Jiraiya's Crimes Laid Bare

Konoha.

Hokage's Office.

The office, which had originally held only the Third Hokage, now had one more person.

"The matter of cutting funding for this batch of Police Force funds is unclear. It should be reviewed again."

Nara Luhe held an old government order, circled a section of it in red pen,

then pushed it toward the Third Hokage.

The Third Hokage glanced at it and said slowly, "Luhe, the Uchiha will not care about such trifling gains."

Luhe raised his head, his voice calm and unhurried.

"Third Hokage-sama, a village's peace should come from stability and harmony."

"We of Ino-Shika-Cho have always wanted to make Konoha stronger."

"Though these may all be minor issues, they cannot go uninvestigated."

"After all, an ant hole can bring down a dike."

The Third Hokage's hand tightened, and his expression darkened slightly.

As Konoha's leader for decades, his prestige had once been unparalleled.

No matter what he did, no one questioned him.

But everything had changed from the day Danzo dug out Shisui's eye.

Using Konoha's coveting of other shinobi clans' Kekkei Genkai as grounds, the Uchiha had torn a massive rift in the major clans' trust in Konoha's upper ranks.

Then, in several consecutive incidents, the Third Hokage had been forced onto the defensive.

Especially when he had attempted to control the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, only for a mistaken decision to cause Nine-Tails chakra to leak out, nearly bringing about a second Nine-Tails Attack.

Even his position as Hokage was now hanging by a thread.

Rather than saying Nara Luhe had come to assist him, it would be more accurate to say Luhe represented Ino-Shika-Cho in monitoring him.

Just as he was about to speak, urgent knocking interrupted their conversation.

After knocking hurriedly, an ANBU immediately entered and reported,

"Hokage-sama, Advisor-sama, Jiraiya-sama was caught peeping into the women's bath by Zhengye. He has now been stripped naked and hung from the railing outside."

"What?!" The Third Hokage's pipe slammed onto the desk with a series of clanging sounds.

Even Nara Luhe stood up, his face filled with astonishment.

The two of them went to the window and looked outside.

Zhengye had hung the unconscious Jiraiya from a utility pole.

Beside him, a loudspeaker continuously broadcast at full volume,

"This man is Jiraiya, disciple of the Third Hokage. He was arrested by the Police Force for peeping into the women's bath and has been hung here as punishment."

The Third Hokage nearly blacked out, his blood pressure shooting through the roof.

He swayed, barely managing to steady himself.

Without even grabbing his pipe, he threw open the window and jumped out!

Luhe went to the desk and set the Third Hokage's pipe upright to prevent a fire.

He walked to the window, looking somewhat torn between laughter and tears.

"This Zhengye..."

With his intelligence, he could easily guess that only Zhengye could have come up with such a method.

The Third Hokage is going to lose all face now.

Zhengye stood beneath a nearby eave with his arms folded. He looked up at Jiraiya hanging in midair, his face expressionless.

Beside him, Soji had already directed the Police Force members to set up a cordon, keeping the onlookers more than ten meters away.

Shisui was still somewhat dazed. He quietly approached Zhengye's ear and asked,

"Zhengye, is it really alright for us to humiliate Jiraiya like this?"

Zhengye shot Shisui a glance, frowning. "Didn't I tell you? Never pass up any chance to strike at the Third Hokage's faction."

"Don't forget how the Uchiha were smeared over the past five years."

Shisui's eyes shifted as he recalled the villagers' vicious words and the Third Hokage's attempts to smooth things over. He fell silent.

"Come on, come on, everyone, take a look!" A Police Force member cried energetically through a loudspeaker.

"This man is one of the legendary Three Sannin, the Toad Sage Jiraiya! The Third Hokage's personal disciple!"

"Guess what kind of fine deeds he committed? Peeping into the women's bath! He used ninjutsu to punch holes through walls and spy on young women bathing!"

"He even refused to spare ten-year-old girls. His morals are utterly bankrupt, the scum of all scum!"

More and more villagers gathered. Some covered their mouths and snickered, some wore looks of contempt, while young women flushed red with anger.

"He's the Hokage's disciple, and he has no shame at all?"

"Exactly! I used to think he was a hero... pfft!"

Seeing the mood rise, the Police Force member added fuel to the fire. "And this isn't even his first offense!"

"This Lord Jiraiya traveled far and wide, supposedly gathering material, but in reality he peeped on women everywhere. He drew what he saw into pictures, printed them into books, and sold them throughout the entire Shinobi World!"

"What?!"

"He did that too?"

The crowd instantly erupted. Several young women's faces went from red to pale, their eyes filled with shock and fury.

They could not imagine what it was like for those women to have their naked bodies spread across the Shinobi World without their knowledge.

"I heard that book he wrote, something called Make-Out Paradise, is full of that kind of stuff!" a middle-aged woman said angrily.

"My daughter is still in the Ninja Academy. If she gets corrupted by books like that..."

"Pah! Shameless!"

Curses rose one after another.

There was not the slightest falsehood or exaggeration in what Zhengye had exposed.

Jiraiya had always been a libertine who drew pornographic pictures, wrote obscene novels, peeped on women everywhere, and visited prostitutes.

Transportation in this world was extremely inconvenient, and many civilians never left their own cities in their entire lives.

They had no idea their naked bodies had been spread across the Shinobi World.

Even those who knew could not afford to provoke Jiraiya.

The only person above him was the Third Hokage of Konoha, one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages.

No one could punish Jiraiya at all.

Under such circumstances, ordinary people could only swallow their grievances.

The education Zhengye had received since childhood had made him deeply detest such behavior of objectifying and humiliating women.

Even without any other benefit, he would still deal with Jiraiya.

Not to mention that there were other gains to be had now.

He raised his head. The Third Hokage had already leaped down from the Hokage Building and rushed to the cordon in a few strides.

He wore casual clothes and had not even brought his hat. The wrinkles on his face seemed to have deepened by several years at once.

"Move aside!" he shouted in a low voice.

Soji of the Police Force did not give him the slightest regard and instead looked to Zhengye.

Only after seeing Zhengye give a slight nod did he make way.

The Third Hokage walked up to Zhengye and looked at Jiraiya hanging in the air, not even wearing a pair of briefs. The corner of his eye twitched violently.

"Uchiha Zhengye!" The Third Hokage kept his voice low, every word seeming to squeeze through clenched teeth.

"You have gone too far! Even if Jiraiya was at fault, Konoha's judicial authorities should handle it. What gives you the right to strip him naked and hang him in the street? There are so many children in the village!"

Zhengye turned around to face the Third Hokage and questioned him coldly.

"Third Hokage-sama, you are right. But do you know that your fine disciple drew the women he peeped on, printed those drawings into books, and sold them throughout the Shinobi World?"

The Third Hokage choked.

"The naked bodies of those women he peeped on have already spread throughout the Five Great Nations without their knowledge."

Zhengye's voice was clear, and everyone around them heard every word.

"What will their children, husbands, and parents think when they see those drawings?"

"Do you know how many families Jiraiya has ruined with his 'art'?"