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The next day was a school holiday, a rare pocket of silence in the village.
After finishing his usual morning workout—a grueling regimen that would have left any other student bedridden—Naruto returned home. He washed his face with clinical care and began the familiar routine of applying makeup. With practiced strokes, he concealed the six trademark whisker lines on his cheeks. This had become a mandatory ritual whenever he left the apartment for "serious business."
Dressed in clean, unassuming clothes, he stepped out and headed straight for the Yamanaka flower shop. Tomorrow was the eighth of February—the Third Hokage's birthday.
Naruto's plan was simple: a bouquet of auspicious flowers and a small cake. It was a modest gesture, constrained by his reality. He had little cash, and his parents' substantial estate remained "sealed" or "managed" by the village under various bureaucratic pretexts. The monthly allowance Hiruzen gave him was likely just a skimmed fraction of the inheritance left by the Fourth Hokage and Kushina.
A single coin can humble the mightiest hero, Naruto thought, his mind already drifting toward potential revenue streams. He considered the path of Jiraiya. While the Tale of the Utterly Gutsy Shinobi had been a commercial failure, the Make-Out series was a goldmine.
The quickest ways to make money are all written in the law! Naruto mused. If he used a Transformation Jutsu and a pen name, he could churn out adult fiction and build a financial war chest with zero risk to his public identity.
As he reached the shop, he saw Ino Yamanaka behind the counter. She was alone, her chin propped in her palm, staring absently out the window like a character in a daydream. The jingle of the door's wind-chime shattered her reverie.
"Welcome~" Ino began in a rehearsed, languid tone, but she froze the moment she saw him.
Naruto stood framed in the morning sunlight, offering a small, easy wave. "Hello, Ino."
"N–Naruto?!" A flicker of flustered delight crossed her face. She quickly straightened her posture, a soft blush blooming on her cheeks.
"I'd like to buy a bouquet," Naruto stated.
"Oh?" Ino blinked, her curiosity piqued. "Who is it for this time?"
Naruto glanced around. Seeing no other customers, he leaned against the counter and flashed a mischievous grin. "How about you?"
"Eh?!" Ino's face turned the color of a hibiscus. "I–I work in a flower shop! Why would you give me flowers?" She stammered, her heart racing as she tried to play it off as a joke.
Knowing when to retreat, Naruto chuckled. "All right, no more teasing. It's for the Third Hokage. Tomorrow is his birthday."
"Oh... for the Hokage?" Ino's tone dipped, a small, inexplicable emptiness opening in her chest.
"Yeah, Grandpa Third has always looked after me," Naruto continued, seemingly oblivious. "And since Guy-sensei spoke so highly of the flowers here, I didn't want to go anywhere else."
While she was processing this, Naruto checked the stairs to ensure they were alone. Behind his back, his fingers flickered into a unique seal. He channeled a thread of vibrant, life-affirming Wood Release chakra.
Mokuton: Bellflower Jutsu.
A bouquet of dewy, pale-purple bellflowers—fresh as if they had just been plucked from the riverbank—materialized in his hand. He presented them to the downcast Ino. Her eyes lit up instantly. These weren't shop flowers; they were the very variety she had given him.
"The main bouquet is for Grandpa Third," Naruto said softly. "But you looked a bit down, so this bunch is for you. Like it?"
Ino accepted the flowers with trembling hands. She realized these couldn't have been bought elsewhere; they were the wild purple bellflowers from the Naka River. Where did he hide them?
Inside the Sealing Space, a massive paw slapped over a pair of crimson eyes.
"Using Wood Release to pick up girls? Who taught the brat that?" Kurama flicked his tail in exasperation. "Still so weak and already pulling stunts like this—once he gets stronger, he'll probably try to bring the moon down just to impress someone!"
"I do like them," Ino murmured, her cheeks pink as she cradled the gift. "But for an official arrangement for the Hokage... I should get my mom, Yamanaka Rino. Her skill with high-level protocol arrangements is much better than mine."
She looked up earnestly. "Since you gave me these, I'll give you the arrangement back as a gift! I'll make sure Mom doesn't charge you a single ryo."
"I can't allow that," Naruto said, his voice gentle but firm.
He looked her in the eyes. "The flowers you give me represent our bond—and I will treasure them. But the bouquet I'm buying for the Hokage is a matter of respect and gratitude. I won't mix the two. I want to pay for his gift myself."
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