BlackStar_BH:
More Power Stones and comments, guys!
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[—'WHA…!' At that moment, Sasuke felt a hand grab his leg.
"Earth Style: Double Suicide Decapitation Jutsu (Doton: Shinjū Zanshu no Jutsu)." Kakashi's voice came from beneath the ground.
"NOOOO—!" Sasuke was dragged underground, leaving only his head exposed.
"Shinobi battle technique, lesson number three—Ninjutsu," said Kakashi.
"…But at least, as you predicted, your performance was head and shoulders above that of your companions," Kakashi admitted.
"Oh, well! You know what they say! The nail that sticks up is the one that gets hammered down, right? Hehehe…" Kakashi pulled out his book again, enjoying it.
…
Elsewhere, Naruto was preparing to enjoy the meal.
"Hehehe… Even if I can't take those bells fair and square, I can deal with it. I'll hang out here and eat everybody's lunch!"
"Ahem!" A voice came from above him.
"Uuuh… Just kidding!" Naruto recognized the voice.
"Too late!" said Kakashi. —]
…
Minato smiled helplessly as he watched this scene… Kushina as well.
Unfortunately for Naruto, he seemed to have been caught red-handed… before even taking a single bite, which made many readers laugh hard at his terrible luck.
Just moments earlier, Sasuke had been fighting a bitter battle that ended with him being nailed into the ground — exactly as Kakashi described — and here Naruto was, preparing to eat all the food.
It wasn't that he didn't think of his teammates who were also hungry; he wanted to devour everything alone, by his own admission.
"Well, he was the first one to jump into the fight while the other two were hiding, so doesn't he deserve it?" Kushina puffed her rosy cheeks.
Seeing her cute reaction, Minato instinctively wanted to poke her cheeks with his finger, but he restrained himself and instead laughed:
"Haha! Looks like Kakashi will definitely tie him to a tree trunk."
"Why him and not Sasuke!?" Kushina wanted to protest…
Hadn't Sasuke been completely defeated earlier?
…
"Ugh, is this girl, Haruno Sakura, going to scream like this the whole time? She makes the story feel so childish."
"Man, the protagonists are still children, too. You'll have to be patient until they grow up."
"What's her role so far? She's been screaming nonstop. She didn't even fight Kakashi directly like Naruto and Sasuke did…"
"Do we have to get used to her?"
"She is part of Team 7 after all…"
Hearing the scattered comments from readers, Kizashi Haruno felt a strange sense of sadness.
He wanted to see a girl from his clan prove her worth within the team — but so far, nothing positive had shown up.
From her first appearance, she behaved like a lovestruck teenager.
As for talent or combat ability, nothing had surfaced yet.
"Naruto can create thousands of living clones, and he's the Nine-Tails' Jinchuriki. Sasuke fights skillfully and is talented in Fire Ninjutsu, as expected from a Uchiha clan member… so what can you do, Sakura?"
"Please, could you stop screaming and fainting every time?"
Kizashi felt even worse when Sakura fainted again after seeing only Sasuke's head sticking out of the ground.
'Did she think it was his severed head?'
He sighed deeply and flipped to the next scene with heavy feelings.
Only to feel the urge to slam his forehead into the hard wall of the Art Store.
'Why the hell are you hugging him!? It's obvious he doesn't like you!'
Kizashi didn't like Sasuke's personality, but he felt more irritated by the girl from his clan.
But then he froze when he saw Sakura stopping Sasuke from trying to get the bells again and pushing him to wait for the next opportunity.
"That look…"
"He looks like he hates her even more now…"
For some reason, Kizashi felt a genuine sadness for the young girl from his clan.
…
[— "Only I can kill him."
"Who? You mean… Master Kakashi?!"
"He made me… cry…"
"You cried…?"
"My…"
"What… What are you talking about…!?"
"My only goal is to have my revenge. I have to become stronger than he is… now." —]
…
"He's not talking about me… right, Dad?"
Young Kakashi felt confused.
He still didn't understand why Sasuke would want revenge against his counterpart in the manga.
"Of course not… Whoever Sasuke-kun's enemy is, he must be powerful," Sakumo said with a gentle smile.
"Who could it be then?" young Kakashi wondered again.
"Who knows? Until the manga reveals him, he'll remain a mystery…" Sakumo added.
…
"I have a bad feeling…"
Fugaku sensed something wrong in this scene…
"It seems Sasuke's motive for getting stronger is purely revenge. Doesn't he have parents pushing him forward? Doesn't he want to grow stronger to make them proud?"
Mikoto felt sad as she looked at the emotionless, cold expressions full of bloodlust on Sasuke's face.
"Something must have happened… to his family," Fugaku said quietly.
Unaware of the truth — that they were the family being referred to.
…
"Sasuke-kun is disturbed… A man must remain steadfast no matter how harsh the trials. Keep fighting!"
Might Duy shouted enthusiastically as he followed the manga's events.
Like his father, young Might Guy also cheered, having inherited Duy's bright spirit despite hardship.
"Go, Sasuke-kun! You can do it! Naruto-kun too!"
Young Might Guy felt he could read this manga all day without ever getting bored.
Even adults were fully captivated by the story, let alone children like him.
…
"Sasuke said yesterday that he has someone he wants to kill… Before that, he said he wants to revive his clan… hmm…"
In another corner of the Art Store, Shikaku Nara, age 14 — the talented genin from the Nara clan and son of the clan head — was analyzing Sasuke's previous statements and connecting them to his current behavior.
The motive for becoming stronger.
The frightening look he gave Sakura when she asked them to try another time because the task felt impossible to her.
His refusal to fail the bell test or try later…
His desire to succeed today.
His insistence on relying on himself…
Shikaku connected all these hints, and a faint idea began to form in his mind.
'Did the Uchiha Clan in the manga get wiped out by the person Sasuke wants to kill? Including Sasuke's own family…?'
He remembered the cold look Sasuke gave Sakura when she mocked Naruto for having no parents, and he replied: You make me sick.
'If Sasuke is an orphan too, that reaction would make perfect sense.'
Shikaku calmly set aside his hypothesis and returned to reading the manga.
'Interesting…'
He smiled as he continued.
He had never felt such a desire to keep reading, nor imagined he'd ever become addicted to anything in his life — except playing shogi with his old man.
…
"It seems they all failed the test…"
Tsunade smiled as she saw the final scene of chapter seven… and of the whole volume.
"They failed…? Really?"
Nawaki exclaimed in disbelief.
"This is unexpected… Are they going back to the academy?"
He felt a bitter disappointment.
"Not exactly," Tsunade said calmly beside him.
"But… where are the chapters!? Why did it end!?"
"Where is Rubirō!! I'll force him to draw more!!"
It looked as if the demon inside Tsunade had awakened.
Nawaki saw this and prayed internally for Rubiro's safety before closing his volume and running away.
…
Jiraiya's eyes widened when he turned the page and found no more content.
"Seriously!? Where are the remaining chapters?!"
Jiraiya shouted, overwhelmed with disappointment.
…
He wasn't the only one.
All the village's people, including shinobi and civilians, sighed in frustration.
Not even a full hour had passed.
Had they known the volume would end so quickly, they would've read it far more slowly.
The Third Hokage stared at the last page with suspicion.
"They failed at teamwork, so their failure is expected."
"But surely this isn't the end? Rubiro-kun, is there more?"
Rob looked at the Third Hokage quietly.
This sly old fox — wasn't he, along with the crafty Danzo beside him, just discussing taxing the store and limiting its spread to the other Four Great Villages?
Why did he suddenly want more chapters?
Rob maintained a calm expression and said,
"Of course, the story has only just begun. I'll announce the update schedule later. No need to worry."
Upon hearing this, everyone in the store sighed in relief —as if a heavy burden had been lifted from their hearts.
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Upcoming chapter titles (spoilers):
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Chapter 40: Be on My Side.
Chapter 41: Are You Kidding Me?
Chapter 42: The Hundred Seal.
Chapter 43: The Next Destination
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BlackStar_BH:
The chapters currently available on Patreon are up to Chapter 56.
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!