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Ōnoki did not move immediately.
The volume remained open in his hands, his narrow eyes moving slowly—not reading the drawings as much as dissecting them, line by line, scene after scene.
He was astonished by the accuracy with which Konohagakure was depicted, and his eyes widened when he saw the elderly Sarutobi Hiruzen.
"Is this… Hiruzen? Really? How is that possible?"
He was so shocked that he momentarily forgot how to maintain his composure.
Rob stood below, calm, showing no impatience and offering no explanation. He knew that a man like Ōnoki did not need extra words—only time.
"Konohamaru? That's Hiruzen's grandson…"
The Tsuchikage finally murmured.
"Children… training… Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke? Is this a future that hasn't happened yet?"
He lifted his gaze from the book.
"This is not a book for entertainment, it seems."
Rob did not smile.
"I never said it was. Here—this is the second volume of Naruto."
Ōnoki's eyes narrowed further.
"Why are you giving me this? Do you think that by flattering me, I'll allow you to sell this in my village? There are clearly many political and social messages embedded in this thing."
"And if what's written in this book is true…"
He paused, then added,
"Then you are not selling a story—you're selling a possibility."
"Possibilities are more dangerous than enemies."
Kitsuchi stepped forward. "Tsuchikage-sama, even if we assume this is merely a work of art, its appearance inside the village like this—"
"It is not merely a work of art. Take it. Read this."
Ōnoki interrupted calmly, tossing the first volume without looking back.
"Read from right to left,"
Rob added with a friendly reminder when he saw Kitsuchi pick up the book.
Kitsuchi took the manga volume and, without saying a word, skimmed through the chapters quickly, following Rob's advice.
A brief silence fell.
Soon, Kitsuchi had finished reading the entire volume. At the same time, Ōnoki—who had previously shown resistance—had also finished reading the second volume.
Absolute astonishment was written on Ōnoki's face, while Kitsuchi wore a strange expression.
"You claim to be a merchant," Ōnoki said, staring directly at Rob.
"How can a mere merchant know all these details? Are you a prophet? Can you foresee the future and draw it into a book?"
He slowly closed the volume.
"Don't take me for a fool. Zabuza, Kakashi, Naruto, Gato, the Demon Brothers, the masked Hunter-nin, Sakura, Sasuke… these are not fictional characters, are they?"
Rob replied with the same calm tone:
"You're focusing on trivial details instead of the core of the story. And what if the characters are real? What matters are their actions. I drew this manga based on a fictional trajectory."
He paused briefly before continuing,
"And if that fictional trajectory happens to be this world's real future—then so be it."
Kitsuchi did not like that answer.
"Let me read the second volume, Tsuchikage-sama."
Ōnoki tossed the second volume to Kitsuchi without looking, while Kitsuchi passed the first volume to one of the village elders who had been pressing for it.
"And you expect us to allow something like this to be distributed among the people of Iwagakure? Among children?"
As he spoke, Ōnoki slowly descended to the ground, no longer floating in the air.
Rob finally turned toward him.
"I'm not forcing anything. The store exists. The manga would be sold."
Then he added,
"Those who don't want to read it won't."
One of the elders—the same man who had just read the first volume—let out a faint, mocking laugh.
"Pretty words, but naïve. Curiosity alone is enough to ignite trouble. This manga clearly originates from Konoha. Why should we accept anything from a foreign village into our village?"
"Especially when Konoha is our enemy."
Ōnoki did not stop the elder. He wanted to see how Rob would respond.
"The story begins in Konoha, that is true,"
Rob said calmly.
"But that doesn't mean Konoha will be the center of the story. It's merely one axis. The Village of Stone will be one of its axes as well."
"What did you say?"
The elder snapped angrily.
"Did we permit you to include our village in your story? What if you spread nonsense about us?"
At that moment, Ōnoki raised his hand to silence him.
He looked deeply at Rob before speaking.
"You said you came here in peace—and that much is clear. You haven't caused any real harm so far. However, you entered our village covertly and constructed this building without any prior warning."
"That is a violation of our borders. I have every right to crush you and your building right here and end this farce. But do you know why I didn't?"
"Simply because you can't. You already tried—and failed."
Rob replied calmly.
"Exactly… I couldn't,"
Ōnoki said.
"That means you are no ordinary individual. And yet, you maintain a friendly stance. That makes me more inclined to accept your case."
"I'm glad to hear that, Tsuchikage-sama."
Rob smiled inwardly. 'At last, someone who understands my noble goal.'
Ōnoki reopened the volume.
"I'm not praising you solely for your attitude, but also for my curiosity… curiosity about this manga."
He repeated the word as if weighing it.
"Curiosity is what made us shinobi in the first place."
He looked directly into Rob's eyes.
"So tell me—your manga won't bring trouble to my village, correct?"
"Honestly, Tsuchikage-sama, I don't know how you will judge it in the future,"
Rob answered.
"But I promise that I will draw nothing but the truth."
No one replied.
Ōnoki closed the volume and set it aside.
"The Art Store will be permitted to operate in Iwagakure."
Low murmurs rose, but immediately fell silent when he raised his hand.
"However," he added, "It will remain under surveillance. You are not to interfere in village affairs, and you may not leave your store without consulting me. ANBU will be stationed here."
Rob nodded.
"That wasn't part of my plans anyway."
"Good,"
Ōnoki said.
"If this future is coming… then I'd rather witness it with my own eyes."
He turned away.
"Dismissed."
The shinobi began to disperse, though many eyes lingered on the building behind Rob.
…
Later that day, a young boy stood in front of the Art Store. His light brown hair was slightly spiky, and he looked to be about eight years old.
He wasn't a shinobi yet—just a curious trainee sent to buy something from the market. He stopped when he noticed the strange storefront and the new sign.
Gari hesitated briefly, then went inside.
Hours later, as the sun dipped toward the horizon, Gari finally emerged, clutching two manga volumes to his chest as if they were priceless treasures.
For the first time in his life, Gari felt that the world was far wider than he had been told.
"Oh no! I completely forgot!" the boy shouted as he remembered why he had left home that morning.
He had entirely forgotten that he was supposed to buy vegetables.
…
Inside the store, Rob silently reviewed the system notifications.
[+12 AC from Iwagakure Civilian]
[+230 AC from Academy Child Gari]
The numbers weren't large.
But they were a beginning.
"So a child with potential reads the manga…" he murmured with a smile.
"Is he the Explosion Release user? Interesting…"
He closed the notifications and looked at the third volume in his hand—it was finally ready.
"Alright. My next task is to stock the shelves with the new volume in preparation for its release."
Because Ōnoki was extremely cautious, he deliberately restricted the number of people allowed to enter the Art Store, preventing it from gaining major popularity on its first day.
"No problem. I'm very patient."
Rob smiled… or rather, the clone did.
…
Inside the Tsuchikage's building, Ōnoki sat alone in his office.
The volume lay open before him, displaying a page of a blond boy smiling confidently.
"Uzumaki Naruto…" he murmured.
"The Nine-Tails Jinchūriki."
"Is this his story alone… or the story of the entire world?"
Ōnoki felt his interest in this tale growing deeper and deeper—especially after finishing the second volume.
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Upcoming chapter titles (spoilers):
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Chapter 80: Naruto Manga Slowly Spreads Through Iwa
Chapter 81: Rob's Dream, an Undeniable Interpretation!
Chapter 82: Volume Three on the Shelves, but Entry is Forbidden!
Chapter 83: System Level 4! First Chapter of Volume 3!
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BlackStar_BH:
The chapters currently available on Patreon are up to Chapter 106.
There are 28 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!