The next day, Renji opened his salon with bloodshot eyes. He and Chloe had been testing various things until early morning, leaving him with only a few hours of sleep. Afterward, Chloe reverted back to her black ponytail form, disabling the skill.
He decided he would set aside some of the jōnin-level Bonded Hair as consumables for his own use. Kushina's would be one of them.
Anyway, he could still summon her Echo anytime if he needed her jutsu. Right now, her skills would be very useful.
The others, he would use to summon more witches when appropriate. If the skill kept improving as it had before, the number of concurrent targets would likely increase. He might even be able to create an elite group to operate outside Konoha.
Currently, he had two targets available for [Echoes of Past]. The first was Kushina's Bonded Hair—without summoning. The second slot was now free, since Chloe had reverted back into her ponytail.
---
The day began as usual, but his regulars quickly noticed a new addition to the service menu:
Ultimate Makeover – 1,000,000 ryō
Anko, who happened to be in the village that day, approached Renji as he stood to the side, watching his employees struggle to contain the chaos the announcement caused.
Leaning toward him with a mischievous grin, she teased, "Ren, what is this option? It's so expensive! Are you finally giving in to greed?" She snickered playfully.
---
Ever since the first time she had come with Kurenai, Anko had been completely hooked. Even with the high prices, she would visit regularly for hair care—especially the massage!
The last few times, she had completely let go of her inhibitions, openly moaning throughout the session. Thankfully, the door was soundproof—Renji had hired a ninja to apply soundproof seals beforehand. Otherwise, it could have caused quite the scandal!
He could have done the sealing himself using Kushina's skills, but that would have been far too suspicious.
Ever since that day, Anko had become very chummy with him, entirely on her own. Not that he minded—he liked the energetic girl.
---
Renji looked at her helplessly. "Anko, you know I'm not like that! All my services are always worth the price. Since I priced it at one million, that should tell you how good the final result will be."
Anko teased him a bit more but didn't actually ask for the so-called Ultimate Makeover. She wasn't that rich, and besides—it was just hair care. What kind of kunoichi would spend the equivalent of an S-rank mission reward just to look good for a while?
Renji could sense her skepticism through her hair and understood her doubts. He had expected this reaction—but he had a plan.
After a while, the chaos subsided, and the customers went back to their routines. Anko got another premium massage, making Renji quite shy with her unrestrained moans, before teasing him again and heading off to the "Gossip Room."
Renji could only shake his head helplessly. He couldn't restrain her at all.
Not long after, the person he had been waiting for finally entered his Demonic Sense range—Nono. His eyes lit up immediately.
This was the reason he had added the new option to the menu that day.
When she entered, he greeted her with a smile.
"Welcome to my salon, Unmei no Kami, Nono-san!"
That day, she wasn't wearing her usual nun outfit but a casual dress instead. Nono smiled peacefully and gave him a small bow.
"Thanks for inviting me, Renji-kun."
He showed her around the shop, introducing her to his employees and regulars, before handing her a sheet listing the available services and prices.
"Here's the list, Nono-san. Please don't hesitate to ask me for any of these. Everything will be free for you today, as promised."
Nono wanted to decline, but then her eyes caught the prices. The basic and premium services seemed reasonable enough—she had heard the rumors over the past few months. But when she reached the final entry, she froze.
A million ryō.
A million!
The orphanage could run for half a year with that amount!
"Uhh... Renji-kun, are you sure you didn't accidentally add an extra zero here?"
Renji smiled. "Of course not, Nono-san. The price is correct."
He showed a confident expression. "I know this might seem outside the usual range, but the price is accurate! I had to create some special products using rare ingredients I collected."
Clenching his fist with passion, he added, "I must show this to everyone! Otherwise, all my hard work would go to waste!"
---
He wasn't lying about the ingredients. Over the past six months, he had traveled across the Fire Nation and even to Sunagakure with shinobi escorts.
His primary objective had been to check up on Pakura in Suna. Unfortunately, he hadn't made it in time—unlike with Nono. She had apparently died a few months before the Kyūbi attack, the day he transmigrated. Even her body hadn't made it back to the village.
He knew the real story, though. Sunagakure had betrayed her to Kirigakure as part of a peace negotiation. They likely had her body now. He planned to obtain her Bonded Hair later.
As a secondary objective, he had gathered several rare and valuable ingredients during his travels. Back home, he combined a few harmless ones into a colorless, odorless liquid—his cover for the "Ultimate Makeover."
---
"So, I'd like to ask a favor, Nono-san," he said, smiling earnestly. "Would you kindly allow me to perform the Ultimate Makeover for you? It'll be completely free of charge! If I can show the results on at least one person, it'll prove its worth—and everyone will believe in it!"
Nono stared at him, speechless. He was asking to use a million-ryō product on her, just to prove its value to others?
Looking at his earnest expression, she couldn't bring herself to say no.
With a small smile, she agreed.
"Alright, Renji-kun. Let's do this. I'll be in your care."
---
A/N: Grammar and spelling mistakes corrected using AI