"Hold on!"
Just as Makoto was about to leave with six girls trailing behind him, basking in the envious stares of every boy in the room, a voice cut through the noise.
Everyone turned. Tobe Kakeru, who'd been sitting next to Hayama Hayato, was on his feet, face flushed red.
When Makoto's gaze swept over him, Tobe swallowed hard.
But then his eyes found Ebina Hina in the group, and the courage came.
"Um... why are you going with him, Miura?"
He'd been nursing a crush on Ebina for ages now.
Watching the girl he liked walk off with a killer sent a sour pang through his chest that finally outweighed the fear.
Still, even after all this time he'd never once confessed. The name that left his lips was "Miura," not "Ebina," terrified someone might catch on.
"Well, that's..."
Miura Yumiko, the girl they called the "Flame Queen" of the class, stood with her head bowed, fingers twisting the hem of her shirt, unable to string a sentence together.
She could hardly announce they were moving into Makoto's house.
Especially not with Hayama Hayato standing right there.
The silence was thickening when Makoto spoke up.
"Relax. I'm not going to sleep with them."
The entire class short-circuited.
Did he just say that? For free?
Even Sakura and Hinata, natives of this world, went rigid, their cheeks flaring crimson.
Anime kids matured fast, sure, but "sleep with" still landed like a grenade among grade-schoolers.
Makoto turned and walked out of the classroom without another word.
The Akizuki sisters followed on his heels.
Yui and the others stood frozen for a beat, then scrambled after him.
Tobe opened his mouth to say something more, but a hand settled on his shoulder.
"Easy." Hayama's voice was low, calm.
Tobe forced himself to breathe.
Right. Makoto couldn't actually do anything to Ebina and the others.
Everyone's bodies were only eight years old, after all.
...
The Uchiha district remained under lockdown, Sarutobi-clan shinobi stationed at every entrance.
But the moment they spotted Makoto approaching with his small army, the guards stepped aside without a word. Hiruzen had clearly given advance notice.
Less than a week had passed since the Night of the Massacre, and the faintest tang of blood still hung in the air.
Every one of these girls, raised in the shelter of doting parents, wrinkled their noses in unison.
"I heard about this place," Ebina said, her usual playful tone dialed way down. "The Uchiha were the strongest ninja clan in Konoha. A few days ago, one of their own wiped them all out."
The color drained from Yui and Yumiko's faces. Lips pressed tight, eyes darting.
This world was far more dangerous than any of them had imagined.
"How about this one, Makoto?"
Airi stopped in front of the largest mansion on the street, the most prominent lot in the district. Everything about it screamed someone important lived here.
Makoto looked up.
The Uchiha clan head's residence. Uchiha Fugaku's home. Sasuke's home.
He considered it for a moment, then shook his head with a grin. "Nah, let's pick a different one."
He'd already stolen the father's eyes. Moving into the family house on top of that felt a bit too scummy.
Airi never questioned Makoto's decisions. She didn't understand the reason, but she didn't press.
They settled on another estate nearly as spacious, more than enough room for eight people to live comfortably.
The moment they stepped inside, bloodstains that hadn't been fully cleaned greeted them.
Yui and the other girls yelped and dropped to the floor in shock. Even Akizuki Kayoko, the only actual adult among them, went pale.
Makoto planted himself on the tatami and looked at the four girls. "Clean it up."
They were still shaking, but they grabbed brooms and rags and got to work.
"Makoto, isn't this a bit much?" Kayoko murmured, looking uncomfortable. Asking young girls to scrub the place while she stood by didn't sit right with her.
"Mom, don't worry about it. You want them living here for free?"
Airi cut her off without an ounce of hesitation. She'd been unhappy ever since learning at school that Makoto planned to let these girls move in.
It was only when they promised to handle every chore that she'd grudgingly agreed. She didn't want her mother overworked, either.
Meanwhile, Makoto lay back with his head in Airi's lap, both legs draped across Marina's, one sister massaging his scalp while the other kneaded his calves.
Once the four girls finished cleaning, Makoto issued his next round of orders: Chizuru would go buy groceries and cook dinner. Ebina would fan him. Yui would fetch water for a foot bath, then she and Yumiko would each take a foot and get to work.
He wasn't about to hold back.
In his previous life, the thing he'd hated most in fanfiction was the "protagonist as nursemaid" trope.
If these girls were going to live under his roof, they were going to earn it.
...
The next morning. Ninja Academy.
The last student to graduate early had been Uchiha Itachi.
Word that another student had applied drew crowds well before class. Parents showed up too, eager for the spectacle. Among them were Mouri Ran's mother Kisaki Eri, and Eriri's mother Sawamura Sayuri, both players in the Reincarnation Game.
They hadn't qualified to enroll in the Academy themselves, and saw this as their chance to witness the "superpowers" of this world firsthand.
The Yukinoshita family, naturally, was also in attendance.
Watching Makoto stand at the center of the training ground, the focus of every eye, Mrs. Yukinoshita spoke calmly.
"Could you do that?"
Yukino kept her head down, silent.
She knew the question was aimed at her.
A murmur rippled through the crowd, and all heads turned. The Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, had arrived.
"That old man... is the strongest person in the village?" Kisaki Eri couldn't quite believe it. He looked like any other elderly grandfather.
Sawamura Sayuri and the Mr. Yukinoshita exchanged a glance. Same thought exactly.
"Grandpa Third!"
Without warning, Makoto broke from his spot and sprinted toward Hiruzen, eyes blazing with adoration.
Yukinoshita Yukino and Kasumigaoka Utaha nearly choked on their own spit. They had never, in their lives, seen Makoto make a face that... stupid.
Even the Akizuki family stared, baffled.
Hiruzen chuckled and patted Makoto's shoulder. "So, Makoto. Happy with the new house?"
"Yes!"
Makoto nodded so hard his neck might've snapped, channeling the energy of a certain miniaturized detective who loved playing innocent. "Anything Grandpa Third gives me, I love!"
Hiruzen's smile deepened, wrinkles bunching together in delight.
What a sincere child.
"Makoto," Hiruzen went on, "you should only know the Three Basic Jutsu at this point. Isn't applying for early graduation a bit ambitious?"
Makoto's expression turned steely with resolve. "I want to take care of my family, and I want to serve you as soon as possible, Grandpa Third. No hardship can stop me!"
The old Hokage beamed even wider.
He reached into his robes and produced a thin slip of paper. "Here, Makoto. Try channeling Chakra into this."
Yukino's expression curdled into open disgust. She was certain now. Every word out of Makoto's mouth was an act, all of it calculated to squeeze benefits out of Sarutobi Hiruzen.
Mrs. Yukinoshita, on the other hand, watched with something close to admiration.
If you wanted to climb in a world built on deception, you had to learn to tell people exactly what they wanted to hear. Her younger daughter's rigid honesty would get her nowhere.
Makoto took the paper and pushed Chakra into it.
The sheet split three ways. The left piece caught fire, the center soaked through with moisture, the right sliced itself into ribbons.
"Oh? Fire, Water, and Wind? Three affinities?" Sarutobi Hiruzen's brows rose, and his delight only grew.
Excellent. A child this loyal to me should be as strong as possible.
"Come, Makoto. Let Grandpa teach you a thing or two."
And just like that, the Third Hokage began personally instructing Makoto in ninjutsu.
Everyone present lost the ability to process what they were seeing.
Wasn't this supposed to be a graduation exam? When did it turn into a private tutoring session?
What they didn't know was that Hiruzen had already decided to pass Makoto the moment he finished reading that essay.
Talent this loyal had to be nurtured aggressively.
Makoto kept his smile firmly in place. Two hours in front of the mirror last night, mimicking the starry-eyed grin of a fangirl at an idol concert in her wedding dress, had not been wasted.
Honestly, the Third Hokage's track record in the original story was a mess. Most fans didn't think kindly of him, and plenty wished him dead.
But as far as Makoto was concerned, Hiruzen's habit of screwing over his own people had nothing to do with him.
As long as the old man was dropping loot, you kept farming him for every last gold coin.