As the saying goes, once bitten by a snake, you'll fear even a well rope for ten years.
Four years—neither too long nor too short… but for those who had survived the rampage of the Nine-Tails, the trauma and shadow left behind remained far from healed. So when Naruto had no choice but to partially transform into a Tailed Beast to fight Orochimaru, and the power released from the clash between the Tailed Beast Bomb and Triple Rashomon swept through the entire Hidden Leaf Village, the villagers, like startled birds, assumed the Nine-Tails had broken free from the Jinchūriki's seal once again!
There was no need for orders. The villagers instinctively executed an evacuation drill so practiced it was almost heartbreaking to watch. In the blink of an eye, the whole village entered a full emergency state. Shinobi from all corners of the village gathered at lightning speed toward the source of the Nine-Tails' chakra outburst—Naruto's location!
Clearly, Naruto hadn't expected Kurama's influence to still be this strong. Right after secretly placing a Flying Thunder God Technique marker on Jiraiya, a flurry of figures began flashing around him. In no time at all, a dense human wall of ninja from various clans surrounded Naruto's team of three. Every one of them wore a grim expression, bracing themselves for combat, ready to unleash their most powerful techniques.
'Seriously… isn't this a bit much? So Orochimaru's invasion barely caused a stir, but the second Kurama steps out for just a tiny moment, everyone comes running like they just learned the Flying Thunder God Technique too?!'
As Naruto gawked at the seemingly teleporting ninja, he slowly popped his nearly dislocated jaw back into place. His face twitched at the overwhelming formation, and after a glance at the dead Living Sacrifice Clone of Orochimaru behind him, he muttered with a mix of amusement and helplessness.
'Honestly… with a turnout like this, we might not even need proper defense protocols anymore. Just have Kurama roar once and boom—instant full mobilization.'
"Ahem! What's with the crowd, huh? You all planning a coup or something?"
Jiraiya scanned the crowd, immediately spotting the crests of familiar clans—like the Uchiha Clan's iconic fan—and guessed that Naruto's partial transformation had spooked everyone. He gave a dry cough to draw attention to himself.
But just as he was about to announce his identity and de-escalate the situation, a ridiculous yet laugh-out-loud scene unfolded: the mighty Toad Sage of Mount Myoboku getting interrupted by overzealous rookies.
"Listen up, I'm—"
"We know who you are! The Third Hokage already issued the emergency alert!"
"Huh? You do? Wait… since when did my identity become classified as emergency intel?!"
"Oh, come on! Don't play dumb with us!"
"Huh?! I'm not—wait, what are you even talking ab—"
"To think you'd dare infiltrate the Hidden Leaf all by yourself… Orochimaru, you're bolder than ever! You think we're easy prey?!"
"Wha—what?! Orochimaru?! Invasion?! Me?! Have you guys completely lost your—"
"Don't waste time talking to this rogue! Surrender, Orochimaru!"
"No—wait—wait a second—!"
As luck would have it, the first squad to arrive was the regular patrol unit on duty—mostly newbies who had barely seen real action. Not only did they fail to recognize Uchiha Sasuke standing beside Naruto, the so-called little prince of the Uchiha Clan, they also didn't recognize the legendary Jiraiya himself due to his long absence from the village. Mistaking him for the rogue ninja invading the village, they believed the emergency alert from the Third Hokage referred to him—Orochimaru.
Fuming, Jiraiya realized these reckless newbies were about to attack him. Unable to retaliate due to his status—and worried he might seriously injure them—he angrily stomped his foot, then gathered chakra into a spinning blue Rasengan and slammed it into the battered ground.
The blast kicked up a cloud of dust and a deafening boom, violently shaking the ground and sending the off-balance patrol squad sprawling.
"I said… WAIT. A. MINUTE! How about letting someone talk first, you little brats?!"
Finally, the noisy rookies quieted down—scattered across the ground in embarrassing poses. Jiraiya, red in the face, pointed furiously at himself and roared:
"I'm one of the Legendary Sannin—the Toad Sage—Jiraiya-sama! Look! LOOK! Look at this charming, suave, handsome face adored by all! Do I look anything like that creepy perv Orochimaru?!"
"...Uh... Grandpa Jiraiya?"
"Huh? What is it, Naruto?"
Just as Jiraiya started calming down, Naruto's oddly trembling voice—barely holding back laughter—set off alarm bells in Jiraiya's gut. Still, he instinctively responded.
And the next moment, he locked eyes with Naruto's gleeful, prankster grin.
Having lived with Naruto for over a year, Jiraiya knew this expression all too well—it meant the brat was up to no good, and worse, had already succeeded.
'No, no, I didn't say anything just now… for a man who sometimes stoops to peeping on women's baths—'
"Ahem, speaking of creepy pervs..."
Clearly, Naruto had no intention of letting Jiraiya off the hook. With an exaggeratedly serious tone, he teased word by word while slowly inching toward the grinning fan-wielding Sasuke, then suddenly grabbed Sasuke's hand and bolted.
"That term suits you perfectly, don't you think? It's practically your entire personality~ Hahaha!"
"...YOU LITTLE BRAT! Get back here and explain yourself—who's peeping on women's baths?!"
As the surrounding rookies looked at Jiraiya with faces that shifted from awe to awkward disdain, the Toad Sage could only roll up his sleeves and roar as he chased after the fleeing duo.
"Uzumaki Naruto! Get back here! I swear, I'll leave you just alive enough!"
"...Wait… they ran off just like that? What do we do?"
In the blink of an eye, all three were gone—leaving the rookie shinobi dumbfounded. As the trio passed by, they instinctively stepped aside to make way. By the time they realized what happened, the figures had already faded into the night.
"...Uhh, what are you standing around for? Chase them!"
"There's no way Jiraiya-sama, one of the Sannin, would do something as vile as peeping! That guy has to be a fake!"
"Exactly! We have to catch him! Even if he's not Orochimaru, we can't let a shameless pervert sneak into our village!"
All at once, the shinobi snapped to action. Leaving a few behind to guard the pitiful corpse on the ground, the rest formed a massive search party, hurling insults as they stormed after Jiraiya.
And just like that, the once-revered Jiraiya turned from a noble icon into a supposed imposter—chased by nearly every ninja in the village.
With the chase growing louder and more chaotic, more and more uninformed villagers emerged from shelters. Outraged by the slander against their beloved icon, they too joined the pursuit. The entire Hidden Leaf Village descended into chaos, with crowds shouting and running wild—an unforgettable commotion.
In fact, the scale was so massive that in later retellings, the incident was reimagined into a village legend—where the citizens of the Hidden Leaf united to defeat and expel a shameless flower thief.*
And so, as more people joined the "Capture the Imposter Jiraiya" operation, the mood became more intense and immersive. It was as if a real criminal were loose in the village. The fear and hatred triggered by the Nine-Tails slowly faded, as did the reason they'd entered shelters in the first place.
"That damn brat… U-ZU-MA-KI… NA-RU-TO!"
Of course, for Jiraiya—now forced to use a Transformation Jutsu to lie low after being hunted by the entire village—he more or less guessed Naruto's intention behind all this. But that didn't stop him from feeling utterly pissed.
"You little rascal! Just you wait until I get my hands on you!"
It's said that, after the incident, Naruto was "invited" to a friendly sparring match by a smiling Jiraiya… and ended up bedridden for over three days.
But that's a story for another time.
Right now, completely unaware of the retribution awaiting him, Naruto hummed a happy tune as he and the grinning Sasuke returned to the Uchiha Clan's compound, ready to report their year of intense training to Fugaku and Mikoto with pride.