The Corpse Cannot Be Desecrated (Seeking Collections, Recommendations, and Monthly Votes)

A battle this brutal—Qifeng, just a Chunin, and one with zero battlefield experience at that, had no reason to throw his life away.

Wasn't Orochimaru himself struggling over there?

On the battlefield, Corpse Collectors were the ones who did this job: while their comrades fought tooth and nail up front, they silently gathered the bodies behind.

No one would criticize them, no one would blame a Corpse Collector for ignoring the carnage of the fight.

It couldn't be helped—everyone had their role.

No one wanted to fight desperately on the front lines, only to have their corpse abandoned in some desolate wilderness after dying for their country, or worse, taken by a rival village to extract vital intelligence from their remains.

So, the Konoha side not only didn't oppose the Corpse Collectors, they fully supported them.

But honestly, as he collected each Konoha Ninja's body, Qifeng's heart grew heavy.

For a split second, he even felt the urge to charge in and fight the Iwa ninjas to the death.

Fortunately, that impulse was quickly reined in by his reason.

Come on, what could a Chunin like him accomplish in a battle like this?

If he were a Kage-level powerhouse, or even just an Elite Jonin, charging in would be one thing—he might actually make an unexpected difference.

But a Chunin?

He'd just be another corpse.

Even if he unleashed every trump card he had, Shikotsumyaku and Sharingan together, he might save a few people.

But once this was over, the Uchiha Clan and the Konoha higher-ups would definitely come after him.

Most importantly, there was Orochimaru.

He'd probably end up sliced and diced.

Facing Orochimaru with his current strength? That was genuinely terrifying.

Forget it.

Qifeng grumbled to himself, deep in self-hypnosis.

I'm a slacker, I'm a slacker, I'm a slacker.

Sticking to being a Corpse Collector wasn't so bad.

Leave the frontline heroics to Konoha's champions.

"Someone has to bear the dark side. I'll become the darkness and embrace all the corpses," Qifeng even found himself a nice excuse.

Just collect bodies in peace.

Yellow Corpse, Green Corpse, Green Corpse, Green Corpse, Yellow Corpse.

Light dots of various colors and shades blurred before his eyes.

If he set aside his identity, situation, and feelings, it was like picking up loot everywhere.

Like being carried through a dungeon by a big shot—the veteran mowing down monsters up front while his low-level alt gleefully scooped up the spoils behind.

It felt great.

But a process like that was never going to go smoothly.

If Konoha had a Corpse Collector like him, Iwagakure naturally had someone doing the same job.

As they say, when Corpse Collector meets Corpse Collector, both eyes turn red with rivalry.

A competitor for the business!

Qifeng spotted an Iwa ninja crouching low and darting quickly across the battlefield, and his gaze locked onto a Konoha Jonin's corpse between them. The other man stopped too, targeting the same body.

This corpse was a Yellow Corpse, but its yellow light was exceptionally bright.

No doubt about it—this was a Konoha Elite Jonin, fallen here.

He was also the first Elite Jonin to die in this battle between Konoha and Iwa. But his death had value: before he fell, he took out three Iwagakure Jonin, finally collapsing from exhaustion and getting killed by a sneak attack.

A Jonin was already mid-to-high rank in a village; an Elite Jonin was quasi-high rank, their mind packed with village intelligence.

The Iwa Corpse Collector seemed to realize the value and importance of this body, staring Qifeng down from a distance.

It wasn't just this Konoha Elite Jonin's corpse—there were also three Iwa Jonin bodies nearby.

These were the most critical corpses of the battle so far!

Qifeng was determined to claim them, and so was his opponent.

Clang!

Qifeng slowly drew his longsword, lightly running his finger along the blade. The edge gleamed with light while exuding a hint of cold.

He didn't want to fight.

But if the other guy tried to steal the bodies, that was a different story—it crossed his bottom line.

He took one step, then another. The silver blade seemed to twist like a Water Stream, a bright white halo swirling around him, enveloping him. With each step, the light grew more abrupt, the distortion more intense.

Seeing Qifeng's transformation, the opponent's expression turned serious, even wary.

But after glancing at the corpse of that Elite Jonin, he gritted his teeth and dashed out.

His goal was clear—grab the corpse and retreat quickly.

However, fast as he was, Qifeng was faster.

Flowing Water Sword Technique!

His form twisted and warped in a bizarre, fluid motion, like a swift yet smooth current, ignoring all obstacles in the vicinity as he reached the corpse before the Iwa-nin.

Facing the charging Iwa-nin, who had gritted his teeth, Qifeng shifted his steps again.

Willow Dance!

The Kaguya Clan's Willow Dance—through his recent development and deep understanding of Shikotsumyaku's traits, combined with the posture of Willow Dance he'd witnessed during his fight with Kaguya Senjin, and the soft, elusive footwork shared by both Flowing Water Sword Technique and Willow Dance—Qifeng had finally mastered this taijutsu.

Even with only a single blade, it didn't hinder his execution.

The next second.

In the Iwa-nin's wide-eyed stare, Qifeng seemed to transform into a slender, shifting willow branch, or a winding, unending stream of water, laced with a silvery-white gleam, as the nin found himself at a loss.

The silver light swept across his neck, leaving a crimson bloodline that deepened from faint to stark.

His vision spun endlessly as he stared at his own standing body, a single thought flashing through his mind.

I'm dead?

Yes.

Under Qifeng's taijutsu, far surpassing an ordinary Chunin, and the fusion of Flowing Water Sword Technique and Willow Dance, the Iwa-nin was decapitated in a single exchange.

Seemingly cowardly, Qifeng showed no mercy when it came to the bottom line of handling corpses.

Coldly watching the Iwa-nin's head as its light faded, he said flatly, "Corpses are not to be defiled."

Damn, I got to show off again.

The enemy had handed over a corpse for free, along with the Iwa-nin corpses the nin had collected earlier.

A huge haul!

The reason Qifeng had struck without hesitation against this Iwa-nin was that he knew no village would foolishly send a Jonin to collect corpses.

Jonin were primary combat forces; sending them to retrieve bodies would be a waste of talent.

The corners of his mouth uncontrollably curled up.

He cheerfully stowed away the corpses of one Elite Jonin and three Iwa Jonin on the ground, along with the Iwa-nin corpse collector and the Sealing Scroll on his person.

No time to admire the spoils.

Now, the battle between Konoha and the Iwa-nin had fully entered its climax, and Orochimaru was unleashing his full power, making it impossible to tell which side would ultimately prevail.

The Iwa-nin's advantage lay in numbers, while Konoha's was having a presence like Orochimaru, who surpassed the entire battlefield's power level.

Since he couldn't determine the outcome, he had to collect corpses faster.

Otherwise, if Konoha lost, he'd have no chance to return these Konoha heroes' bodies to the village, and during retreat, he'd have to abandon some of his comrades' corpses.

Still, the Iwa-nin's numerical advantage was very apparent.

Someone noticed Qifeng taking out the Iwa-nin corpse collector and making off with the Iwa-nin bodies.

This struck a nerve for many Iwa-nin.

So, an Iwa Jonin, face full of hatred, abandoned his target and charged at Qifeng.

Konoha valued fallen leaves returning to their roots, and so did Iwa.

Especially since some Iwa Jonin knew about certain operational deployments.

If the corpses were taken, Konoha's Intelligence Department would gain intel on Iwa's personnel arrangements or even supply line setups, which would be disastrous for Iwa.

Thus, this Jonin acted decisively.

After all, taking down a Chunin wouldn't cost much time.

Qifeng felt a chill, shuddered, and promptly dropped his work, bolting toward the nearby forest.

Holy crap, I'm gonna die.

I've been targeted!

So, being a corpse collector on the battlefield was also very dangerous.