After that scene, the OVA transitioned into another slice-of-life segment.
Hanabi stayed by Hikari's side after she woke, introducing her to the modern world.
[Poor kid—PTSD at her age]
[Man, ninjas are heartless. Turning people into tools]
[Dude, that was centuries ago. Feudal era, what do you expect]
[Isn't the story also set in a feudal era?]
[Excuse me, did the Great Naruto Bridge just not happen?]
[The ninja world kinda has this early-twentieth-century vibe going on—those radio transceivers aren't exactly low-tech either]
[Lmao, you're talking tech specs, but what if everything runs on chakra?]
[Maybe all those gadgets are just ninja tools. No electricity required, lol]
The audience wasn't entirely wrong.
A lot of things in the ninja world looked like modern technology, but in practice they ran on chakra as a power source. Later on, it got even more absurd—chakra-powered trains and the like.
On screen, Hanabi seemed to pick up on Hikari's mood, and took advantage of a fireworks festival to bring her out for some fresh air.
Hanabi herself grew somewhat reflective.
Looking back, the entire affair had been teetering on the edge of losing control from this point onward. It was remarkable that things had stayed within manageable bounds at all—and the final result had actually turned out better than what she'd originally envisioned.
But once the midpoint arrived and Hinata entered the picture, the atmosphere began to shift.
The light, relaxed tone grew heavy.
And when Hinata ran off, that weight reached its peak.
Yet the audience was thrilled to see Director Hanabi's plan crash and burn. The danmaku volume spiked higher than at any other point in the OVA, outpacing every previous scene.
Hanabi checked the dashboard. Her fans and popularity were still climbing, and the biggest spike of all had come right here—at the "crash."
[Hanabi: sweating bullets]
[I know it's supposed to be a sad moment, but I can't stop laughing]
[Yes, THIS is what I want. More of this!]
[I want a full-on bloodbath!]
[Two-timing disaster—the whole boat's going down!]
[Am I really the only one who feels bad for Hinata? Hinata, come to me~]
[Relax, this is the OVA. In the main series, the big sister still reigns supreme]
[Love-triangle meltdown, I can't breathe—also, side note, the site won't even let me type "har*m." The self-censorship is straight-up castration]
"Oh my, even the merch is taking off?"
Hanabi had licensed the Riddler Doll and her signature red umbrella as official merchandise.
That red umbrella appeared in later story arcs too, and apparently thanks to the OVA's promotional effect, umbrella sales were climbing steadily.
Hanabi kept watching.
After the love-triangle showdown, Hikari Uchiha fell into turmoil of her own.
"So that's what you were thinking back then."
Hanabi couldn't read minds. She'd only learned what Hikari had been feeling when she reviewed the recorded footage during editing.
Hikari had been drifting in confusion and emptiness. The sudden, unsolicited kindness was like hollow splendor with no foundation—flowers in a mirror, the moon on water. Utterly intangible.
That sense of fragility had only intensified after the "rift" between Hanabi and Hinata surfaced.
Some of the footage included scenes of Hikari witnessing the price Hanabi had paid, but Hanabi had already cut all of that. The audience wouldn't get to see it.
Not that it mattered. Just some trivial everyday stuff. Surely the audience wouldn't mind missing out~
The Jingliu Puppet that appeared at the seal site was stronger than the one Hanabi had summoned earlier.
Their raw power was comparable, but this puppet had been sealed for a period of time, and its instincts had learned to conserve and concentrate its energy for greater endurance. That made it far more dangerous.
Hikari was no match for the ice-crystal puppet. Just when things turned dire, Hanabi appeared once more and pulled her out of danger.
"Who even are you to me?!"
"Why are you doing all this?!"
"Even using me as a tool would be fine..."
Hikari was on the verge of collapse when she said those words.
Sealed away for centuries, she'd woken to a world without a single familiar face.
Hanabi kept talking about friendship, safety, freedom—and all of it only dragged Hikari deeper into despair.
"Ugh..."
Hanabi clutched her chest.
This was sheer public humiliation.
But this emotional eruption was exactly what the story needed at this stage.
When the moment demanded it, a true director would perform the scene—even if it made her cringe hard enough to claw a crater into the floor.
She was part of the story too. And a story could only reach perfection through brilliant performances.
Besides, what had been on display here were Hikari's genuine feelings.
For that alone, it had to be seen.
[It's over for Hanabi-sama—this girl is seriously intense!]
[This is some next-level drama]
["Intense" doesn't even begin to cover it]
["Take responsibility for my life"... hearing that made my heart go numb]
[Ship it! Ship it all!]
[Damn, this reminds me of Hayami Saori's legendary two-minute chūnibyō rant—that iconic meltdown scene]
The visual effects swirled almost entirely around Hikari.
The emotional intensity, the visual tension—all of it pushed to the limit.
But the Hanabi on screen had entered the zone, too.
Even now, Hanabi could say with certainty: that had been the finest acting of her life—inhabiting the character and performing as the character, all at once.
"Before she even knew who I was, I'd already made up my mind—I was going to be her friend."
That single line was the fulcrum that elevated Hanabi's emotional arc to its highest point.
An ad-libbed line, unburdened by a single unnecessary word.
[Real talk—just let Sasuke and Naruto get together, and pair Hanabi with Hikari. Everybody does their own thing]
[Everyone's saying Hikari's dialogue was intense, but did none of you notice Hanabi's monologue was just as intense?!]
[Wait, you're right—she acts like a cheeky brat normally, but she's got a hidden attribute: emotionally devastating]
[Hinata seemed pretty intense before too]
[A triangle is the most stable shape. Adding weight increases structural integrity. An ultra-stable relationship configuration—the math checks out]
[Hold on—how did Hanabi just use Ice Style? Is something seriously going wrong?]
On screen, Musashino's second original track had begun to play.
Beneath that music, Hanabi placed her hand on the evil god, drawing its power entirely into herself in Hikari's place.
The dark energy turned Hanabi's hair temporarily white.
[White hair, let's go!]
[Black-haired waifu just went white-haired]
[Double the waifus, double the joy, heheheh]
After everything was done, Hanabi walked up to Hikari and delivered her final line.
"Will you be my friend?"
"Mm."
[Boyfriend energy off the charts]
[Damn, you could call that line a marriage proposal and I'd believe it]
[You don't need the "could"—that IS a confession slash proposal]
[Hinata: "You two chat. I'll see myself out."]
[Get together! Get together!]
[Yuri! Yuri!]
"Things really got out of hand, huh."
Hanabi had started with only 300,000 popularity points.
But after the OVA's release, everything surged in one massive wave—an additional 120,000 points. Subtracting the outsourcing expenses from earlier, her popularity had now reached 400,000, and her fan count had hit 50,000.
This was the power of a solo side story.
This was what it meant to be the protagonist...