Fur Bristling

Hiruzen Sarutobi had clearly worried too much. No matter what he thought, he could not stop the bromance blooming between Kakashi and Zhang Miao.

The reason was simple. Kakashi had just lost an important companion and his mentor. To fill the void in his heart and share the pain within, he desperately needed a new bond.

As the orphaned child of Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki, Zhang Miao completely met Kakashi's needs. Thus, Kakashi would devote himself wholeheartedly to this relationship—or rather, this responsibility.

As for Zhang Miao, to carry out his plan to revive Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki while taking revenge on Obito Uchiha, he urgently needed to increase his strength. Therefore, he needed to collect all of Kakashi's Ninja Fragments as soon as possible and recruit the five-star Jonin Kakashi.

Once he recruited Kakashi, Zhang Miao would not only gain a capable helper utterly loyal to him, but would also directly obtain a Jonin's Chakra and ninjutsu. This was crucial to his future plans!

For all these reasons, Zhang Miao and Kakashi would have a long period of "bromance-burning days."

And now, those days had only just begun.

"I'm here to take Uzumaki Ryunosuke out. I already have Third Lord's permission!"

Standing in front of Zhang Miao's residence, Kakashi took out a scroll and handed it to the Anbu at the door.

The Anbu wearing a Cat Face Mask clearly recognized Kakashi. After taking the scroll and glancing at it, he returned it to Kakashi and nodded.

"I understand, senior. You may take that child away!"

At the Anbu's words, Kakashi's brow immediately furrowed, but he said nothing. He merely nodded, opened the door, and walked inside.

At that moment, Zhang Miao was crouching on the floor with a baby bottle in hand, staring wide-eyed at the Anbu assigned to watch him. When he saw Kakashi enter, he immediately looked up and grinned.

"You finally came. If you'd been any later, I would've had to drink this tasteless stuff!"

With that, Zhang Miao tossed the bottle aside, pushed himself up by his knees, and stretched lazily.

"Ha! Let's go eat fish. Are we having pan-fried river fish again today?"

Seeing Zhang Miao's actions, Kakashi's heart warmed. He immediately nodded.

"Yeah. Let's go!"

After saying that, Kakashi turned and left.

Kakashi usually spoke very little in front of others, and Zhang Miao knew that, so he did not mind. Seeing Kakashi leave, he hurried after him.

But just as he was about to reach the door, Zhang Miao suddenly heard a baby crying behind him. He immediately stopped, turned around, and ran back.

Seeing this, Kakashi stopped as well and looked at Zhang Miao.

Naruto was crying. Perhaps he was hungry, or perhaps Zhang Miao had spoken too loudly and woken him up. In any case, he was now crying nonstop.

Zhang Miao ran to his little crib, picked him up, then grabbed the bottle he had tossed onto the floor earlier and put it into Naruto's mouth. Very quickly, Naruto stopped crying and began drinking earnestly.

Kakashi's eyes widened at the sight.

This kid was pretty good!

Actually, Zhang Miao had learned it just by watching. Whenever Naruto cried before, that female Anbu ninja had done the same thing.

Besides, whenever Naruto cried, there was an eighty to ninety percent chance he was hungry. Stuff a bottle in his mouth, and it was bound to work!

After finishing his milk, Naruto soon fell asleep. Looking at the sleeping little guy, Zhang Miao smiled faintly, carried him to the door, and nodded at Kakashi.

"Let's go!"

Zhang Miao was about to walk out when the Anbu at the door stopped him.

"Put the Jinchuriki down!"

"What?"

At those words, the smile vanished from Zhang Miao's face. He immediately looked up and glared furiously at the Anbu who had spoken.

"This is my little brother, Naruto Uzumaki, not some fucking Jinchuriki! Is this how Third Elder teaches his subordinates? I'm warning you—don't let me hear that word again, or you can go explain yourself to Third Elder!"

Zhang Miao's sudden outburst startled everyone present. Even Kakashi's eyes revealed surprise.

"I couldn't tell this guy had such a violent temper... No, it seems everyone in the Uzumaki Clan has a violent temper..."

Thinking of that, Kakashi suddenly remembered his teacher's wife, Kushina Uzumaki, and a trace of understanding flashed through his eyes.

Naturally, the Anbu Zhang Miao had berated was unhappy about being lectured by a child. But just as he was about to teach Zhang Miao a lesson, Kakashi reached out and stopped him.

"That's enough. This matter ends here. And the Jinchuriki matter really does need to be kept secret, so don't mention that word again."

Kakashi was young, but he was already an Anbu veteran. His words naturally carried weight. Hearing him, the Anbu could only obediently agree.

"Yes!"

After hearing his response, Kakashi nodded, then looked at Zhang Miao again.

"Ryunosuke, your little brother Naruto Uzumaki really does need Anbu protection, so you should put him back. It's for his own good too!"

"Hmph!" The moment Kakashi finished speaking, Zhang Miao snorted disdainfully. "To put it plainly, aren't you just afraid that thing sealed inside my little brother's body will get out? Tch!"

"..."

Zhang Miao's words clearly exceeded everyone's expectations. They had not expected him to know such a confidential matter, and they immediately looked at one another, seemingly wondering who had let it slip.

But Zhang Miao had no interest in paying attention to them. After speaking, he put Naruto back into the crib, then swung his arm and smacked the sleeping Naruto right on the forehead with a slap!

"Waa... Waaaah..."

Zhang Miao's action once again exceeded everyone's expectations. Looking at Naruto bawling loudly, everyone—including Kakashi—was dumbfounded.

What was he doing?

Under everyone's astonished gazes, Zhang Miao turned around with a smile, slowly walked to the door, and casually jerked his chin at Kakashi.

"Let's go. We're going to your place for fish!"

Kakashi: "..."

The Anbu: "..."

Ignoring everyone's baffled stares, Zhang Miao walked straight out after saying that. Seeing him leave, Kakashi hurriedly nodded to the nearby Anbu, then quickly followed after him.

At first, neither Kakashi nor Zhang Miao spoke as they walked toward Kakashi's house. But after ten minutes, Kakashi finally could not help opening his mouth.

"Ryunosuke, do you hate your little brother?"

"How could I?" Zhang Miao turned toward him with a surprised look. "He's my only family in this world. I fucking love him to death. Whoever dares bully him, I'll fight them to the death!"

Kakashi: "..."

Then why had he just made him cry?

Of course, Kakashi did not say that aloud. After all, Zhang Miao had bristled at the mere mention of "Jinchuriki." From that alone, it was clear that he truly loved his little brother.

Anyway, this guy clearly was not like normal people. Maybe that slap was his way of showing love?

Kakashi did not know that Zhang Miao had not slapped Naruto to express his love, but for the pleasant system notification.

"Ding! Congratulations, Host! You have obtained nine-star ninja Naruto Uzumaki (Asura) Fragment x1, and eight-star Tailed Beast Kurama (Yang) Fragment x5!"

A double jackpot with one shot! Oh yeah!