Chapter 103: Chapter 103 If The Telephone Booth, Sako's Crossing The Line
Night, in the Village Hidden in the Leaves.
Under the ruins of the village, dark shadows flickered among the crumbling walls as tension simmered beneath the surface...
Naruto's House.
In the small living room, a red phone booth stood on the floor.
"So, this is what it looks like when the phone booth is set up!
It seems pretty normal..."
Naruto stepped forward to inspect the eerie item that cost 100,000 collapse points, and commented thoughtfully.
"Naruto, are you really going through with this?
Are you sure you want to make this world a parallel one, separate from the influence of the past and the future?
That way, changing the past won't affect the present anymore!
Unless, of course, you use the phone booth again to undo this separation."**
Doraemon's voice sounded in Naruto's ear, giving a final reminder.
"Absolutely!
In this world, there are treasures that allow travel through time and space.
If an enemy were to appear in the future, go back to the past, and kill me, it would all be over.
Only by breaking free from the influences of past and future can I truly act without restraint, right?
And Doraemon, don't you want to be freed sooner?
I also plan to go back to the past or future to alter major historical events, weaken the will of the world, and finally get you out!"**
Naruto stepped into the phone booth, leaning against its edge, and joked with Doraemon, who was housed within him.
Naruto clearly remembered the Ōtsutsuki clan's time-traveling treasure, the "plow."
Ōtsutsuki Urashiki had even used it to return to Naruto's childhood to try capturing the Nine Tails!
That event seemed to be in the not-so-distant future.
Of course, the current Naruto didn't fear Urashiki's attacks.
If he dared to come, he'd be the unlucky one!
But Naruto still wanted to prevent it and return to the past, before everything had changed.
"Thank you, Naruto!"
Thinking about Naruto's goal to free him sooner, Doraemon felt heartfelt gratitude.
He resolved that he wouldn't waste Naruto's collapse points on frivolous things in the future!
Unaware of Doraemon's thoughts, Naruto picked up the phone and began to dial.
"Make it so that neither the past nor the future can affect the present in this world..."
Naruto grasped the phone's handle, spoke into it, and then hung up before stepping out of the phone booth.
The "What-If Phone Booth" could create a parallel world detached from reality based on the user's command. To return to the real world, a single call to the booth would cancel the effect.
As Naruto finished speaking, the two indicators on the booth's exterior flickered a few times. The booth vibrated slightly and then vanished...
"Is that it?
Why isn't there any reaction?"**
Naruto looked at the disappearing phone booth, a momentary confusion flashing across his eyes as he murmured.
In his mind, making such a big change should have yielded some collapse points.
...
"Naruto, this is what I mentioned before about changes starting from small ones.
The change you made this time was too significant. Although the goal was achieved, it was automatically filtered out by the world's will.
So, there were no collapse points as feedback!"**
Doraemon's explanation made Naruto suddenly understand!
The will of this world... a wolf in sheep's clothing...
After a long day, Naruto brushed off his muddled thoughts, lay down on his little bed, and drifted off to sleep.
The Next Morning.
"Knock! Knock! Knock!"
The sound of loud knocking jolted Naruto from his sleep.
"Naruto, are you up yet?
The memorial service is about to start..."**
A small, anxious voice called from outside the door.
"A memorial service..."
Naruto looked at the clothes Kakashi had sent over the night before, lying on the bed, a glimmer flashing in his eyes as he muttered with a smirk.
Today starts the widow series.
Soon, neatly dressed, Naruto opened the door and stepped outside.
He was greeted by the sight of a young and lovely Sakura, dressed in a black short skirt.
Beside her was Sako, also in black, her long legs beneath the skirt drawing attention.
With her physique, Sako carried the dual feeling of elegance and reverence with ease.
[Ahem... stop thinking that!
I'm a serious, straight guy—just appreciating the view. ]**
Naruto's gaze lingered on Sako for a moment before he quickly turned away, shaking his head in flustered embarrassment.
"Naruto, let's go!"
Little Sakura ran up and hugged Naruto's arm with a sweet smile, pulling him along toward the memorial monument.
"Damn Sako… What did she eat to grow up like that, and how did she keep it hidden until now? Such a handsome Naruto—there's no way I'll let her take him!"
Little Sakura had clearly noticed the look in Naruto's eyes as he glanced at Sako, which made her feel a mix of jealousy and frustration.
During yesterday's fight, she had witnessed Naruto in Kurama Mode. Seeing him look so powerful and confident, she was completely captivated and had since become utterly smitten.
"Is this what jealousy feels like for girls? No, for the sake of my clan's Sharingan, I have to try too! After all, Naruto is someone I've known well. I'm sure it'll be fine—I see him like a brother!"
A mix of embarrassment and resolve flashed across Sako's face. After a brief hesitation, she took a deep breath, gritted her teeth, and hugged Naruto's other arm.
The night before, Sako had learned about the risk of blindness with the Mangekyō Sharingan and how the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan could be awakened by switching eyes with someone else. Determined to achieve the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan and help her father, who also possessed the Eternal Mangekyō, she made up her mind to go after Naruto with the help of her "goddess system."
Naruto, now walking between the two girls, felt overwhelmed by Sako's sudden move. He stared at her with his wide, blue eyes, utterly shocked.
What is going on???
Little Sakura, noticing Sako's action, felt a surge of anger hidden beneath her calm expression, as if a volcano were erupting inside her.
"Uh... this way, we can get there faster..."
Sako, doing something like this for the first time, felt embarrassed under Naruto and Sakura's intense gazes, and tried to explain with a shy tone.
Naruto: ...
Little Sakura: ...
Sako, what is she up to? Her experience with Naruto is already closer than mine… but we're friends! This can't be happening…
Naruto looked at Sako with a strange expression, a terrible suspicion dawning on him. Subconsciously, he tried to pull his arm away.
But Sako, having already taken this step, tightened her grip, holding Naruto's arm more firmly for the sake of her father's legacy. In that moment, both of them felt a shiver, and a trace of awkwardness crossed their faces as they each turned away, tacitly ignoring the tension.
Under these complicated feelings, the three of them arrived at the memorial monument, each lost in their own thoughts.
"It's nice to see how close the three of you are—I feel relieved."
Kakashi's voice suddenly cut through the tension as he appeared in front of them, looking at the trio with a knowing smile.
"N-No, it's not like that..."
Sakura and Sako's faces went stiff, and they quickly released Naruto, who looked bewildered.
"Alright, alright… Once the memorial service is over, I have a mission for each of you. This time, it'll be individual missions!"
Kakashi grinned, waving his hands ambiguously as he led the three of them back to the group.
"That child… that's Naruto Uzumaki, Kushina's son. Could it be that Sako has feelings for him? Last night, she was so adamant about not wanting to get married… Hehehe… Kushina, I didn't expect our little jokes to come true. But if it's Naruto, I'd approve of him as a son-in-law!"
Mikoto, who had been quietly observing Sako and Naruto, saw her daughter holding Naruto's arm and couldn't help but feel a mix of amusement and approval…
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