the coast was still a long way off. It took them a week to finally reach the shore.
Why had it taken so long? It was because of that delicate princess. They hadn't gone far before she started complaining that she was tired. Even when her bodyguard carried her, she kept saying she was tired. They had to keep stopping and starting, and it took them a week to reach the shore.
After spending a week together, they'd all learned that the bodyguard's name was Yamashin. Yin Xiang had also grown closer to Team 3, and Neji Hyuga no longer looked at him with the hostility he'd shown before. Neji had always treated Yin Xiang as his rival.
He still saw Yin Xiang as a rival, but now he also saw him as a friend.
After renting a boat, they set off across the sea. Yin Xiang sat on the gunwale and gazed out at the ocean, filled with endless emotion. The only difference between this world and his own was the culture. There were no towering skyscrapers or laws and regulations. In the end, he was living in a world created by someone else.
From within this world, its creator was the Sage of Six Paths. From outside it, that creator was Masashi Kishimoto.
Miji's bag of food was already more than half empty, but fortunately they were nearly at the Land of Honey, and she still had enough to last. Everyone had brought food for the mission. Unlike Miji, Yin Xiang and the others had packed food that was easy to store, like bread and biscuits. The Naruto world was clean, so they could simply draw water from a lake.
"What are you thinking about?" Tenten leaned on the gunwale and looked at Yin Xiang, who was sitting on it.
"Nothing much. I was wondering who I'll marry someday." Yin Xiang teased.
"You're impossible..." Tenten was at a loss for words, and her face flushed. There was no way she didn't know he was teasing her.
"We haven't encountered any ninjas from the Land of Filling along the way. Looks like the Land of Honey has already fallen. The daimyo is probably dead. I'll leave comforting Miji to you." Yin Xiang said to Tenten.
"Why do I have to do it...?"
"Because you're both girls. Do you expect Rock Lee or Neji to comfort her?"
"Well..." Tenten imagined it.
"Miss Miji! Don't cry! Let's forget about your uncle and start burning with the flames of a new youth!" That was Rock Lee.
"Don't cry... Don't cry... Don't cry... How annoying..." That was Neji.
Tenten broke into a cold sweat. Those two definitely wouldn't know how to comfort anyone. If their teacher Guy tried, he'd probably be just like Rock Lee. Teacher Shikaku would find it troublesome, and Yin Xiang... No, she couldn't let Yin Xiang do it! Tenten shook her head.
"All right, I'll comfort her when the time comes." After thinking it over, Tenten nodded.
Yin Xiang had no idea how much had been going through Tenten's mind, but when he saw her agree, he smiled and nodded. "Miji probably has some idea of what's coming too. Her father is likely dead, but she hasn't actually seen it for herself, so she still has a glimmer of hope. When she gets the news for real, she'll break down."
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