Three years passed in the blink of an eye.
The children of Konoha’s newest generation had already reached the age of ten. Only two more years remained before they graduated from the Ninja Academy.
During those three years, many things had changed.
The first and most obvious change was Uchiha Sasuke.
Ever since the Uchiha clan had been massacred, Sasuke had become distant and withdrawn. The cold loneliness surrounding him was now almost comparable to Mihawk’s.
However, that aloof and prideful air only made him more attractive to the immature girls in their class. Every day, countless admirers gathered around him, competing for even the slightest bit of his attention.
The second change concerned Nerona Mihawk.
As the other boy widely recognized for his looks and talent, Mihawk had privately been declared the class’s truly untouchable genius by many of the girls.
His popularity had never fallen behind Sasuke’s.
In fact, because Mihawk had held the position of top-ranked student for several years in a row, he was even more well-known than Sasuke among students from the Academy’s other classes.
However, aside from Hinata, no one knew the truth.
For more than three years, the Mihawk who attended classes alongside them had merely been a Shadow Clone.
The person they had studied beside all this time had never been his real body.
During his first year, Mihawk himself would occasionally appear at the Academy for examinations. After entering his second year, however, his real body had never stepped through the Academy gates again.
There was a simple reason for that.
He had already become too strong.
That did not refer only to his overall combat ability. Even his understanding of a shinobi’s foundations had long surpassed what the Academy could teach.
The basic skills that Academy students were expected to master had become almost meaningless to him.
His chakra reserves had also grown tremendously.
Since three years ago, Sasuke had no longer been capable of defeating even one of Mihawk’s Shadow Clones.
The final person who had changed was Hyūga Hinata.
Very few people knew that Hinata, whose presence in class had always been faint, had also begun sending a Shadow Clone to the Academy one year ago.
It was a secret shared only between her and Mihawk.
The courage Hinata had shown that day three years ago had created a bond between them. As time passed, that bond only continued to deepen.
Hinata had always been obedient and careful to follow the rules.
Yet even she had gradually changed.
She began secretly sending a Shadow Clone to attend class in her place while her real body slipped away to train with Mihawk.
At the Nerona residence, inside the dojo
"Hah!"
Hinata stepped forward sharply.
"Two Palms! Four Palms! Eight Palms! Sixteen Palms..."
The wooden doors of the dojo stood open.
Inside, two figures exchanged attacks at extraordinary speed.
Neither of them possessed the small, undeveloped bodies they had three years ago. Their movements were no longer weak or hesitant, either. Every strike now carried speed, precision, and unmistakable force.
Hinata’s pale eyes widened as veins bulged around her temples.
The Byakugan was fully active.
With both hands extended, she unleashed the Gentle Fist, aiming directly for the chakra points throughout Mihawk’s body.
"Eight Trigrams: Thirty-Two Palms!"
Hinata’s palms flashed forward one after another.
Mihawk moved freely before her.
A strip of black cloth had been tied over his eyes, completely blocking his vision.
Even so, Hinata could not touch him.
His body drifted like a fallen leaf caught in the wind. Every time her fingertips were about to reach him, he shifted by the smallest possible distance, allowing the attack to pass harmlessly beside him.
There was no wasted movement.
Every evasion appeared almost accidental, yet Hinata’s palms missed him again and again.
"Thirty-Two Palms!"
Her final strike cut through empty air.
Tap.
A hand gently descended onto Hinata’s forehead.
The match was over.
"Mihawk-kun... I lost again."
Hinata struggled to catch her breath.
Despite her defeat, there was no disappointment on her face. Instead, she looked genuinely happy.
Beads of sweat rolled down her smooth cheeks before gathering beneath her chin.
Mihawk removed the black cloth from his eyes, revealing a pair of sharp red irises.
A faint smile appeared on his face as he looked at the girl standing before him.
Hinata’s dark hair had grown all the way to her waist over the past three years, just as he had suggested. The roundness of childhood had also begun to fade from her face, revealing delicate features that grew more beautiful with each passing year.
"You worked hard, Hinata."
"N-No..."
Hinata’s cheeks immediately turned red.
"I’m happy as long as I can help you, Mihawk-kun."
Her voice gradually grew quieter.
Under Mihawk’s gaze, her eyes slowly lowered until she no longer dared to look directly at him.
Despite everything that had changed, she remained as shy and gentle as ever.
Mihawk watched her for a moment before slowly opening his arms and pulling the adorable girl into his embrace.
"M-Mihawk-kun..."
He clearly felt Hinata’s body tremble.
His fingers gently brushed through the long hair that had grown to her waist.
Even after training, Hinata still carried her usual faint scent, without any smell of sweat.
After holding her for a moment, Mihawk released her.
He raised the sleeve of his kimono and carefully wiped the sweat from her face. Then he placed his palm against her burning cheek.
Feeling her body temperature continue to rise, Mihawk smiled.
"Let’s begin the next stage."
"..."
Hinata looked as though her embarrassment had nearly made her faint.
However, Mihawk’s words immediately brought her back to her senses.
"Yes!"
She nodded firmly.
Judging by her reaction, this was far from the first time Mihawk had embraced her like that. He was already familiar enough with her personality to know exactly how far he could go without overwhelming her.
Mihawk allowed Hinata several seconds to regain her composure.
He then tied the black cloth over his eyes once more and sat down with his back facing her.
Hinata stared at his straight back.
The admiration she normally concealed was no longer hidden within her pure white eyes.
Within the Ninja Academy, Nerona Mihawk and Uchiha Sasuke had always been regarded as geniuses.
One was a civilian-born student who had consistently held the highest rank in their class.
The other was the final surviving child of the Uchiha clan.
For years, the two of them had occupied first and second place.
From the outside, it seemed as though only a single step separated them.
However, Hinata knew the truth.
The distance between Sasuke and Mihawk was not merely one step but far greater than anyone realized.
Hinata remembered the miraculous sword strike she had once witnessed.
She walked toward Shigure Kintoki, which Mihawk had placed nearby, and picked up the bamboo sword with both hands.
Taking her position behind him, Hinata tightened her grip.
Then she swung Shigure Kintoki toward the side of Mihawk’s head with all her strength.
The attack carried considerable force.
Had Mihawk failed to avoid it, the right side of his head would have been struck hard enough to leave him in severe pain.
The bamboo sword closed in.
Just before it connected, Mihawk calmly lowered his head.
Shigure Kintoki swept over him without touching even a strand of his hair.
Hinata had already grown accustomed to this.
She raised the bamboo sword again and continued attacking, aiming at Mihawk’s head from one difficult angle after another.
Each strike was fast and unpredictable.
Mihawk avoided them all.
Eventually, he rose smoothly to his feet.
His figure drifted around the dojo like a butterfly moving through a field of flowers, slipping through Hinata’s repeated attacks without ever being touched.
Her breathing
The movement of the bamboo sword
Every step, every breath, and every shift of her muscles appeared to have been captured by him.
He could predict everything.
At first glance, the ability seemed similar to the observational power of the Uchiha clan’s Sharingan.
However, Mihawk’s ability was even more versatile.
He could not only predict his opponent’s next movement but also sense the location and number of enemies beyond his field of vision.
It was almost as though the Sharingan’s ability to perceive movement had been combined with the Byakugan’s vast field of awareness.
That ability was known as...
Observation Haki.
It was a power that did not belong to the shinobi world.
When trained to an extraordinarily high level, Observation Haki could even grant its user the ability to glimpse the future.
Over the past three years, Sasuke had certainly grown stronger.
However, Mihawk’s progress could only be described as overwhelming.
The synchronization rate of the Hawkeye Template had already reached 33.26%.
At that level of progress, the Hawkeye represented by the template had already become terrifyingly powerful.
Perhaps he had already reached the level necessary to step into the New World.
The clearest proof was that Mihawk had obtained the methods for both Armament Haki and Observation Haki.
After unlocking those methods one year ago, Mihawk had begun training with even greater intensity.
However, Armament Haki was clearly not a power that someone of his current age could easily master.
Mihawk was not impatient.
While continuing to strengthen his body through relentless training, he devoted most of his attention to Observation Haki.
Observation Haki shared certain similarities with the ability to hear the Breath of All Things.
Unlike Armament Haki, its awakening did not appear to be restricted by the strength or age of the user’s body.
Because of that, Mihawk required only three months to awaken it.
After another seven months of training, he had gained a preliminary grasp of Observation Haki.
Even so, compared to his initial awakening and control of Observation Haki, Mihawk’s greatest progress had still been in his understanding of the Breath of All Things.
In other words, his greatest improvement remained within the realm of swordsmanship.
Hinata was undoubtedly the person most qualified to testify to that fact.
The sword strike that had severed an entire waterfall had completely captured her being.
From that day onward, her respect for Mihawk had become unwavering.
Support me at /Arthorain and read upto 50 Advanced Chapters!
For every 100 Power Stones, there will be a Bonus Chapter!