Ryuu sat in silence.
The store was still, but far from quiet in his mind.
He could feel Naruto's emotional residue lingering — desperation, awe, confusion. Four volumes had already started to erode the boy's worldview. He hadn't even reached the heavy revelations yet.
"Rem," he said quietly, "display the current store metrics."
She stepped forward, hand raised.
A translucent panel materialized in the air.
[Customer Log]
Naruto Uzumaki
Manga Volumes 1–4
Emotional Shock: Moderate
Timeline Disruption: Low
Affection Level: 7%
Return Probability: 88%
Next Critical Plot Movement: Team 7 Mission Report – 2 days
[Current Store Points]: 1,180[Store Rank: Dimensional Tier I]
Ram yawned behind the counter. "He'll be back. They always come back once they taste power or truth."
Ryuu turned to the empty displays and began mentally sorting shelves.
"It's time we organize the skill structure," he said. "Clearly. Progressively."
Rem tapped her fingers and summoned glowing frames.
Each scroll now displayed a new tag beneath it:
[Fireball Jutsu – Basic] – 120 ryo(Genin-level use. Chakra-heavy. 6 hand seals.)[Fireball Jutsu – Intermediate] – 400 ryo(Chūnin-level. Controlled release. 4 hand seals.)[Fireball Jutsu – Expert] – 950 ryo(Jōnin-level. Minimal chakra. Fast cast.)[Fireball Jutsu – Master] – 2,100 ryo(Kage-level. Large-scale combustion, creative shaping.)[Perfection – LOCKED](Hashirama-tier. No hand seals. Instant cast.)
Each scroll had visible prerequisites:
Basic required no training.
Intermediate required Basic owned.
Expert required Intermediate, and so on.
He nodded to himself. Let them climb, one rung at a time.
Ram dragged a cart of glowing scrolls toward a rack marked "Kenjutsu."
Rem adjusted a display labeled "Supplementals."
[Chakra Conditioning Pill – Genin Grade] – 80 ryo[Muscle Reinforcement Elixir – Chūnin Grade] – 150 ryo[Sensory Focus Incense] – 65 ryo[Mental Resilience Beads – ANBU Issue] – 300 ryo
The products pulsed like temptation.
But Ryuu's eyes flicked to the manga shelf.
Volume 5 sat there. Waiting.
And somewhere outside… a certain silver-haired jōnin was about to go hunting for answers.
Meanwhile, Outside the Village…
Kakashi stared at Naruto.
The boy sat with the manga volumes gripped tight, unmoving.
Sakura nudged him. "What's up with you lately? You're acting weird."
Naruto flinched. "Nothing."
"Are those comic books?" Sasuke asked flatly.
Naruto stood up fast. "They're private, okay?! Just… stuff I found near the training field."
Kakashi watched the boy carefully. His eyes lingered on the slight tremble in Naruto's fingers… and the look in his eyes.
A look that said: I've seen too much.