diff --git a/changelog.d/9005-keep-migrated-index.md b/changelog.d/9005-keep-migrated-index.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..8e0da1424b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/changelog.d/9005-keep-migrated-index.md
@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+`delete obj[k]` stops rebuilding the shape key index — for real this time.
+
+#9002 shifted the index onto the post-delete keys array, but the delete tail
+ends with `shape_drop` on that same array, so the migrated index was discarded
+immediately and the next lookup rebuilt it by re-hashing every surviving key
+name. (#9002's own measured win came from pruning the STALE old entry, not
+from preserving a usable index; its description has been corrected.)
+
+A migrated index is *shifted to match* the compacted array, so it is current,
+not stale. Skipping the drop when the migration succeeded is what actually
+stops the rebuild. Everything else is unchanged: a partially built index, or a
+delete that took another path, still drops exactly as before.
+
+Interleaved A/B, min-of-15 at quiet load (~1.0): `bench_populated_delete`
+4361 → **2781 ms, −36.2%** (mean −36.2%). Combined overwrite and
+realistic-name read unchanged.
+
+Cumulative across #9000–#9003 and this: **5938 → 2781 ms, −53.2%** on perry's
+worst object-model gap. Suite 2787 passed, no warnings; adversarial property
+differential byte-identical to node.
diff --git a/crates/perry-runtime/src/object/delete_rest.rs b/crates/perry-runtime/src/object/delete_rest.rs
index a4889cf18d..d942ec8048 100644
--- a/crates/perry-runtime/src/object/delete_rest.rs
+++ b/crates/perry-runtime/src/object/delete_rest.rs
@@ -375,7 +375,7 @@ pub extern "C" fn js_object_delete_field(
         // property name. On a 500-key object that rebuild ran on EVERY delete.
         // A wrong index can only cause a miss — `shape_slot_lookup` validates
         // the stored key against the requested bytes before returning a slot.
-        super::shapes::shape_index_migrate_after_delete(
+        let index_migrated = super::shapes::shape_index_migrate_after_delete(
             keys as usize,
             keys_cloned as usize,
             i as u32,
@@ -458,7 +458,13 @@ pub extern "C" fn js_object_delete_field(
         //    not eagerly deleted because a sibling may still name one; exact
         //    new facts are published below and weak post-trace pruning retires
         //    dead historical descriptors.
-        crate::object::shapes::shape_drop(crate::object::object_keys_array(obj));
+        // ...unless the migration above already shifted it to match the
+        // compacted array, in which case it is CURRENT, not stale, and
+        // dropping it would throw away the rebuild this is meant to avoid —
+        // the next lookup would re-hash every surviving key name.
+        if !index_migrated {
+            crate::object::shapes::shape_drop(crate::object::object_keys_array(obj));
+        }
         1
     }
 }
diff --git a/crates/perry-runtime/src/object/shapes_slot_list.rs b/crates/perry-runtime/src/object/shapes_slot_list.rs
index 3866aae596..bc2a1ae521 100644
--- a/crates/perry-runtime/src/object/shapes_slot_list.rs
+++ b/crates/perry-runtime/src/object/shapes_slot_list.rs
@@ -126,23 +126,27 @@ pub(crate) fn record_shape_scan_outcome(
 /// index that is wrong produces a MISS and the caller's own fallback, never a
 /// wrong property. Only a fully-built index is carried over; a partially built
 /// one is dropped and rebuilt as before.
+///
+/// Returns whether the index was actually carried over: the delete tail uses
+/// that to skip the `shape_drop` that would otherwise discard it immediately.
+#[must_use]
 pub(crate) fn shape_index_migrate_after_delete(
     old_keys_id: usize,
     new_keys_id: usize,
     removed_slot: u32,
     old_key_count: u32,
-) {
+) -> bool {
     if old_keys_id == 0 || new_keys_id == 0 || old_keys_id == new_keys_id {
-        return;
+        return false;
     }
     let mut inner = crate::state::state().shapes.inner.borrow_mut();
     let Some(mut index) = inner.indices.remove(&old_keys_id) else {
-        return;
+        return false;
     };
     if index.indexed_len < old_key_count {
         // Partially built: shifting it would leave the un-indexed tail
         // misaligned. Dropping it preserves the previous behaviour exactly.
-        return;
+        return false;
     }
     index.slots.retain(|_, list| {
         list.retain_shift(removed_slot);
@@ -150,4 +154,5 @@ pub(crate) fn shape_index_migrate_after_delete(
     });
     index.indexed_len = old_key_count - 1;
     inner.indices.insert(new_keys_id, index);
+    true
 }