"A mysterious intruder was instantly slain by a Konoha Jōnin within the village, and the body was never found?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen held his pipe between his lips, looking momentarily puzzled as he listened to the ANBU's report.
The death of an outsider wasn't anything major—especially given how tense the current situation was. Fortunately, Hiruzen had yet to sleep, still busy managing the border scouts around the Land of Fire, which allowed him to hear the report immediately.
However, with Konoha's increasing vigilance, the idea that a Chūnin could infiltrate the village so easily felt off.
Which meant...
"Perhaps he was a sleeper agent planted by another hidden village years ago. For whatever reason—whether he was exposed or chose to surface—he abandoned years of deep cover. That alone suggests his mission was of the utmost importance. No matter what has passed, there will always be traces left behind."
As expected of the Hokage, Sarutobi grasped the crux of the situation in just a few thoughts.
He took a deep drag from his pipe, then instructed calmly, "Investigate the individuals ANBU have been monitoring. Go through them one by one and verify their identities."
Of course Hiruzen was aware that there were sleeper agents inside Konoha—just as Konoha itself had planted spies within other villages through the Root division.
The reason he hadn't removed them was because sometimes, knowing who they were and manipulating them from the shadows was far more valuable than simply eliminating them.
"Yes," the ANBU member replied crisply, then vanished.
Sarutobi stood and moved to the window, looking out at the peaceful village bathed in moonlight. He exhaled a slow stream of smoke.
Konoha had been founded by the First Hokage, Senju Hashirama, and Uchiha Madara. When both perished after their legendary battle, the Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama, had held the line against the looming invasions from other hidden villages. When Tobirama passed the mantle to Hiruzen, the village had been left battered and war-torn.
Yet now, after decades of careful leadership, Konoha had once again risen to the top of the shinobi world.
But the world was trembling again.
Another war was coming.
He smacked his lips. "So where did the body go?"
…
The body, of course, had been quietly taken by Maruyama Shin and returned to the morgue.
No one would have guessed that the "Konoha Jōnin" detected by the ANBU's sensory division was just a lowly corpse handler, someone completely unremarkable.
Even though the battlefield wasn't far from the morgue, no one would think to link it to him.
It simply didn't make sense.
And Shin was more than happy to leave it that way.
If Sarutobi Hiruzen ever found out, Shin would likely be forced into high-risk missions, perhaps even shoved to the front lines.
If he were actually that powerful, fine. But he wasn't.
Better to quietly keep developing, to survive.
He looked at the two corpses lying on the wooden table—one glowing red, the other green. His grin stiffened slightly, eyes twitching.
That rare experience card had cost a fortune. If he couldn't recover its value from these two corpses, he'd suffer a massive loss.
Still feeling the lingering strength granted by the card, Shin didn't waste time standing around. Instead, he immediately began practicing and experimenting inside the morgue.
After all, Miura Kazuhito had been a seasoned Jōnin. Whether in raw power or battle experience, he was leagues beyond someone like Shin, who had only graduated a little over a year ago.
In just a few seconds, Miura's abilities had defeated an elite Chūnin. Shin wasn't about to waste whatever time remained.
Even absorbing a bit of that knowledge would be invaluable.
And he suspected that a rare card's bonus couldn't be limited to just stats alone.
Sure enough, once the temporary power faded, a message from the system appeared.
[Experience Complete]
[Due to active engagement and learning, bonus stats gained: Body +3, Mind +1, Ninjutsu +1]
Just as he thought.
As long as he stayed focused and kept learning, there were extra rewards to be had, even after the effect wore off.
Five stat points! That was equivalent to multiple single-attribute enhancement cards.
Definitely worth it.
Without thinking, he fished out the cigarette he had "borrowed" from Asuma and lit it, taking a long, satisfying drag.
Only after inhaling did he remember—he was in the morgue. Smoking here was incredibly disrespectful to the corpses.
He panicked, holding the smoke in, too embarrassed to exhale. Anyone who's smoked knows what it feels like to swallow a mouthful of smoke—it's like gulping down a spoonful of wasabi.
Staggering out, he doubled over next to a tin can, retching dryly.
It took a long time to recover.
By then, the cigarette had burned halfway down, ash hanging off in a long curl.
He flicked it off with a snap of his finger.
If you want something from a corpse, you've got to show it respect.
Only after another drag did he feel clear-headed again. He stubbed out the butt and returned to clean up the broken glass and scattered shuriken.
He made up his mind.
No sleep before midnight. Not until he drew his rewards.
He dragged over a battered old rocking chair and flopped into it, stretching with a sigh.
The chair creaked loudly as it swayed gently.
If anyone happened to walk past the morgue right now, they'd probably be scared stiff.
A gently creaking rocking chair. In a morgue. With just the scraping of wood filling the silence. It was the kind of scene that could trigger all kinds of horrifying imagery.
"Ah, the carefree life of a salted fish," Maruyama Shin mused, completely content.
Time passed quickly. When the clock struck midnight, he sprang up the moment the system message appeared.
"I've waited so long for this day! Dreamed so long to make this dream come true…"
He hummed the lyrics softly, then went to wash his hands and face, fixing his hair neatly.
One had to approach this with reverence.
Standing before the red-glowing corpse, he paused, then shifted to the green-glowing one—the guy who had tried to snatch the corpse from him earlier.
"Listen, we didn't have any real grudge. I just wanted to peacefully loot some corpses. It's not like I wouldn't have shared. I just needed to open the box first. But you were too impatient and ended up a corpse yourself. Was it really worth it?"
He placed his hand gently on the man's chest.
"Give me something decent, and we'll call it even."
System prompt appeared.
[Failed!]
"…Seriously?"
So all those kind words were for nothing?
"Don't push your luck, man. Keep acting stubborn and I'll toss you into the ocean to feed the fish."
Try again!
[Success! Acquired: Hoshii's Obsession]
Oh?
Jackpot.
Although the name alone didn't explain its function.
Opening the system inventory, he found a paper-thin human skin mask.
[Name: Hoshii's Obsession]
[Description: A Chūnin from Iwagakure, Hoshii infiltrated Konoha at the age of eight and remained hidden for twenty-three years. In his final moment, all he wanted was to see his homeland one last time.]
[Effect: +2 Mind when worn. Alters facial structure and appearance. Remaining uses: 5/5]
[Note: The dead have passed, and their souls return home. Hoshii wished to be buried in the Land of Earth.]
Reading the item description, Shin fell silent.
He reached into his pocket, hesitated, then left the cigarette untouched.
Looking solemnly at Hoshii's corpse, he said, "If I get the chance, I'll send you back to the Land of Earth."
In life, people fight over their beliefs. In death, let dust return to dust.
As a skilled elite Chūnin who had spent twenty-three years undercover in Konoha, owning something like this was just barely believable.
After all, Transformation Jutsu and Orochimaru's Face-Stealing Technique still emitted chakra, which could be detected by sensory-type shinobi—especially the Hyūga clan's Byakugan.
But this kind of human-skin mask, though imperfect in disguise, was much harder to detect.
With this, Shin could carry out many tasks while keeping his identity hidden.
Maybe it was because of the promise he made, but the third attempt at drawing a reward went smoothly.
[Success! Acquired: +2 Random Attribute Boost Card]
[Applied: Ninjutsu +2]
With the green corpse taken care of, it was finally time for the one he'd been most looking forward to—the red corpse.
Shin took a deep breath, placed his hand on it, and suppressed his excitement.
[Red corpse. Success rate: 15%. Proceed with extraction? (Attempt 3/3, Today: 6/9)]
[Yes!]
The moment of truth had come. Time to see if the blood of a true lucky dog ran in his veins.
*********
Hey everyone! I'll be dropping an extra 1 chapter once we hit 200, 400 power stones! If you're enjoying the story, don't forget to spend some power stones. I'd really appreciate the support. Thanks a bunch!