Chapter 4: One Month Later
Before he realized it, nearly two months had passed since the school term began.
During this time, Ryuzen had become perhaps the loneliest person in his class.
Even lonelier than Uzumaki Naruto.
At least Naruto, despite being shunned by the villagers and whispered about behind his back, could still join in games with other children his age. The other kids would play with him, laugh with him—even if they abandoned him the moment the game ended, leaving him alone once more.
But Ryuzen was completely different.
His appearance was striking among his peers, and from the very first day, he had drawn attention. The opposite sex, in particular, found him fascinating. At the beginning, the number of girls clustering around him rivaled—or even exceeded—the attention given to Uchiha Sasuke. A group led by Yamanaka Ino would enthusiastically surround him every day, chattering away and trying to engage him in conversation. This had made him the object of intense jealousy from the other boys in the class for quite some time.
This situation had persisted for weeks after school started.
It wasn't until Ryuzen's perpetually cold expression, his refusal to speak with them, and his obvious rejection finally sank in that most of the girls' enthusiasm cooled. At the same time, the aura gradually gathering around him—that quiet, sharp presence that came from his daily spiritual synchronization with Mihawk—made them hesitant to approach. Something about him felt... different. Intimidating, even to children who couldn't quite understand why.
Two months later, only Ino, the self-proclaimed "leading lady" of the class, still mustered the courage to speak with him.
The truth was, Ryuzen hadn't originally planned to isolate himself.
He had the advantage of knowing the plot inside and out. He understood perfectly well what kind of status the Rookie Nine would achieve in the future. The future Seventh Hokage. The future head of the Uchiha clan. The future strategic advisor to the Hokage. Building good relationships with them would undoubtedly benefit him in the long run.
But then Ino extended her first enthusiastic invitation to play.
And Ryuzen immediately abandoned that idea.
What kind of joke was this? How old were any of them? Playing house and chasing games? He was a twenty-one-year-old soul trapped in a child's body. The very thought of engaging in actual children's play was mortifying.
From that moment on, Ryuzen decisively put up his cold facade, rejecting all approaches—both from the opposite sex and his own.
This decision had indeed made his life quieter. More peaceful. More focused.
Though he had no social interactions, Ryuzen didn't feel awkward about it. In his previous life, he had been something of a loner himself—someone with few friends and fewer connections. Since reincarnating into this world over a year ago, he hadn't truly interacted with anyone. He had long since grown accustomed to solitude. Loneliness didn't bother him. If anything, it was comfortable.
More importantly, solitude gave him time.
Time to practice swordsmanship. Time to meditate. Time to grow stronger.
Over this past month, his Hawk-Eye inheritance template had unlocked to [1.92%] progress.
Nearly two percent.
This increase hadn't dramatically improved his swordsmanship skills. During the unlock from [1.32%] to [1.92%], the Mihawk in his spiritual world hadn't engaged in many battles. Instead, the scenes had focused on solitary practice—hours of meditation, days of swinging his sword in empty fields, weeks of quiet contemplation.
The template only recorded Mihawk's swordsmanship training and battle experiences. It didn't record his daily life. So Ryuzen could only guess at the reasons for this peaceful period. Perhaps Mihawk had already become invincible on his home island. Perhaps other swordsmen his age feared him too much to challenge him. Perhaps he simply felt there was no point in bullying the weak anymore.
Whatever the reason, Ryuzen understood one thing clearly: this slow period wouldn't last forever. Mihawk was in a bottleneck, yes, but he was also in a growth period. Once he grew older, once he finally went out to sea, his strength would skyrocket. Those battles—against true masters, against opponents who could actually challenge him—were all waiting inside the system, waiting to be unlocked.
Ryuzen wasn't impatient. He had plenty of time.
Besides, even at just [1.92%], his swordsmanship foundation was already incredibly solid. Rock-solid. Impossibly solid for someone his age. A little time to let that foundation settle and mature was probably a good thing.
With swordsmanship at a temporary bottleneck, Ryuzen didn't waste his freed-up time. Instead, he divided his training schedule into two parts and dedicated the second half to physical conditioning.
A swordsman pursuing ultimate technique didn't need a monstrous body like some fighters. But he did need to be physically stronger than his peers. Ryuzen's swordsmanship style wasn't the beastly three-sword style of someone like Zoro, which required an incredibly powerful physique to support. He used only one sword. His focus could be narrower—training his arms for stronger, faster strikes, and his legs for superior footwork and positioning.
So Ryuzen spent half his training time on frog jumps, push-ups, and pull-ups. Every evening, he ran through the streets of Konoha for two full hours, building his endurance and stamina.
Half a month ago, he had finalized his daily schedule:
Morning: Physical exercise.
Late Morning through Afternoon: Ninja Academy for theoretical knowledge and ninja training.
Noon: Daily task completion, spiritual world insight, and sword practice.
Evening: Two-hour run through the village.
Night: Shower, then meditation in his room to extract chakra.
It had been over two months since the system activated. Though Ryuzen hadn't engaged in a single actual combat since arriving in this world, assimilating Mihawk's battle experience had already prepared him mentally. He had overcome the arrogance that came from small victories before ever experiencing them. He had cultivated the ability to see flaws in others—to perceive exactly where and when to strike.
Without boasting, Ryuzen felt confident that his current strength could defeat most of the older students preparing to graduate from the Academy.
Of course, there was one massive caveat to that confidence.
It only applied if his opponents didn't use ninjutsu.
Ryuzen was skilled in basic swordsmanship. That was all. Until he understood the breath of all things—until he crossed the threshold into the true realm of the swordsman—he would not be able to cut through elemental ninjutsu. Even techniques as simple as the "non-lethal fire release" of a basic Fireball Jutsu could pose a fatal threat to him.
Compared to legends like Kakashi Hatake—who graduated the Academy at five, became chuunin at six, and jounin at twelve—or prodigies like Itachi Uchiha—who graduated at seven, became chuunin at ten, joined ANBU at eleven, and became a captain at thirteen—Ryuzen's current level was nothing special.
But for someone who had started from absolute zero just two months ago? Someone with no bloodline limit, no special advantages, no teachers?
Ryuzen was more than satisfied with his progress.
If he could successfully comprehend the breath of all things before graduating the Academy, he believed his achievements would rival even those legendary names. Because he understood—truly understood—the vast gulf that separated an ordinary swordsman from one who could hear the breath of all things.
It was no exaggeration to say the difference was like heaven and earth.
Back to the present.
No one bothered him. No one disturbed his peace. Ryuzen enjoyed the quiet.
Sitting in the back row of the classroom, he appeared to be listening to Iruka's lecture. But beneath his desk, hidden from view, his hands were busy. He held a kunai in one hand and a block of wood—bark already stripped away—in the other. Carefully, precisely, he carved.
A plastic bag hung under the desk, slowly filling with shavings and debris.
The rough block of wood was gradually taking shape, transforming into something longer, smoother. The vague outline of a wooden sword was emerging from the raw material.
Yes, Ryuzen was making himself a practice blade.
The Ninja Academy divided each day into two parts: theoretical knowledge in the morning, and ninja training in the afternoon. The afternoon training covered taijutsu fundamentals, shuriken throwing techniques, the Three Basic Jutsu, and close-quarters combat with kunai.
After two months of study, Ryuzen had mastered the basics of shuriken throwing. While his accuracy couldn't yet match Uchiha Sasuke's natural talent, he was comfortably above average for the class. His close-combat results with kunai were even more impressive—thanks to his "experienced" vision and the instincts inherited from Mihawk, he could read opponents and counter their movements almost instinctively.
But Ryuzen preferred the feel of a blade over a kunai. A sword in his hand simply felt... right.
Unfortunately, the era of the samurai had long since passed. Apart from the Land of Iron and a few scattered ronin wandering the countryside, the profession of swordsman had been completely replaced by shinobi. The Academy didn't provide things like swords. They weren't part of the curriculum.
And even if he could obtain a real blade, it would be impractical. A real sword could easily hurt someone during training. Iruka would never allow him to spar with classmates using live steel.
If he wanted to practice safely—to avoid injuring anyone—he would need a wooden sword.
So Ryuzen decided to make his own.
His kunai carved carefully, patiently, shaping the wood into the tool he needed. Around him, the classroom buzzed with the quiet sounds of children learning. Ino was whispering something to Sakura. Shikamaru was dozing with his head on his desk. Naruto was doodling in his notebook, probably ignoring the lesson entirely.
Normal children. Normal lives.
Ryuzen kept carving, keeping his eyes on the wood taking shape beneath his hands. Soon, he would have his wooden sword. Soon, he could begin practicing the forms properly, not just swinging a bamboo shinai but learning the true weight and balance of a blade.
Soon, he would take another step forward on the path Mihawk had walked before him.
The path to becoming the world's greatest swordsman.
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