Kaseki's Obsession

"An unknown ninja was swiftly killed in the village by a Konoha Jonin? Not even a body was left behind?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi held a pipe between his lips as he listened to the Anbu Ninja's report, momentarily taken aback.

The death of an outsider ninja was not a major matter to begin with, especially in such tense times.

Fortunately, Hiruzen Sarutobi had been busy arranging scouts along the Land of Fire's border and had yet to sleep despite the late hour, allowing him to receive the Anbu Ninja's report.

However, with Konoha gradually placing greater importance on its defenses, a Chunin should not have been able to infiltrate Konoha so easily.

Therefore.

"It may have been a planted agent from another hidden village. For some unknown reason, he was either discovered or deliberately exposed himself. But since he abandoned years of work, it must have been for something even more important. Wherever someone has existed, traces will inevitably remain."

Worthy of being the Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi grasped the crux of the matter after only a few thoughts.

He took a deep drag from his pipe and ordered, "Investigate every person the Anbu is monitoring. Confirm their identities."

As the Hokage, he naturally knew there were planted agents within Konoha. Not only Konoha—other villages also had infiltrators placed by Konoha Root.

The reason he had not chosen to remove them was that, at times, a planted agent whose identity was known was far more valuable than one who had been eliminated.

"Yes."

The Anbu beside him answered and swiftly vanished.

Hiruzen Sarutobi rose to his feet and walked to the window. Looking at the quiet, peaceful Konoha beneath the moonlight, he exhaled a stream of curling white smoke.

Konoha had been founded by the First Hokage, Senju Hashirama, and Uchiha Madara of the Uchiha Clan. The Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama, had turned the tide and held back the attacks of the Great Hidden Villages, which had begun to stir after Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara perished in their clash. By the time it was handed over to him, Konoha was devastated.

Now, after decades of his careful management, Konoha had finally returned to the pinnacle of the Shinobi World.

But now, in this turbulent Shinobi World.

War was coming again.

He smacked his lips. "Where did the body go?"

The body had naturally been taken back to the Morgue by Qifeng.

No one would have imagined that the Konoha Jonin sensed by the Anbu Ninja had been him, an obscure corpse collector.

Even though the battle site was not far from the Morgue, no one would connect it to him.

It was simply too implausible.

Qifeng was naturally more than happy with that.

If Hiruzen Sarutobi found out, he might be sent on difficult missions at any time, perhaps even pushed to the front lines of the battlefield.

If he really had that kind of strength, it would have been one thing. The problem was, he did not.

He should develop steadily and safely first, until he had the ability to protect himself.

Looking at the two corpses lying on the wooden bed, one flickering red and the other green, Qifeng grinned. His eye twitched, and his smile looked somewhat pained.

The value of a Rare Card was beyond question. If he could not earn back his investment from these two corpses, he would suffer a huge loss.

Feeling the strength within him that had yet to dissipate, Qifeng did not stupidly wait for it to disappear.

Instead, he began a series of attempts and studies inside the Morgue.

As an established Konoha Jonin, Miura Ikkō's strength and experience were far beyond what a Genin like him, who had graduated only a little over a year ago, could compare to.

He had resolved an Elite Chunin in just a few breaths. He did not want to waste the remaining time.

Even if he only gained a little valuable experience from it, that would still be good.

Moreover, he felt that while the boost from the Rare Card was already exaggerated, its effects should not have been limited to that.

As time passed, the strength that did not belong to him finally dissipated.

Qifeng's eyes flickered.

Experience ended!

Due to actively learning in alignment with the experience, obtained additional attribute bonuses: Body +3; Spirit +1; Ninjutsu +1

Just as expected!

As long as he was willing to learn actively, he could gain unexpected rewards from the brief boost.

Five attribute points were equivalent to several single-attribute Boost Cards.

This round was not a loss!

Subconsciously reaching into his pocket, he pulled out the cigarettes he had swindled from Asuma. He happily put one between his lips, lit it, and took a deep drag.

Only after inhaling did he remember that this was the Morgue. Smoking here and polluting the environment was disrespectful to the corpses.

He froze and swallowed the smoke without exhaling a single puff.

Anyone who had smoked knew how awful it felt to swallow a mouthful of smoke. It was like swallowing a mouthful of wasabi.

He staggered outside and braced himself against the tin paste, dry-heaving nonstop.

It took a long while before he recovered.

The cigarette had already burned itself halfway down, with a long strand of gray ash hanging from it.

He flicked it with his index finger.

If he wanted to gain benefits from corpses, he first had to respect them.

He took another drag with the cigarette still between his teeth before finally feeling refreshed.

He stubbed it out and went back inside to deal with the broken glass and scattered shuriken.

He had already decided.

He would not sleep before midnight!

Only after opening the rewards could he rest easy.

He pulled over a battered rocking chair, stretched lazily, and lay down on it.

Amid an ear-grating creak, it began to sway gently.

If someone happened to pass by the Morgue at this moment, they would definitely be scared sick.

A Morgue, a rocking chair swaying back and forth, the soft creaking of wood rubbing together—add a little imagination, and the more one thought about it, the more horrifying it became.

"The life of a slacker is so peaceful." Maruyama Qifeng quite enjoyed himself.

Time passed quickly. Midnight arrived right on schedule as the clock hand ticked over.

The moment Qifeng, who had been lounging like a carefree slacker, saw the system notification, he sprang to his feet.

"I waited so long for this day to come, dreamed so long before finally making that dream come true."

Humming a little tune, he washed his hands, washed his face, and straightened his appearance.

He had to be sincere.

Walking up to the Red Corpse, he thought for a moment before moving over to the Green Corpse that had come to steal the body tonight.

"Brother, we had no grudge between us. I only wanted to quietly search a corpse. It wasn't like I said I wouldn't give it to you. I would have given it to you after opening the rewards. You were just too impatient, and in the end, you turned yourself into a corpse too. Was it really necessary?"

As he spoke, he placed his hand on the man's chest.

"Give me something good, and we'll call it even."

Then he activated the system.

Failed!

"..."

All those nice words had been for nothing, huh?

"Don't push your luck. Believe it or not, I'll throw you into the sea to feed the fish."

Again!

Success! Obtained Iwa-nin Huoshi's Kaseki's Obsession!

Hmm?

There was loot!

But just from the name, he could not tell what it did.

He opened the system panel. It was a Human Skin Mask as thin as a cicada's wing. He brought up its item details.

Name: Kaseki's Obsession

Description: Iwagakure Chunin Huoshi infiltrated Konoha at the age of eight and remained away from his village for twenty-three years. At the final moment, he only wanted to see Iwagakure once more with his own eyes.

Effect: Spirit +2 when worn. Can alter facial appearance and structure. Remaining uses: 5/5

Note: The dead have passed on, their souls returning home. Huoshi hoped to be buried in the Land of Earth.

Seeing the description of the item, Qifeng fell silent.

He reached into his pocket, hesitated for a moment, but ultimately did not take out a cigarette.

With a solemn expression, he said to Huoshi's corpse, "If I get the chance, I'll send you back to the Land of Earth."

People could have conflicts in life because of their opposing positions, but once they were dead, dust returned to dust and earth to earth.

As an Elite Chunin skilled in disguise, as well as a veteran infiltrator who had lurked in Konoha for twenty-three years, it barely made sense for him to possess something like this.

After all, both the Transformation Jutsu and techniques like Orochimaru's Vanishing Facial Copy Technique produced Chakra fluctuations. They were difficult to conceal from sensory-type ninja, let alone the Byakugan of the Hyuga Clan.

But although this Human Skin Mask did not transform someone perfectly, it was instead easier to use for disguise.

With this, Qifeng now had a way to conceal his identity while doing many things he did not want to expose.

Perhaps because it had heard his promise, the third draw went smoothly.

Success! Obtained a Random Single Attribute +2 Boost Card!

Without hesitation, he used it on himself.

Ninjutsu +2!

After finishing with the Green Corpse, the Red Corpse that Qifeng had been eagerly awaiting was finally up.

Suppressing his excitement, he placed his hand on it.

Red Corpse, success rate 15%. Search the corpse? (This time 3/3, today 6/9)

A fifteen percent success rate!

The moment to test his lucky bloodline had finally arrived!

Yes!