Ninja Strength Division (Seeking Collection, Recommendation)

Another week passed, and Qifeng once again settled into a stable, comfortable, and laid-back life.

Every day, he repaired corpses and looted them, with a few extra tasks added to the mix.

For example, listening to Asuma's complaints—lately, Kurenai Yuhi had been giving him strange looks, her words less intimate than before, as if a layer of distance had formed between them.

To this, Qifeng naturally kept silent, at most flicking a lighter for Asuma when he pulled out a cigarette.

Then there was Might Guy's daily cleaning routine, combined with Qifeng's Single Tomoe Sharingan, which somehow kept the Morgue—a place steeped in filth—spotlessly clean around the clock. This satisfied his cleanliness obsession immensely.

And then there were Obito and Kakashi, that pair of natural rivals. They always seemed to show up here at the same time, intentionally or not. The usually aloof Kakashi couldn't help but shoot cold, sarcastic glances at Obito whenever they met.

Obito never won their exchanges, but he refused to back down, losing battle after battle yet fighting on each time.

Before he knew it, Qifeng's remote and desolate Morgue had gained so many visitors dropping by.

This troubled him greatly, as he felt his leisurely afternoons spent basking in the sun were always disrupted for one reason or another.

Also, Kakashi had applied to Hiruzen Sarutobi to disband his Chunin squad. For some unknown reason, he had joined Yūhi Kurenai's Chunin Training Camp, where he made a name for himself, seemingly dominating the camp's top spot.

After that, Kurenai had sought him out several times, but Qifeng always brushed him off with various excuses, sending him away empty-handed.

He just couldn't figure out why Kurenai was so persistent with him.

Probably because he couldn't stand seeing Qifeng live such an idle, lazy life. As a fellow smoking buddy, he wanted to try and save him.

Daytime life was always simple, unadorned, and fulfilling.

At night, when it was quiet and deep, besides handling corpses and looting them for rewards, Qifeng had added some new activities.

Training, sensing, and mastering the changes brought by Shikotsumyaku and the Single Tomoe Sharingan, along with trying to integrate these two abilities into his own combat style.

He didn't lack combat experience.

A single Jonin Experience Card and a single Quasi-Kage Experience Card—even if he only learned a little from each, they benefited him greatly.

But their experiences couldn't just be swallowed whole by Qifeng.

After all, they didn't have Kekkei Genkai, Sharingan, or Shikotsumyaku.

Moreover, their fighting styles were completely different.

These were things he had to summarize and organize himself, combining them with his own actual situation to find the combat style that best suited him.

Currently, Qifeng's strength, according to the system's rigid evaluation, still ranked at the Chunin level.

But through his recent interactions with Kakashi, Kurenai, and others, Qifeng had more accurately assessed his own strength.

Without using Shikotsumyaku or the Sharingan, he barely qualified as a seasoned Chunin—the kind with rich combat experience and a variety of techniques.

But once he activated Shikotsumyaku and the Sharingan, he estimated his strength could at least rival a Special Jonin, specifically one skilled in taijutsu.

If he could catch someone off guard with a sudden burst, killing a weaker Jonin wasn't out of the question.

A Jonin was barely enough to have some self-preservation ability in a place like Konoha, not dying at the whims of others' schemes.

The ranking of ninja levels didn't have a clear standard. The evaluation of Genin, Chunin, Jonin, and even Kage-level varied depending on the environment, era, and individuals or circumstances.

Take Qifeng himself, for example. Before obtaining the system, he was just an ordinary Genin. Aside from the Three Basic Jutsu and basic kunai throwing, he had no strengths and could barely use any other ninjutsu.

In fact, most ninjas from ordinary backgrounds who graduated from the Ninja Academy were like this, except for a rare few geniuses who were slightly different.

After all, the Ninja Academy's education was standardized and rigid. Standing out from it was itself a filter for talent.

Then came the team assignments with different squad leaders, which truly separated ordinary ninjas from talented ones.

This was why the Uchiha Clan always ranked at the top of the Ninja Academy, known as a clan "teeming with geniuses."

In truth, it wasn't just the Uchiha Clan. The Hyuga Clan, the Hatake Clan, the Sarutobi Clan—disciples of all the major clans were like this, because they had greater innate advantages and learned more than the Ninja Academy taught.

Of course, Obito was an exception.

Promotions in ninja rank were also vague.

Promotion from Genin to Chunin, during peacetime, often went through the Chunin Exams in a three-person team format, which was a relatively thorough method.

But once war broke out and wartime mode was activated, even a commander stationed in one area had the authority to promote a Genin to Chunin.

At that point, the gap between Genin and Chunin wasn't so clear.

Still, no matter what, a vague standard that everyone recognized did exist.

For example.

A ninja who could perform E-rank or D-rank ninjutsu, or use their own Kekkei Genkai, and had some skill with ninja tools and taijutsu, could be considered meeting the Genin standard.

A ninja who could perform a dozen or more C-rank ninjutsu could be considered a Chunin.

If a Chunin had developed one area—whether ninjutsu, taijutsu, genjutsu, Fuinjutsu, Sensory Ninjutsu, Summoning Ninjutsu, Disguise Ninjutsu, or even Kekkei Genkai—to the Jonin level, they could be considered a Special Jonin.

A ninja who could perform multiple B-rank ninjutsu and was proficient in one of genjutsu, taijutsu, or ninjutsu, or had developed their Kekkei Genkai to a certain degree, could be considered a Jonin.

As for Kage-level, it was a very vague concept. It was essentially a broad term derived to distinguish the village's strongest few ninjas from other Jonin.

So in different eras, the concept of Kage-level also changed.

Qifeng had made his judgment based on the current period and Konoha's ninja structure.

If war broke out now and he fully revealed his strength without holding back, it wouldn't be impossible for him to be promoted to Jonin by special exception.

Only because the strength of Shikotsumyaku combined with the Sharingan was something others couldn't even imagine.

These things

he actually didn't care much about.

A comfortable life, a pleasant pace, and a steady but not too slow improvement in strength—that was the ultimate enjoyment for him.

However, while his pace was slow, the entire shinobi world had entered an era of astonishing leaps forward.

Then one day.

Qifeng was once again called to the office by Hiruzen Sarutobi.

But unlike last time, this time the office held not only the Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, and the advisor Danzo, but also a heavyweight.

Hiruzen Sarutobi's most accomplished disciple, one of the renowned Sannin—Orochimaru the Cold-Blooded!