I Stand at the Forefront of Popularity Supremacy

Characters like Uchiha Hikari, who don't affect the original story but can enrich the plot, are allowed to keep their chance to appear.

Chapter 3: Oh No, It's That Heart-Pounding Feeling!

[Ah, why is the face still covered!]

[Behind the umbrella is a mask, and behind the mask is an eye patch—folks, is this reasonable?]

[Oh no, it's that heart-pounding feeling]

[Wife, a new generation wife has appeared~]

[Wifey, this is my wifey]

[Long black hair! Long black hair! Long black hair!]

[Three minutes, I want all the info on this woman!]

[Wait, that sock just now wasn't a tabi, it was white stockings!]

[Give the cameraman a raise]

[Likes, this bro is really something]

[Is the person above already babbling nonsense?]

[It appeared, the reversal freak!]

[The last kimono girl this pretty was Ryougi Shiki]

Just when everyone thought they'd get a glimpse of her beauty, they never expected that Lady Sparkle's face still had an eye patch covering it.

This crimson outfit and the entrance like a pipa half-hidden behind a veil really whetted the audience's appetite.

And right before Lady Sparkle's eyes, her Popularity Points were skyrocketing.

At first it was +1, +1 like that, but as the camera spiraled upward, all the way until she finally removed her mask, the popularity exploded exponentially, eventually reaching 10,000 points, and the last wave hit about 20,000 points before slowing down.

This Close-up Camera Card was totally worth it!

"What's this, it's Lady Sparkle."

Naruto was startled when Lady Sparkle called out to him.

But after realizing it was Lady Sparkle, Naruto relaxed. The two had a decent relationship, and Lady Sparkle was one of Naruto's few friends. She didn't care about others' opinions and often treated Naruto to Ichiraku Ramen, listening to him brag about his pranks. Over time, Naruto grew more and more fond of showing off in front of her.

Just like now, Naruto waved his hand: "Lady Sparkle, Lady Sparkle, those guys just now—I had them running in circles! Hahaha~"

Lady Sparkle seemed to accidentally appear in the shot, stunning the audience for a moment, then the camera naturally returned to Naruto. After the cut, Lady Sparkle's Popularity Points stopped rising, since the new anime had only been airing for two minutes.

"Wait. Lady Sparkle, isn't this class time? Why are you here?" The scatterbrained Naruto suddenly thought of this.

"Yeah, it's class time, so what are you doing here!"

Another voice appeared, startling Naruto. The speaker was Umino Iruka, whose anger bar was already maxed out.

"I-Iruka-sensei!"

Naruto was caught red-handed by the furious Iruka, looking quite helpless.

"And you, Lady Sparkle. If something comes up, please have Hinata tell me in advance. No need to push yourself." Iruka then looked at Lady Sparkle, aware of some of her "inconveniences."

"Hi." Lady Sparkle followed behind Iruka, and the three of them headed to the Ninja Academy together.

[Double standards]

[Don't misuse words, it's called contrast]

[The young lady's name is Lady Sparkle, what a good name!]

[Lady Sparkle, I'm your dog!]

[Sounds like there's a backstory?]

[Is she the heroine?]

[The first female character to appear is often the loser; the heroine always drops in from nowhere, got it?]

Another string of comments floated across the danmaku, with many discussing Lady Sparkle's background.

Unfortunately, the entire screen then went black and paused.

"Although it's a livestream, it seems the Dimensional Stage can adjust the flow of time between the two worlds?" Lady Sparkle noticed the key point.

It wasn't until the three arrived at the classroom and Iruka started scolding Naruto that the screen finally lit up again.

"Listen up, Naruto. You failed the test last time and the time before that. Now's not the time for pranks, you brat!"

"Hmph~" Naruto turned his head away dismissively. But this clearly angered Iruka.

Iruka turned to everyone: "Today's lesson is a review test on the Transformation Technique! Those who've already passed, line up too!"

"Eh?!" A chorus of groans came from below.

Then, the screen went dark again, only brightening when everyone had lined up and Lady Sparkle appeared.

Lady Sparkle was first in her grade, so she went first.

[It's wifey Lady Sparkle!]

[This wife's art style is just different from everyone else's!]

[Too beautiful!]

Among the crowd dressed in casual clothes, Hanabi's red furisode kimono outfit was truly one of a kind.

Hanabi's figure was very petite. The bow on the back of her kimono belt was especially large.

This contrast made her stand out even more.

More importantly, every scene where Hanabi appeared was in high-definition quality!

"Hanabi Hyuga, starting~" Without forming any hand seals, Hanabi picked up the fox mask from before. As she put it on and spun around, she transformed into Umino Iruka's appearance.

On the small screen, the camera cleverly used horizontal pans and cutaway transitions to complete Hanabi's transformation.

"A Transformation Jutsu without hand seals. No matter how many times I see it, it's still stunning, Hanabi." Iruka nodded. "Good. Next."

"Hi~"

Another spin, and Hanabi had removed the mask, reverting to her original appearance.

The genius of "Transformation Jutsu" and "Genjutsu"—this was the "persona" Hanabi had crafted for herself. This persona didn't necessarily have to be real; as long as the audience believed it was real, that was enough.

The Transformation Jutsu went without saying—it was the signature skill inherited from her character.

And the genjutsu talent on Hanabi's character card was also absurdly high. This genjutsu was different from the one in the Naruto World, more akin to an innate talent or instinct.

Although it couldn't yet compare to outrageous genjutsu like Tsukuyomi, it was still stronger than ordinary genjutsu.

"Sakura Haruno, starting~" A pink-haired girl entered the frame. This was Sakura Haruno, the "Eternal Second" ranked behind Hanabi in the written exam.

After forming hand seals, she transformed into Iruka's appearance and passed the test smoothly.

Then Sakura immediately looked at Sasuke beside her. "Sasuke-kun, did you see that?"

Though the real world couldn't see it, on the Dimensional Stage's screen, Hanabi could see a close-up of Sakura's inner thoughts.

"It looks like this livestream might actually be helpful for combat and information gathering."

"Next, Sasuke Uchiha."

One test after another proceeded. The third was the cool little prince, the designated Pressure King of Naruto, Sasuke Uchiha.

After completing his transformation, Sasuke Uchiha shoved his hands in his pockets and walked coldly to the side.

[I give that act a perfect score]

[Looks like we've got the female lead #2 and male lead #2]

[Wait, haven't you guys noticed something strange? Why is everyone forming hand seals except Hanabi?]

[What's there to ask? Lady Sparkle is special!]

[Hanabi, that woman who could become my mother—what's wrong with her being a little special?]

[So my wife's surname is Hyuga.]

[Doesn't matter what her surname is, she'll take mine in the future~]

The topic was generating quite a bit of buzz.

Hanabi nodded to herself. It was worth stacking 45% Attention. She'd also figured out the use of Attention—it seemed to help draw the audience's gaze, accelerating the accumulation of Popularity.

But as Naruto Uzumaki appeared, the audience's attention was drawn back to the protagonist. Especially when Naruto used the Sexy Jutsu, the barrage exploded with bizarre comments like "This is the real female lead."

Hanabi seriously considered this issue too.

Though she hadn't started causing trouble yet, Hanabi was thinking: if Naruto actually turned into a girl for interactions, wouldn't that be interesting?

Come to think of it, Hanabi remembered that in one of the Naruto movie editions, there really was a Permanent Transformation Jutsu—the kind where you change and can't change back.

That would definitely be interesting, but the key was how she could gain Popularity from it. It wasn't like she could just snuggle up to a gender-bent Naruto, right?

No, if her Popularity was high enough, it wasn't impossible...

As always, it was fine to not survive, but she couldn't be boring.

"I've accumulated quite a bit of Popularity now."

Hanabi opened her panel. Her Popularity had reached 30,000 points.

Thirty thousand Popularity points could be used to upgrade her character card's level.

Jingliu and Hanabi's character cards were currently LV1. Upgrading this kind of gold card to LV2 required 5,000 Popularity points, and from LV2 to LV3, 10,000.

But aside from that, Hanabi had another option.

After the "Ninja Path" started broadcasting, the Dimensional Popularity Stage had added a "Popularity Points Shop."

[This Period's Available Items]

[Resonance Character Card (Purple): A random character card of purple quality. The character unlocked is related to the current world's theme. Obtained randomly when the stage opens. Current world-related characters: Ninja. Purchase limit: 1/1]

[Price: 25,000 Popularity Points]

[Random Shot Card: Unlocks a shot card with a random effect. Purchase limit: 5/5]

[Price: 1,000 Popularity Points]

Should she upgrade her existing Character Card, or buy a new one?

Sparkle was deep in thought.

Ever since the New Anime began, Sparkle had been pondering her own position.

In this world, what she needed most was popularity.

Becoming the protagonist naturally brought popularity, but the surface-level protagonist wasn't always the most popular.

For example, in Bleach, the most popular character wasn't Ichigo Kurosaki—it was Aizen.

Sparkle had considered a similar approach.

Just think about it: she'd first build a friendship with Naruto, then stab him through the heart, and walk away coolly with a line like "Admiration is the furthest distance from understanding"... Wouldn't that be great?

"Ah-choo—!"

Naruto, who had just been scolded by Iruka, suddenly felt a chill run down his spine and couldn't help sneezing.

"Even an idiot can catch a cold, huh." Shikamaru Nara looked at Naruto.

"This great lord is the man who's gonna become Hokage! How could I catch a cold?!" Naruto shouted.

"Naruto!" Iruka's roar echoed again, and the classroom descended into chaos once more.

Meanwhile, Sparkle's gaze shifted to the "male lead's rival" beside her, Sasuke Uchiha.

Just think about it: pulling Sasuke aside and smiling as she said, "Let's burn Konoha to ashes," didn't sound half bad either?

Sasuke flinched. He looked up, but ultimately chalked it up to the noisy Naruto disturbing his peace.

"Idiot."

Sasuke muttered under his breath, then rested his chin on his hands, closed his eyes, and waited for the others to finish their tests.