Jiraiya: Are You Sure He's Chiaki Setsuna, Not Senju Setsuna?

Just then, Hiruzen Sarutobi finally arrived.

Worried about Asuma Sarutobi and the others' safety, he had slowed down somewhat to keep them from being taken hostage by the "spy" lurking in the shadows.

Looking at the shattered ground and the scorched forest, Hiruzen Sarutobi felt a chill run through him.

Ninja had always excelled at assassination and targeted kills. As long as they held the advantage in intelligence, even a Genin could potentially assassinate a Jonin. But battles that nearly altered the terrain like this were rare among ninja.

Hiruzen Sarutobi quickly noticed a trench in the ground that seemed to have been formed by a shockwave. Following it with his gaze, he indeed found Setsuna and the "spy" Obito Uchiha and the others had mentioned at its end.

"Wait, that person is..." Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes gradually widened. Although the man's injuries were severe and his face had swollen up like a pig's head from scraping along the ground, Hiruzen Sarutobi recognized him at once—his disciple, Jiraiya, one of the Three Ninja.

"Haha! Big Brother Setsuna caught that spy!" Obito Uchiha was extremely excited.

"This was the aftermath of Senior Setsuna's battle with the enemy?" Asuma Sarutobi could not help drawing in a sharp breath. Seeing the "spy's" miserable state, he felt a lingering fear in his heart. Luckily, he had only sparred with his senior. If he had truly fought him, his little body would probably have been flattened into a meat patty with one punch.

Might Guy's eyes burned brightly. "Can taijutsu ninja be this powerful too?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi tried to keep his voice calm. "By the way, why do you think he's a spy?"

Kakashi said, "I caught him peeping at the women's bathhouse and tried to capture him, but he defeated me easily. Even ordinary Jonin shouldn't possess that kind of strength. And after being discovered, he didn't explain himself—he only wanted to run away. No matter how you look at him, he seems like a spy from an enemy village, doesn't he?"

Hearing that Jiraiya had been beaten into such a state for peeping, Hiruzen Sarutobi's beard trembled slightly. "Ha... haha. Children, you did well."

I can't use... Hm. From now on, I'll have to be doubly careful whenever I use the Telescope Technique. Otherwise, I'll lose all dignity in my old age.

At that moment, Setsuna jogged back while carrying Jiraiya and pretended to be confused. "Lord Hokage, this man has the character for 'oil' engraved on his forehead protector. Do you know which ninja village uses that symbol?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi smiled awkwardly. "Haha, he isn't a spy from an enemy village. He is actually my disciple, Jiraiya, one of the Three Ninja."

Obito Uchiha looked as though his fantasies had been shattered. He muttered in disbelief, "The Three Ninja are... this kind of people?"

Setsuna grumbled inwardly. Rather than calling them the Three Ninja, they should be called the Three Plagues—perversion, gambling, and poison, all accounted for.

Of course, in this chaotic ninja world, Jiraiya, who merely indulged in lewd behavior, could practically be considered a moral role model. At least he would not repay kindness with enmity, nor did he harbor any extreme ideas about massacring villages or exterminating clans. He was practically a breath of fresh air in the ninja world.

Kakashi was also surprised. He had once met another member of the Three Ninja, Orochimaru. That was a man who inspired fear at first sight. Kakashi had a hard time connecting that lecherous man who peeped at women's bathhouses with the Three Ninja.

Asuma Sarutobi, meanwhile, looked suspiciously at his old man. He had once seen the old man reading a book with a blissful grin on his face. When Asuma asked who the author was, the old man had said it was a work gifted to him by his disciple Jiraiya, and that the book contained profound ideas.

But now that he thought about it, could someone who peeped at women's bathhouses really write any good books?

Seeing the children's increasingly strange looks, Hiruzen Sarutobi coughed. "Jiraiya was sent out by me to gather intelligence. As for the matter of peeping at the women's bathhouse, that should have been a misunderstanding. There may have been an important person inside whom he needed to keep under surveillance."

Obito Uchiha felt somewhat guilty. "Huh? Then we beat up the wrong person?"

Kakashi frowned. He carefully recalled it, and the lecherous grin that had appeared on this member of the Three Ninja's face definitely had not been the expression of someone conducting surveillance.

Hiruzen Sarutobi hurriedly reassured them. "You can't be blamed for this either. Jiraiya was careless and exposed his whereabouts himself. His long, peaceful life caused him to lose the vigilance a ninja needs, and that is very dangerous for a ninja. I should thank you for helping him wake up."

Obito Uchiha looked at Jiraiya's pig-headed face, and admiration rose within him. "As expected of one of the Three Ninja. Even after being beaten like this, he didn't voluntarily reveal his identity. He's truly dedicated."

"Good thing you arrived in time, Lord Hokage. Otherwise, I might have accidentally killed Lord Jiraiya." Setsuna sighed, then lightly tapped Jiraiya several times.

Hiruzen Sarutobi revealed a look of surprise. He even knows Acupoint Striking?

Jiraiya endured the pain and rose to his feet. With an awkward laugh, he said, "Haha, I was actually testing you. Mm, you all did very well. I didn't expect the village to produce so many outstanding ninja during the years I was away."

Setsuna naturally knew this was not Jiraiya's true strength.

Jiraiya in Sage Mode far surpassed his normal state in attack, defense, perception, and recovery. With the assistance of the other two sages as well, that was Jiraiya's complete form.

But Setsuna did not belittle himself either. Unless Jiraiya prepared in advance, he would have no chance to use Sage Mode in front of Setsuna. Setsuna's current strength was absolutely among the top tier of the ninja world.

As Jiraiya spoke, he looked at Setsuna. "Especially you. You're the village's newly promoted Jonin, right?"

Judging from Setsuna's appearance, he seemed to be around fourteen or fifteen. For a genius ninja, becoming a Jonin at that age was nothing unusual.

Setsuna gently shook his head. "I only graduated from the Ninja Academy today. I don't even know when I'll get to take the Chunin Ninja Exams."

Jiraiya nearly wanted to curse. This is a fucking Genin?

Seeing that no one else showed any strange reaction, Jiraiya knew Setsuna was not lying. He could not help observing a moment of silence for the candidates in the next Chunin Ninja Exams. Being in the same class as such a monster would be hell-level difficulty.

Hiruzen Sarutobi said, "Children, you've worked hard today. Go on back first. I have something to discuss with Jiraiya."

Only after Setsuna and the others had gone far away did Jiraiya let out a howl of agony. Even Hiruzen Sarutobi was startled by it. Annoyed, he said, "Shouldn't you have gotten used to being beaten by Tsunade long ago?"

Jiraiya bared his teeth in pain. "That brat hit way too hard. His fists are even heavier than Tsunade's."

Hiruzen Sarutobi snorted. "You only have yourself to blame. At your age, you still went peeping at women's bathhouses. You deserved to be beaten."

Jiraiya's mouth twitched slightly. Teacher, doesn't your conscience hurt saying that?

But remembering that his teacher had bailed him out this time, he had no way to argue. He could only sigh. "I was originally planning to create a new work to give Minato Namikaze."

Thinking of Kushina, who was like a little chili pepper, Hiruzen Sarutobi coughed a few times. "If you don't want to get beaten again, you should give him something more normal."

Jiraiya's eyes widened. "What's abnormal about my Tales of a Gutsy Ninja?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi sneered. "Normal enough that you need to gather material at women's bathhouses?"

Jiraiya argued, "This time wasn't for gathering material. It was to stimulate inspiration. Just like how you need to smoke to relieve fatigue while handling government affairs, I occasionally need some visual stimulation to spark inspiration."

Hiruzen Sarutobi shook his head slightly and asked, "By the way, how exactly did you lose? Were you careless?"

Jiraiya's expression turned grave. "I wasn't careless. Other than not using Sage Mode, I had already used close to my full strength. He was too fast. I didn't have time to form hand seals for overly complicated ninjutsu, and his strength was even more terrifying. Even the flesh wall of the Rock-Dwelling Great Toad I summoned couldn't withstand a single punch from him. He's simply a monster."

Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes lit up. With just a little training, Konoha would gain another top-tier powerhouse—and one who was a war machine like the Raikage.

Jiraiya asked again, "By the way, Teacher, what's that brat's name?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi said, "His name is Chiaki Setsuna."

Upon hearing that, Jiraiya looked doubtful. "Teacher, are you sure he's Chiaki Setsuna, not Senju Setsuna?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi shook his head with a smile. "I understand what you mean, but he truly isn't from that clan. Like Orochimaru, he is a hardworking genius born from an ordinary bloodline."

"Ah, I'm always a stepping stone for geniuses." Jiraiya sighed gloomily. "I'd better wander around outside for a while longer. If Orochimaru and Tsunade see the injuries on my face, who knows how much they'll mock me?"