I really should've been asleep an hour ago.
Instead, I'm lying on my bed, lights off, thumb flicking mindlessly through reels. The bright light from my phone is the only thing keeping my room from sinking into total darkness. My eyes hurt, but I keep scrolling anyway. It's the same pattern every night. A few memes. Some NBA highlights. An anime edit.
And then one stops me.
A reel that I couldn't skip.
"Hello... Jiraiya-sensei," Kakashi says on the screen, his voice low, heavy.
I've seen this one before, maybe a dozen times. Still, my thumb freezes. The audio is grainy, like it was ripped from some old compilation.
"Oh, hi. What is it, Kakashi?" Jiraiya replies, flipping through his magazines with that familiar grin. Looking at women in bikinis, I see.
Kakashi hesitates. "There's something I'd like to talk to you about."
"Is it urgent?" Jiraiya asks without looking up. "Because I'm kinda busy right now."
When Kakashi mutters, "I'm sorry to have bothered you," the sound of Jiraiya's magazine dropping hits harder than I expect. The rest of the scene plays out like a sermon I never asked for.
"You know, on second thought, there's nothing more important than students like you. Besides, I know you. You haven't spoken to anyone today, have you? You know, people really should talk to others every day, even if it's just small talk. Otherwise, their hearts grow dark and sullen…
Talking to others builds bonds of friendship and camaraderie. It broadens the mind and makes you feel grateful to be alive. That's the type of creatures we humans are.
So what's going on?"
For some reason, it hits me every damn time.
When the reel ends, I'm just staring at the screen, my reflection barely visible in the black glass.
"Dark and sullen hearts, huh…" I mutter.
The silence in my room answers for me.
It's not like I haven't tried. I've joined clubs, gone to parties, even picked up hobbies. Like Muay Thai, acting, a lot of basketball. They all burned bright for a bit before fizzling out. It's like my interest in everything is on a timer. Every time I think I've found something meaningful, it slips through my fingers.
Now, it's just classes, reels, and the occasional existential crisis at 2 a.m.
I swipe through my notifications, which just include games.
Empty.
No one would message me anyway.
The room feels smaller in the dark. I roll over, staring at the faint outline of the ceiling. For some reason, Jiraiya's voice lingers — that easy warmth in his tone when he said, "That's the kind of creatures we humans are."
"Humans, huh…" I whisper. "Must be nice."
I close my eyes.
I wasn't good at keeping relationships, and I already realized that.
I want to be a better person.
I want to understand others.
I want...
Half-joking, half-praying, I mumble, "Man… if I could just live in a world like Pokémon. I wouldn't waste it."
I don't mean it, of course. It's just one of those dramatic thoughts you have before sleep.
Still, the words hang there, heavier than they should.
The hum of the city fades. The mattress under me feels softer. My breathing slows. For the first time in a long while, my mind goes quiet.
As I drift off, the last thing I hear is Jiraiya's voice echoing faintly through the dark:
"Even if it's just small talk… otherwise, your heart will grow dark and sullen."
Everything fades to black.
...
'Huh?'
Warm sunlight hits my face.
For a second, I think I forgot to close the curtains. My eyelids twitch, but the light doesn't fade. It's too warm, too bright. Not the cold LED glare I'm used to inside my room.
Ugh, my back hurts. My wrists too.
When I try to stretch, something pulls tight around my arms and chest. My breath catches.
What the—?
I open my eyes.
Blue sky. A faint drift of clouds. No ceiling, no walls. Just… sky.
Then the smell hits me. The earthy grass, dirt, and wind. The kind of scent you only get in open fields after rain. Except I'm not standing. I'm tied? No, bound upright against something rough. My skin itches where the bark scrapes against my back.
"Okay… okay," I mutter, voice in a panic. "This is a dream. Does that mean I can control what's happening? Lucid dreaming?"
It has to be.
I pull again, trying to free my hands, but the ropes don't even budge. My heart starts to thump harder. Every breath feels too real. My wrists burn. My throat's dry.
No. This isn't a dream.
"What the hell…"
I look around. The field stretches out endlessly with trimmed grass, a few trees, and what looks like a training post in the distance. Everything is too vivid, too solid.
Then, from the corner of my eye, I catch some movement — footsteps, slow and measured.
A young adult man steps into view, robes swaying lightly in the wind. His face is lined but kind, eyes strong and confident.
I freeze. My stomach drops.
That face. It looked like a young Sarutobi Hiruzen from the anime.
Sarutobi Hiruzen.
The Third Hokage.
He stops right in front of me, lax in his posture with a reprimanding expression.
"Jiraiya," he says warmly.
My brain stops working for a good three seconds.
Jiraiya?
Oh shit, the word drop.
"What did you just—" I start, but the sound of my own voice cuts me off. It's lighter, higher — younger.
I look down. My hands — smaller. My body — thinner. A loose training outfit hangs awkwardly off my frame.
My heart slams against my ribs.
I want to laugh, to scream, to deny it — but the name, the setting, the man standing in front of me — everything lines up too perfectly.
"I… I'm Jiraiya," I whisper under my breath, voice trembling.
Hiruzen tilts his head. "Still half-asleep, are we?"
He chuckles. "You should know better than to nap after being tied up for punishment. Perhaps this will teach you to stop falling for my tricks."
I blink, stunned. My mind races. Falling for his tricks… tied to a stump…
Oh god. This is that moment. The classic "Jiraiya tied to the stump" scene when Hiruzen punished him in the bell test for the multitude of failed attempts.
Except this isn't an anime scene anymore.
This is me.
The weight of it all sinks in slowly. I'd wished for a life with meaning, a life where I wouldn't waste things. And now… I'm stuck in the body of one of the most legendary perverts in the ninja world.
A shaky laugh escapes me.
Hiruzen raises an eyebrow. "You need to be more like Orochimaru, Jiraiya."
Hearing this, I went silent as my thoughts raced. Hiruzen seemed to be a real and serious teacher from the anime and manga. Although a bit more questionable in his later life, he wouldn't hinder my training.
Maybe trying to get on his good side would be good.
'Acting classes, don't fail me now.'
Hiruzen's gaze lingers on me, calm and unreadable. "You've been unusually quiet today, Jiraiya," he says finally. "That's not like you."
I take a breath, let my shoulders slump slightly — vulnerable, but not pathetic. "Sensei… I don't want to be a clown anymore."
"I know I mess around a lot. I… I know Orochimaru's better than me. Smarter. Stronger. He's probably the kind of student you actually want."
Hiruzen's lips part, but I keep going.
"I just… I don't want to be like Orochimaru. I want to be the next Jiraiya. I don't want to be weak. I want to be—" I stop, letting my voice falter just enough for it to sound real.
Then I lift my head. "I want to be Jiraiya. The Jiraiya. The Legendary Sannin of Konoha."
The word "Sannin" rolls off my tongue before I can stop it. For a heartbeat, the world feels still. The wind rustles the grass. Hiruzen blinks.
"Sannin…?" He repeats the word slowly, as though testing how it rolled off the tongue. "The Legendary Sannin of Konoha, hm? That has a nice ring to it."
He smiles faintly, but his eyes soften when he sees the look on my face — or rather, the one I'm putting on. I let my lips tremble just a bit, my eyes glistening like I'm holding something back.
"I just don't want to be useless anymore, sensei," I say quietly. "I'll work hard. Harder than Orochimaru ever will. I swear it."
Hiruzen exhales slowly, then gives a short laugh. Not mocking, but warm, paternal. "You've grown quite serious all of a sudden. But it's better this way. Very well. If you're that determined, I'll teach you personally outside of our regular team training. If you truly want to walk your own path, I'll help you find it.
Naturally, you have to keep it a secret."
'Thank god it worked, I might of overdone it and added a bit too much at the end.' An inward sigh of relief.
My head snaps up, and this time, the grin that spreads across my face isn't acting. "Really? You mean it, sensei?"
His chuckle is deep, amused. "Of course. But in return, you'll have to show me that jutsu of yours. The one you bragged about being better than anything Orochimaru could make."
I freeze.
Right. That jutsu.
Was it some sort of transparent technique?
"Ah... well," I start, rubbing the back of my head, "I, uh, might've exaggerated a little bit. It's still a work in progress, you know?"
"Oh?" Hiruzen tilts his head, the corner of his mouth twitching. "From what I heard, it's quite effective. You even claimed it lets you sneak anywhere — not like it worked in the bell test," he muses to my embarrassment.
Wait, why am I embarrassed?
My smile stiffens. "Ah, yes… well, technically that's true—"
He raises an eyebrow. "And what exactly do you use it for?"
I hesitate for half a second, then sigh. "...Research."
"Research?"
"For peeking into women's bathrooms..."
Hiruzen's smile dissipates as a more reserved expression hits his face, some blush on his cheeks which made me narrow my eyes.
"I see," he says at last. "Perhaps we'll have to discuss proper research methods next time. Maybe in a week's time when I don't have Hokage duties."
He coughs, pretending to look somewhere else.
Oh yeah, he was the Hokage currently. Getting a team while being Hokage is crazy work, but I don't judge.
After these words, a silence which went on for too long occurred.
"Wow, Sarutobi-sensei, you're a perv." I blurt out, breaking the tension.
Hearing my words, he laughs. A full, hearty laugh — and for a brief moment, the weight in my chest lifts as I join him right after.
"Haha!"
After removing my little bindings, he started to leave, to which I just stare. The words of the reel I last saw before my sudden intrusion into this world echo in my mind.
People really should talk to others every day.
Maybe trying to befriend Tsunade and Orochimaru in a more proper way would be for the best. But a drastic change in personality might be a bit too much. 'Acting more like a tsundere and slowly opening up would be ideal,' I thought, planning ahead a little.
By the time Hiruzen disappears behind the trees, the sun's already starting to dip. The orange light hits the training field just right. Long shadows stretching across the grass, dust catching in the glow.
I just stand there for a moment, staring at my hands.
They're smaller, sure, but there's something better about them? Was it the chakra in my body?
"…Jiraiya," I whisper again, half to test it, half to convince myself. "I'm actually him."
Some of his memories started to return to me — he was just your basic orphan. No family to go home to but an empty apartment given to him for free as a newly made Genin.
A faint ding cuts through my thoughts.
Something flickers in front of my eyes — translucent, faint blue, almost holographic.
A panel.
(A/N: I gave a warning in the description, but I'll add it here too. It's just a viewing panel to see his progress, as this is what I love the most as a reader myself. I apologize if this makes anyone not want to read.)
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[ViewingPanel]
Name: Jiraiya (Genin)
Age: 6
Affiliation: Konohagakure
Teacher: Hiruzen Sarutobi
Team: Tsunade Senju, Orochimaru
---
[Attributes]
Ninjutsu: Low Genin
Taijutsu: Genin
Genjutsu: Academy Level
Shurikenjutsu: High Academy Level
---
[Body]
Strength: Genin
Speed/Agility: Low Genin
Stamina: High Genin
Chakra Reserves: High Genin
Chakra Control: High Academy Level
---
[Techniques]
Ninjutsu: Transparent Escape Technique (C-rank), Body Replacement Technique (E-rank), Clone Technique (E-rank), Transformation (E-rank)
Taijutsu: Leaf Academy Taijutsu (D-rank)
-----
I blink.
"This… this looks like a system window." I wave my hand, but the panel doesn't react. It's just there, hanging in the air like a static display. I can't touch it, can't scroll it.
The only thing I could do is see it.
Well, at least it's something that could help me in the future.
"Figures," I mutter. "I'm broke too." I murmur a little sadly, pulling Jiraiya's wallet — or my wallet now — out of my pocket.
Still… the data helps. Chakra control needs some work, while Taijutsu was apparently his strong suit. I can work with that.
Using Jiraiya's memories, I started to leave the training grounds.
The village streets feel alive in a way I've never experienced. Warm lanterns, chatter, the smell of yakitori. It's nothing like my old world's cold fluorescent lights and delivery food. But it had a little silence.
Maybe the First Shinobi War is still ongoing?
I find a dango stand tucked between two shops. The owner doesn't even question a small Genin eating alone. I buy two sticks, sit on the bench outside, and take a bite.
Sweet. Warm.
When I get up to leave, something flickers at the edge of my vision. A shadow. Faint, quick, gone before I can focus on it. I turn around. Nothing. Just the quiet rustle of the street.
Shrugging it off, I don't overthink the experience.
Maybe some shinobi going past me.
The night air's cooler now, carrying the scent of rain and earth. My little apartment with cracked walls, tiny futon, and a single desk cluttered with half-finished scrolls.
But it's mine.
I drop onto the futon, staring at the ceiling.
Reaching my hand out to the ceiling as if grabbing the air. It was now my time to grab the opportunity before me.