Infiltration Mission

Yin Xiang took the bandages from Tenten's hands and began to unwrap them. "You didn't even treat the wound before wrapping it? It's going to fester. Is this how you've always handled your injuries?" Yin Xiang looked up into Tenten's eyes.

"I didn't bring any medicine this time, I forgot." Tenten met his gaze, and for a moment, neither of them looked away. Under the flickering firelight, a faint blush crept across her cheeks, until Yin Xiang finally broke the silence by looking away first.

"You should have said something if you didn't have any; I have some right here." Yin Xiang moved to the side and pulled a small bottle from his pack. "It's going to sting a little, just bear with it." He spoke to her, and only after she nodded did he lower his head to apply the medicine to her arm. Tenten let out a sharp gasp as the pain hit her.

Hiss...

Once the medicine was applied, Yin Xiang set the bottle on the ground and gently blew on her arm. Tenten watched him, lost in thought. Unaware of her gaze, Yin Xiang wrapped the bandage around her arm and tied it off. "There, that should do it." He looked up at her, only to find her staring at him in a daze.

"What's wrong, Tenten?" Yin Xiang waved a hand in front of her face, and she finally snapped back to reality.

"Ah? Nothing, it's nothing." Tenten shook her head.

"Get some good rest, then. We have a big battle in two days." Yin Xiang nodded, walked back to his spot, and lay down, resting his head against the wall as he stared blankly at the ceiling of the cave.

Yin Xiang seems to space out quite often, Tenten thought to herself as she watched him, not even realizing that she had begun to pay attention to his every move.

"I can't wait for the battle in two days!" Rock Lee shouted while doing push-ups on the ground.

"You must ensure your body is in peak condition, Lee!" Guy was right beside him, the two of them doing push-ups in unison as sweat dripped steadily onto the floor.

"Yin Xiang, I have a mission for you." The Third Hokage walked over to him. Yin Xiang sat up and looked at the Third.

"A private assignment? I suppose there's no fee for this one, then." Yin Xiang remarked, causing the Third to chuckle. "Why are you so obsessed with money?"

"Money is a good thing; it'd be a waste to turn it down," Yin Xiang replied. "What's the mission?"

"Go to Honey Flower Village alone and take out as many enemy ninja as possible. You won't need to participate in the operation in two days."

"..." Yin Xiang fell silent for a moment. This mission was dangerous. "Fine, but when I return, you have to teach me Sealing Jutsu." After weighing his options, he agreed; even if he couldn't win, he could always use the Flying Thunder God to escape, right?

"Agreed." The Third accepted immediately, having heard Yin Xiang ask to learn Sealing Jutsu several times before.

"I hope I can take out quite a few of them." No sooner had Yin Xiang finished speaking than his figure vanished from the cave, having already used the Flying Thunder God to reach a corner of Honey Flower Village.

"Third! Such a dangerous mission, Yin Xiang he..." Tenten, who had been keeping an eye on them, ran over to the Third.

"Don't worry, Yin Xiang can use the Flying Thunder God. Even if he can't win, he can still get away." The Third smiled, cutting her off. Hearing this, Tenten finally felt at ease.

"Though I didn't tell him to leave so quickly; his chakra hasn't fully recovered yet." The Third gave a wry smile.

Yin Xiang appeared in a corner of Honey Flower Village. He glanced at the kunai he had left there, then used the Transformation Jutsu to take on the appearance of another person before walking out onto the street. It was only afternoon, and the streets were still crowded.

"If I want to do missions, I need money. Ah, money is such a wonderful thing." Yin Xiang sighed. He bought some food and checked into an inn to recover his chakra. He couldn't stay in one place for too long; it would be troublesome if he were detected by a sensory ninja.

After eating and consuming a few Military Ration Pills, Yin Xiang rested on the bed for a while before leaving the area. He hadn't touched a bed in so long that it felt incredibly comfortable.

Yin Xiang made his way to the gates of Honey Flower Village. The guards had been replaced by Genin, though there were more of them now—six in total. Three were inside a small guardhouse, and three were standing at the gate. Yin Xiang decided to take out the ones in the house first.

He circled behind the guardhouse, caught a glimpse of one of the ninja at the gate, transformed into his likeness, and walked through the front door with confidence.

"Ono, how did you get in? How is it outside?" The three men inside looked up, and seeing a familiar face, they didn't suspect a thing. One of them asked.

"It's fine out there." Yin Xiang walked up to the man, positioning himself behind the other two as well. "But it's not going to be fine in here."

"What do you mean?" The man who had called out to 'Ono' froze, only to have his throat slit a second later. Before the other two could react, Yin Xiang had already pierced their skulls with two more kunai. "I'm sure you all have families, too. Don't blame me; blame yourselves for becoming ninja." Yin Xiang retrieved his three kunai and looked down at the three corpses in the guardhouse.

Regardless of the village, Genin were usually quite young, raised as ninja from childhood. But the life of a ninja was cruel, and since Yin Xiang was here to carry out a mission, he couldn't afford to let them live.

Following this, Yin Xiang used the same method, transforming into one of the men from the guardhouse, and walked out to the gate.

"What's wrong? It's not time for the shift change yet." The Genin at the gate asked as he approached.

"Just checking in," Yin Xiang said. He walked up to the gate and stood next to the man on the far left. "The breeze out here is quite pleasant, isn't it?" He looked off to the side, a kunai quietly sliding from his sleeve.

"Yeah, the air in the Land of Honey is much better than in the Land of Filling," one of the Genin replied.

"My apologies." Yin Xiang spoke. The three of them looked at him in confusion. At that moment, they were perfectly aligned. Yin Xiang looked up at them and fired a Lightning Style Kunai. All three collapsed instantly, the kunai embedded deep into the skull of the last man. The three Genin fell to the ground at the same time.