I Stand at the Forefront of Popularity Supremacy

Meanwhile, Mizuki, who had been about to approach and strike up a conversation, furrowed his brow. He'd been beaten to it.

"It's fine, there's always next time. This time it was Clone Technique; next exam might be Transformation Jutsu, which you're good at," Lady Sparkle said.

"Ah, thanks." Naruto seemed to feel a bit better.

"Are you free tonight? I'll treat you to Ichiraku Ramen," Lady Sparkle said with a smile.

Before Naruto could say anything, Mizuki was grinding his teeth. He'd been planning to take advantage of Naruto's low spirits to trick him into causing trouble, and now that Lady Sparkle had shown up, how was he supposed to pull that off?

That's right—Lady Sparkle was messing with Mizuki's head.

Someone who stirs trouble getting stirred themselves—wasn't that only natural? It was utterly delightful.

"Ichiraku Ramen!" At the mention of Ichiraku Ramen, Naruto's mood visibly brightened.

But just then, Naruto spotted Hyuga Hiashi and Hinata talking on the other side.

Lady Sparkle knew this too.

—Because that was exactly what the video had shown.

Though Lady Sparkle couldn't see, the contrast between a happy family with a sister and father and Naruto, all alone, was stark.

"No, I'd better not," Naruto backed off. "Some other time, haha. You always treat me, Lady Sparkle. Next time, it's on me."

"Why say that? Aren't we friends?" Lady Sparkle took off her fox mask.

"Mm, so... I'll graduate. Wait for me to catch up." Naruto clenched his fist.

"I'll be waiting, then." Lady Sparkle turned and put her mask back on.

"But... I want to graduate now too. I want to be with everyone..." After Lady Sparkle left, Naruto lowered his head again.

He had forced himself to cheer up, just so his friend wouldn't worry.

"Naruto." At that moment, Mizuki, whose mood had been thoroughly rattled, finally breathed a sigh of relief and found his chance to step in. "You... want to graduate, don't you?"

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Chapter 6: Weren't We Supposed to Have a Conspiracy Theory?

After Lady Sparkle left, Mizuki couldn't wait to find Naruto.

And the danmaku below flooded the screen.

During Lady Sparkle and Naruto's conversation, the camera had given Mizuki a few shots of his shit-eating expressions.

[Mizuki: Hurry, hurry, hurry!]

[I bet two coins this guy's up to no good!]

[Lady Sparkle must have noticed this guy.]

[From my years of watching anime, this guy's definitely a villain, no doubt.]

"Lady Sparkle, not going home?"

After saying goodbye to Naruto, Hyuga Hiashi and Hinata were about to head back, but Lady Sparkle didn't want to go.

"Mm, I graduated today, so I thought I'd wander around Konoha a bit."

As she spoke, Lady Sparkle jiggled her ankle.

Today she wasn't wearing geta, but matching black-lacquered, painted, red-rope, red-soled zori. Graduation called for zori over geta—more formal and fitting for the occasion. She'd actually considered switching to a pair of Yaya Zori more suited for the ceremony, but they didn't match her outfit, so she stuck with these black-and-red ones.

"Want Xia to accompany you?" Hiashi asked.

"No need. I just... this is the only way I can remember Konoha."

Lady Sparkle smiled.

Hiashi and Hinata both fell silent.

Lady Sparkle couldn't see, couldn't use her Byakugan to scan her surroundings, so she had to measure all of Konoha this way.

But that was just a "reason."

In truth, Lady Sparkle had already memorized Konoha's layout inside and out.

Without a "reason," though, stepping into hardship and changing fate would be much harder.

This was something Lady Sparkle had learned over the years.

If there was a "reason," changing fate was far easier than forcing it head-on.

"Reasons" sometimes worked like a lever—using a little force to pry open ten times the fate.

Simply put, it was about "guiding the momentum."

And now, with a "reason" to "want to remember Konoha," it was convenient to appear in the scene.

Otherwise, showing up abruptly in front of Naruto would have been awkward.

To recklessly "rewrite the script" was the privilege of the protagonist; she was just a "supporting character."

The rest went without saying.

Mizuki tricked Naruto into stealing the Scroll of Sealing.

And Naruto, foolishly believing it was really a "makeup exam," went along with it.

At the Third Hokage's home, Naruto was discovered by the Third, but the Third was promptly taken down by Naruto's Sexy Jutsu.

"This is from the manga."

In the manga, the Third caught Naruto while he was stealing the scroll, whereas in the anime, this scene was moved to later.

"Great, so it's not entirely the anime version of Naruto."

Earlier, Sparkle had noticed many clues in this world tied to the anime version of Naruto. She had assumed most of this world would "replicate" the anime. Seeing this "manga version setting" now moved her a bit.

At least when it came to the final boss, Kaguya Otsutsuki, Sparkle felt the anime version's portrayal was painfully lame.

Sparkle didn't dislike the differences between the anime and manga. But that lameness wasn't just a problem in itself—it dragged down her own prestige!

Sparkle wanted something interesting. An unknown Stage of Destiny was the most fun.

For example, Uchiha Hikari, a classic character from the Naruto games—if this world also had game elements, that would be pretty interesting too.

"Next, I just need to find Naruto."

Finding Naruto was simple enough. As the "protagonist" of this story, Naruto was right there in the video.

The area Naruto was in was likely around the forest. That spot was where Mizuki had told him to go, so it had some concealment, but since Iruka could find it, it wasn't completely off the beaten path.

After narrowing down a few targets and comparing the buildings and terrain features from the video background, it was easy to locate him.

—It sounded complicated, but this kind of intelligence analysis was basic ninja work.

When Sparkle found Naruto, he was sitting on the ground, holding the scroll and breathing heavily.

The video had already shown Naruto complaining after seeing the first "Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu" that clones were his worst technique, so he was probably practicing it now. But judging by how he was resting, he had likely already mastered it.

"Oh my, what a coincidence, Naruto."

Sparkle's voice suddenly came from behind Naruto.

"Whoa, it's Sparkle! You scared me!"

Naruto jumped at the sound.

"What are you doing here?" Sparkle asked, knowing full well.

Naruto looked left and right, then grinned mysteriously. "You'll find out tomorrow. Right now, this is my top-secret mission time, Uzumaki Naruto style."

He had taken Mizuki's words seriously, believing this was truly a confidential "makeup exam."

"But what are you doing here, Sparkle?" Naruto asked back.

"Mmm, since I'm about to become a ninja, I decided to walk all over Konoha and memorize it properly as a keepsake," Sparkle said.

"Hey, hey, Sparkle, wearing clothes like that, you won't finish walking even by tomorrow," Naruto teased.

"Actually, I walk pretty fast—" Sparkle's voice suddenly came from right beside him.

Naruto looked again—where was Sparkle in front of him? She was right next to him!

"Whoa!!" Naruto yelped, falling on his butt as he scrambled back. "Stop messing with me like that every time!"

This wasn't the first time.

"I see. The Scroll of Sealing." Sparkle tilted her head. "Naruto, what exactly are you doing?"

Of course, Sparkle knew this was the Scroll of Sealing.

But to sense the outside world, she had to release her Chakra around her body and feel everything nearby. So to get a read on the scroll, she couldn't be too far.

"Huh, when did you—?!"

Naruto looked bewildered. The Scroll of Sealing in his hands had somehow ended up in Sparkle's.

Sparkle was a bit interested in the Scroll of Sealing, but only "a bit."

In the original work, the only ninjutsu confirmed to be in the scroll was Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu.

Incidentally, many thought Flying Thunder God, a Space-Time Ninjutsu, was also in the scroll, but it wasn't. That technique wasn't forbidden or harmful to the user—it simply had no successors.

In short, it was unlearnable.

Like a Landau barrier—even a Nobel laureate would struggle to make sense of the "tutorial."

Impure World Reincarnation was likely there, but it didn't align with Sparkle's self-image, so she had no interest.

A character couldn't be OOC, and she wasn't some necromancer.

Just then, the Dimensional Popularity Stage's screen shifted again, focusing on the Third Hokage. He was holding a crystal ball, using the Telescope Technique to observe Naruto and Sparkle from afar.

"As expected of the Hyuga Clan's genius. Her vigilance is remarkable."

The Third Hokage sighed in relief when he saw Sparkle put away the Scroll of Sealing.

Being taken down by Naruto was a pure accident. He had been worried Naruto would see the scroll's contents and learn to unseal the Nine-Tails Demon Fox.

As for the scroll being in Sparkle's hands, the Third wasn't concerned. Her eyes had been lost for Konoha's sake, after all. In a sense, Sparkle could even be called "true-blue."

Sparkle herself found it rather dull.

"What's this? Wasn't the Scroll of Sealing supposed to be Third Hokage's 'test' for Naruto? Why isn't there any conspiracy theory at all?"

Did he really just let his guard down that easily?

If there's no conspiracy, how am I supposed to stir up drama?

Since there's no conspiracy, I'll just have to create one myself.

Anyway, first things first—let me copy down a few jutsu from the Scroll of Sealing.

Yes, Flying Thunder God is not a forbidden technique, but Summoning Jutsu is. Some say Flying Thunder God is a reverse summoning, but there's no solid proof; at best, the principles are similar.

Eight Inner Gates Formation is also not a forbidden technique. Moreover, the Scroll of Sealing was sealed by the First Generation, so any techniques created after his death wouldn't be recorded in it.

Finally, the Scroll of Sealing only appeared once in the manga, though it was mentioned again in the anime during Mizuki's later storyline. But the only technique confirmed to be recorded on it is Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu. So, based on the Third Hokage's dialogue and logical deduction, I'll include some reasonable techniques. Well, not that the Scroll of Sealing matters much to Sparkle anyway.

Chapter 7: Sparkle—Joy

"Give it back!"

Sparkle spun around, easily dodging Naruto as he lunged at her. She casually tied a red rope around the Scroll of Sealing, reinforcing its seal. In reality, her Chakra had already seeped into it.

To accelerate her training, Sparkle always wore Jingliu's black gauze blindfold. To perceive the outside world, she relied on constantly emitting faint traces of Chakra, which had honed her Chakra control to a fine edge. Copying a few jutsu from the scroll was child's play.

"Give it back!" Naruto was getting frantic. He charged again, only for Sparkle to lightly sidestep, sending him stumbling past her.

"Naruto, you're an idiot, but I think stealing the Scroll of Sealing isn't something you'd do."