BlackStar_BH:
More Power Stones and comments, guys!
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The Art Store was filled with a chaotic noise—loud laughter, sarcastic remarks, and tones of mockery mixed with genuine astonishment—all under the store's dim light reflecting off the faces of readers immersed in the manga pages.
Rob laughed as he stood behind the counter, watching the scene as if it were another small harvest from a crop he knew would stir controversy wherever it appeared.
He loved seeing the audience enjoy the comedic touch in the manga. 'This was nothing; what was coming was far greater,' he thought.
"A thousand years of pain?"
"Hahaha! What is he doing? He's just a kid, man!"
"Does a ninja technique really exist that stupid?"
"Kakashi-sensei is so funny!"
"And he's really handsome~."
One of the laughs suddenly stopped.
"Handsome? How the hell do you know that? He's hiding his face!"
The girl smiled with a strangely confident expression:
"Are you stupid? It's obvious he's Sakumo-sama's son when he grows up…"
A short, heavy silence fell.
"…That son of the Hatake clan?"
"The man who smeared our village's reputation in the dirt?"
Another voice rose, sharper this time:
"Stop talking like that. Lord Sakumo never intended to fail."
…
In the place where most of the village's influential figures had gathered, Danzo and Hiruzen's gaze fell on Sakumo after hearing the crowd's comments, the looks carrying an invisible reproach.
Sakumo felt uneasy at that moment; he even stopped reading the manga and stared into the void silently…
He was not smiling.
He was not commenting.
The pages trembled slightly in his hands, still depicting his son standing confidently—none of the three present could take even a single bell from him.
'How did my failure affect you… I want to know,' he thought as he looked at Kakashi, who was hiding his face for a reason Sakumo did not know.
Seeing his son… he somehow felt like he was seeing himself.
He saw the consequences of failure, failure buried under the sands…
He saw in Hatake Kakashi a character shaped by that failure.
'I hope this is just an assumption,' Sakumo thought, ignoring Danzo's cold stare.
…
Elsewhere in the store, the comments were less amused and harsher.
"These fools…"
"Naruto fights bravely, and they hide and watch him get defeated alone."
"Tsk… The Uchiha clan's reputation is being tarnished by a single child. What a shame. How could he not even take a single bell from a Jonin yet?"
"A simple test like this, I could pass it with my eyes closed!"
"That Kyubi jinchūriki has real courage… even if he's a bit stupid."
"Forget this nonsense. Sasuke will easily surpass this test."
At that moment, cold eyes moved.
The head of the Uchiha clan looked quietly and lethally at the few clan members who had been speaking moments ago. He didn't raise his voice, but he didn't need to.
"Sasuke is calm… unlike you," he said slowly, each word cutting like a knife.
"He is a kid still learning, yes, but he possesses the presence that you should have had."
Then he added, with an even sterner tone:
"Stop acting like clowns."
Silence fell immediately.
Everyone returned to reading, the tension on their faces clearer than any words.
"Hmph…"
The clan leader snorted coldly, then refocused on the pages.
From the moment he first saw Sasuke, he felt an eerie resemblance.
It was as if he were looking at himself… decades ago.
Two black eyes, silent, observing the world without trusting it.
Eyes that ask for no help, and admit no weakness.
'This child… is walking a dangerous path. What happened to him?'
He thought silently.
...
On the next page, within the manga world, the scene was more lively.
[—
"All right? What are you waiting for? Get one of these bells before lunch… or you won't get lunch!"
"I know that!"
Naruto shouted angrily, emerging from the river, his face exhausted.
"You claim you want to surpass the Hokage, but you've already run out of energy," Kakashi said with cold sarcasm.
"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! I can fight no matter how hungry I am!"
Then he added stubbornly:
"I just wasn't ready yet!"
"Then learn to be ready,"
Kakashi replied without looking at him.
"Have you ever heard that negligence can be your worst enemy?"
He turned away, while Naruto stared at him through clenched teeth.
'Damn… I'm hungry… and completely exhausted…
But… I must get a bell!
And I must earn his respect… no matter the cost!'
Suddenly—
Dozens of Naruto clones emerged from the river.
'I must become a true shinobi…'
—]
…
'He's clever.'
This scene made Minato smile as he thought about it.
"But it's not easy to take something from a Jonin," he said.
That was reality, harsh as it was; no matter how talented or clever Naruto was, he could never pass this small challenge alone.
"Should they unite to pass the test?"
Kushina wondered after seeing Naruto punch a clone of himself, thinking he had caught Kakashi.
Kushina was also astonished, thinking Naruto had really caught Kakashi, but she was deceived, just like Naruto.
After all, at this time, she was only 13 years old, one year older than Naruto in the manga.
"That's right, they need to cooperate."
Minato smiled, remembering how he had passed the same test before with his fellow newly promoted Genin…
The teacher had been Jiraiya.
The eyes of Jiraiya and his student met, and the shared smile said it all.
It seemed that the future would always resemble the past, and new generations would come to inherit the will of those before them.
Seeing Naruto fight intensely, wanting to prove himself and earn the respect of his teacher, Kakashi, Minato naturally wanted to see him succeed, even though he knew it was impossible.
And that became clear in the following scenes: at the end of Chapter Five, Naruto still failed to even touch Kakashi.
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Upcoming chapter titles (spoilers):
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Chapter 37: A Battle for Self-Validation!
Chapter 38: Might Duy's Appearance!
Chapter 39: End of the Volume — Team 7's Failure!
Chapter 40: Be on My Side.
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BlackStar_BH:
The chapters currently available on Patreon are up to Chapter 54.
There are 19 advanced chapters available now:
5 chapters in the Silver tier ($5 subscription), 5 more chapters in the Gold tier ($10 subscription), and 5 more chapters in the Platinum tier ($15 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!