In his previous life, this character was a global icon.
Leo knew that by the late stages of the anime, Naruto's power scaling was cosmic—far beyond what a Tier 3 card could handle. With his current mental strength, trying to design that version of Naruto would be suicide. Besides, a Tier 3 card base literally lacked the "data capacity" to hold the power of a Tier 4 character.
He decided to focus on Naruto's youth, specifically the peak of his early growth. He didn't need to replicate the original script word-for-word; a few modifications to keep the story tight and self-consistent would work better for the System's logic. He didn't need messy flashbacks or side stories—just the core journey.
An orphan shunned by his entire village, harboring a world-ending demon fox within him, yet stubbornly dreaming of becoming the greatest leader the village had ever seen.
His power system? Chakra: a dual-energy source blending physical stamina and spiritual energy.
Leo thought of the milestones: the Academy, the grueling training, the signature jutsu...
As for the art style, most cards in this world leaned toward gritty realism. Leo decided to buck the trend. He wanted to preserve the iconic "anime" aesthetic—bold lines and expressive features—while adding enough detail to satisfy the System's artistic requirements.
He lowered the Spirit Pen to the card.
Mental power began to flow. Unlike the sluggish, clumsy sensation he found in the original owner's memories, the pen moved with the fluid grace of someone who had practiced the stroke ten thousand times. Lines surged across the card base, outlining wild, spiky hair, eyes burning with determination, and that signature, cocky grin.
Spirit Ink only came in black, but as he drew, guided by the vivid image in his mind, the card seemed to saturate with color. Blonde hair, the flash of a red cloak, and the distinct orange pigment of Sage Mode markings around the eyes. The leaf symbol on the headband was etched with the precision of a master engraver.
Leo was in the zone. A decade of professional concept art experience erupted onto the card. Half an hour later, a lifelike Naruto Uzumaki stared back at him, looking like he might leap off the card and shout his catchphrase at any moment.
Fortunately, the System handled the "coloring" based on the creator's mental intent, saving him hours of tedious work.
Now came the hard part: the Story Injection.
Leo set the pen aside, pressed his palms against the card, and closed his eyes. Mental power trickled from his mind into the card like a stream. Simultaneously, he "played" the story in his head: the Ninja Academy, the Nine-Tailed Fox, Iruka-sensei, the Third Hokage, Team 7, the rivalry with Sasuke, the Chunin Exams, the battle against Zabuza, and the grueling mastery of the Rasengan...
The card began to glow. A faint white light pulsed, shifting into a deep blue, before finally erupting into a brilliant, shimmering Gold.
Leo snapped his eyes open. Text began to scroll across the back of the card:
Card Profile
* Name: Naruto Uzumaki (Sage Mode)
* Quality: Gold (Legendary)
* Tier: Tier 3
* Type: Summoning Card
* Story System: Naruto
* Cost: 500 Psionic Energy
* Effect: Summons Naruto in Sage Mode.
* Trait: [Nine-Tails Power] – When health is critical, enters Tailed Beast State for three minutes. Falls into a coma after the effect expires.
* Flavor Text: "You really are an incredible fellow. You remind me of my former self. I'll believe in you, Naruto Uzumaki."
> [Note]: This is the birth of a brand-new Story System. Creator Leo has been granted primary copyright. Others attempting to create cards with >70% similarity will suffer a 50% penalty to their success rate.
> [Hint]: This card has entered this month's Tier 3 Crafting Leaderboard. Rankings refresh daily at midnight.
>
Leo stared at the card, his heart hammering against his ribs. He had done it. A Gold Card.
More importantly, the Naruto system was now officially his. From this day forward, if anyone wanted to build a deck in the "Ninja" niche, they would essentially have to pay him for the privilege.
However, he couldn't get complacent. The Academy Tournament required more than just one "boss" card. Standard low-tier battles allowed a thirty-card deck. Players started with 100 Psionic Energy (mana), with the generation rate increasing every minute (round).
Since a Tier 3 card cost 500 Psionic Energy, Naruto couldn't even hit the field until at least the third round. To survive that long, Leo needed solid Tier 1 and Tier 2 cards to protect his crystal.
If I'm going to do this, Leo thought, I might as well go all the way and shake this world up.
He felt a pang of sympathy for the original owner. The kid had died for this dream. Leo wondered if, by some cosmic fluke, the kid had ended up in his old body back on Earth. I hope you like drawing backgrounds for mobile games, kid.
Feeling the mental fatigue setting in, Leo checked the monthly leaderboard. This was the hall of fame for new creations. Top ten finishers at the end of the month received massive rewards.
Currently, the Tier 3 board looked like this:
* [Naruto Uzumaki] – Gold
* [The Carefree Swordsman] – Purple
Leo clicked on the second-place entry. Only basic info was public:
* Name: The Carefree Swordsman
* Quality: Purple (Epic)
* System: Legend of the Blade
"Not bad," Leo murmured. "I wonder how he'd fare against George the Great Hero."
Below the top three, everything was Blue quality. Not worth his time. He pulled up his personal status panel to see the damage.
User Status
* Name: Leo
* Level: Tier 2 Card Maker (Junior)
* Mental Power: 37 / 200 (Recovering)
* Psionic Energy Cap: 700
* Spirit Crystals: 13
He checked the System Shop prices and winced.
* Tier 1 Blank Base: 1 Crystal
* Tier 2 Blank Base: 5 Crystals
* Tier 3 Blank Base: 20 Crystals
* Spirit Ink (Basic): 2 Crystals (10 uses)
"Expensive," Leo muttered. "No wonder the kid was broke."
In this world, most Card Makers made a living selling their work. A basic White Tier 1 card sold for maybe 2 Crystals—barely enough to cover materials. But a Blue card's value tripled or quadrupled. As for Purple cards? They rarely hit the open market, usually fetching four-digit sums at elite auctions.
Crystals were primarily earned by clearing "Rifts"—interdimensional cracks where monsters crawled through. Killing them yielded Spirit Cores, which could be traded for Crystals. But hunting was dangerous; a single Tier 2 monster usually required a coordinated team. Most Card Makers stayed safe in the city, crafting for the adventurers who actually braved the Rifts.
Leo rummaged through his desk. Two Tier 1 bases left. The cheapest kind.
"Not enough to build a deck," he sighed.
The clock hit 8:00 PM. The mental exhaustion finally hit him like a freight train. He wasn't even hungry; he just needed to lose consciousness. He stumbled to his bed and collapsed.
That night, as the leaderboards refreshed at midnight, the Card Master community went into a frenzy.
"A Tier 3 Gold Card? When was the last time that happened?"
"Find out who made it! We need that copyright authorization immediately!"
Elsewhere, the creator of [The Carefree Swordsman] stared at his screen, speechless. He had spent weeks meditating on his story and wasted a dozen bases just to hit Purple quality. He had dominated the board for twenty days, only to be dethroned in a single night by a total unknown.
"A Gold Card..
." he sighed, closing the window. "There's no competing with that."