Bad News

Just as Kakashi left the Hokage's Office, Zhang Miao had finished his usual spar with Itachi Uchiha. The two of them were now sitting in the hallway outside the room, drinking tea and eating snacks.

During their spar just now, Zhang Miao had once again defeated Itachi Uchiha with his elite-level taijutsu foundation and successfully obtained five of Itachi Uchiha's Ninja Fragments, achieving his goal for the day. He was in an excellent mood.

He held a Mitarashi Dango in one hand while draping the other around Itachi Uchiha's shoulders, his face full of gentle smiles.

"Hey, Itachi, winning and losing are only temporary. Besides, taijutsu was never your strong suit, so you don't need to take it too seriously."

Itachi: "..."

Easy for you to say when you're the one who won!

Seeing that Itachi Uchiha remained silent, Zhang Miao shrugged. Then, in just a few bites, he finished the Mitarashi Dango in his hand, beaming with delight.

"Mmm... these dumplings are so sweet, aren't they, Itachi?"

Itachi: "..."

Mikoto Uchiha sat nearby with Sasuke in her arms. Seeing Zhang Miao and Itachi Uchiha seated so close together, a gentle smile appeared on her face.

"It's wonderful that Itachi was able to make a friend like Ryunosuke!"

Perhaps because he had been born into the Uchiha Clan, or perhaps because of the halo of genius above his head, Itachi Uchiha had been far too solitary in the past. He had not even had a single friend. Yet Zhang Miao's arrival had changed that.

First, Zhang Miao did not reject the Uchiha Clan. Second, his strength was no weaker than Itachi Uchiha's, and in taijutsu, he even had the upper hand. Coupled with Fugaku Uchiha's approval, it was because of all this that the two could sit together as they did now.

Moreover, Mikoto Uchiha could tell that her son truly got along well with Zhang Miao. Otherwise, given Itachi Uchiha's temperament, he would never have allowed someone to put an arm around his neck like that.

In truth, Mikoto Uchiha also liked the optimistic and cheerful red-haired boy before her. Especially since he had arrived, even her husband seemed to have become more approachable.

Thinking of Fugaku Uchiha sticking out his tongue and bleating like a sheep earlier, Mikoto Uchiha could not help covering her mouth and laughing.

"Hehehehe..."

"Huh?"

Hearing Mikoto Uchiha's laughter, Zhang Miao immediately let go of Itachi Uchiha's neck and leaned closer.

"Aunt Mikoto, what are you laughing about? Did little Sasuke imitate a sheep again?"

As he spoke, Zhang Miao lowered his head to look at Sasuke in Mikoto Uchiha's arms and found the little fellow staring at him with wide, round eyes.

Zhang Miao's eyes rolled, and a mischievous grin immediately appeared on his face.

"Hehehe, what an adorable little guy. Come on, let big brother give you a kiss!"

As he spoke, Zhang Miao held Sasuke's little face and gave him two loud kisses. Then he even flicked out his tongue and licked his face full of saliva.

How could the little fellow have ever experienced something like this? He was immediately frightened by Zhang Miao and burst into tears with a "Waa!"

"Waa... wuwuwuwu..."

Seeing this, Mikoto Uchiha did not know whether to laugh or cry. But before she could say anything, a knock sounded from the door.

Knock, knock, knock!

"Please wait a moment!"

After hearing the knocking, Mikoto Uchiha handed Sasuke over to Itachi Uchiha and went to answer the door.

But she soon hurried back, her expression grave.

"Ryunosuke, an Anbu has arrived. He said Lord Hokage wants to see you and told you to come over."

The Third Elder was back?

Hearing Mikoto Uchiha's words, Zhang Miao's eyes widened in surprise, and he immediately stood up.

"Alright, I'll go take a look!"

With that, Zhang Miao quickly put on his shoes and ran toward the door. Seeing this, Mikoto Uchiha and Itachi Uchiha immediately followed after him.

However, when Zhang Miao reached the door and saw the figure standing outside, a delighted smile immediately appeared on his face.

"Kakashi? You're back?"

Although Kakashi was currently dressed in Anbu gear and wore a mask over his face, Zhang Miao recognized him the instant he saw that head of white hair.

Since Zhang Miao had seen through his identity, Kakashi could only take off his mask and nod at him.

"Yeah, I'm back."

"Haha, I knew it was you. Come on, have something to eat first!"

Seeing that familiar face, Zhang Miao happily grabbed his hand and pulled him inside.

Kakashi had originally intended to say something, but seeing how excited Zhang Miao was, he could only bow slightly to Mikoto Uchiha beside them.

"Sorry for intruding!"

Seeing Kakashi bow to her, Mikoto Uchiha immediately smiled.

"You're too polite, Kakashi. Itachi from our family is also Ryunosuke's friend. Please wait a moment, I'll make you some tea!"

With that, Mikoto Uchiha turned and went to make tea, while Zhang Miao pulled Kakashi over to sit in the hallway outside the room, then handed him a skewer of Mitarashi Dango.

"Kakashi, here. When did you get back?"

"I just got back an hour ago."

As Kakashi spoke, he took the dumplings from Zhang Miao, pulled down his mask, and took a bite. A relaxed expression immediately appeared on his face.

Kakashi had indeed been somewhat exhausted after serving as Hiruzen Sarutobi's guard all this time. Yet after seeing Zhang Miao, he did not know why, but he suddenly felt at ease.

Itachi Uchiha stood nearby, looking at Kakashi with curiosity in his eyes. So this was the legendary genius ninja, Kakashi?

At this time, Kakashi was Konoha's publicly acknowledged genius. Even Itachi Uchiha was only called "the genius of the Uchiha Clan." Clearly, in everyone's eyes, there was still some distance between him and Kakashi.

As though sensing Itachi Uchiha's gaze, Zhang Miao immediately went over and put an arm around his neck, then smiled at Kakashi. "Kakashi, this is my new friend, the Uchiha Clan's genius—Itachi!"

Hearing Zhang Miao's introduction, Kakashi finally turned to look at Itachi Uchiha standing nearby and nodded to him in greeting.

Seeing this, Zhang Miao laughed again.

"Haha, Itachi, Kakashi's just like that. Don't mind him!"

Hearing Zhang Miao's words, Itachi Uchiha gently shook his head to indicate that he did not mind, then sat down to the side.

Both Kakashi and Itachi Uchiha were introverted people, and Zhang Miao knew that. Naturally, he did not expect them to strike up an animated conversation. After seeing Itachi Uchiha sit down, he also sat beside Kakashi.

"Kakashi, did this mission go smoothly?"

"Mm!"

Hearing Zhang Miao's question, Kakashi nodded as he ate the dumplings. Seeing this, Zhang Miao grinned again.

"Haha, with you there, I knew it would go smoothly!"

At this point, Zhang Miao seemed to remember something and immediately asked Kakashi another question.

"Oh, right, Kakashi. Nightingale came back too, right?"

"Nightingale?" Kakashi frowned when he heard Zhang Miao's question. "The Nightingale you're talking about, is she the purple-haired female Anbu who took care of you before?"

"Yeah, that's her!"

Seeing that Kakashi understood, Zhang Miao's smile became even brighter.

"She seemed to have gone along on this escort mission too. I haven't seen her in so long, and I kind of missed her. Since you're back, she should be back too, right?"

As he spoke, Zhang Miao looked at Kakashi excitedly, only to discover that Kakashi had suddenly fallen silent. He even put the dumplings in his hand back where they had been.

Seeing this, Zhang Miao immediately had a bad feeling. He frowned.

"Kakashi, tell me honestly. Did something happen to Nightingale?"

Kakashi did not want to hide anything from Zhang Miao either. He immediately nodded, then said in a low voice, "Nightingale... she was killed in action!"

Hearing Kakashi's words, Zhang Miao's eyes widened in shock. The teacup in his hand fell to the ground and shattered into pieces with a sharp crash.