Multi-Anime, I Stand at the Forefront of Popularity Supremacy

"Alright!" Naruto was the first to charge out.

"You idiot, you'll run out of stamina if you keep running like this!" Sasuke quickly followed.

The two of them, wearing weights, had to navigate through the mountains and forests, which was no simple task.

"Alright." Seeing their backs, Sparkle nodded.

"Oh dear, oh dear." Kakashi scratched his head.

Right now, these two were full of confidence. Once they entered the forest, they would probably realize what surprises awaited them...

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Some rewards are actually distributed by the author in the form of Anko.

The ODM gear is inspired by Attack on Titan.

ODM gear and the grappling hook... they surprisingly match well!

Chapter 22: Master Director Sparkle

"I... I can't walk anymore..."

"Idiot, you can't keep this up if you're running and jumping around like that."

As noon approached, Naruto had almost completely exhausted his stamina. Sasuke, standing beside him, was speechless.

After entering the forest, Naruto had been leaping and bounding around, looking everywhere. His activity level was at least three times higher than Sasuke's.

"Let's rest here for a bit."

As luck would have it, they arrived at a ranger's cabin. Sasuke took out his notebook from his backpack, found a stamp inside the cabin, and stamped it in the notebook. He then checked off the patrol item.

Patrolling wasn't a time for slacking off. Every patrol point required a "check-in."

Furthermore, one couldn't just slack off. If any safety hazards occurred in an area that had already been inspected and checked off, accountability would be enforced.

Although Naruto was leaping around, he was at least thorough when it came to inspections.

"I'm exhausted." Naruto collapsed onto the ground, sprawled out.

Sasuke, on the other hand, stretched his limbs.

"The hardest part about carrying weights is endurance. It doesn't feel like much weight at first, but after walking for half the day, it becomes quite unbearable."

Sasuke fell into thought.

Back in the Ninja Academy, he hadn't fought Sparkle, or rather, the girls and boys usually fought separately.

As one of the few girls who didn't bother him, Sasuke had a decent impression of Sparkle, but this impression never extended to her "strength."

However, yesterday, Sparkle had been able to direct him and Naruto to get the bells from Kakashi, an Upper Ninja.

"Is my strength still not enough..."

After eating their rations and resting for a while, Naruto became active again: "Sasuke, Sasuke, it's time to go!"

"Take it easy, idiot."

Sasuke was somewhat speechless. Naruto's consumption was several times his own, yet he had now bounced back and was full of energy again. It was truly bizarre.

"Heh heh, I'll tell you a secret."

Naruto winked at Sasuke, looking as if he was saying, "I don't tell just anyone."

"Actually, I've been to this place several times. I've even fished here and met Grandpa Third Hokage a few times. I know this place really well!"

Sasuke finally understood why Naruto was so excited.

So, the Monkey King had returned to his Flower-Fruit Mountain.

"There's nothing dangerous around here, just listen to me—"

Naruto's words suddenly cut off mid-sentence.

Because at that moment, a rustling sound came from the grass in front of him.

"Naruto, get back." Sasuke drew a kunai, feeling a bit tense himself. "Who's there? Come out!"

"Pfft—"

A young wild boar leaped out from the grass.

"Haha, what was that all about?"

Naruto breathed a sigh of relief. But then, Naruto felt a tremor beneath his feet.

"Is it an earthquake?" Naruto scratched his head.

Sasuke's pupils constricted, and he immediately sensed something.

"Get back, idiot!"

Sasuke pulled Naruto, who was walking towards the wild boar.

And in the very next moment, a wild boar as large as a hill charged out from within.

The wild boar was clearly quite angry, its eyes blood red. It let out strange squeals, and with every step it took, it seemed to shake the entire mountain forest.

"Waaah!" The giant wild boar made Naruto yelp in surprise too.

"Run!"

Sasuke pulled Naruto along as they began a desperate sprint.

"Damn it, these weights—"

Sasuke immediately wanted to take off the weights, but he discovered that while they were easy to put on, they weren't so convenient to take off!

Since they couldn't be removed, their only option was to run with all their might.

It was incredible, really. The two of them had already expended a lot of energy and hadn't recovered, yet now their speed was quite remarkable.

"Isn't this a bit much?" Kakashi and Sparkle, watching from the treetops as the two were chased by the "pig express," felt that Sparkle might have gone a little too far.

"It's just right."

Sparkle smiled, but combined with the half-fox mask on her face, it gave the impression that she was thoroughly enjoying herself.

"Both Naruto and Sasuke have excellent physical strength and abilities. But they're completely wasting their potential," Sparkle said. "They're already twelve years old and about to enter puberty. Strengthening their training is only natural."

"The so-called chakra originates from the hundreds of trillions of cells within the human body."

Yes, the human cells in the Naruto World were more than double those in the "real" world.

"But children haven't developed strong bodies yet, and many at this age can't even use ninjutsu."

Sasuke could use the Great Fireball Technique. In Kakashi's opinion, that was already quite genius.

It was like a twenty-kilogram dumbbell; an adult could lift it, but it wouldn't be so easy for a child. A child's physique was smaller, and they didn't have as many cells as an adult, making it difficult to refine enough chakra to use ninjutsu.

But Naruto and Sasuke were exceptions.

"The education in the Ninja Academy is general education, but for elites, specialized elite education is necessary," Sparkle said.

"I didn't expect you to have such high opinions of them," Kakashi said, a little surprised.

"Teacher Kakashi also has a very high evaluation from me. If Teacher Kakashi could pull himself together, I think you could even go toe-to-toe with the Sannin, fifty-fifty," Sparkle said with a smile.

"Don't joke. Facing the Sannin, I'd be lucky to hold my own," Kakashi replied, then looked at Sparkle. "I'm also a bit curious about your training, Sparkle."

"It's swords," Sparkle said. "My greatest skill is with a sword."

An unexpected answer.

Then, Sparkle extended her right hand, while forming a hand seal with her left.

"Ephemeral Bloom and Decay—"

An ice sword materialized in Sparkle's hand.

"Secret Sword: Ephemeral Bloom."

"Ice Style?!" Kakashi exclaimed, but then he realized that wasn't quite right. "Wait, is it... a summoning jutsu?"

Sparkle recalled the feeling of synchronizing with Jingliu in her memories. Her body moved with the sword, elegant and beautiful, yet within this beauty, there seemed to be a certain danger.

"You're going to show me something like this?" Kakashi asked.

"Why not?"

This was one of her trump cards, but not her absolute trump card.

So, at a time like this, having someone "endorse" her was naturally the best choice. Although Kakashi was very unreliable, Sparkle chose him at this moment because he wouldn't pry too deeply into this matter.

With Kakashi's "endorsement," using such a move in Konoha later wouldn't be such a big problem.

"If it's alright, I'd like to experience Teacher Kakashi's swordsmanship. Teacher Kakashi, since you have nothing else to do, why don't we spar?"

"Ahem, your teacher has lost his way on the path of life. Swordsmanship and the like, let's just forget about it."

While it couldn't be said that he had completely abandoned it, Kakashi's family's swordsmanship had indeed been tossed aside somewhere.

The key was that Kakashi couldn't be forceful. If he were to be forceful, Sparkle might just put on another live performance right in front of him.

While the two were conversing, Naruto and Sasuke on the other side had already crossed a river and arrived in front of a waterfall.

"Jump, Sasuke, jump!" Naruto was about to jump when he noticed Sasuke had stopped in place.

"Idiot, we're carrying weights. If we jump in, we'll sink to the bottom!" Sasuke tried to cut the weights with a kunai but found he couldn't do anything.

"There's no other way, so let's—defeat this guy here!"

Naruto gritted his teeth. It was a dead end: "Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

Countless clones charged towards the enraged wild boar, but they all turned to dust. The mountain-like boar was like an unstoppable freight train, determined to let Naruto and Sasuke experience the greatness of this "momentum!"

"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!" Animals were afraid of fire. Sasuke immediately used the Great Fireball, hoping to stop the wild boar.

Unexpectedly, the wild boar, after being hit by the Great Fireball, didn't retreat. Instead, it became even more enraged.

"Sasuke, use ropes! As many as you can!" Naruto suddenly had a flash of inspiration.

What good would ropes do?

Sasuke didn't believe he and Naruto had the strength to stop the wild boar with ropes.

But after hearing Naruto's words, Sasuke's hands moved faster than his brain. Facing the charging wild boar, he wrapped it in ropes, loop after loop. However, just as Sasuke had thought, these ropes couldn't restrain the wild boar at all.

"Give it to me!" Naruto took the ropes and leaped down below the waterfall.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

"...So that's it, using Shadow Clones to increase the weight!"

Hundreds of Narutos pressed down on the ropes, while hundreds more appeared on the boar's flanks.

"One, two! Charge!"

Countless Narutos charged forward. The already fragile cliff face even collapsed a section, causing the wild boar to nearly fall. However, the boar was surprisingly agile and managed to maintain its balance at the last moment.

"Hiyah!"

At the crucial moment, Sasuke rushed forward and kicked the wild boar, becoming the final straw that broke the camel's back.

"Oink—!"

The wild boar, which had been red-eyed, seemed to regain its senses in mid-air, but it was already too late. With a thud, it fell below the waterfall.

"Naruto!"

Sasuke went to the edge of the cliff and looked down, only to find Naruto hanging upside down. A red rope held Naruto's foot. The owner of the rope was Sparkle, standing to the side.

And Kakashi stood not far away, holding Icha Icha Paradise.

"I see."

Sasuke also lay down on the ground.

Now it all made sense.

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