Stepping into the void, she returned to the Stage.
"My body hasn't changed either, huh. Well, of course not—I was reincarnated into the Naruto world to begin with."
The first time Hanabi had come here, she'd been nothing but a disembodied consciousness. It wasn't until she reincarnated into the Naruto world that she'd come back to life.
Hanabi looked ahead.
In the expanse of void before her, a shape like a universe bubble materialized. When she focused her awareness on it, the words [Set 1: Ninja Way] appeared on its surface.
Beside it floated another universe bubble.
This one read [Set 2: Unnamed].
Then Hanabi drew out another card.
[Character Reincarnation Card]
[Void Songstress — Inori Yuzuriha]
[Rarity: 4-Star]
[Talents/Skills: Imaginary Number Attribute Affinity, Vocal Talent Enhancement, Void Virus Control]
[Bonus: +10% attention when engaged in songstress/singer work]
When Hanabi tried to use this card for Set 2, she noticed its color had shifted from the original red to green.
"Only ten thousand Popularity Points to insert the character now—nice."
Her earlier strategy of handing research data to Ulen Hibiki had paid off.
As long as she gave relevant materials to the right characters, it smoothed the way for her own insertion.
"No point in dawdling. Let's open the Second Set." With that, Hanabi began preparing her pre-shoot props.
[Character Inheritance Card: Lacia — Hollow Box Humanoid]
[Targeted 1-Affix Destiny Card (5-Star): Usable only when entering a new world. Adds a random destiny ability, skill, or background to the character. Note: May produce side effects. Use with caution.]
Call it professional courtesy between directors—Hanabi was genuinely fond of this Inheritance Card. Pairing it with Inori Yuzuriha felt perfectly fitting.
Next was the Hourglass, pulled from her very first gacha draw.
[Hourglass]
[Rarity: 4-Star]
[Allows limited adjustment of the entry time point when entering a dimensional world]
[Remaining uses: 2/3]
Su Qi had used this once when entering the Naruto world.
Now Hanabi was about to use it a second time, for the Gundam SEED world.
"The other training cards, camera cards, and so on aren't restricted… Just bring everything."
Abilities bound to Hyuga Hanabi—like Zhuixia—were unusable.
Inheritance Cards already activated on this account—Jingliu, Sparkle, Mai Shiranui—were likewise locked out.
Hanabi didn't particularly mind.
Power levels within the sets were all illusory anyway.
The real power came from the Stage's professional titles.
[Current performer rating: Minor Supporting Role LV2]
[Minor Supporting Role LV2: Attention +25%. One additional use per episode of Camera Card — Slice of Life and Camera Card — Close-Up. Minor Supporting Role primary benefits as follows…]
Minor Supporting Role LV1 had been 20% attention; LV2 bumped it up by five.
The Stage's benefits were extensive. Hanabi had reviewed them before, so she skipped right past.
"All right. Let's begin."
[Please select entry mode]
[1. Outsider]
[2. Local]
The first option would have used her current "Hyuga Hanabi" identity.
But when she tried to select it, the Stage prompted: [Current character image is under contract with Ninja Way. Cannot be used.]
"Why is it jumping straight to character selection this time?" Hanabi was curious.
[Please first register the props you wish to use for advance scripting]
"Right, almost forgot—this client has no ideas of its own."
That was what you got with a client that was no help.
Hanabi didn't dwell on it and selected [Local].
Because Hanabi's current "title" was Minor Supporting Role, the characters that appeared were all supporting roles.
[Name: Miriallia Haw]
[Name: Shiho Hahnenfuss]
[…]
[Special Selectable Character]
[Name: Inori Yuzuriha (Requires Character Reincarnation Card to activate)]
[Identity will be generated upon confirmation]
[Selecting this option will consume Character Reincarnation Card: Inori Yuzuriha and 10,000 Popularity Points]
"This one, obviously."
Unless she could pick Lacus Clyne herself, there was basically no better choice than Inori.
After selecting the character, the prop registration page appeared.
Lacia's Inheritance Card and the golden Destiny Card were mandatory.
"The Destiny Card's targeted affix… hmm, Piloting."
In a Gundam set, of course you had to pilot a Gundam to get any popularity.
Even with singing talent, you'd need to sing while piloting a Gundam!
"The Hourglass…"
Sure enough, her entry point was set to when the main story began—but the Hourglass could shift the timeline earlier.
Unfortunately, the Second Set's timeline could only be shifted back by a little. Nowhere near thirty or fifty years into the past.
"Good. Confirmed."
Upon confirmation, the Destiny Card began its draw.
The scene before her eyes flickered.
[Destiny Manifest]
[Fatima, from The Five Star Stories]
"They even have an old-school series like that?" Hanabi was stunned.
Fatima—artificial beings. In simple terms, humanoid support units built to assist knights in piloting mecha. Immensely powerful, but shackled at every turn by virtue of being artificial.
"Great, this overlaps with Lacia a bit…"
But the Stage had already begun processing.
[Fabricating history]
[Whipping the screenwriters]
[Submitting the report]
[Client has rejected it]
[Drafting Plan B]
[Client has rejected it]
[Drafting Plan C]
[Client wants revisions to Plan A]
[Dispatching a DiDi-for-beatdowns]
[Engaging client in a Paramount War-style idol showdown]
[Hiring MyGO!!!!!]
[Client has hired Ave Mujica]
[Ave Mujica has disbanded]
[Client has surrendered]
[Plan approved]
[Commencing salary negotiations]
[Drafting the performance contract]
[Anime has been greenlit]
[Title: Mobile Suit Gundam SEED: Songstress of the Void]
[Opening date: CE 71, January 25]
[Stage has been cleared]
[Performer, please stand by]
[Reincarnation is ready]
Hanabi's body began dissolving into white points of light, and her vision faded to a blank white.
Then, a scene appeared on-screen.
"Huh? Isn't that me?"
It was Hanabi as Mana Ouma.
On-screen, Mana Ouma handed Ulen Hibiki a set of documents.
Then the image shifted again.
Ulen appeared to be muttering in anguish: "It's no good—no matter what I try, something's still missing… Mana, is this the trial you spoke of…"
"It's demonic research material, and yet… if I add the right constraints…"
[Inori Yuzuriha — Background compilation complete]
[Dr. Ulen Hibiki of the Mendel Research Institute, having reached a dead end in his research, used a set of mysterious data to create a carbon-based mechanical lifeform beyond the scope of human science]
[Though possessing flesh and blood, this entity is fundamentally mechanical. Its physical capabilities far exceed those of any human or even his envisioned Ultimate Coordinator. This is something that could only be produced with technology from a "domain mankind has yet to reach"—the source of that data may well be extraterrestrial]
[Realizing the magnitude of his error, Ulen Hibiki sealed all related data and placed limiters on the artificial being. His hope was that she would serve as a support for the Ultimate Coordinator, ushering in a new era]
[However, the Mendel Research Institute also took notice of this entity and sought to develop and study it further]
[But a terrorist attack by Blue Cosmos buried everything in the cold vacuum of space…]