After watching Hyuga Asana and Yamanaka Kagetsu leave, Uchiha Yuan turned and walked toward the Uchiha clan compound.
He hadn't lied—he did have a few friends within the Uchiha clan.
At this time, the Uchiha compound hadn't been relocated to the village's outermost edge and was still in a bustling district, so he passed many lively shops on his way.
Among them was Konoha's largest open-air hot spring.
As Yuan passed by the bathhouse, he noticed a white-haired middle-aged man looking gleefully at the women's side of the bathhouse with a pervy grin.
"Yes! Just like that, lift your arms a bit more!
This one's not bad either—such wickedness!
Hey, the one on the right—don't block the view!"
"After all the places I've traveled for reference, Konoha's women are still the best to look at!" Jiraiya jumped down from the roof, savoring the material he'd just gathered.
"Hey old man, peeping at the women's bath in broad daylight isn't very decent, is it?"
Jiraiya's expression twitched. He hadn't noticed anyone behind him until the kid spoke. Was he too distracted while gathering 'material'?
Or had the boy used the Body Flicker Technique so swiftly that Jiraiya didn't detect him?
Jiraiya turned around and scanned the boy carefully: he wore the Uchiha clan crest, looked around 11 or 12 years old, likely graduated 1 or 2 years ago. No way someone this young could master such fast movement—he probably just got careless.
Thinking that, Jiraiya smiled and said, "Ah, so you're a brat from the Uchiha clan! I, the great sage, wasn't peeping—I was gathering reference material for my work!"
"Reference material? You're a writer?" Yuan feigned innocence.
"Absolutely! I am a great author!" Jiraiya puffed up proudly.
"What books have you written?"
"Oh, I've written so many—like—" Jiraiya launched into bragging mode while quickening his pace, hoping to lose the kid.
But to his surprise, Yuan kept up effortlessly. That startled Jiraiya a bit.
His instincts told him this kid wasn't ordinary. He subconsciously increased his speed—but Yuan stuck to him like glue.
"Hey kid, why are you following me?"
"You were peeping on the women's bath. As a member of the Uchiha clan, I have a duty to maintain village order. I'm taking you to the police force."
"I told you I wasn't pee—... huh? Since when was there a ramen shop here? Looks popular too. Wonder how the food is." Jiraiya spotted a ramen shop with a long queue.
Yuan also noticed it. He thought for a moment, then called out, "Old man, how about a bowl of ramen? If you treat me, I'll pretend I didn't see anything."
"Fine, fine! Just got back to the village and ran into this mess—what luck..." Jiraiya muttered with resignation.
The two went to Ichiraku Ramen. Jiraiya then noticed a banner: "Final Day of Trial Operation." So the shop hadn't officially opened yet.
"For a place not officially open to already have so many customers—this ramen must be good," Jiraiya thought.
After waiting in line for about 20 minutes, they finally sat down. Yuan ordered a large seafood ramen; Jiraiya got a tonkotsu ramen.
When the food arrived, Jiraiya took a sip of the broth: "Tsk—pretty good!"
"Not bad, though maybe not as legendary as people say."
"Legendary? So you've never eaten here before?"
"Nope. I just heard about it from others."
After finishing one bowl, Yuan was only about 70% full. He'd burned through a lot of chakra while rushing overnight, and his food was being rapidly converted to chakra thanks to his [Life Return] skill.
Since someone else was paying, Yuan didn't hold back. He ordered every flavor of ramen on the menu. After finishing, he patted his belly in satisfaction.
"Not bad at all. Haven't eaten this well in a while!" Yuan said contentedly.
"Kid—how many bowls did you eat?!" Jiraiya asked, shocked, just finishing his second.
"Seventh, I think. I'm about 90% full."
"How do you eat that much?! What's your name, brat?" Jiraiya asked out of curiosity.
"Uchiha Yuan."
"Uchiha Yuan, huh? The great sage won't forget you. Boss, check please!"
After paying, Jiraiya turned and left.
To be fair, among all the original characters in Naruto, Yuan had always liked Jiraiya the most. That's why he orchestrated this "coincidental meeting."
However, over a year of battlefield experience had taught Yuan that this world wasn't just some comic book—it was a brutally real one.
If, in the future, Jiraiya stood in the way of his plans, Yuan would not hesitate to strike.
(To Be Continued...)