____________
Similar to the uproar in Konohagakure, the leadership of Kirigakure handled the Art Store with extreme caution, yet they did not impose a direct ban on entering it as Konoha had done.
After the return of the shinobi who had gone to Konoha to inquire about Rob, the Third Mizukage, Hōzuki Mizuru, learned that Uzumaki Rubiro was now officially considered a rogue ninja by Konoha.
As a result, they were no longer worried about the possibility that Konoha was secretly orchestrating some massive conspiracy behind the scenes—this had been the greatest concern surrounding the Art Store and its owner.
Now that this concern had vanished, dealing with the situation became far easier for the Mizukage and the rest of Kirigakure's elite.
The only real concern that remained was the content of the Naruto manga itself.
At this moment, inside the Art Store and coinciding with the official release of the third volume, the Third Mizukage gathered most of the major figures of the village's clans and shinobi forces—such as the ANBU, the police and security divisions, and even some famous members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist!
As they opened the first pages of the volume, the Mizukage was surprised by how smoothly Kakashi presented the lesson on chakra control.
"Strange… to present such a useful lesson on a silver platter for everyone through a manga. I bet the number of people who will benefit from this will be astronomical."
The Third Mizukage was not particularly concerned with who would benefit and who would not. What interested him more was whether the manga would reveal even more secrets, techniques, and valuable lessons in the future.
"At this rate, Naruto manga will become a reference for everyone in the shinobi world!"
"Mizukage-sama, some academy instructors say they intend to use the manga as a teaching reference in their classes from now on."
"Hm? Will you allow that?"
"Well, let us wait. If such a valuable lesson comes from the mouth of a Mist shinobi in the manga, then we will allow it."
"But Kakashi provided even more valuable information."
"You mean the author provided it?"
"I agree with you… But it seems to me that Kakashi was the one who did it…"
"Isn't this book supposed to be nothing more than an entertainment story, as you said?"
Surprised by the heated discussion among his subordinates, the Third Mizukage turned his gaze toward the man behind the counter. With a calm expression, he alternated between mixing drinks and making ice cream before asking curiously:
"I have nothing to say."
Rob's clone in Kirigakure showed no interest in chatting with the Mizukage; he had other matters to worry about.
After all, the original Rob had ordered him not to let things reach the stage of a ban here in Kiri as well—no matter what happened!
If the clone talked too much, the Mizukage might feel compelled to tighten restrictions on the Art Store as well.
That would force Rob to reveal all his hidden cards at once and hasten the moment when the shinobi world would regard him as a common enemy.
It would truly become a ridiculous joke if he—the advocate of peace—ended up being the cause of the Fourth Ninja War before the Third even happened.
(Author's note: The Fourth Ninja War is when all the shinobi of the world united against Uchiha Madara.)
The Third Mizukage did not understand why Uzumaki Rubiro refused to speak, but he soon became immersed once more in the events of the manga as the exiled children of Kirigakure appeared again.
[—
"So even you have come back defeated."
"It looks like the Mist village ninjas are pretty pathetic."
Gatō said this as he walked forward, accompanied by two of his personal samurai bodyguards.
(Gatō's samurai bodyguards: Waraji & Zōri)
"You can't even avenge your men? And you call yourself a devil? Don't make me laugh." Gatō approached Zabuza's bed, mocking him.
The shinobi accompanying Zabuza watched them advance from the side.
"Hold for a second…"
"Hey… there's no need to stay silent… how about—" Gatō reached his hand toward Zabuza's neck.
But at that moment, the shinobi beside Zabuza grabbed him. His once gentle expression transformed into something terrifying, as chilling eyes locked onto Gatō.
"Don't touch Zabuza-san with your dirty hands."
"Gu!! You—" Sweat poured down Gatō's face.
The two samurai immediately drew their swords and attacked.
Yet in less than a second, their swords were seized, and the blades were pressed against their own necks.
'A monster?'
'No way… he moved in an instant!'
The two samurai thought in shock as they felt the cold edge of the blades against their throats.
"You shouldn't do that… I'm pissed off right now."
Terrified by the scene, Gatō stumbled backward and shouted:
"One more time!! If you fail one more time, you won't be welcome here anymore. Remember that!!" Gatō and his men ran away.
"Haku… you didn't have to…" Zabuza said this while holding a kunai beneath the blanket—it seemed he truly intended to kill Gatō.
"I know…" The gentle expression returned to Haku's face once the intruders had left.
"But it's too early to kill Gatō… If we cause a commotion here, they'll come after us again."
"We must be patient," Haku added, pointing out the crucial issue.
"Yeah… you're right…" Zabuza admitted.
—]
"Haku? So that's his name…"
The Third Mizukage contemplated Haku's face before speaking again.
"It seems he values Zabuza greatly…"
"What a loss for Kirigakure in the manga… He appears to be extremely talented."
"What do you think, Yagura?"
The Mizukage turned to a talented shinobi sitting nearby—Yagura Karatachi, currently twelve years old, who seemed the same age as Haku, and already a chūnin.
Members of the Karatachi clan watched the scene with solemn expressions. Yagura was a sensitive figure throughout the village; he was not only the clan's heir, but also the jinchūriki of the Three-Tails!
Yagura calmly looked at the Third Mizukage. His expression showed no reverence for the highest authority—more like indifference—unlike his look when he had been staring intently at the manga page moments earlier.
Still, he spoke calmly. "Haku is strong. I can see that."
"We can all see that. I want to know your opinion on why they rebelled against the village," the Third Mizukage asked again.
"Haku is merely a subordinate under Zabuza's influence—or his disciple at best."
After mentioning Zabuza's name, Yagura's gaze instinctively shifted to a six-year-old child sitting nearby, wearing a tense expression and surrounded by family members, as if he were being pushed into the spotlight against his will.
Young Zabuza.
'This child… will really grow up to become the cold-blooded Momochi Zabuza?'
Yagura wondered inwardly in surprise.
Had he not read the manga and learned of this child's future counterpart, he would never have believed that this Zabuza would grow up to confront the Copy Ninja Kakashi—his favorite shinobi so far—face to face and survive.
"I see… It seems Haku follows Zabuza with all his heart… but that doesn't mean he doesn't have a story of his own."
"I believe he belongs to that clan…" the Mizukage guessed with a faint smile.
He had his own assumptions.
This immediately sparked the curiosity of the surrounding clan members and elite shinobi.
"Which clan?"
"Well, let us continue reading. We'll find out sooner or later."
…
At this moment, *Rob—the clone—*approached calmly the area where Zabuza's family was sitting.
"Here you go…"
Rob handed an ice cream to young Zabuza, who stared at it with a shocked expression.
"You're the one who drew my future self?"
Zabuza asked as he took the ice cream from Rob's hand.
"That's right."
"Hah… did that surprise you?"
"Is Kakashi there?"
"Yes. He's the same age as you."
"Really… that's amazing… Is Haku there too?"
"No, his birth is still a bit far off."
"That's… unfortunate."
Zabuza felt a twinge of sadness as he licked the ice cream.
Rob, living through this moment, felt a strange sense of detachment from reality.
For a moment, he truly wanted to say that he was a huge fan of this person, but he skillfully hid it and continued wearing the smiling expression of a merchant.
____________
Upcoming chapter titles (spoilers):
____________
Chapter 86: Iwagakure Reacts to the Events of the Manga — A Moving Story.
Chapter 87: Sunagakure Benefits from the Manga!
Chapter 88: Naruto Doesn't Seem to Be Able Not to Be Concerned About You.
Chapter 89: The Beginning of the Second Battle! The Appearance of Child Kisame!
____________
BlackStar_BH:
The chapters currently available on Patreon are up to Chapter 113.
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!