Oh My God, A Giant Rock!

"It's just gibberish," said Sakura, her fingers trailing across the weathered lines etched into the Uchiha clan's stone tablet. "I wonder how it all works?"

Aoccdrnig to an Uhciha caln rseeearhcr, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a toatl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe.

After their friendly little chat, Sasuke had shown Sakura the secret entrance hidden beneath a tatami mat and led her into the Uchiha clan's sanctum sanctorum, tucked away beneath Naka Shrine. There, they had found a stone tablet left behind by Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo, which could supposedly only be deciphered by someone with the right pair of eyes.

The stone it was made of wasn't particularly remarkable, aside from its resilience— what truly amazed Sakura was how the right Dōjutsu could make sense of the writing engraved upon it. The Sharingan, Byakugan, and Rinnegan each held their own form of cognitive prowess, capable of processing visual information in real time. They were also able to store important information for ease of access.

It was like having mini brains inside her eyes!

With no other way around it, Sakura activated her Sharingan, and almost immediately, the carvings shifted. The neat gouges in the stone writhed like worms, curling into squiggles before rearranging themselves into entirely new shapes.

"If… you… are… reading… this… you… are… too… close…" Sakura read out loud, frowning. "Hang on. I think this rock might be trying to mess with me."

"No need to hover over it," Sasuke sighed. "Stand here, beside me."

If the stone held any connection to the Uchiha massacre, he had to know.

Twice now, someone had urged him to visit the stone tablet— first his brother Itachi on the night of the massacre, and now this man calling himself Madara, who claimed that with three tomoe, Sasuke would have the clarity to uncover more of the Uchiha's secrets.

Taking Sasuke's advice, Sakura stepped back. The text shifted again, though most of the tablet remained stubbornly unreadable. From what she could gather, it was essentially telling her to stop slacking off and get on with unlocking her third tomoe… and that was more or less the gist of it.

"For an inanimate rock, this thing is awfully judgmental," Sakura muttered, sulking. "Not my fault I'm so calm and level-headed— unlike a certain someone I could name, who bruised my perfect skin just because he got a bit frustrated."

Sasuke's mouth twitched.

Was this hormonal woman controlled by her physical urges seriously suggesting that the reason she hadn't awakened her final tomoe was because she was simply too composed?

"How much can you read, Sasuke?" asked Sakura, abruptly pivoting to face him. "Genius-san of the Uchiha clan who unlocked his third tomoe when he was only thirteen?"

Sasuke felt as though a lightning bolt had shot from his arm straight down to his nether regions.

Sakura was awfully close, and those things had brushed against his elbow when she had turned. They were incredibly soft, supple and yielding, but somehow, indescribably firm and springy at the same time. It defied all logic and all known laws of science! It would simply be an insult towards such a perfect pair and a crime against the advancement of human civilisation to not touch them and figure out their non-Newtonian mysteries!

For science!

"To awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan, one must kill the one they are closest to," Sasuke recited, tearing his eyes away from the perpetual motion machines attached to Sakura's chest. "That's it— I can't decipher any more than you. It also matches what my brother told me."

He turned back to Sakura, only to find her slowly inching away from him.

"Don't come any closer!" said Sakura warningly, striking up a defensive pose. "I know Taijutsu!"

Due to the disinformation that Black Zetsu had graffitied onto the stone tablet, it was a common misconception among the Uchiha clan of yore that the only way to obtain the Mangekyō Sharingan was to violate the ultimate taboo and murder a close kinsman— a misunderstanding compounded by the seemingly random amount of trauma they had to endure in order to evolve their eyes.

In truth, witnessing a loved one's death (let alone killing them with your own two hands) wasn't even strictly necessary to obtain the Mangekyō— it was just a matter of having enough talent and being traumatised enough.

Although she wasn't as talented as Sasuke at being an Uchiha, Sakura could be considered just about average for the Uchiha clan's standards, having attained two tomoe at her age and taking into consideration that the world was currently at peace. After all, some Uchiha clan members had never awakened their eyes in their lifetime— and were consequently regarded as second-class citizens within their own tightly knit family unit and given dead-end supporting roles.

"Just kidding~ I know you wouldn't kill me, Sasuke-kun," said Sakura, sticking out her tongue at Sasuke playfully. "Your pride wouldn't allow you to, right? Killing Itachi wouldn't mean anything if it meant that you had to play by his rules!"

It was clear to Sakura and Sasuke that both Itachi and the man claiming to be Madara had ulterior motives for wanting Sasuke to evolve his eyes, though only Sakura knew why. Itachi wanted his brother to have the strength to protect himself once he was gone. Obito, on the other hand, wanted a replacement for Itachi when he inevitably died (from being too awesome).

"I'm not a monster like him," Sasuke growled. "I wouldn't hurt…"

Sasuke clicked his tongue in annoyance. He'd been tricked!

"Okay, fine," he snapped. "I'm sorry I squeezed your wrists a little. Are you happy, now?"

"Your apologising skills need a bit of work," sniffed Sakura, pretending to examine her nails. "But I suppose I might be willing to forgive you if you treated me to some tricolour dango."

Sasuke sighed inwardly. This needy woman could be such a pain in the butt, sometimes. And speaking of which, such a naughty girl needed to be taught a lesson…

"No problem," said Sasuke, shrugging nonchalantly. "But are you really sure that's what you want…?"

At first, Sakura didn't realise what Sasuke was hinting at, but then his gaze slowly drifted down to her lower half.

"Stop staring, you closeted perv!" Sakura shouted, her hands flying to her backside. "I'll have you know everything I eat goes straight to my chest! And nowhere else!"

Damn it!

At first, her appetite hadn't been too troublesome, but it had only increased as she got older. And it was all because she'd absorbed Akimichi clan breast chakra, just to acquire the lifesaving Breast Diet Jutsu from the System!

Her growing body, the vast amounts of chakra she needed to replenish daily, and the sweet tooth inherited from the original Sakura's tastes… they all demanded lots of calories, leaving her perpetually ravenous, like some sort of Hinata! A girl who had a black hole for a stomach!

"I'm just saying," added Sasuke innocently. "It's only been a few days since we've returned, but you've already filled out…"

"SHANNAROOO!"

Sasuke hastily dodged out of the way of Sakura's punch.

Teasing this girl was a bit dangerous! And was it such a crime to think her hips rounded out quite nicely!? It's not as if he could say it out loud, though…

"The next one will be aimed at your head, okay?" said Sakura, smiling dangerously.

Inwardly, Sakura was coping and seething. She was already counting down the days until she mastered Breast Flow— and when that day came, Ino could look forward to a very special gift indeed…