Red Corpse (Please Bookmark and Recommend)

He wandered around outside, taking in the prosperity and vitality of Konoha Village.

By the time he returned to the Morgue, the sun had already set. Moonlight draped the whole of Konoha in a gauzy veil, lending it a hazy beauty.

Several Medical Ninjas stood at the entrance.

When they saw him, they took out several scrolls containing corpses. After exchanging a few brief pleasantries, they left directly.

Even Medical Ninjas were not particularly fond of corpses. No one wanted to linger too long in a place like the Morgue.

Maruyama Qifeng was more than happy with the peace and quiet.

Being alone, quietly accompanied by a group of corpses that could not speak, was not bad either.

However, when he took the corpses from the scrolls and laid them one by one on the wooden beds covered in white cloth, he froze.

He stopped before a male corpse with a somewhat burly build, its body covered in wounds.

Because the light flickering from it was not the white, green, or yellow glow he had seen before, but red!

Though it was very faint.

White represented Genin, green represented Chunin, yellow represented Jonin. Then red...

Maruyama Qifeng was instantly excited.

Kage-level!

Then he shook his head, dismissing the thought.

Impossible.

Not to brag, but he knew every Kage-level expert in the Shinobi World with even a little reputation, not only those from Konoha but also those from the other Four Great Hidden Villages. Although the male corpse before him was somewhat damaged, it was still recognizable.

Of course, there could be some powerful Kage-level experts whose reputations were not well known.

But if they had kept such low profiles and did not care about fame, why would they emerge now, just as signs of the Third Great Ninja War were beginning to appear?

Therefore, Maruyama Qifeng guessed that this male corpse glowing red was not a Kage-level expert.

It was most likely in that vague realm between Jonin and Kage-level, what people called an Elite Jonin or a Quasi-Kage.

There were not many ninjas of this kind in the Shinobi World, but compared to Kage-level experts, they were far more numerous.

Enough!

A ninja's strength classification was actually a very broad concept, with different standards in different eras.

Some ninjas had overall strength only at the Genin level, but were promoted to Chunin because one of their abilities was exceptionally outstanding.

Others could unleash power comparable to Jonin or even Kage-level, yet due to various rules and their usual lack of obvious strength, they remained Genin. The most famous examples were Might Duy and Naruto Uzumaki.

Konoha was the perfect example of this phenomenon.

There was even a saying among Hokage fans in his previous life: "Better provoke a Konoha Jonin than offend a Konoha Genin." Others could not imagine how terrifying Konoha Genin were.

Speaking of which, he himself was only a Genin.

What a pity.

He had used up today's chances, so the system gave him no prompt at all.

Looking at the corpse lying quietly before him, glowing with that enticing red light, Maruyama Qifeng felt his gaming addiction acting up.

It was like a gaming addict who had just acquired a legendary Level-less Weapon, only to find that his internet time had run out and he had no pocket money left.

It was unbearable.

But no matter how unbearable it was, he could only endure it.

This was probably the true essence of being a ninja. Ha.

Tomorrow. He would draw the prize tomorrow.

"This counts as building suspense, right? Maybe I'll get something unexpected."

Only by comforting himself like this did he feel a little better.

Although he could not draw the prize, he still had work to do.

By the time he had treated the wounds on those corpses and cleaned away the blood, it was already late at night.

After the initial excitement faded, Qifeng began to feel tired. He tidied up briefly and prepared to return home to rest.

Rustle, rustle.

He pricked up his ears and vaguely heard faint movement from outside.

Someone seemed to be moving around nearby.

It was already midnight. Due to its special nature, the Morgue stood in an inconspicuous corner of Konoha, with a stretch of woods outside.

Anyone active in this area at this hour was probably up to no good.

If it were Anbu, they could simply come in. There was no need to sneak around.

Qifeng frowned, his expression gradually turning wary.

Although he did not know who it was, if the other party was merely passing by, Qifeng had no desire to make contact.

Konoha had no shortage of powerful people. It was not his place, as a mere Genin, to concern himself so much.

He blew out the candle and stood silently inside the Morgue.

A moment later.

"Whew—"

Qifeng let out a long breath. Judging by the footsteps, the other party seemed to have noticed the light going out and left.

Then—

Just as Qifeng completely relaxed his guard, the Morgue window suddenly shattered. Several flashes of light abruptly gleamed through the night sky, accompanied by piercing whistles.

Five or six Shuriken flew toward where Qifeng stood, sealing off every possible direction in which he could move or dodge.

"Damn!"

Qifeng cursed under his breath. With a flick of his wrist, a kunai appeared in his palm. He deflected them with several backhand strikes, and amid crisp clangs and scattering sparks, every incoming Shuriken was knocked away.

His talent might be mediocre and he might only be a Genin, but that did not mean he lacked the ability to fight back.

Precisely because his talent was mediocre, he had pushed the basics to the very limit of what he could achieve.

After all, he had followed a Squad Leader Ninja on missions for a year and survived. He still had combat experience.

He leaped aside and hid in the corner beside the window. Pressing himself against the wall, he peered outside from the corner of his eye.

In that direction, illuminated by the moonlight, he clearly saw a figure.

The other party wore Ninja Garb but no forehead protector, making it impossible to tell where he came from. But one thing was certain: he was definitely not a Konoha Ninja.

"Hmm?"

Huoshi stared at him as well, a cold glint flashing through his eyes.

He was an intelligence agent planted by Iwagakure in Konoha, an Elite Chunin skilled in disguise. He had been lurking in Konoha for over a decade. Even during the Second Great Ninja War, he had only passed along intelligence when appropriate, never exposing his identity.

But this time, he had received a secret mission from Iwagakure. He was even willing to expose the identity he had concealed for so long and abandon years of effort.

All for the corpse inside the Morgue.

Yes, the corpse glowing red was an Iwa-nin, and one who held no small status within Iwagakure. He knew many secrets concerning Iwagakure.

As long as Huoshi brought that corpse back, he could return to the village as a hero, returning to the homeland he had left behind as a child.

And the only thing standing in his way was this insignificant Genin, a mere corpse collector.

As an intelligence agent, he could not claim to know the details of every Konoha Ninja, but graduates of the Ninja Academy like Maruyama Qifeng received special attention.

Therefore, he had some understanding of Maruyama Qifeng's strength.

An ordinary Genin.

Qifeng blocking his Shuriken attack surprised him slightly, but no more than that.

"I have to end this quickly!"

This was Konoha. If the commotion from their fight became even slightly too great or lasted too long, things would become extremely troublesome. It might even cost him his life.

"His target isn't me."

Hiding inside the Morgue, Qifeng quickly judged the other party's intentions, his thoughts racing.

"It seems the corpse sent over later has an unusual background."

Did he not know that The deceased are to be respected, and corpses must not be desecrated?

He could take everything in the Morgue, except the corpses!

This was responsibility. This was faith!

More importantly, I haven't drawn the prize yet! Qifeng raged helplessly in his heart.

Another problem troubled him.

Once a fight broke out here, the entire Morgue might be damaged. Losing his job would be a minor matter; being unable to draw prizes in the future would be the real trouble.

So he made his decision quickly.

In a flash, he rushed to the corpse glowing red, scooped up the scroll and sealed it away, then darted out through the back door.

Huoshi watched Qifeng's nimble figure and efficient movements. After freezing for a moment, his expression quickly darkened.

He was trying to flee with the corpse!

If Qifeng really ran into the Anbu, not only would Huoshi fail the mission, he would lose his life here as well.

Without further hesitation, he gave chase at a speed faster than Qifeng's.