Chapter 24 (Patreon)

Resting comfortably in Hinata’s arms, Mihawk drifted off without even realizing it.

By the time he woke again, he was lying on the bed.

His uncovered shoulders felt slightly cold, and there was a familiar weight resting across one of his arms.

A faint smile appeared on Mihawk’s face.

He raised his free hand and gently ran his fingers through Hinata’s long, dark hair.

The fact that they had fallen asleep together did not bother him in the slightest.

Over the past six years, this had happened countless times.

It was only because she had grown so accustomed to being beside him that Hinata could fall asleep while resting against him like this.

Otherwise, with her naturally shy personality, she would never have dared to lie beside him. She probably would not have even found the courage to remain alone with him in the room.

Mihawk did not wake her.

After gently smoothing her hair, he rested one hand against her back while placing the other beneath his head. His red eyes stared absently at the ceiling.

In reality, his attention had already shifted to the system records before him.

[You have killed the “Demon of the Hidden Mist,” Momochi Zabuza, and gained 1% template experience.]

[The Hawkeye Template has been unlocked to 50.2%.]

Defeating Zabuza had given Mihawk a full one percent of experience.

Combined with the 0.12% he had received from the Demon Brothers, he had gained a total of 1.12%.

He had only been away from the village for a single day, yet the progress of the Hawkeye Template had advanced by an amount equal to fifty-six days of ordinary daily training.

He had not even completed today’s daily task yet.

Simply killing three people had saved him fifty-six days of effort.

Mihawk’s feelings about that were complicated.

However, he quickly pushed those thoughts aside.

Closing his eyes once again, he entered his spiritual world and began absorbing more of Hawkeye’s swordsmanship.

Ever since the legendary duels between Hawkeye and Red-Haired Shanks, nearly every serious battle contained within the template had taken place on a massive scale.

There were exceptions, of course.

Some battles were completely one-sided, with Hawkeye overwhelming his opponent without effort. Others were little more than tedious games of cat and mouse.

But whenever Hawkeye faced a worthy opponent, the battlefield itself was often torn apart.

The sixteen- or seventeen-meter Ranged Slash Mihawk had unleashed might have appeared overwhelming to Zabuza and Kurenai.

However, in the New World, there were many skilled swordsmen capable of producing attacks on that scale.

During the battles between Hawkeye and Shanks, mountain peaks were severed, forests were destroyed, and enormous rocks were split apart as though such things were completely ordinary.

Compared to the attack Hawkeye had casually used to cut apart a massive frozen wave in the original future, Mihawk did not believe his current Ranged Slash was particularly impressive.

The 1.12% he had gained represented more than a simple increase in strength.

It was equal to more than one percent of the swordsmanship Hawkeye had developed throughout his life.

This time, Mihawk’s understanding did not end after only a few moments in the outside world.

By the time his consciousness finally returned to reality and he opened his eyes, Hinata was no longer lying against him.

Outside the window, the night sky was as dark as ink.

Splash…

The room was silent apart from the faint sound of running water coming from the bathroom.

Mihawk sat up and placed a hand against his empty stomach.

Rather than interrupt Hinata, he remained on the bed and quietly waited for her to finish.

A short while later, the sound of running water gradually weakened before finally stopping.

Click.

The bathroom door opened, allowing a narrow beam of light to spill into the dark room.

Hinata stepped into the doorway, wrapped securely in a large bath towel.

“Mihawk-kun, you’re awake!”

Noticing the pair of bright red eyes watching her from the darkness, Hinata reacted with surprise and happiness.

A moment later, she remembered that she had forgotten to bring her clean clothes into the bathroom.

Her face immediately turned bright red.

Clutching the towel tightly around herself, she lowered her head in embarrassment.

“M-Mihawk-kun…could you turn around for a moment? I forgot to bring my clothes.”

Instead of answering, Mihawk rose from the bed and walked barefoot toward her.

Hinata blinked in confusion.

As he approached, she instinctively took a few steps backward until her shoulders lightly touched the wall.

Her face grew even warmer.

“M-Mihawk-kun?”

“Hinata…”

His calm voice briefly drew her attention away from her embarrassment.

Hinata raised her pale lavender eyes and looked at him questioningly.

Mihawk stared at her for a moment before reaching toward the shelf beside her.

“You left your clothes over here.”

“…”

Hinata looked at the folded clothes in his hand.

Her already flushed face turned an even deeper shade of red.

The tension and embarrassment proved too much for her.

“Ah…”

Her eyes rolled back, and her body went limp.

Mihawk caught her before she could fall.

“You really haven’t changed at all.”

Smiling helplessly, he lifted the unconscious Hinata and carried her over to the bed.

He placed her down carefully and pulled the blanket over her.

After making sure she was comfortable, Mihawk found his travel pack in the room and removed his washing supplies.

He entered the bathroom, cleaned himself quickly, then took some dried rations from the pack.

Rather than disturbing Hinata’s sleep, he climbed out through the window and settled on the roof.

After eating enough to ease the discomfort in his empty stomach, Mihawk crossed his legs and began meditating as he quietly waited for dawn.

Author’s Note:

The template experience Nerona Mihawk gains by killing an enemy is determined by that enemy’s actual combat strength rather than their official shinobi rank.

The approximate experience values are as follows:

Genin-level: 0.01%–0.05%

Chūnin-level: 0.06%–0.30%

Special Jōnin-level: 0.31%–0.60%

Jōnin-level: 0.61%–0.90%

Elite Jōnin or near-Kage-level: 0.91%–1.5%

Kage-level: 1.51%–3%

Above Kage-level: 5%

Six Paths-level: 10%

These divisions are based entirely on strength, not official rank.

For individuals such as Gaara or Rock Lee, whose official ranks may not reflect their true combat abilities, the experience gained from defeating them will be calculated according to their actual strength.