Because the scenery inside the wall is really beautiful.
Ke Yan kept mocking and mocking him, and even used words such as uneducated and unqualified, which made Jiraiya a little unbearable.
"You can call me lewd, you can call me cheap, but please don't say that I have no class and no education!"
Unable to watch the lecture anymore, he sat on the ground in dissatisfaction, yelling loudly, and at the same time refused to block the hole he had dug in the wall.
"See it?"
Uchiha Hiko didn't even look at Jiraiya, instead continuing to address his fellow Police Force members:
"The big shot does as he pleases—digs a hole when he wants to peek and plugs it when he's done. Meanwhile, we law enforcement officers can't touch him.
After all, if the upper beam is not upright, the lower beam will be crooked. And since Hokage-sama turns a blind eye to such behavior, of course his disciple, Jiraiya-sama, would pick up a few of his habits."
As he spoke, Hiko deliberately pulled the Third Hokage into the matter.
"Hokage-sama also likes peeking at women in the bath?"
Uchiha Izumi's voice rose several octaves.
She had always thought the Third Hokage was a kind and respectable elder. Who would have thought he might be associated with such indecency?
Even Itachi, who had remained silent, couldn't help but perk up.
"Hey, hey, kid, now you're going too far! You can insult me, but don't drag the teacher into this!"
Realizing that Hiko had brought up the Third Hokage, Jiraiya became flustered.
"How can my personal actions be used to smear my teacher's name? That's not right, and it would look bad if it spread."
"If it looks bad, then why do it?"
Uchiha Hiko stood his ground, expression dark:
"I don't care whether adults have family members or not. Maybe you don't mind if the women in your family are being peeped on.
But have you ever thought about it from another angle—if the woman you like was being peeped on like this, would you be okay with it?"
"Would you be okay with it?"
Who doesn't have female relatives?
If this kind of thing happened to someone you cared about, could you accept it?
What kind of twisted reasoning is 'gathering material'? It's just voyeurism, plain and simple. Don't try to dress it up.
"...."
Damn it!!
Jiraiya, speechless, cursed internally.
Of course he wouldn't want anyone peeping on the woman he liked. Not that anyone could peek on Tsunade anyway—her strength alone would crush them. Wait—no, this line of thinking was wrong. This kind of thing shouldn't happen to begin with!
"We're all men here. Sure, voyeurism is shameful, but not the end of the world.
But my lord, if you can't control the urges in your body and have nowhere to release them, you should seriously consider settling down. I believe there are many women who would gladly marry someone like you. You could pick from the village gates to the Police HQ."
"If you think marriage is too much of a burden, then go to a proper place to ease that restlessness.
If you don't have the money, I can lend it to you—or just give it to you outright. Just please don't ever do something like this again. Alright?"
Hiko's tone was sharp, especially when saying the words restlessness and urges.
Captain, your words cut like a blade.
If it weren't for Jiraiya's status, many in the Police Force would've already burst out laughing.
"Nonsense!"
Jiraiya's face turned red, utterly embarrassed by the brutal tongue-lashing. He could already dig out a whole mansion with his toes in shame.
"I'm the great Toad Sage, Master Jiraiya. I'm not short on money!"
"If you're not lacking in funds, then why peek? Or do high-status people have some strange hobbies?
Hokage-sama uses a crystal ball. You dig holes in walls.
You do realize that if someone catches you, they're going to file a complaint. And when that happens, the Police Department gets blamed."
Seriously—he peeks, gets caught, then runs off like nothing happened, and we're the ones who get shamed?
Naturally, people would assume we failed to patrol properly.
"I…"
Jiraiya was stunned.
He hadn't been back to the village in years, and yet Uchiha had birthed such a terrifying brat?
Every word that came out of this boy's mouth stabbed like a kunai, even dragging the Third Hokage through the mud.
What made it worse was the way Izumi, still just ten years old, stared at him with unmistakable contempt and disgust.
Regardless of status, getting caught doing something like this will always be revolting in the eyes of women.
"Fine! I was wrong, okay? I won't peek anymore, alright?"
Jiraiya raised both hands in surrender.
"If apologies worked, we wouldn't need a Police Department."
Hiko didn't let up:
"I've read all about your 'glorious past.' You got beaten out of women's bathhouses as a child. As an adult, you used Earth Style to burst into hot spring inns. You even used your teacher's name to sneak into bookstores and steal adult literature.
You keep promising, but have you ever actually changed?"
Damn it!
Jiraiya was boiling inside: Are you investigating me or something?!
"Then what do you suggest? Drag me to the Police Department and lock me up?"
He couldn't argue anymore, and no one would believe another empty promise. What was he supposed to do? Run away?
But Hiko crushed that idea immediately.
"If you try to run, I'll post a village-wide notice in the name of the Police Department and expose everything you've done."
"Then what the hell do you want?! Just say it!"
Jiraiya was at his wit's end.
Where did this infuriating Uchiha kid come from? This was torture.
What to do?
Truth be told, Hiko didn't have a concrete solution either. After all, Jiraiya's status was special. They couldn't arrest or scold him freely.
What was even more maddening was Jiraiya's shamelessness. He'd promise not to do it again, then go peek somewhere else the next day.
"Make a vow: if you ever do this again, may you lose all interest in women and only be attracted to men for the rest of your life."
"Pfft—"
Jiraiya nearly vomited blood: "You little bastard, that's too vicious!"
Even the others were stunned. Izumi's jaw dropped. She wanted to ask: Captain, isn't that too cruel?
"Brat, you've got a venomous tongue! Fine! If you want a vow, why don't you make one first?"
"Me?"
Hiko blinked, then raised his hand.
"I, Uchiha Hiko, swear: if I ever peek at a woman bathing, may I never again be interested in women, only in men. Right here, in front of you, my lord."
Swear? What a joke. Like I, Uchiha Hiko, would ever do something so shameful?
Jiraiya: "…"
He was utterly defeated.
"Itachi, prepare the Police Department's official bulletin. Write down every detail of what happened today. Leave nothing out."
"No, no! I'll swear, alright?! Will that satisfy you?!"
Jiraiya truly panicked now. He had completely underestimated Hiko's ruthlessness.
Just the thought of losing his interest in women and being attracted to men sent a chill down his spine. He instinctively crossed his legs.
"I swear! I, Jiraiya, will never peek on someone bathing again. If I break this vow, may I be doomed to impotence and a future of only liking men!"
"There. Was that so hard?"
With a wave of his hand, Hiko led the team away. As for whether Jiraiya would actually keep his promise? That was up to him.
But if he dared to get caught again—especially by someone from the Police Department—Hiko wouldn't hesitate to post the whole story for the entire village to read.
Let's see if Jiraiya had the face to live that down.
All this from trying to gather some 'research' material—only to get caught, humiliated, and nearly forced into swearing away his manhood. What a miserable day for the Toad Sage.
"Captain… will this be okay?"
Itachi hesitated: "After all, he's a respected figure in the village. A war hero."
"Do you have any women in your family?"
Hiko asked.
"Uh…"
The image of his mother, Uchiha Mikoto, bathing flashed into Itachi's mind—and the thought of some pervert watching her made his Sharingan almost awaken on the spot.
He couldn't hide the killing intent leaking from his eyes.
This kind of freak?
Best to eliminate them on sight.