Genius

At this moment, Hiruzen Sarutobi was not too worried about Zhang Miao's safety. First of all, judging from the direction Zhang Miao had taken, Hiruzen Sarutobi believed he was heading to Kakashi's house. The entire route was along Konoha's main streets, bustling with people, so the chance of danger was very low.

Second, several Anbu directly under the Hokage were searching the village for Zhang Miao. Under such circumstances, even someone with ill intentions would not choose this time to make a move on him. That would be nothing short of suicide.

Because of these two reasons, Hiruzen Sarutobi had confidently stopped keeping an eye on Zhang Miao and instead used his crystal ball to peep at pretty young girls, his greatest hobby outside of work.

"Hehehe, wonderful..."

While Hiruzen Sarutobi was busy peeping, Zhang Miao, who had finally evaded the Anbu search, arrived at Kakashi's house and knocked on the door.

Knock, knock, knock!

Kakashi was at home at the time—or rather, he had deliberately stayed home to wait for Zhang Miao. The moment he heard the knock, he rushed over and opened the door.

The instant he opened it, he was startled by Zhang Miao standing outside.

Ryunosuke was wearing a pink little dress, a small flower-trimmed round hat on his head, and was holding an adorable toy bear in his arms.

Seeing this, Kakashi's mouth fell open.

"Ryunosuke, you... you're a girl?"

"Bullshit!" Zhang Miao rolled his eyes at Kakashi's question. "I'm a boy, but how else was I supposed to fool those Anbu if I didn't dress like this?"

"Anbu?" Now Kakashi was the one who was shocked. "Why are the Anbu looking for you?"

"Idiot!" 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... so that's how it is!"

Hearing Zhang Miao's answer, Kakashi immediately understood.

An ordinary child naturally would not receive such treatment, but Zhang Miao was the orphaned child of the Fourth Hokage. It was only natural for Hiruzen Sarutobi to do this.

Moreover, Konoha had recently seen quite a few adults and children disappear. Kakashi was one of the Anbu ninja assigned to investigate the matter, so he naturally knew about it.

Kakashi had discovered that many suspicious clues in these disappearances pointed toward Orochimaru. However, Orochimaru was the disciple of the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi. Without conclusive evidence, Kakashi did not dare draw conclusions lightly.

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

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

"Sorry, I said something strange..."

In Kakashi's eyes, no matter how smart this little guy was, he was still 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!"

As he spoke, Zhang Miao walked into Kakashi's house, found a place to sit, and beckoned Kakashi over.

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

His instincts told him that Zhang Miao might have a surprise for him.

As it turned out, Kakashi was right. When he reached Zhang Miao's side, Zhang Miao spoke.

"You're worried that someone might kidnap me, right? Don't worry. No matter how brazen Orochimaru and Danzo are, they would never dare act on a crowded street!"

Hearing Zhang Miao's words, Kakashi's eyes widened.

"Danzo?"

This time, Kakashi was truly shocked. Although he had always suspected Orochimaru was connected to the recent disappearances of Konoha's children, he had never expected Danzo to be involved as well—and for that to come from the mouth of a child less than a year old.

However, the fact that Zhang Miao could directly name both Orochimaru and Danzo also made his words far more credible.

Kakashi no longer dared treat Zhang Miao as a child who knew nothing. Instead, he seriously asked, "How did you know about Danzo and Orochimaru? Did you hear it from some Anbu?"

In Kakashi's view, since Hiruzen Sarutobi had arranged for people to look after Zhang Miao, perhaps some Anbu had carelessly let him overhear while reporting to a superior. Otherwise, Kakashi could not think of a second explanation.

But Zhang Miao did not intend to use that explanation. Otherwise, how would he earn Kakashi's recognition? How would he obtain 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!"

As he said this, Zhang Miao raised two fingers and pointed at his eyes, then grinned again.

"Danzo took away the children, while Orochimaru took away some adults and corpses!"

"Adults and corpses?" Kakashi frowned, but then he quickly thought of something, and shock appeared on his face. "Could it be human experimentation?"

Human experimentation was explicitly forbidden in Konoha and throughout the ninja world, which was why Kakashi was so shocked. He could not believe Orochimaru had such nerve.

But reality was often unexpected. Orochimaru truly had been conducting human experiments, and not for just a day or two. Zhang Miao naturally knew that, but he would not tell Kakashi.

"I don't know what human experimentation is. I only know that later, when the Third Elder tried to capture Orochimaru, he injured him, and then Orochimaru fled the village."

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

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

In Kakashi's view, with Hiruzen Sarutobi's strength, even if Orochimaru was one of the Legendary Sannin, he could not possibly escape from his grasp.

Second, if Hiruzen Sarutobi intended to capture Orochimaru, there was no way Kakashi, an Anbu directly under the Hokage, would not know about it.

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

"He hasn't escaped yet, but he will in the future. Because I saw him escape, he will definitely escape. That is his future!"

"Orochimaru's future?"

Hearing this, Kakashi froze once more, but he quickly came to his senses, and his expression changed again.

"Could it be precognition? Could this also be an Uzumaki Clan Kekkei Genkai?"

Kekkei Genkai were mysterious, and some possessed abilities that were simply unimaginable. The Uzumaki Clan was the same.

In many people's eyes, the Uzumaki Clan possessed extraordinary vitality and Chakra. They were also skilled in all kinds of sealing techniques, making them the best candidates for Jinchuriki. Every previous Nine-Tails Jinchuriki in Konoha had been from the Uzumaki Clan, which also proved this from another angle.

However, as distant blood relatives of the Senju Clan, no one could claim to fully understand the exact abilities of the Uzumaki Clan's Kekkei Genkai. This had draped the Uzumaki Clan in a veil of mystery.

Now that Zhang Miao had suddenly said he saw Orochimaru defecting and stated so firmly that it was Orochimaru's future, perhaps this was the ability of his Kekkei Genkai!

Most importantly, with Kakashi's many years of Anbu experience, he could tell that Zhang Miao was not lying!

Zhang Miao was certainly not lying. He really had seen Orochimaru defect, though he had seen it in an anime before transmigrating. Objectively speaking, that was indeed a form of precognition.

Naturally, Kakashi did not know any of that, but he trusted his own eyes. At the same time, he believed Zhang Miao would not joke with him about something like this.

Still, just in case, he needed to confirm it once more!

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

As he spoke, Kakashi fixed Zhang Miao with an intense stare.

Seeing Kakashi's serious expression, Zhang Miao immediately knew that Kakashi believed him, and his smile became even brighter.

"Hahahaha... How else could he have escaped? Do you even need to ask? The Third Elder let him go, of course! I saw a big monkey trying to persuade the Third Elder not to let Orochimaru leave, but the Third Elder didn't listen. He still let Orochimaru go!"

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

Hearing Zhang Miao's words, Kakashi realized everything now made sense.

"Given the Third Hokage's personality, it is very possible that he let Orochimaru go. And that big monkey Ryunosuke mentioned was probably the Third Hokage's Summoning Beast—Enma. It seems Ryunosuke truly awakened a Kekkei Genkai that can foresee the future!"

Thinking this, the way Kakashi looked at Zhang Miao changed once more.

"He awakened a Kekkei Genkai before even turning one. As expected of Teacher Minato's child—he truly is a genius!"

The instant Kakashi's gaze changed, Zhang Miao received a system notification.

"Ding—Obtained Kakashi Hatake Fragment x5!"

Hearing it, Zhang Miao grinned once more.

"Haha, another five fragments in the bag. I really am a genius!"