Besides, it had painted cherry blossoms and other patterns on it, something ordinary shoes did not have. Looking at the texture of those paintings, the grain seemed to imitate the wood's natural grain. That indicated the material used for this thing was masa wood.
In Chinese, "masa" was written with the same character as "coffin," but in Japanese, it referred to wood cut toward the center axis so that the grain formed straight patterns. Wood with non-straight grain was called itame, while straight grain was called masame.
In short, this was quite expensive wood. The Japanese kun-reading of "masa" was masa, the same pronunciation as Japanese kanji such as "elegant," "proper," and "virtuous." This was also a hint that the Hyuga Clan was a major family.
In modern society, Kurodaien Akomachi Geta like these probably started at around 5,000 yen. If masa wood was used, the price would likely triple. And that was for mass-produced modern products. If they were customized with painted designs or handmade, the price would be even more outrageous. In ancient times, the price would have gone through the roof.
And after the Graduation Exam, did any of you notice that Sparkle had changed into another pair of shoes? It was actually pretty obvious—the heel was different. This pair was zori.
These shoes also had a black base and painted designs. In my experience, they should be five-bu three-layer zori—zori made of three layers of leather, each five bu thick.
As I said before, "zori" were not actually straw sandals. Most of these things were made of leather. Think of them as layers upon layers of leather padding replacing the wooden base of geta—that was zori. Price-wise, they started at roughly ten times the Kurodaien Akomachi Geta I mentioned above. If genuine leather or even more precious materials were used, hundreds of thousands of yen or more would not be impossible.
Strictly speaking, these should be "painted five-bu three-layer black-and-red genuine leather zori," starting at 100,000 yen.
There was also etiquette involved in changing shoes here. Geta were generally paired with yukata, and in the past, they were rarely worn with furisode kimono like this. People nowadays wore geta with kimono only because modern people did not pay attention to such details. With proper formal attire, the furisode kimono Sparkle wore should be paired with zori.
This sort of formal dress was generally worn at graduation ceremonies. Sparkle changing shoes on the day she graduated also symbolized that she had become a ninja.
Strictly speaking, she should have worn Yaya Zori at graduation—zori with arrow-like patterns on the sides, symbolizing that "an arrow never returns once fired." They were generally worn at coming-of-age ceremonies, graduations, weddings, or occasions symbolizing a new beginning. Incidentally, those arrow patterns were made into the shoes rather than painted or dyed on, so very few people could make them nowadays. Only a handful of craftsmen could do it. Since Ninja Path had a Japanese style, there should be more people capable of making them.
You could tell from the shoes alone that Sparkle's background was definitely extraordinary. At the very least, she was a rich young lady.
Lastly, lots of people said Lady Sparkle was not wearing tabi, but white stockings. I could confirm that, because the texture truly was not that of tabi. Especially when compared with other characters wearing geta—look closely at the graduation ceremony image. So, based on my many years of appreciating stockings, I boldly predicted that they were definitely white thigh-high stockings!
"Really a pervert..."
Sparkle was dumbfounded when she saw this.
Because before leaving the house, she really had considered wearing another pair of shoes.
These viewers were absolutely insane.
Sparkle continued scrolling down, and what followed was a string of replies.
[I'll add something too. When Sparkle took the Scroll of Sealing from Naruto, the Third Hokage clearly breathed a sigh of relief. That showed the Third Hokage was at ease with Sparkle obtaining the Scroll of Sealing, and it also showed that her background was trusted enough.]
[High-heeled slippers starting at 5,000 yen? That's insane.]
[Three layers of genuine leather. You could tell at a glance that they were expensive.]
[Three layers! The knife-forging competition is still chasing me! I'm going to forge a three-layer Damascus Bowie hunting knife!]
[Why analyze 2D stuff so seriously? In that television drama before, the "poor" heroine said she was so poor she could barely afford food, yet she still lived in a villa, went to Starbucks, and ate at fancy restaurants everywhere. What a joke.]
[The one I watched was even more ridiculous. The male and female leads were facing an unemployment crisis, yet they could just move out of a school district apartment with 12,000 rent whenever they wanted. They drove an SUV, owned two Fords, and had two high school seniors.]
[Don't let television dramas try to ride our 2D coattails. Doghead.JPG.]
[To be fair, if a character wore a gorgeous furisode kimono and acted like a refined young lady in every movement, then unless the director had something wrong with his brain, she was clearly designed as a rich girl. There was no way they could insist she was too poor to afford food!]
[I want to see Sparkle too poor to afford clothes!]
[Shrimp-head, have some ambition! I'm different. I want to see everyone in Konoha too poor to wear clothes.]
[You're getting off topic, getting off topic! Ninja Path is different. Didn't their promotional material say it was a real world?]
[They said it, so you believed it? Was the Trampoline Paradise disaster not enough for you?]
Ninja Path had only aired one episode, yet it had somehow become so inexplicably popular.
But after observing for a while longer, Sparkle understood.
It was not inexplicably popular. Rather, that world had gone a long time without a major long-running anime serialization. With hot money flooding in, the entire animation industry had been churning out short, fast-paced isekai anime, turning the whole industry upside down.
Even well-known 2D websites were being forced to transform.
And just when everyone had suffered under Qin for far too long, a long-lost orthodox hot-blooded anime appeared. Even with only its first episode released, viewers poured immense enthusiasm into it.
"Got it. They'd been holding it in for too long."
Lady Sparkle gave a concise conclusion.
"Next up... ah, the rewards have finally been settled."
The rewards for the anime's first episode were now available to claim.
The author specifically consulted people about the shoes and kimono. Some of those shoes were really fucking outrageously expensive.
If you have any interesting worlds or performances in mind, feel free to mention them.
I actually considered stories like Toji no Miko, but its popularity was rather low. Otherwise, Kanami Etou would have been quite interesting~.
This Is the Self-Cultivation of a Popular Character
The reward for the first broadcast's completion was not points or items, but something more special.
Negotiations with the production team have been completed. Please choose one of the following as your compensation. 1. Independent promotional poster and merchandise production 2. OP1/ED1 appearance opportunity (can be chosen before the end of Episode 5) 3. Independent OVA Filming Opportunity
"Oh my, this really is hard to choose."
After seeing the contents above, Sparkle rarely found herself conflicted.
An independent OVA was no small matter. She was currently a supporting character, so her screen time would always be limited.
Sparkle had already noticed that she gained the most Popularity Points when she appeared alongside the protagonist, Naruto. But in independent scenes without Naruto, the Popularity Points she could obtain were much lower. In an OVA, however, she would be the protagonist. Perhaps she could earn maximum Popularity Points throughout the entire thing and strike it rich in one go.
But the opportunity to appear in the oped was also no small matter. It would better solidify the audience's impression of her. Still, opeds would be replaced.
As for the first option, posters and merchandise sales would provide a steady stream of exposure and Popularity Points. That was not bad either.
After careful consideration, Sparkle chose the oped appearance opportunity.
The same as before: first impressions.
Sparkle knew she was only a supporting character, but she wanted the audience to feel as though she was the true heroine.
In fact, quite a few people had already felt that way after the first episode.
It was just that in hot-blooded anime, girls who appeared in the first episode often vanished starting from the second episode or later, only to become background characters. That happened quite often.
Popularity was all illusory.
Even if she was only a supporting character, as long as the audience saw her as the protagonist, that was enough.
A true idol would never be blinded by the immediate benefits or this so-called stage.
An idol should lead the trends.
Application submitted. The OP/ED will be filmed after Episode 5 has finished filming.
"Let's see."
Other than the Hourglass, which could not be used in "performances," Sparkle currently had 20,000 Popularity Points, one Close-up Camera Card, and one Daily Life Camera Card. She could buy five Random Shot Cards from the shop.
"In the original work, Episode 2 is basically Naruto's personal showcase. I won't be able to save up much Popularity Points, so I might as well use them to improve myself."
Sparkle first bought the Camera Cards, receiving three Close-up Camera Cards and two Daily Life Camera Cards.
The remaining 15,000 Popularity Points were just enough to upgrade her Character Card.
Upgrading a five-star Character Card from LV1 to LV2 required 5,000 Popularity Points, while LV2 to LV3 directly doubled the cost.
"The next 'plot' should be Kakashi and the Land of Waves."
Although she was only a supporting character in terms of stage positioning, this world truly existed. This anime was essentially a "reality show."
In terms of character positioning, Sparkle was the one with the best theoretical scores, and she was Naruto's friend. Naruto also did not have that kind of obsession with the original Sakura Haruno.
It was possible to "defy fate and change one's destiny." But she needed a "reason."
And Sparkle had already provided more than enough reasons.
Well, more importantly, Sparkle had asked her cheap father for a favor, having Hiashi tell the Third Hokage that his daughter's situation was somewhat special and that it would be best for her to become teammates with people she was more familiar with...
If there was a backdoor, why not use it? Hilarious, I'd already rigged things behind the scenes.
Well, she would still have to put on a show when the time came.
The viewers only needed to watch the plot. Lady Sparkle had far more to consider when it came to making shady deals.
Once she had confirmed that she could join Team 7, she naturally had to begin laying out her plans.
"Although it might be useful against Chunin, it's hard to say at the Jonin level. So I should improve my combat strength now."
Even if she could confuse her enemies, it would still be troublesome if her attacks could not break through their defenses.
Shiranui-ryu ninjutsu was fire-based, and she would be suppressed in the Land of Waves.
Sparkle herself could use the Hyuga Clan's Nintaijutsu.
But if she used those trump-card techniques, would she not expose herself? Her early eye-covered character setting would be difficult to maintain. This should be "foreshadowing" meant for a later reversal. Secrets had to be unveiled layer by layer. Revealing her trump card now would also be irresponsible toward the audience.
A good idol should always have a way to make the audience burn with excitement.
"Then, I'll upgrade Jingliu's Character Card."
Strengthening a Character Card was actually strengthening its token. Sparkle removed her black gauze eye mask, then upgraded it.
"—!!!"
When the level rose to LV3, Sparkle clearly felt a strange icy radiance flow from the eye mask into her mind.
It was a sensation that mixed bone-piercing cold with an abnormal killing intent.
Character Inheritance Card Transcendent Flash - Jingliu LV3 Rarity: Five Stars Talents/Skills: Ice Affinity, Yin Affinity, Swordsmanship Affinity Bonus: Attention +10% when wearing Chinese-style attire Token: Eye-covering Black Veil - Eye Mask Token function: Increases Attention by 12% while worn, cultivation speed +12%, and grants enhanced perception LV3 Additional Talent: Ancient Mirror Reflecting Divinity Ancient Mirror Reflecting Divinity (2/2): For every 7 consecutive days the Eye-covering Black Veil is worn, resonance with Jingliu may be activated once.
At LV3, Level 7, and LV10, Character Cards would provide unique skills.
Unfortunately, Sparkle could not continue upgrading it, because the Popularity Points needed to go from LV3 to LV4 increased tenfold, rising from 10,000 to 100,000.
"Resonance?"
Ancient Mirror Reflecting Divinity seemed to be Jingliu's original ability. It seemed to create a frozen domain, but the Character Card's ability was resonance?
"Lady Sparkle, it's time to wash up." Natsu Hyuga's voice came from outside the door.
Today was the rest day after the exam, and they were going to take graduation photos. So Natsu Hyuga wanted to dress Sparkle up properly.
"Mm."
As for this so-called "resonance," she would try it after handling her proper business.
[First!]
[Seven years! I waited a whole seven years!]