[Hokage Tower – Private Office]
The flame in the oil lamp wavered softly, casting uneven shadows across scroll-lined walls. Dust settled in the ridges of old wood. The room smelled of ash, paper, and age.
Sarutobi Hiruzen sat behind his desk, hands steepled, pipe cooling beside him. He was quiet as Kakashi finished speaking.
No movement.
Just a long silence, hanging heavy between them.
The white-haired Jonin stood straight, giving nothing more than necessary. He didn't embellish. He didn't speculate. He simply reported.
And what he reported…
Hiruzen's fingers twitched.
"A dimensional store," he murmured, more to himself than to Kakashi.
"Yes," Kakashi confirmed.
"Selling chakra pills. Jutsu scrolls. Bloodline access…" He trailed off, visibly disturbed.
"And the manga?" he asked, voice tighter now.
"Four volumes so far. Naruto's bought them. Possibly five. It shows them their future — events already experienced, people they haven't met yet. All accurate."
Hiruzen slowly leaned back in his chair.
He didn't answer.
But his mind screamed.
No chakra signature? Not even a flicker? And Naruto… he's already consuming it. Strength. Truth. Stories that should never be known...
He clenched his jaw behind his beard.
How many things had he tried to control over the years?
How many secrets buried in the name of peace?
He remembered the baby with golden hair and blue eyes, crying in a blanket. The son of the Fourth and the last royal blood of Uzushiogakure — the Uzumaki princess. A child with a pedigree so powerful, so dangerous, that enemies would descend on him before he could speak his first word.
And yet...
The villagers spat at him. Shops closed their doors. Children weren't allowed to play with him. He scavenged for food. Wore the same jacket year-round.
Hiruzen could've intervened. Could've diverted Minato's wealth. Could've assigned guardians. Could've told him who he really was.
He hadn't.
Because a child who knew nothing clung more tightly to those who fed him any warmth.
It was never cruelty. It was protection, he told himself again. It was strategy.
But now, someone else — someone unseen, untraceable, uncontrolled — had opened a door to Naruto's future. And Sasuke's. And Sakura's.
Hiruzen realized his hands had started trembling.
He lowered them slowly.
Kakashi was still watching.
"The shopkeeper," Hiruzen said finally. "This Ryuu… was he hostile?"
"No," Kakashi said. "Neutral. Disciplined. He didn't offer more than what they asked. He charged for everything. No manipulation."
Hiruzen reached for his pipe — and stopped halfway.
A man selling the truth. Not offering it, not gifting it — selling it. Transactional. Detached.
There was something even more dangerous in that than malice. Indifference was always more frightening than hatred.
He placed his hand back on the desk.
"And your personal opinion?"
Kakashi's gaze lowered slightly.
"It's a risk. A quiet one. But too effective to ignore."
Another silence.
The old man stood slowly, walking toward the long scroll sealed on the far wall — ancient paper, bound in protective chakra for decades. His back was slightly hunched now. His steps slower than they once were.
He stared at it.
"I've ruled too long," he murmured.
Kakashi said nothing.
"I've seen power shift hands. The rise and fall of men greater than me. I've made choices — some I regret. Others I justified until the weight of them vanished."
He turned back around.
"But this? This I don't understand. And I was never taught how to fight what I can't understand."
His voice wavered slightly at the end.
Just slightly.
He returned to his seat.
"What would you do, Kakashi?"
Kakashi didn't hesitate.
"I'd watch them. Guide them. Let them explore carefully — but not alone."
Hiruzen nodded slowly.
"It's not just Team 7 this threatens. If word spreads… if the other clans hear about bloodline sales, future knowledge, weapons that skip the path of discipline…"
He closed his eyes.
"It would tear the village apart."
Then he opened them again.
"We keep it secret. For now. No council briefings. No ANBU interference. Just monitoring. Only you."
Kakashi inclined his head. "Understood."
Hiruzen picked up the pipe — and this time lit it.
The first draw was long, deliberate. The smoke curled like a question that refused to take shape.
"If this Ryuu escalates," he said softly, "you won't confront him. Not unless he acts first. We cannot afford to make an enemy of someone who's already positioned himself at the center of their potential."
Another breath. Another flicker of ash.
"Especially not Naruto's."
[Meanwhile – Dimensional Store, Rear Console Chamber]
The Display Room shimmered quietly as Ryuu stood before the bloodline diagnostic interface, the glowing chakra model of Sasuke flickering before him.
He didn't speak.
He simply observed the numbers as Rem stepped in behind him, holding
a sealed scroll, pale blue with silver threading — the system-generated report of Sasuke Uchiha's current evolution potential.
"They're out," she said quietly. "The Jonin's gone to report."
"I know," Ryuu replied, his gaze never leaving the model of Sasuke's chakra network hovering in front of him.
The system's bloodline diagnostic continued updating in real time:
[Indra Chakra Signature Stabilizing…]Bloodline: Uchiha – Tier IV (Purified)Natural Sharingan Evolution: Progress — 83%Risk Rating: 7.4Volatility Spike Detected: Emotional Trigger ImminentProjected Awakening: Within 48 hours
Rem stood silently at his side.
"He'll awaken it soon."
Ryuu's response was quiet.
"Probably during training. Possibly during a mission. Either way… it will hurt."
Footsteps clicked softly across the floor — Ram entered behind them, arms crossed, expression sharp.
"So what's your move?" she asked.
Ryuu's hands slid behind his back.
"I wait."
Ram's voice tightened. "You always wait."
Ryuu turned, walking out of the diagnostic room and back toward the main store floor, where product displays slowly shimmered back into place.
"That's why I win," he said.
The fifth manga volume floated into its case. Outside, the ripples of fate were forming — spreading through three young minds too eager to understand what they'd touched.
Behind the sealed bloodline vaults and locked crossworld mechanisms, the system waited for the world to tip.
And when it did?
The store would be ready.