Konoha, Ninja School.
Under the dim lights of the office, a teacher had yet to leave his desk.
"Remember the launch website domain name twkan.com"
"Villain....."
"A good villain..."
Yagyu Masahiko wrote for a long time and finally slumped onto the table.
"Fuck! Why am I the villain!"
The next moment, he stood up, crumpled the paper in his hand, and summoned the panel again. He stared at it in disbelief:
[Life is like a play. Welcome to the Naruto stage.]
[You must match your character positioning to get on stage and become a character in Naruto: Part 1.]
[When your performance is captured on camera, you will receive salary rewards.]
[Note: The more popular the character and the more screen time they get, the better the rewards.]
[Rewards are updated by set.]
[Your character is positioned as: 『Villain』.]
Below was his attribute panel.
[Yagyu Masahiko]
[Age: 17 years]
[Bloodline Limit: None]
[Secret Techniques: None]
[Skills: Body Flicker (Proficient), Clone Technique (Proficient), Transformation Technique (Proficient), Substitution Technique (Proficient), Kunai Throwing (Proficient)]
It was quite a dazzling panel for a civilian.
This was the result of Masahiko's unremitting efforts since he had transmigrated seven years ago. His predecessor had died as early as the Nine-Tails' attack.
After seven years of hard work, he had to admit that "talent" really did play a role in this world. Especially after the panel awakened today, he felt it even more clearly.
In seven years, he had mastered every ninjutsu and taijutsu he could possibly learn.
Among the chunin rank, it might be considered decent, but across the entire ninja world, it was only "upper-middle" at best.
There was nothing he could do about it.
In his previous life, he had been an ordinary college student.
In this life, he was just a civilian ninja. His parents had died early in the war, and he had worked hard just to get into the ninja academy.
He had no bloodline limits or secret techniques.
The few ninjutsu he had mastered were the standard mid-to-low level combinations, and he never got the chance to learn any that went beyond the basics.
He had even practiced swordsmanship diligently, but the panel didn't recognize it at all.
Masahiko felt like he had put in effort for nothing.
Especially this panel—
At first, he had been thrilled.
Thanks to years of training, his taijutsu and ninjutsu weren't bad, and he had become a chunin this year.
After spending half a year trying, Masahiko had finally been hired as a physical education teacher at the ninja academy.
This system allowed him, as a teacher, to come into contact with the "protagonist" earlier and start his role performance.
Moreover, in this profession, there was a senior colleague worth learning from.
Iruka!
Relying on his good relationship with Naruto, this ninja could live all the way to the finale just by saying heartfelt words and frequently appearing on camera.
It was clear that for an "early supporting role," strength wasn't the key to screen time — being close to the protagonist was.
But—
Unexpectedly, he had been positioned as a "villain"!
"Fuck!"
"Villains are human beings too!"
"Why can't I get Iruka's script!"
Yagyu Masahiko slammed the table in anger.
After a few seconds, he took deep breaths and calmed down.
"No!"
"If being a villain means opposing the protagonist, it doesn't mean opposing everyone else!"
"As long as I confront Naruto, it should theoretically fit the villain positioning."
"In any case, let's deal with the first chapter first. I can't go offline or hide in this file."
Once Masahiko calmed down, his thoughts cleared up.
What kind of person could grab the camera?
Someone so handsome you couldn't forget them at a glance.
Or someone extremely ugly who would also be unforgettable at a glance.
The latter option was out of the question for Yagyu Masahiko.
Although the original owner was a commoner, he looked quite handsome, and female villagers often sent him love letters.
After transmigrating, he had become even more determined. He had focused hard on training and improving his physical skills and strength, so his image management had suffered a bit.
But now—
Staring at the paper, Masahiko's eyes filled with determination as he wrote:
"A good villain should first have an excellent image."
Afterwards, he completely crushed the paper and threw it into the trash.
...
A good villain starts with image management.
Simply put—
Start from scratch!
Early the next morning, Yagyu Masahiko walked out of the barber shop and headed toward the Ninja Academy.
His hair and overall appearance had been carefully groomed, making him look noticeably more handsome and sharp than usual.
Just as he reached the school gate...
A blond kid with a sneaky look was carrying a bucket.
Yagyu Masahiko raised an eyebrow.
Target acquired!
Opportunity!
Without hesitation, he changed direction and walked over.
"Hehe——"
"I, Naruto Uzumaki, am the man who will become Hokage! How dare I....."
Naruto was muttering to himself with a strange laugh.
Right at that moment—
Snap!
A hand landed on his shoulder, and a cold voice came from behind:
"Hey, kid!"
"Ah!!!"
Naruto trembled in fright. The bucket of ink in his hand was instinctively thrown at the other party.
But—
Masahiko turned his wrist. With a kunai, he caught the bucket handle in one smooth motion, then leisurely spun the kunai half a circle...
In the end, not a single drop of ink spilled!
Of course he could have caught it with his bare hand, but he deliberately chose this way.
Because it looked—
**Handsome!**
That was how you created camera moments.
He held the ink bucket with his kunai and looked down at the boy who was steadily backing away.
"You are....."
"That rumored brat!"
Meeting his gaze, Naruto immediately gritted his teeth. A strong wave of anger appeared on his face.
Then he lowered his head gloomily, didn't answer, turned around, and fled.
After running a short distance, the blond boy turned back, stuck out his tongue, and made a face: "Bleh! Come catch me if you can, idiot!"
After that, he sped up and escaped.
Yagyu Masahiko didn't chase him. He simply watched indifferently, as if he no longer cared about such insignificant people.
Only after the other party had completely left did he drop the act.
"Whew!"
"It really doesn't feel good to play the bad guy..."
"I hope he won't be too sad."
The corner of Yagyu Masahiko's mouth lifted slightly as he carried the ink bucket toward the gate.
At the school entrance.
"Masahiko-sensei, good morning!"
"Good morning, Mr. Nagano."
Masahiko lifted the ink bucket. "This was taken from a blond kid. Could you help dispose of it?"
When the gatekeeper heard this, an angry look crossed his face. "That guy again!"
Then his expression shifted slightly.
"By the way, Masahiko-sensei, the class you teach seems to be the one with that monster..."
"It's fine. No matter who he is, he's still my student."
Masahiko smiled gently. "However, thank you for the reminder."
"You're going to have a headache in the future."
The gatekeeper smiled.
Masahiko smiled back without replying. He set down the ink bucket and walked into the school.
He had perfected the first rule of the "Villain Code" he had summarized for himself.
Image wasn't just external — it also included internal character.
In front of Naruto, he had to fully embody the "villain" positioning, but he didn't need to do so in front of everyone else.
For now, this was all he could think of.
But today's encounter was undoubtedly a solid first step!