Novel Material, Jiraiya

"Kimimaro and I will hide above, while Hinata and Sakura provide backup and seal the perimeter below. We'll catch whoever is disturbing the peace at Konoha Hospital in one fell swoop."

"Understood!"

"Dismissed!"

Everyone took their positions.

Midnight arrived.

Hinata reported to Naruto that there were no abnormalities for the time being.

On the second floor of Konoha Hospital, Haku finished changing into a nurse's uniform in the duty room. With his silky long hair let down, he truly possessed a unique, feminine beauty in that attire.

Karin felt a mix of admiration and a touch of jealousy.

Haku was so beautiful that he seemed like a girl.

"Listen!" Karin closed her eyes, sensing the window in the corridor being opened by an inexplicable force.

Haku felt a bit nervous. He didn't know if he could play the role of a nurse well, or if he would give himself away.

"Shall we go?" Haku asked softly.

The wind blew gently, and the corridor lights began to flicker for no reason, casting a dizzying glow.

Karin clenched her fists and strode forward: "Let's go."

The two gradually approached the window. The sky outside was pitch black, and the moon was obscured by thick clouds.

In a nearby pond, a chorus of frogs croaked.

Haku frowned, reached out to the edge of the window, and prepared to close it.

A mass of white hair descended from the sky. Amidst the hair was a terrifying red and black mask, its wide mouth filled with fangs.

The target had appeared; strike immediately.

Dense Ice Needle materialized in front of Haku and flew straight toward the mask.

"You aren't getting away."

Naruto let out a loud shout and lunged from the top floor toward the white figure like a cannonball.

He unleashed his spiritual pressure to restrict the target from using the Three Body Technique.

A voice came from beneath the mask: "Oh! Something's strange here."

Naruto delivered a flying kick: "Take this!"

Kimimaro descended from above, spinning rapidly to throw a punch aimed at the opponent's neck.

Below, Hinata and Sakura simultaneously threw Shuriken to seal off the escape angles.

"This is bad!" the masked figure exclaimed again: "Let me test the strength of Konoha's new generation. It has been a long time since I last returned to Konoha; the changes make me feel a bit like a stranger."

"Ninja Art: Needle Jizo."

A head of white hair rapidly wrapped around the masked man's entire body, turning him into something resembling a hedgehog.

The Ice Needle lacked sufficient power; upon hitting the tough hair, they shattered into ice shards.

Naruto pushed Kimimaro away in mid-air: "The hair is too tough, don't hit it head-on. Provide support from a distance."

Kimimaro landed first: "Shikotsumyaku: Bone Chain."

Kimimaro touched his fingers together and pulled them apart, forming a Bone Chain the length of his arm span, which he then spun and launched, aiming to bind the hedgehog ahead.

Naruto's soles were pricked by the hair, but he still managed to kick the hedgehog ball into the designated position.

"Calculations are accurate."

As the Bone Chain locked the hedgehog, Kimimaro and Naruto exchanged a smile.

They had caught the troublemaker.

The masked man retracted his hair to its normal state and braced his arms: "Oh, to think they are descendants of the Kaguya Clan. Such hard bones!"

Karin rushed over in a rage, ready to give the masked man a sound thrashing, but Hinata pulled her back just in time.

"Don't do it. He's covered in spikes; if you hurt your hands, it will affect your work tomorrow," Hinata explained.

Karin roared: "Consider yourself lucky. We're taking you to the teacher so he can punish you."

Naruto walked up to the masked man, placed his fingers on the mask, and slid it down: "Curious, let's see your true face."

White hair, a square jaw, black pupils, and red markings beneath his eyes.

"I feel like I've seen you before!" Naruto scrutinized the man.

Jiraiya likewise scrutinized Naruto: "They are all willing to listen to you? Is your strength the greatest among them?"

Naruto couldn't recall where he had seen Jiraiya's face before: "They trust me because I am the most reliable. Your actions have seriously harmed the health of the nurses at Konoha Hospital. Confess now: why did you do such a frightening thing?"

Jiraiya lowered his head, his eyes filled with regret and apology: "I am a writer currently working on a horror novel. I needed to describe the expressions and behaviors of hospital nurses when they are afraid. I simply became too obsessed with the writing and committed such a foolish act."

"What a weirdo!" Sakura muttered.

The six of them surrounded Jiraiya. Kakashi, who had been reading his novel, finally walked over, a leaf drifting onto his hair, looking rather comical.

"Kakashi-sensei, we caught him!"

Sakura immediately reported the process of their collaborative capture to Kakashi.

Everyone had been working diligently!

Upon seeing Jiraiya, Kakashi froze in his tracks, ready to turn and bolt.

Why is it him? I can't handle this; I have to go find the Third Hokage.

Whoosh!

Sakura couldn't call him back in time.

Under everyone's gaze, Kakashi sprinted away at top speed.

From Kakashi's reaction, Naruto realized that the person who had been causing trouble likely held a very high status in Konoha.

"Since Kakashi-sensei is avoiding him, I'm afraid this might just end up being swept under the rug. How about we take him to apologize to the frightened nurses first, and make him sign for the compensation?"

Naruto suggested to the others, believing this arrangement would alleviate the nurses' psychological stress.

"Everyone, let's escort him over."

The six of them looked quite imposing, feeling satisfied as they upheld justice.

Jiraiya had indeed been looking for an opportunity to apologize, so he went with the flow and finished the apology.

Kushina Uzumaki and Minato Namikaze appeared at Konoha Hospital simultaneously.

Seeing Jiraiya, the two were filled with a thousand thoughts, not even knowing where to begin.

Jiraiya said loudly, "Minato, Kushina, you have both grown up so well. I am truly happy for you."

"Back then, when Sarutobi recommended me to be Hokage, I was born with a free spirit, so I recommended Minato instead. What do you call this? This is the Will of Fire being passed down through generations."

Kushina said helplessly, "The older you get, the more like a mischievous child you become. Minato, you need to make Jiraiya-sensei reflect properly."

Minato gently held Kushina's hand, "Jiraiya-sensei's attitude during his apology just now was very good and sincere. Since the matter at Konoha Hospital has been resolved smoothly, let's not let the situation escalate any further."

The image of the Konoha Sannin still needed to be maintained.

"Naruto, come here." Kushina beckoned.

Naruto followed the voice to Kushina's side, "Mom, you should be resting in the middle of the night."

"Why are your shoes ruined?" Kushina asked.

Naruto lifted his foot; no wonder he felt a chill on his soles—the bottom of his shoe had been shredded to the point of being hollow. "I forgot to put steel plates in my shoes. I just exchanged blows with Jiraiya-sensei, and his hair is as sharp as steel needles; it ruined the soles in an instant."

Minato smiled and said, "Jiraiya-sensei, Naruto doesn't know the immensity of heaven and earth. He didn't hurt you, did he? You aren't young anymore; it takes a hundred days to recover from broken bones."

Jiraiya grumbled internally, The father and son are playing good cop, bad cop. They're blaming me for sparring with Naruto just now. If I hadn't defended myself, that kick from your brat really could have broken my bones.

The group at Konoha Hospital had cleared the air, but Kakashi, who had left early, remained unaware of the outcome, lost in the world of his moving novel.