"..." Sasuke said nothing, his face grave.
Kakashi wordlessly picked up the blackboard eraser from the ground.
He was clearly the one who had been hit by the eraser, so why did Naruto look like he was the one who had fallen for a trap?
Come on, I'm the one who got hit.
"Well, anyway, my first impression of you is... rather strange."
Kakashi led the three of them up to the rooftop.
"Let's start with introductions." Kakashi sat on the railing and looked at the three of them. "Hey, hey, don't look so serious."
Kakashi was genuinely baffled.
These three, Naruto and Sasuke especially, looked like they were about to fight a boss.
"Um, shouldn't you introduce yourself first, Teacher?" Naruto spoke up first. "Like your weaknesses, and how we can defeat you."
"Weaknesses? Ah, so that's what this is."
Kakashi looked at Sparkle beside him.
Naruto and Sasuke were both alone, so they lacked common knowledge about ninjas. But Sparkle was different. She definitely knew the whole process. If they failed the upcoming exercise, they would have to return to the Ninja Academy for remedial training.
Back in the Third Hokage's crystal ball, Sparkle had already revealed the matter of the three-person team.
—So getting hit by that blackboard eraser had instead made them think it was deliberate, putting them on guard?
Kakashi wanted to say that he simply hadn't cared about a brat's prank.
Why had things turned out like this?
Sparkle merely smiled.
First, she would let Naruto and Sasuke misunderstand. Then, after everything was over, she would tell them the truth.
She would first create suspense through a misunderstanding, then deliver a reversal at the end. For a story, that kind of development was far more interesting.
An extra who didn't want to be a director wasn't a good idol.
"Don't be so tense." Kakashi sighed. "Simply put, your name, what you like, what you hate, your dreams for the future, that sort of thing."
After saying that, Kakashi continued weakly, "My name is Kakashi Hatake. I don't want to tell you what I like or dislike. As for my dreams for the future... hobbies... I have many."
"That told us absolutely nothing!" Naruto had wanted to pry out some information. According to what Sparkle had said, there was definitely going to be some terrifying test later. But this guy clearly wasn't willing to reveal anything.
"Then I'll go next."
Following Naruto's complaint, Sparkle was the first to introduce herself.
"My name is Hanabi Hyuga. What I like is Sparkle. What I hate is anything boring. My dream is to bloom as brilliantly as Sparkle, and as for my hobbies, my, there are far too many."
"As brilliantly as Sparkle..."
Kakashi did know a little about that. Sparkle's gorgeous attire was just as dazzling as fireworks.
"Because she cannot see them, she longs for radiant 'sparkles'?" Kakashi pondered inwardly.
"My turn, my turn!" Naruto began his introduction as well. "My name is Naruto Uzumaki. What I like best—what I like even more—is the Ichiraku Ramen that Sparkle and Teacher Iruka treat me to. My hobby is competing with people to see who can eat ramen faster. What I hate most is waiting three minutes for ramen. And my dream for the future is to surpass the Hokage!"
[Sparkle: Are you being polite?!] [Sparkle has never successfully treated anyone to a meal, 2333] [A scene that does not exist in the main story: Sparkle treating someone]
Those idiot viewers always focused on the strangest things.
So they really weren't going to let the treating-people-to-food joke go, huh?!
Come to think of it, there was something strange in the original work here.
There were clearly ten classes, yet only twenty-seven people graduated.
Was Kishimoto bad at math, or had I fallen under Kyoka Suigetsu? It couldn't possibly be that there were classes with only two people, right?
"My name is Sasuke Uchiha. There are many things I hate, and nothing much that I like. Also, though I do not wish to merely speak of dreams, I have ambitions—I will revive my clan, and kill a certain man."
Sasuke's words made the atmosphere turn cold.
"Alright, the three of you are all quite distinctive. Very interesting, I understand." Kakashi spoke in his usual listless tone. "I don't know how much Sparkle has told you, but anyway, tomorrow there will be a survival exercise."
Kakashi had wanted to start by frightening them, but because of Sparkle's "spoilers," it would not have much effect now.
"So it's here."
Sure enough, as soon as Kakashi finished speaking, Sasuke looked at him. Naruto did not quite understand the situation, but he straightened his posture as well.
"Of all the graduates, only nine will become genin. The rest will be sent back to the academy. In other words, this is an extremely difficult test with an elimination rate exceeding sixty percent."
"Then why did we even take the Graduation Exam?!" Naruto was startled.
Sasuke, meanwhile, silently watched Kakashi.
Though Kakashi had wanted to put on a deliberately profound act, Naruto seemed to be the only one who had been frightened.
"That was merely a preliminary selection for those qualified to become genin. Anyway, that's how it is. I will determine whether you have what it takes to become ninjas. Remember to bring a set of ninja tools. Gather at the training ground at five tomorrow morning. That is your first mission. Alright, dismissed."
Kakashi stood up.
"Ah, right. Remember not to eat breakfast. You'll throw up."
After making those ominous remarks, Kakashi left.
The newly formed Team 7 temporarily disbanded as well.
Once the group dispersed, Kakashi left immediately. The Live Broadcast feed went black at that moment.
"Looks like the camera won't be needed today." Sparkle quietly put away the camera.
The current situation was not suitable for taking pictures.
But Sparkle had originally wanted to photograph Naruto and Sasuke, and her goal had already been achieved.
Sasuke Uchiha silently stood up, preparing to go back and ready his ninja tools. He was thinking about how to deal with that Jonin.
Because of what Sparkle had said earlier, Kakashi had become a sinister villain in Sasuke and Naruto's minds, someone who wanted them to lower their guard before kicking them back to the Ninja Academy.
"I finally graduated. How can I get eliminated here—" Naruto silently made up his mind.
Sparkle stood up as well. "Then I'll see you tomorrow. Just in time, I need to investigate a few things."
This gave her future actions a reasonable "excuse."
Especially when it came to intelligence, it had to be "reasonable" for the viewers to believe it.
Sparkle's every word and action remained as elegant as ever.
Before the public, she was as gentle as a Yamato Nadeshiko. Before people she knew, she could be playful and lively. Yet her true nature was that of a slightly bratty little devil with a sweet exterior and dark heart. That was the persona Sparkle had set for herself on screen.
Though the Live Broadcast had ended for now, a qualified idol's stage was everywhere.
Sparkle really did gather some information about Kakashi.
There was not much information about Kakashi's time in the Anbu, but he had another identity: he was the Fourth Hokage's student. He was also known as Konoha's Copy ninja, so information about him was fairly easy to find.
After properly resting and recovering her strength, Sparkle arrived at the training ground early the next morning.
When Naruto and Sasuke arrived at the training ground, rubbing their eyes, Sparkle was kneeling on a picnic mat with her eyes closed, meditating.
"Sparkle, you came so early!" Naruto was still bleary-eyed, but the moment he saw Sparkle, he seemed to wake up and hurried over.
"Good morning, Naruto, Sasuke." Sparkle greeted them as well.
After speaking, Sparkle closed her eyes again.
"What are you doing?"
At first, Sasuke had not thought much of Sparkle. Being ranked first in theory only meant she had good written test scores. That was nothing; ninja strength was determined by combat ability.
But that day, Sasuke had seen the destroyed training ground. At that moment, he realized that she seemed never to have used her full strength at the academy.
"I'm meditating." Sparkle kept her eyes closed.
Of course, she was doing much more than merely meditating.
After her Performance Outfit had been upgraded, Sparkle had kept Training Mode active at all times.
As she sat there now, she actually could not move at all, because Sparkle had infused Chakra into her Performance Outfit and activated gravity amplification mode. Under the combined effects of gravity and restraint, she was completely unable to move.
She could not move an inch while under gravity, but as long as she remained in that state, Sparkle's strength would slowly increase. So whenever she had nothing to do, she would activate gravity mode while resting.
As long as it didn't crush her to death, she would crank it up until it did.
"Meditating?" Naruto tilted his head. "But Teacher Kakashi will be here soon, right?"
"No. Teacher Kakashi definitely won't come this early," Sparkle said.
"Huh? Then when will he come?" Naruto froze.
"Mm, wait a few more hours." Sparkle said, "You should get some rest. I can let you use my lap as a pillow."
"What? That guy really is unreliable..."
Naruto did not ask to use her lap as a pillow. Instead, he lay down beside her and immediately fell asleep, snoring away.
Sasuke set down his bag as well. "If you knew he wouldn't come this early, why did you arrive so soon?"
"Because this is a 'mission,'" Sparkle said. "A ninja's foremost duty is to complete missions. At the academy, we were responsible for ourselves, so being late did not matter. But this mission was an order issued by Teacher Kakashi, so naturally, we had to be responsible to the client. Teacher Kakashi could be late, but we could not."
"A mission..."
Sasuke sat down on the picnic mat as well and closed his eyes to rest.
[Sparkle: I predicted your prediction] [Damn, he won't even take my wife's lap pillow? Kid, don't fail to appreciate kindness] [Let go of Naruto and let me enjoy my wife's lap pillow!] [As expected of my wife. When she said she had things to investigate earlier, did she search through Kakashi's family history for three generations?] [The dialogue here is actually pretty good. Intelligence is the most important thing for ninjas, and a ninja's goal is to complete missions. Sparkle immediately pointed out the theme of ninjas] [Then why don't you tell us how it develops afterward, expert?] [I think it should be a demonstration of the power system and worldview. Either way, they'll definitely pass an exam in a hot-blooded manga. Afterward, it should be Kakashi's teaching battle against the three ninja]
Sparkle had expected the viewers' Danmaku, but the title "three ninja" still nearly made her lose composure, because the Naruto World really did have three ninja...
Kakashi teaching the three ninja? Well, that was quite a strange scene.
"Good morning." Near noon, Kakashi finally arrived late. "A black cat crossed in front of me, so I was delayed~"
Sparkle gave the deeply sleeping Naruto a push.
"Wah, is it starting?!"
Naruto instantly jumped up.
"The mission is finally beginning?" Sasuke stood up as well.
"Huh?"
Kakashi felt that these people's reactions were vastly different from what he had expected.
Sparkle stood up too and put away the picnic mat.
"My, my. You really are nothing like those obedient children from before." The three of them were completely unlike the well-behaved kids Kakashi had encountered in previous years.
"Gathering intelligence is the foundation of all foundations." Sparkle said, "After all, when facing a Jonin like Teacher Kakashi, we can't hold back even a little."
As Sparkle spoke, she loosened a few belts and adjusted her clothes. She had already switched off Training Mode and returned to her usual state.
"Hm? Eh?"
Naruto was instantly caught off guard, and all traces of sleepiness vanished.
Sparkle had also used a Close-up Camera Card.
Sparkle slowly pulled up the hem of her original kimono skirt.
Before you continue