Framed

Although Zhang Miao kept grumbling things like "Kakashi, you unfilial brat" in his heart, it was only a way to vent his dissatisfaction with the lottery results.

Because he knew perfectly well that the results had little to do with Kakashi. His luck had simply been bad.

Zhang Miao had been sticking close to Kakashi these past few days, and he had only managed to get these twenty Kakashi Ninja Fragments after a great deal of effort.

He had originally planned to save up four hundred, then recruit his own ninja and improve his strength. But this time, he had failed to hold back and used half of them for the lottery.

Using half for the lottery would have been one thing, but less than half of what he got had any value. That was what Zhang Miao could not accept.

In Zhang Miao's eyes, the Kakashi Ninja Fragments he had used for the lottery were five-star, yet among the things he drew, there were only four seven-star Ninja Fragments. Everything else was a loss.

Especially those two copies of "Icha Icha Paradise" and that one hundred Land of Fire Currency note. That was a massive loss!

What could one hundred Land of Fire Currency buy in Konoha? A large bowl of Char Siu Rib Ramen, that was all!

I don't even like Icha Icha Paradise. If this isn't a loss, then what is?

At that moment, Zhang Miao was even somewhat grateful for the system's once-a-day lottery restriction. After the draw ended, if not for that limitation, he definitely would have put in the remaining ten Kakashi Ninja Fragments out of sheer unwillingness to accept it!

"Gambling mentality is dangerous!" Zhang Miao sighed again. "Sigh, from now on, I'd better honestly save Ninja Fragments and recruit ninjas. That's the proper path!"

After making up his mind, Zhang Miao immediately felt much more relaxed. He lifted the blanket, looked up at Naruto sleeping soundly nearby, and grinned.

"Hehe! This guy sure is sleeping well. Forget it, it's getting late. I should sleep too!"

With that, Zhang Miao yawned and crawled back under the covers.

The next day, Zhang Miao was awakened by the sound of a crying baby. Looking up, he found that the sun was already high outside the window.

"It's already this late?"

Zhang Miao was the sort of person who found it hard to fall asleep again once awake, so he simply threw off the blanket and jumped out of bed. Then he ran to Naruto's bed, picked him up, and called toward the door while soothing him.

"Uncle Cat Face at the door, come in and feed the baby!"

The moment Zhang Miao finished speaking, the door burst open with a bang. A burly Anbu wearing a cat face mask walked in.

If he had not been wearing his mask, Zhang Miao would definitely have seen his twitching dark expression!

What did "Uncle Cat Face, come in and feed the baby" even mean? Did he have that function?

But when he saw Naruto wailing in Zhang Miao's arms, he still nodded to the other Anbu at the door.

"Nightingale, go heat up two bottles of milk!"

"Yes, Senior!"

Nightingale was the female Anbu responsible for recruiting Zhang Miao and Naruto. Upon hearing the cat-faced Anbu's words, she immediately turned to head to the kitchen and warm the formula.

Seeing this, Zhang Miao quickly stopped her.

"Hey... Sister Nightingale, one bottle is enough!"

Upon hearing Zhang Miao, Nightingale halted and turned to look at the cat-faced Anbu, who nodded.

"Then one bottle."

"Yes!"

Nightingale answered and headed for the kitchen to warm the formula. Watching her leave, the cat-faced Anbu could not help sighing inwardly.

Sigh...

The cat-faced Anbu felt that his life was bitter. He was an elite Anbu, yet he had been assigned to look after children. What kind of nonsense was this?

But as an Anbu directly under the Hokage, the Hokage's orders were absolute. Thus, he could only earnestly carry out the task of caring for children while secretly praying in his heart.

Let this month end quickly. Next month, someone else can replace me. Compared to watching children, I'd rather go to the border and fight those guys from Iwagakure!

The Third Shinobi World War had only just ended. The Land of Wind lacked the strength to fight on, the Land of Lightning was busy gathering ninjutsu on a massive scale for an arms race, and the Fourth Mizukage of the Land of Water was controlled by Madara Uchiha, shutting the country away and turning Kirigakure into the "Bloody Mist Village."

The only one left was Iwagakure of the Land of Earth. During the Battle of Kannabi Bridge in the Third Shinobi World War, Minato Namikaze had killed countless Stone Ninja by himself and destroyed Kannabi Bridge, the Land of Earth's vital transportation bridge, forcibly earning the title of the "Yellow Flash."

If Minato Namikaze were still alive, Iwagakure would never dare make these little moves. But after news of Minato Namikaze's death spread, Iwagakure naturally began to stir. They did not dare launch a full-scale invasion, but their frequent little probes were endlessly irritating.

Most of Konoha's fighting force had now been sent to defend the border, specifically to deal with those people hoping to take advantage of the situation. The cat-faced ninja felt that if not for the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi's order, he should have been at the border handling defense as well.

"I wonder how my companions are doing!"

Thinking of his companions who might be fighting at that very moment, the cat-faced ninja grew worried.

At that moment, footsteps came from the door. He immediately composed himself and looked outside vigilantly, only to see a white-haired boy slowly approaching. Who else could it be but Kakashi?

As fellow Anbu directly under the Hokage, the cat-faced ninja knew Kakashi. Seeing that it was him, he lowered his guard and called to Zhang Miao.

"Red-haired brat, Kakashi is here to pick you up!"

Kakashi was here?

Hearing the cat-faced Anbu's words, Zhang Miao immediately carried Naruto to the door and looked outside. When he saw Kakashi, delight instantly filled his heart, as though he were watching glowing white Ninja Fragments fly toward him.

But the cat-faced ninja's "red-haired brat" made Zhang Miao rather unhappy. Just then, Nightingale emerged carrying a full bottle of milk, so Zhang Miao handed Naruto to her. As she turned around, he swiftly gave her plump butt a hard squeeze!

"Ah!"

Though Nightingale was an Anbu, that did not change the fact that she was a woman. When a sensitive area was suddenly attacked, she cried out and spun around.

Then she saw the colleague behind her wearing a Cat Face Mask, as well as the red-haired boy looking at the cat-faced Anbu with utter disdain.

Seeing this, Nightingale seemed to understand. She immediately flew into a rage.

"Senior Takumu, you... shameless!"

With that, Nightingale slapped him across the face. The blow sent the cat-faced Anbu's mask flying.

Takumu was immediately stunned by the slap.

Although he had long harbored thoughts about Nightingale's butt, he had always lacked the courage to act. He never expected Zhang Miao to openly pull such a dirty trick right in front of him, and he certainly never expected to be the one taking the blame.

There was no justice in this world!

Thinking of this, he quickly opened his mouth to explain to Nightingale.

"Um... Nightingale, listen to me. It was actually this red-haired brat..."

Takumu had wanted to say that Zhang Miao had been the one who did it, but before he could finish, Nightingale angrily interrupted him.

"Hmph, Senior Takumu, are you trying to frame Ryunosuke? Ryunosuke isn't even one year old yet! Senior Takumu, I misjudged you. I'm going to report this to Lord Hokage!"

After saying that, Nightingale shoved Naruto and the bottle into his hands, then vanished from the spot with a whoosh.

"Nightingale, you..."

Watching Nightingale disappear, the rest of Takumu's words caught in his throat. When he looked toward the doorway, he discovered that the culprit behind this whole incident had already climbed onto Kakashi's back. Zhang Miao was giving him a teasing wink before waving.

That expression clearly said—

Hey! It was me!

At the same time, Naruto, who was drinking milk in his arms, seemed to choke on it and immediately began bawling. He cried so loudly that even Kakashi, who had already carried Zhang Miao dozens of steps away, raised an eyebrow.

What a set of lungs!

Kakashi feared crying children most, so he quickly sped up.

Meanwhile, Takumu held the bawling Naruto and watched Zhang Miao gradually disappear into the distance. Thinking of Nightingale, who had run off to complain at the Hokage's Office, he felt like crying without tears.

"I hate children! I hate them most of all!"