Once Xia Yan had everything ready, he immediately set off with the unconscious Yashamaru over his shoulder.
Yashamaru had actually woken up once while Xia Yan was making his preparations, but determined not to expose his secrets, Xia Yan had decisively knocked him out again.
Carrying the man was certainly a bit of a hassle, but Xia Yan felt it was still better than having some of his little secrets seen.
Besides, having planted a great many basic attributes as a child, Xia Yan had no trouble with this little bit of weight. He even felt he could fight while carrying Yashamaru.
"But Yashamaru is a man. I suddenly feel like I'm getting the short end of the stick."
Xia Yan gave a self-deprecating chuckle. Compared to carrying a man, he felt carrying a woman would probably make him feel a little better.
He was a man, after all, and he had no interest in getting up close and personal with other men. Still, he had been the one to decide that Kakashi should take Pakura back, so there was little point in complaining.
As Xia Yan walked on with Yashamaru, the expression beneath his mask remained rather odd, because the journey was not as quiet as he had imagined.
"A human's coming. Be careful."
"That human won't eat us, will he?"
"Oh, please. From the look of him, he's what those humans call a Shinobi. We should be fine."
"Shinobi are the scariest of all. They'll eat us raw when they're hungry. Better stay away."
"Huh? There are lizards, too. Shame they're too close to that human, or we might have a feast."
"..."
Xia Yan swore this was the first time he had realized that even a desert like this contained so many strange voices.
Some of the