____________
[—
'What's with this village?' Sakura accompanied Tazuna into the town.
"Here we are," Tazuna said as they arrived at a small grocery shop.
"There's hardly anything here to buy…" Sakura was shocked by how nearly empty the shop was.
"Kyaa!! Pervert!!"
At that moment, a thief tried to snatch her wallet, but she mistook him for a pervert and kicked him.
"No, I was—" The thief tried to explain that he was only trying to steal, but Sakura's kick knocked him unconscious.
…
"You really surprised me earlier," Tazuna said.
"What's going on in this city?" Sakura asked curiously.
At that moment, another child appeared, asking her for something. 'Again?'
She gave him some candy, and he left happily.
"It's been like this ever since Gato arrived," Tazuna explained.
"All the adults have lost hope."
"That's why we need that bridge. A symbol of courage… We need the people to lose their fear and regain the desire to stand up for themselves." Tazuna continued explaining the situation to Sakura.
"If that bridge can be completed, the city will return to how it once was… The people will return to what they used to be…"
Sakura sympathized deeply with what was happening in this poor town. She couldn't help but think of the two boys who were currently training so hard.
'Sasuke-kun… Naruto…'
—]
"To think that a single man—not even a shinobi—could push Wave Country into such a state… Does he really believe the samurai of the Land of Iron are enough to protect him?"
Seeing the condition Tazuna's town had fallen into because of Gato, Ōnoki felt a sense of pity.
It was clear that Gato had strangled them economically and driven the people to hunger.
In Iwagakure, the Stone Village shinobi quickly adapted to the presence of the Art Store once it became clear that it posed no real threat. After fully understanding the situation, Ōnoki also stopped restricting traffic to the store.
Very quickly, the Art Store gained massive popularity. Naruto manga became a mainstream trend in record time—both adults and children enjoyed reading it, and even shinobi found themselves deeply absorbed in its captivating story.
At this time, the Art Store in Iwagakure was crowded, and the area around it had been renovated into a garden that was pleasant to the eye.
The clone of Rob in Iwa smiled faintly as he watched the people of the Stone Village passionately discuss the manga.
Among them, even the Third Tsuchikage himself was engrossed in the scene that revealed why Tazuna was so desperate to complete the bridge, even at the cost of his own life.
"I think I understand very well what Tazuna is trying to do," Ōnoki said calmly.
"The bridge can solve the economic isolation caused by Gato. But if a bridge can be built, it can also be destroyed just as easily…"
"You're right, Tsuchikage-sama. The true solution to Wave Country's problem is eliminating the source of the threat directly," said Kurobachi, a talented jōnin of Iwagakure and one of Ōnoki's trusted leaders from the Kamizuru Clan.
The other shinobi beside them nodded in agreement.
The real and practical solution was indeed to eliminate Gato.
Anything else felt like a joke to these professional shinobi.
"I suppose Kakashi will kill that idiot named Gato in the end."
"Kakashi? Why not say Zabuza instead?"
"I agree. Zabuza is more likely."
"It seems he's being exploited as well…"
"That foolish Gato thinks he can use a shinobi like Zabuza—someone who could kill him in the blink of an eye."
"He has no idea what he's gotten himself into…"
…
Elsewhere inside the Art Store, two young men were sitting across from each other.
"It looks like they're making progress in this training…"
"It's harder for Naruto."
"It becomes easier if he focuses just a little more."
"But Naruto seems too distracted by competing with Sasuke."
"While Sasuke isn't thinking about competing with him at all. That's why he's so far ahead."
"Oh, you're slightly mistaken there… Sasuke sees Naruto catching up to him."
"They have a kind of mutual rivalry. It's actually driving their growth. Don't you think they resemble us?"
"In what way do they resemble us? The one similar to us as a jinchūriki is Naruto."
Han spoke calmly as he watched the scene where Naruto and Sasuke were eating ravenously and asking for more food.
"That's true. Naruto is the Nine-Tails jinchūriki…"
Rōshi said excitedly as he stared at Naruto in the manga.
Rōshi was also a jinchūriki alongside Han, the Four-Tails jinchūriki. A short young man around twenty years old, just like Han beside him.
Both of them had felt sympathy for Naruto ever since they started reading the manga, and with the release of Volume Three, that hadn't changed at all.
They were focused on watching the boy's growth and how he would one day become the Hokage he dreamed of becoming.
"Tools cannot become the center of power,"
Han muttered quietly as he watched Naruto's enthusiastic expression during training.
He saw Naruto as a tool in Konoha's leaders' hands… and that was exactly what he was.
A jinchūriki was a strategic weapon in every village—there was no escaping that reality.
Han understood this truth, unlike Rōshi beside him.
…
Among a group of children, each holding a volume of the manga and reading with wide eyes and astonished expressions, there was one particular boy—the very first person to ever enter the Art Store.
Yeah, we have to, no matter what. Because we have to become stronger.
Gari gazed at Naruto's words with admiration.
The desire to become stronger was what made Naruto eat so quickly just to gain more time to train.
Hadn't Gari himself wished to grow up so he could train more without feeling exhausted?
He clenched his small hand into a fist.
He had learned so much from Naruto since he started reading the manga.
In the next manga scene, Sakura pointed to a family photograph hanging in Tazuna's house. The photo was incomplete—a portion of it had been torn away.
"The man called the hero of the city—was he a shinobi?"
"As expected, he was Tazuna's daughter's husband… but it turns out he wasn't Inari's real father… an adoptive father?"
After Tazuna told the story of Kaiza—the fisherman who entered Inari's life as an adoptive father and became the city's hero after saving them from drowning—Gari felt deep sadness as the tragic end of Kaiza and Inari's story unfolded.
"Damn it! That bastard Gato is pure evil!"
…
[—
("Are you stupid? There's no such thing as a hero!!")
As Naruto listened to Tazuna's story in full, he remembered what Inari had said earlier—and the sound of his crying as he called out to his father.
Naruto stood up, only to stumble after a single step.
"Ow!!"
"What are you doing, Naruto…?"
Sakura asked in surprise.
"If you're thinking about training, take the day off. You've released too much chakra. Any more and you could die,"
Kakashi warned him.
"I'm going to prove it…" Naruto said.
"?"
"What?"
Naruto stood up again and declared:
"I'm going to prove that in this world… heroes do exist!!"
—]
Gari's eyes widened at that scene.
They sparkled like a star-filled sky—he was deeply moved by Naruto's inexhaustible spirit.
"Naruto is amazing!"
"He really is a hero!"
"Will he avenge Kaiza?"
The children of the Stone Village—especially the academy students—felt deep sympathy for Inari and what had happened to his adoptive father.
As the truth became clear, they eagerly awaited Gato's end, hoping it would mirror the way Kaiza was killed.
…
Back in Konoha, the overall mood was completely different from that of Kiri and Iwa.
"To think that Gato would do something so horrific in the future… I must deal cautiously with wealthy scum like him."
Hiruzen narrowed his eyes as he read the chapter's content.
He followed Tazuna's story about Inari's adoptive father with great interest, especially the incident that turned their lives upside down.
"Heroes without power are nothing more than paper tigers. Without real strength, you cannot become a hero."
Danzō said coldly after seeing Naruto try to prove to a child that heroes exist.
"But Naruto has the qualifications to become a hero… at least for now."
Even Danzō acknowledged Naruto's potential.
'Heroes are useful tools.'
He smiled inwardly as he thought that—for him, heroes were nothing more than tools to be used.
____________
Upcoming chapter titles (spoilers):
____________
Chapter 87: Sunagakure Benefits from the Manga!
Chapter 88: Naruto Doesn't Seem to Be Able Not to Be Concerned About You.
Chapter 89: The Beginning of the Second Battle! The Appearance of Child Kisame!
Chapter 90: The Battle of the Bridge!
____________
BlackStar_BH:
The chapters currently available on Patreon are up to Chapter 114.
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In the coming days, chapters will be made available for all tiers, reaching up to 50 advanced chapters… Enjoy!