Jiraiya's shock cooled as quickly as it had arrived. A ninja of his caliber doesn't lose his composure over startling news—shock is for Genin.
Honestly, even if you told him his childhood rival Orochimaru was actually a girl, he'd probably just—well, okay, that would actually make him lose his cool.
But the news of Sasori and the Third Kazekage, combined, still didn't quite reach the "Gender-bent Orochimaru" level of absurdity. (Though to be fair, Orochimaru would eventually spend plenty of time in female bodies and even give birth to a son, but for now, the Snake Sannin was still a "pure man.")
Jiraiya sat back down and fixed Ui with a steady gaze. "First question. Putting Pakura aside, how can you be so certain the man you fought was Sasori of the Red Sand?"
He leaned forward, his tone dropping the playful Sage act. "Konoha has files on him, sure, but those are years old. Considering his age when he defected and the changes time brings, even someone who knew him back then might struggle to recognize him at a glance today."
Jiraiya's skepticism was logical. Pakura was a public figure, a "poster child" for Suna whose details were well-documented. But Sasori? His data was ambiguous, shrouded in the secrecy of the Puppet Brigade. And Ui, regardless of his "heaven-defying" combat power, was still a rookie in terms of years on the field.
"It started with a ninja's intuition," Ui replied calmly. "A puppet master with that much oppressive presence... my first thought was Sasori. Then he revealed his true face—it matched the descriptions. But I have more concrete proof."
Ui paused, meeting Jiraiya's eyes. "By the end of the fight, he was controlling fifty-six puppets simultaneously to attack me."
In the shinobi world, faces can be faked and identities forged. But strength? That's harder to spoof. How many ninjas can control more than ten puppets at once?
Fifty-six? There is only one man on the planet capable of that feat.
The "Work" Mindset
Jiraiya might have wondered if Ui was mistaken, but he didn't think the boy was lying. In the Leaf's master-disciple hierarchy, they were practically family; Jiraiya wanted to believe him. The only issue was the logical consistency of the report.
As for Ui? He didn't actually care if Jiraiya believed him.
To Ui, being a ninja was a "job." It was something to do to stay busy and survive. No matter how many S-rank missions he completed, he would never have the same soul-deep attachment to Konoha that Jiraiya had. He wasn't a "Will of Fire" zealot; the Leaf was just a place to live. If he died on the battlefield, it wouldn't be a "sacrifice"—it would just be a workplace fatality.
He provided the data; Jiraiya provided the judgment. That was the extent of his professional responsibility.
However, Jiraiya wasn't paranoid enough to dismiss the "Fifty-Six Puppets" claim. If someone could do that, their identity was obvious. He moved on to his second concern.
"Fine. If it was Sasori, how did you identify the Third Kazekage? Information on the Kazekage's appearance and specific combat traits isn't exactly in the standard Ninja Handbook."
"Sasori told me himself," Ui said with absolute conviction.
Ui wasn't technically lying, but he wasn't telling the whole truth either. His "report" was a synthesis of what he'd seen and what he knew from his past life's memories of the Naruto series. He was "filling in the blanks" to make the intel actionable. Since no one else was there to contradict him, he could afford to be precise.
"First, he boasted about the puppet's identity. Second, the puppet used a very specific, unmistakable technique: Magnet Style."
To drive the point home, Ui provided the physical evidence.
Black sand began to drift from the gourd behind him, swirling in the air. "I have direct proof. This sand still contains traces of the specific chakra used by the Third Kazekage. I stripped it away from the puppet during our exchange."
The Speed Argument
Jiraiya stared at the floating iron sand.
Ui's "Gourd Brother" look suddenly made sense. In Konoha, members of the Aburame clan often carried large jars for their insects, and the visual effect of the sand was similar. But this wasn't bugs—it was weaponized metal.
Jiraiya knew from Ui's files that the boy used a deep-level application of Lightning Style to mimic magnetic effects—"Mastering Core Technology," so to speak. If Ui could steal the sand, it proved he had engaged the puppet directly. And if the puppet used Iron Sand, it was almost certainly the Third Kazekage.
"Now for the most important question," Jiraiya said, his eyes narrowing. "According to you, Sasori deployed fifty-six puppets against you. Against a monster like that... how did you manage to run away?"
This was the biggest logical hole. If Sasori was that powerful, how was a Chunin still breathing?
Ui rolled his eyes. Instead of answering, he let the lightning flare around his body. The blue light intensified, and the iron sand began to whip around him in a violent storm.
"Jiraiya-shisho," Ui asked, his body crackling with energy pulses. "In this state, never mind Sasori—if I set my mind on purely running away, do you honestly think you could catch me?"
Jiraiya remained silent.
The demonstration was uncomfortably convincing. Without entering Sage Mode, even a Sannin wouldn't bet their life on catching a Railgun-user who had decided to turn himself into a human lightning bolt and bolt for the horizon.
"Fine, fine! I believe you!" Jiraiya waved his hands. "Now stop it! You're going to tear the tent apart, and you're already attracting the guards!"