Chapter 10: The Awakening of Kenbunshoku Haki
Time flowed like water, and three years passed in the blink of an eye.
In three years, the new generation of Konoha's buds had grown. They were now ten years old, with only two years remaining before their scheduled graduation from the Ninja Academy.
Over these three years, certain people and certain things had changed dramatically.
First among them was Uchiha Sasuke. Since the night his clan was wiped out, he had become withdrawn—cold and arrogant in a way that isolated him from his peers. His level of self-imposed solitude now rivaled even Ryuzen's.
Yet paradoxically, this brooding demeanor made him more attractive to the immature girls of the Academy. They flocked to him daily, swooning over the "dark and handsome" prodigy, their affections only growing stronger the more he ignored them.
Next was Ryuzen himself. Recognized throughout the Academy as the second "male god" of the class, he had been secretly dubbed by many girls as the "true cold male god"—distant without being cruel, aloof without being arrogant. His popularity never lagged behind Sasuke's, and his status as perennial top student made him even more famous in other classes than the Uchiha survivor.
But only one person knew the truth.
Except for Hinata, no one realized that the "real" Ryuzen had been nothing but a shadow clone for over three years. Every class, every interaction, every moment his classmates thought they were spending with him—all of it was an illusion. A technique. A copy doing his schoolwork while the original pursued something far more important.
After the first-year exams, Ryuzen's true body had occasionally visited the Academy for major tests. But since the second year? He hadn't set foot on school grounds even once.
Because he had become too strong.
"Too strong" didn't just refer to his overall combat ability. It meant his foundation in everything ninja-related had surpassed the curriculum entirely. The basic skills that trainee ninja spent years mastering were, to him, not worth mentioning.
And with his chakra reserves growing year by year, even Uchiha Sasuke—the so-called genius of the surviving clan—had been unable to defeat Ryuzen's mere shadow clone for three years now.
The final change was Hinata Hyuga.
Few people knew—fewer still would believe—that the quiet, shy girl with the weak presence in class had also been sending a shadow clone for the past year. It was a secret shared only between her and Ryuzen.
That brave act years ago, when she'd followed him to the valley, had forged a bond between them. Over three years, that bond had deepened and sublimated into something far more precious.
And so Hinata, who had always been the model of discipline, who never broke rules, who never defied expectations—Hinata had quietly begun letting a shadow clone attend school while her real body spent every possible moment training with Ryuzen.
The Yagyu family compound. The training hall.
Through the open wooden doors, two figures could be seen moving within—no longer the short, childish forms of years past. Their attacks were no longer weak and hesitant. Now, every strike carried sharpness, power, intent.
"Haa... two palms! Four palms! Eight palms! Sixteen palms... Thirty-two palms!"
Hinata's voice rang out as she unleashed the Hyuga clan's signature technique. The veins at her temples bulged—Byakugan active—as her fingers and palms sought out Ryuzen's tenketsu points in a relentless barrage.
Before her, Ryuzen moved like water. Like wind. Like a leaf caught in a gentle current.
His eyes were bound with a strip of black cloth.
Yet he dodged every strike. Every palm. Every attempt to strike his chakra points. His body flowed around her attacks with an elegance that seemed almost choreographed—always moving just enough, never too much, as if he could see the future itself.
Smack.
When Hinata's thirty-two palms had all missed their mark, a single hand knife tapped lightly against her forehead.
The winner was decided.
"Ryuzen-kun... I lost again." Hinata's voice came out breathless, but her face held no disappointment—only quiet joy. Sweat beaded on her smooth skin, tracing paths down to her delicate chin.
Ryuzen removed the cloth strip from his eyes, revealing crimson irises warm with affection. He studied the girl before him—black hair now grown to her waist, the last traces of baby fat gone from her features, replaced by the first hints of the beauty she would become.
"You worked hard, Hinata."
"N-no... I'm happy just to help Ryuzen-kun." Her cheeks flushed as her voice weakened, her gaze dropping away from his. Even after three years, even after everything, she still couldn't meet his eyes for long without that familiar shyness taking over.
Ryuzen caught the change in her expression. Slowly, gently, he opened his arms and drew her close.
"Ryuzen-kun..."
He felt her tremble slightly in his embrace. His fingers traced through her long hair—hair that had grown to her waist at his gentle suggestion years ago—and he breathed in her natural scent, untainted by the sweat of training.
After a long moment, he released her. Using the sleeve of his kimono, he carefully wiped the sweat from her face. Then his palms cradled her warm, flushed cheeks, feeling her temperature rise further under his touch.
"Ready for the next stage?" he asked, smiling.
"...Mmm!"
Her vigorous nod made him chuckle. This was a routine they'd developed over countless training sessions—the brief pause, the moment of connection, then back to work.
Ryuzen gave her a few seconds to recover, then retied the cloth strip over his eyes. He sat cross-legged on the training hall floor, his back straight, facing away from her.
Hinata watched him for a moment, her pale eyes no longer hiding the admiration and devotion that filled them.
In the Ninja Academy, Ryuzen and Sasuke were both called geniuses. The civilian top student and the Uchiha clan orphan, constantly competing for first and second place. It seemed like they were close—like the gap between them was small.
Only Hinata knew the truth.
The gap between Uchiha Sasuke and Ryuzen wasn't a step. It wasn't even a canyon.
It was an ocean. An ocean that Sasuke would never cross.
Thinking of the miraculous sword she'd witnessed so many times, Hinata crossed to where Shigure Kintoki rested—the bamboo sword Ryuzen had set aside. She picked it up, feeling its familiar weight, then moved to stand behind him.
She raised the blade. And swung.
The strike was powerful, aimed at the right side of his head. If it connected, it would hurt.
An inch from impact, Ryuzen's head dipped slightly. The bamboo sword whistled through empty air where his skull had been a moment before.
Hinata didn't pause. She'd expected this. She swung again, and again, aiming from different angles, different heights, always trying to land a blow.
Ryuzen rose smoothly to his feet, and suddenly he was moving—drifting between her strikes like a butterfly through a flower garden. Every swing missed. Every attempt failed.
He wasn't seeing her attacks. He was feeling them. Her breath. The breath of the bamboo sword. The intent behind every movement. He could sense it all, predict it all, as naturally as breathing.
This feeling was like the Uchiha clan's Sharingan—that famous ability to read and predict an opponent's movements.
But compared to the Sharingan, Ryuzen's ability was more powerful.
Not only could he predict an opponent's next move. He could sense enemies outside his field of vision. He could perceive their presence, their number, their intent. It was as if he'd combined the Sharingan's observation with the Byakugan's all-encompassing insight.
This ability was Kenbunshoku Haki.
The power of observation. A power that didn't belong to this world.
And when mastered to its highest level, it was said that one could even see brief flashes of the future.
Three years had passed. While Uchiha Sasuke had improved only marginally, Ryuzen's growth had been explosive.
His Hawk-Eye inheritance template had unlocked to [33.26%].
The Mihawk in his spiritual world had become terrifying. He had entered a new realm entirely—perhaps even stepped into the "New World" of One Piece. The clearest proof was his mastery of both Busoshoku Haki—Armament Haki—and Kenbunshoku Haki.
When Ryuzen had gained access to the training methods for both colors of Haki, he'd thrown himself into practice with manic intensity.
Armament Haki, though, proved beyond his reach for now. It required a physical maturity that his ten-year-old body simply didn't possess. He wasn't discouraged. He had time.
Instead, he focused on Kenbunshoku. Observation Haki shared similarities with the breath of all things—both required a kind of heightened perception, a sensitivity to the world beyond normal senses. And unlike Armament, Observation had no age limit.
Three months after beginning his training, Ryuzen awakened Kenbunshoku Haki.
Seven months after that, he had gained preliminary mastery.
But even this progress paled compared to his advancement in the breath of all things—the realm of the sword. His growth in pure swordsmanship had been staggering.
Hinata was the best witness to this.
The day she'd first seen him cut the waterfall—truly cut it, without the blade ever touching water—had sealed her admiration forever. That single moment had shown her depths she'd never imagined.
Now, as she swung again and again, missing every time, she felt only gratitude. Gratitude that she was here. Gratitude that he'd let her in. Gratitude that she could help him train, even in this small way.
Ryuzen drifted through her attacks, his blindfolded face calm, focused.
Kenbunshoku Haki pulsed around him like a second skin, feeding him information from every direction. He could feel Hinata's presence like a warm glow. He could sense the weight of Shigure Kintoki in her hands. He could perceive the exact moment each strike would land—and simply not be there when it arrived.
This was the path. This was the growth.
And there was so much more to come.
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