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The Art Publishing System had now reached Level Four after its rapid spread across four major ninja villages, and it was already close to advancing to Level Five!
When the Art Publishing System reached Level Four, Rob obtained an additional Art Store that could be used—the same art store that had been opened in Iwagakure. Moreover, the Art Store unlocked an extraordinary new feature.
[System Level 4]
[Unlocked Feature: Fortress Beyond the Fortress! From now on, you possess an external domain with a radius of 10 kilometers. You can impose certain authorities of the Art Store within this external domain, create an unbreakable protective barrier, teleport fans within the domain into the Art Store or expel them outside the domain, and many other features.
(System Note: Individuals who have never entered the Art Store before cannot be teleported.)...]
When Rob first saw this feature, his eyes widened in shock, and he was left completely speechless.
At that time, he was still in Sunagakure. With the "Fortress Beyond the Fortress" feature, the Art Store had truly become a landmark within any village it existed in.
In short, this feature nullified the effects of any decisions, such as banning his store or anything similar. No one could challenge the authority of the Art Store anymore.
It was this very feature that ended the debate and left both Hiruzen and Danzo utterly confused at that moment—because they found themselves inside the Art Store.
"We were teleported through space… how did this happen?"
Hiruzen exclaimed in surprise as he found himself sitting in his familiar seat.
"…" Danzo swept his surroundings with a fierce gaze.
His expression only calmed when he realized that he was not alone in this place—the same scene that had occurred over the past two months was repeating itself.
Who would have thought that he would return here again after having ordered the destruction of this place, and before that, taking great care to prevent anyone from entering it?
Strangling the operations of the Art Store was equivalent to destroying it, after all. Even if they couldn't destroy the building itself, destroying it economically was no different.
He had possessed that authority. If he wanted no one to enter the Art Store, he could easily make it happen. Even Hiruzen had agreed with him on this point.
Especially after the rift created by the owner of the Art Store cutting ties with them, he had destroyed any remaining bridge for negotiation by severing his headband.
Rubiro had chosen to step out of the political game and become an enemy!
That was why the two politicians who favored reconciliation for Konoha had united against him—he was the one who had become an enemy by publicly cutting off his headband.
Everything had been clear, and the outcome even clearer. But what they had not expected was that with a simple snap of his fingers, they would be forcibly transported into the Art Store!
Their so-called ban had become nothing more than a paper siege—utterly meaningless.
"What kind of power is this…?"
Danzo muttered, still unable to comprehend what had just happened.
The Third Hokage stood up, ignored Mito's warning, and looked directly at Rob, who entered the store wearing the same friendly expression—the manga seller they had first known.
"What does this mean, Rubiro-kun? Were you the one who brought us here?"
The crowd inside the store could hardly believe what had just happened.
Only moments ago, they had been outside the store, demanding that Rob intervene and allow them to enter to buy the new manga volume. In the next instant, they found themselves sprawled on the floor of the store alongside familiar faces who hadn't even been part of the crowd!
It was truly unbelievable.
"There's no need to panic. It's just that my Art Store can invite readers inside whenever I want—even if they're in their own homes."
"If you want to ban readers from entering my store, you'll need to ask for my opinion first."
When he said that, the expressions of both Danzo and Hiruzen froze, while Uzumaki Mito let out a silent sigh. She hadn't wanted things to escalate to this point. She knew what Rob had done—and the reason behind it.
To be honest, she truly wanted to teach Danzo a lesson. But Rob had spoken with her and told her to remain a mere observer, as he would teach them a lesson they would never forget—without resorting to any violence.
Rob had his own way of dealing with Danzo, and with Hiruzen as well—though to a lesser extent.
Hiruzen cared far more about the village's interests than his own. That was the difference between him and Danzo, who prioritized his personal interests and ambitions above everything else—including the village.
Tsunade watched the scene in silence… She didn't understand what was happening, but she could feel the raging storm hidden between the lines.
Jiraiya, who understood the situation very well, sighed before saying,
"At least tell me before you do something like this. I'm not even wearing any clothes."
Everyone turned to look at Jiraiya, who was wearing nothing but a pair of short shorts, as if he had been about to take a warm bath.
"…?"
"Oh my god… he's naked!"
"This!"
"Kyaaa!"
"Cover your eyes!"
Rob's eyes widened in shock at the sight. He immediately teleported Jiraiya back to his home at lightning speed, then put on an expression as if nothing had happened—as if the incident hadn't been caused by him at all.
…
Jiraiya returned to the place he had been teleported from earlier, this time hastily putting on his clothes, afraid that he might be dragged back there naked once again.
"Rubiro-kun! You… who exactly are you?"
As he dressed, Jiraiya was utterly stunned.
He had finally grasped what had just happened—being instantaneously transported from one place to another was far beyond the scope of ordinary techniques.
This was a spatial technique of terrifying mastery.
…
"I'm sorry about that. I didn't have any other choice."
Rob approached Sakumo, who had been staring at him with sharp eyes the entire time.
Rob apologized for transporting Sakumo and his son into the Art Store without permission.
"I understand. There's no need to apologize. I would've entered the store anyway, even if there was a ban."
Sakumo said with a smile—the same smile was on young Kakashi's face.
Rob glanced to the side, where Maito Dai and his son were also sitting.
"You two as well—you weren't bothered by this, were you?"
"Not at all! Hahaha! The blazing spirit of youthful rebellion! I like that… but the Lord Hokage is truly upset. Shouldn't he be the one you apologize to?"
Maito Dai said with a laugh, though inwardly he was genuinely worried.
This didn't seem as simple as it looked… It appeared that the relationship between the store owner and the village's highest authority had deteriorated to a very serious degree.
"There's no need to worry. They'll understand my noble intentions later,"
Rob replied with a smile. He then turned to Tsunade.
"Shouldn't you be accompanying your younger brother and reading the manga with him? Why are you following me?"
"Huh? Do you think I'm stupid? You need to explain what just happened—how you did it, and why there's a ban!"
Curiosity and shock filled Tsunade's heart at that moment.
…
[—
"Tree climbing?!"
"Yeah…"
'Sounds boring…' Naruto thought.
"What kind of training is that?" Sakura asked.
"Well, listen until the end." Kakashi began to explain:
"This isn't normal tree climbing."
"You'll climb without using your hands," Kakashi said calmly.
'Sounds fun!!!' Naruto smiled, thinking it sounded exciting.
"How?" Sakura asked again.
"Well… watch."
Kakashi climbed the tree vertically. Although he still used support for balance, he looked as if he were walking on flat ground, shocking the trio.
"He's climbing…"
"Vertically… with just his legs…"
Kakashi stopped upside down on a tree branch, looked at the stunned trio below with a smile, and said, "You understand now?"
"Gather your chakra at the bottom of your feet and climb up the tree."
"This is something you can do once you can use chakra properly."
—]
The readers still hadn't fully processed what had happened earlier, but the allure of the new manga volume on the shelves made them temporarily forget about it.
Many quickly placed 30 ryō on the shelves—where the money vanished into thin air—and took their volumes.
This was the very first scene that appeared upon opening the manga—the first chapter titled:
Chapter 18: Training Begins!
Before long, the events of the chapter drew the attention of everyone—shinobi and civilians alike.
"Can shinobi really walk vertically using chakra?"
One civilian asked with a stunned expression.
"This is just basic chakra usage. Why all the shock?"
A shinobi beside him scoffed.
"Can I improve my chakra control if I manage to walk on a tree trunk?"
One academy student felt shocked after witnessing Kakashi's valuable lesson—something no one had ever taught him before.
"This is amazing!"
"So Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura only learned this now, even though they're already genin? Man, there's a limit to stupidity."
"These are the basics!"
A heated debate erupted between shinobi and ordinary civilians at that moment—sparked by the very first scene of the chapter!
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Upcoming chapter titles (spoilers):
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Chapter 84: You Can't Just Pretend—Enjoy Reading My Manga.
Chapter 85: Haku.
Chapter 86: Iwagakure Reacts to the Events of the Manga — A Moving Story.
Chapter 87: Sunagakure Benefits from the Manga!
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BlackStar_BH:
The chapters currently available on Patreon are up to Chapter 111.
There are 29 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 8 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!