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When the intruder declared that he would treat them as pirates, the shinobi of the Cloud Village were enraged. They felt that their pride as shinobi was being trampled into the dirt.
The three did not hesitate.
Young A shot forward like a blue bolt of lightning from the right, aiming to strike with a devastating elbow.
Killer B leaped into the air, forming a raging tornado of seven swords coated in Lightning Chakra and the crimson chakra of the Hachibi.
At the center, the Third Raikage gathered what remained of his strength and charged forward with his Four-Finger Thrust.
Rob (Garp) did not even blink.
"Bwahahaha!!"
With a laugh that shook the battlefield, his left hand moved faster than the eye could follow, catching Young A by the head straight out of his lightning charge. At the same time, he tilted his neck by mere inches, letting Killer B's blades pass beside his ear as if they were moving in slow motion.
"Surround him. No matter how exceptional his taijutsu is, he can't last forever. Every human has limits to their endurance."
The Third Raikage spoke with a grave expression after Rob easily blocked his attack, retreating while ordering the encirclement.
"You're very fast at retreating. Is that thanks to your mastery of Lightning Release?"
Rob (Garp) asked, watching the three withdraw rapidly to avoid his fists.
"Let's see if you're faster than my punches…"
The aura around Rob suddenly changed.
The Raikage and his sons felt a crushing heaviness in the air, as if the very atmosphere itself had been altered to slow them down.
BOOM!
In an instant, Rob smashed Young A's head into the ground with such force that the mountain cracked open to a depth of ten meters. At the same time, he twisted his body and drove a kick into Killer B's stomach, his Armament Haki-coated strike piercing straight through the Hachibi's chakra cloak and launching B like a human projectile—straight into the Third Raikage, who had been attempting to attack.
"What is this?!" the Hachibi roared inside B's mind.
"Fall back, kid! This man isn't fighting with chakra… He's tearing the fabric of reality with his fists! Run! He's a Tailed Beast in human form!"
Killer B wiped the blood from his mouth as he struggled to his feet.
"Run? Hell NO!"
Raging fury ignited in his heart.
…
Seeing their three leaders being tossed around like children drove the elite of Kumogakure into madness.
"Don't let him leave alive! Unleash everything you've got!" Dodai shouted.
In a single moment, hundreds of shinobi charged.
The sky above Kumogakure darkened completely as thousands of kunai and shuriken filled the air, along with Lightning, Water, Fire, and Earth Release techniques. Every type of ninjutsu was unleashed at once.
Rob (Garp) stood calmly in the center of the storm of attacks, his hands in his pockets.
"You're a bunch of noisy brats…"
He exhaled deeply.
Suddenly, an invisible wave of Conqueror's Haki erupted from him.
It was not mere pressure—it was a spiritual shockwave that caused hundreds of shinobi to collapse unconscious before their weapons and techniques could even reach him.
Shuriken and kunai scattered through the air as if they had struck an invisible wall. Chakra-based techniques were completely dispersed, erased by the overwhelming Haki.
Those who remained conscious trembled, including the Third Raikage, who forced himself to stand as he watched his army fall without even touching their enemy.
"Impossible… What is this power?! What kind of forbidden ninjutsu is this?!"
The Third Raikage could not comprehend how his elite, disciplined army had fallen under a single gaze.
It was beyond imagination.
"Men! Wake the unconscious! This is not the time to fall! We must protect our village!"
Despite the collapse of hundreds, the spirit of Kumogakure did not break.
The Third Raikage rose once more, his body bleeding from countless wounds. Beside him stood Young A, trembling but refusing to retreat, and Killer B, whose Hachibi chakra was beginning to surge wildly from rage and confusion.
"Kumogakure… do not fall!" the Third Raikage roared, gathering every remaining drop of chakra in his body until his veins nearly burst.
Rob, speaking in Garp's rough voice, let out a deep sigh. His mocking grin vanished, replaced by a terrifyingly serious gaze.
"Your stubbornness is admirable… but it is pure stupidity. If I am to build my store here, then I must first rip out the roots of your false pride."
He raised his right fist, coated in metallic black. Black and red lightning—advanced Conqueror's Haki—poured from it violently, emitting a shrill screech that tore through the layers of the sky.
He did not aim his fist at the shinobi.
Instead, he leaped high into the air, rising above the highest peak surrounding Kumogakure.
"Galaxy… Impact!!!"
Rob smashed his fist into the air as he descended toward one of the surrounding mountains like a living cannonball.
Before his fist even touched the cloud-covered ground, a massive explosion erupted. Waves of Conqueror's Haki, like lightning serpents, shot out in every direction.
They did not strike the village.
Instead, they tore through the mountain range that protected Kumogakure.
BOOOOM!!!
In mere seconds, towering rocky peaks were vaporized. Mountains that had stood for thousands of years were reduced to massive fragments—then to dust scattered by the wind. The atmospheric pressure from the blast tore apart the clouds themselves.
At the sight of this, everyone fell to the ground.
A deathly silence followed, as mountain dust fell like snow over the village, now completely exposed from the eastern side—no mountains left to shield it.
Rob landed slowly in the center of a massive crater.
He looked around to see the Third Raikage on his knees—not from injury, but from absolute despair.
The Third Raikage had realized that if this man had aimed that strike at the village, Kumogakure would now be nothing more than a memory in history books.
"We… have lost."
The Third Raikage whispered bitterly, lowering his head for the first time in his life.
At that moment, Rob felt the summoning duration end.
'Half an hour? Is that the fixed limit… or are there other conditions I don't know about?'
He wondered as Garp's overwhelming aura began to fade.
Rob's calm features returned—his red hair, his pale eyes.
Although his physical form had not changed much, there had been an overlap with the summoned persona. For a moment, Rob truly felt like someone else. Only his self-awareness told him that he was not Garp… but Rob.
'The strongest in the world… what a surreal title…'
Rob regained full control of his body, but he felt something different—something hot flowing through his veins and settling into his mind.
[System Notification: Template Summoning successfully canceled.]
[Drawing a random ability from 'Monkey D. Garp'…]
[Congratulations! You have obtained: Advanced Conqueror's Haki!]
Rob felt the new power seep into his being. He no longer needed to risk his life to activate it. It had become part of his original strength, alongside his Ice Fruit and card manipulation abilities. What he lacked to use it at its peak was simply greater physical and mental capacity.
"Advanced Conqueror's Haki… looks like my luck is good."
Rob smiled as he looked at the Cloud shinobi, completely stripped of their fighting spirit—so different from how they had been at the start.
Garp's arrival had shattered all their previous concepts of combat power in this world.
…
Amid the dust and shock, Rob walked steadily toward the center of the ruined plaza.
'System, open the Art Store here…'
The earth trembled. Space itself shook.
A building shining with metallic brilliance emerged from the void and fused with the ground.
The unmistakable structure—the Art Store—now stood proudly in the heart of Kumogakure, beside the main mountain where the Raikage's building stood.
No one dared to object.
Even the elite shinobi could only watch in stunned submission.
Rob stood before the store entrance and looked at the Third Raikage, who was trying to stand with the help of his son.
"Now that we're done with the warm-up…" Rob said with his familiar smile.
"Today's lesson will benefit you in the long run. This Art Store will not interfere in your politics. But any interference in its affairs will be met with consequences."
"Volume Four of Naruto is now available. I recommend you read it."
With that, Rob smiled and stepped into his new store.
Before the eyes of the Third Raikage, Young A, Killer B, Dodai, and the rest of Kumogakure's shinobi, the Art Store stood glowing with strange lights. Advertisement panels displayed the stars of the currently available manga series.
On one of the billboards, the Kyubi seemed to stare at them with a mocking gaze.
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Upcoming chapter titles (spoilers):
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Chapter 100: Withdrawal! The Beginning of Volume Four.
Chapter 101: What Seals Cannot Hide
Chapter 102: Astonishment! Naruto Crushes Haku!
Chapter 103: Cursed Blood
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BlackStar_BH:
The chapters currently available on Patreon are up to Chapter 127.
There are 30 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), 5 more chapters in the Diamond tier ($20 subscription), and 10 more chapters in the Emperor tier ($30 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!
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