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A few weeks later…
Deep beneath the earth, where the silence of graves mingles with the scent of dampness and time, Uchiha Madara sat like a shattered marble statue, his frail body connected to the tubes of the Gedo statue, which fed his life with artificial breaths.
His long white hair fell across his face, carved deep with the wrinkles of ages, and his single Sharingan eye gleamed in the darkness with a cold light, watching the seventh and eighth volumes of the Naruto manga that lay on the ground before him, its edges torn as he had left it a month ago.
Before this specter from the past, Black Zetsu rose from the earth like a slick shadow.
This was no meeting to discuss the Art Store; it was a routine report, after a full month of close surveillance of the epicenter that had shaken the foundations of the shinobi world: the Art Store of Uzumaki Rubiro.
"Speak," Madara rasped in a voice like grinding stone.
"A month has passed since I sent you to dive into that colorful swamp. What has changed in Konoha? And does that boy, Uzumaki Rubiro, still scatter the leaves of fate with his ink?"
Black Zetsu began his report in a tone carrying a mixture of frustration and disbelief. "Madara-sama… the matter has moved far beyond merely spreading stories. Over the past weeks, the Art Store has transformed from a strange phenomenon into a parallel authority in Konoha."
"Uzumaki Rubiro has launched what he calls 'the anime', a live visual presentation of the manga's events, and the obsession has reached its peak. The Five Great Villages no longer speak of ninja missions or balances of power, but of 'Episode Three' and 'Team Seven.'"
Madara's pupil narrowed. "The terror of the Art Store… have you found a gap to enter in your true form?"
"Impossible," Black Zetsu replied bitterly.
"The invisible barrier surrounding the store has grown stronger. It distinguishes intentions and non-human origins with frightening precision. I had to continue the disguise as an ordinary human, blending into the crowds as someone utterly powerless, just to obtain copies of the new volumes. This Uzumaki Rubiro… he treats everyone with a quiet smile, but I felt his gaze cutting through the crowds, as though searching for something… or someone."
Madara was silent for a moment, then asked coldly: "And what of Hiruzen and Danzo? How do the supposed bearers of 'Will' deal with this breach?"
"Hiruzen Sarutobi lives in a state of fatal contradiction," Black Zetsu answered.
"He knows that the manga exposes the village's secrets and weakens its position, but he fears confronting Uzumaki Rubiro. The Store has become an economic and spiritual lung for Konoha; they cannot do without."
"As for Danzo… he initially attempted to plan covert operations, and even carried some out, but he retreated after seeing how the manga had begun to expose even the existence of 'the Roots' and hint at his future conspiracies. They content themselves now with passive surveillance, trying to 'contain' the situation rather than confront it."
Black Zetsu leaned slightly forward before moving to the most astonishing part.
"As for Orochimaru… he is the strangest case of all. The manga made him the village's primary enemy before his betrayal had even come to pass, and his reputation has been stained in ways that cannot be repaired."
"…And yet, he comes to the Store regularly, wearing the cloak of a reader and sitting quietly to read about his own plots and schemes. He pays no mind to the looks of contempt and fear; he analyzes the manga as though it were a technical manual for refining his skills. I watched him smile while reading about the 'curse mark' he places on Sasuke, as though proud of his future achievement."
Madara let out a dry, fragmented laugh that shook his frail chest. "Orochimaru… that clever little snake is smart enough to understand that fate is no longer inevitable. He uses the manga as a mirror to see his flaws and correct them. But he doesn't realize that the ink he reads may be the very chain that will strangle him in the end."
Madara fell silent, his eye sinking into contemplation of the volume lying before him.
"Uzumaki Rubiro… this boy is no mere artist. He is rewriting the rules of the game. If he knows of the Uchiha massacre, if he knows of Orochimaru, then he is surely watching us now through his pages."
"Zetsu, the butterfly effect the Store has caused is already altering the course of events we have planned for decades. The 'Eye of the Moon' plan relies on ignorance and darkness, and Uzumaki Rubiro is shining a light into every dark corner."
Madara rose with difficulty, leaning on his cane, the tubes of the Gedo statue groaning behind him.
"Continue gathering every page that leaves that Store. I want to see the moment he mentions my name… or Hashirama's. If this boy thinks he can draw my future, he should prepare to face a flame no ink can extinguish."
Madara understood that the past month had not been wasted time; it had been the beginning of the end for the world as he had known it.
"Rubiro-kun… you have become the most intriguing player on this chessboard. Let us see who holds the pen in the end."
In Madara's hand appeared a brand-new manga volume, the updated installment in the current manga sequence, which had only reached the shelves today, brought along by Black Zetsu.
Volume Nine.
"Let us see how long this lasts…"
…
With the breaking dawn of another update day, Konoha was not the only place awakening to the rhythm of anticipation; the entire world was living a fever pitch of manga mania, unlike anything seen before.
From the cloud-capped peaks of the Hidden Cloud Village, to the mystery-soaked alleyways of the Hidden Mist, all the way to the scorching sands of Suna, lines stretched before the Art Stores hours before opening.
The update day had become a global holiday; a moment when time itself seemed to pause before the journey into the illustrated future began.
Inside the Konoha Art Store, the atmosphere was charged with an indescribable energy.
The scent of glossy paper and fresh coffee mingled with the excited whispers of eager readers.
Uzumaki Rubiro, with his familiar quiet smile, moved lightly between the shelves, placing Volume Nine in its designated spot.
The cover this time was exceptionally striking. Naruto stood at its center with his signature confident expression, carrying six enormous scrolls on his back as though preparing for the battle of his life.
But what truly caught the eye was the presence of two members of the Hyuga clan: Hinata with her characteristic shyness, and Neji with his sharp, provocative gaze.
Amid the crowd, there was a presence impossible to ignore.
Hyuga Masanori, the current head of the Hyuga clan, stood rigidly before the shelf, enveloped in an aura of authority and gravity.
His Byakugan eyes narrowed as he read the summary printed on the back of the volume:
The academy ninja unleash their signature moves as the preliminary rounds of the third stage of the Chunin Exams continue. The fevered individual battles bring out the best and worst in the young ninja fighting to advance to the finals. When members of the Hyuga clan, Neji and Hinata, are pitted against one another, will their ancient family grudges make their duel more savage than the rest?
Masanori felt an inexplicable tightness in his chest.
"Ancient family grudges?" he murmured in a low voice that only those closest to him could hear.
"What is this artist doing with the blood of the Hyuga?"
Directly behind him stood the twins, Hizashi and Hiashi, who had not yet passed their eleventh year.
They wore the traditional Academy uniforms, their eyes gleaming with childlike curiosity blended with the seriousness of rising shinobi.
Hizashi, who would later become Neji's father in the manga, stared at Neji's image on the cover with a strange sense of familiarity, while Hiashi watched Hinata's figure in silent puzzlement.
"Look, Hiashi," Hizashi whispered, pointing to the cover.
"They're from our clan. But why do they look like they're about to kill each other?"
Hiashi replied with a more measured tone: "The summary speaks of 'grudges.' Could the clan split in the future?"
A heavy silence fell among the clan members present.
For the Hyuga, privacy and tradition were everything; seeing their dirty laundry spread across manga pages read by shinobi from enemy villages was nothing short of an unforgivable insult.
And yet, not one of them could resist the urge to know the truth.
After taking their seats in their customary clan formation, Masanori opened the volume with steady hands, while the readers around him jostled for their own copies.
…
The Store bustled with movement, ninja of every rank, civilians, and even a handful of strangers who appeared to be spies from other villages. Everyone dove into the pages of Volume Nine.
In the opening pages, the preliminary battles began to ignite.
Techniques once considered military secrets were now being depicted in vivid detail.
"This… this is the Gentle Fist style!" a shinobi from the Hyuga clan cried, watching Neji's illustrations in the manga.
"How could this artist know the attack angles with such precision?"
Masanori flipped through the pages quickly, ignoring the other battles, searching for the promised confrontation.
Neji versus Hinata… He found it at last. The scene that brought together 'the Branch' and 'the Main.'
"..." Hizashi felt a cold shiver run through him as he saw the hatred in Neji's eyes directed at Hinata.
He did not yet know that this boy was his son, but he felt a pain in his heart as though that hatred were aimed at him personally.
"This is not simply a fight," Masanori said bitterly, watching Neji attack Hinata without mercy.
"This is rebellion. Rubiro-kun… you have opened a door that should have stayed closed until its proper time."
While the readers in the Store shouted with excitement at every Byakugan technique that appeared in the manga, the Hyuga clan members sank into a heavy silence.
Volume Nine was not merely a continuation of the Exams; it was a mirror reflecting the fractures that could tear apart Konoha's most powerful clan.
Of course, that was the experience for those who preferred flipping through quickly and returning to earlier pages to read with care, missing nothing.
But for some readers, the chapter had only just begun.
Orochimaru's eyes, for instance, gleamed as he opened to the first chapter.
"Now then," he said in a hoarse, serpentine voice, "let the fun begin."
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Upcoming chapter titles (spoilers):
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Chapter 169: More Girls' Battles?
Chapter 170: Doesn't Shikamaru Resemble Me Greatly?
Chapter 171: Shikamaru's Intelligence and Naruto's Battle!
Chapter 172: Uzumaki Naruto VS Inuzuka Kiba!
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