"Don't sweat the small stuff, Master's Wife! If you don't make a move, I'll just get my teacher Madara to handle it!"
Hearing Hirofumi Ito's words, Hashirama Senju suddenly remembered that Madara Uchiha was Ito's teacher. So, the "Master's Wife" Ito was talking about… was that supposed to be Madara's woman?!
The thought made Hashirama's face flush red with embarrassment. He shyly covered his face with both hands, his hips wiggling awkwardly, and his eyes kept darting toward Madara with a sneaky glint.
"Oh, come on~ Don't call me Master's Wife, Hirofumi~ It's not good if people get the wrong idea~"
Hirofumi Ito watched Hashirama's coy act. Sure, the guy was saying "no, no," but his expression totally gave him away!
Deep down, you're loving this, aren't you?!
BOOM!
BOOM!
Madara Uchiha's face had turned a shade of purple.
"What the hell are you two idiots blabbering about?! And you, Hashirama, you moron! Wipe that swooning look off your face!!!"
Both Hashirama and Hirofumi clutched their foreheads in unison, wincing.
---
In the distance, Sasuke Uchiha was still having a meltdown, ranting about "losing his love" and "a world in ruins." He was going on about how everything in this world was an illusion and how "Naruko Uzumaki" was his life's true pursuit…
The strain of awakening his Mangekyō Sharingan had hit his mental state hard, leaving him unable to distinguish between illusion and reality for the moment.
Hashirama, despite his goofy nature, knew that if Sasuke stayed in this state for too long, it could harm him.
So, he clapped his hands together.
"Sage Art! Wood Release! True Several Thousand Hands! Buddha Transformation!!!"
A massive, kilometer-tall Buddha statue appeared instantly in the sealed space.
Hirofumi Ito's jaw dropped.
"Holy—! Teacher! Are you trying to kill Sasuke?!"
Hashirama scratched his head, realizing his mistake. Sasuke wasn't Madara, and he wasn't used to fighting someone like him. Back in the day, he'd throw out the Buddha statue against Madara without a second thought!
But Sasuke's Susano'o wasn't even fully formed—just a pitiful skeletal frame. If Hashirama hit him with the full force of this jutsu, Sasuke might actually die!
Carefully, Hashirama moved just one of the Buddha's fists… and lightly tapped Sasuke's Susano'o on the head.
That gentle tap was enough to knock Sasuke out cold.
His body floated limply to the ground.
With that settled, everyone left the sealed space, leaving Sasuke still unconscious.
Naruto Uzumaki crouched beside Sasuke, looking worried. He poked Sasuke's face—one poke on the left, one on the right.
"Hirofumi, what the heck happened to Sasuke?! Why'd he just lose it like that?! And what's with the Mangekyō Sharingan? Why was he muttering about some 'Naruko Uzumaki'? And why did he look so freaked out when he saw me?! What's going on?!"
Naruto's questions echoed what everyone else was wondering—except for Madara, who had already seen what went down in the illusion space.
Seeing everyone's curious stares, Hirofumi Ito stifled a laugh as he explained.
"It's no big deal. Sasuke just went through some… stuff in the illusion space. But the result's good! He successfully awakened his Mangekyō Sharingan!"
Naruto was still curious. "But what exactly happened to him in there? Why was he acting so weird? And what's this 'Naruko Uzumaki' business?"
"Well…" Hirofumi said, barely holding back his amusement. "In the illusion space, there was a 'Naruko Uzumaki.' Sasuke fell in love with her, and they were together for years. They were about to get married, but on their wedding night, she suddenly turned into you. And, uh, you kinda lusted after Sasuke's looks and almost… forced yourself on him. So, it's normal he'd freak out a bit, right? It's just the mental strain from awakening the Mangekyō. A good nap should fix him up!"
Hirofumi explained it so casually, but Naruto was floored.
"What do you mean I lusted after Sasuke's looks?! Me?! Liking that idiot Sasuke?! And we got married in the illusion?!"
Naruto was fuming. "Hirofumi! Why the hell did you have to make up some 'Naruko Uzumaki'?!?!"
Hirofumi shrugged. "Because you're the one who gets the biggest reaction out of him! Think about it—your Sexy Jutsu got Sasuke to awaken his Two-Tomoe Sharingan. One kiss from you pushed him to Three-Tomoe. And now, a fake marriage got him to the Mangekyō! Isn't that way better than, say, wiping out his entire clan just to get one tomoe?!"
Everyone was stunned.
Sakura Haruno stared at Naruto with a mix of envy, jealousy, and rage.
Damn it! Naruto, that idiot, married Sasuke?! Even if it was just an illusion, it hurt so much! If she married Sasuke one day, would it technically be his second marriage?!
Argh! That stupid Naruto! Why did her pink hair suddenly feel like it was turning green?!
Meanwhile, Fugaku and Mikoto Uchiha exchanged strange looks. They didn't care too much about what Sasuke went through in the illusion—it was just an illusion, after all.
But they were thinking: Sasuke only awakened a single tomoe after their entire clan and parents were wiped out. Yet, a fake marriage to a female Naruto in an illusion got him to the Mangekyō?!
Was the whole clan's sacrifice worth less than a girly Naruto?!
Was this the true way to unlock the Uchiha clan's Sharingan?!
Even Madara was starting to wonder if the Uchiha clan had been researching the Sharingan all wrong. His eyes couldn't help but drift toward Hashirama.
If Hashirama had transformed into a woman and tried to seduce him back in the day… would he have awakened his Mangekyō Sharingan even earlier?!