[Once upon a time, there lived a fox spirit with nine tails. He was so powerful that whenever he shook those tails, landslides and tsunamis would result.
The suffering people gathered the great shinobi clans to fight this menace. Finally, risking his life, one ninja was able to imprison his soul…
Having defeated the demon, the brave shinobi died.
That shinobi was the Fourth Hokage, the Fire Shadow, champion of the Village Hidden in the Leaves…]
Sarutobi Hiruzen's eyelids trembled as he read the epic introduction.
"The spirit of the Nine-Tailed Fox? The Fourth Hokage? The hero of the Hidden Leaf Village? What did I just read?"
Of course, the Third Hokage found it difficult to interpret such unfamiliar events from the prologue. Well, he did understand what the spirit of the Nine-Tailed Fox referred to.
"Isn't that… the Kyūbi?" muttered the Third Hokage to himself, then thought inwardly:
'The Kyūbi attacking the village? Will Kushina's seal be broken? Impossible!'
'And this story about the Fourth Hokage sacrificing his life to seal the fox's spirit… Could it be my potential successor… Minato?'
Just a simple introduction had already stirred an unprecedented storm of thoughts inside the Third Hokage's head.
He had entered this strange store after receiving an invitation from Rubiro, and ever since then, shock after shock had followed.
...
Let's rewind to five minutes earlier.
"A space ninjutsu!?" The Third Hokage's eyes widened when he saw how enormous the interior was compared to the building's outer appearance.
That was the first thing he noticed upon stepping into the Art Store. He looked at Rob with deep suspicion.
Rob, however, wore an innocent expression before saying,
"Believe me, Hokage-sama, even I don't fully understand the nature of my ability. I can create a building that's vast inside, even though it looks much smaller from the outside."
The Third Hokage resisted the urge to slap this cheeky brat who thought his "innocent look" could hide his lies.
He wasn't stupid enough to believe that Rob didn't understand his own ability—he was clearly making good use of it already.
'A kekkei genkai that fuses space—an extremely rare element—with earth, and perhaps even metal? Isn't that far too overpowered? Seriously, this boy is a treasure for us. I must keep him in the village at all costs.'
The Hokage now felt it was his duty to protect this young man and nurture him into a trump card for Konoha in future wars.
Petty things like exploiting him commercially didn't matter compared to the bigger picture.
"Hm, I see. Well, Rubiro, you must keep this ability a secret. Opening a store like this to the public will completely expose your talent. Do you really want everyone to know you can create such a solid and spacious structure?"
The Hokage felt a sense of danger. It was his duty to warn this naïve boy!
Although the store was located in Konoha, a secret known by too many people couldn't really be called a secret—it would inevitably spread, even to the far corners of the world.
In these times of fragile peace, when ambition and malice sprouted everywhere—whether within the Five Great Villages or beyond—the qualities that ensured survival were caution and humility, not raw talent.
Rob sighed inwardly. He really didn't know how to deal with this sharp-tongued old man.
Indeed, someone like him—a weak medical ninja—could hardly protect himself from the jealous, the greedy, or those who sought to suppress Konoha's growth, the most advanced of all the villages.
This was the world of shinobi, where conflict erupted at every corner, and even a Hokage could die in an instant because of a single misstep.
It had happened before, and it would happen again.
In a sense, the Third Hokage was trying to protect Rob through his advice—not to reveal his power.
But what the Hokage didn't know was that Rob's ability wasn't meant for battle at all. It had been given to him… to spread art and create manga!
So how could he possibly explain that to the Hokage?
"Hokage-sama, my dream is simple—I want to become a pioneer in the world of art. With my ability, I can make it happen. One day, I'll open stores like this in every village and allied nation. I'll reach every corner of the world and spread peace through my art."
As Rob spoke, he picked up a manga volume from a nearby shelf and handed it to the Hokage, who stared at it in amazement.
"Such grand words…" thought the Third Hokage as he took the Naruto manga volume from Rob's hands.
Still, he figured Rob was just dreaming—after all, achieving such a thing was impossible without great power.
"This is it?" he asked, looking at the cover featuring a blond-haired boy who immediately reminded him of his student, Minato.
'He looks so much like Minato… Is he the protagonist of this book?'
A seed of curiosity began to sprout in the Hokage's mind.
"This," said Rob with a meaningful smile, "is what I'm betting on to bring peace to the world, Hokage-sama. Open it and read—you'll understand what I mean soon enough."
"But before that, please, don't stay standing. Sit anywhere you like."
Rob gestured politely toward the customer lounge, where hundreds of soft chairs and cozy sofas filled the space. Even the Hokage couldn't help but feel impressed by the interior's beauty and perfect harmony.
He was utterly astonished by this modern scene—something that didn't yet exist in their era.
'It seems he put a lot of effort into this place. Well, what harm is there in giving him a chance? He is, after all, a child of Konoha.'
"Men, organize the crowd and let them in. There's plenty of space inside for everyone," ordered the Hokage, signaling the ninjas to allow people—both civilians and shinobi—to enter and explore the store.
...
Moments later, without warning, the Hokage, the Konoha ninjas, and the civilians found themselves immersed in the events of the first chapter of Naruto, titled:
Uzumaki Naruto!
"W-What's that mischievous kid doing!?"
"He's drawing on the faces of the revered Hokage! What the—did he just draw poop on Tobirama-sama's face!? Disrespectful!"
"Wait… I'm saying this brat's behavior is wrong, but—why are there four faces on the mountain?"
"Four? One… two… three… four?! Are you serious!? There really are four!"
"But we only have three! Who's the fourth!?"
"Damn! Look how perfectly our village, Konoha, is drawn! This is just the first page, and I'm already blown away by these details! Is this story depicting our future?"
Hearing the readers' comments—whether from ninjas or ordinary citizens—the Third Hokage himself was speechless at that moment, especially after that dramatic prologue that had completely captured his attention, while most readers had skimmed past it without notice.
"After all, our beautiful village truly stands out with such stunning detail."
The Hokage smiled softly as he gazed at the magnificent depiction of Konoha on the manga's first page, paying little attention to the prankster drawing on the Hokage Rock.
"This—!"
But suddenly, his whole being trembled. He had seen someone.
An old man, drawing on a piece of paper, interrupted to be informed about the boy defacing the Hokage monument.
The old man then put on his Hokage hat—the one inscribed with the kanji for "Fire."
That's right. The man who appeared on the manga's first page was none other than his elderly counterpart—Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Third Hokage himself!