After leaving the izakaya, Uchiha Yato immediately sought out Tsunade.
Currently serving as director at Leaf Hospital, Tsunade was visited by Uchiha Yato under the pretense of checking on her.
Tsunade asked, "What brings you here? Something troubling you?"
Uchiha Yato joked, "Just checking on my patient's condition."
Seizing the opportunity, Uchiha Yato remained at the hospital.
Though unsure of his motives, Tsunade felt grateful for his company.
Meanwhile, back with Jiraiya...
Now half-drunk, the Sannin staggered toward a particular hot spring establishment.
Exactly as Uchiha Yato had planned - this was where the Sand Ninja were currently hosted.
And as luck would have it, Jiraiya heard feminine laughter from within.
Instantly, his research instincts were aroused.
Without further ado, he bypassed security and approached the women's bathing area.With practiced ease, he found a weak spot in the bathhouse wall and created a small hole just large enough to peer through with one eye.
Inside the women's bathhouse, laughter and cheerful voices filled the air.
All the voices belonged to kunoichi from the Hidden Sand.
Jiraiya's eyes remained glued to the scene, captivated by the alluring sights before him.
As he continued observing, he suddenly noticed a woman in the corner who stood out from the excited chatter of the other kunoichi.
She exuded an air of maturity that drew Jiraiya's increasing attention.
As the steam dissipated and his gaze sharpened, Jiraiya gradually got a clearer view of her features.
What he saw made him gasp involuntarily.
"Damn!"
The exclamation instantly alerted both the Uchiha guards and the Hidden Sand kunoichi.
The agile female ninja closed her eyes, swiftly forming hand seals while murmuring incantations.
A faint ripple of energy pulsed as she activated a mysterious sensory technique.
This skill allowed her to detect even the subtlest disturbances in her surroundings.
Suddenly, her eyes snapped open, locking onto the inconspicuous hole in the bathhouse wall above.
What should have gone unnoticed now became the center of attention.
Before anyone could react, an ear-piercing shriek tore through the tranquil hot spring facility.
The scream shattered the peaceful atmosphere like thunder.
Simultaneously, as if triggered by the sound, everyone sprang into action.
Jiraiya was the first to move. The usually carefree man now paled, cold sweat beading on his forehead.
He knew full well that being recognized or caught here would ruin his hard-earned reputation beyond repair.
Without hesitation, he turned and bolted for the exit at top speed.
Meanwhile, the kunoichi scrambled to cover themselves with clothing.
Faces flushed with anger and embarrassment, they cursed vehemently as they gave chase, determined to catch the despicable "pervert."
The bathhouse descended into chaos.
Even the Uchiha guards and their clan leader joined the frantic pursuit.
Soon, the streets of Hidden Leaf became the stage for an impromptu pervert-hunting operation.
News of the incident quickly reached the Third Hokage's ears.
The Third found himself unprepared for this development.
Chiyo, now dressed, stormed into the Hokage's office demanding an immediate audience.
"You must give me an explanation," she seethed. "If my virtue, preserved for over forty years since the First Kazekage's death, is tarnished in your Hidden Leaf—"
"I will declare war on your village. Even if the Third Kazekage refuses—"
"I alone will wage war against Hidden Leaf!"
Chiyo's fury knew no bounds. Having maintained her purity for decades, she couldn't accept being exposed in Hidden Leaf. The matter required absolute secrecy—and the perpetrator's capture.Sarutobi Hiruzen, seeing Chiyo in this stance, couldn't bring himself to say much more.
Women of this age were not to be trifled with, and the current evidence did indeed point to Hidden Leaf being at fault.
Hiruzen comfortingly said, "I will give you an explanation. There's no need to escalate this to the level of international conflict."
"I've already dispatched the Uchiha's Military Police Force and Anbu to apprehend the criminal. Rest assured."
As he spoke these words, Hiruzen couldn't help but grumble inwardly.
You, with barely any meat on your bones—what's there to see, pretending to be some alluring older woman?
Even if someone were peeping, they'd be peeping at the young girls next to you, not you. What's with this self-importance?
While the Third Hokage and Chiyo were engaged in their back-and-forth, Jiraiya was doing everything possible to escape capture.
That scream had jolted him from his half-drunken stupor into full alertness.
Now, he was hiding in an inn right next to Hiruzen's house—there was no other choice. At this point, Jiraiya could only rely on his teacher's protection.
Adjusting his position, he prepared to reverse-summon himself back to Mount Myoboku. After all, the situation was far too dangerous right now.
Meanwhile, as Uchiha Yato stayed with Tsunade, they heard the rapid footsteps of numerous shinobi rushing past outside.
At that moment, Yato knew—the subtle hint he had dropped earlier had worked.
Jiraiya wouldn't dare seek Hiruzen's help now. The only safe place left was Mount Myoboku.
And with no culprit in sight, wasn't this the perfect opportunity for Uchiha Yato to act freely?
Yato murmured silently in his heart.
Danzo… oh, Danzo~
How are you going to handle this blame?
Tsunade, too, was somewhat concerned about the commotion outside. Since taking over as director of Leaf Hospital, this was the most turbulent incident she'd faced.
Then, Tsunade turned to Yato and said, "Something seems to be happening outside."
"Should we go take a look?"
"What if it's a spy?"
Yato quickly slipped into acting mode and agreed.
"It doesn't seem like a spy. Earlier, I saw some Suna shinobi—they might be causing trouble themselves."
Just then, an Anbu shinobi appeared before Tsunade and said,
"Lady Tsunade."
"The Hokage has summoned you for a discussion."
Hearing the summons, Tsunade didn't hesitate and followed the Anbu to the council hall.
After exchanging a brief farewell with Tsunade, Yato chose to head to Uzumaki Mito's residence.
After all, right now, he absolutely couldn't give Shimura Danzo any opportunity to frame him.
This situation could be used to pin blame on anyone—once someone was accused of being a peeping tom, they'd instantly earn the hatred of both Hidden Leaf and Suna.
Danzo would undoubtedly try to target Yato over this.
But Yato was just as eager to target him—except Yato had already secured an airtight alibi.
So, under the pretense of accompanying Tsunade, he took the same route toward Mito's home.
As for his excuse for visiting, Yato had already prepared it.
Earlier, Aburame Ryoma's memories had been examined, revealing numerous dirty deeds committed by Danzo—all properly documented.
Now, all that was left was to shift the blame for Nawaki's death onto Danzo.
As the designated scapegoat, one more accusation wouldn't hurt him—hell, it might not even be false.
...
Meanwhile, deep within the Root base.Shimura Danzo had already learned the full story through Root's intelligence network.
He quickly devised a plan and ordered his men to begin fabricating evidence.
Like others, he saw this as a perfect opportunity to bring down the Uchiha Clan—and Uchiha Yato along with it.
Danzo immediately instructed Aburame Ryoma, "Hurry and arrange an alibi proving Uchiha Yato wasn't present at the scene."
"I want Uchiha Yato to become the sacrificial lamb between the Hidden Leaf and the Sand."
Upon receiving the order, Aburame Ryoma swiftly gathered a team and set out.
Speaking of Ryoma, the poor guy had truly been unlucky.
After being thoroughly humiliated by Uchiha Yato and then beaten three times by his clan leader, he still found himself back under Danzo's command.
Because he knew too many of Danzo's secrets and bore the Tongue Severing Seal, and because he was indeed a capable assistant, Danzo had taken him back.
After everyone left, Danzo muttered to himself,
"Uchiha Yato, let's see how you escape death this time!"
And so, all parties began to move.