The First Step of the Plan.

"Why don't we just sneak in and kidnap the daimyo? That way, we could force them to surrender the Land of Honey," Rock Lee suggested from the side.

"That's right! You're truly brilliant, Rock Lee!" Guy chimed in, nodding in agreement.

Shikaku, however, shook his head. "That won't work. If the daimyo were killed, the country would fall entirely into the hands of the ninja. It's like the Land of Fire; if its daimyo were killed, the one in power would simply become the Third Hokage. To put it bluntly, the daimyo is nothing more than a figurehead."

"I see..." Rock Lee nodded, looking a bit disappointed. "I'm the same age as Yin Xiang, so why can't I come up with clever ideas like he does?"

"Yin Xiang is indeed unlike others his age; he's very different from us," Neji added from the side. "It's as if he has the face of a boy our age but the mind of a mature middle-aged man."

While the group in the cave was still discussing Yin Xiang, Yin Xiang himself had already caught a villager who had just left the village, seemingly to gather supplies. That was irrelevant to him, though; Yin Xiang knocked the man unconscious, transformed into his likeness, took his belongings, tied him up, and hid him away before heading toward the main gate.

"Eh? Didn't you just leave? How are you back so soon?" The two ninja at the gate clearly remembered the man, as he hadn't been gone long.

"Ah, I forgot to bring a few things, so I came back to grab them," Yin Xiang said, feigning anxiety as if he were missing something vital.

"Fine, but we still need to see your entry permit," the ninja said to Yin Xiang.

Entry permit? Yin Xiang felt a jolt of panic, but on the surface, he pretended to search through his bag. Finally, he found a piece of paper inside the man's bundle. It was an entry permit with the name Ju-u Ishihiro on it; it seemed that was the man's name.

"Found it, found it." Yin Xiang "calmly" produced the permit. The two ninja checked it over, registered him, and let him pass.

Once inside the village, Yin Xiang let out a breath. "That scared the life out of me. Good thing I took this guy's bag. I'd never heard of needing an entry permit to get into the village before."

Having successfully infiltrated, Yin Xiang found a corner, transformed into someone else, and walked into a tavern. He ordered a pot of wine and sat in a corner to listen; a tavern was still the best place to gather intelligence.

"Ever since the Honey Shadow changed, the village hasn't been the same, eh?" two men at the next table began to talk.

"You should complain less. It's already a blessing that we commoners can still afford a drink."

"The ninja of our country have no backbone! The war had barely started before some of them defected to the enemy! They're nothing but cowards!"

"Hey, hey, hey! Keep your voice down!" The man quickly covered his companion's mouth, warning him not to continue. "You're really drunk. Don't you know what the situation is like now? Do you have a death wish?"

So, there are indeed rogue ninja.

Yin Xiang took a small sip of wine. It seemed that aside from the change in leadership, the country hadn't changed much; the residents were still the same people.

"Alright, alright, let's go. Seriously, don't go looking for trouble." The man who had covered his friend's mouth pulled the drunkard up and led him away. Yin Xiang followed; he might be able to learn quite a bit from this man.

The man walked the drunkard all the way home, then headed for his own house. When they reached a secluded area, Yin Xiang stepped forward in a flash and knocked the man unconscious. He hoisted him onto his shoulders, pretending the man was just drunk, and carried him into a deserted alleyway.

Then, he waited for him to wake up. He hadn't hit him very hard, so the man soon regained consciousness.

"Who... who are you! Are you a ninja from the village? I'm sorry, I'm sorry! Everything he said earlier was his own doing, it has nothing to do with me! Please, My Lord, spare me!" The man began to wail the moment he saw Yin Xiang.

Yin Xiang was getting annoyed. "That's enough." He shoved the man to the ground. "I am not a ninja from this village. I'm going to ask you some questions, and you will answer them truthfully."

"Yes, yes, yes! I will answer everything truthfully!" the man replied hurriedly.

"How many ninja from this village have defected to the enemy?"

"There are two jonin and four chunin. I don't know about the genin, My Lord, I'm telling the truth!"

So that means there are five jonin and twelve chunin left... Yin Xiang thought to himself. "What about the daimyo of the Land of Honey?"

"He was captured and is being held in prison. Everyone in the village knows about it."

"And the former Honey Shadow?"

"The Honey Shadow died in battle. He was killed by the ninja from the Land of Filling. Now, the entire Land of Honey is in the hands of the Land of Filling."

"Well done. Don't mention this to anyone, or I will definitely come back to kill you." Although Yin Xiang had never killed anyone, his gaze was enough to fill the man with deep terror.

"Yes, yes! Don't worry, My Lord, I will never speak of this!" the man promised frantically.

As soon as he finished speaking, Yin Xiang used the Body Flicker Technique and vanished from his sight. Five jonin, twelve chunin. If I send two chunin to suppress bandits, and those chunin disappear, will they send a jonin to investigate? Yin Xiang walked down the road, chin in hand, and after a moment of thought, he transformed into yet another person and walked into the mission assignment office.

Spending fifty thousand ryo to post a bandit-suppression mission really hurt. Yin Xiang wasn't short on money, but it was still a significant sum. He would definitely have to make the old man, the Third Hokage, reimburse him when he got back!

After posting the mission, Yin Xiang bought a large amount of supplies and used the Flying Thunder God to return directly to the vicinity of the cave. He hadn't just left a Flying Thunder God marker near the cave; he had also left one in Honey Flower Village, ensuring he could come and go as he pleased from now on.

"I'm back." Yin Xiang dropped the supplies he was carrying onto the ground. "It's been a while since I've had cooked food. I bought some roasted chicken and duck, though we should stick to easy-to-store food from now on."

"Great! I've been eating those dry rations for days, my face is starting to turn green!" Rock Lee was overjoyed at the sight of the food, and he wasn't the only one; everyone was delighted.

"How did it go, Yin Xiang? Did you find out what you needed?" Shikaku asked.

Yin Xiang leaned against the cave wall. "Just about. Two jonin and four chunin have defected. I don't know the exact number of genin, but I've already posted the mission. Ninja should be arriving here by tomorrow at the latest."

"You listed this cave as the mission location?"

"Yes." Yin Xiang nodded. "Now we just wait for them to charge right in."

"This is only the first step of the plan. By the time they realize what's happening, they'll have already suffered heavy losses." A smile touched the corner of Yin Xiang's mouth again, and Shikaku followed suit with a faint smile of his own. Yin Xiang cast a quiet glance his way.