Thirty minutes later.
In the live feed, Mikoto and Kushina appeared at the entrance to the Desire Hot Spring.
The two walked inside arm in arm, chatting and laughing.
The receptionist at the entrance froze and instinctively moved to stop them, but Kushina lifted her chin.
"Your Clan Head gave me special permission!"
The receptionist's attitude changed immediately. Beaming, he ushered them inside and even arranged for them to use the nicest indoor hot spring.
They passed down a long corridor lined with bamboo fences and stone lanterns, following a flagstone path to a wooden door at the far end.
Beyond the door was a quiet, elegant room.
Tatami mats covered the floor, a flower arrangement stood in the corner, and an artificial rock garden with flowing water lay outside the window.
Clean bathrobes and towels rested on shelves against the wall, and a faint fragrance hung in the air.
Mikoto and Kushina changed into bathrobes and entered the inner room.
Inside was a small indoor hot spring. The pool was built from blue stone, its crystal-clear water giving off wisps of steam.
Gentō's breath caught for a moment.
The two began changing.
With her back to the camera, Mikoto undid her kimono sash. The fabric slipped from her shoulders, revealing her smooth back.
Her skin was fair, her shoulders gracefully curved, her waist slender...
She put on her swimsuit and turned around.
It was a dark blue two-piece.
The top was strapless, and the bottoms tied at the sides.
The swimsuit wasn't particularly revealing, but on her, it had an indescribable allure.
Kushina was much less reserved.
She quickly stripped off her outer clothing, revealing a fiery red bikini.
Large expanses of fair skin were exposed. There wasn't an ounce of excess fat around her waist or stomach, and her legs were long and straight.
She stretched, making the curves of her chest even more pronounced.
"Mikoto, come on in!"
She stepped into the pool first. The water rippled, rising over her calves, her knees, her thighs...
Mikoto slowly entered the pool as well.
They sat down, with the water reaching just to their chests.
Steam rose around them. The haze obscured the view beneath the water, yet made the parts above its surface even more enticing.
"Mmm..."
Kushina tipped her head back against the edge of the pool and let out a contented moan.
Her face was flushed, her eyes narrowed, and her lips slightly parted. She looked utterly blissful.
Mikoto was far more restrained.
She merely leaned gently against the edge, her eyes closed and her breathing even.
But the slight rise and fall of her chest and her increasingly rosy cheeks showed that she was enjoying the soothing hot spring just as much.
Kushina opened her eyes, turned toward Mikoto, and grinned mischievously.
"Mikoto, there's nobody else here. If it feels good, just let it out."
Mikoto opened her eyes, her face reddening further.
Kushina suddenly swam over, sidled up beside Mikoto, and began running her hands all over her.
"Ah!"
Mikoto cried out and instinctively tried to dodge, only for Kushina to wrap an arm around her.
"Hold still, hold still. Let me tickle you..."
"Hahaha, don't... don't touch there... that tickles!"
Mikoto shook with laughter under the tickling, sending water splashing everywhere.
She tried to push Kushina away, but there was no strength in her hands. Instead, it almost looked as though she were playing hard to get.
Kushina only grew more enthusiastic.
"Mmm... stop... don't touch there... that tickles!"
"That's what you get for pretending to be so reserved~"
Kushina grinned, her hands becoming even more relentless.
"Mmm... don't... Kushina..."
Mikoto's voice grew softer and more sultry, until she was almost begging for mercy.
Amid the rippling water, their figures tangled together.
Strange sounds occasionally drifted through the steam.
Watching them fool around from his home, Gentō found it quite an eye-opener.
He hadn't expected two beauties who seemed so proper to be this uninhibited in private!
After fooling around for a while, the two gradually settled down.
Mikoto spoke wistfully.
"Kushina, the Clan Head has been encouraging us to have children lately. I want to have another child with Fugaku."
"Then go ahead."
"It's not like your family is short on money. Raising another child shouldn't be a problem, right?"
Mikoto sighed.
"You don't understand. The Konoha Military Police Force has been so busy lately. Fugaku works overtime every day, and sometimes he doesn't get home until midnight. Even when he does come home, he looks exhausted and falls asleep the moment he lies down... I can't even bring it up."
Kushina offered some comfort.
"It's all right. You'll get your chance."
As she spoke, the smile faded from Kushina's face, and a trace of loneliness appeared in her eyes.
"At least Fugaku comes home, however late it is. Unlike Minato... when he gets busy, he often doesn't come home at all."
Mikoto paused, then raised her head.
"Doesn't Minato know the Flying Thunder God? Getting home should be easy for him, shouldn't it?"
Kushina pouted, her voice tinged with hurt.
"But he's in meetings with those old men every day, or off on missions. And me? I'm a Jinchūriki. I can't go with him..."
"So whenever he comes home, I treasure every moment. I want to have a child with Minato too... but when do we ever have the time?"
"We haven't done that in ages..."
Mikoto said nothing. She simply reached out and held her hand.
Listening to their conversation, Gentō fell into thought...
In the blink of an eye, eleven months flew by.
It was now Konoha Year 51.
Over that year, the changes in the Uchiha Compound were plain to see.
After the first building of the Indulgence Apartments, four more apartment buildings were completed in succession, standing in neat rows at the center of the compound.
Gentō had single-handedly solved the housing problem for more than two hundred unmarried young people.
The apartments produced immediate results.
The young people who moved in were constantly crossing paths.
A meeting in the corridor, an encounter in the bathhouse-with time, conversations grew longer and gazes grew warmer.
Besides, the residents were all young people with passion to spare. With loneliness becoming unbearable, a few encounters were inevitable.
And so, strange sounds often came from certain rooms at night, and everyone else grew used to them.
Then there was the added effect of the Desire Hot Spring.
During mixed bathing, amid the drifting steam, a few extra glances or a towel passed from one person to another eventually turned into two people heading home together.
Thanks to all these factors, more than two hundred babies were born to the Uchiha in less than a year!
The clan's population finally passed the three-thousand mark.
And it wasn't just the Uchiha.
All of Konoha experienced a baby boom.
The war was over. The men had come home, and the women had their husbands back.
The shinobi still had to go on missions, but compared with wartime, they could at least catch their breath.
And so, Konoha Year 51 truly became the "year of newborns."
Shikamaru Nara, Choji Akimichi, and Ino Yamanaka were born one after another in the same month.
Kiba Inuzuka, Shino Aburame, and Hinata Hyuga were also born.
The heirs of the great shinobi clans arrived in the world in a cluster.
More and more young mothers pushing strollers appeared on the streets.
Many new shops selling baby supplies opened in the village as well.
One day, Gentō took Kurenai for a walk along a small path outside the village.
They strolled at an easy pace, Kurenai holding his arm and making idle conversation from time to time.
Suddenly.
Boom!
A thunderous blast came from up ahead.
Gentō snapped his head up.
Flames shot into the sky, carrying thick smoke.
He recognized it immediately: the Uchiha's Fireball.
"Something's happened."
Gentō patted Kurenai's hand.
"I'll go take a look."
Kurenai nodded without asking any questions.
Gentō darted away, racing forward across the rooftops.
Along the way, he spotted three figures rushing in the same direction.
The man in the lead glanced back. It was Fugaku.
"What's going on?"
Gentō caught up with him.
"A Special Jōnin is causing trouble."
Fugaku's expression was grave.
Gentō nodded and asked no further questions.
They landed at a street corner.
A crowd had already gathered around the scene.
Three Uchiha clan members wearing Konoha Military Police Force vests were holding a man firmly against the ground.
The man was still struggling, his face pressed to the ground as he cursed.
Fugaku walked over and looked down at the restrained shinobi.
"Take him back."
Two members of the Konoha Military Police Force hauled the man to his feet.
Gentō breathed a sigh of relief.
It seemed the matter had already been resolved.
He was just about to turn and leave.
Suddenly.
Splat!
An egg struck a member of the Konoha Military Police Force in the back of the head.
"All you Uchiha deserve to die!"
Before you continue