Jiraiya's Visit

At night, moonlight shrouded Konoha. As autumn turned to winter, Jiraiya utilized the cover of the dark environment to infiltrate the Uchiha Police Force using the Toad Hidden Technique.

No, perhaps calling it the Konoha Police Force was more appropriate now.

He had spent the day accompanying Naruto, shopping for new clothes and eating Konoha snacks, followed by some basic training in the afternoon.

Jiraiya had dedicated the entire day to being with Naruto, trying his best to make up for the boy's childhood.

He knew that for the foreseeable future, he would likely need to use Shadow Clones to keep Naruto company. After all, while the village appeared much more stable than before, dark undercurrents likely still churned beneath the surface. Furthermore, based on his understanding of Root and Danzo, they would never sit idly by and watch the Uchiha continue on this path.

It wasn't until nightfall, when Naruto had fallen asleep, that Jiraiya found the time. Leaving a Shadow Clone in the house, he finally had the chance to come to the Police Force to search for intelligence on the Uchiha Police Force.

Evading the night guards at the entrance, Jiraiya successfully snuck into the office where Uchiha Senya worked daily.

"Ninja Art—Heavenly Canopy Formation."

To prevent the members of the Police Force from detecting his tracks, Jiraiya set up a sensory barrier, using himself as the center to envelop the entire office.

This way, if there were any movement outside the door, he could sense it immediately through the sensory barrier and use the Reverse Summoning Technique to leave at once.

With the concealment work complete, Jiraiya began to sift through the thick stacks of documents on Uchiha Senya's desk.

At first, as Jiraiya carefully examined these files, he felt that this new Vice Clan Head of the Uchiha and new Deputy Chief of the Police Force, Uchiha Senya, was doing an excellent job with the reforms.

But it wasn't until nearly an hour had passed that Jiraiya finally finished flipping through the documents.

They were all about village security, the coordination of Police Force personnel, and internal regulations for members.

Among them, only the document titled "Why Female Ninja of the Police Force Are More Successful in Executing Official Duties Than Male Ninja" piqued his interest slightly.

Moreover, the ending made Jiraiya feel as though he had found a kindred spirit, a sense of meeting a soulmate, because Uchiha Senya had left this annotation at the end:

[Do not question it, this is a fact. It is only natural that a cold-faced female member of the Police Force with decent strength and outstanding appearance would be more successful in executing cases, because no one refuses to talk to a beautiful woman, especially since most of the cases in the village now are committed by intoxicated men.]

It was this annotation that gave Jiraiya an urgent desire to see the "Uchiha kunoichi" mentioned in the document—ah, ptooey, ptooey.

He wanted to see Uchiha Senya, who could write such a philosophical truth.

After confirming that there was indeed no important intelligence in the Police Force, Jiraiya dispelled the barrier and once again used the Toad Hidden Technique to leave the building.

Seeing that the moon in the sky had not yet reached its zenith, he made a spur-of-the-moment decision to infiltrate the Uchiha clan, meet this Uchiha Senya in person, and pay a late-night visit to probe his true strength.

Countless ninja missions, two Great Ninja Wars, and his later travels had made Jiraiya's infiltration skills nothing short of supernatural. He easily dodged the night patrols and snuck into the Uchiha compound.

He only stopped when he sensed a powerful ninja barrier outside the courtyard of Uchiha Senya's new home.

At this moment, in the bedroom of the house, the light was dim, with only a lamp on the bedside table providing a faint glow to the room.

Uchiha Senya suddenly sat up, his movement waking Anko, who had been resting her head on his arm.

Anko remained on the bed, unwilling to get up, murmuring something under her breath.

"I... I can't take it anymore... spare me..."

Hearing Anko's delirious mutterings, Uchiha Senya merely stroked her dark hair, which draped over her smooth, fair skin, and tucked the quilt securely around her.

In the blink of an eye, Uchiha Senya had donned his combat gear and arrived outside in the courtyard.

The moment he saw the intruder, Uchiha Senya didn't hesitate; he reached out and gripped the Spirit Blade Qianyue sealed at his wrist.

"Uchiha Style—Sword Dance of Flame."

Scorching crimson-orange flames clung to the blade, and with speed invisible to the naked eye, he used the Body Flicker Technique to appear beside Jiraiya, unleashing a cross-shaped slash composed of two strikes.

"Wait, I'm not here to cause trouble!"

Jiraiya was startled by the sudden attack, but fortunately, he reacted in time; the flames only burned through the red cloak on his chest.

Seeing Jiraiya speak up to explain, Uchiha Senya stopped his assault and waved his right hand to sheath Qianyue.

Seeing Uchiha Senya drop his hostile stance, Jiraiya continued.

"I didn't expect the rising star of the Uchiha clan, the Vice Clan Head, to possess such formidable strength at such a young age. I wonder, why the sudden attack on me?"

As he spoke, the expression on Jiraiya's face shifted from his initial playful grin to one of stern dignity.

"Hmph."

"If you were sleeping with your girlfriend and someone interrupted you in the middle of the night, would you be happy?"

Uchiha Senya gave Jiraiya this answer with a cold tone.

Suddenly, the air seemed to freeze. This short sentence dealt an unknown amount of damage and shock to Jiraiya.

Jiraiya stood frozen in place, instantly losing his previous composure.

From the perspective of a normal man in the ninja world, it was perfectly reasonable for the sixteen or seventeen-year-old Uchiha Senya to have a girlfriend at his age.

But looking at Jiraiya, a man in his forties, he had never been in a relationship. Although he frequented taverns, he was like a butterfly passing through flowers without a single petal sticking to him; for all these years, his heart had held only Tsunade.

Though he had been pestered by the leader of Nadeshiko Village for a time during his early travels, he had eventually passed the buck by leaving the marriage contract to his future student. Thinking about it now, that could be considered leaving a romantic connection for Naruto.

It was a pity that the falling flowers had intent, but the flowing water had no heart. Jiraiya had expressed his feelings to Tsunade subtly countless times, but she had never responded. He had even watched her fall in love with Dan Katō, which had broken his heart.

Jiraiya unconsciously compared the two, then looked at Uchiha Senya.

He had already lost—he had lost completely, both in appearance and in life.

Combining this with what Uchiha Senya had just said, he subconsciously imagined it: if he were interrupted in the middle of the night with his lover, that would truly be...

"Ah, apologies, apologies. I truly am sorry for this late-night visit, but the Uchiha have been quite active lately, and I grew a bit concerned. I hope Vice Clan Head Senya doesn't mind me inviting myself over."

Senya formed a seal with one hand.

"Release."

He deactivated the courtyard barrier and pushed open the reddish-brown gate.

"Since you've come for a visit, you might as well come inside to talk. There is no reason to keep a guest waiting outside, especially when that guest is the renowned Jiraiya of the Konoha Sannin."

Senya turned back to look at Jiraiya and added one more sentence, which immediately sent a jolt of shock through the man.

"Also, Lord Jiraiya, there is no need for such formalities. I presume it was the Third who sent you here this time."