Three Thousand Crows

Before he had finished reading everything, Shen Ye flung the scroll to the ground.

Though he was the one who had spied on the women's bathhouse, it was outrageous to associate him with that guy.

More importantly, even though he had already reported that guy's appearance alongside Shikaku and Minato, Sarutobi Hiruzen still didn't believe him.

It seemed Tsunade didn't know about this. Otherwise, with her temper, she would have raised hell in the office.

"Don't use so much force. What if you damage my scroll?"

Aoba Yamashiro carefully picked up the scroll, brushed off the dust, and tucked it into his pocket.

Feeling Jiraiya's gaze, Shen Ye suddenly understood. Jiraiya hadn't brought him here for a simple reason.

He was testing him, taking advantage of Tsunade's absence and the lack of witnesses to thoroughly investigate his background.

If he was a spy, they could eliminate him then and there. If not, they could at least claim they had been trying to flush out information.

"Jiraiya, you don't seem to believe me."

"I'm only thinking of the village's safety. Tsunade trusts you completely, but I need some proof."

"Damn it, do I have to prove I'm a good person to you? If I were strong enough to be a spy, I'd have taken you two out already."

A faint smile played on Jiraiya's face as he quietly watched Shen Ye.

Aoba Yamashiro was doing the same, though he seemed more nervous than Jiraiya.

Now Shen Ye was in a difficult spot. No matter what, he couldn't fall out with the two of them here. If they really treated him as a spy, all his earlier lies would have been for nothing.

"Aoba, come over here. I can prove it to you."

Aoba Yamashiro glanced at Jiraiya. The latter nodded, assuring him nothing would go wrong. Aoba slowly approached Shen Ye, still on guard.

Shen Ye lightly patted him twice, silently activating Steal Skill.

"Ding! Congratulations, host. You successfully stole Aoba Yamashiro's skill: Three Thousand Crows Technique! Steal Skill cooldown: 3 hours."

Shen Ye nodded in satisfaction, then sprinted off in one direction.

Aoba Yamashiro was stunned and started to chase after him, but Jiraiya stopped him. As a ninja guarding the village entrance, he couldn't abandon his post without permission.

"I'll chase him. You stay here and keep watch."

Jiraiya rolled his neck, drove off the ground with a powerful push, and charged after Shen Ye. In just a few breaths, he had nearly caught up.

"Jiraiya, you're fast! I thought getting a head start would put some distance between us."

"I believe you're not a spy. But if I follow you, I might find him."

Shen Ye shook his head helplessly as he continued running. He had only one destination in mind: a small house in the village.

When he had used his sensing ability to test Jiraiya, Shen Ye had already discovered where that guy was hiding.

"Jiraiya, when did you start keeping an eye on me? You hid it well."

"That's a secret. But I've always believed you. I just had to use this method to find that guy."

Shen Ye understood that, too. Everyone in the village thought the spy wandering around was the one impersonating Jiraiya.

But only Shen Ye and Yue Xing knew that guy hadn't done anything of the sort.

As a child who had suddenly appeared in the village, it made sense for the spy to target him. His identity offered the perfect cover.

But another question surfaced in Shen Ye's mind.

If the spy really wanted to frame him, why had he shown himself in front of Shikaku and Minato and even fought them?

There was no time to think it through. Jiraiya was already running alongside Shen Ye, occasionally turning to look at him with a grin.

After running for some time, the two stopped outside an inconspicuous room.

Dust had gathered by the entrance, as though no one had entered the building in a long time. Jiraiya couldn't help wondering whether Shen Ye had actually found the right place.

"Shh. Let's go in quietly."

Shen Ye had already activated his sensing ability, but a barrier surrounded the room, preventing him from detecting anything inside.

With Jiraiya here, there was nothing to worry about, even if they really ran into that guy. They could work together to defeat him.

They slowly pushed open the door, sending dust swirling through the air. In the faint moonlight, the room appeared completely empty.

After wiping the dust from the floor, Shen Ye determined that no one had been inside for a long time. It didn't seem like a setup.

"Looks like we searched in the wrong place. This isn't where that guy is hiding."

"He's a clever opponent. He deliberately left a strong scent here to lead us astray."

"Maybe he's watching us from nearby. He'll be even more cautious from now on."

Jiraiya nodded, waving away the dust floating before him as he walked out of the room. Shen Ye lingered for a moment, then followed.

The two stood beneath the moonlight in silence.

At last, Jiraiya broke the silence and held out his hand to Shen Ye.

"I'm truly sorry about what happened today. I didn't trust you, and I even tried to use you."

"I know you did it all for the village. We'll have to work together to catch that guy."

Shen Ye reached out and clasped Jiraiya's hand. In that instant, the knot in Jiraiya's heart unraveled.

But Shen Ye was full of disdain. If the only safe place in the ninja world right now weren't Konoha, he would have fallen out with Jiraiya today.

Damn it. This is the first time I've been treated like this. Just wait until I've stolen a few more skills—I'll teach you a lesson.

Of course, Jiraiya had no idea. He even believed there wasn't the slightest rift between him and Shen Ye.

Even after all this, though, Shen Ye only wanted to teach Jiraiya a lesson. He didn't hate him.

"It's getting late. Tsunade should be back by now. I'm going home."

Shen Ye turned and headed home, leaving Jiraiya with a confident parting stride.

Only after a moment did Jiraiya realize something was wrong. He hurried after Shen Ye.

In the entire ninja world, there was probably only one person Jiraiya truly feared from the bottom of his heart.