Chapter 87: The Second Inheritance
Fifteen days passed quickly.
Half a month was not long, yet it was enough to change many things.
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The first change appeared in Team 10.
After experiencing the death of Asuma Sarutobi and taking revenge on Hidan, they seemed to have completed a transformation.
Shikamaru Nara was no longer the lazy strategist who complained about everything being troublesome. He had matured noticeably.
Occasionally he visited Ryuzen to talk.
Most of their conversations revolved around the Akatsuki organization. While speaking, Shikamaru often held a lighter in his hand, absentmindedly flipping it open and closed, though he never actually lit a cigarette.
Meanwhile, Ino Yamanaka and Choji Akimichi became far more diligent in practicing their clan techniques.
They had all changed.
Team 8 had also begun to change.
Ryuzen wasn't sure what changes had occurred with Shino Aburame.
But Hinata Hyuga had definitely changed.
She was still gentle and thoughtful as ever, continuing to take care of Ryuzen's daily life.
But whenever Ryuzen began his training, Hinata would quietly leave the Yagyu residence and return to the Hyuga clan.
Through Hanabi's casual remarks, Ryuzen eventually learned the truth.
Hinata was not returning to practice tea ceremony or flower arrangement.
Instead, she was asking Hiashi Hyuga and the clan elders for deeper instruction in Gentle Fist.
Remembering his own words that day, Ryuzen couldn't help feeling a little uneasy.
Even if Hinata worked harder, her strength alone would not determine the outcome of the future.
Ryuzen himself wasn't certain he could survive the white light of Madara Uchiha's Infinite Tsukuyomi.
Unless Sasuke Uchiha protected him with Susanoo, the moment the technique was cast, he would likely fall instantly.
Still, he couldn't bring himself to stop Hinata from trying to grow stronger.
Because he understood her personality.
Normally she was quiet and accommodating.
But once she decided on something, even Ryuzen couldn't change her mind.
So he simply pretended not to know.
Hanabi's Opportunity
Hinata's absence created the perfect opportunity for Hanabi Hyuga.
Whenever Hinata returned to the Hyuga clan, Hanabi would often stay at the Yagyu residence.
Every time Ryuzen finished training, she would cling to him like a piece of candy that refused to come off.
Her presence eased the loneliness left behind by Hinata's absence.
Although Ryuzen had known Hanabi for six years less than Hinata, their relationship had grown naturally.
Hanabi had been raised under the strict training of the Hyuga clan.
Aside from practicing Gentle Fist, the only person she truly relied on was her older sister.
After losing to Hinata during the clan's internal competition, Hanabi had always carried a small sense of guilt.
But later she learned the truth.
Hinata had never been weak.
In fact, she had been trained personally by one extraordinary person.
That realization sparked Hanabi's curiosity.
When she witnessed Ryuzen's strength for herself—his unmatched swordsmanship and calm, unshakable demeanor—the impression left on the young girl was overwhelming.
For a long time afterward, Hanabi treated him like an idol.
Later, as she spent more time with him, that admiration slowly changed.
Her worship of a hero gradually turned into the dependence of a younger sister toward an older brother.
Whether it was admiration or affection, even Hanabi herself couldn't fully understand.
She simply enjoyed being around him.
She liked his kindness, his strength, his calm confidence, and the way he teased her during training.
Without realizing it, the girl's heart had grown closely tied to him.
Ryuzen, however, remained unaware.
He simply continued teasing Hanabi, guiding her training, and deepening his own understanding of swordsmanship.
Before he knew it—
Half a month had passed.
April 25 – 2:30 PM
That afternoon, Hinata had returned to the Hyuga compound for training, while Hanabi was still at school.
Ryuzen sat alone in the gym.
He was practicing Sword Zen, listening quietly to the "breathing of all things."
Then suddenly—
A loud system notification exploded inside his mind like thunder.
"Ding! Your second inheritance template has been randomly generated."
An overwhelming pressure struck his consciousness.
It felt as if gravity itself had seized his soul.
In an instant, his awareness was pulled away from his body.
His body remained seated in meditation.
But his breathing became chaotic.
Cold sweat appeared across his forehead.
The veins on his temples bulged.
His teeth clenched involuntarily as pain surged through his mind.
The pain did not come from his body.
It came from his brain.
A splitting headache tore through his consciousness.
The suffering continued for what felt like an eternity before slowly fading.
Finally, Ryuzen's awareness returned to his body.
His eyelids trembled open.
At first his vision was blurred.
Gradually it became clear.
Clearer than ever before.
But something was wrong.
The world no longer appeared as a single image.
Everything had fractured into pieces.
The floor.
The walls.
The ceiling.
The sword rack in the corner.
The wooden training dummies.
Every object in the gym seemed divided by dark lines—like cracks spreading across shattered glass.
It was as though a mirror had fallen to the ground and broken into countless fragments.
Each fragment reflected a slightly different angle of reality.
The images trembled constantly, as if they might fall apart at any moment.
The strange vision made Ryuzen feel dizzy.
For a moment he nearly vomited.
But the shock forced him to endure.
When he finally understood the meaning of the new inheritance appearing in his mind—
He realized there was nothing wrong with his eyesight.
What he was seeing was something far deeper.
The end of all existence.
The inevitable point where everything met its conclusion.
Death.
If another person had looked into his eyes at that moment, they would have noticed something terrifying.
Ryuzen's eyes were no longer their usual color.
Instead—
They had become a pair of ice-blue eyes filled with spiral patterns of light.
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