The gentle, polite question reached Ino's ears, and it was as if a faint current had run straight through her."Huh?"
That voice… she hardly ever heard it in class, but that tone was unmistakable. Could it really be that demon brat—Naruto Uzumaki?Her eyes widened as she stared at the blond boy in front of her, disbelief written all over her face.
His hair had grown longer over the holiday, soft and bright beneath the shop's lamplight. But what truly stunned her was something else.The six whisker-like marks on his face—the ones that always made people think of unpleasant rumors—were gone.
And once those marks were covered… he actually looked this handsome?That realization hit Ino so hard her heart skipped a beat.
Almost instinctively, she compared him to the "dream boy" she had always admired in her heart. Sasuke was still cooler, of course—cold, distant, and sharp like moonlight on ice.But if she looked carefully… Naruto really wasn't bad at all. In fact, he belonged to a completely different kind of handsome.
Sasuke was the kind of boy who made people keep their distance without even trying. Naruto, after cleaning himself up, had relaxed brows, clear blue eyes, and a bright, sunny smile that felt like winter sunlight spilling over fresh snow.These two were completely different. If she had to be honest, they each had their own strengths…
The moment that thought crossed her mind, Ino's cheeks burned. Her mind turned into a tangled mess, and for a second she didn't even know how to answer Naruto's simple question.As expected, Ino really was weak against a good-looking face.
Naruto caught the fluster in her eyes and the faint blush rising on her cheeks, and immediately understood what was happening.Back in his previous life, he had heard people describe Yamanaka Ino as someone with a weakness for pretty faces. Now he had confirmation with his own eyes.
Seeing her stand there stammering, clearly at a loss, Naruto took the initiative to break the awkward little silence."I'm Uzumaki Naruto," he introduced himself naturally, as if he hadn't noticed her shock at all.
That simple self-introduction was like someone flipping a switch."Naruto-kun… no, Naruto-classmate!"
Ino nearly tripped over her own words. Realizing that the two of them barely spoke in class, she hurriedly corrected herself, switching from the first, slightly too familiar form of address to the safer, more proper one.She tried her best to make her voice sound calm, even though the effort was painfully obvious.
"You… you've changed so much. I didn't recognize you at first glance."As she said it, her gaze drifted back to his face for another couple of seconds, still marveling at the transformation. This really was the kind of change that could be called a complete makeover.
Naruto paused, the hand he had been about to raise toward his cheek stopping midway. Instead, he rubbed his chin lightly and grinned."Because of these whisker marks, I always get recognized right away. I can't shave them off, so I tried covering them up instead. Did I really change that much?"
He was very careful not to touch his face too much. He had worked hard in front of the mirror to get the concealer and foundation just right, and the last thing he wanted was to smudge it now.Before Ino could answer, the atmosphere in the shop shifted.
Yamanaka Inoichi, who had been behind the counter selecting and arranging flowers, moved with astonishing speed. In almost the blink of an eye, he appeared between the two children with a bouquet already wrapped in paper and ribbon.A somewhat stiff smile hung on his face as he thrust the flowers toward Naruto.
"So you're Ino's classmate! What a coincidence!"His voice rose a good several notes higher than usual, full of forced enthusiasm that sounded almost comical. "Today is New Year's Eve, and you're our last customer. This bouquet is on the house!"
"You should hurry and go find your teacher now, so you don't keep him waiting. We're just about to close up and head home too. Happy New Year!"He spoke so fast it was as if he were trying to sweep Naruto out the door on a gust of words alone.
To someone looking in from the outside, his behavior might have seemed baffling. After all, one moment he had been staring at Naruto's face with nostalgia and sorrow, and the next he was acting like he wanted the boy gone immediately.But for Inoichi, this had already become a completely different matter.
Looking like Minato Namikaze was one thing. Being Minato's son and stirring up old memories was another.But the instant he saw this blond boy talking to his precious daughter, the instincts of an overprotective father crushed every other emotion beneath them.
His daughter, Ino, was still in the Academy.Even if the boy in front of him really was Minato's son, that didn't mean he could casually stand there chatting with her at this age!
Yes, Minato and Kushina had started getting close young. Yes, ninja kids grew up earlier than ordinary children.But that was Minato and Kushina. This was his only daughter—the little princess of the Yamanaka family. There was no way he was going to sit back and watch some blond kid, no matter how polite and well-mannered, talk to her at the flower stand as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
Naruto, bouquet now in his arms, could only stare for a moment at the speed and intensity of Inoichi's reaction.For an instant, he was genuinely speechless.
Still, even as he accepted the carefully arranged flowers, he insisted on asking the question he felt needed to be asked."Thank you, Uncle. But how much is this? I should at least—"
"Since you've already called me Uncle, then these flowers are a gift!"Inoichi cut him off without giving him the chance to finish. Smiling far too brightly, he repeated himself while steering Naruto toward the door with a half-push, half-guiding motion of his arm. "No charge! No charge at all! Go on now, don't keep your teacher waiting. Happy New Year!"
Before Naruto could make sense of it, a powerful force landed between his shoulder blades. By the time he snapped out of it, he was already standing in the cold air outside the flower shop, bouquet in hand, snow glittering at his feet.Behind him came the crisp sound of the door shutting, followed by Ino's faint, dissatisfied voice drifting through the wood."Dad! What are you doing?"
Naruto stood there in the snow, holding the bouquet that had somehow gone from "professionally recommended arrangement" to "completely free," and looked at the sign now hanging outside the door.Preparing to Close.
For a second, he didn't know whether to laugh or sigh.Good grief. Yamanaka Inoichi's mood really changed at the speed of lightning.
After a moment, Naruto glanced down at the flowers in his hands again, and the humor in his expression softened.Since the other man had given him the bouquet so readily, he should find a chance to return the kindness somehow. He didn't like owing people, especially not when the gesture had been sincere… even if it had come bundled with the fierce vigilance of a doting father.
Naruto had already confirmed that Might Guy's birthday was January 1st—tomorrow.The date fit his teacher perfectly. A new year, a new beginning, endless energy, endless hope. It was so completely in line with Guy's blazing personality that Naruto almost found it funny.
He had spent quite a while thinking about what gift to buy.If he gave ninja tools, he couldn't afford anything truly decent. And if he bought something too ordinary, it would feel shallow and half-hearted.
In the end, he chose flowers.He knew very well that flowers carried meanings of their own, and that different occasions called for different bouquets. A gift could say one thing with perfect sincerity—or say something completely disastrous if chosen wrong.
Naruto didn't know much about flowers. Most of the species displayed in shops still blurred together in his eyes.But he did know a few of the most basic and symbolic ones.
For example, sunflowers represented sunlight, loyalty, admiration, and steadfastness. For a teacher like Might Guy, who burned like the sun and lit the way for others with his boundless passion and unshakable devotion to the village, they were perfect.On the other hand, Naruto also knew enough not to confuse funeral flowers with birthday gifts.
Just imagining himself presenting a bouquet of white chrysanthemums—meant for mourning and remembrance—to a birthday celebrant made a chill run down his spine.That kind of scene would not end in "youthful encouragement." It would end in an awkward death of its own.
Because he wasn't confident in making the choice alone, he had come to the Yamanaka flower shop hoping a professional could arrange something safe, tasteful, and suitable to express his gratitude.Now, judging from the bouquet in his hands, Inoichi had clearly done exactly that, even if he had rushed him out the door afterward as though defending the family line.
At that same moment, deep inside the Hokage's office, Hiruzen Sarutobi was quietly observing the scene through the crystal ball before him using the Telescope Technique.When he saw Naruto emerge from the Yamanaka flower shop carrying a newly wrapped bouquet, his expression a curious mix of confusion and satisfaction, a gentle smile appeared on the old man's face. As always, his fingers rose to stroke his gray goatee.
A few days earlier, when he had gone to visit Naruto, the boy had unexpectedly asked for both his birthday and Might Guy's.At the time, Hiruzen had been mildly puzzled. He hadn't understood why the child had suddenly taken an interest in something like that.
Now he understood.So this was what Naruto had been planning all along.
In the crystal ball, the blond boy carefully cradled the bouquet in both hands as he walked through the snowy streets, guarding it from the wind as though it were something precious.Watching that small figure, the Third Hokage felt warmth rise quietly through his chest.
This child knew how to be grateful.He remembered the people who helped him, remembered the hands that guided him, and even at such a young age, wanted to repay that kindness in his own way.
Even though he himself had received so little warmth from the village, he was still willing to give warmth to others.What a good child, Hiruzen thought, and his gaze softened further.
Perhaps the kindness Naruto inherited from Minato and Kushina was far more resilient than anyone had imagined.A child raised amid rejection and cold stares had still managed to preserve something bright inside himself. And now, as he walked through the snow with a bouquet meant to thank his teacher, that stubborn warmth brought a quiet comfort even to the old man who had witnessed far too much darkness in his life.