Characters like Uchiha Hikari, who did not affect the original plot but could enrich the story, could be allowed to remain in the spotlight.
Damn, This Is the Feeling of Falling in Love!
[Ah, why was her face still covered?!]
[There was a mask behind the umbrella, and an eye patch behind the mask. Guys, was this reasonable?]
[Damn, this is the feeling of falling in love.]
[Wifey, a new generation of wifey has appeared~]
[Wifey, this is my wifey.]
[Long black hair! Long black hair! Long black hair!]
[Three minutes. I want all the information on this woman!]
[Wait, those socks just now... they didn't look like tabi. Those were white stockings!]
[Give the cameraman an extra drumstick.]
[You guys, this bro really is...]
[Has the person upstairs already started talking nonsense?]
[It's here, the Contrarian Monster!]
[The last kimono girl this pretty was Ryougi Shiki.]
Just when everyone thought they would finally get a glimpse of her beauty, they never expected Sparkle's face to still be covered by an eye patch.
The bright red outfit and her half-hidden entrance had thoroughly whetted the audience's appetite.
Meanwhile, before Sparkle's eyes, her Popularity Points were skyrocketing.
At first, they only went up by +1, +1. But as the camera circled upward, all the way until she removed her mask at the end, her popularity began exploding upward. It finally reached 10,000 points, and only started slowing down after the last wave rose to around 20,000.
This Close-up Camera Card had been more than worth it!
"What? It's Sparkle."
Naruto was startled when Sparkle called out to him.
But once he realized it was Sparkle, Naruto relaxed. The two got along quite well, and Sparkle was one of Naruto's few friends. She did not care about other people's stares, often treated Naruto to Ichiraku Ramen, and listened to him brag about his pranks. Over time, Naruto had grown increasingly fond of showing off in front of Sparkle.
Just like now, Naruto waved his hands. "Sparkle, Sparkle, those guys just now got completely played by me! Hahaha~"
Sparkle seemed to have accidentally appeared in the shot, stunning the viewers for a moment. Then, the camera naturally returned to Naruto. Once the shot cut away, Sparkle's Popularity Points stopped increasing. After all, the new show had only been airing for two minutes.
"Wait. Sparkle, isn't it class time? Why are you here?" The scatterbrained Naruto actually thought of that now.
"Yes, it's class time. What are you doing here?!"
Another voice rang out, startling Naruto. The speaker was Umino Iruka, whose anger meter had already hit MAX.
"I-Iruka-sensei!"
Naruto had been caught by the furious Iruka and could only look helpless.
"And you too, Sparkle. If something comes up, just have Hinata tell me in advance. You don't need to force yourself." Iruka looked at Sparkle again. He knew about some of her "inconveniences."
"Okay." Sparkle followed behind Iruka as the three of them headed toward the Ninja Academy together.
[Double standards.]
[Don't use words randomly. This is called contrast.]
[So the young lady's name is Sparkle? What a nice name!]
[Lady Sparkle, I am your dog!]
[Sounds like there's some backstory?]
[Is she the female lead?]
[The first female character to appear is usually the losing heroine. The female lead always drops in from the sky, get it?]
Another string of Danmaku drifted past as quite a few people began discussing Sparkle's background.
Unfortunately, the entire screen soon went black and paused.
"Although it's a Live Broadcast, it seems the Dimensional Stage has some way of adjusting the flow of time between the two worlds?" Sparkle had noticed the key point.
The screen finally lit up again only after the three arrived in the classroom and Iruka began scolding Naruto.
"Listen up, Naruto. You failed the exam last time and the time before that. This isn't the time for pranks, you idiot!"
"Hmph~" Naruto disdainfully turned his head away. But that clearly irritated Iruka.
Iruka turned to everyone. "Today's class is a review test on the Transformation Jutsu! Even those who have already passed, come out and line up!"
"Huh?!" A chorus of wails rose from below.
Then the screen went black again. It only lit back up after everyone had lined up and Sparkle stepped forward.
Sparkle was first in the grade, so she was also the first to go.
[It's wifey Sparkle!]
[Wifey's art style is completely different from everyone else's!]
[She's so pretty!]
Among all the casual outfits, Sparkle's Red Furisode Kimono was truly one of a kind.
Sparkle was petite. The bow on the sash at the back of her kimono was especially large.
That contrast made her stand out even more.
More importantly, every shot of Sparkle's appearance was in high definition!
"Hanabi Hyuga, here I go~" Sparkle did not form hand seals. Instead, she picked up the fox mask from earlier. As she put it on and spun around, Sparkle transformed into Umino Iruka.
On the small screen, the camera cleverly used lateral movement and cuts to conceal Sparkle's transformation.
"A Transformation Jutsu that doesn't require hand seals. No matter how many times I see it, it's still amazing, Sparkle." Iruka nodded. "Very good. Next."
"Okay~"
With another spin, Sparkle had already removed the mask and returned to her original appearance.
A genius of "Transformation Jutsu" and "Genjutsu"—that was the persona Sparkle had added for herself. This persona did not necessarily need to be real. As long as the viewers believed it was real, that was enough.
There was no need to mention the Transformation Jutsu. It was the signature skill inherited from her Character Card.
And the Genjutsu talent of Sparkle's Character Card was equally outrageous. This Genjutsu was different from that of the Naruto World, more like an instinctive talent.
Although it could not yet be compared to absurd Genjutsu like Tsukuyomi, it was still stronger than ordinary Genjutsu.
"Sakura Haruno, begin~" A pink-haired girl entered the shot. This was Sakura Haruno, the "Eternal Second" whose written test scores ranked behind Sparkle's.
After forming hand seals, she transformed into Iruka and successfully passed the test.
Sakura immediately turned to Sasuke beside her. "Sasuke-kun, did you see that?"
Though no one in the real world could see it, Sparkle saw a close-up of Sakura's inner thoughts on the Dimensional Stage's screen.
"Looks like this Live Broadcast might be useful for combat and gathering information too."
"Next, Sasuke Uchiha."
One test after another proceeded. The third to go was Sasuke Uchiha, the little prince of acting cool and Konoha's designated Pressure King.
After completing his transformation, Sasuke Uchiha shoved his hands into his pockets and coldly walked to the side.
[That pose gets full marks from me.]
[Looks like she's the second female lead and he's the second male lead.]
[Wait, didn't you notice something strange? Why did everyone form hand seals except Sparkle?]
[Do you even need to ask? Lady Sparkle is special!]
[Sparkle is a woman who could become my mother. What's wrong with her being a little special?]
[So my wife's surname is Hyuga.]
[No matter what her surname is, she'll take mine in the future~]
The topic was quite popular.
Sparkle nodded to herself. Her 45% Attention had not been piled up for nothing. She also understood its purpose now. It seemed to help her draw the audience's gaze, thereby accelerating the accumulation of popularity.
But once Naruto Uzumaki appeared, the viewers' attention was drawn back to the protagonist. Especially when Naruto used the Sexy Jutsu, the Danmaku erupted with the bizarre claim that "this is the true female lead."
Sparkle seriously considered the matter as well.
Though she had not started stirring things up yet, Sparkle had been thinking: if Naruto really turned into a girl and interacted with people that way, wouldn't that be pretty interesting?
Come to think of it, Sparkle remembered that one Naruto movie edition really did have a Permanent Transformation Jutsu—the kind where once you transformed, you could never change back.
That would definitely be interesting, but the more crucial question was how she could get Popularity Points from it. It was not as if she could just cuddle up to gender-swapped Naruto, right?
No, if her popularity was high enough, it wasn't impossible...
As always, she could go without living, but she could not go without making things happen.
"I've accumulated quite a bit of popularity now."
Sparkle opened the Panel. Her Popularity Points had already reached 30,000.
Thirty thousand Popularity Points could be used to level up a Character Card.
Jingliu and Sparkle's Character Cards were currently LV1. Upgrading these gold cards to LV2 required 5,000 Popularity Points, while going from LV2 to LV3 required 10,000.
But aside from that, Sparkle had another choice.
After "Ninja Path" began airing, the Dimensional Popularity Stage had gained a Popularity Points Shop.
Items Available This Period Resonance Character Card (Purple): A random purple-quality Character Card. The character obtained will be related to the current world's theme. It will be randomly acquired when the stage opens. Characters related to the current world: Ninja. Purchase limit: 1/1 Price: 25,000 Popularity Points Random Shot Card: Can produce a Camera Card with a random effect. Purchase limit: 5/5 Price: 1,000 Popularity Points
Should she level up her existing Character Cards, or purchase a new Character Card?
Sparkle considered it.
Ever since the new show began, Sparkle had been considering her own role.
In this world, what she needed most was popularity.
Being the protagonist certainly brought popularity, but the apparent protagonist did not necessarily have the highest popularity.
Just as the most popular person in Bleach was not Ichigo Kurosaki, but Aizen.
Sparkle had also considered a similar development.
Just imagine it: she would first cultivate a friendship with Naruto, then stab him straight through with a blade, leave behind the words, "Admiration is the farthest thing from understanding," and walk away coolly... wouldn't that be great?
"Achoo—!"
Naruto, who had just been scolded by Iruka, suddenly felt a chill run down his spine and could not help sneezing.
"Idiots can catch colds too?" Shikamaru Nara looked at Naruto.
"I'm the man who's going to become Hokage! How could I catch a cold?!" Naruto shouted.
"Naruto!" Iruka's roar came again, and the classroom became noisy once more.
Sparkle's gaze shifted to the "second male lead," Sasuke Uchiha, beside her.
Just imagine it: pulling Sasuke up and smiling as she told him, "Let's burn Konoha to ashes." That did not seem bad either.
Sasuke shuddered. He looked up, but ultimately blamed the noisy Naruto for keeping him from getting any peace.
"Idiot."
Sasuke muttered, then propped his chin on his hands, closed his eyes, and waited for everyone else to finish their tests.
Before you continue