[Inside (the Alternate) Konoha — Main Street]
After confirming the identities of Naruto and Sakura, Minato asked Hinata and the others to show the two of them around Konoha for the day, with everyone returning home together for dinner that evening.
So the group took Naruto and Sakura on a tour of the village.
Both Sakura and Naruto looked around with wide, curious eyes — this version of Konoha was quite something.
But…
Sakura glanced at the foreign shinobi scattered across the street and asked Ino with a puzzled look:
"Are you holding the Chūnin Exams here soon?"
"No."
"Huh? Then why are there so many ninja from other nations?"
"Mm. They're all here as tourists."
"Tourists? Uh… aren't you worried they might suddenly attack?"
"No." Ino shook her head with a smile. "Shinobi from other nations wouldn't dare do something like that. After all, Konoha is the undisputed leader of the shinobi world right now."
"I see…" Sakura nodded slowly, looking thoughtful.
As Sakura and Naruto walked on, they both suddenly stopped dead in their tracks — because up ahead, in front of a dango shop—
"Itachi Uchiha?"
"Sasuke's older brother? What is he doing here?"
Sakura and Naruto were eyeing Itachi warily… until—
"Sweetheart, here — these are your favorite, red bean flavor~"
Izumi came out of the shop carrying a bag of dango. Itachi quickly took the bag and offered her his arm to hold.
"Mm. Izumi — didn't we agree that I would handle the shopping?"
"You can't stop me~. Picking things out for you makes me happy."
Itachi replied in his usual composed tone:
"But you only just found out you're pregnant. From now on, leave the errands to me."
"Yes, yes, yes~"
Izumi reached up and affectionately cupped his face in her hand, and the two walked away arm-in-arm, utterly devoted to each other.
"Uh…" ×2
Naruto and Sakura stood completely frozen, struck dumb by the scene before them.
[Uchiha Mikoto: Oh my, little Izumi is pregnant! That means the me in that world is about to become a grandmother. How lovely… I'm so envious.]
[Uchiha Fugaku: A grandson or granddaughter? I wonder whether Sasuke's child in the future will be a boy or a girl.]
[Uchiha Sasuke: ...]
I'm only twelve years old right now.
[Uchiha Izumi: Mine and Itachi-kun's child… I wonder if it will be a boy or a girl. Just one look — I really, really want to see them. Just one look at our child…]
If the wedding dress had stirred envy in Izumi's heart, then the sight of the child struck something far deeper — the gentle, aching tenderness of a mother she never got to be.
[Uchiha Itachi: I'm sorry…]
He had cast Tsukuyomi on her so she could live out an entire lifetime within the genjutsu. Seeing this on the screen now — perhaps that was, in its own way, the greatest cruelty he had ever inflicted on her.
[The screen continues…]
[Inside (the Alternate) Konoha — Public Bathhouse]
After finishing the tour, the Konoha group invited Naruto and Sakura to join them for a soak at the bathhouse.
At the dividing wall between the men's and women's sides—
Hinata pressed her palm firmly against Neji's forehead.
"Seal."
Neji yelped immediately.
"AHHH! Lady Hinata! You can't do this!"
Hinata looked at his dramatics and gave him a light smack.
"Oh stop it, it doesn't even hurt. Your Byakugan is sealed for now — come find me to undo it when we're done."
Neji protested with great moral conviction:
"Lady Hinata, this is every man's dream!"
"Dream this, get lost!"
"Got it."
Neji sprinted into the men's side.
Naruto and Sakura were thoroughly confused.
"So… why did you seal Neji's Byakugan?"
Tenten replied flatly:
"This guy uses his Byakugan to peep every single time we go to the bathhouse or hot springs. He's racked up so many complaints from women. That's why Hinata seals it."
"..."
Naruto and Sakura were instantly speechless. How drastically had everyone's personalities changed in this world?
Everyone piled into the bathhouse — naturally, all the appropriate scenes have been censored for decency.
Men's side:
Kiba had sculpted a pair of cat ears out of bath foam.
"Meow~"
Shikamaru, meanwhile, was running back and forth like a gleeful idiot.
Neji was still stubbornly trying his luck.
"Byakugan." "Byakugan." "Byakugan." "..."
No matter how many times he tried, the Byakugan simply would not activate.
Naruto watched the parade of out-of-character behavior around him and felt deeply, wordlessly exasperated.
"By the way — where's Rock Lee? I haven't seen him."
Shino answered:
"He went off to train. He'll come soak once he's done."
"Ah, okay."
Well, at least that guy's personality seems unchanged.
Women's side:
Sakura stared at the, erm, impressive figures around her and felt her spirits sink considerably.
In particular, the sight of Satsuki's rather majestic presence made Sakura acutely aware that she was falling behind in the kunoichi department.
Hinata and Satsuki, meanwhile, were sizing each other up — each privately convinced she was the champion — and both found themselves involuntarily squaring their shoulders and standing a little taller.
The other girls around them deflated in silent defeat.
Then, suddenly—
Satsuki's and Hinata's eyes snapped toward the changing room. They had sensed something.
"Chidori Current — Binding Chain!"
Satsuki launched a bolt of crackling lightning straight at the changing room entrance.
A moment later—
"AHHHHH!!!"
A scream tore through the changing room.
The entire bathhouse erupted.
"What happened?!"
"Someone was peeping!"
"You're kidding — a pervert?!"
The women quickly wrapped their towels and rushed toward the changing room.
At the same time, the men heard the scream from the women's side and came sprinting over.
And so, the entire group — men and women alike — was greeted by the sight of Rock Lee, almost completely bound from head to toe in crackling lightning chains.
Hinata stepped forward, furious.
"Oh, Rock Lee. You were peeping? Are you tired of living?!"
Rock Lee shook his head frantically.
"No no no, this is a misunderstanding! I was training and just accidentally fell into the women's side!"
Satsuki regarded him with cold disinterest.
"Training. What a pathetic excuse. Who exactly do you think that's going to fool?"
Sakura, assuming Lee's personality hadn't changed and that this really was a misunderstanding, decided to smooth things over.
"Come on now, I believe him — Lee isn't that kind of person. Okay, let's just get you up, Lee."
Satsuki dismissed the lightning chains.
And then — the bright pink underwear Lee had just been wearing fell into plain view of everyone present.
"…" ×many
Tenten said in panicked alarm:
"That — that's my underwear!"
Sakura screamed in horror:
"AHHH — even Lee?!"
[Tenten: Lee, you can just die.]
[Sakura: Lee, you are the enemy of all women!]
[Ino: Rock Lee, you — you pervert!]
[Might Guy: Lee, you knucklehead! This is NOT the springtime of youth!]
[Rock Lee: Sensei Guy, everyone — that was the me from that world, not me!]
[Tenten: I don't care, I don't care — when this screen business is over, you had better run.]
[Neji: Actually, Lee… is there any chance you've just been hiding this side of yourself all along?]
[Rock Lee: Absolutely not! There is ZERO truth to that!]
[Neji: Hard to say, really.]
I haven't forgotten that slander, you know. I'm keeping score.
[Sakura: AHHH!][Tenten: AHHH!][Ino: AHHH!][Kushina: AHHH!]
Rock Lee had been added to every woman in Konoha's blacklist — permanently.
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