Kaito then placed his idea in a special section of his mind labeled priority.
And over the next few days, the routine continued.
The first day ended with ten volumes sold. Five hundred points.
The second was considerably better. A small group of shinobi returned from a mission that had lasted several days and, apparently, one of them had spoken a little too highly of the store during the journey.
Twenty copies were sold before closing.
One thousand points.
The third day was particularly slow. Only five sales. But the fourth made up for the difference. Kaito had received a new shipment that morning, and some regular customers seemed to have developed a sixth sense for detecting new merchandise.
He sold thirty volumes.
One thousand five hundred points.
By the fifth day, he already had the impressive sum of 6,000 points. Which he planned to save for later. That same day, he received an unexpected visitor.
Kakashi Hatake entered the store.
The two men stared at each other for a few seconds.
Kakashi had his usual book in one hand. Kaito remained behind the counter.
"Hatake".
"Shirogane".
Silence.
Kakashi looked toward one of the shelves. Then at Kaito.
Kaito calmly pointed toward the aisle at the back. And Kakashi disappeared among the books.
They didn't exchange another word.
He bought three. Kaito had the professional courtesy not to ask questions.
That day ended with eight volumes sold in total.
The sixth day brought another five sales, and the seventh closed out the week with four more.
When Kaito finally took down the small open sign and locked the door that night, he spent a few minutes organizing the counter.
Kaito placed the coins in their respective compartments, recorded the sales, and checked the inventory to see what he would need to restock.
On his way to his apartment. Kaito checked his status.
[User: Kaito Shirogane.]
[Equipped Template: Akagami no Shanks.]
[Current Synchronization: 30%.]
[Synchronization Cost: 1,000 points]
[Available Points: 6,850]
Kaito remained silent.
Thirty percent.
Each additional percentage deepened his synchronization with Shanks, but Kaito had learned long ago that accumulating points also had its advantages.
….
The next day.…
"Again".
Hinata took a deep breath.
They were at one of the training grounds farthest from Konoha. Kaito had chosen that place precisely because it was rarely used and because it was sufficiently secluded.
Hinata had returned from her mission early that morning and had been waiting for him at the bookstore after reporting to Tsunade.
With a pleading look, she asked him to help her with her training.
Kaito told her that they had two different fighting styles. But Hinata told him that she'd heard from Ino that he was very powerful.
Kaito was left speechless.
He hadn't expected Ino to be going around telling people what had happened on the mission. Or at least part of it.
In the end, Kaito agreed. Quite curious about what would happen if Hinata managed to combine the Jūken with Haki.
In the world of One Piece, there were different ways to turn willpower into power.
Some people learned to perceive what the eyes couldn't see. Presences, emotions, intentions and, when that ability reached extraordinary levels, even events that had yet to occur.
Others were born with such overwhelming willpower that they could impose it upon those around them, bringing down the weak without needing to touch them.
There was also a third manifestation. One much easier to understand and considerably harder to master.
Turning willpower into armor.
Busoshoku Haki allowed one to coat the body in an invisible force capable of strengthening attacks and defenses far beyond their natural limits. With sufficient mastery, that coating could be concentrated, extended over weapons and, at higher levels, projected beyond the body instead of remaining limited to the surface.
Kaito had learned something important since receiving Shanks's template.
Understanding an ability and teaching it were two completely different things.
Hinata adopted the traditional Jūken stance. Kaito stood in front of her with his arms crossed.
"Focus".
"I'm trying". Hinata said. She was so determined that she wasn't even stuttering.
"You're concentrating chakra".
Hinata opened her eyes.
"But it's... it's what I know how to do".
"Exactly".
She slowly lowered her hands. They had been repeating this for almost an hour.
Kaito had explained the concept to her. Then he had explained it again. Then he'd used examples. Finally, he had allowed Hinata to activate the Byakugan to directly observe how it worked.
Nothing. That had been the most baffling part for her.
The first time Kaito coated his arm with Busoshoku, Hinata had expected to find some kind of extraordinarily dense chakra flow. Perhaps an unknown nature transformation, a different circulation pattern, or a concentration similar to that used by the Hyūga when releasing chakra from their tenketsu.
Her Byakugan found none of that.
Hinata activated the Byakugan again. Veins appeared around her eyes.
"Show me again, sensei".
Kaito extended his right arm.
Hinata focused all her attention.
And then it happened.
Kaito's forearm began to darken until it took on that characteristic black sheen.
Hinata narrowed her eyes. She could see it perfectly. And that was precisely why she couldn't understand it.
"There's no chakra".
"I've been telling you that since we started". Kaito rolled his eyes.
"I know, but..." Hinata moved a little closer and examined his arm from another angle. "It doesn't make sense".
She focused again.
"Your chakra doesn't change. You're not sending it into your arm, and you're not closing any tenketsu either. Even your circulation remains normal".
"Because I'm not using chakra".
Hinata slowly deactivated the Byakugan.
"Then you're creating energy out of nothing?".
"Exactly, I'm creating energy, but not out of nothing".
"Where does it come from?".
Kaito thought about the answer.
That was precisely the complicated part.
In his mind, it came naturally. The template hadn't simply given him a list of instructions. The greater his synchronization became, the more intuitive certain abilities became.
Using Busoshoku felt as simple as clenching a fist. But telling someone else how to do it was like trying to explain how to move a finger to someone who had never had hands.
Kaito watched her for a few seconds.
There was something amusing about seeing her like this.
The Hinata many people knew spoke softly, avoided unnecessary conflicts, and could become nervous easily. But when she trained, another side of her emerged. She was patient, stubborn, and extraordinarily disciplined. If something didn't work, she could repeat it a hundred times until she figured out why.
It was probably one of the reasons Kaito had agreed to teach her.
"Hit me".
Hinata blinked.
"What?".
"Hit me".
"But Kaito-sensei..."
"Come on, hit me with the Jūken".
Hinata looked at his chest. Then his face.
"I could close your tenketsu".
"Hahaha, you're hilarious. Just try it". Kaito said with amused mockery.
That immediately achieved the desired result.
Hinata narrowed her eyes.
"You don't have to provoke me".
"It worked".
Hinata sighed and adopted her stance again.
This time she didn't hesitate.
Her right palm shot toward Kaito's chest with the characteristic precision of the Hyūga style.