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After two days of sailing, the group finally reached the port of the Land of Honey. They temporarily docked the boat at the shore—it'd still be needed for the trip back. Just to be safe, Lujou set up a barrier around it to keep it from being stolen.
"Mmm, something smells amazing."A gentle breeze blew past, carrying a sweet scent that reached everyone's nose.
"That's the signature smell of the Land of Honey," Yamashin explained. "This country is famous for its honey production, and flowers with unique fragrances grow everywhere. Their scent mixes with the wind and just makes you feel good."
"Alright, now that we're here, the mission officially starts. This time, there's no backup, no supplies—our goal is to save an entire country," Lujou said, turning back to the team.
"Akio, your plan is solid, but you overlooked one thing," Lujou said as he looked over at Akio.
"What is it?" Akio asked, a bit confused. He thought he'd covered everything.
"Soldiers. Every country, no matter how small, has regular soldiers. Sure, they're useless against ninja, but there are a lot of them. If we end up going head-to-head with regular troops, getting away won't be easy."
"Soldiers?" Akio frowned. Since this was a ninja world, he had just assumed all combat forces were ninja. He hadn't thought about ordinary soldiers. That definitely complicated things.
"Actually, I did think about that while we were traveling," Akio replied with a dangerous smirk. "I've come up with a way to avoid the regular troops completely—and slowly chip away at the enemy's strength."
"Let's find a place to stay first," Lujou nodded. Better to settle in before going over the details.
"There's a cave nearby," said Yamashin. "I saw it back during our mountain training exam. Follow me."Everyone agreed, and he led the way. After a few hours of walking, they reached the entrance of the cave.
"Finally! We've been on the move for days, I'm exhausted," Miji said as they stepped inside and lit a fire.
"Yeah, same here, Your Highness," Yamashin nodded. He helped lay out the bedding Miji had brought with her. She always slept like this, while Akio and the others usually made do—sleeping on trees, on the ground, wherever.
"Alright Akio, let's hear the plan," Lujou said as he leaned against the cave wall. Everyone gathered around the fire, ready to listen.
"If the Land of Honey has really fallen, then they're probably broke—especially when it comes to ninja resources. War costs a ton—equipment, medical supplies, keeping civilians calm—it's all super expensive. Doesn't matter if it's a big or small country."
"Even though the Land of Paste has taken over the Land of Honey and they're sharing resources, it's still not enough. Both sides are bleeding supplies. They need money. And how do ninja make money? By doing missions," Akio explained.
"Just like us. Take missions, earn money."
"You're planning to post missions inside the Land of Honey and lure their ninja out bit by bit, aren't you?" Lujou asked with a grin, catching on to the idea.
Akio nodded with a smile. "Yeah. Think about it—if it's a mission to take down some bandits, they'll probably send a squad: one jōnin and three genin. If the mission fails and the squad disappears, they'll send more to investigate. And if those guys don't come back, eventually someone high-up will come to check it out."
"We just keep pulling their ninja out like that—and wipe them out one group at a time. Worst case scenario, we cut their numbers in half."
"Not a bad plan," Kai nodded in agreement.
"But for a small country like this, they wouldn't send jōnin for a simple bandit job. They've only got three jōnin and eight chūnin total. The most they'd probably send is one chūnin and three genin," Neji said, resting his chin on his hand.
"Usually, for bandit jobs, it's just five genin. But if it's an urgent situation, they might send two chūnin instead to finish faster," Yamashin added from the side.
"Makes sense." Akio nodded thoughtfully. "So the first thing we need to do is head into the village and figure out how many ninja they've actually got. Originally, this would've been perfect for Neji, but the Hyuga clan restricts him from using any non-clan jutsu—so no Transformation Jutsu. Plus, the Byakugan is way too easy to spot."
"That means I'll go. I'll use a transformation and sneak into Mitsuhana Village, try to get a handle on the current situation, post some fake missions, and stock up on supplies while I'm at it. We might be here a while."He glanced around at the team. Kai's whole squad was made up of taijutsu types—not exactly the right fit for this job. And he didn't want to bother Lujou with recon work either.
So yeah… in the end, he'd have to do it himself.
"If you're going into the village, be extra careful," Yamashin warned. "Even though we're talking about a small country, there are still sensor-type ninja around. If they detect that you're using a Transformation Jutsu, things could get really dangerous."
"Don't worry, I'll figure out a way to blend in," Akio nodded, then stood up.
"You're going now? Not gonna rest a bit?" Tiantian asked, watching him get ready.
"Nah, the sooner I get this done, the sooner we can go home. Honestly, I'm already missing Ichiraku Ramen." Akio stretched, yawned, and then walked out of the cave.
"You've got yourself a solid student there, Lujou," Kai said, watching him leave.
"Yeah, Akio's dependable," Lujou nodded. "But he's got one flaw—he's never suffered a real setback."
"Never suffered?" Kai blinked, confused. "How's that a flaw?"
Lujou sighed, shaking his head. "It's actually good to stumble a bit when you're young."
After leaving the cave, Akio made his way toward Mitsuhana Village. On the way there, he had already asked Yamashin for detailed directions and even drew a rough map of the village. So he knew exactly where he was going.
Eventually, Akio reached the outskirts of Mitsuhana Village. Compared to the Leaf Village, this place was way more rundown. Two ninja stood guard at the entrance, both looking pretty young—probably chūnin.
"....."