In Konoha, I collected corpses on the battlefield for ten years

For Kifū, the attack by the Mist Ninja was just a minor interlude.

But for the Konoha higher-ups and Kisame Hoshigaki in the monitoring room, it was a significant matter, potentially influencing the diplomatic direction between Konoha and the Hidden Mist Village, as well as the Mist Village's stance and level of involvement in the upcoming war.

However, when Nara Shikaku and Kisame Hoshigaki learned of the outcome, they were both somewhat bewildered.

They didn't fight?

Or did they not encounter each other?

Nara Shikaku breathed a slight sigh of relief; not fighting wasn't necessarily a good result, but at least it wasn't the worst-case scenario.

Kisame Hoshigaki frowned. He knew that Kisame Hoshigaki would definitely prioritize the mission. This situation shouldn't have occurred, but with the Chunin Exams still ongoing, he could only wait until they ended to inquire about the situation at the time.

However, when Kisame Hoshigaki reappeared on the monitoring screen, the others were once again stunned.

Two Mist Ninja were missing, and Kisame Hoshigaki was unscathed. Even alone, he still posed a significant threat within the Forest of Death.

But the key question was, where were the two Mist Ninja?

In unison, the two exchanged glances, both seeing the other's confusion.

But, the exam continued.

......

Back in the morgue, Kifū skillfully placed the collected corpses and tidied their attire.

It had to be said that although it was the Chunin Exams, quite a few of the participating examinees possessed Chunin-level strength.

Especially those ninjas from the Hidden Mist Village, the Hidden Cloud Village, and the Hidden Sand Village. The Chunin rate among Konoha ninjas was noticeably lower.

Because there were many corpses, Kifū didn't waste any time.

When he finished his work, looking at the corpses restored to their "original state," he nodded with satisfaction.

Recently, he felt that his cleanliness obsession was getting more and more serious, not only regarding the environment but also his almost obsessive pursuit of perfection with these corpses.

"Tsk."

Clicking his tongue, he shook his head.

After tidying up the corpses, the next step was, of course, the routine corpse looting.

Originally, he didn't have much hope for these nominally Genin corpses who actually possessed Chunin strength, and he was just performing the corpse looting lottery as a matter of routine.

But unexpectedly, he actually drew some good stuff from these corpses.

[Success! Obtained Special Puppet Technique Scroll (Part 1)!]

It came from the corpse of a Sand Village Chunin.

"Special Puppet Technique Scroll?"

Kifū took out the scroll with some surprise.

When he roughly scanned the contents of the scroll, he revealed a look of astonishment.

Because what the scroll described was actually the process of creating Human Puppets.

Human Puppets!

As a village specializing in the use of puppet techniques, the Hidden Sand Village considered Human Puppets a taboo. Anyone who touched this knowledge, once exposed, would be subjected to relentless encirclement and suppression by Sand ninjas.

Puppet techniques were skills researched by the Second Kazekage, Shamon of the Hidden Sand Village, and were a technique that combined puppet creation and puppet manipulation.

General puppet creation involves using various woods, metals, or other materials, combined through special techniques.

Coupled with puppet manipulation techniques, it allows puppeteers to not have to participate in battles personally and to exert some bizarre abilities.

However, the creation of Human Puppets involves using human bodies, removing their internal organs, retaining their original chakra and abilities, and maximizing the preservation of the original abilities of the Human Puppet.

But Human Puppets ultimately need to be based on humans, and the creation process is very cruel, so it is explicitly prohibited by the Hidden Sand Village.

However, some things exist for a reason.

There are still many Sand ninjas secretly researching the creation of Human Puppets.

In Kifū's memory, the one who brought the Human Puppet technique to the extreme was Sasori of the Red Sand, the grandson of Chiyo, an elder of the Hidden Sand Village.

This terrifying being, who would later assassinate the Third Kazekage of the Hidden Sand Village and join the Akatsuki organization, even completely transformed himself into a Human Puppet.

It could be said that although the seeds of the Third Shinobi World War had long been present, the real culprit that led to the outbreak of this war was him, Sasori of the Red Sand.

"Sasori has probably already tinkered with quite a few Human Puppets by now, right? Could this Sand ninja have some connection with Sasori?"

Kifū closed the scroll.

Although this kind of thing has high practical value, it's only the first part. Without the manipulation techniques, he can't make use of it.

However, puppet creation is interconnected. If he can find some weaknesses or shortcomings of ordinary puppets from it, it might be able to play an unexpected role on the battlefield in the future.

Regarding Human Puppets.

To be honest, Kifū, who was used to seeing corpses, wasn't really repulsed.

His acceptance was very high, perhaps because he had known about the existence of Human Puppets for a long time.

"In the future, in addition to those messy ninja world novels, there will be one more leisure reading material."

In this regard, Kifū felt quite good about it.

A picture suddenly flashed in his mind.

He made a Human Puppet and could control it perfectly.

Then he said to the puppet: "You are responsible for showing off, and I am responsible for playing it safe."

Thinking of this, he shook his head with a smile, not taking it to heart.

It's just that if people knew that he regarded the scroll for making Human Puppets as leisure reading material, who knows what others would think.

The main reason is that those novels in the ninja world are too trashy. For him, who is used to seeing all kinds of novels, they are really not much different from reading language textbooks.

And the creation of Human Puppets also contains a lot of knowledge about human body structure, which may not be useful, but it's better to know than not to know.

At the same time, the appearance of this scroll inevitably made Kifū think of the assassination of the Third Kazekage by Sasori of the Red Sand.

"The war is coming soon..."