A moment later.
Splash!
Water surged and rippled through the spacious stone bath.
Steam rose thickly into the air, while the once-clear surface of the pool was now broken by layer upon layer of spreading circles.
"Waaah! This feels amazing!!"
Hestia had sunk her whole body into the hot water, leaving only her head and those iconic twin-tails floating on the surface.
Her round, adorable face had turned rosy from the steam, like a perfectly ripe apple.
At this moment, she had already stripped off the white divine robe that marked her as a goddess.
That blue ribbon, the one always tied beneath her chest so tightly it made people wonder whether it might snap one day, had also been untied and tossed carelessly onto the rack by the shore.
Freed from restraint, that already astonishing volume now appeared even more overwhelming with the support of buoyancy.
As her body shifted, the two soft mounds beneath the rippling water rose and dipped, sending out waves dizzying enough to steal anyone's breath.
The combination of that innocent, almost childlike face with such an outrageously unfair body, even to the women present, had a kind of irresistible pull that made people want to look twice.
"Phew…"
Across from Hestia, Tsubaki was also leaning back against the edge of the bath, both arms stretched out across the rock behind her.
Her black hair had been tied up loosely at the back of her head, exposing her long neck and sharply defined collarbones.
As a smith who spent her days swinging heavy hammers, her skin was not pale like Hestia's, but carried a healthy wheat-gold tone, taut and full of strength.
Especially that part of her body, usually bound tight beneath wrapping cloth.
Now that it had been released, even through the water its proud outline was impossible to miss.
Combined with that signature black eyepatch, it didn't diminish her beauty in the slightest. If anything, it added a wild charm.
"..."
"Gulp…"
Meanwhile, off to the side, Rin had only just sunk herself into the water and was now cautiously exposing no more than half her face. She clutched a towel tightly to her chest like it was the last rope saving her life.
She had long known that Lady Hestia's figure was downright unreasonable.
But now, with that obstructive white divine robe gone and nothing left covering her, the visual impact was nothing short of nuclear.
As far as the eye could see, Hestia's face looked no older than fourteen or fifteen at most.
And yet, just a little lower down, those breathtaking curves swaying with the motion of the water belonged to an entirely different art style.
That extreme innocence and extreme maturity blending together created a shockingly powerful contrast.
Almost unconsciously, Rin lowered her head and stole a glance at herself…
Well…
Her figure was definitely good. She had what she was supposed to have.
But in front of this goddess, she could only sigh.
The bit of confidence she still had as a beautiful girl hadn't even had time to rise before being pushed straight to the bottom of the pool by a deep sense of defeat.
"Gods… really are cheating, aren't they…"
Rin muttered under her breath, shrinking even lower until only her eyes remained above the water, darting all over the place.
"Oh?"
"Well now, little girl."
At that moment, a voice suddenly sounded beside her.
Before Rin could react, a wave of water splashed toward her.
Tsubaki's face, wearing a thoroughly wicked grin, suddenly leaned in close.
Her gaze roamed mercilessly between Rin's chest, tightly covered with the towel, and Hestia across the bath.
"Shocked stupid, were you?"
"So?"
"Jealous?"
"W-Who's jealous?!"
Having her thoughts exposed like that, Rin jolted out of the water like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. Her whole face had gone so red it looked ready to drip blood.
"Yep! Just like that!"
"Pffahaha!"
Watching Rin's adorable attempt at pretending otherwise, Tsubaki burst out laughing and hooked an arm around her shoulders.
"All right, all right."
"But still…"
Tsubaki deliberately nudged Rin at the waist with her elbow.
"Don't be too discouraged."
"You've got a pretty good foundation yourself. You've got potential."
"If you eat more meat and train a bit more, maybe you can still make a fight of it later."
"You're still at an age where you're growing, after all."
Still growing…
The moment Rin heard those three words, she looked like she wanted to cry.
She wasn't that young anymore!
"Exactly!"
At that point, an indignant voice came from not too far away.
Everyone turned to see Warabi, who had been quietly soaking on the side until now, struggling to cling to the stone edge of the bath, trying desperately not to look like an elementary school kid just splashing around in water.
Her long golden hair, soaked wet, clung to her cheeks and made her doll-like face look even younger.
Combined with her naturally petite frame, it meant that in a bath built for full-grown adults, she probably wouldn't even be able to breathe properly without standing on tiptoe.
"This bath is way too deep!"
"Was it built on purpose to stop people from relaxing properly?!"
Warabi splashed the water angrily as she complained.
"Oh ho!"
The moment Tsubaki turned and saw Warabi "struggling" in the water, the expression on her face immediately became that gentle, affectionate smile adults reserved for the neighbor's child.
"Sorry, sorry."
"I forgot there was still a little one here."
"Come here, come here. Big sis will hold you."
"It's too deep over there. Go play in the shallow side so you don't choke."
And as she said that, Tsubaki actually started reaching out, looking very much like she had genuinely mistaken Warabi for a child.
"?!"
Warabi froze at first.
Then, a vein immediately started throbbing on the forehead of that doll-like face, and her expression turned the color of pig liver.
At that point, Mary and the others had already seen enough to predict exactly what was about to happen.
And sure enough, the next second-
Splash!!
"Who are you calling a child?!"
"I'm seventeen! Seventeen!"
Warabi exploded on the spot and glared at Tsubaki with all the fury she could muster.
"Huh?!"
Now it was Tsubaki's turn to be stunned.
She stared blankly at the short, flat-chested, twin-tailed angry loli in front of her, who was barely over 140 centimeters tall and looked, no matter how you viewed it, like she ought to be twelve or thirteen at most.
"S-Seventeen?"
Tsubaki instinctively gestured at Warabi's height.
"For real?"
"So you're one of those little people?"
"What do you mean little people?"
"You know, one of those tiny races that are usually just over a meter tall."
"Hm?"
"Hm?!!"
"AAAAAHHH!! I'LL KILL YOU!!"
The moment Warabi realized what Tsubaki meant, she completely snapped and lunged forward with claws out.
Mary reacted instantly and threw her arms around Warabi's waist.
"Let me go! I'm going to duel her!"
"You can't! The water's too deep, you'll drown first!"
"WAAAHHHH!! Then I'LL KILL YOU FIRST!!"
#~ New Fanfic
~ Jujutsu Kaisen: Itachi's Redo
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