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

He was a person who liked quiet, a habit perhaps formed from his previous life as a shut-in, or perhaps from spending too much time in the quiet morgue.

However, he didn't reject this kind of liveliness.

It added a touch of vitality to the indifferent ninja world.

But he could also clearly feel that the Anbu's control over the streets, or rather, over the entire Hidden Leaf Village, had been further strengthened.

This was to prevent any sudden situations from occurring during the Chunin Exams.

Of course, in this special phase where war was about to break out, Qifeng believed that the Anbu were more focused on preventing those with ulterior motives from infiltrating the Hidden Leaf Village and doing unfriendly things.

Hmm?

Just as he passed through the most bustling street and entered the alleyway, preparing to return to the morgue, he suddenly heard some unusual movements.

The movements weren't loud.

Originally, he didn't really want to go and see.

But the movements were happening on his way back.

As he approached, he quickly understood the reason.

He saw two groups of people standing in the small alley, none of them very old, but the atmosphere seemed unfriendly.

One side wore the headbands of Hidden Leaf ninjas, while the other side wore the headbands of Hidden Mist ninjas.

"Forget it, it's better to avoid trouble, let's just leave it to the Anbu."

He could tell that both sides were genin from their respective villages.

He wasn't surprised by this kind of animosity between genin from different villages, after all, such things had happened in the original story, and besides, the relationship between Hidden Leaf and Hidden Mist was not very friendly right now.

However, just as he was about to take a detour, a casual glance caught a familiar figure among the Hidden Mist ninjas.

"...... Huh."

If he wasn't mistaken, that person should be......

Kisame Hoshigaki!

One of the future Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, the owner of the great sword Samehada, a terrifying existence known as the "Tailless Tailed Beast", a member of the Akatsuki, and Itachi Uchiha's partner.

However, Kisame Hoshigaki at this moment should only be around ten years old.

Qifeng was only able to barely recognize him because of his strange shark-like skin and the gill-like lines on his face.

As if sensing Qifeng's gaze, Kisame Hoshigaki, leaning against the wall, turned his head and met Qifeng's eyes.

A pair of shark-like eyes gave off a cold feeling.

He stopped in his tracks.

He rubbed his head, looking troubled.

"If Kisame Hoshigaki is here, I'm afraid these 'newborn calves' of Hidden Leaf genin will suffer before the Anbu arrive."

Qifeng stared at him for a second, then withdrew his gaze and muttered to himself.

His gaze swept over the Hidden Leaf side.

Okay, there isn't a single strong one, I estimate they wouldn't even be a match for Kisame Hoshigaki alone.

Should I intervene?

That is the question.

While Qifeng was observing them, the Hidden Mist ninjas also noticed this "uninvited guest".

Following their gaze, the Hidden Leaf side also noticed Qifeng standing not far behind them.

Qifeng shrugged.

Well, it seems like I can't avoid it.

If they hadn't noticed him, he could have just left.

But now that they've all seen him, if something unexpected really happens, and the higher-ups find out, he will also be held accountable.

After all, no matter what, he has now successfully shed his identity as a student and become a teacher.

After thinking about it, he put on a stern face, stepped forward and asked: "Ahem, what happened?"

Everyone looked at each other, not immediately answering Qifeng's sudden appearance.

The atmosphere became rather awkward.

"Qifeng?!"

Suddenly, someone from the Hidden Leaf side called out his name.

Qifeng secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

At least it's not so awkward.

Following the voice, he looked over.

"Qifeng, is that really you? We haven't seen each other much since graduation."

The person who spoke stepped forward and gently patted Qifeng's shoulder, seeming to know him.

It wasn't until the person's face appeared in front of Qifeng that he finally remembered.

This person, it seems, was his classmate before.

It's just that he really didn't have much presence, so he didn't remember him right away.

"Odasuke?"

"Why are you here?" Odasuke asked.

"Oh, I heard some movement, so I came to see, what happened?"

There's actually an "acquaintance" here.

He remembered that Odasuke, when he was in the ninja school, belonged to those mediocre students with extremely low presence, not as dazzling as the top students, nor as remarkably present as the underachievers.

Qifeng was one of the underachievers, so Odasuke recognized him.

Asked the reason.