Chapter 79: Success and Bad News (Clean Version)
Konoha Year 63, Day 41.
After finishing the morning training session with Hanabi, the Yagyu residence gradually returned to its usual quiet atmosphere.
Hanabi, exhausted from training, chose to take a nap in the guest room.
Ryuzen did not disturb her.
Instead, he changed clothes and walked alone toward the gym.
Hanabi's growth during the past few months had been obvious. Her control over the Gentle Fist and her reaction speed had improved greatly.
For Ryuzen, that was enough.
He did not intend to push her too hard. Strength was something that accumulated over time.
Arriving at the gym, Ryuzen began completing his daily training routine.
Sword swings.
Footwork drills.
Balance and breathing exercises.
Every movement was clean, precise, and economical.
After nearly a month since Team 8 returned from their S-rank mission, Ryuzen's Mihawk inheritance progress had increased again.
96.09%.
Only a little less than 4% remained before reaching 100% completion.
However, the closer he came to the end, the calmer Ryuzen became.
Instead of rushing for experience, he now focused on refining every bit of insight gained from the inheritance.
Because he did not know what would happen when the inheritance reached one hundred percent.
Would the spiritual world disappear?
Or would another inheritance begin?
After nearly ten years of understanding the system, Ryuzen already knew something very clearly.
The inheritance was not meant to copy someone's power directly.
It was a path of experience, comprehension, and skill.
Even though his swordsmanship had nearly reached Mihawk's level, his body still needed to grow stronger to fully match it.
Only through continued training—or perhaps a future inheritance—could he truly reach or surpass Mihawk's level.
But none of that troubled him.
When the time came, the answer would naturally appear.
The Spiritual World
After completing the physical part of his training, Ryuzen closed his eyes and entered the spiritual inheritance world.
This world had accompanied him for ten years.
Here, he experienced fragments of Mihawk's life.
From the moment Mihawk climbed to the peak of swordsmanship, his life had become strangely quiet.
There were very few battles.
Most challengers were simply not qualified to face him.
Occasionally, a swordsman strong enough to attract Mihawk's attention would appear.
Other times, Mihawk would chase down pirates merely to pass time.
One particular battle remained especially clear in Ryuzen's memory.
The opponent wielded three swords.
Green hair.
A fierce gaze.
A future legend of the seas.
Roronoa Zoro.
That duel not only brought back memories from Ryuzen's previous life, but also revealed something important.
It allowed him to finally confirm the era Mihawk belonged to.
Back to Reality
More than an hour later, Ryuzen slowly opened his eyes.
Just as he was about to continue refining the final fragments of sword comprehension—
He sensed a familiar chakra signature rushing toward the house.
Footsteps approached quickly.
The door slid open.
Hinata hurried inside, her expression filled with worry.
"Ryuzen-kun!"
Ryuzen turned his head calmly.
"What happened?"
Hinata hesitated for a moment before speaking.
Her voice carried sadness.
"Teacher Kurenai's partner… Asuma-sensei… he died in battle."
The room became quiet.
The man she referred to was none other than
Asuma Sarutobi — the jōnin leader of Team 10.
Ryuzen's expression remained composed.
But his eyes showed a trace of understanding.
"So it has finally happened…"
He remembered that Asuma would eventually die at the hands of the Akatsuki member Hidan.
But Ryuzen had never known when it would occur.
Even if he had known earlier, warning them would not have been simple.
Predicting someone's death without explanation would only raise suspicion—or worse, resentment.
Human nature was complicated.
Sometimes even well-intentioned warnings led to anger instead of gratitude.
But now that the event had already occurred, the situation was different.
Hinata looked down slightly.
"Ino and the others… they must be devastated."
Ryuzen stood up slowly.
His thoughts were calm and clear.
Team 10 would definitely seek revenge.
And if he remembered correctly, they would eventually confront the Akatsuki members again—this time with Hatake Kakashi.
Shikamaru and the others had always treated him as a trusted companion, despite his distant personality.
For that reason alone, helping them once would not be unreasonable.
More importantly—
Kurenai had once been their teacher.
Even if she had stepped away from the ninja life after entrusting Team 8 to him, the teacher-student bond still existed.
Helping her students avenge their mentor was not something he would refuse.
Ryuzen walked toward the door.
"Let's go."
Hinata blinked in surprise.
"Where?"
"To gather information first."
His voice remained calm, but firm.
"If the Akatsuki are involved…"
A faint glint appeared in his eyes.
"Then this matter is not over yet."
The peaceful days in Konoha had finally come to an end.
The storm of the Akatsuki was approaching once again.
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