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"Your name is Tazuna, right?"
"Hm? Who are you? Do you know me?"
The black-haired man narrowed his eyes as he stared at the young man before him, someone who clearly didn't look like he was from this country.
The young man was wearing modern, clean clothes. His red hair was neatly tied and styled, and his fair skin was spotless. He clearly looked wealthy, as someone from an aristocratic class, making his appearance in their small coastal village more than a little suspicious.
Tazuna, in his thirty-seven years old, was on his way back to his modest home after a successful fishing trip when this strange young man suddenly stopped him.
What was even stranger… was that he had called him by name.
'Hm, does he want to hire me to build a bridge or something?' Tazuna thought inwardly.
It was the only logical reason he could think of.
At present, Tazuna already has a certain reputation in the Land of Waves as a talented bridge builder.
"I'm a merchant. I want to open my new store in this land…"
Rob took out a copy of the first volume of Naruto manga and tossed it to Tazuna, saying, "This is what I sell."
"Hm… a picture book?" Tazuna was surprised as he caught the manga volume.
"That's right," Rob replied with a smile.
A day earlier, Rob, who was currently in Konoha, had already sent a clone to the Land of Waves in preparation for opening a sixth Art Store in this place.
And now, he had finally arrived.
"Well then, follow me. We don't see many outsiders because reaching this place is difficult, but that doesn't mean we don't welcome them. Whether you're a civilian or a merchant, you're welcome in our town."
Tazuna smiled as he spoke, though he ignored the manga in his hand. He wasn't in the mood to read a children's story at the moment, or so he thought.
"... Alright."
Rob's clone smiled silently and followed him calmly.
…
Hours passed quickly.
During that same time, a strange anomaly occurred—one that left the townspeople of Tazuna's town staring in astonishment at the mysterious geometric structure that appeared in the center of their town.
An Art Store stood proudly in the Land of Waves, the first place outside the Five Great Villages to ever host one.
"You're a shinobi?!"
Tazuna exclaimed in shock as he witnessed the store appear from nothingness.
'Can shinobi even summon buildings out of thin air?!' He questioned inwardly.
He wasn't unfamiliar with the world of shinobi, but he had never seen anyone like this young man who claimed to be a merchant.
'What kind of merchant possessed such supernatural power?'
"That's right. I'm a shinobi, but don't be too shocked. I already have stores like this in all five Great Villages."
Hearing that, Tazuna's jaw nearly dropped.
"And what brings you to a desolate place like this…? This is just a fishing town trying to survive."
"I want to connect you to the real world…"
As he said that, Rob's clone finished applying all the registered adjustments to the newly opened Art Store.
Before the villagers' eyes, the Art Store revealed itself in all its glory, with advertising posters and famous manga characters on full display.
It was as if the store itself was saying: Here, you will discover the world you truly live in.
Rob's clone gestured toward the open door and said, "You're welcome to enter. It's not like you need to pay just to step inside my store."
"Dad… he said we can really go inside this building…"
At that moment, a little girl tugged on Tazuna's clothes as she spoke. It was his seven-year-old daughter, Tsunami.
Rob's clone recognized her at a glance and gave her a welcoming smile.
"Children are welcome, too…"
Seeing the sincere smile on the strange man's face, the townspeople finally found the courage to enter and explore the Art Store.
…
Inside the Art Store, the people of the Land of Waves experienced an existential shock. They never imagined that by the time they reached volumes three and four, their small country would become the center of events in the Naruto manga!
At first, after receiving the first volume for free, they were completely captivated by Naruto's story.
A blond teenage boy striving to become one of the greatest shinobi in the world—the Hokage. From their perspective, the events were simply entertaining.
That entertainment, unfamiliar and exciting, pushed them all to spend money and buy the second volume… then the third… and that was when the shock hit.
At the very first appearance of the bridge builder Tazuna in Konoha, who was introduced by the Third Hokage as the client of a C-rank mission, necks slowly turned to stare at one man in particular… Tazuna.
That very man was now suffering from profound shock.
He read all the chapters in silence, all the way to the end.
[— Manga Scene —]
"That boy changed Inari's heart… And Inari changed the people's hearts…"
The old man Tazuna, said as he looked at Naruto and the others walking away.
"That boy gave us a bridge to hope, called courage."
"Bridge… Oh yeah… We need to name this bridge."
"Well, I have a super perfect name for this bridge…"
"Oh?! What is it?"
The completed bridge appeared in the background.
"How about the Great Naruto Bridge?"
"Hehe… That's a good name."
…
"Yay!! Let's get home fast so Iruka-sensei can buy me some ramen!! Oh yeah!! And I have to tell Konohamaru about my legendary feats!!"
Naruto shouted excitedly on the road.
"Then I'll… Sasuke, how about a date when we get back?" Sakura asked shyly.
"No thanks." Sasuke rejected her coldly.
"B-but…"
"Hey… hey?! How about me!?"
"No!! Shut up, Naruto!"
Kakashi sighed with a smile as he listened to it all.
…
"You sure about that name?" One of the villagers asked Tazuna.
"Hehe… This name is in the hope that this bridge will never crumble…"
"And that one day it will become a super famous bridge, known throughout the world…"
[— End Scene —]
"Is… is this my future?"
Only after finishing this scene did Tazuna finally speak for the first time since entering the Art Store.
"Tsunami… you'll become a beautiful woman in the future… Even a strong man like Kaiza will fall in love with you."
Tazuna smiled as he gently patted his small daughter's head. She was even more shocked than he was.
Her little brain didn't fully accept what was happening.
She couldn't read or write yet, but after swallowing the Reading Pills, she instinctively understood everything.
Who could have imagined she would have such a future?
"It's a terrifying future, Dad…"
She cried, unable to hold back her tears.
Seeing her young son in the future, Inari, crying over his dead father's image…
Learning how he died and why…
Gatou's cruel men...
The extreme poverty that struck their country because of him, and her elderly father risking his life to build a bridge under constant danger.
Zabuza and Haku and their story…
Naruto and his story… Kakashi, Sasuke, Sakura, and their relentless struggle… all of it carved itself deeply into her mind.
In the end, she concluded that the future truly was terrifying.
"There's no need to worry."
At that moment, Rob stepped closer and gently patted her head.
"This future will remain only within the pages of the manga. It will never happen."
Rob smiled as he spoke, and little Tsunami instinctively felt peace from the warmth of his hand.
"Thank you. I never expected the art you sell to include my small family."
"Is this a fictional future… or a real future?"
Rob looked directly into Tazuna's eyes. He was a seasoned man in the present, not the old man depicted in the manga.
"You can draw your own conclusion. My role is to sell you the manga, no more, no less. Not to discuss it with you."
After saying that, he turned and returned to his usual place behind the counter.
"…"
Tazuna quietly watched his back as he walked away, then sighed and returned to reading the manga.
He never expected the book he once thought was a children's story to have such an impact on him. Right now, he was shaken to his core.
After everything, he didn't just see himself as an old man, he saw his daughter as an adult… and a mother… and his grandson Inari, how his personality evolved under Naruto's influence from a crying child into a brave one.
'No, into a brave man…' Tazuna smiled.
"The Great Naruto Bridge? Hehe… what a fitting name…"
"Well, I always believed that building a bridge connecting the mainland to our island was nothing more than a fantasy…"
"This manga encouraged me to build that bridge now…"
"Men, how about helping me build the Great Naruto Bridge from today onward?"
Tazuna looked at the men of his town, who were all smiling from ear to ear.
"Of course we will!"
"We're with you, Tazuna!"
"The manga confirmed it, you're a great man!"
"Gatou gave us pain, Naruto gave us hope, and Inari gave us courage, but you're the one who showed us the bridge. You're the true savior!"
"The fate of this land is prosperity, thanks to you!"
Hearing the encouraging words of his neighbors, Tazuna couldn't hide his happiness.
As for Rob, he watched it all with a smile.
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Upcoming chapter titles (spoilers):
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Chapter 113: Characters from Suna Visit Konoha in the manga.
Chapter 114: The Chunin Selection Exam?
Chapter 115: Only One Chapter Remains Until the Finale.
Chapter 116: The Flame of Youth and the Bonds of the Future.
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