Perhaps because he had finally escaped the oppressive atmosphere of the battlefield, Ui did the one thing every returning soldier dreams of: he slept until he woke up naturally. This kind of luxury was something he hadn't tasted in a very long time.
By the time he finally crawled out of bed, it was evening. He looked a bit haggard, but he had swapped his flak jacket and mission gear for casual clothes.
He wandered through the streets, grabbing a quick bite to satisfy his stomach, before heading toward the Hokage Office building. He wasn't there for an audience with the Third; he was there to fulfill the administrative duty of reporting his return and submitting his mission log.
Ninja ID: 009887
Rank: Chunin
Name: Kamishiro Ui
Status: On standby in Konoha.
After signing the ledger, his official business was done. As for when his next assignment would come, that was entirely up to the higher-ups.
His future was a bit of a question mark. First, he wouldn't be heading back to the front lines with Kushina; as a Jinchuriki, she likely wouldn't be allowed outside the village gates again until the war was over. Second, staying in the village to do low-level D-ranks while studying jutsu was also unlikely—he had already proven his value as a high-tier combat asset on the front lines. He was bound for a battlefield; it was just a matter of which one.
Stepping out of the office, Ui realized something slightly depressing: even though he was back in Konoha, he had nowhere in particular to go.
Go home? It was an empty house.
He decided to head toward Kushina's place to see if his master was still in a state of perpetual frustration. The sky was beginning to dim, but since he was no longer on a schedule, he took the scenic route, treating the walk as a leisurely stroll.
Eventually, his aimless wandering led him to Konoha's famous hot spring district.
Despite the twilight, the area was already ablaze with lights—a lingering manifestation of the village's victory celebrations. The streets were crowded with people, but to Ui, every face was that of a stranger.
Wait... not every face.
As a shinobi, certain habits were hardwired. Even on a casual walk, a ninja avoids the densest crowds, sticks to open spaces, and reflexively scans for anomalies. Their eyes track high points, low points, the position of a passerby's hands, the rhythm of a stride, and the way clothing hangs.
Even in Konoha—the place Ui considered the safest in the world—these instincts remained active. He wasn't even carrying kunai, yet his brain was still cataloging the environment.
The hot spring district was built along the banks of a shallow river. And there, on the opposite bank, nestled within the thick canopy of a lush tree, was a man with long white hair.
Ui hadn't even been looking for him. It was just a subconscious "hit" on his mental radar. To be fair, the man in the tree wasn't trying particularly hard to hide.
Ui immediately changed direction and walked onto a wooden bridge connecting the two banks. Standing at the bridge's highest point, he confirmed his suspicion.
Tall stature, long white hair cascading down his back, wearing the mission gear of a front-line commander...
That boisterous aura coupled with such incredibly sleazy behavior—who else could it be?
Jiraiya: The Toad Sage of Mount Myoboku, and the "Yellow" one among the Sannin.
Jiraiya's back was turned, so Ui couldn't see his face, but the identification was instant. Still, a question remained: wasn't Jiraiya the commander of the front against the Hidden Cloud? With every nation currently in a strategic adjustment phase, shouldn't he be at the border monitoring the enemy?
Why was he back in Konoha? Desertion? Unlikely.
Could it be because of...
Ui quickly thought of a reason. Perhaps it was because Tsunade had left the village? It was a logical guess, though unlikely to be the sole reason the Hokage would recall a top-tier commander.
Ui knew quite a bit about Jiraiya, both from his memories of a past life and from the rumors circulating in this one. He didn't know how long the Sage had been back, but it was clear that his first order of business upon returning to the village was "research."
If Konoha had a red-light district, Jiraiya probably would have been there instead. But since they didn't, the hot springs were his primary source of inspiration.
The term "Pervy Sage" was clearly well-earned.
At that moment, Jiraiya was hunkered down in the tree, looking—to put it mildly—extremely lecherous. He was positioned directly across from the second-floor windows of the women's bathhouse. Not only was he "observing," but he was also fully equipped, clutching a pair of binoculars.
Ui could only imagine the blissful expression on the man's face.
However, as a dedicated shinobi of the Leaf, Ui felt a moral obligation to protect the glorious image and reputation of the Sannin. It was a responsibility every villager shared.
Standing in the center of the bridge, Ui took a deep breath, relaxed his vocal cords, cupped his hands around his mouth like a megaphone, and screamed at the top of his lungs:
"OVER AT THE WOMEN'S BATH! THERE'S A CREEP HIDING IN THE TREE PEEPING!!!"
The volume was easily north of 120 decibels.
Without waiting to see if Jiraiya fell out of the tree, and ignoring the sudden chorus of feminine shrieks and outraged gasps from the bathhouse, Ui turned and calmly vanished into the crowd.
He lived as a hidden hero.
"Don't thank me, ladies," he thought. "I'm just a humble man doing a good deed."
No fame, no fortune—just a man living for the sake of justice. Or, at least, for the sake of a very funny reaction.