Sneak attack

"Looks like they're all taken care of."

In the forest, Xia Yan could not help smiling as he watched Kakashi slowly approach, carrying a Stone Ninja.

During the battle, he and Kakashi had acted separately, so he had not seen how the fighting had gone on the other side.

However, he could sense Kakashi's condition, and the piercing chirping of Chidori also made it clear that Kakashi had absolutely no trouble dealing with those fellows.

As for Xia Yan himself, that went without saying. These fellows did not have a single Jonin among them; at most, they were only at the level of Special Jōnin.

Against a veteran Anbu member with five years of experience like Xia Yan, a group like this posed a threat, but not a serious one. Moreover, they had no ninja capable of countering Xia Yan's speed.

Speed was always a person's most terrifying weapon. In the original story, when Rock Lee faced Sasuke, his speed alone had left Sasuke able to see him but unable to keep up physically.

Even someone with the Sharingan had been like that, let alone these fellows, who could not possibly have the Sharingan!

Xia Yan was far faster than Rock Lee. Even with all his weights removed, Rock Lee would absolutely be no match for Xia Yan.

That was how terrifying a Fruit that enhanced basic attributes was.

Although it had really screwed Xia Yan over all these years, with side effects that persisted even now, the changes it had brought him were also plain to see.

"Yes, Captain." Kakashi calmly tossed a half-dead fellow in front of Xia Yan, then glanced around before asking, "Where are the others?"

"They were badly wounded, so I had them head back." Xia Yan smiled faintly. "There are medical ninja at the base. In their condition, they couldn't wait for us to escort them back."

Those wounded men really were in no condition to remain here, so once the battle ended, Xia Yan had hurriedly sent them away.

These ninja also understood that they had little grounds to argue with the Anbu, and they were still full of gratitude toward the Anbu who had come to rescue them.

Had these Anbu not arrived in time, they would probably have died here long ago. These two Anbu had saved their lives.

Besides, they really could not stay any longer. If they did, they would go into shock from blood loss, so with the assistance of the ninja whose injuries were lighter, they had already headed back toward the base.

After a brief explanation, Xia Yan turned his gaze to the two surviving "Stone Ninja." Walking slowly toward them, he drew a kunai.

"Now there are only two of you left. I'll give you a choice."

Xia Yan's voice remained even, with a hint of gentleness in his tone.

Yet for some reason, Kakashi could not help shivering when he heard that voice. He kept feeling that this captain of his probably had something unpleasant in mind.

Sure enough, just as he had thought, Xia Yan tossed the kunai beside the two Stone Ninja, then slowly spoke.

"I'm not planning to interrogate you for information. Too much trouble.

"Likewise, I'm not planning to take both of you back. Too much of a waste of time.

"Only one of you needs to remain. The survivor will come to Konoha with us.

"Interrogation may be painful, but at least you'll have a chance to live. And if you cooperate enough, you can avoid a lot of suffering.

"All right, make your choice."

A choice?

What the hell kind of choice was that!

Kakashi glanced at Xia Yan out of the corner of his eye, but ultimately said nothing. He would let Xia Yan handle it however he liked.

Ultimately, the people before them were not Anbu. If they were, questioning them probably would not have been so easy.

Anbu ninja went on missions prepared to destroy themselves, and they all carried techniques that could completely dissolve their bodies.

Even Kakashi, who had only just joined the Anbu, had one, let alone someone like Xia Yan, who had spent so many years there.

Precisely because he knew these characteristics of the Anbu, Kakashi had deliberately checked after defeating this fellow. Only after confirming that he was not an Anbu member had Kakashi breathed a sigh of relief.

The next second, however, Kakashi's expression briefly froze before he unobtrusively went on guard.

He had clearly seen Xia Yan secretly give him a hand signal, one that meant, "Enemy attack. Stay alert."

More enemies?

They must be here to rendezvous with these fellows, right?

"Actually, even if you don't talk, I've already guessed who you really are."

As though he had done nothing at all, Xia Yan's voice remained gentle and calm.

"You're Sand Ninja. It really must have been hard for you to disguise yourselves as Stone Ninja. But you're pretty unlucky, too. You never expected us to discover you, did you?"

"You..."

Seemingly in response to Xia Yan's words, one of the Sand Ninja could not help lifting his head. His mouth opened slightly, but he did not continue.

Then the fellow even gave a cold sneer, seemingly disdainful of Xia Yan's intelligence gathering. In his view, this Konoha Anbu was simply fishing for information.

"Is that so strange?" Xia Yan shook his head slightly.

"Actually, we noticed your movements right from the start. Otherwise, we wouldn't be here.

"Did you think what your Sunagakure was doing was very secret?

"Don't be ridiculous. Now, your only option is to do as we say. At least one of you can still live."

Xia Yan spoke very calmly, looking as though he had a complete grasp of these people's movements. Even Kakashi thought Konoha had actually already obtained the intelligence.

In reality, however, Xia Yan was simply lying. As the squad captain, he naturally knew the Anbu's intelligence had actually come from the Land of Grass.

When great nations went to war, small nations suffered. The Land of Grass had always been the main battlefield between Konoha and Iwagakure, but it was impossible for there to be no operatives stationed there.

Konoha had already grown very weak, even though it still maintained Root or Anbu operatives in the major ninja villages.

But now, to avoid unnecessary conflicts and friction, those operatives had begun reducing their activity.

Small nations, however, were not included in those considerations, and activity there remained the same as before.

Ultimately, not every small nation was like the Land of Rain, producing someone like Hanzo of the Salamander.

Nor did every small nation have a place like Takigakure, which possessed the Seven-Tails despite not being one of the Five Great Nations.

So many foreign ninja suddenly appearing could not possibly escape Konoha's notice. Even without knowing where they came from, it was still possible to guess what they intended to do.

These two Sand Ninja clearly did not know any of this, however. Xia Yan's words had already left them rather bewildered.

Could their operation actually have been discovered while they were still in Sunagakure, prompting Konoha's Anbu to move out and intercept them?

"Looks like you still haven't made your decision." Xia Yan waited a while, and seeing that the two still had not moved, he chuckled. "Then I'll make the decision for you..."

"I'll start with... you!"

As his words fell, Xia Yan's figure suddenly vanished. In a mere instant, violent tremors came from the distance...