"Minato... say, why have you taken to wearing cheek guards lately?" Akaseki looked rather awkwardly at Minato's new look.
Cheek guards were lightweight protective gear worn across the forehead, with two metal strips extending down to the temples and cheeks. They could block some attacks from the sides, but their coverage was very limited. If anything... they did more to seal away a person's good looks!
"These? I'm not really using them as cheek guards. Mainly, when I use the Space-Time Body Flicker Technique, they give my peripheral vision a reference angle to aim by... they're just a temporary aid," Minato explained.
Akaseki didn't really understand. After all, he couldn't use that kind of space-traversing Body Flicker Technique.
"I call them the 'Golden Radiance Instant Dash Temple-Draping Twin-Blade Face-Shrouding Flowing-Light Cheek Armor Mark II'!" Minato announced the name with absolute confidence.
Clearly...
This was already his second set of cheek guards!
"If we're talking about aesthetics, your hair clip isn't much better, is it? What is that, some relic of the Warring States nobility..." Ranwu rolled her eyes toward the heavens.
Akaseki had changed his look too. His hair was combed more neatly, and he wore a silver Star-Pulling Circlet.
It was indeed an ornament that symbolized noble status...
Ordinary Uchiha Clan ninja wouldn't wear one. After all, it could easily fall off in battle!
Akaseki had only dared try this look because he knew he could use Susanoo.
"What hair clip? It's called a Star-Pulling Circlet... and aren't your shoulder guards the old-fashioned ones?" Akaseki said, looking at the new soft armor draped over Ranwu's shoulders.
Hikari: ...
Hikari no longer understood young people these days, and she had no intention of changing her look.
On April 26, Konoha Year 41, the four members of the Akaseki Squad