A Shower

To be honest, Qifeng hadn't really wanted to make a move. He had only wanted to quietly collect the bodies, then go back to sleep.

He had no desire to get involved in this filthy, ridiculous mess.

But the situation now was that even if he wanted to leave, these mist ninja wouldn't let him.

As long as someone was human, they had a temper to some extent.

The mist ninja had provoked him again and again, and his temper was beginning to rise as well.

He had completely forgotten how he had targeted the mist ninja during the first round of the exam.

Besides, they had already pointed their weapons right at his nose. If he really did nothing—

He wouldn't feel right, and his thoughts wouldn't flow smoothly.

And if his thoughts didn't flow smoothly, he would have trouble sleeping at night.

For a more comfortable night's sleep, he was forced to retaliate a little.

Fortunately, the mist ninja had already removed all the nearby surveillance equipment, so there was nothing to worry about.

After repeatedly confirming that there were no dangerous angles, Qifeng slowly drew the long blade at his waist. One hand gently brushed over its edge, as though wiping the blade clean.

But in the next instant, the rock beneath his feet exploded. With a puff, his entire body turned into smoke and vanished.

Kisame Hoshigaki's expression changed. Without hesitation, he leaped backward while rapidly forming hand seals, then pressed both hands downward in midair.

"Water Style! Water Shark Bomb Technique!"

Splash!

Ripples spread across the pooled water covering the cave floor. Several sharks formed from Water Streams lunged toward Qifeng, their savage, sharp jaws gleaming coldly as though they intended to tear him to pieces.

Yet Qifeng moved like flowing water, gently and imperceptibly dodging every shark's attack.

Without sufficient speed and sharp enough dynamic vision, such an act—like dancing on the edge of a blade—would result in being devoured by the sharks with the slightest mistake.

Flowing Water Sword Technique!

His figure abruptly appeared at the side of a mist ninja. The familiar stance and sword technique made the mist ninja freeze in astonishment.

How did the other party know their mist ninja sword technique?

"Damn it."

In the instant he was distracted, his hair stood on end.

The Mist Genin's face changed drastically, terror flashing through his eyes. He had never expected himself to become the other party's first target.

What shocked him even more was how a completely unknown corpse collector could suddenly erupt with such speed.

Combined with the Flowing Water Sword Technique, Qifeng's movements became elusive and ever-changing. In the blink of an eye, he was already beside him.

The Mist Genin hurriedly drew a kunai and swung it toward Qifeng's blade.

Qifeng's gaze was calm. The muscles in his right arm holding the long blade bulged instantly. He abandoned the Flowing Water Sword Technique, which was gentle enough but lacked strength, and brought down a brutal slash filled with raw force.

Clang!

A silver line fell from above, passing through the kunai and sweeping across the mist ninja. In a single flash, the thunderous assault vanished, returning everything to silence.

The Mist Genin's body stiffened in place. He struggled to turn his eyes toward Qifeng before him and opened his mouth to say something. Then a red line abruptly appeared between his brows, blood seeping out as his body toppled backward onto the ground amid splashing water.

It had happened too quickly, so quickly that the few mist ninja had not even had time to react.

What was even harder for them to accept was that their companion, who also possessed Chunin-level strength, had failed to withstand even a single strike from Qifeng, an inconspicuous corpse collector.

This was an absolute gap in power. There were no flashy moves, no dazzling ninjutsu—just one slash.

Qifeng, however, was not surprised.

What a joke.

Although the system currently rated him as an Elite Chunin, he knew very well that he had earned that rating entirely through his taijutsu attribute, forcibly raising his overall evaluation.

If the other attributes dragging him down were excluded, his taijutsu, combined with the body he had gained after awakening the Shikotsumyaku, might not even be inferior to that of an ordinary Jonin.

Of course, that was only taijutsu.

But it was more than enough to deal with these mist ninja who had only just reached Chunin-level strength.

"I'm just a corpse collector. You really don't need to go to such lengths for me. It isn't worth it."

Standing beside the corpse, Qifeng flicked the blood from his blade and spoke indifferently.

He glanced at Kisame Hoshigaki again, then casually crouched down and collected the corpse from the ground, continuing with his actual job.

Kisame Hoshigaki watched Qifeng from afar. He was no longer as composed as before, and the slight curve of his lips had stiffened somewhat.

He signaled another mist ninja with his eyes.

The mist ninja instantly understood.

The two formed hand seals at the same time.

"Water Style! Great Waterfall Technique!"

"Water Style! Great Shark Bullet Technique!"

The two Water Style Ninjutsu combined. Surging tides swept through the small cave, while an enormous, terrifying shark swished its tail and shot through the water at incredible speed, leading the flood forward.

Qifeng frowned slightly.

After repeatedly using Water Style Ninjutsu, they had successfully transformed this cave into the most suitable battlefield for mist ninja. Unrestricted in their Chakra usage, they had created an excessively massive water stream.

Using the cover of the water stream, Qifeng closed and opened his eyes.

A flash of scarlet suddenly appeared in his eyes. The rapidly spinning black Single Tomoe seemed on the verge of becoming a complete circle.

As his eyes shifted from side to side—

He finally found that tiny opening amid the rushing water and ferocious shark.

He immediately deactivated the Sharingan.

His dynamic vision disappeared, but he had already locked onto that opening.

Flowing Water Sword Technique!

Water could merge with water.

Strands of water stream spiraled around Qifeng's body as he charged headlong into the tide.

Qifeng's figure could vaguely be seen swallowed by the waves as the shark in the water tore at him wildly.

The other mist ninja quietly let out a breath of relief.

"It's over."

Kisame Hoshigaki, beside him, was just about to say something when his eyes narrowed. He glanced at the mist ninja beside him, then looked toward the dark unknown distance. His body retreated, slowly disappearing into the water stream.

"Is it?"

The voice that suddenly rang out in the next second made the mist ninja's pupils contract violently. A terrifying feeling instantly flooded his mind.

He tried to react, but it was too late.

Splat!!

Blood sprayed everywhere.

The mist ninja's head flew from his neck in an instant. Even in the eyes of the severed head lay terror and disbelief.

Clang!

Qifeng's soaked figure slowly emerged.

Frowning as he looked around, he could not help clicking his tongue. "As expected of Kisame Hoshigaki."

Kisame was formidable, but that was in the future. At present, he had yet to fully realize his talent.

Without Samehada, Kisame Hoshigaki was not the true Kisame Hoshigaki.

"He ran pretty fast."

Qifeng did not possess sufficient sensory ability, so he had no idea where Kisame had gone.

He silently took out a completely soaked cigarette.

"Tch."

Scorching heat rose from his palm, drying the cigarette.

Though it remained somewhat shriveled and twisted after drying, it was at least smokeable. He lit it.

A cigarette after the deed was better than a living immortal.

He took a deep drag, collected the still-warm mist ninja corpse from the ground, then slowly turned around to face the rapidly approaching Konoha support team.

The reason Kisame Hoshigaki had left without hesitation was also because of their arrival.

The Konoha support team appeared before Qifeng. The leader looked at him and asked in a low voice, "What happened?"

Qifeng waved a hand. "Nothing. It was hot, so I took a shower."

"..."

"Where are the mist ninja?"

"What mist ninja? I don't know."

"..."

Although he had failed to kill Kisame Hoshigaki, Qifeng believed Kisame was not an idiot. He would not publicize the fact that their mist ninja had surrounded Qifeng, only to suffer a crushing defeat and flee.

So long as Qifeng said nothing and Kisame said nothing, no one would know.

Besides, wasn't it common sense for a Chunin Examiner to defeat Genin examinees?

Slowly exhaling a smoke ring, he said, "Gentlemen, if there's nothing else, I'll be leaving first."

He waved his hand and disappeared into the cave, leaving behind several Konoha Ninja who were at a complete loss.