Author's Note:
I'd really appreciate it if you could share your thoughts on this chapter in the comments—whether you liked it, disliked it, or noticed any strengths or weaknesses.
Your feedback helps me understand what works and what needs improvement, and it also creates a space for readers to discuss the chapter and its events together.
Feel free to be honest and speak your mind. This story grows with you and because of you.
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Rob walked calmly, his expression unbothered. The strange calm that pervaded this village made him feel pity for the people who lived here.
Especially around the village academy, Rob stood observing the comings and goings of people. He could sense the negative energy in this place, almost as if a mist of blood was forming.
At this time, the Third Mizukage ruled the village. Kirigakure was still far from being called the "Village of Bloody Mist," but the policies passed down from the First Mizukage and solidified by the Second Mizukage still played a major role in the village's shinobi system.
'I think this is the perfect place to open the store…'
Rob thought, looking at the wide stretch of land next to the academy.
...
Not far away stood the Mizukage's building, where the Third Mizukage spent most of his day buried in paperwork.
At that moment, a masked shinobi appeared inside the Mizukage's office.
"Lord Mizukage-sama, an urgent matter requires your immediate attention."
A soft voice came from beneath the mask; it seemed the masked shinobi was female.
The Third Mizukage lifted his gaze from the papers piled on his desk. His bored expression immediately shifted to one of sharp attention, and he stood.
"What happened?"
The blue robe of the Mizukage rustled as he stood.
"A building appeared out of nowhere in front of the academy!" said the soft voice, tinged with shock and confusion.
"What did you say?" The Third Mizukage did not understand.
"A building appeared from nothing… a ripple in the void, and suddenly it appeared. Strangely, its design is more modern than our own buildings. It's like a flat cube, its walls are blue, and it has billboards showing our village symbol and its name: Art Store."
The female shinobi spoke everything at once in her report.
"Huh…?" Although the Third Mizukage did not fully understand, he quickly adjusted his mood and realized something significant was happening. As Mizukage, it was his duty to protect the village.
"Let's go." He removed his robe to reveal a fully equipped shinobi suit, while keeping his Mizukage hat.
The appearance of a building from nowhere in the middle of the village meant an enemy had appeared inside—no other explanation was possible.
...
A few minutes after the Art Store appeared, hundreds of Kirigakure shinobi filled its surroundings. They were chunin, jonin, and ANBU, with the Third Mizukage himself among them.
"What is this thing?"
"Have you identified the nature of this building? Any suspicious movements? Any enemies?"
As soon as the Mizukage spoke, reports came one after another.
The common answer: the building was indestructible—at least against the levels of power tested so far—and no enemies had appeared in the village.
"Hmm… I'll test it. Everyone, stand back one kilometer."
"Understood…"
As soon as the Mizukage spoke, the crowd around the Art Store disappeared, and a tense silence settled.
At that moment, a terrifying water dragon appeared, opening its mouth and lunging like a monstrous creature hundreds of meters long, aiming to rip apart the Art Store.
The ground shook from the Mizukage's power.
Boom!
The massive explosion rang out as the water dragon collided with the building—but it had no effect.
The Art Store remained intact, scattering the dragon entirely, which could have destroyed an ordinary building into rubble.
Water poured down on the Third Mizukage, who continued staring with a grim expression.
"Indestructible?" The Mizukage genuinely doubted it.
Even with one of his strongest attacks, he could not affect the building? Truly impossible.
...
Inside the Art Store, Rob was arranging manga volumes on the shelves, a soft smile on his face, ignoring the commotion outside.
This time, he was not invisible; he was fully visible.
The purpose of entering Kirigakure invisibly had been to open the store without being noticed. Now that he had achieved that, there was no need to remain unseen.
Rob did not enjoy doing things in secret, but to maximize his earnings of Art Coins, he could set aside his personal preference for discretion.
"So, are you ready to enjoy Naruto manga?"
Rob said, looking at the tightly closed gate of his store.
...
Back in Sunagakure, Rob smiled, sensing that his clone sent to the Land of Water had finally arrived and completed its mission.
'Great, now I have three art stores.' Rob cheered internally.
That was correct—Rob in Kirigakure was only a clone of the real Rob, who was currently in the Art Store in Sunagakure.
After accumulating over 4 million Art Coins, Rob had, just over half a day earlier, purchased two extremely important items from the System Store:
[Invisibility Pills: Enhanced pills that grant the user the ability to hide their body and aura. Effects last from 1 to 3 days after ingestion. (Can be canceled at will with no negative effects.) (System note: Global item – Xianxia realm – suitable for all living beings)
Price: 10K Art Coins per pill...]
Rob purchased ten pills and stored most of them in his inventory.
[Anchor of Life: A divine tool from a high-level world that can turn shadow copies into real, flesh-and-blood beings. (System note: Cannot stabilize non-existent illusions; only beings with a real origin can be stabilized.)
Price: 4M Art Coins...]
Rob nearly drooled when he first saw this item in the System Shop.
With this tool, he could infuse life into his shadow clones, turning them into real entities that do not disappear! This meant doubling his strength whenever he wanted, creating countless clones, and executing multiple tasks simultaneously.
After buying the Anchor of Life, his Art Coin balance became pitifully low—he was poor again—but he felt no regret.
With the Art Store in Kirigakure now open, Rob knew that more coins would soon flow into his account.
...
"Did Zabuza die… just like that?"
While Rob was busy with his tremendous progress, the Third Kazekage and his companions were astonished by the current developments in the manga.
The battle between Kakashi and Zabuza had left them speechless. Kakashi's ability to copy his opponent's techniques during the fight had left the Kazekage, Chiyo, Ebizo, and others completely stunned, truly believing that the title "Copy Ninja" was well deserved.
Their understanding of the terror of the Sharingan had also expanded.
"This boy is so young, yet he is already ANBU from the Hunters-nin shinobi team?"
"Kirigakure also seems to be a den of young talents."
Chiyo felt shocked when the masked shinobi who killed Zabuza appeared.
The greatest surprise was confirming his identity.
"Well, well, it seems Kakashi was also heavily drained in this battle."
"Of course he was; he fought a ninja of equal level and was protecting Zabuza's mission target," nodded the Third Kazekage.
At that moment, Kakashi collapsed from exhaustion after the previous battle.
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Upcoming chapter titles (spoilers):
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Chapter 70: Pandora's Box Opens!
Chapter 71: Believe Me, Mizukage, It's Just Fiction
Chapter 72: Manga Is Your Only Way to See the Depth of the Real World!
Chapter 73: A Harsh World for the Powerless. Kakashi, What's Your Story?
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BlackStar_BH:
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