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In the Art Store of Iwagakure, silence reigned, broken only by the sound of turning pages.
The Third Tsuchikage, Ōnoki, in the full prime of his strength and authority at this point, sat with dignified composure in one of the comfortable chairs, his sharp eyes devouring the details of the battle between Shino Aburame and Zaku, which had ended in favor of the Konoha boy from the Aburame clan.
Beside him, his towering assistant Akatsuchi watched in disbelief.
"He packed the opponent's arms with insects without anyone noticing. Is this truly the level of Konoha's coming generation?"
Ōnoki did not reply immediately. Instead, he slowly adjusted his glasses and stared at the illustration of the insects emerging from Shino's body.
"Akatsuchi, what you are looking at is not merely skill; it is a strategic nightmare. These are the Aburame. A clan that has turned their very bodies into living nests for insects in exchange for absolute loyalty."
Ōnoki fell silent for a moment, and a trace of pride mingled with genuine respect appeared on his face.
"As a member of the Kamizuru clan, we know well the value of controlling small creatures. We possess bees, and we possess the power to destroy entire villages beneath our swarms… but these Aburame possess a different kind of integration altogether. They do not summon insects; they are the insects."
"Do you believe they pose a threat to our clan, Tsuchikage-sama?" Akatsuchi asked with a grave tone.
Ōnoki pressed his fingers firmly against the manga's edge.
"At present, the Kamizuru are the strongest in this domain, and our influence within Iwagakure is without equal. But the manga reveals to us that the Konoha of the future harbors individuals with this level of composure and intelligence. This Aburame Shino did not so much as blink while dismantling his opponent's arms… That is precisely the kind of enemy we must account for."
"When he grows up, he will be truly terrifying."
In the following chapter, number 70, Ōnoki's attention shifted to the scene of the unconscious Sasuke and his sealed curse mark, then to the appearance of Orochimaru as he faced Kakashi.
"And what of this snake? Orochimaru covets the blood of the Uchiha… If the Third Hokage's own student has descended to this level of madness in the future, what guarantees us Konoha's stability in the present?"
"Tsuchikage-sama, look at the electronic screen in the manga!" Akatsuchi suddenly called out. "The names have begun moving again..."
Ōnoki closed the chapter slowly, his eyes gleaming with deep thought.
"The manga does not merely entertain us, Akatsuchi, it charts for us the map of powers yet to come. Konoha, Suna, and even these rebels from the Village of Sound… everyone is in motion. And now, let us see who the next pawn is in this deadly exam."
Throughout the store, members of the Kamizuru clan exchanged whispers thick with competitive pride.
For them, watching another insect clan shine in the manga was an implicit invitation to prove that the bees of stone would always remain supreme.
…
[— Manga Scene —]
"Don't come any closer to Sasuke! Even if you are one of those Three Legendary Ninja… in this situation, I can compete with you!"
Kakashi stood in a combat stance at the sharpest edge of his awareness, having prepared his deadly technique, Raikiri, ready to defend Sasuke with every ounce of his strength.
"Hehehe… hehehe…" Orochimaru began to laugh.
"What is there to laugh about…?" Kakashi's irritation deepened.
"What you're doing, what you just said… all of it." Orochimaru simply found everything Kakashi had said amusing.
"What?" Kakashi's annoyance sharpened further.
"That seal you placed is meaningless… Do you understand? To achieve his goal, he will embrace even the most powerful form of evil."
"That is his nature, he is driven by vengeance…" Orochimaru said coldly.
"So you're using that… but Sasuke…"
Orochimaru turned away, no longer interested in continuing the conversation. "He will come looking for me in the end, to obtain the power he seeks."
But in that moment, he suddenly stopped. "By the way, did you want to kill me? Why not try? If you think you can…"
In that instant, a terrifying killing intent erupted, freezing Kakashi in place.
After that, Orochimaru departed in silence.
'Geh… compete with him? I'm a fool…'
Kakashi broke into a cold sweat as he watched his back disappear; those were his final thoughts.
[— End Scene —]
Back in Konoha, young Kakashi's grip tightened around the edge of the volume with a force that made the paper groan beneath his fingers, as he watched his future counterpart freeze on the spot like prey caught beneath the shadow of a monstrous predator.
The sweat that had beaded on the brow of manga-Kakashi was not merely ink; young Kakashi felt it as a coldness spreading across his own forehead as he watched the Copy Ninja acknowledge bitterly in his thoughts: 'I'm a fool…'
"He's trembling…" Even Sakumo was struck with shock.
He knew Orochimaru was powerful, on a different level from Kakashi entirely, but this degree of raw terror still caught him off guard, especially since manga-Kakashi did not appear weak by any measure.
In that moment, a soft, cold, and leisurely laugh rose from the corner where Orochimaru sat.
It was a laugh that carried a sadistic savoring of the scene, as though his counterpart in the manga had just delivered a punchline that no one but him could appreciate.
"Hehehe… what a delightfully pitiable and beautiful scene all at once," said Orochimaru as he tilted his head toward Sakumo and his son.
"Do you see, Sakumo-san? Your genius son finally grasps the true scale of the gap between them. The courage he showed was endearing, but in a world of power… it is nothing more than foolishness…."
"What did he say? 'In this situation, I can compete with you…' Ha? Is Raikiri truly that powerful?"
Sakumo did not turn toward him, but the White Fang blade hanging across his back emitted a faint, resonant hum as the aura building within him began to rise.
His eyes remained fixed on the manga, but his voice came out low and devastating, the quiet of a storm yet to break.
"Orochimaru… in the manga, you laugh because you see Kakashi as weak by your standards. But here, in this store… You laugh because you have yet to experience what a fool who decides to protect his family with everything he has can actually do."
Hearing that, Orochimaru's lashes trembled. A chill ran through him, and he let out a quiet hiss, pulling back slightly. It was truly unwise to provoke this man.
…
On the other side, Jiraiya had set his cup down, and his carefree expression had vanished entirely.
"Orochimaru! Enough!"
Jiraiya snapped, fixing his old companion with a gaze filled with profound disappointment. "That look in your eyes… You don't see Kakashi as a fellow shinobi; you see him as a trivial obstacle. Is this what your ambitions have come to? Intimidating the kids of your own village?"
As for Tsunade, she rose suddenly to her feet, causing the readers seated near her to scramble back in alarm.
"Jiraiya, don't waste your breath preaching," she said as she raised her fist, chakra visibly coalescing within it.
"Orochimaru, if that killing intent in the manga was enough to freeze Kakashi, let's see whether it will stop your bones from shattering if you so much as think about touching a single hair on any kid here. The manga has exposed your ugly face, and now… we are watching you."
Orochimaru dismissed Tsunade's threat with an enigmatic smile and turned the page with composed indifference, as though all this fury were nothing but meaningless noise compared to the knowledge he was gaining.
For Tsunade, this had been an internal struggle for several months, specifically because of Orochimaru's situation.
Watching all those events that were predicted with such precision, the betrayal of this man, her own comrade, against their village… had cost her sleep on more than one occasion.
Yet every time she read this manga and watched those events unfold through anxious eyes, the very person at the center of it all would laugh, and even provoke those around him, as if implicitly acknowledging that what appeared in the manga was entirely real and reflected his future ambitions.
Did that not mean the time had come for her to speak?
Since Hiruzen-sensei had chosen silence for the time being, it fell to her to step forward and say something… even if Orochimaru refused to reveal anything, she needed to make him remember who he was.
Even if the future was a real possibility, the present reality was this: Orochimaru was still her comrade, still a Konoha shinobi holding the rank of Jōnin, and one of the Three Sannin, one of the pillars of Konoha.
Both Katō Dan and Nawaki felt the tension rise as they watched this unfold.
There was nothing they could do to intervene or stop Tsunade.
"You bastard... Are you ignoring me now?"
Watching Orochimaru dismiss her with a smile and turn the page to continue reading, Tsunade's anger became something very real.
In that moment, Rob teleported instantly to Tsunade's side.
"Tsunade-san, please return to your seat," Rob said with a smile.
With a single tap of his finger, the chakra in her fist vanished, and all that terrifying power scattered into nothing.
In this store, there was no room for violence, whatever the reason; that was one of the Art Store's strict and unbreakable rules.
Watching Rubiro dispel her power with the tap of a finger, Tsunade stumbled back slightly, but quickly regained her composure.
"Fine…" she said quietly and returned to her seat.
The looks on Dan and Nawaki's faces were filled with concern for her.
…
With the turning of the page, the tension in the store shifted into cautious curiosity as new names appeared on the electronic screen…
In the manga's pages, the preliminary battles were still underway.
Tsurugi Misumi VS. Kankurō
"Kabuto's team again?"
Hiruzen murmured, attempting to ease the charged atmosphere.
"Let's see what the Sand ninja offers against these spies."
In Hiruzen's view, Tsunade standing up had been inevitable at this stage.
But fundamentally, whether Orochimaru was a traitor or not, he was somehow shielded by the laws of the Art Store in this moment.
Which meant he was being protected by the very man who had exposed him.
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Upcoming chapter titles (spoilers):
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Chapter 165: Battle After Battle.
Chapter 166: The Mind Transfer Technique of the Yamanaka Clan. (The end of the volume)
Chapter 167: A New Future Takes Shape!
Chapter 168: Ancient Family Grudges?
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