Zhang Miao's Plan

Living Corpse Reincarnation was a ninjutsu that used all of the caster's Chakra as a medium to share their life with another person exactly as it was. It could also grant life to puppets. Because it caused the caster's death, it was classified as a forbidden technique!

The one who had mastered this ninjutsu was none other than the elder advisor of Sunagakure in the Land of Wind—Grandma Chiyo!

Grandma Chiyo had originally developed this technique to resurrect the parents of her grandson Sasori, but Sasori's defection had rendered all her efforts futile.

Later, influenced by Naruto, Grandma Chiyo chose to use Living Corpse Reincarnation to revive the Fifth Kazekage, Gaara, who had died after his tailed beast was extracted. She sacrificed herself in the process.

Zhang Miao was naturally very familiar with this part of the story, so he remembered this super ninjutsu that was practically a bug—Living Corpse Reincarnation!

At that moment, Zhang Miao's most immediate thought was that he absolutely had to make a trip to the Land of Sand someday and use Living Corpse Reincarnation to revive Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki!

Zhang Miao knew very well that persuading Grandma Chiyo to sacrifice her own life to revive Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki was simply impossible.

But things were different with the Recruitment System. The Recruitment System used Ninja Fragments to recruit ninja, and while the recruited ninja possessed the same memories and abilities as the original person, they were two entirely different individuals.

More importantly, recruited ninja were completely loyal to Zhang Miao!

In other words, as long as Zhang Miao found a way to earn Grandma Chiyo's approval and collected enough of her Ninja Fragments, he could recruit Grandma Chiyo through the Recruitment System and order her to use Living Corpse Reincarnation to revive Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki!

This was feasible!

Zhang Miao had already made up his mind.

"Since I have this Recruitment System, no one can stop me from gaining this rare family bond!"

Although he had formed a preliminary plan, putting it into action would still be quite difficult. Leaving aside how he was supposed to gain Grandma Chiyo's approval, simply getting to the Land of Sand was a major problem.

After all, Konoha had only just ended its war with the Land of Sand. The hostility between the two nations had yet to fully subside. Even if Zhang Miao found a way to reach the Land of Sand now, the Sand Shinobi Guard Unit at the border would probably kill him before he ever got to see Grandma Chiyo.

Strength really is the key. I should find a way to recruit Kakashi first, then worry about the rest later! Zhang Miao thought to himself as he sucked on his bottle.

After yesterday's "escape attempt," the Anbu guarding the entrance were especially vigilant today. They had even locked the door from the outside. Zhang Miao observed through the window for quite a while, but still could not figure out how to sneak out.

If I don't think of something soon, I won't get to eat Kakashi's pan-fried river fish today. Missing the fish is a minor matter, but if I can't see Kakashi, collecting Ninja Fragments will be impossible!

At that thought, Zhang Miao looked toward Naruto, who was sleeping soundly in the little bed beside him, then gritted his teeth.

"No choice, foolish little brother. You'll have to suffer a little first!"

Naruto, fast asleep, had no idea that his heartless older brother was rolling up his sleeves and raising an arm at him for the sake of his escape plan.

Smack!

A heavy slap landed squarely on Naruto's face, jolting him awake from his sleep. Three seconds later, a loud wail echoed throughout the room.

"Waa... waaah..."

Naruto's booming voice was truly a gift. Even Zhang Miao, who had lived two lives, found its volume astonishing.

But he had no time to stand there in a daze. The moment Naruto started crying, he immediately threw down his bottle and slipped beneath the nearby bed with a whoosh.

Zhang Miao had barely crawled under the bed when the door burst open with a bang. A female Anbu ninja wearing a Cat Face Mask rushed in and quickly headed to Naruto's bedside.

"What happened? Why is his face so red? Could he have a fever?"

As she spoke, she touched Naruto's forehead. After finding nothing unusual, she changed his diaper. Her meticulous care made even Zhang Miao, hiding under the bed, nod to himself.

Able to write scrolls with a brush, wield a blade as Anbu, run a shop to boost the economy, and change diapers when needed—the Anbu truly can do anything!

Perhaps sensing Zhang Miao's praise, the female Anbu ninja looked toward Zhang Miao's little bed after changing Naruto's diaper. But when she saw the empty bed, she froze.

"Huh? Where is he?"

Upon discovering that Zhang Miao was not in the bed, the well-proportioned female Anbu ninja hurriedly scanned the room. When she spotted the bottle that had rolled beneath the window, her pretty face beneath the Cat Face Mask immediately changed color.

"Oh no, he must have escaped through the window!"

Thinking of this, she hurried to the door, pulled out a whistle, and blew it.

Tweet—

Less than ten seconds after the whistle sounded, several Anbu ninja wearing similar masks appeared before her. One of the burly Anbu immediately spoke.

"Nightingale, what happened?"

Hearing his question, the female Anbu called Nightingale quickly lowered her head.

"I'm sorry. It was my carelessness. That child escaped again!"

"Escaped again?" The burly Anbu frowned first, then waved a hand. "Forget everything else for now. Hurry up and bring him back! Disperse!"

"Yes!"

At his command, the several Anbu immediately answered and vanished from the spot.

None of the Anbu realized that the target they were searching for was actually hiding beneath a bed less than five meters away. This was what people called hiding in plain sight.

In truth, it was not that the Anbu were careless. If it had been an adult who disappeared, the Anbu assigned to guard him would certainly have checked all the possible hiding places in the room first.

But Zhang Miao was different. Who would have thought that a six-month-old baby would pull such a trick, openly repairing the road while secretly crossing the river?

Once all the Anbu had left, Zhang Miao crawled out from under the bed and slipped away with a sly grin.

Zhang Miao did not know that every one of his movements had been seen clearly by an old man peeping beside a crystal ball.

Watching him slap Naruto, hide beneath the bed, and then sneak away with a sly grin after the Anbu had left, Hiruzen Sarutobi, pipe in mouth, wore a complicated expression.

"Looks like Minato and Kushina were right. This child really does have darkness hidden in his heart. But I have to admit, this kid truly is a genius!"

At that thought, Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded in satisfaction, then waved a hand again. The scene within the crystal ball changed once more.

But this time, Zhang Miao was no longer shown inside. Instead, it displayed a place shrouded in steam.

Those familiar with it would know that this was Konoha's bathhouse.

Several figures with slender bodies and fair skin appeared amid the swirling mist. At the sight, a stream of red blood ran from Hiruzen Sarutobi's nose.

"Wonderful!"

At that moment, Konoha's great Third Generation wore an expression of complete satisfaction.