Zhang Miao's Plan

Living Corpse Reincarnation is a forbidden technique that uses all of the user's Chakra as a medium to bestow life itself upon others, even granting life to puppets. Because it causes the user's death, it has been classified as a forbidden technique!

The person who mastered this technique is none other than the elder advisor of Sunagakure in the Land of Wind—Grandma Chiyo!

Grandma Chiyo originally developed this technique with the goal of resurrecting her grandson Sasori's parents, but Sasori's defection 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 having his tailed beast extracted, sacrificing her own life in the process.

Zhang Miao was naturally very familiar with this plot, so he had also memorized Living Corpse Reincarnation, a super technique that could only be described as a bug!

At this moment, Zhang Miao's most direct thought was that he would definitely have to visit the Land of Sand in the future and use Living Corpse Reincarnation to revive Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki!

Zhang Miao understood very well that convincing Grandma Chiyo to sacrifice her life to resurrect Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki was simply impossible.

But with the Recruitment System, it was a different story. The Recruitment System uses Ninja Fragments to recruit ninjas, and although the recruited ninjas possess the same memories and skills as the originals, they are two completely separate individuals.

More importantly, the recruited ninjas are completely loyal to Zhang Miao!

In other words, as long as Zhang Miao found a way to gain Grandma Chiyo's recognition and collected enough of her Ninja Fragments, he could use the Recruitment System to summon her and then 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 is going to stop me from obtaining this precious family bond!"

Although he had a preliminary plan, putting it into practice was still quite difficult. Setting aside how to gain Grandma Chiyo's recognition, just getting to the Land of Sand was a huge problem.

After all, Konoha had just ended its war with the Land of Sand, and the hostility between the two nations had not yet fully subsided. Even if Zhang Miao found a way to reach the Land of Sand, he would probably be killed by the Sand Shinobi Guard Unit at the border before he could even meet Grandma Chiyo.

"Strength really is the key. For now, I'll focus on recruiting Kakashi first, and worry about the rest later!" Zhang Miao thought to himself as he sucked on his Milk Bottle.

After yesterday's "sneak-out" incident, the Anbu at the door were especially vigilant today, and they had even locked the door from the outside. Zhang Miao observed from the window for a long time but couldn't figure out how to slip out.

"If I don't think of something soon, I'll miss out on today's pan-fried river fish from Kakashi. And missing the fish is a small matter, but if I can't see Kakashi, collecting Ninja Fragments will be ruined!"

With that thought, Zhang Miao immediately looked at Naruto, who was sleeping soundly in the crib next to him, and gritted his teeth.

"No choice, my foolish little brother. I'll have to put you through this for now!"

The sleeping Naruto had no idea that his ruthless older brother was rolling up his sleeves and raising his arm for his escape plan.

"Smack!"

A loud slap landed squarely on Naruto's face, jolting him awake from his deep sleep. Three seconds later, a piercing cry echoed through the room.

"Waa... waa waa..."

Naruto's loud voice was a natural talent, and its sheer volume amazed even Zhang Miao, who had lived two lives.

But he had no time to gawk. As soon as Naruto's cries started, he immediately threw down his Milk Bottle and "whooshed" under the nearby bed.

No sooner had Zhang Miao crawled under the bed than he heard the door "bang" open. A female Anbu wearing a Cat Face Mask rushed in and hurried over to Naruto's crib.

"What's wrong? Why is his face so red? Could he have a fever?"

As she spoke, she felt Naruto's forehead. Finding nothing unusual, she changed his diaper. Her meticulousness made Zhang Miao, hiding under the bed, nod in approval.

"Able to write scrolls with a pen, wield a blade as Anbu, run a business to boost the economy, and change diapers in a pinch—the Anbu truly are all-capable!"

As if sensing Zhang Miao's praise, the female Anbu finished changing Naruto's diaper and looked toward the crib where Zhang Miao had been. But when she saw the empty crib, she froze.

"Huh? Where is he?"

Finding Zhang Miao missing from his bed, the well-proportioned female Anbu quickly scanned the room. When she spotted the Milk Bottle that had rolled under the window, her pretty face beneath the Cat Face Mask changed color.

"Damn it, he must have slipped out through the window!"

With that thought, she hurried to the door and blew a whistle.

"Twee—"

Within ten seconds of the whistle, several masked Anbu appeared before her. One burly Anbu immediately spoke to her.

"Nightingale, what's going on?"

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

"I'm sorry, it's my fault for being careless. That child has run off again!"

"Run off again?" The burly Anbu frowned at this, then waved his hand and said, "Save the explanations for later. Find him immediately! Dismissed!"

"Yes!"

At his command, the Anbu acknowledged and vanished from their spots.

None of the Anbu realized that the target they were searching for was hiding less than five meters away under the bed—a classic case of "darkness under the lamp."

In truth, it wasn't that the Anbu were too careless. If it had been an adult, the guard would have checked the room for possible hiding spots upon finding them missing.

But Zhang Miao was different. Who would expect a six-month-old baby to pull off such a trick of "pretending to advance while secretly retreating"?

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

Zhang Miao had no idea that every move he made was being watched clearly by an old man crouched beside a crystal ball, peeping.

Watching him slap Naruto, hide under the bed, and then grin slyly as he slipped away after the Anbu left, Hiruzen Sarutobi, pipe in mouth, wore a complex expression.

"It seems Minato and Kushina were right. This child truly harbors darkness in his heart. But I have to admit, the kid is a genius!"

Thinking of this, Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded in satisfaction, then waved his hand once more, and the scene in the crystal ball shifted again.

But this time, what appeared inside was no longer Zhang Miao, but a place shrouded in mist.

Those familiar with it knew this was Konoha's bathhouse.

Within the swirling fog, several slender figures with fair skin came into view. At this sight, a stream of red blood trickled down from Hiruzen Sarutobi's nose.

"How wonderful!"

At that moment, the great Third Generation of Konoha wore a look of utter contentment.