Chapter 3 : Be a good boy
Mom, I'm full. I'm going out to play!" Haruto said after finishing his lunch."Don't play too late," Asaka called after him."I'm going too!" Ino, seeing Haruto leave, quickly tried to follow. But before she could step out, Asaka pulled her back."Ino, remember we're learning flower arranging with your mother today," she said gently, but with firm conviction. "You'll need to become a proper lady one day if you ever want to get married."Ino pouted, her lips trembling slightly. "Woo..." she mumbled in reluctant agreement.
Haruto, determined to get away from his mother's controlling ways, made his way east to the best tailor shop in the village. He'd had enough of looking like every other kid. His plain clothes, not to mention the matching hairstyle his mom insisted on—black hair in a ponytail, just like his dad's—was getting on his nerves. He couldn't help but think, Blonde hair with a ponytail looks fine, but black? That just makes me look like Shikamaru... His mind wandered to the last time someone compared him to Shikamaru. "We grew up together, like twins!" they'd said. That remark still made him seethe with frustration.
"Hello, Auntie, Is my order ready?" Haruto called as he entered the shop. He looked up at the much taller woman. Whenever kids had to look up at someone, you knew it had to be one of the adults—poor Haruto, he was probably going to end up with a stiff neck.
"Oh, isn't this little Haruto?" the woman cooed. "Come here, let Auntie give you a hug! Your clothes are all ready, waiting for you to pick them up." With that, she swept Haruto into a hug. If you wanted to talk about the perks of being a child, this was definitely one of them—being able to get all the attention, even if it meant struggling to breathe under the woman's tight embrace.
When Haruto finally broke free, he took a good look at his new outfit—a white imperial robe. It was perfect. Modeled after the Fourth Hokage's iconic look, it made him feel like a hero already.
In the ninja world, there are still many kinds of clothes, though most of them are quite strange in design. More importantly, they're just not cool enough. Without a cape, the effectiveness of combat could be compromised.
After thinking it over, Haruto decided that the Fourth Hokage's style was the most handsome. It was sunny and vibrant, which suited his own cool image perfectly. That's why he chose the Hokage ceremonial robe.
At first, Haruto had thought the Hokage ceremonial robe was meant exclusively for the Hokage and that it would be taboo for anyone else to wear it. It wasn't until later that he realized the robes worn by the Hokage during official meetings were completely different from this one. One had no sleeves, one had a collar, and the other didn't.
For the sake of honoring the Fourth Hokage, Haruto also noticed that adults rarely wore white. But now that he had the clothes, it was time to focus on the next step—his hairstyle.
Haruto walked all the way to the most popular barber shop in the village. Why was it the most popular? Because the barbers there were all beautiful women.
"Beautiful sister, I want a haircut," Haruto said, flashing his most charming eyes—a tried-and-true magic weapon.
