(Forget your brain — happiness matters most)
(No conspiracy theories, multiple heroines, mostly everyday life)
Dusk.
The sun was already sliding toward the horizon, yet the faint chill in the air still cut like a knife, slicing against faces with a sting.
After last night's heavy snow, the entire village was blanketed in thick, silvery white.
Snowflakes swirled in the air — the season of the "white album" had come again.
Under the evening sun—
"Haruba, I… I like you!"
Two small figures stood atop the nearly 100-meter-high Hokage Rock, overlooking Konoha's snowy vista.
No building in Konoha stood taller than Hokage Rock, so from here, one could take in the entire village's winter scenery at a glance.
Such a sight was bound to lift the heart.
And in this moment, a girl's clear, melodious voice reached the boy's ears.
Although he had faced situations like this many times before, Shirayuki Haruba still felt a flicker of daze.
Seriously? She's only six… and already thinking about this sort of thing?
Once again, he was reminded just how wild the Naruto world could be.
Haruba pulled his gaze away from Konoha's snowy panorama and turned toward the girl beside him — a girl half a year older than him, yet slightly shorter.
Her black hair was tied into two cute buns, and thanks to her baby-round cheeks and the thick red padded jacket she wore, she looked especially plump and round.
Her cheeks were tinged pink — perhaps from embarrassment over what she had just said, or maybe from the sunset's glow. Haruba thought, if someday his own six-year-old daughter confessed to some other boy, he'd make sure to treat that kid to a stir-fried pork-and-bamboo-shoots dinner… with the bamboo shoots coated in chili powder, just for good measure.
But now, since the one being confessed to was him, he decided to pretend he'd never had that thought.
Faced with the girl's childish yet oddly practiced confession, Haruba didn't even think — assuming it was the same as before, he subconsciously started to speak.
But the girl suddenly clamped a hand over his mouth, her face growing redder as she spoke shyly:
"This time… it's not make-believe…"
Looking into Haruba's clear, pure eyes, Tenten slowly released her hand from his mouth.
She then turned her gaze away, fidgeting with her fingers in front of her chest — obviously nervous beyond measure.
"This…"
Now it was Haruba's turn to be at a loss for words. How had this nice, simple arrangement suddenly gotten tangled up with feelings?
It wasn't that he disliked Tenten. He just feared that if he agreed, one day he might come home… and hear the kettle whistling ominously.
Better to muddle through for now.
"How about… we just play house again?"
"I'll even give you today's training session for free—"
Haruba didn't get to finish before Tenten's eyes went wide, staring at him hard.
Her breathing quickened, a sharp mark appeared on her forehead, her cheeks puffed out slightly — making her face look even rounder.
"You're not saying yes because you like Ino better?"
"Or Sakura?"
Haruba's head ached. At only five years old, he had thought this was going to be a training-sim scenario. Instead, he'd been thrown straight into a high-stakes match — his first "battlefield of love" in life.
Wasn't it fun when everyone just played together?
"Who do you like more?"
Tenten couldn't help asking again when Haruba stayed silent.
Gulp.
Haruba swallowed. Between the three little girls, he decisively chose—
"I like money more!"
…
The air went quiet.
"You jerk!"
Tenten finally ground her teeth and stomped hard on Haruba's foot.
"Hiss!"
Haruba sucked in a sharp breath.
"Hmph!"
"If you love money so much, then just spend your life with it!"
She pulled an explosive tag from her pocket and slapped it against Haruba's face, then stomped off in a huff.
Watching her retreating back, Haruba could only sigh inwardly again.
Kids in the ninja world really were precocious.
Although she looked furious now, Haruba didn't choose to chase after her. Until he could give her an answer, it was better to leave things as they were.
By tomorrow, she'd probably have cooled down. Precocious or not, they were still children — grudges rarely lasted overnight.
Haruba bent down and picked up the explosive tag that had fallen to the ground. Just now, he had been a little worried — if Tenten had really lost her temper, this thing could have killed him.
Still, explosive tags weren't cheap. One cost two thousand ryō.
He figured this could count as his payment. After all, their relationship from the start had been one of mutual benefit.
Over the past year, Haruba had often taught her shuriken-throwing techniques. Part of that money was tuition.
And right now, Haruba was very short on money.
Not because he was poor — though he had no parents, he did have an uncle who was an elite jōnin, so food and clothing were no issue.
No, the problem was the frustrating system that had suddenly awakened within him.
Once Tenten's figure had vanished from sight, Haruba opened his system panel.
[Ninja Card Draw System – Lv. 1] (Can be upgraded with two more units)
Yep. One Asuma would be enough to upgrade it.
[The host can draw cards by charging items of corresponding value, and obtain the desired abilities.]
[Current draws: 89]
[Each draw costs 1,000 ryō. 100 draws guarantees an SR card. 300 draws guarantees an SSR card. 1,000 draws guarantees a UR card.]
[21 draws left until next SR guarantee. 211 draws left until next SSR guarantee. 911 draws left until next UR guarantee.]
[Current draw records:]
SR: Advanced Shuriken Throwing Technique
R: Small Amount of Chakra ×6; Shuriken ×48; Kunai ×30; Explosive Tag ×4
Explosive tags and small chakra boosts were guaranteed once every ten draws.
Still, that small chakra boost was actually quite useful. At just five years old, his chakra reserves were already close to that of a standard genin.
If he ever did hundreds of thousands of draws, he'd basically be a humanoid tailed beast.
But the drop rate? Depressingly bad.
Other than the SR he'd gotten from the starter ten-pull, he'd only hit the guarantees since.
Still, that shuriken technique was a cost-effective ability, especially in the early stages.
It had also given him a steady income — he was now Tenten's shuriken tutor.
A private tutor with a little schoolgirl student.
Very island nation flavor — fitting in with local customs, you could say.
Chapter 2 – Picking Up a Little Loli
The sun had completely sunk beneath the horizon.
Konoha's streets were now lit with scattered sparks of light.
The snowy village had turned into a pale golden sea — the winter nightscape even more enchanting.
Haruba didn't leave until darkness had fully settled.
During this time, his uncle Shirayuki Yazan and the older-sister figure who cared for him were both away on missions, so he could head home whenever he liked.
Following the dim lamps and old stairways, he made his way down from Hokage Rock.
Just as he reached the base and passed through a small food street, Haruba spotted two unexpected figures.
A small boy sat on the shoulders of an older boy, happily pointing toward a dumpling shop.
"Brother, I want that dango!"
"Alright, Sasuke — whatever you want, your brother will buy."
Though Haruba had never met them, he instantly recognized the pair from their ages and the warmth between them — and, most of all, from the prominent Uchiha clan crest on their backs.
Uchiha Itachi and Uchiha Sasuke.
At this time, Itachi's face still lacked the noticeable lines it would later bear.
Perhaps sensing Haruba's gaze, Sasuke turned to look at him.
Maybe embarrassed to be seen acting spoiled, Sasuke quickly slid down from Itachi's shoulders.
Itachi, noticing his younger brother's change in behavior, followed Sasuke's line of sight — but only saw the passing crowd.
He had no idea what Sasuke had been looking at.
Haruba, for his part, just found it novel to see these "anime protagonists" in real life — a little different from his mental image. He couldn't help but take a good look.
Honestly, he wished he could have snapped a photo.
He wondered… when Sasuke thought back on this moment after the Uchiha clan's destruction, how would he feel?
"Ow!"
While Haruba's thoughts were wandering, someone suddenly bumped into him and fell to the ground.
The impact made Haruba take two steps back.
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm really, really sorry!"
Before Haruba could apologize, the other person — a clear, childish voice — bowed repeatedly.
Another kid…
"I…"
Haruba had started to say something back, but when he saw the other person's face, the words caught in his throat.