"Hanabi..." Hinata watched her Imouto worriedly from behind.
"Lastly, Sasuke Uchiha."
"Ah!" Naruto, who had been excited just moments ago, immediately wilted.
"...Team 8... Team 9... Team 10... That's all." Iruka finished assigning the teams.
Naruto could finally hold it in no longer. He stood up and pointed at Sasuke Uchiha. "Teacher Iruka, why does someone as outstanding as me have to be assigned with that guy?!"
"Sasuke had the best overall grades among the graduates, and Hanabi ranked first in the written exams..." Iruka stood with his hands on his hips, looking at Naruto. "And you, Naruto, were dead last!"
Hanabi watched the video with interest.
While Iruka explained things, something resembling labels actually appeared on the video.
When Iruka mentioned Sasuke, the words "Best Overall" appeared. When he mentioned Hanabi, "Best in Theory" appeared. And when he mentioned Naruto, a virtual weight labeled "Dead Last" crushed him.
"To keep every team's strength balanced, this is the only way." Once Iruka finished speaking, laughter broke out across the classroom.
Naruto looked to the side.
Hanabi wore a benevolent smile.
"Don't drag me down, dead last." The cool, kingly Sasuke stared straight ahead.
"What does 'dead last' mean?!" Naruto refused to back down.
"Want to fight, dead last?" Sasuke snorted.
"Bring it on!" Naruto rolled up his sleeves. Hanabi said nothing beside them, merely smiling, but her expression clearly said, Fight! Hurry up and fight!
"That's enough, Naruto. This afternoon, you'll be introduced to your Jonin instructors. All right, dismissed." After Iruka said that, everyone dispersed.
"Want to go get something to eat together? My treat." Hanabi immediately invited them both.
"No." Sasuke turned and left.
[Hanabi, Rejected Three Times]
[Noble Phantasm—Even Though Her Treat Was Rejected Three Times]
[I'm dying, Hanabi's never successfully treated anyone to a meal since episode one]
Hanabi: ???
Was that really the important part here?
She had gained quite a bit of popularity, but this was too ridiculous.
Worried About This Generation of Viewers' Mental State.JPG
"Hey, hey, hey! How could you respond like that when Hanabi's treating?!" Naruto was furious.
"Then Naruto, shall we go? Ichiraku Ramen?" Hanabi looked at Naruto.
"Huh, Ichiraku Ramen!" Naruto's attention instantly shifted away from Sasuke.
"Of course... mm... Ah! N-not today!"
Naruto's expression suddenly changed drastically, and his stomach made a strange noise.
Then he ran off as though fleeing for his life.
[Rejected Four Times Instantly]
[I can't, my stomach hurts from laughing]
[Hahahahaha]
The goofy netizens were having a grand old time.
They were happy, so she would let them laugh.
At that moment, the footage changed as well. It showed the Third Hokage bringing Kakashi into Naruto's home for an inspection, where Kakashi sharply noticed Naruto's expired milk...
"Teacher Kakashi..." Hanabi remained seated, still thinking about how to deal with Kakashi.
Work together with Naruto and Sasuke?
No! No! No!
Cooperate sincerely, then join forces to pass the test?
That could work.
Although Naruto and Sasuke didn't see eye to eye, they actually had great coordination. If they pulled off a combo and shouted a few things about bonds and friendship, Kakashi might really let them pass.
But... there was no drama in that!
Not being interesting was the original sin!
The people on the other side were from 2024, not 1994. That stuff from thirty years ago wouldn't work.
"Mm, decided. We'll do it this way."
Hanabi had come up with a great idea.
This time, no matter what, she had to give Kakashi some psychological trauma.
What if Kakashi went berserk?
Then so be it.
She could go without living, but she couldn't go without creating buzz.
Hanabi decided to make a big splash with Kakashi.
Although there were different worlds and performances, this wasn't the kind of story that rapidly hopped between worlds. Before writing, the author tried every possible way to find foundational materials like setting guides and interviews, unless it was a purely original work with only one anime adaptation.
Fanfiction could certainly be transformative, but the author believed that the prerequisite for transformation was respecting the original setting, creating butterfly effects and buzz based on the original foundation, unless it was something completely absurdist.
Here's something interesting: in Lelouch's world, many authors used to write that tanks could crush mecha, claiming Lelouch's world had never developed tanks and such. But according to the setting, Knightmare Frames had actually replaced those traditional weapons of war.
The fanfiction for Star Rail and Honkai Impact 3rd was even more chaotic, though Honkai Impact 3rd couldn't blame anyone else when it kept contradicting its own lore.
Don't Go by What You Think, Go by What I Think
After that "plot," Hanabi discovered that the Dimensional Popularity Stage had switched to other people.
Kurenai Yuhi went to visit her nominal father, Hyuga Hiashi, because Hinata Hyuga had been assigned to her class, and Hinata was the Hyuga Clan's heir.
Kurenai Yuhi also brought up Hanabi, but the footage switched away as soon as she began speaking.
Hanabi did not care. She could just ask Hiashi about it after returning. The only ones hurt were the viewers.
Next, the footage showed Ino, Shikamaru, and Choji discussing things together.
In the "original work," these scenes should have been used as a flashback.
Because of Hanabi, the latter half of Naruto's third episode had already become completely unrecognizable. Since Sakura Haruno was absent, there was one less round of Love Brain antics.
However, the Dimensional Stage understood what to do and directly used everyday scenes to fill the gap.
"Hanabi."
Hanabi was in the classroom "watching anime" and reading the viewers' comments when Hinata came over.
"Big Sister." Hanabi stood up.
"Um, would you like to eat together?" Hinata asked timidly.
Because of Hanabi's presence, the childhood "plot" between Hinata and Naruto was gone as well. Yet perhaps because of what happened when they were young, Hinata seemed especially nervous whenever she faced Hanabi, almost as if she were avoiding her.
However, every time, Hinata gritted her teeth and persevered. She would not run away because she was nervous.
"Of course~"
Hanabi also loved how adorable Hinata looked when she desperately held herself together.
And amid this daily routine, the third episode finished airing.
The key plot has not concluded. Rewards will be issued after the plot concludes.
The third episode had also been mostly daily life, so even the rewards were not distributed immediately.
After that, almost at once, the Danmaku filled with comments like "First" and "Made it in time."
For Hanabi, only one morning had passed, but the viewers on the other side had waited anxiously for an entire week before finally reaching episode four.
After eating with Hinata and resting for a while, it was time to gather. The Jonin from the other classes had already arrived one after another and led their students away, but Team 7 alone was still being stood up.
"So slow." After glancing outside and finding that the teacher still had not arrived, Naruto, bored out of his mind, grinned mischievously and placed a blackboard eraser above the door.
"How could a Jonin fall for such a clumsy trap?" Sasuke was utterly speechless at Naruto's actions.
[He'll definitely fall for it]
[Obviously, the contrast is the whole point]
[Classic old routine]
[I'm dying]
[Not necessarily. I suspect the Third Hokage might suddenly come in instead, and it'll land on the Hokage's head]
[Hahaha, that'd be even more fun]
The netizens were still having a grand old time.
"He'll definitely fall for it," Hanabi suddenly said.
"Really?" Sasuke looked at Hanabi.
"Mm... Let's put it this way. If a Jonin arrives late and falls for an extremely simple prank trap, Sasuke, what would you think of that Jonin?" Hanabi asked.
"Mm..." Sasuke's expression turned serious. "Contempt? But why?"
"Then what would you think if that Jonin said afterward that there would be a drill or a test?"
"...I'd think it was easy. Wait, could that be their goal?" Sasuke seemed to understand.
"As far as I know, not every graduate can become a Genin. After every exam, don't you still see some familiar faces?" Hanabi said.
Naruto once again fell into confusion over who he was. Sasuke, however, caught on. "That's right. If they failed to become Genin, they wouldn't announce it. They might even avoid us voluntarily out of shame. Could it be that graduates still can't truly become Genin?"
"Who knows~"
[6666]
[Looks like Miss Hanabi is the brains of the group]
[These two, one idiot and one pretentious king, neither looks very smart]
[This is a straight man and funny man duo, a classic pairing]
[Even though my wife doesn't dress like a ninja at all, this intelligence-gathering ability is absolutely something only a real ninja could do]
[Late teacher: I'm on the fifth floor. Hanabi: I'm in the stratosphere]
—This was exactly the effect she wanted.
Hanabi did not care about conspiracy theories or psychological games.
When Kakashi first appeared, he had looked tired and lazy like this. Although the anime had an original episode saying that Kakashi had actually been watching Team 7 the whole time, Hanabi had already scanned the area with her Byakugan—he was not here at all.
Who knew why Kakashi was late? Maybe he had simply taken a nap at noon and arrived late in a daze.
Hanabi's goal was to make the viewers feel that something profound was going on.
I don't care what you think. I care what I think.
What Kakashi thought did not matter. What mattered was making the viewers think Kakashi was thinking exactly as she said.
Hanabi was not guiding Kakashi. She was guiding the viewers.
I, the famous director, Hanabi Hyuga.
"No way." Naruto was dumbstruck. He wondered whether he should take the eraser down now, but taking it down felt wrong, and leaving it there felt wrong too.
At that moment, the classroom door was suddenly pulled open. The blackboard eraser fell onto a head of white hair before dropping to the floor.
The room fell into dead silence.
"—H-he really fell for it?!" Naruto let out a scream.
Before you continue