That's right—the person currently peeping into the women's bath was none other than Jiraiya, who had just returned from the Land of Rain earlier that day.
Three years had passed since the end of the Second Shinobi World War.
During those three years, Jiraiya had remained in the Land of Rain, taking responsibility for teaching Konan and the other two children.
Now that the three youngsters were finally capable of surviving independently, Jiraiya naturally chose to return to Konoha.
However, after coming back, he did not immediately go to meet Sarutobi Hiruzen.
Instead, he headed straight for the Konoha Hot Spring resort, using his so-called "research" as a shameless excuse to peek into the women's bath.
And that furious roar just now naturally belonged to Tsunade.
She had never imagined that after so many years apart, their reunion would take place in such an outrageous situation.
Without uttering a single word, Tsunade clenched her fist and charged forward.
Upon hearing that extremely familiar voice, Jiraiya's expression changed drastically in an instant. He hurriedly tried to dodge, but in the end, he was still a step too slow.
Unable to escape in time, he was punched squarely and sent flying by Tsunade.
Bang!
In her drunken fury, Tsunade held nothing back at all. The moment Jiraiya slammed into the ground, he spat out a large mouthful of blood.
The commotion instantly attracted the attention of the other customers at the hot springs.
A sharp female scream rang out at once.
"Ah! There's a pervert!"
"Where's the pervert?!"
The owner of the hot spring rushed out angrily, broom in hand, only to discover that there was no one there anymore.
"He escaped, huh? You were fast!"
Naturally, Jiraiya had been rescued by his student, Minato.
After all, no matter how embarrassing the situation was, Jiraiya was still his teacher—and one of the "Legendary Sannin of Konoha." Minato couldn't just stand by and watch him be humiliated like that.
However, Mai was utterly baffled.
"Minato, why did you save that pervert? People like him should be beaten to death!"
As she spoke, she stared at the unconscious Jiraiya with a look of pure disgust and loathing.
Jiraiya, being glared at like that, ignored Mai entirely and instead looked toward Tsunade with lingering fear written all over his face.
"Tsunade… you really tried to kill me."
"It would've served you right if I did!" Tsunade snapped back mercilessly.
"You're a grown man, yet you're doing things like this. You must have learned all these bad habits from the Old Man."
Tsunade's words left Jiraiya looking awkward and speechless.
At that moment, Minato let out a bitter smile and began explaining things to Mai. "He is my teacher, Jiraiya—one of the 'Legendary Sannin of Konoha.'"
"Ah?! H-h-he's your teacher?!" Mai's reaction was intense.
She stared at Jiraiya in disbelief, completely unable to accept that such a pervert could possibly be Minato's teacher.
And worse still—he was ranked alongside Lady Tsunade as one of the Legendary Sannin?!
Mai's reaction deeply displeased Jiraiya. Even while receiving treatment from Aoshi, he couldn't help but introduce himself with dramatic flair.
"The Toad Sage is merely a title I use to conceal my true identity from the world."
"The White-Haired Sannin, the Toad Messenger, invincible across the north, south, east, and west!"
"The handsome man who can silence crying babies—yes, that handsome man is none other than Lord Jiraiya!"
The only thing missing was his usual ridiculous pose.
Because of that, Aoshi—who was treating him—silently gave him a very low score in his heart.
Mai: "..."
She looked at Minato with a completely speechless expression.
Though she didn't say anything, her meaning was painfully clear. Are you absolutely sure you didn't recognize the wrong person?
Minato could only laugh awkwardly and continue explaining. "Although Jiraiya-sensei is a bit… unconventional, he really is a very good teacher."
He could understand Mai's reaction perfectly. After all, when he had first discovered Jiraiya's true nature, he himself had been deeply conflicted.
But after spending time with him, Minato came to realize that beneath all the nonsense, his teacher was genuinely a good person.
Hearing Minato's words, Aoshi couldn't help but glance up at Jiraiya. Low emotional intelligence: vulgar, ridiculous, and perverted.
[Treatment of Jiraiya complete. Reward: One Rainbow Colored Orb.]
[Congratulations on acquiring Top-tier Fire Release Talent.]
Hearing the system's notification, Aoshi felt extremely satisfied.
This was already the second top-tier elemental talent he had obtained.
From this moment on, all Fire Release ninjutsu he mastered would automatically reach a high proficiency level, allowing him to perform them with one-handed seals—just like his Water Release techniques.
"Lord Jiraiya, you really should reflect on yourself," Aoshi spoke calmly after finishing the treatment. "Peeping is not something a man should be doing."
This immediately triggered a fierce rebuttal from Jiraiya.
"I wasn't peeping! I was gathering source material!"
"How can a writer's work be called peeping?!"
Shaking his head helplessly, Aoshi gave up trying to reason with him and changed the subject.
"By the way, how are Konan and the others doing now?"
"Don't worry. They're already capable of standing on their own."
Aoshi nodded. In his heart, he considered sending Puppet Kakuzu to the Land of Rain in the future.
In the original timeline, Yahiko's death—and Nagato's fall into darkness—had ultimately been caused by the collusion between Danzō and Hanzō.
But now, with Aoshi's influence steadily altering the course of events, the future was destined to change.
The fate of those three children might no longer follow the original path.
With that thought, Aoshi bade Jiraiya farewell, wrapped his arms around Tsunade and Mikoto, and turned to leave.
This scene caused Jiraiya's expression to change drastically.
Back in the Land of Rain, Jiraiya had already accepted that Uchiha Mikoto would eventually be with Aoshi.
But now—even Tsunade?! And worse still—he was openly maintaining a harem?!
Based on Jiraiya's understanding of Tsunade, how could she possibly allow a man who wasn't her lover to treat her so intimately?
Yet Tsunade showed no resistance whatsoever.
Jiraiya's face instantly turned bitter.
He had loved Tsunade since childhood. Despite countless attempts and relentless pursuit, he had never gained her affection.
Now, the goddess of his heart—the woman he could never obtain—had been taken by a junior.
Only Jiraiya himself understood the overwhelming bitterness and pain welling up inside him.
Pain.
Too much pain.
All he wanted now was to find a place and drink himself senseless. Without even acknowledging Minato, he walked off dejectedly toward the nearest tavern.
"What's wrong with him?" Mai asked, now having accepted that Jiraiya was indeed Minato's teacher.
Minato simply shook his head without saying a word. He understood very well that his teacher had always loved Lady Tsunade.
Unfortunately, the two were never meant to be together. At times like this, it was best to let Jiraiya-sensei vent on his own.
As for chakra nature transformation training, it could wait.
"You really are petty."
Tsunade, whose waist was being held by Aoshi as they walked home, glanced back at Jiraiya's retreating figure and spoke softly.
She wasn't blind. She knew very well that Aoshi had deliberately acted that way in front of Jiraiya.
He was staking his claim.
"Better short pain than long suffering," Aoshi replied calmly.
"Letting Lord Jiraiya know sooner is actually for his own good."
Though he respected Jiraiya's past care, Aoshi had no intention of allowing him to continue coveting his woman.
Hearing this, Tsunade pouted slightly—but deep down, she was extremely pleased. It meant Aoshi truly cared about her.
---
Time was like a goddess you could never catch.
When you focused on it, it never waited for you. When you didn't, it slipped away even faster.
In the blink of an eye, several days passed.
The Hokage's Office.
Sarutobi Hiruzen had personally summoned Aoshi.
"Aoshi, you are now a Squad Leader in the Medical Department."
"I have a mission I need to entrust to you."
After being promoted to jōnin, Aoshi had immediately been elevated to Squad Leader—the highest position he could be directly promoted to at present.
Above him were Tsunade, the Head of the Medical Department, and Minako, the Deputy Head.
"Tsunade once proposed incorporating Medical Ninja into mission teams, as well as establishing a structured training system for them."
"However, the proposal was not approved at the time, and soon afterward, the war broke out."
At this point, Sarutobi Hiruzen sighed.
"After the war ended, I wanted to bring it up again, but Tsunade fell into a slump due to her hemophobia."
"Moreover, Konoha had just emerged from the devastation of war and urgently needed to recover."
"That's why it has only now finally been approved."
After speaking, Sarutobi Hiruzen handed Aoshi a scroll containing Tsunade's original plan.
"Your mission is to fully implement this plan."
Logically speaking, this task should have gone to Tsunade herself. But Sarutobi Hiruzen wanted to accumulate merit for Aoshi.
After all, Tsunade had no intention of becoming Hokage, and she was currently absorbed in researching White Zetsu cells.
Until she uncovered the truth behind White Zetsu's Wood Release, she clearly wouldn't stop.
After Aoshi finished reading the scroll, Sarutobi Hiruzen spoke again.
"What do you think? Are there any areas you believe need improvement or supplementation?"
"I think we should begin actively promoting medical knowledge from the Ninja Academy," Aoshi replied seriously.
"We must eliminate prejudice against Medical Ninja."
"Many students believe only failures become Medical Ninjas, which discourages learning Medical Ninjutsu."
"And even those who try are often scared away by the difficulty."
"This is the fundamental reason Medical Ninjas are so hard to cultivate." Sarutobi Hiruzen nodded and continued. "Anything else?"
"We should establish a specialized Medical Training Class at the Academy. Medical Ninja would directly teach students who are willing to learn."
"From among them, we select those with aptitude and focus on cultivating them."
"They can even intern at Konoha Hospital."
"By the time they graduate, they will already be qualified Medical Ninjas."
"This would both improve efficiency and significantly reduce training costs."
After listening, Sarutobi Hiruzen's eyes shone with appreciation.
"Excellent. I truly chose the right person. I feel completely at ease entrusting this mission to you."
"However, since the plan is only just beginning, I hope you can personally oversee everything for now."
"Only by producing tangible results can we silence opposition."
Understanding the deeper meaning behind Hiruzen's words, Aoshi nodded without hesitation.
"I understand."