Inherited Headband (Seeking Collection, Recommendation, Monthly Votes)

"Going out was dangerous, but the haul is really high."

Looking at the fully packed morgue, Qifeng, with bandages wrapped around his arm, had never felt such satisfaction.

The satisfaction of a room filled with corpses.

If a normal person knew he had this kind of hobby, they'd probably keep their distance.

This guy's not normal—he actually likes being around dead bodies.

If Qifeng ever got a girlfriend, a wife, she might even ask, "Do you love me more, or the corpses more?!"

And Qifeng's answer might drive her crazy: "The corpses."

No help for it. Corpses, especially those of strong people, were his guarantee of surviving safely in this world.

If you can't even manage to stay alive, what's the point of talking about love or romance?

"Wait a minute."

Qifeng's eyes shifted as he suddenly realized something. "Even if I don't go to the front lines, the bodies of dead ninjas would still be shipped to me, right?"

Hold on.

"But during this past period, the number of bodies sent here has clearly dropped a lot, especially Jonin corpses—whether Konoha's or from other villages."

He slowly rubbed his chin.

"That means someone's deliberately intercepting these corpses, or else Konoha has some other unknown place that disposes of them in a special way."

Gradually, Qifeng seemed to understand a few things, his expression shifting between dark and bright.

After a moment, he lowered his head with a sigh, pulled out a cigarette, and lit it.

Ever since Might Guy had taken over cleaning the morgue, it had been spotless every day—so spotless that Qifeng didn't know how to keep assigning him tasks.

So he could only "reluctantly" add a bit more difficulty.

He blew out a smoke ring.

"Forget it, this kind of thing isn't something I can meddle in. Anyway, casualties probably won't be light in the coming period."

Rubbing his hands together, he shifted his focus back to the row of Jonin corpses laid out before him.

All Yellow Corpses. Counting carefully, eleven in total!

Eleven!

Including the seven Iwa Jonin killed by Orochimaru and the others, the fallen Konoha Jonin, and the Jonin retrieved from Tori Mori Outpost.

Among them was one Yellow Corpse Qifeng had already touched, leaving ten.

But he also had to count the Iwa Jonin Tsuchi, whom he had personally killed.

No matter how he tallied it, it was still eleven!

Plus the Chunin corpses, the Green Corpses, totaling thirty-six!

Jackpot!

Qifeng's eyes sparkled with stars; he really couldn't suppress his racing heart and trembling hands.

The only pity now was that there were too many corpses, and his daily attempts were limited.

He probably wouldn't finish touching them all before the families came to claim them.

"Start with the Jonin. Minimize the losses as much as possible."

Among these corpses, there were no special bloodline clan members.

Start with the Konoha ninjas. The Iwa-nin corpses wouldn't be claimed anyway, so they'd probably stay in the morgue for a long time.

Yellow Corpse, success rate thirty percent. Touch corpse? (This round 3/3, today 9/9)

Yes!

Every corpse touch was always thrilling, no matter the corpse's level.

Failure!

Success! Obtained Shadow Clone Jutsu Ninjutsu Card!

Failure!

Finally!

Qifeng felt tears welling up in his eyes.

He'd finally gotten the Shadow Clone Jutsu!

The first external cheat in this Naruto World!

Though Qifeng didn't have a high need for the Shadow Clone Jutsu—since he basically didn't train, relying mainly on corpse-touching for power boosts—he knew his talent was extremely mediocre, and training was just a waste of time.

But even in actual combat, the Shadow Clone Jutsu was incredibly useful.

As a B-rank Ninjutsu, the Shadow Clone Jutsu wasn't as insane as the A-rank forbidden technique Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu, but it had the advantage of being safer.

Continue!

Yellow Corpse, success rate 30%. Proceed with looting? (Current 3/3, Daily 6/9)

Yes!

Failure!

Failure!

Success! Obtained a random single-attribute +3 Boost Card!

Simple, but also the most practical.

What Qifeng lacks the most right now is basic attributes.

If he could raise his basic attributes to Jōnin level and further develop Shikotsumyaku and the Sharingan, he might be able to go toe-to-toe with ordinary Quasi-Kage level fighters.

Third corpse.

Success! Obtained a random single-attribute +3 Boost Card!

Failure!

Success! Obtained "Inherited Headband"!

Another special item!

This round of looting was fairly average—same as when he looted White Corpses, nothing too surprising.

The only difference was that the White Corpse had turned into a Yellow Corpse, making the loot slightly more valuable.

Six attribute points—that was about five or six days' worth of his usual haul.

Use Ninjutsu Card. Use Boost Card.

Successfully learned Shadow Clone Jutsu!

Illusion +3!

Body +3!

He really was heading further down the path of a Taijutsu monster.

He pulled up his attribute panel and clicked on the "Inherited Headband" item info.

Name: Inherited Headband (Upgradable) Level: Level 1 Description: This is the legacy of a ninja, imbued with the will of generations. Effect: When worn, Body +2; Spirit +2. Side Effect: The Will of Fire's inheritance is unstoppable. Wearing it will subtly increase your sense of belonging to Konoha. Note: The key to accepting or rejecting it lies in your attitude.

!!

An upgradable piece of equipment!

This was the first time Qifeng had ever seen gear that could be upgraded.

The base stats added up to +4, but the attribute types were excellent—Body and Chakra, the very foundation of a ninja's abilities.

The real point, though, was the "upgradable" part.

Qifeng weighed the headband in his hand. Its current stats might seem mediocre, but anyone with half a brain knew what "upgradable" meant.

Limitless potential, a bright future—a true future warrior.

Pulling something this good from a single Yellow Corpse was an absolute steal, a massive profit.

The only thing Qifeng couldn't figure out was how to actually upgrade this headband.

Did he have to die and pass it on to someone else for it to level up?

By the time that happened, it wouldn't have much to do with him anymore—he'd be dead, so why would he care about leveling up or looking cool?

Then there was the side effect.

Subtly increasing the wearer's sense of belonging to Konoha?

Were you sent by that old monkey Hiruzen Sarutobi to recruit me?

Finally, Qifeng had one more complaint—why was it just a headband? Why not a ninja sword or some other weapon?

This infinitely upgradable piece of gear had absolutely no style.

Looking at the headband, it didn't even have the metallic sheen of a new one. In fact, there were faint, mottled bloodstains on the cloth strap.

Ah, forget it. A man should know when to be content. Can't ask for too much.

It's not cool, but it's still pretty practical.

Qifeng untied his original headband and put on the "Inherited Headband."

Instantly, he could feel a strange energy emanating from it.

And, inexplicably, he found Konoha so wonderful. He hoped he could keep lying low there forever.

"So this is the side effect?"

The impact wasn't very significant, and the sensation wasn't particularly clear.

Qifeng didn't see it as much of a problem.

After all, he wasn't in Konoha right now—it wasn't like he could just run off and become a missing-nin.

At this point, Konoha was the safest place in the entire shinobi world.

Besides, the headband only made him feel a stronger sense of belonging to Konoha; it didn't mean he had to become a die-hard loyalist to Hiruzen Sarutobi or Danzo.

They didn't represent the whole of Konoha.

Qifeng had cleverly found a loophole in this piece of equipment.

At the same time, as he equipped it, his Taijutsu stat finally broke through the 50-point mark!

Towering above the rest of his attributes.

Chakra also became the second stat to break through 30 points.

And the system gave him a prompt as well.

Comprehensive evaluation upgraded—Elite Chunin!

Character: Maruyama Qifeng

Age: 13

Affinities: Fire, Earth

Strength: Elite Chunin

Kekkei Genkai: Shikotsumyaku (Intermediate), Sharingan (Single Tomoe)

Body: 50

Energy: 30

Ninjutsu: 25

Genjutsu: 23

Control: 28

Seals: 25

Taijutsu: Flowing Water Sword Technique

Ninjutsu: Three Basic Jutsu, Fire Release: Great Flame Flower, Earth Release: Rock Concealment Technique, Earth Release: Earth Shore Return, Fire Release: Flame Bullet, Water Release: Water Prison Wall, Wind Release: Great Breakthrough, Shadow Clone Jutsu

Items: Kaseki's Obsession, Inherited Headband (Equipped)

From now on, aside from his daily routine of acquiring some jutsu and stats from corpses, Qifeng felt he also needed to do some training.

His main focus was on Shikotsumyaku.

He had never developed the abilities of Shikotsumyaku before, so he couldn't fully bring out its power.

Even though his talent was average, developing a Kekkei Genkai's abilities had nothing to do with talent—it was all about the mind.

Qifeng figured that if there was one thing he had, it was a decent brain.