Naruto walked through the streets of Konoha with three girls, drawing plenty of attention.
But Naruto paid more attention to the beautiful girls beside him.
A girl's beauty and charm never lay in precisely drawn eyeliner or softly blended lip color, but in the flecks of light on her lashes when she woke in the morning, the natural flush of her cheeks after a run, and the earnest way she lightly bit her lower lip when concentrating.
Their most beautiful moments were often when they wore no makeup at all.
A fine sheen of sweat on their foreheads, hair tousled by the wind, eyes curving into crescents when they smiled, and the tips of their noses turning faintly red when they cried.
That untouched vitality was like the first flower trembling into bloom on a branch in early spring, bearing the weight of dew and dawn light, needing no adornment to make the whole world fall silent.
Naruto remembered something his language arts teacher in his previous life had said when she got angry about girls in their class wearing heavy makeup.
"You're still young. Don't smear all those cosmetics on your faces. A cleanser and some moisturizing toner are enough.
Wearing makeup in the prime of your youth shows a lack of confidence. Makeup is for covering things up. You teenage girls and boys have no need for it at all.
People in their forties like us are the ones who need makeup to cover the marks time leaves behind, using a little light makeup to make a temporary peace with time.
What kind of makeup moves people the most?
The stage you're in right now. Youth!
Youth is the best makeup."
Back then, Naruto had perhaps only thought his teacher was sharing some interesting knowledge outside the curriculum,