The appearance of the Art Store caused an immediate stir — not only among the shinobi, who were the first to rush there, led by the Hokage himself, but also among the civilians, who stopped hundreds of meters away, staring with great curiosity and suspicion.
Dozens of heads could even be seen peeking from windows and rooftops.
But the ones who had the best seats to witness everything firsthand were the students and teachers of the Ninja Academy.
They had halted their lessons, all of them staring cautiously out the window at the scene unfolding outside.
Especially after seeing the Hokage fail to destroy the mysterious building — even the chunin-ranked teachers froze where they stood.
As for the students, children between seven and eight years old, with the older ones around ten or eleven, they were completely awestruck. An event like this only happens once in a lifetime. Everyone of them wanted to go out and watch up close, but their teachers kept them in check.
In one particular first-year classroom, however, there was a calm 5 year-old boy, quite unlike his restless peers.
From time to time, he curiously peeked out the window — until his gaze suddenly fell on Kakashi's poster. The boy's eyes widened, a strange feeling swelling inside him.
'The guy in the picture… looks like my dad.'
That was the thought that appeared in little Kakashi's mind at that moment.
…
Outside, the golden doors of the Art Store opened suddenly, revealing Rob standing behind the counter with a cheerful smile.
"Welcome, my dear customers from Konohagakure Village."
That was the very first line he said.
But no one entered. All the ninja had instinctively leapt back the moment the golden doors began to open, assuming the ninjutsu-like structure was about to launch an attack.
The shinobi of Konoha were well-trained, caution deeply ingrained in their bones — it was second nature to retreat from anything unfamiliar.
Yet Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't move. His sharp eyes remained locked on the gate from beginning to end, full of vigilance. He was ready to unleash everything he had to destroy what he believed might be an enemy technique.
Rob looked around expressionlessly, seeing no one approach. He sighed inwardly, thinking maybe his Art Store simply wasn't popular enough.
'Sigh… Should I go out and do a little promotion myself? Maybe invite people in?'
"It's hard to deal with people who are cautious by nature — let alone a bunch of ninja who live in a constant state of war…'
'Let me guess — they probably think my little store is some kind of enemy jutsu, maybe the start of an invasion or a big incident, right?'
Rob sighed again, thinking about it. As a Konoha ninja himself — Uzumaki Rubirō — he perfectly understood how these people thought. And not only that, he had watched every episode of Naruto and read all the manga chapters; he knew these characters better than anyone.
'Well, at least I can use what I know from the manga… And Sarutobi Hiruzen, The Third Hokage — you're the star standing right in front of my store.'
Rob stepped away from the counter and calmly walked out the door to show them his little store didn't bite — that it was perfectly safe.
'Well… entering might turn you into meat on a chopping board for me, but that's fine, since no one knows that, right?'
He laughed inwardly at his own joke, though his face remained carefree. His Uzumaki features gave him a unique charm; he looked trustworthy to the eye.
…
"Hm?" The Hokage raised an eyebrow, intrigued by the man emerging from the building with his hands in his pockets.
The first thing that caught Hiruzen's attention was the man's bright red hair and blue eyes, paired with an elegant black suit — he looked like a wealthy guy with exquisite taste.
"Uzumaki?" Hiruzen muttered.
"Hokage-sama! We've identified him! His name is Uzumaki Rubirō — a medical-nin ranked chūnin from our village!" reported a Konoha shinobi swiftly before the Hokage even had to ask.
"You're saying that man's a chūnin from our village?"
Hiruzen didn't personally know every ninja in Konoha — only the exceptionally gifted ever made it into his line of sight.
But then his eyes widened in recognition.
"You're… Masaki's son?"
Hiruzen stepped closer to Rob, sensing no hostility, especially after noticing the Konoha headband securely tied around Rob's arm — clear proof of loyalty to the village.
"Hokage-sama," Rob greeted respectfully, a bright smile on his face. "That's right — I'm Masaki's son."
The Hokage's wrinkled brow softened upon hearing that, lowering his guard.
"Rubirō, you've grown so much, my boy. If your mother could see you now, she'd be proud." Hiruzen smiled warmly. He remembered the last time he'd seen Rubirō — just a child about to enter the Academy, both his parents still alive back then.
Sadly, both had perished during the first days of the Second Great Ninja War.
Hiruzen sighed inwardly, choosing not to mention it. After all, Rubirō's parents had died to ensure their son could live a better life in Konoha. Their sacrifice had been enormous.
Rob closed his eyes for a brief moment, remembering his parents' final words before their deaths:
"Don't be fooled by the Will of Fire, my son — it will burn you until nothing remains but ashes."
The man before him had built his entire rule around that same "Will of Fire." He had brainwashed not only himself but everyone around him with those words. Even Rob's parents had died because of it.
Rob clenched his fist, suppressing the anger burning in his heart. But what good would anger do?
For the greater picture, sacrifices were necessary. The Art Store would be the key — the one path to save this world from now on.
Rob calmed Rubirō's resentment with those thoughts and smiled again at the Third Hokage.
"This is my Art Store, Hokage-sama. It's no threat. I'm a citizen of Konoha — I could never harm my own village."
As Rob began to speak, the Hokage listened attentively — as did all the ninja surrounding them.
"Good, good — as expected of one of our own… So tell me, Rubirō, what is this thing?"
He called it a thing rather than a building, because if it were merely a building, it would have been reduced to rubble by now. Something indestructible by the Hokage's own power — it clearly wasn't ordinary.
'How did he do it?' Hiruzen wondered.
"It's my ability," Rob replied smoothly. "I don't really understand it myself, but I can create extremely sturdy structures and design them as I wish. Today I had the idea to start a personal project — a store for selling illustrated stories."
He smiled while skillfully weaving lies into truth.
Hiruzen kept his calm expression, though his thoughts stirred.
'An ability? Could it be a Kekkei Genkai…?'
He was referring to the special genetic abilities inherited within certain clans — powers that couldn't be copied or learned, only passed through bloodlines. But as far as he knew, the Uzumaki clan didn't possess anything like this. He couldn't refute Rob's claim, though — not yet. Something told him the young man was lying.
"So you're saying you used your unique ability for the good of the village? Hahaha! Excellent! Excellent!"
Hiruzen laughed heartily, repeating the word excellent two times in praise.
A shinobi with a special ability was a treasure in any of the Five Great Nations — and this ability, defensive and indestructible, was beyond valuable. The potential for battlefield use alone made Hiruzen's mind swirl with possibilities. This could bring great benefits to Konohagakure.
Rob knew exactly what was running through the Hokage's mind, but there was nothing he could do about it.
'Keep dreaming, old man,' he thought.
"Hokage-sama, please — come inside. Invite everyone. For the grand opening, everything today is free. Not a single ryō will be charged… please."
Rob gestured politely, bowing slightly like a refined doorman at a five-star hotel, his elegant suit completing the image.
"Hm, really? Hahaha! Why not?"
The Hokage chuckled inwardly, thinking, 'Is this boy using me for advertising? Clever! Making the Hokage his first customer? He's trying to wipe out all competition before it even starts!'
Hiruzen sighed inwardly, but since he'd already said 'Why not?' out loud, he had no choice but to enter and see for himself what awaited inside.