Konoha Jonin's Blessing

Qifeng charged into the forest without looking back.

Several Konoha ninjas noticed this as well, but given their current manpower, no one could spare a hand.

Luring away one jonin brought some relief to a few Konoha ninjas, easing the pressure slightly.

"Lord Orochimaru!"

As the only person in this Advance Force besides Orochimaru who knew Qifeng, Nara Chuichi couldn't help but call out.

Though Nara Chuichi knew Qifeng and they had a decent relationship—he even admired him, especially for their bond over a shared smoke—

Given the current situation, the life or death of a single chunin truly didn't matter. In fact, if every chunin could lure away a jonin, Orochimaru and even Nara Chuichi himself wouldn't hesitate to do the same.

As long as Konoha could win.

Cruel, but real—that was war. If sacrificing himself meant Konoha's victory, Nara Chuichi probably wouldn't hesitate either.

But Qifeng was different from other chunins in one way: he was a Corpse Collector.

He carried a large number of bodies from both Konoha and Iwa ninjas, including jonin and even Elite Jonin who held vital intelligence from both sides.

If Qifeng were killed, the Konoha corpses and critical intel in his possession would fall into Iwa's hands.

Just as Iwa didn't want Konoha to get their hands on it, Konoha didn't want Iwa to have it either.

Though Orochimaru was tangled up with five Iwa-nin, the snakes scattered everywhere still helped him monitor the surroundings. He learned of Qifeng being chased almost at the same time as Nara Chuichi.

But he made no move.

Instead, he slowly curled the corner of his mouth, glanced at the slightly anxious Nara Chuichi, and said calmly, "No need to worry."

Hearing this, Nara Chuichi froze.

Then it clicked.

Right!

Qifeng was Lord Orochimaru's disciple. Since Lord Orochimaru wasn't worried, it meant Qifeng definitely had a trump card or a backup plan.

Some nearby Konoha ninjas, who had been worried about not recovering their comrades' bodies, shared the same thought.

Since he was Lord Orochimaru's disciple, surviving shouldn't be a problem.

It was easy to draw a comparison to another Sannin, Jiraiya. His disciple, Namikaze Minato, had already become a jonin and was beginning to show his strength and the talent that had yet to be fully realized.

As a disciple of another Sannin, even if young, he probably wouldn't be far off, right?

With that thought, they set aside their worries and focused back on fighting the Iwa-nin.

Orochimaru's peripheral gaze followed the forest Qifeng had run into. "Luck? Let's see if your 'luck' can pull through this time."

His regard for Qifeng wasn't baseless; it came from his own calculations and intentions.

Orochimaru never did anything meaningless.

What Qifeng didn't know was that, thanks to some "beautiful" misunderstandings and Orochimaru's refusal to clarify, he—who might have had backup—was now completely on his own.

If he knew, he'd probably storm up to Orochimaru and curse him out.

Are you sick?

Just tell me what you see in me, and I'll change it, alright?

But right now, his focus was entirely on the Iwa Jonin behind him.

A jonin—he'd killed one before. Not long ago, he'd taken down an Iwagakure jonin head-on.

But that didn't mean he had jonin-level strength or could fight one on equal terms.

After darting into the forest, he immediately formed Hand Seals.

Shadow Clone Jutsu!

He split off a nearly identical clone, possessing the same abilities as the original. As long as it didn't take a fatal hit, it was almost impossible to tell apart.

Then—

"Earth Release: Rock Concealment Technique!"

The clone kept running, while the original took the chance to hide behind a rock.

Since there was already some distance between them, and the forest's leaves blocked the light and disrupted vision, the Iwa Jonin didn't immediately spot Qifeng's real body.

But Qifeng knew the Shadow Clone could only fool him temporarily; it wouldn't actually lead him away.

At the same time, he couldn't just go back. Otherwise, another Iwa-nin would attack him, and they might even suspect he'd taken out the previous jonin, sending a stronger one after him.

That wasn't what he wanted.

Now, he had only two choices: either slip away from the battlefield, or use this cover to kill the jonin chasing him.

He hesitated for less than a second before making his decision.

Leaving the battlefield without permission was a serious crime. If convicted, the only options were defection or death.

Besides, it wasn't like he couldn't do it.

Screw it—let's take him down!

Making this decision wasn't a rash impulse—it was because he truly had such trump cards and abilities.

During his last trip to the Tori Mori Outpost in the Land of Waterfalls, he had brought back so many Jonin corpses from both Konoha and Iwagakure, and from them, he had successfully obtained a Jonin Experience Card.

Konoha Jonin Nakagawa Kamiryo Experience Card (Rare)

However, this Nakagawa Kamiryo was a Genjutsu-type Jonin, which didn't align with his own attributes, so he didn't know if using it would grant him the strength to truly match a Jonin head-on.

But that didn't matter—right now, he had a pile of Jonin and Elite Jonin corpses, and he hadn't yet used up his daily corpse-touching attempts.

If he could get something better from these nine chances, that would be ideal. If not, he would use this Experience Card.

Either way, a Genjutsu-type Jonin was still a Jonin.

He used Earth Release to burrow underground.

Opening the Sealing Scroll, he released three corpses.

One of them was the Konoha Elite Jonin corpse he had snatched earlier, and the other two were Iwa Jonin corpses.

All of them were Yellow Corpses.

"Whether I get anything or not depends on you all."

He had no time to have a lengthy conversation with the corpses.

He reached out and started touching them directly!

Yellow Corpse, success rate thirty percent. Would you like to attempt corpse-touching? (Current: 3/3, Daily: 9/9)

Yes!

First, the Iwa Jonin corpse.

Failure!

Failure!

Failure!

"..."

Three consecutive failures.

Qifeng pressed his lips together, saying nothing, and could only choose to continue.

Failure!

Success! Obtained Single Random Attribute +3 Boost Card!

Failure!

A simple Boost Card. Qifeng didn't hesitate—he took it out and slapped it onto himself, where it turned into a stream of light and merged into his body.

As the virtual hexagonal wheel in front of him stopped on "Spirit," his Chakra attribute value increased by 3 points.

Two corpse-touching attempts that could almost be called failures.

Qifeng took a deep breath.

He really wanted to pull out a cigarette and take a drag to ease his frustration.

But this was all normal. Yellow Corpses had a low success rate, but they were more likely to yield better items.

Comparatively, if he was just looking to boost basic attributes and abilities, after all his experimentation, Green Corpses were actually the most reliable.

He turned his gaze to the Konoha Elite Jonin corpse.

"We're from the same village—you won't do me dirty like that, will you?" he muttered inwardly.

He reached out and placed his hand on the corpse, which was glowing with a dazzling yellow light.

Failure!

Failure!

Success! Obtained Konoha Jonin's Blessing!

Hm?

He quickly opened his status panel and focused his mind on this newly acquired, still-warm piece of equipment.

An item—a palm-sized emblem with a pattern identical to the spiral symbol on the Konoha headband.

Name: Konoha Jonin's Blessing

Description: As a Konoha Elite Jonin, he longed for Konoha to achieve victory in the war, and he blessed every ninja fighting for Konoha.

Effect: When equipped, using a Konoha Ninja Experience Card grants +10% compatibility.

Note: Only applicable to Konoha Ninja Experience Cards.

"A good find." Qifeng's eyes lit up.

Although he hadn't gotten the Elite Jonin Experience Card he had hoped for, compared to a single-use Experience Card, this "Konoha Jonin's Blessing" was far more valuable.

Now that the war had begun, opportunities to obtain Konoha Ninja Experience Cards wouldn't be scarce.

Without hesitation, he wore it directly against his skin.

He then took out the Jonin Experience Card and gazed at the image of a Konoha Jonin etched onto its surface.

After a moment's hesitation, he retrieved a piece of equipment he had never used since acquiring it.

Kaseki's Obsession

A human skin mask, thin as a cicada's wing.

He gently pressed it over his face.

Kaseki's Obsession: +2 Spirit; Uses -1; Remaining 4/5

A cool sensation immediately spread across his skin.

Qifeng's appearance shifted—his once somewhat handsome face turned rough and ordinary. Even those who knew him best wouldn't recognize him now.

Because it wasn't just his face that changed, but also his build and attire.

He had to admit, this "Kaseki's Obsession" was quite effective.

Qifeng stood up. Both his appearance and aura had completely transformed into someone else's.

He narrowed his eyes, then snapped them open. A flash of crimson spun within them.

"Since Orochimaru doesn't believe someone's helping me from the shadows, I'll just have to show him a different face!"