At night, the moonlight bathed Konoha as autumn turned to winter. Jiraiya took advantage of the darkness and used the Toad Hide Technique to sneak into the Uchiha Police Department.
Or rather, it might be more appropriate to call it the Konoha Police Department now.
During the day, he had accompanied Naruto—shopping for new clothes and eating local snacks. In the afternoon, they did some basic training.
Jiraiya had spent the entire day with Naruto, doing his best to make up for the boy's lonely childhood.
Because he knew that soon, he would probably have to rely on shadow clones to accompany Naruto instead of being there himself. Even though the village appeared far more stable than before, Jiraiya knew the undercurrents still flowed beneath the surface. Based on everything he understood about Root and Danzo, there was no way they would stand by and allow the Uchiha to continue like this unopposed.
It wasn't until Naruto had fallen asleep that night that Jiraiya finally had time. He left a shadow clone behind in Naruto's room and quietly headed to the police department to investigate the Uchiha's intelligence network.
Avoiding the guards on night duty, Jiraiya stealthily entered the office used daily by Uchiha Hikaru.
"Ninja Art: Sky Concealment Formation."
To prevent anyone from noticing his presence, Jiraiya cast a perception barrier that extended through the entire office with himself at its center.
That way, any movement outside the door would be detected instantly, and he could use Reverse Summoning to escape immediately if necessary.
With the setup complete, Jiraiya began flipping through the thick stacks of documents piled on Uchiha Hikaru's desk.
At first, he read carefully and found that Uchiha Hikaru—the newly promoted deputy clan head and deputy director of the police department—had been doing excellent work in reforming the force.
But after more than an hour passed, Jiraiya had skimmed through the rest.
Most of it covered village security protocols, interdepartmental coordination, and regulations for internal police department members.
The only document that sparked any amusement was one titled, "Why Female Shinobi Perform Better Than Male Shinobi in Police Work."
By the end, Jiraiya felt like he had stumbled upon a kindred spirit. At the bottom of the report, Uchiha Hikaru had scribbled a comment:
"This is undoubtedly true. A cold-faced, skilled, and attractive kunoichi can make an investigation go far more smoothly. No one refuses to talk to a beautiful woman—especially considering most crimes in the village these days are committed by drunken men."
Comments like this made Jiraiya itch to meet the "Uchiha female shinobi" mentioned in the report.
He also felt a strange urge to meet the man who could write such philosophical truths—Uchiha Hikaru.
Having confirmed there was nothing urgent in the files, Jiraiya dispelled the barrier, cloaked himself in the Toad Hide Technique again, and left the police department.
Since the moon hadn't yet reached its zenith, he decided to sneak into the Uchiha compound and pay Uchiha Hikaru a personal, late-night visit.
Countless missions, two Shinobi World Wars, and years of traveling had refined Jiraiya's stealth skills to near perfection. He evaded the night patrols with ease and made his way deep into Uchiha territory.
He only paused when he sensed a powerful chakra barrier surrounding a specific courtyard—Hikaru's residence.
Inside, the bedroom light was dim. Only a small lamp on the bedside table illuminated the room.
Uchiha Hikaru suddenly sat up, the motion waking up Anko, who had been resting her head on his chest.
Still half-asleep, Anko mumbled groggily, "I... can't take it anymore... Let go..."
Hikaru gently brushed her black hair off her pale, bare shoulder and tucked the blanket over her.
In an instant, he was dressed in his combat gear and outside in the courtyard.
The moment he sensed the intruder, Hikaru grabbed his chakra-forged blade, sealed at his wrist.
"Uchiha Style: Flame bullet."
Blazing red-orange fire engulfed the blade, and Hikaru shot toward the intruder at a speed faster than the eye could track. Two fiery slashes formed a cross and sliced through the air toward Jiraiya at close range.
"Wait! I'm not here to fight!"
Jiraiya barely dodged in time. The flame grazed him, burning a hole in his signature red cloak.
As soon as Hikaru saw it was Jiraiya, he dismissed the flames and resealed with a wave of his hand.
Only after the tension faded did Jiraiya speak again.
"I didn't expect the new deputy head of the Uchiha clan to be this strong at such a young age. I'm curious, though—why the sudden attack?"
Jiraiya's expression shifted from relaxed to serious.
"Would you be happy if someone barged in during the middle of the night while you were in bed with your girlfriend?" Hikaru snapped.
The words hit like a kunai to the chest.
Jiraiya froze.
He suddenly felt every bit of his forty-plus years—and not in a good way.
From a normal shinobi's perspective, it was entirely reasonable for a sixteen- or seventeen-year-old like Hikaru to already have a girlfriend.
But Jiraiya? He'd never even been in a real relationship. Sure, he frequented bars and bathhouses, but the truth was that for all these years, his heart had only ever belonged to Tsunade.
He'd once been pestered by the chief of Nadeshiko Village about marriage, but had ultimately pushed that responsibility onto his future student—Naruto. In hindsight, it was probably an attempt to pass down a love he himself never attained.
Tsunade had always been out of reach. He'd tried to confess countless times, subtly or directly. She never reciprocated.
She'd fallen for Dan.
And Jiraiya had watched it happen.
Now here he was, being reminded that not only was he alone, but the next generation was already living the life he'd dreamed of.
He looked at Hikaru again.
I've lost. In appearance. In life. In love.
And that one sentence—so casually delivered—pierced him deeper than any blade.
"Ah... right, sorry. My bad. I really didn't mean to disturb you two. I was just... concerned. The Uchiha have been unusually active lately, so I came to check things out. I hope you can forgive the uninvited visit, Deputy Clan Head."
Hikaru formed a hand seal. "Release."
The barrier faded, and the reddish-brown door creaked open.
"Well, since you've come to visit, I suppose I should be polite. It's not right to leave a guest outside—especially when that guest is one of Konoha's Legendary Sannin."
He turned back to glance at Jiraiya with narrowed eyes.
"Oh, and you don't need to be so humble, Jiraiya-sama. I'm guessing the Hokage sent you here tonight, didn't he?"