BlackStar_BH:
More Power Stones and comments, guys!
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"I was wondering…
... Will it take more than a minute before half of your units disappear from this gate?"
Rob said coldly, his voice icy at the fingertips, as the air around him began to collapse into a deadly chill.
In less than a second, the four shinobi surrounding him turned into ice statues, their movements frozen in a silent, terrifying scene, as if time itself had stopped for a moment.
The third Kazekage leaped away at a speed faster than the eye could follow, trying to escape this sudden transformation, accompanied by the jonin surrounding Rob.
"Kage-level!"
Shazan shouted in disbelief, his eyes widening as he watched dozens of shinobi turn into ice statues, their expressions frozen, breaths suspended in the frigid air.
"Honorable Kazekage… did you really think I'm a fat sheep? Seriously, my flesh might be much tougher to chew than you imagine."
Rob's gaze was cold—colder than his ice itself—a deadly silence surrounding him, as if even the air dared not approach.
Rob wasn't stupid; he immediately realized that Shazan intended to take everything: wipe out the caravan and kill everyone who had joined it. In other words, Shazan had decided to become a merciless bandit.
Did this surprise him?
Of course not. Rob had anticipated all of this. But he also knew that any confrontation with a powerful village like Sunagakure would be catastrophic.
He didn't have the strength to challenge the Kazekage and the full power of the village.
Thus, he had only one option: disguise himself as a merchant, enter the village quietly, while keeping the option to reveal his true power if Shazan attempted to seize or threaten him.
And that is exactly what happened.
The air became silent from the intense cold, ice encircling the scene, with Rob standing in its center.
On the other side, black sands rose, revealing Shazan standing on a barren sphere of dark sand.
The Kazekage immediately assumed a battle stance and ordered his subordinates to enter full alert, preparing for any potential catastrophe.
"Who are you!? Do you think Sunagakure is a place you can simply come to and leave?"
The surrounding iron-black sands transformed into sharp spikes, ready to launch at any moment and destroy Rob.
Rob looked coldly at the Kazekage, emanating a terrifying aura. He did not flinch nor show any hesitation. Instead, he crossed his arms skillfully, eyeing the frozen shinobi statues that had solidified during their instinctive retreat.
"Go ahead, attack… with your wide-range strike, the precious shinobi of your village will shatter into icy fragments."
"Sorry, but if that happens, I won't be able to reform them again."
Rob said this, adopting a completely relaxed stance, hands behind his neck, as if the battle were already over.
Rob had weighed his options carefully while being cornered by the sand shinobi. He knew this would happen, so he chose the best possible course: trap the village's elite shinobi and force the Kazekage to respect his position.
Originally, Rob had come with good intentions as a merchant; he did not wish to fight, and that intention remained clear—something the Kazekage could perceive.
"You…? You bastard, do you think you can threaten me!?"
Shazan shouted, his anger almost consuming him internally. He fully understood that he was being manipulated by this red-haired boy.
'Who would have imagined that this boy is a wolf in sheep's clothing?'
"Speak. Which great village are you from? Do you think I won't sacrifice them? The village's interest is above all else." Shazan said coldly, adopting an aggressive stance again, annoyed by Rob's complete composure.
"Calm down, Kazekage. You're really overcomplicating things. I'm just a merchant; I no longer represent any village." Rob said frankly, this time without any falsehood; he had truly become a merchant.
"I have no ill intentions toward your village. My caravan came here for trade. Look… I could kill all of your shinobi, but to show my sincerity, I'll release them."
Rob snapped his fingers, and the ice encasing the sand shinobi vanished. They regained their senses only after a few seconds, collapsing to the ground, shivering from the freezing sensation that had numbed their bodies.
Moments later, the excruciating cold subsided, and they leapt away from Rob, who remained standing, indifferent.
"Is my sincerity enough for you, Kazekage?" Rob asked, looking upward at Shazan, who was still stunned by what had happened.
For a moment, Shazan forgot his anger.
After contemplating the advantages and disadvantages of the situation, he chose to retreat. The metallic sands dissipated, and the Kazekage returned to the ground quietly.
"Seems there was a misunderstanding…"
Shazan smiled at Rob but did not dare approach further; trust in this red-haired companion was difficult.
...
Thanks to precise coordination by Sunagakure shinobi, the caravan was finally allowed to enter the village. Inside the first wagon, the Kazekage and Rob sat as the caravan traveled along the road between the mountains.
Rob still maintained the mood of a wealthy merchant enjoying his time, which made Shazan feel envious; he had never had the chance to live such a carefree life like Rob.
"Have some fruit, Kazekage-san…" Rob said with a smile, offering him fruit from the hand of one of the beauties.
Another beautiful woman approached to serve the Kazekage at Rob's command, and Shazan's furrowed brow relaxed slightly, though his caution remained, especially after surviving an assassination attempt that nearly cost him his life.
Rob had also demonstrated a level of power comparable to the Kazekage, making caution necessary—carelessness could mean certain death.
"We'll become trading partners, no need to be overly cautious, Kazekage-san," Rob said with his usual smile.
He was extremely pleased that the third Kazekage had finally allowed them in; this meant he acknowledged Rob's strength and chose to accept his caravan.
'Fortunately, I didn't have to burn all bridges of communication… that would have been disastrous for my main mission in this world.' Rob thought, watching the Kazekage enjoy the fruit with pleasure.
Rob's primary mission?
Publishing manga in this world. He had started in Konoha, his home village, making it easy to open his store. After some simple paperwork, the next target was Sunagakure. Now that he had entered, the difficulty began to gradually decrease.
'Fortunately, I chose the Ice Fruit… otherwise, it would have been difficult to demonstrate power on par with a Kage. Even though using it taxed my physical endurance, and I am an Uzumaki, known for high stamina…'
Rob sighed, feeling intense muscle pain. He had pushed his body to the limit using the devil fruit's power to restrain the Jonins of Sunagakure.
Indeed, displaying that level of power came at a cost. Rob's current strength was merely high-grade Chunin, but with the fruit's ability, he could temporarily showcase Kage-level power.
This meant he had been gambling the entire time…
And, for now at least, his gamble had paid off.
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Upcoming chapter titles (spoilers):
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Chapter 49: The Puppet Market.
Chapter 50: Art Store – Sunagakure.
Chapter 51: Naruto - Volume 2!
Chapter 52: You Want to Spread Konoha Nonsense in My Village?
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BlackStar_BH:
The chapters currently available on Patreon are up to Chapter 71.
There are 23 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), and 5 more chapters in the Diamond tier ($20 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!