After a quick chat with Fukuda Gen, Asuma waved goodbye and bounced out of the scene, leaving Kifune alone in a corridor that looked like a tornado had a party in it.
Now, here's the kicker: Asuma could've just whipped out a cigarette to look cool, but no—he took the entire pack with him. Smooth move, Asuma. Real smooth.
Kifune stood there, surrounded by chaos, probably wondering if he should clean up or just set the whole place on fire and blame it on the cigarettes.
Meanwhile, outside, the Hidden Leaf Village was buzzing with life—kids running around, shops bustling, and probably someone yelling about ramen. It was the kind of prosperity that made you want to take a selfie and caption it #Blessed.
But when Kifune returned to the morgue (because apparently, that's where the fun is), the sun had dipped below the horizon, and the moon was doing its best to make Konoha look like a scene from a romantic ninja drama.
At the morgue door, a few medical ninjas were hanging out, probably debating whether to order pizza or sushi. When they saw Kifune, they handed him some corpse-filled scrolls, exchanged a few words (probably something like, "Don't forget to tip the delivery guy"), and then bolted.
Let's be real—no one wants to chill in a morgue longer than necessary. Even medical ninjas have standards.
Kifune, however, was living his best life. Alone. With corpses. Because nothing says "peace and quiet" like a room full of dead people.
He started unpacking the scrolls, laying the bodies on white-clothed wooden beds like he was setting up a very morbid Airbnb. But then—bam!—he froze.
One of the corpses, a burly dude covered in scars, was glowing red. Not white, green, or yellow. RED.
Now, for those who don't speak "corpse glow," here's the breakdown:
* White = Genin (rookie)
* Green = Chunin (mid-tier)
* Yellow = Jonin (pro)
* Red = Kage-level (big boss energy)
Kifune's brain short-circuited. "Movie-level?!" he thought, before immediately facepalming. "Nah, that's impossible."
He knew all the famous Kage-level ninjas, and this guy wasn't on the list. Sure, the corpse looked tough, but not "I-can-destroy-a-village-with-my-pinky" tough.
Kifune concluded that this guy was probably an elite Jonin or a quasi-Kage—someone strong but not quite legendary. Still, red glow = big deal.
Here's the kicker: Kifune's system had run out of daily uses. So, he was basically staring at a shiny red corpse with no way to figure out its secrets. It was like finding a legendary weapon in a video game but realizing you're out of mana.
Uncomfortable.
But hey, ninjas are all about patience, right? Kifune decided to call it a night, promising himself he'd crack the mystery tomorrow.
As he cleaned up and treated the corpses (because even dead people deserve spa days), he heard something outside. Footsteps. At midnight. Near the morgue.
Yeah, because that's not creepy at all.
Kifune's ninja senses tingled. If it were the ANBU, they'd just waltz in. But this? Sneaky footsteps in the dark? Nope. Not today.
He blew out the candle, stood in the shadows, and waited. After a moment, the footsteps faded. Whoever it was had left.
Kifune sighed in relief. "Note to self," he muttered, "next time, bring popcorn. This is better than a horror movie."
To Be Continued…
(Will Kifune unlock the red corpse's secrets?
Will Asuma ever return that pack of cigarettes? Stay tuned!)