The Most Essential Restraint (Seeking Collection, Recommendation)

Qifeng returned to his residence.

In truth, he had nothing to prepare—everything he needed was already on him, whether it was ninja tools or Ration Pills. Over the past two months, he had obtained an incalculable amount, and he was confident that even if he went out for a month, he wouldn't starve.

The reason he came back was simply to use up today's corpse-touching attempts.

Ever since he learned his lesson last time, he generally saved three chances for the evening. If no special corpses were delivered, he'd just find an ordinary White Corpse to touch.

This mission outside might take several days to complete, so he wanted to use up all his attempts rather than waste them.

Even a mosquito's leg is still meat.

He didn't really want to leave Konoha, to leave the comfortable morgue, and just laze around forever—preferably not even being sent to the battlefield during the Third Great Ninja War.

But since this mission involved the bodies of Konoha Ninja, he wasn't as resistant to it.

He just hoped the mission would go as Hiruzen Sarutobi said, without any unexpected incidents.

After stowing away the item rewards and arriving at Konoha's Great Gate, Kakashi and the other two ninjas had already been waiting for a while.

"You're late," Kakashi said expressionlessly.

"Heh heh, sorry, sorry—I accidentally lost my way on the path of life," Qifeng explained with a simple grin, using Kakashi's future "famous quote."

"..."

Kakashi gave a cold snort and couldn't be bothered to dwell on the issue.

Qifeng was actually looking forward to seeing his expression change, and when he noticed Kakashi's slightly twitching eye, he shook his head inwardly.

No matter how much Kakashi pretended to be cold, he was still just a kid—a very talented kid.

"The mission is urgent. I'll explain the details on the way."

With that, after submitting the village exit permit, he dashed out first.

Qifeng and the other two followed closely behind.

Hiruzen Sarutobi had already briefly outlined the mission's general content, so their discussion focused more on getting to know each other.

Besides Kakashi, Qifeng gained a certain understanding of the other two ninjas.

The male, Ito Ki, was a Chunin and a sensory-type ninja who had worked with Kakashi on five missions.

The female, Imai Kuriyama, was a Genin and a Medical Ninja who had worked with Kakashi on three missions.

So, those who teamed up with Kakashi either couldn't stand his personality and work style and left, or died in battle.

Influenced by his father Hatake Sakumo—the Konoha White Fang—committing suicide, Kakashi had become a mission-obsessed fanatic. In his eyes, missions were above all else, and ninjas who couldn't complete them were worthless.

It was precisely because of this that Danzo felt the current Kakashi was more suited for Root, that he could help Kakashi perfectly unleash the darkness within.

But Hiruzen Sarutobi firmly believed that Kakashi's heart was still full of light, and just needed someone to open that window.

The sun set, and the moon rose.

Under the team of four's full-speed travel, they reached the eastern border of the Land of Fire.

"The closer we get to the border, the more dangerous it becomes. Ki, I'm leaving the sensing to you."

As the team leader, Kakashi began assigning tasks.

"Got it."

"Kuriyama, if a fight breaks out, try to avoid it as much as possible and find a chance to provide support."

"Understood."

After instructing the two, Kakashi glanced at Qifeng, whose expression was simple and honest, and pursed his lips. "You handle things as you see fit. If you can pin down one enemy, that's best."

"Sure thing."

Qifeng had no objections to that.

"I'll take the front line." Kakashi took on the toughest part without hesitation.

With a wave of his hand, they left the Land of Fire.

The group gradually slowed their pace, advancing while recovering their stamina.

Elsewhere.

In a forest within the Land of Hot Water, four Mist Ninja in dark ninja gear appeared abruptly.

"These Konoha Ninja sure can run. Even after being gravely wounded by Jinin Akebino-sama, they still made it to the shore."

"They're already on death's door, maybe even dead by now. Let's retrieve the intel and complete the mission."

"This intel must be important. If not for Suikazan Fuguki-sama's diversion, we'd probably be surrounded by Konoha's forces by now."

Several Mist Ninja stood on the treetops, bantering with each other, seemingly unbothered by entering the Land of Hot Water.

After all, while the Land of Hot Water had decent land area, the strength of the Hidden Mist Village was truly unremarkable across the ninja world.

"Shut up!"

A Mist Ninja crouched on a tree, wiping a longsword, stood up and spoke, and the others immediately fell silent.

The gleaming blade reflected a chilling light under the moonlight.

Clang!

The long blade slid into its sheath.

His eyes were filled with a chilling severity as he said in a low voice, "Find those Konoha ninja, retrieve the intelligence, and leave."

Given the current state of relations between Konoha and Kirigakure, if they were discovered, they might never make it back.

If not for Suikazan Fuguki holding off the Konoha ninja, their operation wouldn't have gone so smoothly.

"Finding them won't be hard. I can smell that blood from miles away."

"Heh, when it comes to blood, Konoha's got nothing on us."

"It's here!"

In a secluded tree hollow, four figures appeared.

They were Qifeng and his group.

They stared at the tree hollow, expressions complicated.

On the outside of the hollow, a faint, obscure special mark was carved—one that every Konoha ninja received when dispatched on a mission. This mark was also part of the intelligence they had obtained.

Ito Ki shook his head grimly.

Seeing his reaction, the others' faces grew even darker.

He was already dead.

Kakashi stepped forward, dismantled several traps set outside the hollow, and entered. Inside, he found the bodies of three Konoha ninja.

"Qifeng, your turn."

Hearing this, Qifeng stepped inside as well.

Three ninja corpses, drenched in blood, lay in pools of gore. Their bodies were covered in blade wounds, several of them fatal.

To have fled from Kirigakure all the way to the Land of Hot Water with injuries like that was already the limit of what they could do.

Qifeng also noticed faint yellow and green lights flickering over their bodies.

It was a squad composed entirely of jonin and chunin, likely all skilled in perception and stealth—otherwise, infiltrating Kirigakure wouldn't have been easy.

At the same time, Qifeng noticed that one of the chunin bore the Uchiha Clan's Flame Fan emblem on his uniform.

"Someone's here!"

Before he could seal the bodies away, Ito Ki outside the hollow shouted immediately.

Qifeng's expression shifted. Without time to think, he quickly pulled out a Sealing Scroll and stored the three corpses.

He carefully stepped out of the hollow to find Kakashi and the other two on high alert.

"Got them?" Kakashi asked in a low voice.

Qifeng simply nodded.

"Move!"

Without hesitation, the four turned and fled.

Their mission was to retrieve the bodies, not to engage enemy ninja head-on. Now that they had the corpses, retreating to the Land of Fire's border would mean safety.

Swish! Swish! Swish!

But they hadn't gone far before several sharp gusts of wind shot toward them from behind, accompanied by high-speed spinning Shuriken that cut off their landing points.

They were forced to stop.

Standing on the ground, they pressed their backs together, guarding against a sudden strike.

Shwip!

Four Mist Ninja figures stood on the surrounding trees, their cold gazes locking onto them.

No words were exchanged, no negotiations made. When ninja from different villages met, there was only one process: battle.

Until one side was completely dead, it wasn't over.

"Fight!"

Kakashi made the call instantly. Without waiting for a response, he shot forward at incredible speed.

Ito Ki and Imai Kuriyama followed close behind. They needed to create an opening for Qifeng to break out of the encirclement.

"Heh, just a bunch of Konoha brats."

Kusaribe Yamato chuckled lightly. Facing the charging Kakashi, he unhurriedly drew his ninja blade.

But the next second, his expression changed.

Kakashi's speed surged. Gripping the White Fang blade, he turned into a flash of silver light, killing intent erupting abruptly. He clearly intended to exploit the Mist Ninja's arrogance and take one down fast.

But fast as he was, someone else was just as quick. A Mist Ninja wielding a long blade blocked his path—the squad leader, Tsukishiro Shin'ya.

He stared at the White Fang in Kakashi's hand, his expression brimming with excitement. "So you're the son of White Fang? The Konoha prodigy?"

At the same time, Ito Ki and Imai Kuriyama clashed with the other Mist Ninja in an instant.

Of course, Qifeng was no exception.

What greeted him was the Mist Ninja that Kakashi had just tried to kill, his face twisted in a vicious grin.

"Didn't expect a bunch of Leaf brats to have some skill."

"You're not bad yourself." Qifeng squared up.

Hearing the compliment, Kusaribe Yamato's smile grew unrestrained.

"The Blood Mist isn't like your Leaf—"

Before he could finish, he saw Qifeng unhesitatingly leap backward, running away faster than anything.

"Damn it!"

Kakashi had said it—he didn't need to do anything, just hold one off if possible.

This was the essence of holding someone off.