Operation Failed?

"What's wrong?" Xian Shadow stood up and opened the window. "Go and check it out," he said to the Anbu beside him.

"Yes." After answering, the Anbu leaped out of the window and made his way to where the villagers had gathered, only to find three corpses. "Someone has already infiltrated..." The pupils beneath the Anbu's mask dilated in panic before he quickly returned to the Honey Shadow building.

"Lord Xian Shadow, someone has infiltrated! There are three genin corpses over there!" The Anbu hurriedly reported to Xian Shadow.

"What! Okita, find them at once!" Xian Shadow was also startled and quickly ordered a search. Okita was the jonin who had been standing next to Guy earlier; he was also a sensory ninja.

Upon hearing this, Okita immediately held up two fingers and began to sense his surroundings, but he looked up almost instantly. "At... at the door!" Okita turned around and looked toward the door of the Honey Shadow's office.

After Yin Xiang had finished disposing of the bodies, he had run to the door of the Honey Shadow's office to listen to the situation inside. Just as he prepared to flee, he was detected. Exposed, Yin Xiang immediately used the Flying Thunder God to teleport to a kunai he had left in a corner of Honey Flower Village. He did not intend to retreat just yet; he still wanted to take out the remaining six genin.

"How many?" Xian Shadow immediately prepared for battle.

"Just... just one, and he's already gone." Okita paused, even doubting his own senses, but he hadn't been wrong; there had indeed been a mass of chakra at the door equivalent to that of a jonin.

In such a small country, Yin Xiang's chakra, which was comparable to a chunin in Konoha, was equivalent to that of a jonin here, which showed just how decayed this small country truly was.

"Gone?" Guy frowned, not understanding what he meant.

"The moment I sensed him, he vanished," Okita said with a nod.

"Could it be space-time ninjutsu?" an Anbu behind Xian Shadow asked. This statement left them all feeling panicked. Let alone space-time ninjutsu, even performing an S-rank ninjutsu was incredibly difficult for them, whereas Yin Xiang could produce an A-rank equivalent with a single Wind-Style-enhanced Lightning Style Kunai.

"Get out there and find him!" Xian Shadow jumped straight out of the window. After the four men exchanged glances, they followed him out. For a time, Honey Flower Village was in an uproar; Yin Xiang was hunting six genin, while five men were hunting Yin Xiang.

"Found you!" A childish voice suddenly came from behind Yin Xiang. It was a young girl accompanied by five genin; the girl was the sensory ninja.

"Delivering yourselves to me," Yin Xiang reverted to his true appearance and lunged forward. Seeing this, the five genin drew their kunai and attacked.

Yin Xiang kicked one genin away, dodged another's kunai, and punched a third. He snatched the kunai from the genin's hand, turned to parry two kunai from behind, and kicked a fourth genin who was attacking from his rear. Then, exerting force in his hand, he pushed aside the two blades and slashed, taking the lives of two genin.

Everything was fluid and effortless, without a hint of hesitation. The three genin lying on the ground and the sensory girl were stunned—what kind of movement technique was this?

"Lightning Style." A kunai slid from Yin Xiang's sleeve, which he threw directly at the sensory girl. Although she saw it coming, she couldn't react in time; the Lightning Style Kunai pierced her throat, and she collapsed to the ground with wide, staring eyes.

The three genin still on the ground were too terrified to move. The people on the street had long since hidden away. Just as Yin Xiang was about to finish them off, someone shouted at him.

"Stop!" Okita's voice came from behind Yin Xiang, and simultaneously, a sword swung down toward the top of his head.

Yin Xiang turned back, shot an annoyed look at Okita, and raised his finger. Just as the sword was about to strike his head, Yin Xiang vanished into a black flash before his eyes.

"Sp... space-time ninjutsu..." Okita's sword struck the ground. He stared at the spot in shock. That strike should have been a guaranteed hit—it should have split him in two—yet he had simply disappeared.

Using the Flying Thunder God, Yin Xiang returned to the vicinity of the cave. He knelt under a tree, feeling somewhat exhausted, and picked up his kunai. With his current chakra reserves, he could use the Flying Thunder God six times. He had consumed a great deal in previous battles, used one to reach Honey Flower Village, and replenished some only to spend it in the fight.

He had used it again after being sensed by Okita, draining a massive amount of chakra, which was why he had chosen to use taijutsu to finish off the last group. This final Flying Thunder God had exhausted his remaining reserves.

"Mission failed." Yin Xiang put away his kunai and whispered. Failing to kill those three genin was, to him, a failure. He likely didn't know what kind of commotion his actions had caused in Honey Flower Village; genin corpses were being found in every corner, and six bodies lay at the main gate—it was a terrifying sight.

Yin Xiang swallowed a Military Ration Pill, stood up, and walked toward the cave. It was late at night, and when he arrived, he ran into Rock Lee, who was on guard duty.

"Yin Xiang! You're back! How did it go? Are you hurt?" Seeing it was Yin Xiang, Rock Lee stepped out of the cave.

"No." Yin Xiang shook his head. "Are they all asleep?"

"Not yet." Rock Lee shook his head. "I see." Yin Xiang nodded and walked inside.

"I'm back," Yin Xiang said softly as he reached the others, then sat down, leaned against the wall, and let out a slow breath.

"How was it?" Third Hokage asked, looking at Yin Xiang. The boy had left and returned so quickly; he had expected him to be gone until at least tomorrow afternoon.

"The results weren't ideal. There's still a Honey Shadow, two Anbu, and two jonin in the village. One of the jonin is named Okita, a sensory ninja. There are three genin left. I only managed to take out fifteen genin this time. My chakra ran low, and I was discovered by Okita, so I retreated."

"We were originally going to face dozens of ninjas. Thanks to your plan and this operation, there are only eight left to deal with. Impressive." Neji now admired Yin Xiang from the bottom of his heart; he was meticulous, calculated, possessed formidable combat power, and had incredible infiltration skills.