Sakura nervously turned the egg-sized Gelel Stone over in her palm as she sat behind the counter of a certain brothel, waiting for Naruto and Sasuke to return— hopefully with good news, or better still, with Shinnō-sensei himself.

According to the hospital director's friend, the good doctor had mentioned that his next destination would be one of Pervy Sage's favourite haunts: Shukuba Town, a red-light district lying a short way north of Konoha, well within walking distance of the hidden village.

"My, you sure have grown, Sakura-chan! I'm like, super jelly."

Sakura yelped in surprise as a pair of hands snaked out from behind her and fondled her generous bosom. The culprit was the receptionist of the most popular brothel on Fun Fun Avenue. She was the daughter of the proprietress, who was an old friend of Jiraiya's.

Emphasis on old.

"Quit it, Kaya-chan," said Sakura sullenly. "I'm not in the mood."

In retrospect, it had probably been a poor idea for Sakura to designate Fun Fun Street as Team 7's rendezvous point, as she'd almost instantly been mobbed by lecherous men who mistook her for a common prostitute in kunoichi cosplay.

Noticing the commotion outside— and recognising Sakura as one of the two children who had once accompanied Jiraiya three years ago— the pretty receptionist had kindly invited her inside, away from the ravenous crowd… and in doing so, drawn a record number of 'guests' to her fine establishment.

"Maybe my special massage will cheer you up?" said Kaya, rubbing Sakura's shoulders affectionately. "What's that you got there?"

"Nothing!" Sakura replied hurriedly, pocketing the Gelel Stone.

It was the only one she had, which she usually kept hidden beneath a loose floorboard in her parents' home. She had initially planned to have it surgically implanted, to halt her ageing once her body reached full maturity, but she'd taken it out of hiding. She was considering using it on Tsunade instead, should they fail to find Doctor Shinnō.

Before the receptionist could give Sakura's boobs another playful squeeze, the brothel's door chime tinkled, and Naruto and Sasuke marched in, followed by a tall man in his late sixties, wearing a brown bandanna, and a young, red-headed tomboy with a blue one.

"Yo, Sakura-cha—"

The red-headed girl cut him off immediately, pointing a finger at Sakura.

"Shinnō-sensei!" she cried, rushing to the counter, grabbing Sakura's tender breasts and palpating them. "That's a terminal case if I've ever seen one! We must begin operating immediately!"

"Not so fast, Amaru," said Doctor Shinnō, for it was he. "You've forgotten the first and often most crucial step of diagnosing a patient's condition: asking about their medical history."

Relief flooded Sakura's system, and she burst out laughing.

"Does your family have any history with cancer?" Amaru asked urgently. A vein bulged on her forehead as Sakura howled with laughter. "This is serious!" she shouted angrily. "You could be dying, for all we know! You're a shinobi, right? You might have a condition that makes your chest grow endlessly! How will you fight then, you stupid cow!?"

Sakura wiped a tear from her eye, and with a hand sign, cancelled her Transformation. Whump! Her U-cup breasts exploded out of the confines of her new dress and dropped heavily onto the counter, causing Amaru to yelp in shock and Naruto's jaw to drop open.

"This is my true form," Sakura said mirthfully. "And no, it's not granulosa cell tumour or gigantomastia, in case you were wondering. My girls growing this big are just a special characteristic of my clan~!"

(Ovarian cancers can cause breast growth in prepubescent girls by flooding their bodies with hormones, but the changes will revert once the tumour is removed. Worst case scenario, this form of cancer can make girls more man-like by overproducing testosterone, making them grow hair in unwanted places and increasing the size of their… implement.)

Doctor Shinnō and his disciple Amaru had reacted in exactly the same way Tsunade and Shizune had on their very first meeting, which Sakura found very reassuring. These physicians were clearly the genuine article. Perhaps they might be able to treat Lady Tsunade after all…

"I apologise if my protégé offended you," said Doctor Shinnō with a polite smile. "Now, if I understand correctly, you were seeking me out specifically, young shinobi? I had thought the legendary Tsunade had returned as the Fifth Hokage… yet does the Hidden Leaf Village require my medical expertise? If so, it is rather convenient: we have just finished tending to the women of the red-light district and are entirely at your disposal."

Always wear protection before visiting your local prostitute, kids!

"So that's why you were there!" Naruto exclaimed. "I thought you were just another perv, ya know!"

"No way!" screeched Amaru. "My sensei is not that kind of man!"

Sakura briefly explained the situation.

"I see, I understand the urgency of the situation," said Doctor Shinnō, once Sakura had finished her story. "This cruel world cannot afford to lose a pioneer of the medical arts such as Senju Tsunade, so I gladly accept your request. Amaru, our next destination is the Hidden Leaf Village!"

"If you ever tire of being a kunoichi," the receptionist called as they left, "just know you'll always be welcome at our shop, Sakura!"

…

Tenten sighed and took a half-hearted bite of her Hanami dango, sitting on a bench in front of the sweet shop.

When she'd first regressed from that bleak, dismal future and returned as an infant, she'd sworn to herself that this time, she would train harder, save the future, and become the hero of justice she'd always wanted to be, just like her idol Lady Tsunade.

Only… it seemed that the harder she fought to alter the future, the more determined time itself became to spite her. In her travels pursuing Orochimaru across the continent, she had seen Anti-Leaf sentiment take root in places that had once welcomed her in her former life. Rival powers were at one another's throats again, old grudges stirring, long-buried hostilities rising. In her original timeline, they'd never come to blows; the Fourth Great Shinobi War had seen to that, uniting them against a common enemy. Lasting peace had followed this war to end all wars, at least until the Rabbit Goddess's extended family came to visit...

"Boruto… Sarada…" Tenten hissed, tears of pain welling at the corners of her eyes. "Ugh… my head…!"

Two distinct yet overlapping sets of memories flashed before her eyes. She blinked, and her headache disappeared. Shaking her head, she tore into the white and green dango, leaving only one ball on her skewer.

She resumed her earlier train of thought.

Thankfully, she'd managed to fool Karin's senses, throwing her off Orochimaru's tail. It was all the cover she'd needed to convince Guy-sensei that the lead had gone cold, and that they ought to return to the village to report. With any luck, they'd make it back in time to save Asuma-sensei's life…

But to her horror, she would discover that Asuma had lost his life mere minutes before her arrival at the village gates. Caught, by sheer misfortune, in an attempt on Lady Tsunade's life. An assassination attempt that had never happened in her previous life, which had left her idol comatose, teetering between life and death.

How could she ever have thought of straying from the timeline she knew, before the time to strike had come at last? And for what? To save Asuma-sensei's life? To soothe her guilty conscience? Who was she kidding? After what she'd tried to do, it would've been the height of hypocrisy to save even a single life. Perhaps this was karma for her sin. Perhaps she'd never gone back in time at all— and this was her punishment, her own private hell, forced to watch as everything slipped away from her, all over again.

"I'm sorry, Sakura," Tenten hoarsely muttered to herself, staring at the pink-coloured dango at the end of her wooden skewer. "You were never supposed to live past… that… day…!?"

Tenten's voice trailed off, eyes growing wide as saucers.

Preceded by two enormous orbs that had no business being there, a familiar pink-haired girl appeared around the corner, trailed by Naruto, Sasuke, some kid… and the leader of the Land of Sky. Tenten swore under her breath and flung her skewer into the nearest rubbish bin. What on earth was that airhead planning now?

And was it just her, or had Sakura raided her wardrobe!? Tenten could have sworn she had that same qipao back home!