Sand Shinobi Spy

Yamanaka Tohru had been in the Naruto world for over seven years, and he had finally met Jiraiya, whom he had "deeply loved" in his previous life—the character he liked most in Naruto.

Running into him while he was peeping at a Hot Spring Inn was perfectly in character for Jiraiya. Within Yamanaka Tohru's sensory range, Jiraiya was intently spying on the baths, occasionally showing a lecherous grin.

Yamanaka Tohru jumped onto the roof of the Hot Spring Inn and viciously kicked Jiraiya in the ass.

The women's bath at the Hot Spring Inn immediately erupted into chaos, with shrieks and cries of "Catch the pervert!" coming one after another.

Before long, Jiraiya was chased out by the Hot Spring Inn's owner wielding a broom. Remembering similar scenes from the original story, Yamanaka Tohru burst into laughter.

Yamanaka Tohru's laughter caught Jiraiya's attention. It was bad enough that this brat had interrupted his peeping—now he even dared to laugh at him.

"Hey, brat over there! Do you know what you've done?"

"I just punished a pervert who was peeping into the women's bath!"

Yamanaka Tohru was curious to see what Jiraiya would say. At this point, Jiraiya had not begun writing novels yet, so he could not use research as an excuse. Yet after getting caught peeping, he was still so righteous about it.

"You damned brat! There was a Sand Shinobi Spy in that women's bath just now. This Sage tracked her all the way here without being discovered, but you went and alerted her!"

Seeing Jiraiya's righteous expression, Yamanaka Tohru knew that Jiraiya had genuinely encountered a spy this time.

At that moment, a woman in her twenties furtively poked her head out from the Hot Spring Inn's exit. After confirming that no one was around, she summoned a Ninja Hawk and tied a strip of cloth to its left leg.

"Not good!" Seeing the woman summon a Ninja Hawk, Jiraiya no longer had the time to argue with Yamanaka Tohru and sprinted toward her.

The woman noticed Jiraiya as well. Every ninja in Sunagakure knew what one of the Sannin looked like. The moment Jiraiya fell into the women's bath, she knew she was doomed.

The woman had been hiding in Konoha for several days without being discovered by Konoha's ninja. Thinking herself safe, she did not realize that Jiraiya had noticed her long ago.

Jiraiya had originally intended to cast a long line and catch a big fish, rooting out all of Sunagakure's spies at once. But after following the woman for two days, she had not contacted anyone else.

Jiraiya gave up on capturing the other Sand Shinobi spies and decided to catch this woman first. But who would have thought she would go soak in a hot spring that night? Jiraiya would never pass up such a wonderful peeping opportunity with a perfectly legitimate excuse, so the arrest kept getting delayed.

The woman was, at most, a Chunin, and was merely skilled at disguising herself. Jiraiya subdued her in just a few moves, but the Ninja Hawk had already vanished.

Even if he caught the woman, it would be pointless if the Ninja Hawk got away. Jiraiya's expression darkened. Just as he was about to settle the score with Yamanaka Tohru, Lightning Release Chakra enveloped Yamanaka Tohru's body.

"Lightning Release Chakra Mode?" Jiraiya knew the Third Raikage's technique all too well. Seeing this brat use the Third Raikage's technique, Jiraiya stared at Yamanaka Tohru in shock.

Yamanaka Tohru activated Lightning Release Chakra Mode because the Ninja Hawk had not yet flown beyond his sensory range. He repeatedly used Lightning Body Flicker, and before long, he spotted the Ninja Hawk.

Yamanaka Tohru shot down the Ninja Hawk with [Chidori Senbon], then returned with it to the area near the Hot Spring Inn.

Jiraiya was sealing the woman's chakra at the time. When he saw Yamanaka Tohru return carrying the Ninja Hawk, he became even more curious about this brat.

Before long, Jiraiya had sealed the woman's chakra. Then he said to Yamanaka Tohru, "Brat, give me the Ninja Hawk."

Yamanaka Tohru handed the Ninja Hawk to Jiraiya. After removing the cloth strip from its left leg, Jiraiya burned the Ninja Hawk to ashes with Fire Release.

Jiraiya unfolded the strip of cloth. Most of it recorded information about Konoha Hospital, and Yamanaka Tohru's name was mentioned repeatedly. It even stated that seven-year-old Yamanaka Tohru possessed medical skills no inferior to Tsunade's.

Sunagakure lay deep in the desert, lacking resources, medicine, and medical care. It had coveted Konoha Hospital for far more than a day or two, so Jiraiya was not surprised by that. What surprised him was that during the three years he had spent teaching Nagato and the other two, Konoha had produced a Medical Ninja comparable to Tsunade—and one who was only seven years old.

After reading it, Jiraiya destroyed the cloth strip and sized up Yamanaka Tohru beside him.

"Brat, who are you? A Ninja Academy student?" Jiraiya asked.

"Before asking someone else's name, you should state your own first. That's basic courtesy."

"Well said! Then listen up, brat." Just like in the original story, Jiraiya flamboyantly summoned Gama-Tada, struck a hilariously ridiculous pose, and declared, "I am one of the legendary Sannin, the Toad Sage of Mount Myōboku, Lord Jiraiya!"

Compared with the anime, Jiraiya's pose was even more ridiculous in person. Yamanaka Tohru was so stunned that his face went blank.

"My name is Yamanaka Tohru, a Konoha Genin."

"You're Yamanaka Tohru?"

"There shouldn't be anyone else in Konoha with the same name as me," Yamanaka Tohru replied.

Having just read the Sand Shinobi spy's intelligence, Jiraiya had learned that this seven-year-old possessed such extraordinary medical skills. He had assumed the Third Hokage would keep Yamanaka Tohru well protected.

"Uncle, how are you going to deal with this spy?"

"Send her to Konoha Prison," Jiraiya said with a smile. Compared to other ninja, Jiraiya was still rather merciful.

"Brat, you're a ninja of the Yamanaka Clan, right? Do you know the Yamanaka Clan's secret techniques?"

Yamanaka Tohru nodded. He had trained in the Yamanaka Clan's secret techniques since childhood, and because he had transmigrated, his spiritual power ranked among the best in the entire Yamanaka Clan.

"Then can you read this spy's memories? If you can, help me check whether she has any accomplices in Konoha."

"Sure." Yamanaka Tohru readily agreed. He placed a hand on the woman's head, and his spiritual power invaded her brain.

Yamanaka Tohru read through the woman's memories one volume at a time. As an ordinary Chunin, she knew few ninjutsu. The only technique worth mentioning was one that concealed herself with chakra. She had accidentally discovered it in the hands of a dead bandit while carrying out a mission outside the village as a Genin.

After learning this ninjutsu, the woman often carried out reconnaissance missions for Sunagakure, and she had completed them all exceptionally well.

This time, her mission had been to investigate Konoha Hospital. She had recorded many things she saw and heard there, especially matters concerning Yamanaka Tohru, and written them on the cloth strip.

Seeing this, Yamanaka Tohru understood why Jiraiya, who had been away from the village for three years, knew about him.

Before long, Yamanaka Tohru had finished reading all of the woman's memories. From her memories, it appeared that she had come alone for this mission.

Yamanaka Tohru told Jiraiya everything he had learned. Upon finding out that the woman had infiltrated alone, Jiraiya immediately took her away.

PS: The protagonist learned this ninjutsu through reading memories. It will have an important role later.