Took a Shower (Seeking Collection, Recommendation, Monthly Votes)

To be honest, Qifeng didn't really feel like fighting. He just wanted to quietly collect the corpse and go back to sleep.

He had no desire to get involved in these filthy, troublesome affairs.

But as things stood, even if he wanted to leave, these Mist Ninja wouldn't let him.

Everyone had their limits, after all.

With the Mist Ninja provoking him again and again, his temper was starting to flare.

He'd completely forgotten about how he'd targeted them during the first round of exams.

Besides, now they had their blades pointed right at his nose. If he didn't do something about it, he wouldn't feel at ease, and his thoughts wouldn't flow smoothly.

Unsettled thoughts made it hard to sleep well at night.

For the sake of a more comfortable night's rest, he was forced to retaliate.

Fortunately, the Mist Ninja had already dismantled the nearby surveillance, so he didn't have to worry about that.

After triple-checking that his line of sight was safe, Qifeng slowly drew the long blade at his waist, lightly running a finger along the edge as if wiping it clean.

But in the next instant, the rock beneath his feet exploded with a bang, and his whole figure vanished in a puff of smoke with a soft poof.

Kisame Hoshigaki's expression shifted. Without hesitation, he leaped backward, his hands flying through Hand Seals as he pressed downward in midair.

"Water Release: Water Shark Bomb Technique!"

Splash!

Ripples spread across the water pooled on the cave floor as several sharks formed from Water Stream lunged straight at Qifeng, their jagged, gleaming jaws bared as if to tear him to shreds.

But Qifeng's movements flowed like water—gentle and elusive, effortlessly dodging each shark's attack one by one.

Without enough speed and sharp enough dynamic vision, this dance on a knife's edge would have seen him devoured by the sharks in an instant.

Flowing Water Sword Technique!

His figure suddenly appeared beside a Mist Ninja. The familiar stance and sword technique left the ninja stunned.

How did this guy know their Mist Ninja sword art?

"Crap."

In that moment of shock, his hair stood on end.

The Mist Genin's face twisted in horror, his eyes flashing with terror. He never expected to be the first target.

What shocked him even more was that this unknown Corpse Collector had suddenly burst out with such speed.

Combined with the Flowing Water Sword Technique, his movements became eerily unpredictable, and in the blink of an eye, he was right beside him.

The Mist Genin quickly drew a kunai and swung it up to meet Qifeng's blade.

Qifeng's gaze was calm. The muscles in his right arm, gripping the longsword, bulged instantly. Abandoning the gentle but weaker Flowing Water Sword Technique, he simply brought down a brutal, full-powered slash.

Clang!

A silver line slid down from above, cutting through the kunai and slicing across the Mist Ninja. In a single flash, the thunderous attack faded into stillness.

The Mist Genin's figure froze in place. He struggled to roll his eyes toward Qifeng in front of him, opening his mouth as if to speak. A red line suddenly appeared from the center of his forehead, and strands of blood seeped out. With a splash of water, his body fell backward onto the ground.

This happened so fast that the other Mist Ninja couldn't react.

What was even harder for them to accept was that their comrade, who was also at Chunin level, couldn't even withstand a single slash from Qifeng, this unremarkable Corpse Collector.

This was a gap in absolute power. No flashy techniques, no dazzling ninjutsu—just one slash.

Qifeng wasn't surprised by this.

Ridiculous.

Although the system now rated him as an Elite Chunin, he knew full well that this evaluation was only thanks to his physical stats, which single-handedly boosted his rank.

If he set aside the other lagging attributes, his current physique, combined with his awakened Shikotsumyaku, might not be inferior to a regular Jonin's in close combat.

Of course, that was only in close combat.

Still, it was more than enough to handle these Mist Ninja, who barely reached Chunin level.

"I'm just a Corpse Collector. You didn't have to go through all this trouble for me. It's not worth it."

Standing beside the corpse, Qifeng flicked the blood off his blade and spoke calmly.

He glanced at Kisame Hoshigaki again, then nonchalantly crouched down to collect the body on the ground, doing his job.

Kisame Hoshigaki watched Qifeng from a distance, his earlier composure gone. The corner of his mouth twitched stiffly.

He signaled the other Mist Ninja with a look.

The ninja understood instantly.

They both formed Hand Seals at the same time.

"Water Release: Great Waterfall Technique!"

"Water Release: Great Shark Bullet Technique!"

The combined force of two Water Style ninjutsu sent a surging tide sweeping through the cramped cave. An abnormally massive shark, terrifying in size, thrashed its tail and shot through the water at incredible speed, clearly leading the charge of the flood.

Qifeng frowned slightly.

His opponent had cast Water Style multiple times, successfully turning this cave into the ideal battlefield for a Mist Ninja. Unrestricted in their Chakra output, they had conjured an overwhelming volume of water.

Using the water stream as cover, Qifeng blinked once.

A flash of crimson flickered to life in his eyes, the rapidly spinning black Single Tomoe threatening to form a full circle.

His pupils darted left and right.

Finally, amid the raging current and the ferocious shark, he spotted a single opening.

He shut his Sharingan immediately.

The enhanced perception vanished, but the flaw he had found was already locked in his mind.

Flowing Water Sword Technique!

Water can merge with water.

Streams of water coiled around Qifeng's body as he charged straight into the oncoming tide.

His figure was briefly swallowed by the waves, and the shark in the water tore into the space where he had been.

The other Mist Ninja let out a quiet sigh of relief.

"It's over."

Beside him, Kisame Hoshigaki was about to say something, but his eyes narrowed. He glanced at the Mist Ninja, then toward the distant darkness, stepped back, and slowly faded into the water.

"Is that so?"

The next second, a sudden voice made the Mist Ninja's pupils contract violently. A wave of terror flooded his mind.

He tried to react, but it was too late.

Shii!

Blood splattered.

The Mist Ninja's head flew from his neck. In the eyes of the falling skull, shock and disbelief still lingered.

Clang!

Soaked through, Qifeng's figure slowly emerged.

He frowned as he scanned his surroundings, then clicked his tongue. "As expected of Kisame Hoshigaki."

Kisame was formidable, but that was in the future. For now, he hadn't fully realized his potential.

Without Samehada in hand, Kisame Hoshigaki wasn't the real Kisame Hoshigaki.

"He ran fast."

Qifeng lacked the sensory ability to track where he had gone.

Silently, he pulled out a completely soaked cigarette.

"Tch."

He heated his palm to a scorching temperature and dried the cigarette.

Even after drying, it was still shriveled and bent, but at least it was smokable. He lit it.

A smoke after a job—better than being a god.

He took a deep drag, stowed the still-warm Mist Ninja corpse, and slowly turned to face the Konoha support squad rushing toward him.

Kisame Hoshigaki had fled without hesitation precisely because of their arrival.

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

Qifeng waved a hand. "Nothing. Just hot out—took a shower."

"...And the Mist Ninja?"

"What Mist Ninja? No idea."

"..."

Though he hadn't killed Kisame Hoshigaki, Qifeng was confident Kisame wasn't stupid enough to spread the word about their failed ambush.

So, if he didn't talk and Kisame didn't talk, no one would know.

Besides, wasn't it common sense for a Chunin Examiner to beat a Genin examinee?

He slowly blew out a smoke ring. "Well, if you're done, I'll be on my way."

With a wave, he vanished into the cave, leaving a few bewildered Konoha ninja behind.