Too Much Deception
Being sprayed in the face, ridiculed, and thrown out under everyone's watchful gaze, the members of the Shimura clan were so humiliated they wanted the ground to swallow them. Secretly, they cursed Jiraiya in their hearts.
Only someone like Jiraiya could cause such a shameful display.
Unfortunately, they could only curse inwardly. They couldn't afford to offend the Uchiha clan before, and now, with Uchiha Hiko's growing authority, even less so.
Not to mention Jiraiya himself—a legendary Sannin. A ninja like him humiliating others was bad enough, but retaliation? Impossible.
Silently, the humiliated Shimura ninja turned and returned to report. Luckily, they weren't expected to bear the blame—this disgrace could be dumped on Uchiha Hiko.
"You mean he refused to help and told you to get out?"
"…Yes…"
They had gone to plead sincerely, under direct orders—only to be humiliated and thrown out.
This was a disgrace, yet there was nothing they could do.
Since the founding of the village, the Shimura clan had never felt such shame and helplessness.
This was problematic.
"Alright, I understand. I'll figure something out."
Realizing the Shimura clan was useless in this matter, Jiraiya bid farewell to Inuzuka Zuo and headed alone to the Konoha Police Department, where Hiko worked.
Walking straight into his office, Jiraiya was greeted with sarcasm.
"Oh? Jiraiya-sama, not out researching your 'materials'? Instead of helping the Shimura clan, you've come to the police department for a break?"
"Jiraiya-sama, please have some tea," said Quan politely.
Though she hadn't forgotten the impression Jiraiya left during his visit with Tsunade, she still knew his rank and significance. At the very least, he was due proper courtesy.
She brewed fresh tea, then exited obediently, closing the office door behind her.
"This little girl isn't bad—much cuter than you," Jiraiya joked as he sipped.
Screw off.
You're the cute one.
Hiko ignored the remark, continuing his paperwork. Since Jiraiya loved tea so much, he could drink his fill—no help was coming from Hiko anyway, especially not to help people investigate himself.
Jiraiya waited, drinking slowly as the minutes ticked by. Hiko, unfazed, stamped and sorted documents.
Only once all the files were processed, reviewed, and signed did Hiko stretch, lean back, and glance at Jiraiya with a sly look of triumph.
"Alright, speak. I'm not promising anything, though."
Heh. I knew you'd cave.
Jiraiya smiled smugly, then his expression turned serious as he explained the situation.
"You're saying the enemy might specialize in genjutsu and uses space-time ninjutsu?"
That's oddly familiar…
"There are people like that," Hiko murmured.
"Exactly," Jiraiya nodded gravely. "There are a number of people in the village who excel at genjutsu—especially the Uchiha. I'm worried they'll be wrongly suspected. That's why I came to you.
You don't want Uchiha to be falsely accused by the village again, right?"
Oh? Trying to guilt-trip me now?
But this… this needed to be handled carefully.
He couldn't just allow Obito to plant seeds of distrust again.
Hiko's sarcastic demeanor faded. He sat up, his expression turning grave.
Good—he's not willing to let the Uchiha suffer for nothing, Jiraiya thought. If Hiko had outright refused, things would've been far more complicated.
What a pity, though. The true culprit was sitting right in front of him—and Jiraiya was asking him for help.
"You're right," Hiko said, fingers tapping the desk. "There are several who are good with illusions in the village. Uchiha is always the first to be suspected."
Suddenly, he paused, his eyes narrowing.
"Doesn't this sound familiar?"
He stood up sharply, startling Jiraiya.
"The Night of the Nine Tails!"
"What?!"
"The Nine-Tails Night?" Jiraiya exclaimed, stunned. "You're saying…"
"Yes," Hiko nodded quickly. "That masked man had powerful genjutsu—enough to control the Nine-Tails—and space-time ninjutsu that let him slip through Konoha's defenses like they weren't even there."
"Tsunade mentioned you've been quietly investigating that incident," Jiraiya said.
"I have," Hiko admitted. "It concerns the Uchiha name. Whether we can clear our name or not depends on understanding what happened that night."
He paused.
"That masked man had the Sharingan, yes. But I couldn't match him to any Uchiha in the clan records. He claimed to be Uchiha Madara."
"Many believe that," Jiraiya said. "After all, Madara turned against the village."
"But it doesn't add up," Hiko countered. "Madara was on another level. Only the First Hokage could match him. If Madara really returned, no one could stop him—not the Second Hokage, not Minato."
"Even Minato… couldn't have stopped him if it were truly Madara."
"Exactly," Hiko replied. "The clan's scrolls say Madara never used space-time ninjutsu. If he had, there'd be records of it from the Warring States Period."
"I admit Minato is powerful," Jiraiya said, "but even compared to Tobirama… there's a gap between them and Madara."
"Right," Hiko agreed. "Putting Minato on Madara's level is absurd."
He continued, "That masked man was meticulous. He calculated Kushina's childbirth timing perfectly to extract the Nine-Tails. That kind of information? Almost no one knew. The village was still recovering from the war, and neither Hashirama nor Tobirama were around to guard it."
"That's what bothers me," Jiraiya muttered. "How did he know when Kushina would give birth? That information was top secret—even I wasn't told until it was almost time."
"Even if Madara survived somehow, he'd be ancient by now. It's unlikely he had the youth and energy to do all that—not to mention penetrating Konoha and nearly bringing the village to ruin."
"And why attack the Shimura clan?" Hiko asked. "Why them, specifically?"
More and more questions arose.
That's good—without planting these seeds, how could they eventually pin everything on Obito?
"I haven't figured that part out yet," Jiraiya confessed.
Still in the police department's captain office, Jiraiya continued thinking.
Meanwhile, Kakashi had returned from the Land of Fire's Daimyo Mansion.
Once back in the village, Kakashi immediately reported to the Hokage's office.
"Kakashi, why did you abandon your post and return to Konoha without permission?" Tsunade's voice was sharp.
He was supposed to be guarding the daimyo.
Leaving without notice could trigger diplomatic chaos. The last thing Tsunade and the Third Hokage wanted was more friction with the feudal lord.
Kakashi bowed respectfully.
"Hokage-sama. Tsunade-sama. I arranged for Shisui to guard the daimyo in my stead. I returned because something urgent happened—something that concerns Asuma. I had to come in person."
Asuma again?
Tsunade's brow furrowed. Hiruzen's expression darkened.
It hadn't been long since Asuma clashed with Uchiha members during a prior altercation.
And now this?
What nonsense had that rebellious son gotten into this time?