A Provocation

Nightingale's death had completely caught Zhang Miao off guard. In his view, this was only an escort mission, and the person being escorted was a heavyweight like the Third Hokage. There should not have been any problems.

After all, Hiruzen Sarutobi at this time was nowhere near as old as he would be ten years later.

Even when Orochimaru launched the Konoha Crush Plan in the original storyline, he had told Hiruzen Sarutobi that if he were ten years younger, he could kill him with ease!

That might have been somewhat exaggerated, but it still showed just how powerful Hiruzen Sarutobi was at this time!

But Nightingale had died while escorting someone so powerful. How could Zhang Miao possibly accept that?

However, as someone whose mental age was already that of an adult, Zhang Miao quickly forced himself to calm down. Then he asked Kakashi in a low voice, "How did Nightingale die?"

Upon hearing Zhang Miao's question, Kakashi immediately shook his head, indicating that he could not say.

Seeing that Kakashi refused to speak, Zhang Miao knew it was probably an Anbu rule. So he did not press the matter. Instead, he closed his eyes and began recalling the storyline about Hiruzen Sarutobi leaving the village for the Daimyo's Mansion in the Land of Fire.

Soon, a short scene from the anime surfaced in Zhang Miao's mind.

According to that scene, after Hiruzen Sarutobi left, Danzo, in order to become Hokage, sent several Anbu from his Root organization to assassinate him.

But when those shinobi intercepted Hiruzen Sarutobi, they discovered that he was not Hiruzen Sarutobi at all, but Kakashi using the Transformation Jutsu.

In the end, Kakashi killed all the Root shinobi who had come to assassinate him, leaving only Yamato, who could use Wood Release. Hiruzen Sarutobi also successfully received his appointment as Hokage.

In Zhang Miao's eyes, Danzo sending a few people was simply throwing away their lives. Even without Kakashi, Hiruzen Sarutobi could have wiped them out in minutes with his skills.

Therefore, Zhang Miao had never paid much attention to that part of the story. But what he had not expected was for Nightingale to die in such an unremarkable plot point.

At that thought, Zhang Miao sighed, then softly asked Kakashi, "Has Nightingale's body been brought back? I want to see her one last time!"

"There is no body!" As soon as Zhang Miao finished speaking, Kakashi shook his head. "Anbu rules state that no corpse is left behind after death!"

The Anbu had two rules. One was that masks had to be worn during missions under normal circumstances. The second was that no corpse could be left behind after death, and all traces of the body had to be erased.

Originally, Zhang Miao had planned to get his hands on Nightingale's body and find a way to revive her later. But Kakashi's words completely shattered that hope. Enraged, he punched the corridor floor.

"Danzo, you damned old dog!"

Hearing Zhang Miao directly say Danzo's name, Kakashi's eyes widened as he looked at him in disbelief.

Just moments ago, Zhang Miao clearly had known nothing. Yet after merely closing his eyes for a while, he seemed to know everything, and apparently quite a lot at that!

Could this also be the Kekkei Genkai of the Uzumaki Clan?

But what shocked Kakashi even more came next. After punching the corridor floor, Zhang Miao shouted toward the room behind him.

"Uncle hiding inside and eavesdropping, someone has formed an illegal organization to assassinate the Hokage. Are you going to do anything about it or not?"

As soon as Zhang Miao finished speaking, the door behind him flew open with a whoosh. Then Fugaku Uchiha, wearing an unhappy expression, walked out.

"Who tried to assassinate Lord Hokage?"

"Danzo!" Zhang Miao gritted out the name, then pointed at Kakashi beside him. "Kakashi is the witness. Hurry up and take people to arrest Danzo!"

"Sorry, but I'm afraid that won't work!"

The moment Zhang Miao finished speaking, Kakashi shook his head.

"Everyone who tried to assassinate Lord Hokage is already dead. Also, Root shinobi have curse marks carved onto their tongues, preventing them from saying anything detrimental to Danzo. So no one can prove that Danzo sent people to assassinate Lord Hokage."

Zhang Miao knew Kakashi was telling the truth, but if Danzo were simply let off like this, he could not swallow his anger.

"That cunning old dog Danzo! No, this can't end here!"

As he spoke, Zhang Miao turned his gaze toward Fugaku Uchiha again, his eyes gleaming.

"Among all of Konoha's higher-ups, the Third Hokage favors conciliation. The one who targets the Uchiha Clan the most is Danzo. I'm sure Uncle Fugaku knows that very well."

As soon as Zhang Miao finished speaking, Fugaku Uchiha narrowed his eyes at him.

"You want to use the Uchiha to deal with Danzo?"

"Hmph!" Hearing Fugaku Uchiha's words, Zhang Miao sneered. "Are you scared?"

"What did you say?"

Hearing Zhang Miao's words, Fugaku Uchiha's eyes widened, his gaze filled with anger.

Seeing the fury on Fugaku Uchiha's face, Zhang Miao bared his teeth again and gave him a disdainful smile.

"Danzo suppresses the Uchiha like this, yet now that such a good opportunity has come along, Uncle Fugaku still doesn't dare resist. If you ask me, either Uncle Fugaku is scared, or the entire Uchiha Clan is scared!"

With that, Zhang Miao stood up and tilted his head toward Kakashi.

"Talking is pointless. Kakashi, let's go. I'll find a way to make Danzo pay the price myself. I'm not some coward who gets bullied and still doesn't dare fight back!"

After saying that, Zhang Miao walked out of Fugaku Uchiha's residence without looking back. Kakashi gave Fugaku Uchiha a slight nod, then hurried after him.

After both of them had left, Itachi Uchiha, who had been sitting in the corridor, asked Fugaku Uchiha, "Father, what should we do?"

Hearing Itachi Uchiha's question, Fugaku Uchiha, who had looked furious just moments ago, smiled instead.

"That brat Ryunosuke was clearly trying to provoke me just now. He wants to use us against Danzo, but this may not necessarily be a bad opportunity for the Uchiha Clan!"

Hearing Fugaku Uchiha's words, Itachi Uchiha nodded as if he understood, though not entirely.

At the same time, Zhang Miao, who had left Fugaku Uchiha's home, frowned deeply, as though he were struggling to think of something.

At this moment, Zhang Miao was not thinking about how to deal with Danzo, but about how to revive Nightingale.

Zhang Miao knew very well that Nightingale had not even left behind a body after her death. This undoubtedly cut off the possibility of reviving her with a forbidden technique. If he wanted her to return to his side, he could only rely on the Recruitment System.

But Nightingale had died in an insignificant plot point, silently and without notice. She was undoubtedly an ordinary shinobi.

According to the system, the recruitment of ordinary shinobi was random. Zhang Miao could only choose to recruit ordinary shinobi below six stars, but he could not choose whom to recruit.

In other words, even if Nightingale were alive, Zhang Miao might not have been able to recruit her, let alone now that she was dead and had not even left a body behind.

According to the system, fragments corresponding to dead shinobi were discontinued fragments, meaning fragments that could not be collected through normal means.

At that thought, Zhang Miao suddenly wanted to smash his head against a wall.

"Damn it, these discontinued fragments won't be easy to get!"

Just as Zhang Miao was at his wits' end, Kakashi's voice suddenly came from beside him.

"Ryunosuke, if you want to deal with Danzo, perhaps I can help you think of a way!"

"Mm, thank you!"

Hearing Kakashi's words, warmth immediately filled Zhang Miao's heart. Just as he turned to thank Kakashi, the sight of Kakashi's face sparked an idea in his mind!

"No, there is a way to collect discontinued fragments!"

At that thought, Zhang Miao's eyes immediately lit up.