"Hmm, I've decided. This Character Card is more important. Neither Jingliu nor Sparkle could give me direct combat power. What mattered most to me was still popularity."
Jingliu gave her cultivation intensity, while Sparkle's Genjutsu was far more useful than the ninja techniques from Naruto.
What mattered most to her was popularity.
Sparkle directly purchased the third Character Card.
A card appeared in Sparkle's mind. It depicted a set of red clothing.
Character Inheritance Card Shiranui-ryu—Mai Shiranui LV1 Rarity: Four Stars Talent/Skills: Fire Affinity, Shiranui-ryu Inheritance Bonus: When character positioning is ninja-related, increases Attention by 5% Token: Shiranui-ryu Ninja Suit Token function: Slightly increases the power of Fire Release while worn. When worn beneath ordinary clothing as an underlayer, allows an instant outfit change. Can upgrade level by investing Popularity Points. Unique Abilities will be gained at certain levels. When Character Inheritance reaches LV10, can enter a Dimensional World using this character's template.
Publicly available information:
Foreign skills and abilities that did not fit the setting needed to be localized before they could be used properly. Playing Pokémon in Super Robot Wars or cultivating immortality in Cyberpunk would both cost points.
After obtaining the Character Inheritance, Sparkle immediately felt a series of moves appear in her mind.
"So that's how it is. Five-star Character Cards grant potential, while four-star purple Character Cards directly grant techniques and moves."
Compared with Jingliu and Sparkle, Mai Shiranui's Character Card directly gave Sparkle the entire Shiranui-ryu package.
Kachōsen, Yume Sakura, Kachōsen, Ryuenbu, Chō Hissatsu Shinobi Bachi...
One move after another surfaced in Sparkle's mind.
Mai Shiranui came from Fatal Fury and shone brilliantly in The King of Fighters series. However, the so-called Shiranui-ryu ninjutsu was somewhat lacking in the world of Naruto. It was fine in the early stages, but useless later on. Besides, these moves required time to practice. Put simply, she was only at the stage of "understanding it in theory."
Aside from that, Mai Shiranui's Character Card also provided some bonuses:
When character positioning was ninja-related, Attention increased by 5%.
Wearing this outfit also came with a modifier that increased Fire Release power. Those were both useful.
Wasn't she a ninja? And since this outfit could be worn underneath as an "underlayer," the Fire Release power boost was practically a permanent skill.
"Still, these flashy skills are actually pretty nice."
Perhaps in the eyes of power-scaling fanatics, Shiranui-ryu ninjutsu was indeed mediocre, even nothing more than flashy nonsense. But Sparkle thought very highly of it.
What was most important on the Dimensional Stage?
Popularity!
Flashy moves might not be practical, but they looked good!
Being over-the-top was not a problem. That was exactly what she wanted.
Besides, Shiranui-ryu was not completely worthless. It was, at the very least, a style capable of competing in The King of Fighters tournament.
And that "One-Button Outfit Change" was simply a genius skill, wasn't it?
Sparkle had also learned about the so-called Attention.
Attention was not a simple numerical value. On one hand, it was something like an evaluation. The higher the Attention, the more easily viewers would be drawn in. It was similar to a mock exam reference score.
On the other hand, Attention seemed related to the Popularity Points she gained. For example, with no Attention, Sparkle could gain 100 Popularity Points. But with Attention at around 65%, she could gain 165 points. If her Attention reached 1000%, she could gain 1,100 Popularity Points.
So naturally, the higher her Attention, the better.
Sparkle kept her remaining Popularity Points for now and did not buy any Camera Cards. She still had Camera Cards at the moment, and the story had not yet reached a point where she needed to "mooch" screen time.
Silently putting on her Fox Mask, Sparkle considered what would come next.
As a "Minor Supporting Role," it would not be easy to overturn fate. She needed to lay down subtle foreshadowing early on before she could shake "destiny." Sparkle disliked predictable plots. She preferred an unknown stage of fate. But her current abilities were limited, so she could only advance step by step.
According to the upcoming "plot," it should be the Graduation Exam next. Then Naruto, having failed the exam, would be tricked into stealing the Sealing Scroll.
As far as Sparkle was concerned, the scroll itself did not matter. She could do without the Sealing Scroll, but she absolutely had to steal some screen time!
After practicing the Transformation Jutsu, Iruka did not continue teaching, since the Graduation Exam was about to begin. Exams were always like that; things were generally relaxed right before them.
Naruto had it the worst. Iruka took him to clean Hokage Rock.
"Um, Sparkle, do you want to head back together?" Hinata timidly came up to her.
"No problem, Sister~"
The anime footage was currently black and white, which meant it was not being broadcast. But that seemed like an opportunity instead.
Sparkle directly used a Daily Life Camera Card.
Sure enough, Sparkle appeared in the anime.
However, this was not a Live Broadcast. It was a replay of Hinata inviting her to go home together.
[Long black hair, straight black hair again!]
[Her pupils are white!]
[Mind your own business when it comes to 2D things.JPG]
[Araragi, tree, subtitles]
[As long as she's pretty, black straight hair is fine too]
[That "Sister" from Sparkle made my bones melt~]
The comments came in wave after wave.
Only after replaying Hinata's invitation did the scene cut to Sparkle and Hinata leaving the academy.
Sparkle wore a Performance Outfit produced by the stage. This red Furisode Kimono was beautiful and looked great on camera, but it made walking very slow. Its tightly bound hem rivaled a hobble skirt, forcing Sparkle to take tiny steps.
At such a slow pace, an ordinary person would probably have been driven mad with impatience. Hinata, however, patiently walked beside Sparkle.
Anyone who knew the truth would probably have been surprised. But they would not have been surprised that Sparkle walked too slowly. They would have been surprised that blind Sparkle could walk just like a normal person.
—Sparkle truly could not see.
Jingliu's black veil blindfold did indeed improve her perception and cultivation speed, but it also genuinely blocked her vision.
So in her daily life, Sparkle continuously refined small amounts of Chakra, spreading it into the surrounding space like trickling streams. Combined with the heightened perception from the Eye-covering Black Veil, she could sense her surroundings.
This was also part of her training in Chakra control and perception.
Of course, this was only possible because she possessed Jingliu's Token. But no one else in Konoha found anything strange about it. In their eyes, although Sparkle did not have the Byakugan, her natural talent was still exceptional. She was a successful example of Sparkle building herself a genius persona.
As for Byakugan training, of course she had that too. For example, at this very moment, Sparkle's Shadow Clone was cultivating in the training ground codenamed the "Forest of Death."
[They're supposed to be sisters, but they seem more like a young lady and her attendant]
[The sister is pretty too, she just dresses a little plainly]
[Are your standards really that high? Me, I'm not picky at all. I want them both!]
The two walked in silence for a while, while quite a few Danmaku comments flew past.
"Um, Sparkle. Do you really want to become a ninja?" Hinata hesitated for a long time before finally mustering the courage to speak.
She had always been hesitant.
But at this moment, she finally gathered her courage.
"Of course." Sparkle said.
"But your eyes..." Hinata's voice lowered.
"That doesn't matter. It doesn't affect anything anyway. If anything, because I don't have the 'Byakugan,' no one will keep an eye on me when I'm outside~"
Hinata lowered her head. "It's all because of me..."
[What's going on?]
[Our Sparkle can't really be unable to see, right?]
[It looks like it happened because of some incident?]
[What's wrong with not being able to see? That 2B girl's blindfold is cute too!]
[Say, since Miss Sparkle has no eyes, can I...]
[??? When I type question marks, it means you're the weird one, not me!]
[Drag this pervert away already!]
[No, how did this get derailed? Didn't you read the dialogue? That Byakugan seems to have some special ability.]
[I want to see Miss Sparkle use the Byakugan on me, hehehe~]
The idiotic viewers were having a grand old time, bringing Sparkle several hundred more Popularity Points.
Sparkle also discovered that the more Danmaku there was, and the more interaction there was, the higher her popularity became.
So Sparkle decided to add a little something and probe further.
"It's not Sister's fault~"
Sparkle grabbed Hinata's hand and intertwined their fingers.
"It's Sparkle who wants to protect Sister~"
As she spoke, Sparkle used her other hand to move the mask away from her face, then reached out and lifted Hinata's long hair.
"The long hair Sister kept for me is very pretty too. Because I said I liked sisters with long hair, Sister hasn't cut her hair since then, has she~"
Sparkle took the tip of Hinata's hair and brushed it against her cheek.
It still carried the fragrance of shampoo.
"Just as Sister was willing to do this much for me, if it were for Sister, I could do anything too~"
[Sister well! Sister well! Sister well!]
[It's bowl, not well]
[The lily fans have arrived uninvited!]
[Too seductive! Lady Sparkle is the best!]
[I want to see a Hyuga Sisters doujin right now!]
[I'm ready]
[That's all? (Pulls up pants)]
Her popularity continued to surge, and Sparkle decided to go even further.
"Oh my?"
However, Hinata could no longer hold on. Her entire face turned bright red, and she transformed into a "Steam Princess" before fainting.
.
The Camera Card had also run out. The screen switched to Naruto, who was cleaning Hokage Rock, continuing his "Ninja Path."
"Looks like it'll have to wait until tomorrow. It was lively, but the Popularity Points I got didn't seem to be as much as when I was with Naruto. Could it be that Popularity Points are easier to gain when I'm with the 'protagonist'?"
After that wave, Sparkle had gained nearly 2,000 Popularity Points. She now had 7,000 Popularity Points left.
"Looks like that's enough for today. I'll make another appearance during the Forbidden Scroll Incident~"