Konoha, Ninja Academy.
Under the dim light of the office, a teacher remained at his desk, having not yet left.
"Villain..."
"A good villain..."
Masahiko wrote for a long time before finally slumping onto the desk.
"Damn it! Why does it have to be a villain!"
The next moment, he stood up, crumpled the paper in his hand into a ball, and summoned his status panel, checking it again in disbelief:
[Life is a play. Welcome to the grand stage of 'naruto'.]
[You must fit a character archetype to take the stage and become a character in 'naruto: prequel'.]
[When your performance is edited into a scene, you will receive a salary reward.]
[Note: The higher the character's popularity and the more screen time they have, the better the rewards.]
[Rewards are updated per episode.]
[Your character archetype is 'Villain'.]
Below that was his attribute panel.
[Yagyu Masahiko]
[Age: 17 years old]
[Bloodline Limit: None]
[Secret Techniques: None]
[Skills: Body Flicker Technique (Mastery), Clone Jutsu (Mastery), Transformation Jutsu (Mastery), Substitution Jutsu (Mastery), Kunai Throwing (Mastery)]
It was a rather glaring panel.
This was the result of Masahiko's tireless efforts since transmigrating seven years ago; his predecessor had lost his life during the Night of the Nine-Tails.
After seven years of hard work, he had to admit—
In this world, the word 'talent' really does cause trouble, especially after awakening this panel today; he felt that way more than ever.
In seven years of effort, all the Ninjutsu and Taijutsu he could practice had only reached Mastery.
Among Chunin, it might be considered okay, but in the entire ninja population, it could only be considered upper-middle.
But there was no helping it.
In his previous life, he was just an ordinary college student.
In this life, his predecessor was just a civilian ninja whose parents died early in the war; even getting into the Ninja Academy was something he had worked hard to achieve.
He had no Bloodline Limit and no Secret Techniques.
The few Ninjutsu he mastered were standard for Genin and Chunin; he hadn't even had the chance to learn a single high-level Ninjutsu.
He had practiced Swordsmanship painstakingly, but it wasn't even recognized by the panel.
Masahiko felt like his efforts had been misplaced.
Especially this panel—
Initially, he had been quite happy.
Thanks to years of training and cultivation, his Taijutsu and Ninjutsu weren't bad, and he had used them to become a Chunin this year.
After spending half a year, Masahiko finally managed to enter the Ninja Academy as a Taijutsu teacher.
This system allowed him, as a teacher, to come into contact with the 'protagonist' earlier and enter into the character performance.
Additionally,
In this profession, there was a peer worth learning from.
Iruka!
This ninja, by relying on his relationship with naruto and saying some heartfelt words, managed to survive until the finale of the entire Naruto series and appeared on screen frequently.
It was clear that as an 'early supporting character', strength didn't determine screen time; how well one got along with the protagonist was key.
But—
Never did he expect his archetype would be 'Villain'!
"Screw you!"
"Villains are people too!"
"Why can't I have Iruka's script!"
Yagyu Masahiko slammed the table in anger.
After a few seconds, he took several deep breaths and calmed down.
"Wait!"
"Being opposed to the protagonist doesn't mean being opposed to everyone else!"
"As long as I go against Naruto, theoretically, I fit the villain archetype."
"No matter what, I have to get through the 'Prequel' first; I can't be written out or disappear in this arc."
Once Masahiko calmed down, his mind opened up and his thoughts became clear.
What kind of person could steal the scene?
Someone so handsome they steal the show, making them unforgettable at a glance.
Or, someone so extremely ugly they are unforgettable at a glance.
Yagyu Masahiko had no chance with the latter.
Although the original owner was a civilian, he was very handsome, and female villagers often sent him love letters.
After transmigrating, his interests lay elsewhere; he had been working hard to cultivate and improve his Taijutsu and strength, so his image management was much worse.
But now—
Staring at the lamplight, Masahiko's eyes were full of hope as he wrote on the paper: 'An excellent grand villain should first have an excellent image.'
Afterward, he completely shredded the paper and threw it into the trash bin... An excellent villain needs to start with image management.
Simply put—
Start from the head!
The next morning, Yagyu Masahiko walked out of the barbershop and headed toward the Ninja Academy.
His hair and face had been fully groomed, adding a bit more handsomeness and charm than usual.
Just as he reached the school gate... a blonde kid was acting suspiciously while carrying a bucket.
Yagyu Masahiko raised an eyebrow.
Target spotted!
Opportunity!
Without hesitation, he changed course and walked over.
"Hehe—"
"I, Uzumaki Naruto, am the man who will become Hokage, how dare..."
Naruto chuckled strangely while talking to himself.
Just then.
Clap!
A hand rested on his shoulder, and a cold voice came from behind at the same time:
"Hey, kid!"
"Ah!!!"
Naruto was so scared his whole body shivered, and he subconsciously threw the bucket of ink in his hand at the other person.
But.
Masahiko flicked his hand, a Kunai appearing in his grasp. In the blink of an eye, he caught the handle of the ink bucket and then stylishly swung the Kunai in a small half-circle... In the end, not a single drop of ink was spilled!
Yagyu Masahiko could have easily caught it with his hand, of course, but he chose to do it this way.
For no other reason than—
It looked cool!
This is how you get screen time.
He held the ink bucket with the Kunai, his gaze cold, looking down at the boy who was constantly backing away.
"So you're..."
"...that rumored brat!"
Meeting his gaze, Naruto immediately gnashed his teeth, a look of intense anger appearing on his face.
Then, he lowered his head gloomily, gave no answer, and turned to flee.
After running for a bit, the blonde boy turned around and stuck out his tongue to make a face:
"Bleh! Come and catch me, you idiot!"
With that, he sped up his escape.
Yagyu Masahiko didn't give chase, merely watching coldly, as if looking at someone irrelevant.
Only when the other party had left did he drop the act.
Whew!
"Being a bad guy really doesn't feel great."
"I hope he won't be too sad."
Yagyu Masahiko's lips curled slightly as he carried the ink bucket toward the gate.
At the school gate.
"Good morning, Mr. Masahiko!"
"Good morning, Mr. Nagano."
Masahiko lifted the ink bucket.
"This was confiscated from a blonde brat. Can you help dispose of it?"
Upon hearing this, a look of anger appeared on the guard's face:
"That guy again!"
Then, his expression changed slightly.
"By the way, Mr. Masahiko, the class you teach seems to be the one that monster is in..."
"It's nothing. No matter who he is, he's my student."
Masahiko gave a gentle smile.
"However, thank you for the reminder."
"You're going to have a headache in the future."
The guard laughed.
Masahiko smiled without answering and walked into the school.
He was refining the first rule of the 'Villain's Code' he had summarized for himself—
The image isn't just external; it's also his personality and other internal traits.
In front of Naruto, he had to perform his 'Villain' role well, but there was no need to do so in front of others.
For now, this was all he had thought of.
But—
Today's situation was undoubtedly an excellent first step!