Qifeng silently led the mist ninja squad that Kisame Hoshigaki was part of toward the designated entrance.
Every second, he felt as though thorns were pressing against his back.
It was as if a shark had caught the scent of blood and locked onto him.
The feeling was deeply unpleasant, making Qifeng want to turn around immediately and smash every one of that shark's teeth.
But his identity prevented him from doing so.
He could only pull out a cigarette and smoke by himself.
Soon.
They reached the designated entrance.
"This is it."
He stepped aside, leaving the entrance for them.
The three mist ninja gave him a long look. Kisame Hoshigaki, walking at the rear, even bared his sharp shark teeth and smiled at him.
Qifeng's heart tightened slightly, but he said nothing.
Not until the three figures had completely vanished into the dark cave.
"Kisame Hoshigaki's corpse... that's a little tempting," Qifeng muttered.
Though Kisame Hoshigaki was still young and had not yet become one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, nor had he obtained the boost of Samehada.
Kisame Hoshigaki with Samehada was the true Tailless Tailed Beast. Their pairing could be said to be the most suitable among all the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist.
But that did not stop Qifeng from coveting his body. His corpse.
The reason Kisame Hoshigaki had been able to snatch Samehada from Suikazan Fuguki was not merely his strength and Uchiha Obito's help. It was also because, to Samehada, his Chakra tasted better.
Kisame Hoshigaki looked frightening, but in return, heaven had bestowed upon him some rather unique traits.
He could contain an enormous amount of Chakra, and after spending a long time with Samehada, he had even gained a certain ability to absorb Chakra.
If he could obtain his corpse, perhaps he could figure out this special physique.
Rubbing his chin, he muttered, "Orochimaru should be quite interested in a body like this. Should I tell him?"
After thinking it over, he decided against it.
"Forget it. I'd better behave myself. You can't chew more than you can swallow. It's already good enough if I can thoroughly study the Shikotsumyaku and the Sharingan."
Do not provoke Orochimaru.
He was afraid of him.
He pulled out another cigarette and leisurely headed for the Morgue.
His task in the second round was to collect corpses, but he did not need to wait in the Terrifying Cave every day. He only had to come collect them once every other day. Right now, he needed to go back and get some proper sleep.
It had been a long time since he had gotten up so early.
For the current Qifeng, nothing was more pleasant than getting up at noon, taking a bath, then sitting in his favorite sunny spot and basking in the sunlight.
A box of harsh, pungent tobacco.
A poorly written, clumsy Shinobi World novel.
With the crowd in the distance, awakened since morning and now fully bustling, he watched people come and go, struggling for their livelihoods, while he stole half a day of leisure just one district away.
This, perhaps, was what life truly tasted like.
It had truly been difficult to carve out such a peaceful patch of land in the Shinobi World.
That was why Qifeng cherished his current job.
"If no one disturbed me, it would probably be even more comfortable."
He glanced at Might Guy, who was frantically cleaning the Morgue, feeling somewhat helpless.
He changed into another Ge You Lie pose.
"If there were no wars, the Shinobi World would actually be a pretty good place to retire."
He was probably the only one who could think of retiring in the Shinobi World.
Leisurely time always passed so quickly.
Evening.
He arrived at the central monitoring room of the Terrifying Cave.
Inside were not only Konoha's higher-ups, but also leading Jonin from every major Hidden Village. Every one of them was a renowned powerhouse in the Shinobi World.
Qifeng's arrival seemed utterly insignificant and drew little attention.
Only Nara Chuichi noticed him and waved him over.
Qifeng walked to his side and asked in a low voice, "What is it?"
The atmosphere in this monitoring room was a little too terrifying. Compared to it, the horror inside the Terrifying Cave was nothing.
Nara Chuichi gave a bitter smile. "The situation isn't looking good. Konoha's Genin are being targeted."
Wasn't that expected?
Qifeng did not find it surprising at all.
The current situation across the Shinobi World was that every Great Hidden Village was watching Konoha with restless ambition. They had agreed to participate in these Chunin Exams only because no village wanted to be the first to stick its neck out and suffer Konoha's frenzied retaliation, nor did they want to make wedding clothes for someone else.
Of course, the major Hidden Villages did not trust one another either, and that was another major reason.
Otherwise, Konoha would have been destroyed long ago.
Still, Qifeng thought that Konoha launching these Chunin Exams before the war broke out was a good move.
It could probe the intentions of the other villages while displaying Konoha's strength to deter them. Even if it could not stop the war, delaying it for a while and giving Konoha more time to catch its breath would be excellent.
The plan was a good one, but it meant Konoha's Genin were bound to suffer frenzied attacks.
Because the villages wanted even more to probe Konoha's limits.
So, since that was the plan, a serious situation was inevitable.
But he could not show an overly unusual expression, so he continued asking, "Is it difficult?"
Nara Chuichi nodded. "Kisame Hoshigaki of the mist ninja, Baki of the suna-nin, and Darui of the Kumo-nin are all very strong. They absolutely possess the strength of Chunin or even stronger. Those villages came thoroughly prepared."
"Konoha didn't?" Qifeng was somewhat surprised.
That should not have been possible, right?
This was Konoha. How could they have made no preparations at all?
Leaving aside Hiruzen Sarutobi, that old schemer Danzo would definitely stop at nothing for Konoha's dignity.
At this, Nara Chuichi's expression improved slightly. "Elder Danzō sent people."
Then it was fine.
Danzo would not sit by and watch ninjas from other villages run wild in Konoha. Danzo definitely had that much ability.
He might not be good at doing things openly and honorably, but when it came to schemes and underhanded tricks, he was absolutely a master.
"But Konoha has already lost fifteen Genin." Nara Chuichi sounded regretful.
"So many?"
No wonder the atmosphere in the monitoring room was so cold.
"Then why do they also look so miserable?" Qifeng gestured with his chin.
He pointed at Suikazan Fuguki, the leading Jonin of the mist ninja, Dodai, the leading Jonin of the Kumo-nin, and Rasa, the leading Jonin of the suna-nin.
"Because their people have started fighting too." Nara Chuichi shrugged.
Qifeng raised a brow. "Glad to hear it."
Things were not as troublesome as he had imagined.
Ninjas fought and killed as a matter of course.
He even felt that the first and third rounds of the Chunin Exams were unnecessary. They should have gone straight to the second round and fought to the death.
They were about to go to war anyway, so why bother with all this pointless nonsense?
But those were things the big shots needed to worry about. He had his own task now.
"Then I'll go?"
Nara Chuichi nodded. "Be careful."
"Of course."
He valued his own life more than anyone present, but he did not believe these Genin would attack a Chunin Examiner like him.
There was no need. There was nothing in it for them.
Leaving the monitoring room that made him uncomfortable, he entered the Terrifying Cave through the door downstairs. Holding a detailed map, he saw that it clearly marked the locations of the corpses.
Corpse collector, collecting corpses online.
First was a group of Konoha Genin. Their deaths had been clean and efficient, all of them killed by a single slash across the throat. It was probably either the mist ninja or the Kumo-nin.
He silently mourned for them for three minutes.
He put away the corpses and immediately headed for the next area.
So many had died in just half a day. His workload was heavy.
Before you continue