My Little Brother Couldn't Possibly Be This Cute

Hearing Hazuki's words, the two who had been chasing and bickering immediately fell silent.

Izumi glanced at Xiu's handsome little face and imagined what he would look like when he grew up. Her pretty face instantly flushed.

"Eh, th-this wouldn't be appropriate, would it? I've always treated Xiu as my little brother..."

By the end, her gaze drifted unconsciously, and her voice had become so low it was nearly inaudible. Guilt was practically written all over her face.

Ever since she had drawn a clear line with Itachi Uchiha, she had not interacted with any other boys for the past two years. She had poured nearly all her attention into Xiu, this little brother of hers.

Naturally, most of that was familial affection.

But Xiu's looks were top-tier even among the Uchiha, and his personality was far more mature than that of his peers. So even though he was still young, he sometimes gave her a faint, indescribable feeling.

Especially whenever Xiu slapped away her hand with a look of disgust, or lifted his chin and put on a lofty, superior air, she would always feel an inexplicable thrill in her heart.

It made Izumi feel deeply guilty. She always felt like some kind of pervert.

But asking her not to tease such an impossibly beautiful little brother? That was impossible.

Haha, if I don't say it, no one will know I'm a pervert, right?

Yet as time passed, the threshold for excitement in her heart kept rising. It was like an unreachable itch, calling out morbidly from the deepest depths of her heart, craving more.

And now, with the possibility she had deliberately ignored suddenly exposed by her mother, all Izumi felt was nervousness.

"Oh my~ Sorry, I accidentally said what was on my mind. Looks like Mom was being nosy."

Hazuki narrowed her eyes slightly, looking troubled. "In that case, quite a few ladies in the clan have been paying attention to Xiu lately. They want me to introduce Xiu to their daughters..."

"Ah, ah, ah, no, no!" Izumi hurriedly stepped in front of Xiu, wildly waving both hands as if she were chasing away something filthy. "There's no need for introductions! Xiu is still so young. Even if nobody wants me for the rest of my life, I, his big sister, will take care of him!"

"You're the one nobody wants."

Uchiha Shu rolled his eyes. The disgusted look on his face made the corners of Izumi's lips rise uncontrollably.

"Is that so~?" Hazuki pinched her chin and put on a thoughtful expression. "But that depends on whether Xiu is willing, doesn't it?"

At that, Izumi immediately quieted down. She held her breath, sneaking glances at Xiu's reaction from the corner of her eye as her fingers twisted together unconsciously.

What kind of reaction will Xiu have?

Will he be angry, or happy?

Wait, he won't think I'm a pervert, will he?

"Whatever."

Xiu cast Izumi a sidelong glance. He could tell Hazuki was trying to matchmake them, but he did not feel the slightest resistance—after all, it was not like he would lose out.

Izumi was great. Although she acted like a perverted brother-loving freak, her looks were beyond question. She was worthy of him, and outside of this, she was gentle and gracious, with proper manners. She was the secret crush of countless boys their age.

Still, no one could say for sure when it came to love.

After all, who was he?

A proud transmigrator!

I transmigrated. How could I possibly not build a harem?

What was the point of transmigrating if I wasn't going to build a harem?

Although no girl had caught his eye so far, that did not mean there would not be one in the future!

Did I unlock all these cheats just to play out some pure romance?

What a joke.

The more Uchiha Shu thought about it, the more righteous he felt. He crossed his arms, lifted his chin high, and assumed a classic Uchiha pose.

"Anyway, I'm going to have a harem someday!"

"..."

The moment his words fell, the air turned deathly silent.

Izumi froze where she stood, as though she had been petrified.

Hazuki wiped the sweat from her forehead. "Oh my~ What a truly shocking statement."

"A-a-a... a harem?!" Izumi suddenly snapped out of her shock and shakily reached toward Xiu with both hands. "Xiu, do you know what that word means? Did someone teach you to say that? Are there bad people at school?"

Xiu looked up at Izumi pitifully. "I just want to marry a few more wives. Is that not allowed?"

What kind of words were those? What was that supposed to mean?

Wasn't that obviously not allowed?

Izumi desperately wanted to sternly scold Xiu. Though she knew full well that he was pretending to be pitiful, she simply could not bring herself to be harsh when she saw him like that. Not a single severe word would come out.

Then she gritted her teeth and shut her eyes. "No. I don't agree!"

"Huh? What does me having a harem have to do with whether you agree?" Xiu leaned closer to Izumi, tilting his little head. "You care that much... could it be that you want to be my wife, big sis~?"

Hiss—

A burst of scorching steam seemed to shoot from the top of Izumi's head.

Ahhh, he's too cute!!!

My little brother couldn't possibly be this cute!

Izumi covered her face and crouched down, screaming wildly in her heart.

Hazuki watched the scene and could not help shaking her head.

Izumi had been completely wrapped around Xiu's little finger...

Seeing that Izumi had stopped talking, Xiu resumed his previous arrogant posture and lightly kicked her calf. "Hey~ Electric Shock Girl, is there a problem with me having a harem?"

Izumi covered her face and pretended not to hear him, like a groundhog hiding from reality.

"Alright, Xiu. If this keeps up, Izumi is going to set the tatami on fire." Hazuki sounded amused.

Hazuki was not angry about Xiu declaring that he wanted a harem.

Children's personalities changed easily, and Xiu's personality was even harder to figure out than most.

But no matter what he truly thought, Hazuki believed in Xiu. She believed that he would never mistreat Izumi.

"Honestly, little girls really can't keep their composure." Seeing Izumi's hopeless state, Hazuki shook her head.

As someone who had been through it, she understood very well just how attractive a handsome and powerful boy like Xiu could be to girls.

Even men with families sometimes found their eyes drawn astray by wildflowers outside. In the future, Xiu would surely be surrounded by even more admirers.

Fortunately, this child had an utterly terrible personality. When his sharp tongue got going, even she sometimes got caught in the crossfire.

Moreover, Xiu's standards were incredibly high. Saying that he looked down on everyone would not be an exaggeration. Ordinary girls simply did not enter his eyes.

So she treated all this harem talk as a joke.

Even taking a hundred steps back, if there really was some proud daughter of heaven who could endure Xiu's terrible personality, set aside her own pride, and accept becoming one member of his harem, then... that would be fine too~

After all, she had raised Xiu as her own son. What mother would complain that her son was too popular?

Seeing Izumi looking completely played out, Xiu stopped teasing her and returned to the work he had not finished earlier, helping Hazuki perform Eye-Power Transcription for her ocular technique.

After two consecutive transfers' worth of eye power for Extreme Intangibility, even with his current chakra reserves of 16 Kakashi, he could not help feeling mentally exhausted. Still, he treated it as Yin Release training.

At this point, the protective measures for Hazuki and Izumi were basically complete.

Noticing Xiu's slightly tired appearance, Hazuki felt a little distressed.

Seeing that it was already late, she did not stay any longer. After telling Xiu to rest early, she dragged the reluctant Izumi home.

Click...

As the door closed, the living room returned to silence.

Xiu stood in the entryway, listening as the footsteps outside gradually faded away before turning around and returning to his room.

He placed Shisui's Phantom Body Flicker scroll on the table and stretched lazily.

He was just about to wash his face, then lie down on his bed and properly study this so-called Phantom Body Flicker.

Before he could do anything, however, a faint set of footsteps suddenly sounded outside.

The visitor had not made any effort to conceal them, so even Xiu, a student with little combat experience, could sense the person's movements.

Very soon, the footsteps stopped outside his door.

Xiu raised an eyebrow, walked over, and opened it.

Under the moonlight, a stern, deadpan face looked calmly back at him.

It was Uchiha Fugaku.

PS: Let me make this clear in advance. The protagonist of this book is an arrogant, sadistic brat. He will not take the initiative to provoke others, but once someone targets him, his retaliation will have absolutely no limits or scruples.

He will definitely use methods that kill both body and spirit. Some readers may enjoy that, but it will certainly make other readers uncomfortable.

Everyone has different tastes, so I'm saying this upfront: self-righteous moralists should stay away from the later plot! I warned you!