(Turn off your brain.
Having fun is what matters.)
(No elaborate conspiracies.
Multiple heroines.
Mostly slice-of-life.)
The sun was setting.
It hovered just above the horizon as an icy wind swept across the land, sharp as a blade.
Each gust cut against exposed skin, stinging with cold.
The heavy snowfall from the previous night had blanketed the entire village in thick layers of white.
Snowflakes drifted lazily through the air.
It was that season again—the season of white albums.
Bathed in the crimson glow of dusk…
“Aoba…
I-I like you!”
Two tiny figures stood atop the nearly hundred-meter-high Hokage Rock, overlooking Konoha’s snow-covered landscape.
Since no building in the village rose higher than Hokage Rock, there was no better place to take in the breathtaking view.
It was the kind of scenery that naturally put one’s heart at ease.
And in that tranquil setting, the girl’s bright, melodious confession reached the boy’s ears.
Even though he’d experienced this sort of thing more than once already, Aoba Hayashistill found himself momentarily dazed.
Seriously?
Isn’t this a little ridiculous?
We’re only six years old.
They’re already thinking about this?
Once again, he was reminded just how outrageous the world of Naruto could be.
Pulling his gaze away from the snowy village below, Aoba turned to look at the girl beside him.
Although she was half a year older than he was, she was still slightly shorter.
Her black hair was tied into two adorable buns.
Combined with her chubby cheeks and the thick red winter coat she wore, she looked delightfully round.
Whether from embarrassment over what she’d just said or from the warm glow of the sunset, a rosy blush colored her cheeks.
Tenten.
Aoba felt that if he ever found out his own six-year-old daughter had confessed to another boy, he’d definitely treat that boy to a ruthless beating.
Not just an ordinary beating, either.
He’d make sure the metaphorical bamboo rods were coated in chili powder first.
Only then would his anger be satisfied.
…Of course, since he was the one being confessed to, he decided to pretend he’d never had that thought.
Faced with the girl’s innocent yet oddly practiced confession, Aoba instinctively opened his mouth to respond, assuming it was just another game like before.
But before he could speak, Tenten covered his mouth with both hands.
Her face grew even redder as she whispered shyly,
“T-This time…
we’re not just playing house…”
Meeting the boy’s clear, innocent eyes, she slowly lowered her hand.
Then she quickly looked away, nervously twisting her fingers together in front of her chest.
She was so tense it was obvious.
“Uh…”
Now Aoba genuinely didn’t know what to say.
This had started as a perfectly normal business arrangement.
How had feelings gotten mixed into it?
It wasn’t that he disliked Tenten.
The real problem was…
He was afraid that one day, after accepting her confession, he’d return home only to hear the ominous whistle of a boiling kettle.
For now, it was probably best to muddle through somehow.
“How about…”
“We just play house instead?”
“I’ll even give you today’s lesson for free…”
Before he could finish, he fell silent.
Tenten was glaring straight at him with wide eyes.
Her breathing became noticeably heavier.
A little cross-shaped vein popped up on her forehead, her cheeks puffed out, and her face somehow looked even rounder than before.
“So you’re rejecting me…”
“Is it because you like Ino more?”
“Or Sakura?”
Aoba felt a headache coming on.
At only five years old, he’d thought he was entering a leisurely childhood friendship route.
Instead, he’d been thrown straight into a high-level love battlefield—his very first romantic death match.
Weren’t we all getting along just fine whenever we played together?
“So?”
“Who do you like more?”
Unable to bear the silence any longer, Tenten pressed him again.
Gulp.
Aoba swallowed hard.
Faced with choosing between three little girls…
He decisively chose—
“I like money more.”
…
Silence.
“You jerk!”
Grinding her teeth in frustration, Tenten stomped down hard on the top of his foot.
“Hiss—!”
Aoba sucked in a sharp breath.
“Hmph!”
“Since you’re so obsessed with money, then spend the rest of your life with it!”
She pulled an explosive tag from inside her coat and slapped it directly onto Aoba’s face before storming off in a huff.
Watching her retreating figure, Aoba could only sigh inwardly.
Ninja kids really do mature way too early.
Even though she looked furious, he made no attempt to chase after her.
Until he could give her a proper answer, this was probably for the best.
By tomorrow, she’d likely have calmed down.
After all, no matter how mature they acted, they were still children.
Kids rarely held grudges overnight.
Aoba bent down and picked up the explosive tag that had fallen to the ground.
To be honest, he’d been a little nervous just now.
If Tenten had truly lost her temper and activated it…
That thing really could have killed him.
Still…
Explosive tags weren’t cheap.
One cost two thousand ryō.
He could count it as payment.
After all, their relationship had started as a mutually beneficial arrangement.
Over the past year, Aoba had regularly taught Tenten advanced shuriken throwing techniques.
Part of this was effectively his tuition fee.
And right now…
He desperately, desperately, desperately needed money.
It wasn’t because his family was poor.
Although he had no parents, he was raised by an elite jōnin uncle, so food and clothing had never been a concern.
The real culprit was the troublesome system that had suddenly awakened inside him.
After Tenten completely disappeared from view, Aoba opened his system interface.
[Ninja Gacha System Lv.1]
Upgrade Cost: 35,000,000 ryō
One Asuma bounty would be enough to level it up.
[Recharge items of equivalent value to perform gacha draws and obtain powerful abilities.]
Current Draw Count: 89
Cost per Draw: 1,000 ryō
Guaranteed SR every 100 draws
Guaranteed SSR every 300 draws
Guaranteed UR every 1,000 draws
Until Next Guaranteed SR: 21 draws
Until Next Guaranteed SSR: 211 draws
Until Next Guaranteed UR: 911 draws
Current Draw History:
SR
Advanced Shuriken Throwing Technique
R
Small Amount of Chakra ×6
Shuriken ×48
Kunai ×30
Explosive Tags ×4
The explosive tags and Small Amount of Chakra were guaranteed rewards every ten pulls.
The chakra reward, in particular, was incredibly useful.
Despite being only five years old, Aoba already possessed about as much chakra as an ordinary genin.
If he really managed to pull hundreds of thousands of times in the future…
He’d practically become a human Tailed Beast.
Still…
The gacha rates were absolutely atrocious.
Aside from the free ten-pull he received when the system first activated—which had given him the SR reward—he hadn’t pulled another high-rarity item since.
Every single one had come from pity.
Fortunately, the Advanced Shuriken Throwing Technique was excellent value for an early-game ability.
It was immensely useful at this stage.
More importantly, it had become his stable source of income.
He was currently Tenten’s private shuriken instructor.
A private tutor and his female student…
Very fitting for the Land of Fire.
When in Rome, do as the Romans do.