Visiting Owl

Facing Owl, whom Might Guy had knocked unconscious, Zhang Miao's rationality told him that the wisest course of action was to leave Owl alone for now and prioritize disguising Might Guy as an ordinary villager and hiding him away.

After all, the recruited Might Guy had no records whatsoever in Konoha, yet he possessed the ability to knock out an Anbu in an instant. If he were discovered, it would cause a great deal of trouble.

Therefore, having him disguise himself as an ordinary villager and hide until dawn, then quietly leave the village, would avoid a lot of trouble.

By then, even if Owl woke up, Zhang Miao could claim that Might Guy had come to kidnap him, but fled in a hurry after fighting Owl.

That way, Zhang Miao could remove himself completely from the incident. After all, few people would suspect a child from their own village.

But Zhang Miao couldn't bring himself to do that.

Ever since Kakashi had left, Owl had been taking care of Zhang Miao and Naruto for the past month or so. Even when Zhang Miao refused to drink formula, Owl would pay out of his own pocket to buy him buns, rice balls, dango, and other food.

Zhang Miao believed that even a drop of kindness should be repaid with a gushing spring, not to mention that he had eaten Owl's food for free for an entire month. He couldn't possibly stand by and watch Owl spend the whole night outside in the dew. Zhang Miao simply couldn't do something so heartless.

Besides, Might Guy's kicks were so powerful. If that kick had injured Owl and he wasn't taken to the hospital in time, leaving him with some lasting complications, Zhang Miao would probably feel guilty for the rest of his life.

So after thinking it over, Zhang Miao decided to send Owl to the hospital.

Might Guy had been recruited by Zhang Miao, so he naturally obeyed his orders completely. The moment Zhang Miao finished speaking, he immediately slung Owl over his back and headed for Leaf Village Hospital.

Watching Might Guy's figure quickly vanish from sight, Zhang Miao let out a long sigh.

"Ah... looks like I'll have to make Naruto's formula and change his diapers myself tomorrow morning."

After saying that, Zhang Miao shook his head and turned around to return to the house and sleep.

As usual, when the first ray of morning sunlight shone into the room, Naruto's cries rang out right on schedule.

"Waaah, waaah, waaah..."

Hearing the crying, Zhang Miao hurriedly climbed out of bed and headed toward the kitchen while rubbing his eyes.

Owl had prepared the formula and boiled water the previous afternoon, which saved Zhang Miao a lot of trouble.

Before long, he had mixed the formula. After testing the temperature, he immediately fed it to Naruto while changing his diaper.

Once he was done, Zhang Miao found a larger towel, wrapped Naruto up in it, tied it around his neck, picked him up, and headed straight outside.

When Zhang Miao opened the door, he found someone lying in the corridor outside. He was startled at first, but once he saw who it was, he couldn't help rolling his eyes.

"Hey, why are you lying outside my door?"

The person lying there was none other than the Might Guy Zhang Miao had recruited the night before!

Hearing Zhang Miao's words, he immediately sat up cross-legged and let out a long yawn.

"Yaaawn—Master, you're awake? Yesterday, after I delivered that person to Leaf Village Hospital as you ordered, I came back. But when I saw that you were already asleep, I was afraid of disturbing you, Master, so I could only sleep outside!"

Only then did Zhang Miao realize that, as a ninja he had recruited, Might Guy was essentially an unregistered resident in Konoha. He had nowhere to live, and nowhere else to go if he didn't follow Zhang Miao.

Thinking of this, Zhang Miao frowned. After pondering for a while, he spoke again.

"Mm, let's go to the hospital and see how Owl is first. We'll talk about your situation later!"

"Yes, Master!"

Hearing the title "Master" again, Zhang Miao frowned once more.

"Don't call me Master anymore. Since I recruited you, you're my subordinate. Call me Boss from now on!"

To Might Guy, Zhang Miao's orders were absolute. The moment Zhang Miao finished speaking, he immediately nodded.

"I understand, Boss!"

Seeing that Might Guy was so sensible, Zhang Miao nodded in satisfaction.

"Good. Let's go to Leaf Village Hospital first!"

With that, Zhang Miao put on his shoes and walked ahead with Naruto in his arms. Seeing him leave, Might Guy hurriedly followed.

Before long, the two arrived at Leaf Village Hospital. The moment Zhang Miao entered with Naruto in his arms, a Medical Ninja came forward to greet him.

"Is the child sick?"

"No!" Zhang Miao quickly shook his head. "My little brother is fine. I came to ask about the Anbu who was brought in last night. How is he? Has he woken up?"

Hearing Zhang Miao's words, the Medical Ninja realized that he had misunderstood and immediately smiled.

"Haha, so you're here to see Mr. Owl. You're his younger brother, right? He's already awake and is making a fuss about leaving. He's in the second room on the left on the second floor. Go upstairs and try to persuade him!"

"Mm, got it. Thank you!"

After thanking the Medical Ninja, Zhang Miao carried Naruto up to the second floor. As soon as he arrived, he heard an argument coming from a nearby room.

"Move aside! I have an extremely important mission to carry out!"

"No, Mr. Owl. Your head injury hasn't healed yet. You need to remain in the hospital for further treatment. You can't leave now!"

"Move aside! I have to go!"

"No..."

Hearing the argument, Zhang Miao shook his head helplessly, then walked straight to the door and knocked.

"Excuse me!"

With that, Zhang Miao pushed open the door and walked in, flashing Owl a broad grin.

"Are you feeling better, Owl?"

"Uh..."

Owl stared blankly as the two mission targets he had wanted to protect appeared right before him. But when he spotted Might Guy standing behind Zhang Miao, his mouth fell open again.

"Y-you are..."

Seeing Owl's shocked yet wary expression, Zhang Miao sighed helplessly.

"Sigh, this is actually all a misunderstanding!"

With that, Zhang Miao shot Might Guy a meaningful look. Guy knew he had acted rashly the night before, so he immediately stepped forward and gave Owl a ninety-degree bow.

"I'm sorry. Last night, I mistook you for an enemy and attacked you. That was my fault. I'm truly sorry. Please forgive me!"

Owl: "..."

Seeing Might Guy dressed in the standard Konoha ninja uniform, Owl's mouth twitched uncontrollably.

Just how huge a misunderstanding did it have to be for a Konoha ninja to mistake a Konoha Anbu operative for an enemy?

Although Owl wore a mask, Zhang Miao could roughly guess what he was thinking from his silence, so he began explaining again.

"Well... Owl, he's not actually a Konoha ninja. He's... he's a guardian ninja of our Uzumaki Clan. He only found me yesterday. But don't worry, he bears no ill will toward Konoha."

Owl: "..."

Seeing Owl remain silent, Zhang Miao realized that his explanation was completely unconvincing and riddled with holes.

At that thought, Zhang Miao let out a long sigh.

"Fine, it looks like I have no choice but to reveal his true identity. He's actually the younger half-brother of Might Duy, Konoha's so-called 'Eternal Genin'—Might Wei!"

"Ah?"

At Zhang Miao's explanation, everyone present was stunned.