Renji guided her to the previously locked door in the styling room.
"Nono-san, this room has been specially prepared for the Ultimate Makeover. As you see, it has maximum privacy and is soundproof. Once the important step is finished, we can disable the privacy seals so others can see in, if you want."
Nono grew more curious. What kind of makeover required this kind of privacy? Was it to protect his business secret? She wasn't worried about her safety—she was confident in her skills, and over the past few months she had come to trust Renji a little.
He entered with Nono and closed the door behind them, cutting off onlookers.
Inside, the room was pure white in every direction. It had a single styling chair, but no mirrors anywhere. If people from Earth saw it, their first instinct would be to run away—it looked like the experimentation lab of a psycho doctor.
Here, though, Nono was only slightly curious by the sterile environment. As skilled medic, she worked in similar places before. She then noticed a helmet-like device with a tube attached, hanging from the ceiling and stopping above the chair.
"What is that, Renji-kun?" she asked.
Renji patted the oversized helmet. "This is an important component of the process. It will help, apply product uniformly—all by itself. Of course, I will be controlling each step remotely."
He had commissioned it from a tech company he found in the capital. The tech tree in the shinobi world was all over the place, but this was surprisingly doable.
He sat her in the chair and combed her light brown hair gently. Nono—despite her vast experience—couldn't help but blush. She had been a spy for most of her life, often away from the village and in dangerous situations. For some reason, this simple act of caring moved her heart. She leaned back and allowed herself to enjoy the moment.
Renji held her hair directly and sensed her feelings and memories. He saw scenes of her fleeing enemies, hiding in dark corners to heal, sometimes shivering in the cold. He felt the peace this small act gave her.
He sighed to himself. 'This is probably the average shinobi experience growing up. They kill, pillage, fight, and suffer, but in the end, it's due to the circumstances. They look for the smallest bit of warmth and try to protect it with everything. If the world was peaceful, most would stay away from this life.'
Wishing to indulge her, he continued to comb her hair gently, including her bangs. After quite a while, she returned to herself and blushed deeply, realizing Renji had spent too much time on this step—probably because she enjoyed it.
She said softly, "Thank you, Renji-kun."
Renji stopped combing and smiled. "You're welcome, Nono-san. I'm glad you enjoyed it."
"Nono..."
"I'm sorry?"
"You can call me Nono, Renji-kun..."
Looking at her peaceful face, he wasn't fooled—he could sense she was flustered and confused. Coughing, he said, "Alright, Nono. In that case, please call me Renji or Ren."
"I will... Renji."
After a few minutes of silence, Renji moved on to the next step. He massaged her head, pulling her hair now and then so she moaned comfortably. When he finished, she sank into the chair, completely relaxed.
"Nono, I will start the main step now."
She nodded. He pulled her hair into a tight bun, shining with massage oil, then lowered the oversized helmet onto her head. From the outside, it completely covered her hair. All set, Renji picked up the remote and pressed a button.
Immediately, Nono felt water filling the empty space within the helmet. Not a single drop spilled out; it was airtight. With another button press, she felt the water sloshing and opening her hair bun. With each button press something happened to the hair; she decided to close her eyes and just enjoy it.
At some point, he injected a transparent liquid into the connected tube—it was the cover for what he was actually about to do. He felt slight guilt, but fshook it off and focused on the task.
While pretending to control the device, he used [Hair Manipulation] to grow her hair to double length. The newly grown hair looked stunning, with no damage or blemishes.
After making sure some of energy stayed in the new hair, he then ordered her old hair to separate. As if an invisible blade cut through, the old hair detached from the new hair, halving the length, and moved away through the connected tube. It then flowed into a prepared scroll at the other end of the tube.
The old hair disappeared and reappeared in the underground chamber, attaching itself to a mannequin that looked very similar to Nono. Now he had obtained Nono's Bonded Hair, and the mannequin would slow the Bonded Hair identity from switching to her new hair.
Nono didn't realize what had happened—she still only felt her hair being washed inside the helmet. This was due to Renji fooling her senses.
'Success! I now have access to Nono's abilities as well!' he thought.
To be honest, he didn't have to do all this. He could have openly grown her hair, blamed it on his miracle product, and cut off the old hair himself. The problem was, not every woman would accept that explanation. And what guarantee was there she'd allow him to keep her hair? If she asked for it, he would lose out. If he proposed keeping it, she might suspect his intentions—and that would be the end of his business.
But if she never knew about the process and thought her hair was simply being treated, he could avoid a lot of trouble.
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A/N: Grammar and spelling mistakes corrected using AI