Chapter 11: The Beginning of Everything
Konoha Year 60.
This was a year that would be remembered. It marked the beginning of the current lives of Asura and Indra's reincarnations—Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha. In Ryuzen's previous life, this was known as the start of the plot. The moment when everything truly began.
Today was particularly significant. The beginning of everything.
In the Yagyu family training hall, Ryuzen stood by the window wearing his black kimono, a notebook clutched in his hand. His crimson eyes gazed out at the Hokage Rock, where a small, blurry figure could be seen scrambling across the stone faces, paintbrush in hand, leaving colorful chaos in his wake.
A faint smile crossed Ryuzen's face. Some things never changed.
Unconsciously, seven years had passed since he arrived in this world.
Today, for once, he wasn't training. He'd specifically asked Hinata not to come over. Not just to witness this scene—though watching Naruto deface the mountain was certainly entertaining—but to prepare for what was coming.
He opened the notebook. It was filled with characters that didn't exist in this world—Chinese characters from his previous life, an unbreakable code only he could read. Within its pages were recorded important information, plot points, critical dates.
No one had a perfect memory. Not even him.
Since age five, Ryuzen had made a habit of writing down important details every few months. Seven years later, those notes had become invaluable. He'd forgotten many things over time—supporting characters who appeared only briefly, names of minor antagonists. The four Sound Ninja from the Konoha Crush plan, for instance. Their names were lost to him now.
But he'd anticipated this. He'd prepared.
He began reading, his lips moving silently as he reviewed the timeline.
*Konoha Year 60, March: The new generation graduates and undergoes survival exercises. May: Team 7 completes approximately 3-4 D-rank missions, then begins the Land of Waves arc. June 23: Teams 7, 8, and 10 accumulate 8 missions, qualifying for Chunin Exam registration. July 1: Chunin Exams begin. After the preliminary rounds, one month of training before the finals. Then: Konoha Crush Plan. Uchiha Itachi returns to the village. Search for Tsunade. The Legendary Sannin's battle...*
Page after page, Ryuzen reviewed the information, silently tracing the future path of Team 7. As he read, forgotten images stirred in his mind—scenes buried deep, emerging hazily from memory's depths.
He read through the entire morning, only stopping when his shadow clone returned from the Academy.
Releasing the technique, the clone's experiences flooded into him.
Today, because of Naruto's antics, Iruka had given the entire class a surprise test on the Transformation Technique. Tomorrow would be the graduation assessment. Naruto would fail—his clone technique just couldn't measure up. Then Mizuki would manipulate him into stealing the Scroll of Seals. Naruto would learn the truth about being the Nine-Tailed Fox's jinchuriki. And finally, he would receive the first genuine acknowledgment of his life, allowing him to graduate.
Ryuzen closed his notebook.
He picked up Shigure Kintoki from where it rested nearby and rose to begin his daily task.
Shing—!
A flash of cold light. The bamboo sword transformed into a gleaming blade.
He swung.
The cut was ordinary—just a basic practice stroke—but his kimono didn't rustle. His silver hair, tied back in a ponytail, didn't stir. There was no wasted motion, no unnecessary energy.
In his vision, everything seemed alive.
The breath of all things surrounded him—some faint, some strong, each object in the room breathing in its own way. And with the blade in his hand, he could cut any of them. Not with force. With understanding.
By the time Ryuzen completed his daily task, dusk had settled over the village.
"Ryuzen-kun, have you eaten?"
He'd just finished showering and was about to head out for dinner when Hinata appeared in the living room. She held a carefully wrapped lunch box in her hands, her pale lavender eyes soft with concern despite his earlier request that she not come today.
Ryuzen smiled. "Ah... not yet."
Two more years had passed. The girl before him now looked exactly like the image from his memories—the paper figurine he'd admired in his previous life, brought to flesh and blood. But there was one difference.
Her temperament was no longer as fragile as the original.
Years of training alongside Ryuzen, years of witnessing his power and pushing her own limits, had forged something new in her. The extreme weakness and paralyzing shyness had softened into something more manageable. A quiet confidence had begun to bloom—nothing like the original Hinata, but still recognizably her.
Her lavender hair now reached her waist. Her features had matured into the beautiful young woman she would become, though she still had growing to do. The white jacket and pants she wore were modest but flattering, and her pure white eyes held depths that could make anyone lose themselves.
In the six years since that first day in the valley, this girl had unknowingly captured Ryuzen's heart completely.
And he, it seemed, had captured hers.
They ate together, sharing the meal Hinata had prepared. Ryuzen told her about the Transformation Technique test, about Naruto's antics. He even mentioned—quietly, with a slight smile—the "Seduction Technique" Naruto had invented. Hinata's face flushed crimson, but she laughed softly, the sound warming the room.
After the meal, they talked for a while longer as darkness fully claimed the sky. Then Ryuzen walked Hinata home.
He didn't accompany her to the door. Their relationship still existed in that delicate space between friendship and something more, and he had no achievements yet—no strength recognized by the village, no status to speak of. A commoner pursuing the princess of a noble clan was like a fairy tale. There would be obstacles. Expectations to meet.
Even if Hinata's father, Hiashi Hyuga, had already begun to notice his daughter's changes with quiet approval, nothing was certain.
Ryuzen watched until Hinata disappeared through the Hyuga compound gates, then returned home.
Back in his room, he settled against the headboard with his notebook, reading by lamplight. Page after page, he reviewed the information he'd gathered—plot points, character notes, important dates. Committing them to memory once more.
As the night deepened and lights across the village flickered out one by one, Ryuzen finally closed the notebook. He rubbed his tired eyes, set the book aside, and lay down.
Sleep came quickly.
And then—
The world twisted.
His soul seemed to tear free from his body, hurtling through time and space. When awareness returned, he was no longer himself.
He was him.
The man with the hawk-like eyes stood on a battlefield, facing an opponent with hair the color of blood. Both held swords. Both radiated killing intent that could freeze the ocean.
The red-haired man moved first.
And the battle began.
Ryuzen—no, Mihawk—met the attack. Steel clashed against steel. Shockwaves rippled outward, carving trenches in the earth. The two swordsmen moved faster than thought, faster than sight, their blades singing songs of death.
This was no ordinary fight. This was a battle between masters. Between equals. Between two men destined to push each other to the absolute limit.
In the world outside, a man who would one day be called the Strongest in the World watched from afar, a massive bisento in his hand.
And he would later speak of this battle.
"Their duel was... just like yesterday's. A magnificent sight."
Whitebeard's words would echo through history.
But for now, there was only the clash of blades. Only the desperate, beautiful dance of two men at the peak of their power.
Ryuzen experienced every moment. Every strike. Every parry. Every near-fatal exchange.
The red-haired man—Shanks—pressed forward relentlessly, his sword style wild and unpredictable. Mihawk met him with cold precision, every movement calculated, perfect.
Lightning split the sky. The ground beneath them shattered.
And somewhere in the darkness, a young boy with straw hat on his head watched with eyes full of wonder, not yet understanding that this moment would shape his entire life.
When the battle finally ended—when both men stood exhausted but unbowed, respect dawning in their eyes—the vision began to fade.
Ryuzen returned to himself.
He lay in his bed, heart pounding, sweat soaking his clothes. His hands trembled slightly.
That battle.
He'd known Mihawk was strong. He'd experienced countless fragments of the man's life—his childhood training, his early battles, his rise to power.
But this?
This was different.
This was Mihawk at his peak—or close to it. Fighting another man at his peak. Two living legends clashing with everything they had.
And Ryuzen had experienced every second of it.
He sat up slowly, breathing deep to calm himself. Outside, the first light of dawn was just beginning to paint the horizon.
Today was the graduation assessment. Today, Naruto would fail, then succeed in his own way. Today, the wheels of fate would begin turning in earnest.
But Ryuzen's mind wasn't on any of that.
He was still processing what he'd witnessed. What he'd felt.
The inheritance template had unlocked further. He could sense it—the percentage had jumped. But more than numbers, more than progress bars, he'd gained something invaluable.
A glimpse of the true peak.
A reminder of how far he still had to go.
And a fire in his heart that wouldn't be extinguished until he reached that same height.
Ryuzen rose, dressed, and prepared for the day ahead.
The plot was beginning. The world was about to change.
And he would be ready.
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