Corpses, Under My Protection

After dealing with the traces on the ground and the bones left behind by the Shikotsumyaku,

Qifeng collapsed onto the ground, not wanting to move at all.

As for the corpse of Tsuchi, the Iwagakure Jonin, he thought about it and ultimately stored it away.

Although Tsuchi's disappearing corpse might draw Orochimaru's attention and even bring some unnecessary trouble, he had no choice but to do so.

Tsuchi's corpse was covered in bone spikes. Rather than letting someone discover his Shikotsumyaku, it was better to leave no evidence behind.

This victory had been far too lucky.

But through actual combat, Qifeng had gained a more accurate understanding of his own strength.

The system judged him to be an experienced Chunin, but Qifeng felt that he possessed the immediate combat power of an Elite Chunin. If he fully activated his still-immature Shikotsumyaku and Single Tomoe Sharingan, he could roughly be considered a Special Jonin specializing in taijutsu.

If he caught an opponent off guard, he could seriously injure a Jonin.

At the same time, what pleased Qifeng most was the defense he gained after using the Shikotsumyaku.

As long as his opponent was not so fast that even his Sharingan could not track them, the Shikotsumyaku's defensive power was exceptional.

Defense.

It was very important.

With Tsuchi dealt with, the Tori Mori Outpost should be safe for the time being. But now that he was the only one left, no matter how exhausted he was, he could not fall asleep.

He could only force himself to stay awake and stare blankly at the ceiling.

Fortunately, stabs of pain still ran through his body from time to time, so Qifeng could not sleep even if he wanted to.

The moon set, and the sun rose.

It was not until the next day, when the sun hung high in the sky, that movement finally came from outside the Tori Mori Outpost again.

During the wait, in order to pass the time, Qifeng had no choice but to use up today's corpse-looting attempts again. Fortunately, Chunin corpses were scattered everywhere here, so the attempts had not gone to waste.

The things he obtained had not changed much. Six out of nine attempts succeeded, and he gained four attribute points, distributed between Chakra and Chakra Control. He also received a rather impractical ninjutsu. The rest were either ninja tools or miscellaneous junk.

Even so, the harvest was greater than what he obtained each day at the Morgue.

In terms of attributes alone, unless something unusual happened, he averaged around one or two points a day at the Morgue.

It was not much, but it was stable.

Beyond the border, he gained more things, but the danger had risen dramatically as well.

There were pros and cons to both.

But overall, the system Qifeng possessed was actually better suited to the battlefield.

Suited or not, he did not particularly like this kind of risky behavior.

As a keyboard warrior from the twenty-first century, the so-called shut-in others talked about, what he liked most was soda and an unchanging, stable life every day. Though he had no choice but to come to the Ninja World, that sort of personality could not be changed in a day or two.

I just want to be a law-abiding corpse collector. He silently reaffirmed his ideal once more.

Sitting amid the ruins and the piles of corpses, he looked utterly exhausted. Combined with the dried blood on his body, he looked miserable no matter how one looked at him.

Orochimaru and the others entered the command room with frowns.

They saw the mess covering the floor, as well as Qifeng's appearance.

Eleven had departed, but only five returned. Aside from Orochimaru, none of them looked much better than Qifeng.

More importantly, Nakamura Kenta, one of the three Jonin, was nowhere to be seen.

Gekko Naoki supported his badly injured companion, and there was a hint of admiration in his eyes as he looked at Qifeng.

The command room was already in ruins, but the area around the corpses was relatively clean and had not suffered much damage.

The clean corpses stood in stark contrast to the bedraggled Qifeng.

Unable to help himself, he sighed. "Not only did you protect Konoha's people, you also protected these fallen heroes of Konoha. Well done, Maruyama Qifeng!"

With only the scene before them, it was easy to piece together the rough course of events.

That was the essence of "start with one picture, make up the rest."

Following Gekko Naoki's words, Qifeng "struggled" to raise his head, clutching his chest as he declared melodramatically, "Konoha's corpses are under my protection!"

"Heh."

Orochimaru chuckled softly, licking his lips as he stared at him with burning eyes.

Feeling Orochimaru's intensely invasive gaze, Qifeng's body stiffened.

"Clean up and prepare to return." Orochimaru did not elaborate, merely giving a simple order.

"Yes!"

Within Konoha.

A meeting was being held in the conference room on the top floor of the Hokage Building. The entire atmosphere was extremely oppressive. Hiruzen Sarutobi sat at the head of the table, while Danzo sat to his left.

"The iwa-nin, suna-nin, and mist ninja have all been probing us without pause. Over the past week, they have coincidentally intensified their probing. I would like to ask everyone: do you have any good solutions?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi held a pipe between his lips, his eyes flickering as he spoke in a deep voice.

The ninjas present were all Konoha's finest. Hearing his words, they exchanged looks.

With war clearly becoming unavoidable, it seemed that nothing they did now could change the fact that it was about to arrive.

"I think we cannot take the initiative to attack. That would go against Konoha's principles."

An Elite Jonin could not help but speak.

Konoha prided itself on being a hidden village that longed for peace, and it had upheld that ideal for decades. For many ninjas, the first lesson they learned at the Ninja Academy was "peace."

They could not violate those ideals and principles for any reason. Otherwise, it would deal no small blow to the faith of Konoha Ninja.

Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded solemnly.

That was what he thought as well, and it was how he had acted.

Konoha was strong, but that strength was founded on unity. If their ideals diverged at a time like this, it would become a drain on Konoha's internal strength.

He glanced at Danzo, who sat upright beside him.

But there were also hawks within Konoha, though they were only a minority.

Between the choice of the minority and the majority, the answer was obvious.

"But we cannot show weakness either. Especially at a time like this, the more weakness we show, the more unscrupulous they will become. We must retaliate forcefully, make them wary, and prevent them from truly daring to start a war.

Although the trend toward war can no longer be stopped, the longer we delay it, the greater Konoha's advantage will be."

Konoha's advantage lay in its fertile land, something barren countries like the Land of Wind, Land of Earth, and Land of Water could not compare to.

Even if they only delayed for one day, Konoha's development during that day alone would surpass the Great Hidden Villages, increasing its advantage accordingly.

The speaker was Nara Shikaku, the head of the Nara Clan, an Elite Jonin, and also a Hokage Advisor. He was a steadfast supporter of the Hokage lineage.

"Shikaku, continue."

Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded approvingly. As Hokage, he had far more to consider than Danzo.

At that moment, the office doors were pushed open.

A figure who seemed to automatically lower the temperature of the meeting room walked in.

Orochimaru!

Seeing Orochimaru, Hiruzen Sarutobi smiled.

This disciple of his had never disappointed him.

"Orochimaru, you're back."

Orochimaru merely nodded. As he pulled over a chair in the corner, he handed a scroll to Hiruzen Sarutobi.

"Mission report."

Hiruzen Sarutobi slowly unrolled the scroll. His expression was initially grave, but as he read on, his brows gradually relaxed.

"In this battle, Konoha lost one Jonin and seven Chunin. Including the original guards of the Tori Mori Outpost, the total losses were four Jonin and sixteen Chunin."

At this, the atmosphere in the conference room became extremely heavy.

Jonin were Konoha's absolute main force, while Chunin were its backbone. These losses were no small matter.

Yet no one spoke. Danzo, the heads of the major clans, and the department chiefs within the conference room all wore dark, shifting expressions as they waited for what came next.