After leaving the Hatake compound, Hoshiyomi and Tsunade continued with their planned visits to the major clans of Konoha.
Among them, the ones who left the deepest impression on Hoshiyomi were naturally Hinata and Neji, the pair of cousins.
Perhaps because the event had not yet occurred, or because of the butterfly effect, Kumogakure kidnapping attempt on Hinata still had not happened. Hoshiyomi estimated it likely never would.
After all, the Third Great Ninja War had ended early due to his actions. Konoha and Kumo never went through the prolonged political back-and-forth, and Kumo never even had the opportunity to send an envoy to Konoha.
Even if they had, they would've had zero chance of kidnapping Hinata—thanks to the Uzumaki clan's sealing arts. The odds of success would have been almost nonexistent.
Because the kidnapping incident never occurred, Hiashi never died in his brother's place. The bond between Hiashi and Hizashi remained intact, and as a result, Neji and Hinata had a very good relationship.
Unlike the original story's "love-hate rivalry," the current Hinata depended greatly on Neji—so much so that upon seeing Hoshiyomi and Tsunade, she hid behind Neji the entire time.
Neji behaved like a proper older brother, softly comforting Hinata. The scene was amusing enough to make Tsunade smile.
Originally, Hoshiyomi had considered subtly telling Hiashi not to brand Neji with the Caged Bird seal, but after thinking it through, he realized that bringing this up as an outsider after a single meeting would be inappropriate.
It might even backfire.
So Hoshiyomi temporarily shelved the idea. There was still plenty of time before Neji would be branded—no need to rush.
After visiting nearly all the clans who were on good terms with Hoshiyomi and Tsunade, only one remained: the Uchiha.
Hoshiyomi had been a little concerned that Tsunade might be reluctant to visit the Uchiha clan—after all, the Senju–Uchiha rift had deep historical roots.
But unexpectedly, Tsunade didn't care at all. She casually followed Hoshiyomi straight into the Uchiha district.
The Uchiha clansmen did not immediately recognize Hoshiyomi, but they recognized Tsunade instantly.
After the previous rebellion incident, nearly all the Uchiha's hawk faction had died. Only the doves remained. Even the few who still bore grudges against Konoha had been carefully placed by Fugaku deep inside the clan grounds to keep them from stirring up trouble.
Because of that, Hoshiyomi and Tsunade weren't treated coldly—they were quickly led deeper into the clan's territory.
Once inside, Hoshiyomi didn't go straight to the clan head Fugaku. As usual, he first went to visit Kuugetsu's home.
However, Kuugetsu seemed to be out on some mission today. Hoshiyomi and Tsunade didn't find her, but they did find Obito on the training grounds in front of her house.
Obito wasn't training today. Instead, he was secretly on a date with Rin.
Seeing this, Hoshiyomi's mischief-loving side awakened. He dragged Tsunade into the grass nearby to watch.
As Obito and Rin, believing they were alone, slowly leaned closer and closer…
Hoshiyomi suddenly cleared his throat—twice—along with Tsunade.
The two teenagers jumped apart like startled rabbits.
Obito, annoyed at having his perfect moment ruined, turned to see who interrupted him. When he saw Hoshiyomi, he froze:
"Huh? You're…"
Hoshiyomi had originally planned to greet him seriously, but before he could speak, Obito suddenly hopped up in shock:
"Waaaah!! Hoshiyomi-sensei! Why are you out in broad daylight?!"
Hoshiyomi's previously good mood evaporated instantly.
In a flash, he disappeared and reappeared right beside Obito, lifting him up by the collar like a baby chick. Their faces were nearly touching as Hoshiyomi growled each word slowly:
"Explain. To. Me. Properly.
What do you mean 'out in broad daylight'?"
Rin panicked at the sight, thinking Hoshiyomi was genuinely angry. As Obito's girlfriend, she hurried forward trying to defend him—
Rin hurriedly tried to explain:
"Lord Hoshiyomi, um… Obito didn't mean it like that. He… he just…"
She hesitated for a long time, ultimately unable to bring herself to say that her boyfriend simply wasn't very smart.
Obito finally snapped out of it as well. A ghost couldn't possibly lift him like that—so this had to be real. He gulped, gave an awkward laugh, and said:
"Uh, well, Hoshiyomi-sensei… you can't really blame me. It's just… you disappeared for three whole years! You don't know how many times Kuugetsu-sensei cried in secret because of it.
I saw how heartbroken she was, so I just subconsciously assumed that… ahahaha…"
Hoshiyomi had only meant to scare him a little. Seeing Obito's pitiful expression, he snorted, put him down, but still issued a warning:
"If you dare say nonsense like that again, you're going to suffer."
After releasing Obito, Hoshiyomi turned toward the bushes behind him and said:
"Alright, you all can stop hiding. Come out."
Obito froze. He slowly turned around and saw three figures stepping out silently. When he recognized them, he jumped in outrage:
"Oh great—Shisui, Itachi, and Sasuke! You three were spying on my date again! I swear I'm going to teach you guys a lesson this time!"
The three figures who emerged were none other than Shisui, Itachi, and little Sasuke.
Shisui smiled gently at Obito's flustered reaction:
"Don't be so mad, Obito. We weren't trying to spy on you—we just happened to be passing through."
As he spoke, he turned his head politely and bowed toward Hoshiyomi and Tsunade.
"It's been a while, Lord Hoshiyomi, Lady Tsunade."
On the other side, Itachi also greeted them like Shisui did, then immediately twisted the knife:
"You're talking as if you can actually beat me and Brother Shisui."
Little Sasuke, who was being carried on Itachi's back, stuck out his tongue playfully:
"Dummy Obito couldn't beat big brother Itachi! Big brother is the strongest!"
Obito, enraged, reached out trying to pinch Sasuke's cheeks, but Sasuke darted behind Itachi with a swoosh. As he hid, he taunted:
"Dummy, dummy! Dummy Obito could never catch me!"
Seeing this, Rin and Tsunade both burst into laughter. Rin tugged lightly at Obito's sleeve:
"Obito, stop it. Lord Hoshiyomi and Lady Tsunade are still here."
Tsunade waved dismissively:
"It's fine. This is pretty entertaining."
Hoshiyomi also found the scene amusing.
But along with the amusement came a wave of emotion. Honestly, he had never imagined that the members of the Uchiha—these people who carried such tragic burdens in the original story—would one day act like carefree children.
Watching the four of them bicker and play, who could have guessed that in the original timeline, each of them had some of the harshest destinies?
Seeing their relaxed, joyful faces, Hoshiyomi felt even more certain that his decisions regarding the Uchiha had been absolutely correct.