"They really are a matched set."
Gimestoltanty's Love and Kuroe Kawaren were both from a series called C3—Cube×Cursed×Curious. In the original story, both items belonged to a female character named Ueno Kirika.
And she had used exactly this combination as an exploit.
First, she put on Gimestoltanty's Love—which prevented death—making herself unkillable. Then she let Kuroe Kawaren take effect on herself, keeping it occupied and away from anyone else.
"Into storage for now."
There was no shortage of people in the Naruto world who deserved what was coming to them. But the item really worked best in combination with Gimestoltanty's Love—using it alone felt wasteful.
Hanabi moved on to the fourth item.
Still purple. This ten-pull couldn't hold a candle to her first double-gold haul, but 4-star purples were coming in steadily.
"Oh? A character card?"
She caught the image on the card at a glance.
[Character Reincarnation Card]
[Void Songstress — Inori Yuzuriha]
[Rarity: 4-star]
[Talents/Skills: Imaginary-attribute affinity, enhanced vocal talent, Void virus control]
[Bonus: +10% attention when engaged in songstress or singer work.]
[Character Reincarnation Card]
[Allows reincarnation as this character to accept local bookings.]
"Not an Inheritance Card—a Reincarnation Card?"
An Inheritance Card required leveling a character to max before you could borrow their appearance, but you got the full kit—high combat power and an extra token on top.
A Reincarnation Card seemed to work differently.
"It looks like you just… reincarnate as this character. Start fresh as them. Kind of like what I did, but through a card."
Hanabi had reincarnated herself—just without using a Reincarnation Card.
"What's the difference between using a Reincarnation Card and a natural reincarnation?"
[A Reincarnation Card allows direct reincarnation into non-film-set characters. Natural reincarnation is limited to characters within the current film set that match your billing, or those associated with relevant Inheritance tokens.]
That tracked with what she already knew.
She'd ended up as Hyuga Hanabi because she had Sparkle's Character Inheritance Card—and through the "shared name" connection, she'd been able to slot into the Hyuga Hanabi identity.
"Local bookings? Does that mean I'd end up in Guilty Crown?"
She wasn't sure she wanted to. As Inori, she'd be almost entirely at the mercy of the story's puppeteers—and Guilty Crown's final boss was a serious headache.
Character Inheritance Cards were single-use, locked to one specific character. She had three, all spent. No resources to spare for a second account.
"Can a Reincarnation Card be used across different film sets?"
[Insufficient permissions.]
"Not 'impossible'—just 'insufficient permissions.'"
The Stage's wording was interesting.
That was actually good news. It meant most of what she currently couldn't do wasn't permanently out of reach—just gated behind star power.
From what she'd seen so far, there were basically three ways to enter another world:
One: Enter as an existing character. That's what she was doing now—she was Hyuga Hanabi. This usually amounted to "actress training," though not always. Her previous skill sessions had all been physically-relevant training, and the "outsider" option at new film set entry screens had been visible but grayed out—restrictions unclear.
Two: Reincarnate via a new alias card. That's the Inori card. Essentially opening a second account, running two jobs at once, possibly dual-tracking. But it came with no resources—a fresh start with nothing.
Three: Reincarnate as a local. Accept an actress booking and reincarnate directly into that production's world. That was how she'd arrived in the Naruto world in the first place.
And then there was whatever "insufficient permissions" was hiding.
"Get a clearer picture before committing to anything."
Right now she had no resources to spare. If she actually reincarnated as Inori, she'd probably spend the opening stretch floating in a life-support capsule until the second male lead, Gai Tsutsugami, fished her out. Zero agency. Too passive. She hated that.
"Until I have resources to work with, Inori stays benched."
The main account wasn't even fully established yet. No point rushing the alt.
"One more 4-star purple."
Hanabi looked at the final reward.
[Post-Production — Character Theme: Entrance Music]
[When a character makes an appearance, you may choose to play their exclusive background music. Background music must be sourced separately.]
"Oh my—"
Now that was something.
The only catch was that she'd need to find the music herself. Slightly inconvenient.
But for a character's brand identity, a recognizable theme was absolutely essential. The moment a certain saxophone rang out, every viewer knew Kurumi Tokisaki was about to make her entrance.
"How do I select background music?" she asked.
The Stage produced a menu.
[Currently accepting commissions from the following artists/bands:]
[1. Kessoku Band]
[2. MyGo!!!!!]
[3. She Is Legend]
[4. Black Stones]
[5...]
A decent roster, and it kept going.
Everything from bands she knew to ones she'd never heard of.
"Every band has its own sound. Can't just throw anything in."
If she was playing it cool in a tense scene and Yui Hirasawa's bubbly Tea Time started playing, the entire atmosphere would collapse.
"Setting this aside for now."
And then there were the five blue cards.
[Actress Training (Biology): 3-star, 30 course hours. Enter a training facility for advanced biology coursework. You will temporarily leave this world during sessions—please manage your schedule accordingly.]
…Biology?
30 hours? Blue tier?
"Is this actually a real biology class?"
[It is an actual biology class.]
"High school level? University?"
[Academic-level biology coursework. Standards vary by world.]
Apparently so.
—Biology was still hunting her down.
"Back in my day, I almost enrolled in a bio track."
30 course hours… roughly a semester's worth?
Though she noticed: the 30 hours wouldn't pause the world's time.
"How are the course hours structured?"
[One course hour consists of two 45-minute class sessions with a 10-minute break, totaling approximately 100 minutes per course hour. (Extended class time not counted.)]
"A genuine undergrad schedule."
Long sessions, longer than anything she'd taken in training before—and the clock in the Naruto world kept running the whole time.
"Wonder if shadow clones can attend in my place."
She scrolled through the remaining cards—and her vision went blank.
[Screentime Card Bundle ×3: 3-star, guaranteed 3 or more random Screentime Cards each.]
Three bundles. Nine cards minimum.
And the final item: another post-production effect.
[Post-Production — High-Fidelity Audio]
[Rarity: 3-star]
[Once applied, your voice will never distort. Compressed source audio will not degrade quality. Viewers will experience lossless audio playback.]
Paired with the high-definition visuals from before—a full matched set.
"Now—the Creation Workshop."