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Naruto was woken by a burst of applause.

Perhaps the exhaustion from training had already seeped into his bones, and he'd only been forcing himself to stay awake. Or perhaps the barber was so skilled that Naruto could barely feel his hands moving over his hair. Maybe the chair was just too comfortable... In any case, after explaining what he wanted, Naruto had dozed off without realizing it.

When he finally opened his bleary eyes, he saw the barber applauding and cheering with tears in his eyes. The man had even pulled a camera from somewhere and wanted to take a commemorative photo with him. Xin, meanwhile, smiled brightly and waved a sheet of white paper up and down. It read [So handsome!].

—But none of that was the point.

The point was that Ino was right in front of him, less than ten centimeters away, almost filling his entire field of vision. With every breath, it seemed they were sharing the same air.

She studied him with utmost seriousness, as if checking some detail. A strange light burned in her eyes, one that instinctively frightened Naruto... like she was looking at a delicious piece of meat on a chopping board.

"You're too close, Ino..."

Naruto instinctively tried to turn his face away from her scorching gaze, but Ino immediately reached out and turned it back. "Don't move!"

Was this her second habit, after poking people in the forehead? Naruto could only obey, his mind wandering.

Ino carefully examined Naruto from head to toe once more, then nodded in satisfaction and stood up. She strode over to the barber.

"This is the one."

"Pleasure doing business with you."

"What exactly are you two trading, huh? And, Ino, why are you acting like it's only natural that you're the client and you've just approved the final product?"

Watching the barber and Ino slap hands, Naruto could only rant furiously in his head.

But soon—almost the very next second—Naruto realized what the two of them had been trading.

Himself.

No, more precisely, she'd traded in the old him and gotten a new him in return.

When Ino stepped aside, the Naruto in the mirror finally met the gaze of the Naruto sitting in the chair.

Both Narutos wore the same astonished expression, as if the other seemed utterly unfamiliar. As a straight guy through and through, Naruto had no idea that simply changing his hairstyle could make such a huge difference.

"...Is that me?" he murmured.

The boy in the mirror had features so sharply defined they were almost striking. His forehead and brow, previously hidden beneath unruly hair, were now completely exposed, making his eyes look even brighter. His dazzling blond hair no longer stuck out in every direction. It had been carefully cut in layers, with his bangs falling just right across his forehead and the hair at his temples naturally brushing his ears, framing his face with clean lines. He looked both lively and neat.

The hairstyle suited Naruto astonishingly well. Compared to the scruffy Naruto from before, he now looked like a gemstone that had suddenly been polished to a brilliant shine, radiating a feeling so unfamiliar that even he could hardly recognize it.

Well, how could it not suit him?

It was his father's hairstyle.

When the barber had first asked Naruto what kind of hairstyle he wanted, this had been the first thought to come to mind.

Perhaps some instinctive desire to feel a little closer to the father he'd never met...

Naruto stared blankly at his transformed reflection, at the faint shadow of his father in his own face. A strange feeling spread silently through his heart, mingling shock, confusion, a faint hint of excitement, and a complicated ache. For a moment, Naruto was stunned into silence.

Ino stood not far away. She neither approached nor moved away, simply watching Naruto as he stared at his reflection.

[Aren't you going to talk to him?] Xin came over, holding up a sheet of paper with writing on it—this was how he communicated with people who didn't understand sign language.

"...No. Let him have some time to look at himself," Ino said softly. "He's hardly ever looked at himself before."

"..." Xin nodded thoughtfully, then began scribbling on the paper again.

[Your boyfriend is so handsome. I'm so happy for you, sis, having such a good-looking boyfriend.]

Ino had just been feeling sentimental, but her face instantly turned red. She hurriedly denied it. "Wh-wh-wh-what boyfriend? We're not even dating!"

[Don't try to fool me.] Xin had never written so quickly. [What ordinary friends would go to a barbershop together? People only spend time here together because they want to watch the other person become more attractive, or because they want the other person to be the first to see them looking more attractive. People only care this much about what belongs to them. You definitely like each other.]

"Wait, wait, wait!" Ino hurriedly led Xin into the hallway so Naruto wouldn't hear or see them. Lowering her voice, she denied it again. "We're really not dating! I'm not lying!"

[Oh, come on.] Xin even wrote out an interjection. [Little Ino, you're so pretty. That boy definitely likes you. When a guy looks like that, you'd better make your move before someone else does!]

"Oh, come on, I'm not that pretty, hehe."

Ino said that, but she didn't even realize the corners of her mouth were rising uncontrollably.

To be honest, Ino had only wanted to give Naruto a makeover. She hadn't thought that much about it. Back then, she'd simply felt that Naruto had it too rough, and she had to make people notice how much he'd changed. Changing his appearance was the most obvious way to do that. If he kept looking scruffy, everyone would keep treating him like the old Naruto.

That was why she'd brought him here, to what she considered the best barbershop in all of Konoha. No matter what, it had to be better than Naruto's old, spiky mess of hair... But who could've guessed the guy would transform just by taking a bath? He'd gone from what she'd thought was a six or seven out of ten to a ninety-five or higher. At school, the only person who could compare to him in looks was Sasuke, right?

That's right. When she'd first seen Naruto after his bath, Ino had been genuinely startled. She'd never expected to compare Naruto to Sasuke one day... and over their looks, no less?

So how had this guy managed to stay hidden at school for so long? Or had he somehow even fooled himself?

But Ino quickly thought it over and stopped worrying about it.

Who cared about all that?

Wasn't it great that he was handsome?

It was amazing that he was handsome!

Not only could she make those few people realize they'd been wrong, she'd also get to see Big Forehead's spectacular reaction. Perfect! Hurry up and get here, the day after tomorrow!

Ino's smile grew wider. She'd actually realized lately that she liked Naruto. She'd never been one to deceive herself, but Naruto's looks had always given her pause... That's right, for someone who cared about appearances, her concerns were that shallow, and she had absolutely no shame about it.

But now, there was nothing left to worry about.

What?

You think someone else will try to steal Naruto now that he's so handsome?

As if! I got here first. I discovered him!

And who was she?

Ino Yamanaka!

Ino had complete confidence in both her looks and her abilities.

The more she thought about it, the more ambitious she became. She felt like a knight about to welcome a princess who'd once been framed by others but had finally regained her true appearance. She was ready to slay anyone who stood in her way, be they man or god. She was about to go pat Naruto on the shoulder. How should she start the conversation? All right, she'd use, "What made you choose this hairstyle? It looks just like the Fourth Hokage on Kage Rock."

"What do you mean, 'make a move'?"

Suddenly, a familiar male voice sounded beside Ino's ear, as if the speaker were standing right behind her.

Ino froze. She turned around trembling, and the man who came into view had familiar blond hair. He tilted his head and studied her expressionlessly. "What do you mean, 'make your move'?"

"F-F-Father?"

The knight had fallen.