Genius

At this moment, Hiruzen Sarutobi wasn't too worried about Zhang Miao's safety. First, judging by the direction Zhang Miao was heading, Hiruzen Sarutobi figured he was probably going to Kakashi's house. That entire route was along Konoha's main streets, bustling with people, so the chance of danger was extremely low.

Second, several Anbu directly under the Hokage were still searching the village for Zhang Miao's trail. Under these circumstances, even if someone harbored ill intentions, they wouldn't dare make a move on Zhang Miao right now—that would be pure suicide.

It was precisely for these two reasons that Hiruzen Sarutobi felt at ease dropping his surveillance on Zhang Miao and instead used his crystal ball to peek at pretty young girls. This was also his favorite hobby outside of work.

"Hehe, what a sight..."

While Hiruzen Sarutobi was busy peeping, Zhang Miao, who had barely managed to dodge the Anbu's search, arrived at Kakashi's house and reached out to knock.

"Knock, knock, knock!"

Kakashi was at home at the time—more accurately, he was deliberately waiting at home for Zhang Miao. When he heard the knocking, he immediately ran over and opened the door.

The moment he opened the door, he was startled by Zhang Miao standing there.

There stood Ryunosuke, wearing a little pink dress, a small flower-trimmed hat on his head, and clutching a cute toy bear in his arms.

Seeing this, Kakashi's mouth fell wide open.

"Ryunosuke, you... are you a girl?"

"Pfft!" In response to Kakashi's doubt, Zhang Miao shot him a glare. "I'm a guy, but if I didn't dress like this, how could I fool those Anbu?"

"Anbu?" Now it was Kakashi's turn to be shocked. "Why are the Anbu looking for you?"

"Dummy!" Seeing Kakashi's surprised expression, Zhang Miao rolled his eyes at him again. "Because I snuck out. The Third Elder sent them to protect me, so of course they're looking for me!"

"Uh... I see!"

Hearing Zhang Miao's answer, Kakashi immediately understood.

If it were an ordinary child, they naturally wouldn't receive such care, but since Zhang Miao was the orphan of the Fourth Hokage, it was only reasonable for Hiruzen Sarutobi to do this.

Moreover, there had been quite a few disappearances of adults and children in Konoha recently. Kakashi was also one of the Anbu ninja assigned to investigate this matter, so he naturally knew about it.

Kakashi had noticed that many suspicious clues in these disappearance cases pointed toward Orochimaru, but the latter was a disciple of the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi. Without solid evidence, Kakashi didn't dare jump to conclusions.

Thinking this over, Kakashi stepped aside to let Zhang Miao in and asked, "Ryunosuke, on your way here, did you see... well, anyone suspicious..."

Before he could finish, Kakashi suddenly stopped and helplessly slapped his forehead.

"Sorry, I said something strange..."

In Kakashi's view, no matter how clever this little guy was, he was still a child less than a year old. How could he understand what "suspicious" meant?

But to Kakashi's surprise, Zhang Miao shook his head.

"No, what you said isn't strange at all!"

As he spoke, Zhang Miao walked into Kakashi's house, found a spot to sit down, and waved Kakashi over.

Seeing Zhang Miao's gesture, Kakashi's expression shifted. He quickly slid the door shut and walked over to Zhang Miao.

His instincts told him that Zhang Miao might give him a surprise.

And indeed, Kakashi was right. When he reached Zhang Miao's side, Zhang Miao spoke up.

"You're worried I might get taken, right? Relax. No matter how reckless Orochimaru and Danzo are, they wouldn't dare make a move on a crowded street!"

Hearing Zhang Miao's words, Kakashi's eyes went wide.

"Danzo?"

This time, Kakashi was genuinely shocked. He had always suspected Orochimaru was connected to the disappearances of Konoha's children, but he never expected Danzo to pop up too—and from the mouth of a child less than a year old.

Still, the fact that Zhang Miao could directly name both Orochimaru and Danzo lent a fair amount of credibility to his words.

At this point, Kakashi no longer dared to treat Zhang Miao like an ignorant toddler. Instead, he asked seriously, "How do you know about Danzo and Orochimaru? Did you overhear it from some Anbu?"

In Kakashi's view, since Hiruzen Sarutobi had assigned people to look after Zhang Miao, maybe Zhang Miao had accidentally overheard an Anbu reporting to a superior. Otherwise, he couldn't think of another explanation.

But Zhang Miao didn't plan to use that excuse. If he did, how could he earn Kakashi's trust—and how could he get Kakashi's Ninja Fragments?

So, he decided to bluff!

Facing Kakashi's questioning gaze, Zhang Miao smiled and shook his head.

"I didn't hear it from any Anbu. I saw it!"

With that, Zhang Miao pointed two fingers at his own eyes and grinned again.

"The one taking the children is Danzo, while Orochimaru has been taking some adults and corpses!"

"Adults and corpses?" Kakashi frowned, but then something clicked, and his face filled with shock. "Could it be human experimentation?"

Human experimentation was strictly forbidden in Konoha and across the entire shinobi world. That was why Kakashi was so shocked—he couldn't believe Orochimaru had the nerve.

But the truth was often surprising. Orochimaru was indeed conducting human experiments, and not just for a day or two. Zhang Miao knew this, of course, but he wasn't about to tell Kakashi.

"I don't know what human experimentation is. I only know that later, the Third Elder injured Orochimaru while capturing him, and then Orochimaru escaped the village."

"What? Orochimaru was injured by the Third Lord and defected?"

Hearing Zhang Miao's words, Kakashi's eyes went wide again, his face full of disbelief. "When did this happen? How is that possible?"

In Kakashi's view, first of all, given Hiruzen Sarutobi's strength, even if Orochimaru was one of the Legendary Sannin, he shouldn't have been able to escape from him.

Second, if Hiruzen Sarutobi were going to capture Orochimaru, Kakashi—as an Anbu directly under the Hokage—would definitely have known about it.

Seeing Kakashi's shocked expression, Zhang Miao pursed his lips and shrugged.

"He hasn't run away yet, but he will in the future. Because I saw him run away, so he definitely will. That's his future!"

"Orochimaru's future?"

Hearing Zhang Miao's words, Kakashi froze again, but quickly recovered, his expression shifting once more.

"Could it be precognition? Is that also a Kekkei Genkai of the Uzumaki Clan?"

Kekkei Genkai were mysterious, and some possessed abilities that defied comprehension—the Uzumaki Clan was no exception.

In many eyes, the Uzumaki Clan was a clan of extraordinary vitality and Chakra, also skilled in various sealing techniques, making them the ideal candidates for Jinchuriki. Every Jinchuriki of the Nine-Tails in Konoha had come from the Uzumaki Clan, which indirectly proved this point.

However, as distant blood relatives of the Senju Clan, no one could claim to fully understand the specifics of the Uzumaki Clan's Kekkei Genkai, shrouding them in an air of mystery.

Now, Zhang Miao suddenly claimed he had seen Orochimaru's defection and stated so confidently that this was Orochimaru's future—perhaps it was his Kekkei Genkai ability!

Most importantly, with his years of experience in the Anbu, Kakashi could tell Zhang Miao wasn't lying!

Zhang Miao certainly wasn't lying; he had indeed seen Orochimaru defect—just in an anime before he crossed over. Objectively speaking, that did count as a form of precognition.

Kakashi, of course, didn't know this, but he trusted his own eyes and believed Zhang Miao wouldn't joke about something like this.

Still, to be safe, he needed to confirm further!

"Then tell me, how did Orochimaru escape from the Third Lord?"

As he said this, Kakashi fixed his gaze on Zhang Miao.

Seeing Kakashi's serious expression, Zhang Miao knew his words had been believed, and his grin widened.

"Hahaha... how else could he escape? Isn't it obvious? The Third Elder let him go. I saw a big monkey telling the Third Elder not to let Orochimaru leave, but the Third Elder didn't listen and let him go anyway!"

The Third Hokage let Orochimaru go? And a big monkey?

Hearing Zhang Miao's words, Kakashi found everything clicking into place.

"Given the Third Hokage's personality, it's very likely he'd let Orochimaru go. And that 'big monkey' Ryunosuke mentioned is probably the Third Hokage's Summoning Beast—Enma. It seems Ryunosuke really has awakened a Kekkei Genkai for seeing the future!"

Thinking this, Kakashi's gaze toward Zhang Miao shifted once more.

"Awakening a Kekkei Genkai before even turning one year old—truly Teacher Minato's child. He really is a genius!"

The moment Kakashi's gaze changed, Zhang Miao heard the system's notification.

"Ding—Obtained Kakashi Hatake Fragment x5!"

Hearing this sound, Zhang Miao grinned even wider.

"Haha, five more fragments in hand. I really am a genius!"