Ran and Utaha looked at each other, their faces filled with shock.
Even Megumi, who usually had a blank expression, had a hint of obvious surprise flash in her eyes.
The three girls, each with their own thoughts, followed Makoto out of the classroom, leaving Team 7 behind still waiting in place… Naruto stared longingly at Makoto's back, his expression looking exactly like an abandoned puppy.
The four arrived at a dessert shop.
"Ma'am, four servings of dango." Makoto said casually as he sat down.
"Okay."
Mrs. Yukinoshita smiled in response.
Using the savings she had accumulated over these four years, along with some sponsorship from Makoto, she had opened this small shop, which had already become somewhat famous in Konoha.
Watching Makoto walk in with three young girls, her gaze discreetly swept across their faces.
Soon, four servings of dango were brought to the table. Mrs. Yukinoshita seized the opportunity to ask, "Makoto-kun, these three must be..."
"Yeah, the Genin I'm in charge of instructing."
"Then they are truly fortunate."
Mrs. Yukinoshita smiled, "Call me if you need anything."
The moment she turned around, her pearly teeth gently bit her lower lip, and a hint of unwillingness flashed in her eyes.
'Neither of my two daughters had managed to become Makoto's students.'
'That old man Sarutobi Hiruzen... was he deliberately targeting my family?'
Nishikawa Makoto tasted a dango.
Not sweet.
To be precise, not that sweet.
Mrs. Yukinoshita had clearly remembered his taste… he loved desserts in his previous life, and the same was true in this one, but the first time he came to this shop, he was almost sent to the afterlife by the sickly sweet Japanese flavor.
Since then, Mrs. Yukinoshita had remembered, and every time he came, she would adjust the sweetness separately for him.
He ate while casually saying, "If you don't want to follow me, you can leave now and go back to the Ninja Academy for a repeat year."
To be honest, when he saw the list of these three girls, he was also a bit stunned.
He hadn't specified to Hiruzen who he wanted, as long as he didn't get Naruto and Sasuke, anything was fine.
He had originally thought the old man would assign the Aizono sisters to him, and then just throw in some random supporting character to round it out.
The result was this combination.
But thinking about it, it was understandable.
Since his early graduation, Ran's overall grades had always been second only to Sasuke.
While Sakura and Yukino's theoretical grades were excellent, their practical combat was too weak.
Megumi was a specialist with maxed out 'invisibility' stealth skills, a severely unbalanced prodigy.
Utaha... after four years of study, she was fairly average in all aspects, a standard middle-upper class student.
The three girls exchanged a look.
Finally, it was Megumi who spoke first… after all, among the three, only she had had formal communication with Makoto.
"Ni, Nishikawa-kun."
"Megumi, during work hours, you should call me sensei."
"I-I'm sorry, Makoto-sensei..." Megumi hesitated for a moment, "Can I ask a question?"
Seeing Makoto nod, she took a deep breath: "Why did you... kill Sawanaga-kun back then?"
At these words, the two girls beside her both became nervous.
Megumi felt that this question was not only her own, but also the fundamental reason why the other two feared Makoto.
If they could figure it out, perhaps they could alleviate that fear in their hearts.
If the one asking this question was Tomoya, Makoto wouldn't bother to respond at all, or would simply reply with "I wanted to."
But looking at Megumi's earnest eyes, he raised an eyebrow: "I hate rapists the most."
Tsk, people are just like that.
Can the reaction when facing a beautiful heroine be the same as when facing a disgusting male lead?
Upon hearing this, the three girls suddenly showed expressions of understanding.
'So that's how it was.'
They indeed had no evidence that Sawanaga Taisuke had done such a thing, but they also didn't think Makoto would lie.
For someone this strong, facing small fry like them, there was no need to lie.
The look in Utaha's eyes softened a bit.
Because she also hated that kind of scum.
Ran hesitated for a moment, then carefully asked, "Th-then... if someone offends Makoto-sensei in the future, wh-what would you do?"
She was asking on behalf of her childhood friend.
Kudo Shinichi who was investigating Makoto.
Unfortunately, Makoto didn't yet know that Shinichi had also joined the investigation team, so naturally he didn't understand the deeper meaning behind Ran's question, and answered calmly: "Kill them."
The three girls were shocked again.
"If someone offends me, why wouldn't I kill them?"
Makoto's expression was calm, "Of course, if there's a more fun way to die, I could try that too, like the Akizuki Kozo method."
"Ma, Makoto-sensei..." Utaha couldn't help but complain, "You're a bit extreme."
"Alright, enough nonsense."
Nishikawa Makoto waved his hand, "Do you want to go back for a repeat year or not?"
The three girls exchanged looks again.
No one objected.
The answer was self-evident.
"Clap, clap."
Makoto clapped his hands: "Alright, since you've all made up your minds, then study hard under me."
He leaned forward slightly: "Although we're all already acquaintances, let's still formally introduce ourselves. Let's talk about things we like, things we hate, future dreams, that kind of thing... Who wants to go first?"
The three girls thought for a moment, and finally it was Ran, who was relatively more outgoing, who spoke first.
"I, I'm Mouri Ran, from Shuchi'in Academy... oh no, I just graduated from the Ninja Academy."
She paused, "I-I like sweet and spicy things, and karate. I don't like oily things, or bugs and such. My future dream is—"
At this point, she paused briefly, and the figure of a certain someone involuntarily appeared in her mind.
But noticing Makoto across from her, she still changed her words in time: "My future dream is to become the best karateka in Japan."
Makoto saw through it but didn't expose it: "Then your dream has already come true. After you go back, you could completely beat the crap out of all those people in Japan."
Megumi then said: "My name is Kato Megumi. I like... hmm, I like playing with my phone, but because this world doesn't have them, I can't do that right now. A new hobby I'm having is researching the Ninjutsu of this world, although I'm not learning it very well. I hate being deceived. My future dream... is to change myself."
Finally, it was Utaha: "I'm Kasumigaoka Utaha. I like reading and writing, hate overly greasy food, and my future dream..."
She paused, "I still hope to achieve greater success in the light novel world."
In the past, she would have added a line about 'hating golden retrievers who are sore losers'.
But over the past four years, her relationship with Eriri had already eased considerably.
After the three girls finished speaking, they all looked at Makoto.
The meaning was self-evident.
Makoto blinked: "You all know my name. The things I like are great power and beautiful girls. I hate idiots like Sawanaga Taisuke who make me feel nauseous. My future dream... is to pursue great power, break through my limits, kill the most disgusting people, eat the best food, and bang the most beautiful girls."
The three girls' expressions were a bit subtle.
Not to mention anything else, just the fact that he could say something like 'bang the most beautiful girls' without changing his expression was already hard for them to digest.
"Alright, let's stop here for now."
Makoto stood up, "Tomorrow at eight o'clock, wait for me at Training Ground 7 on the outskirts of the village. Come fully prepared… bring kunai, explosive tags, swords, and any other weapons."
With that, he turned and left.
Megumi and the other two chatted for a while longer, then went their separate ways.
Megumi and Utaha lived together, so naturally they walked together.
The two walked on the road back to the Sawamura Residence, chatting about this and that.
Just as they were nearing their doorstep, they both stopped in their tracks.
At the entrance, a person was standing—
Aki Tomoya.