Dangerous Creatures...!

Inoichi Yamanaka was furious.

As a textbook daughter-obsessed father, he might not show it often, but you could tell just how much he doted on and cherished Ino from the way he compared her to bush clover and kept reminding her, intentionally or otherwise, that its flowers symbolized "eternal, undying love." You could also see just how badly he wanted his daughter's attention.

In his heart, his daughter was supposed to spend every day orbiting around her dad.

He would shield his daughter from every storm, then let a little rain through at the right time so she could grow. And after she grew up, he would go right back to shielding her from every storm... What? You're asking what the point of her growing up is? You bastard! Is my daughter supposed to grow up just to face storms? Let those stupid ideas and storms take it up with my fists of fatherly love!

As the head of Konoha's analysis department, head of the Yamanaka Clan, a jonin, and one of the few intelligence shinobi who could hold his own in a brawl with an enemy, Inoichi was certainly entitled to say such things—and more than capable of making them a reality.

From the moment Ino was born, when he saw the ugly little bundle wailing in his arms, Inoichi had made up his mind: he would protect his daughter forever. Nothing could stop him except death.

But at the time, Inoichi had forgotten one thing.

Besides death, this world held another kind of creature especially dangerous to daughters. These creatures could bewitch people and were masters at avoiding their parents' watchful eyes. Their favorite pastime was stealing little cabbages, and the blond ones were the most dangerous of all... In fact, Inoichi himself had once been one of them...

Hey, what a coincidence. He'd even been the "pig" in the Ino-Shika-Cho trio.

Inoichi almost laughed at how infuriating it was.

"Father..."

Looking at her father's expressionless face, Ino swallowed and forced herself to stay calm, managing a stiff smile. "What brings you here all of a sudden?"

As she spoke, she discreetly edged forward, trying to draw her father's attention and give Xin a chance to sneak away with the sheet of paper covered in writing.

Xin really was a good friend. Even without exchanging a word or a glance, he knew that private messages between besties were never meant for others to see. As Ino stepped forward, he quietly began to back away.

Then Inoichi's hand reached right over Ino's head and stretched out in front of Xin, palm open.

"Don't go. Let me see it."

Xin and Ino both froze. When Xin stopped in his tracks, Inoichi glanced at Ino and continued, "If I hadn't come here, how would I have found you?"

"Do you know how worried your mother and I were when you didn't come home for so long?"

"I..." Only then did Ino realize she'd forgotten to tell her parents she'd be late. Since she was in the wrong, all she could do was mumble, "I forgot to tell you..."

"Then how did you know I was here, Dad?" Ino asked, puzzled.

"I was about to go look for you when your classmate, Aoki, suddenly showed up at our house. He said a boy had dragged you here..." Inoichi's voice grew colder with every word. "So I came straight over."

Aoki!

Ino gritted her teeth. Now that she'd heard all that, she knew exactly what had happened. Aoki had to be holding a grudge over what she'd said earlier, so he'd gone to her house to tattle.

She didn't know how he'd found out she and Naruto had come here, but he'd deliberately left out Naruto's name, making it sound like some boy had dragged her here. He was just trying to cause trouble for Naruto!

"That's not what happened—"

"Hand it over."

Ino tried to explain, but Inoichi had already run out of patience. He stepped around her and gestured to Xin with his open palm again.

But though Xin was trembling with fear, he still showed remarkable loyalty. He refused to hand over their chat and shoved the paper into his shirt, then closed his eyes as if to say, Do whatever you want to me!

This time, Inoichi really did laugh in anger.

Just then, the owner heard the commotion in the hallway and came out. He saw the scene but had no idea what was going on, so he hurried over with a bright smile. "Well, well, Mr. Yamanaka! When did you get here? I didn't even notice! My apologies, my apologies. Come on in and have a seat. Let me make you some tea."

Inoichi glanced at Daigo Tono, thinking, You'd have to be blind to notice me coming. I used the Body Flicker Technique all the way here after hearing the news!

"I came without an invitation," Inoichi said. "There's no need to make tea. I'm just here to find someone."

With that, he strode straight into the room.

It didn't matter that Xin refused to hand over the chat. Inoichi had already seen the most important part. He knew all he needed to know.

Damn it, he hadn't expected these dangerous creatures to show up so soon. His daughter had only just graduated from the Ninja Academy!

What a nightmare!

And today, Inoichi Yamanaka was putting his foot down!

Whoever that little pig sitting inside was, even if he were the Hokage's son, Inoichi would teach him a lesson he'd never forget!

If he dared steal his little cabbage... Inoichi Yamanaka's Kunai was plenty sharp!

Ino didn't have time to stop him. Her face went pale, and all the shop owner could do was frantically signal Xin with his eyes: What's going on? Xin, on the verge of tears, signed back: [Caught cheating.]

Caught cheating???

The shop owner's face went pale too.

So that kid wasn't some big shot after all, but someone sneaking around with the Yamanaka heiress? He had guts, didn't he? No wonder he hadn't liked the garden he'd put together. He was just a clueless hothead! Now it all made sense!

The three of them hurried after Inoichi, but after taking a few steps, Daigo Tono quickly pulled Xin back to slow him down. He was afraid that if he went in, a fight would break out before he could do anything. Neither he nor Xin was a shinobi!

They held their breath and listened for a few seconds. The room was strangely quiet, so Daigo finally stepped in front of Xin and cautiously peeked inside.

What he saw was Inoichi Yamanaka, who'd charged in full of fury, frozen in place. Ino was beside him, frantically explaining things like, "He didn't drag me here; I brought him," and "Aoki did it to get back at me." But the perceptive shop owner could tell that Inoichi hadn't stopped because of her words. He wasn't even listening to her.

"Is he... looking at that boy? Uzumaki Naruto?"

But why...?

Why was Inoichi's gaze so complicated?

It held surprise, nostalgia, sorrow... even respect?! The fury he'd had at first was completely gone!

The shop owner was stunned. His earlier guess had been overturned again, but he still couldn't imagine what this boy named Uzumaki Naruto could have done to make the head of the Yamanaka Clan treat him like that.

Naruto had come to his senses by now, too. Seeing the group suddenly enter the room, he listened to Ino explain and learned the identity of the man who'd just arrived. He more or less understood what had happened.

He stood up and walked toward Inoichi.

As Naruto and her father drew closer, Ino could only tug lightly at Inoichi's sleeve, pleading. "Dad..."

Inoichi came back to himself and glanced at his daughter, then at Naruto, looking a little baffled.

Honestly...

He sighed inwardly. His anger had long since vanished.

"I said that even the Hokage's son wouldn't get away unscathed... But I never thought he really would be the Hokage's son..."