"There's another piece of good news." Yin Xiang looked at Miji. She froze for a moment. "Your father is alive. He's being held in prison. We just have to rescue him later."
"Really? That's wonderful!" Miji and Yamashin were both overjoyed by the news. "Th-then what about Honey Shadow? Is he all right?"
"Honey Shadow? You're still connected to him?" Yin Xiang frowned. If she was asking about Honey Shadow, the news wasn't going to be good.
"Honey Shadow is my brother!" Miji said, looking at Yin Xiang.
"..." Yin Xiang fell silent. Seeing his expression, Miji seemed to understand. "My brother... is he dead?"
Yin Xiang didn't answer. He only nodded. Miji fell silent too. A short while later, they heard her choking back sobs, and then her cries echoed through the cave.
Yin Xiang sighed and looked at Tenten. Tenten understood, set down the food in her hands, and went to comfort Miji. A girl comforting another girl was bound to help at least a little.
A few hours passed, and night fell. They prepared to sleep.
Rustle... rustle...
Two sounds came from the woods outside. Everyone except Miji, who was already asleep, got to their feet. "They chose to come at night?" Yin Xiang went to the cave entrance and peered outside. Sure enough, two ninjas were approaching.
"The bandits should all be asleep by now. Let's go in and kill them while we have the chance," one ninja said. The other nodded. They drew their kunai and headed toward the cave.
"Lightning Release." Yin Xiang raised his right hand, holding two kunai between his fingers. He coated them in Lightning Release, but didn't throw them right away. He hesitated, unsure whether he should kill the two men.
"Yin Xiang, a ninja has to kill his enemies," Shikaku said from behind him. Yin Xiang nodded, then fell silent for a moment. Just as the two ninjas were about to enter the cave, the two kunai in his hand shot out at incredible speed.
The two Chunin fell to the ground. "Agh!" One of them let out a pained cry. Yin Xiang walked over and looked down at the corpse beside him, its head pierced by a kunai. The other two kunai were embedded in a tree farther away.
Yin Xiang had killed one Chunin and left the other alive. It had gone so smoothly for several reasons: the two Chunin had let their guard down, thinking they were only dealing with bandits; Yin Xiang's kunai had been too fast; and, most importantly, they were no match for him.
"K-Konoha Ninja!" The man on the ground had actually been pierced through the leg. When he saw the Konoha Forehead Protector at Yin Xiang's waist, he understood everything.
"Ugh..." Looking at the corpse, Yin Xiang gagged. The first time he'd seen a corpse had been when he went to bury the four guards from the Insoro Clan. Now he'd killed someone with his own hands. He didn't actually throw up, but his stomach felt awful.
Shikaku went over and tied up the surviving ninja. Yin Xiang finally dragged the corpse outside, threw it down the cliff, and returned to the cave.
"P-Princess..." The Chunin recognized Miji. It seemed he was one of the Chunin who had betrayed them.
"You know me?" Miji had been woken by his cry of pain. She was surprised to see that the ninja in front of her recognized her.
"I... I used to be a Chunin from the Land of Honey..." The Chunin lowered his head in shame, afraid to look at Miji. Hearing that he had once been a ninja from the Land of Honey, Miji clenched her fists angrily.
"How many ninjas from the Land of Honey became missing-nin?" Yamashin asked the ninja in front of him. His expression was grim. It seemed he knew the man.
"Yamashin..." The ninja looked at him, then recognized him as Yamashin. "Jonin Hekai and... Jonin Yamaha both defected."
"M-My father?" Yamashin's eyes widened. Yamaha was his father. He had never imagined that his own father would defect.
The Chunin nodded. "Including me and the one from earlier, there are four Chunin and ten Genin."
"My father... How could he..." Yamashin still looked incredulous. His father had always been diligent and responsible. He had protected the Land of Honey for so long, and had always warned Yamashin that he had to protect it. How could this have happened...
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