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The long day finally came to an end. The Art Store in Konoha gradually emptied and returned to its usual calm as people left one after another, heading back to their homes or workplaces. Yet without exception, they all departed carrying one or two volumes of the Naruto manga with them.
Some had entered the store for the very first time, starting the manga from Chapter One all the way to Chapter Seventeen, taking both volumes with them.
The majority, however, were the same people who had discovered the Art Store a month ago. This time, they enjoyed the events of the second volume even more.
Outside, the sky had already darkened, but inside the village homes, the lights were still on. Laughter and heated discussions about the manga chapters could be heard from within the houses. Children, parents, and even grandparents had found a shared topic to talk about.
That shared topic was, more often than not, chakra—its types—and the possibility of becoming a shinobi by following Kakashi's training method, specifically the tree-climbing exercise mentioned at the end of Chapter Seventeen.
The civilian readers could not understand how climbing trees could allow a shinobi to control their chakra, but the shinobi among them understood it perfectly.
It seemed they would have to wait until the release of the third volume to learn about Kakashi's strict training system.
While the lights were still glowing inside the village homes, darkness reigned atop the tallest building in the village—the Hokage Tower—where Hiruzen stood, gazing intently at the full moon beyond the window.
The moonlight was enough to make sight possible.
At that moment, a masked shinobi—apparently an ANBU—appeared behind the Third Hokage.
"There has been no trace of him, Lord Hokage," the masked figure said in a calm tone.
"Hm, I see. Have there been any reports from Sunagakure?" Hiruzen asked.
"Yes. The existence of an Art Store has been confirmed in Suna… and in Kiri as well," the ANBU replied.
"What? Kirigakure too? How?" Hiruzen's eyes widened as he turned to look at the reporting ANBU.
"That is correct, sir. We also received messages from shinobi in Kirigakure. They wanted to know the origin of the Art Store, and through that, its existence there was confirmed."
"Unbelievable… how did he do it?" Hiruzen muttered.
He knew the origin of the Art Store—it belonged to Uzumaki Rubiro, a shinobi from their village. Even if Rubiro had retired from being a shinobi of Konoha, that did not erase his history or origin as a Konoha shinobi, did it?
What was strange, however, was that Rubiro had left Konoha only half a month ago. His goal had been to go to Sunagakure and open an Art Store there. Hiruzen had not known how he would manage it, but he had felt that Rubiro could succeed.
Yet now it appeared that Uzumaki Rubiro had not only opened a store in Sunagakure, but in Kirigakure as well!
This was the Hidden Mist Village, known for its aggressive and brutal nature… how did Rubiro dare to go there alone?
No— the real question was how he managed to do two things at the same time. Wasn't he supposed to be in Sunagakure right now? How had he reached Kirigakure as well?
Hiruzen grew more and more puzzled every time he tried to think of a practical explanation for this dilemma.
"Very well. Is there anything else?" he asked, unable to find any explanation.
"Yes. The remains of Root shinobi were found frozen in the hardened sand trench. It appears they died at least ten days ago," the ANBU reported cautiously.
"Root? Frozen?"
"So Danzo really did make a move…" Hiruzen murmured. "Is there any evidence that Rubiro killed them?"
"There is no evidence of that, Hokage-sama."
"Alright. You may withdraw," Hiruzen said as he turned back to look at the full moon in the sky.
"Understood."
The ANBU nodded and vanished into the darkness.
'It seems the Kazekage and the Mizukage will contact me soon to inquire about the manga and the Art Store. Since they have interacted with Rubiro-kun recently, they must have up-to-date information about what is happening,' Hiruzen thought.
In his mind, Rubiro was becoming stranger and stranger. If he continued to regard him as merely a medical chūnin, he would be a fool.
'Clearly, something was happening behind the scenes—something no one was aware of.'
'The Naruto manga is far bigger than it appears… this is only the beginning, and I can feel the events moving at an abnormally fast pace… something is being cooked up…'
'Rubiro-kun, I hope you are not a source of evil. I hope your goal truly is peace, as you told me.'
Hiruzen sighed inwardly as he looked at the moon, now partially shrouded by white clouds.
…
Inside the Art Store in Konoha—specifically within Rob's private section—an additional room appeared out of thin air.
The room looked like an egg, its striking black color standing out among the surrounding white rooms, like the storage room with no doors or windows.
At that moment, the egg-like black room began to glow with a strange, brilliant light.
In the next minute, a gate opened, and Rob walked out with his hands behind his head, like someone returning from a trip.
"To think that the instant transportation feature works this smoothly… I'm truly blessed!"
"I can move between all locations where Art Stores exist in an instant! I can even gather my clones whenever I want! Amazing! This is the best feature ever."
Rob almost laughed wildly as he thought about the incredible advantage provided by the Art Store's spatial teleportation ability, which allowed him to instantly move between all of his stores.
Just a moment ago, he had been in Sunagakure. Now, he was back in Konoha thanks to this feature.
From now on, long distances would mean nothing to him.
…
In Kirigakure, the darkness of night failed to swallow the mist surrounding the village, which slowly crept in, enveloping the entire settlement in the stillness of the night.
The residents were already accustomed to the mist—but they were not yet accustomed to the shock caused by the Art Store and the Naruto manga today.
That was right. Shinobi and civilians alike were still discussing the manga's events among themselves.
The Hidden Mist Village experienced unusual activity today, unlike past days when people would normally be asleep at this hour.
Inside the Mizukage's office, sleep was the last thing on the minds of those present at the emergency meeting convened by the Mizukage.
Those present included the Mizukage, Mizuro Hōzuki, members of the Hōzuki clan, as well as members of the Biwa, Hoshigaki, Karatachi, Suikazan, Kurosuki, Akebino, and Kuriarare clans—families known for producing the finest shinobi who usually became the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist.
However, today, a particular family had been summoned—one usually considered weak in the Hidden Mist, a family with no voice or influence to speak of.
The Momochi family.
The Third Mizukage had summoned them specifically because of what had happened in the manga today.
They were the focus of this meeting, and nearly all eyes were on them.
"The most important question today is this… does Momochi Zabuza exist?" the Third Mizukage asked calmly as he looked at the tense members of the Momochi clan.
The Mist Hall was enormous and noisy at that moment, but the commotion temporarily ceased when the Mizukage asked his question.
Everyone was curious about the truth behind a character who appeared in a manga book, depicted as a ferocious demon who stubbornly faced a monster from Konoha named Hatake Kakashi and survived.
Hatake Kakashi.
That name resounded like thunder in their minds. The Hatake name belonged to one of the most famous figures of the current era, alongside Hanzo the Salamander—the White Fang of Konoha, Hatake Sakumo!
The battle between Zabuza and Kakashi in the manga pages—the Copy Ninja wielding the Sharingan with mastery—was still vividly etched into their minds.
To think that such a ferocious demon, the wielder of the Kubikiribōchō, one of the Seven Swords, might currently exist within the Momochi family—this idea alone was hard to believe.
"Lord Mizukage-sama, Momochi Zabuza is my son… he is currently five years old."
At that moment, someone spoke.
When those words were uttered, the entire hall fell silent—as if a silent bomb had been detonated in its center.
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Upcoming chapter titles (spoilers):
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Chapter 77: Questions About the Future.
Chapter 78: Fourth Art Store – Iwagakure!
Chapter 79: What If You Spread Nonsense About Us?
Chapter 80: Naruto Manga Slowly Spreads Through Iwa
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BlackStar_BH:
The chapters currently available on Patreon are up to Chapter 102.
There are 27 advanced chapters available now:
5 chapters in the Silver tier ($5 subscription), 5 more chapters in the Gold tier ($10 subscription), 5 more chapters in the Platinum tier ($15 subscription), 5 more chapters in the Diamond tier ($20 subscription), and 7 more chapters in the Emperor tier ($30 subscription)
On Patreon and Ko-fi, too.
In the coming days, chapters will be made available for all tiers, reaching up to 50 advanced chapters… Enjoy!