The mist ninja attack had only been a minor interlude for Qifeng.
But for the Konoha higher-ups and Suikazan Fuguki in the surveillance room, it was no small matter. It could very well affect the diplomatic direction between Konoha and Kirigakure, as well as Kirigakure's stance and level of commitment in the coming war.
Yet when Nara Shikaku and Suikazan Fuguki learned the outcome, both were somewhat stunned.
They hadn't fought?
Or had they not encountered each other?
Nara Shikaku was slightly relieved. Not fighting was not a good outcome, but at least it was not the worst-case scenario.
Suikazan Fuguki, however, frowned. He knew Kisame Hoshigaki would absolutely put the mission first. This situation should not have occurred, but with the Chunin Exams still ongoing, he could only wait until they ended to ask what had happened.
However, when Kisame Hoshigaki reappeared on the surveillance screen, the group was once again taken aback.
Two mist ninja were missing, while Kisame Hoshigaki was completely unscathed. Even alone, he remained sufficiently threatening within the Terrifying Cave.
But the key question was, where were those two mist ninja?
Without prior agreement, the two exchanged glances and saw the same confusion in each other's eyes.
Still, the exam continued.
Returning to the Morgue, Qifeng skillfully placed the gathered corpses back and tidied their appearances.
It had to be said that, although this was the Chunin Exams, quite a few of the participating examinees possessed Chunin-level strength.
This was especially true for the ninja from Kirigakure, Kumogakure, and Sunagakure. The proportion of Konoha Ninja with Chunin strength was clearly much lower.
Since there were quite a few corpses, Qifeng did not waste any time.
Once he had finished, he looked at the corpses that had been restored to their "original state" and nodded in satisfaction.
Recently, he felt that his cleanliness obsession had been getting worse. It was not just his demands for the environment; he had also developed an almost compulsive pursuit of perfection when dealing with these corpses.
"Tut."
Clicking his tongue, he shook his head.
With the corpses arranged, it was naturally time for the usual corpse looting.
Originally, he had not held much hope for these corpses that were nominally Genin but actually possessed Chunin-level strength. He was merely going through the motions and opening the loot as routine.
But unexpectedly, he really did get something good from one of them.
Success! Obtained Special Puppet Technique Scroll (Part One)!
It had come from the corpse of a Chunin from the Sand Village.
"Special Puppet Technique Scroll?"
Qifeng took out the scroll in surprise.
When he gave its contents a cursory glance, a look of astonishment appeared on his face.
Because what the scroll described was actually the process of creating a Human Puppet.
Human Puppet!
For Sunagakure, a village skilled in Puppet Technique, Human Puppets were taboo. Once anyone's involvement with such knowledge was exposed, they would suffer the merciless extermination of the suna-nin.
Puppet Technique was an art developed by Chiyo, Sunagakure's Second Kazekage. It was a technique that combined Puppet Creation and Puppet Control.
Ordinary puppets were made by combining wood, metal, and other materials through specialized craftsmanship.
Paired with Puppet Control, they allowed puppet masters to avoid personally taking part in battle while displaying certain strange and unpredictable abilities.
But creating a Human Puppet involved using a human body, removing its internal organs while preserving its original Chakra and abilities, thereby retaining the Human Puppet's original capabilities to the greatest extent possible.
However, Human Puppets ultimately required humans as their foundation, and the creation process was exceptionally cruel. Thus, Sunagakure had explicitly forbidden them.
Still, some things existed for a reason.
Quite a few Sand shinobi continued researching the creation of Human Puppets in secret.
In Qifeng's memory, the person who had taken the art of Human Puppets to its ultimate limit was Sasori of the Red Sands, grandson of Chiyo, an elder of Sunagakure.
This terrifying figure, who would later assassinate Sunagakure's Third Kazekage and join the Akatsuki Organization, had even completely transformed himself into a Human Puppet.
It could be said that although the signs of the Third Great Ninja War had long been present, the true culprit behind its outbreak was Sasori of the Red Sands.
"Sasori has probably already made quite a few Human Puppets by now, right? Could this suna-nin have something to do with Sasori?"
Qifeng closed the scroll.
Although this item had considerable practical value, it was only the first part. Without the control techniques and with only the crafting process, it was not especially useful to him.
Still, Puppet Creation shared common principles. If he could identify the weak points or flaws of ordinary puppets from it, it might produce unexpected results on the battlefield in the future.
As for Human Puppets—
To be honest, Qifeng, who was already used to seeing corpses, was not particularly repulsed by them.
He had a high capacity for acceptance, perhaps because he had long known Human Puppets existed.
"Besides all those messy Shinobi World novels, I now have another piece of leisure reading."
Qifeng actually thought that was pretty good.
A scene suddenly flashed through his mind.
He had created a Human Puppet and could control it perfectly.
Then he said to the puppet, "You handle the showing off; I'll handle lying low."
Thinking of that, he smiled and shook his head, not taking it seriously.
But if anyone knew he treated a Human Puppet creation scroll as leisure reading, who knew what they would think.
The main reason was that the novels of the Shinobi World were simply too awful. To someone like him, who had read every imaginable variety of novel, they were barely any different from reading a language textbook.
Moreover, Human Puppet creation contained plenty of knowledge about human anatomy. It might not be useful, but knowing was always better than not knowing.
At the same time, the appearance of this scroll inevitably made Qifeng think of Sasori of the Red Sands assassinating the Third Kazekage.
"War is coming soon."
Apart from this scroll, the remaining corpse looting attempts did not yield anything unexpected.
He gained 2 attribute points without fanfare.
His strength continued to improve steadily.
He brought up his status panel.
Character: Maruyama Qifeng Age: 13 Attributes: Fire, Earth Strength: Elite Chunin Bloodline Limit: Shikotsumyaku (Intermediate), Sharingan (Single Tomoe) Body: 52 Mind: 32 Ninjutsu: 26 Genjutsu: 24 Control: 29 Seals: 29 Taijutsu: Flowing Water Sword Technique Ninjutsu: Three Basic Jutsu, Fire Release - Great Fireball, Earth Release - Rock Concealment Technique, Earth Release - Earth Shore Return, Fire Release - Flame Bullet, Water Release - Water Wall, Wind Release - Great Breakthrough, Shadow Clone Jutsu Items: Kaseki's Obsession, Inherited Forehead Protector (Equipped), Konoha Jonin Nakagawa Kamiryo Experience Card (Rare), Special Puppet Technique Scroll (Part One)
The system's assessment was still only Elite Chunin.
Qifeng estimated that if he wanted to raise the system's evaluation again and reach the level of Special Jonin, his overall attributes would need to improve by far more than a single tier.
"I only hope I can reach the Special Jonin evaluation before the war begins."
Though Special Jonin had the word "special" in it, they were still Jonin.
The gulf between Jonin and Chunin was far greater than the difference between Chunin and Genin.
Especially since this was the system's assessment of Special Jonin strength, Qifeng estimated that his actual strength would not be much inferior to that of an ordinary Jonin.
If he could possess Jonin-level strength before the war began, his ability to protect himself during the war would rise by a tremendous degree.
The corpse collector's mission could also be completed more smoothly.
As long as he survived this war, he would have at least a dozen years of peace.
At the thought of the peace after the war, of being able to loaf around every day from sunrise to sunset, Qifeng felt brimming with motivation.
All the effort he put in now was for the sake of loafing around better in the future.
After arriving in the Naruto World, he had apparently inherited the traits of a shut-in and was determined to take his slacker constitution to its ultimate limit.
Before you continue