After school, Makoto and his group officially moved into the Suzuki Estate.
The Suzuki Family's wealth was legendary, and soon, at Sonoko's suggestion, a large training ground, almost identical to the one in the Naruto World, was built on the estate.
Following Makoto's advice, Utaha, Megumi, and the others moved their parents into the Suzuki Estate.
Seeing the castle-like grandeur of the estate, the Kasumigaoka and Kato parents, who are from ordinary backgrounds, were stunned.
Even knowing their daughters were superhumans, meeting someone like Shiro, who is usually seen only on financial news, made them tremble with nervousness.
Meeting Makoto himself was even more overwhelming.
They had a good idea about their daughters' relationship with him.
These parents were level-headed. Their first reaction wasn't excitement at social climbing, but deep unease.
Having lived long lives, they knew better than anyone what a vast gap in social standing meant.
And rumors about Makoto painted him as anything but emotionally stable.
He was good to their daughters now, but what about the future? Could it last?
Kasumigaoka's father, the bravest of the lot, summoned the courage to talk to Makoto, but his daughter stopped him with a firm look.
'Better to take things one step at a time.'
'As long as our daughter is happy.'
Ran moved her mother, Eri, in. Her father, Kogoro, stayed at his detective agency, claiming he couldn't live under the same roof as that woman.
This upset Ran… she had hoped to use this chance to reunite her parents.
Among all the parents, the only one to actively approach Makoto was Yui's mother.
"I never thought I'd live in such a fancy place in my life. All thanks to Makoto-kun." Mrs. Yuigahama clapped her hands happily.
'Makoto-kun?'
Hearing this, Shiro and the others' expressions flickered.
'This young-looking lady was quite bold.'
They themselves only dared to address him as 'Nishikawa-sama'.
But Mrs. Yuigahama continued, approaching Makoto with girlish curiosity. "When Yui was making that lunchbox, it surprised me. Her cooking got so much better because of you, Makoto-kun, right?"
"Mom, stop!" Yui's face turned red as she pulled her mother away.
"Should... we go say hello too?"
Mr. Spencer, a diplomat, whispered to his wife.
Originally in the UK, he had rushed back when he heard about superhumans like the crab-man causing trouble.
"Dad, don't do anything rash!" Eriri quickly stopped him.
Their family's presence here was mostly thanks to Utaha and Megumi.
After all, everyone had lived at her place for over four years in the Naruto World.
Her own relationship with Makoto was only so-so. Eriri even secretly suspected he liked her mother more than her.
"Eriri, haven't you cut ties with that person yet?" Sayuri asked quietly.
She meant Tomoya.
Even in the Naruto World, Sayuri knew that boy had designs on the artistic-looking girl close to Makoto.
She used to think he was pretty brave.
But after witnessing Makoto's power firsthand, Sayuri's only thought regarding Tomoya was: I'm afraid your blood will splash on me when you die.
She had felt some guilt about her daughter's childhood entanglement with him.
So in the original work, when she learned of Eriri's actions, she hadn't interfered much, as compensation.
But things were different now.
If you want to piss off Makoto, don't drag our family into it!
"Mom, I..." Eriri lowered her head, unable to speak.
Sayuri took a deep breath, making a silent decision.
If her daughter didn't make up her mind soon, when the next Reincarnation Game started, she would take matters into her own hands.
Killing in that world wouldn't have real-world consequences.
Mrs. Yukinoshita was the only parent living in the estate whose children weren't with her.
But Megumi and the others knew that in the Ninja World, Makoto often went to her shop for sweets.
Plus, her husband had just passed away. Everyone assumed Makoto let her stay out of sympathy.
Yes, that must be it.
…
Days later, at Totsuki Academy, Class 1-F.
A girl in the black Shuchi'in Academy uniform, her energy undimmed by the fabric, stood at the podium. She wrote 'Nakano Yotsuba' on the board, then turned to the class with a cheerful introduction:
"Hello, I'm Nakano Yotsuba, transferring from Kurobara Girls High School. I like running and basketball. I hope we can all be friends!"
'What a cute girl.'
Both the boys and girls in class couldn't help but think.
Yotsuba's natural, energetic aura was hard to dislike.
"Huh? Our class seems a bit small." Yotsuba looked at the empty seats, tilting her head to ask Shizuka.
Shizuka's expression was somewhat relieved. "They don't come to school much anymore."
Those seats belonged to Makoto, Utaha, and the others.
Since moving to the Suzuki Estate, they rarely came to school. When they did, it was just for leisure.
If it were anyone else, Shizuka would have dragged them back herself.
But with Makoto's group, she thought… better they don't come.
Who knew if he might kill someone on a whim?
"Oh..." Yotsuba drooped her head slightly, disappointed.
She had heard Makoto was in this class.
Meanwhile, other classes welcomed girls identical to Yotsuba… her four sisters.
Yes, Maruo had agonized but ultimately sent his adopted daughters to Totsuki.
News of the crab-man had spread nationwide, creating unease everywhere.
At least Totsuki Academy had multiple superhumans, making it relatively safe.
After the morning classes, Yotsuba looked at the still-empty classroom and asked Kotonoha, sitting closest to her:
"This classmate, I heard that Makoto-kun... ah, no, Nishikawa-kun is in this class. Is that true?"
Kotonoha was taken aback. After a few seconds, she asked quietly, "Um... do you know Nishikawa-kun?"
Her parents were overseas, so she hadn't attended the banquet and didn't know their connection.
"I guess so. I heard he's in this class..." Yotsuba scratched her head, unsure how to describe their relationship.
'We were kind of... running buddies?'
'Even though we hadn't run together in a long time.'
Seeing Yotsuba's innocent, cheerful smile, Kotonoha felt a strange pang of bitterness, silently lamenting that Nishikawa seemed to have another cute girl around him.
Ito Makotou, sitting across the room, felt similarly.
He and Kotonoha were in a nominal cold war.
Hearing the new transfer student mention Makoto's name, Ito Makotou grew more irritated, muttering under his breath:
"Damn it. Just because he has superpowers, he can do whatever he wants? If I had that kind of power, I'd be no worse than him..."
Suddenly, a cold voice cut in. "Who are you talking about?"
"Makoto." Ito Makotou answered instinctively.
Smack—!
The moment Ito Makotou looked up, a hand filled his vision.
The next second, he was slammed to the floor, knocking over several desks. Everyone's attention snapped to him.
Yu stomped on Ito Makotou's stomach. Before Makotou could scream, Ishigami sat on him, grabbing his collar with one hand and punching his face wildly with the other.
Yotsuba watched, stunned. "Wh-what's he doing?"
Kotonoha and the others silently looked away, avoiding Yu's eyes.
They had seen this scene too often lately.
Whenever someone at school badmouthed Makoto, Yu appeared like magic and beat them senseless.
People suspected he had awakened some kind of tracking superpower.
But it was just coincidence.
"Hey! That's enough! It was just a remark. Are you trying to kill him?"
Shizuka finally intervened, unable to watch anymore.
Everyone knew Yu was Makoto's top henchman, and mostly turned a blind eye to his violent behavior.
But this was too much.
It wasn't even a serious insult. Was it necessary?
Just then, a mechanical, emotionless voice echoed in the minds of many:
[Reincarnation Game. Commencing.]
[Instance World: Chainsaw Man]
[Instance Objective: Kill the Control Devil]
[Countdown: 10, 9, 8, 7...]
"Wh-what?!" Yotsuba froze in terror.
Yu, about to ignore Shizuka and keep punching, and Ito Makotou, his face already swollen, both changed expression drastically.