Chapter 77 (Patreon)

“Ahem…”

The thick white steam lingering throughout the washroom slowly began to clear.

Hanabi covered her nose and coughed several times before glaring accusingly at Mihawk.

“Ugh… The water went straight up my nose.”

Mihawk lightly flicked her forehead with two fingers.

“That’s what happens when you start a fight in the bath.”

“Huh?”

Hanabi stared at him indignantly.

“But Mihawk-nii-san used two basins! That was unfair!”

“You threw the first one.”

“That was only one basin!”

“And I made sure you regretted it.”

“Meanie!”

Hanabi puffed out her cheeks and turned away with an exaggerated huff.

Mihawk stared at her sulking figure for a moment before reaching out and firmly pinching one of her cheeks.

“Don’t start battles you can’t finish.”

“Mmgh…”

With her cheek trapped between his fingers, Hanabi tried to defend herself.

“Hanabi almost won…”

“You weren’t even close.”

Mihawk finally released her and stepped into the bath.

Behind him, Hanabi rubbed her cheek and narrowed her eyes.

A mischievous smile soon returned to her face.

She quietly reached towards the nearest wooden basin.

Without turning around, Mihawk spoke.

“Don’t even think about it.”

Hanabi’s hand froze.

“Hmph.”

She reluctantly placed the basin back on the floor and followed him into the bath.

Once they had finished bathing, the two left the washroom together.

Hanabi decided to remain at the Nerona residence and take an afternoon nap. She even asked Mihawk to stay with her until she fell asleep, but he firmly refused. His daily training still had to be completed.

After making certain she had properly dried her hair, Mihawk left her in the guest room and headed towards the dojo alone.

Hanabi’s sudden attack during their bath had certainly caught him off guard.

Even so, he could hardly be angry with her.

After spending so many years together, his attachment to Hinata and Hanabi had long since grown beyond the relationship shared by ordinary friends. He regarded both sisters as precious members of his family.

Otherwise, several years ago, during Hinata’s birthday celebration, he would never have tolerated the ridiculous folded-paper game Hanabi had forced the three of them to play.

Hanabi was growing older as well.

Eventually, someone would probably approach Hiashi and ask for permission to court her.

Hiashi might calmly evaluate the person as the head of the Hyūga clan, but Mihawk doubted he would be nearly as reasonable.

Anyone who wished to take Hanabi away would first have to prove himself worthy of her.

That was simply how protective he had become of both sisters.

However, such thoughts would not interfere with their ordinary lives.

Hinata would remain Hinata, and Hanabi would remain Hanabi.

Nothing about the bond between the three of them needed to change.

Upon entering the dojo, Mihawk picked up his sword and began completing his daily training task.

Over the past month, the progress of his Hawkeye Mihawk Template had risen to:

[76%]

The increase was not particularly large.

Aside from completing his daily training, Mihawk had not encountered any enemies powerful enough to provide additional template progress during the past month.

Nearly a quarter of the template still remained incomplete.

However, Mihawk was in no hurry.

The higher his template progress climbed, the more difficult it became to fully absorb the strength and experience contained within each increase. Even a seemingly minor improvement now required considerable training before it could be properly incorporated into his swordsmanship.

Blindly pursuing a higher number without mastering the power behind it would be meaningless.

After nearly ten years of observation and personal experience, Mihawk had already developed a fairly thorough understanding of the Template System.

It did not simply hand him every ounce of strength possessed by the person represented by the template.

Instead, it granted him that person’s combat experience, understanding, and path towards power.

The greatest proof of that was Mihawk’s own body.

Although his swordsmanship was steadily approaching Hawkeye’s level, his physical abilities had not yet reached the same height.

Unless he continued strengthening his body or obtained another template capable of complementing his swordsmanship, he would never truly stand on equal footing with Hawkeye—much less surpass him.

Mihawk still did not know whether the system would grant him a second template once the Hawkeye Mihawk Template reached one hundred percent.

Nor did he know whether he could complete the remaining progress before the Fourth Shinobi World War began.

However, he felt no confusion or uncertainty.

Rather than worrying about an answer he could not yet obtain, he would continue moving forward one step at a time.

When the proper moment arrived, the system’s purpose would naturally reveal itself.

More than an hour later, Mihawk completed his daily task.

He sat down, closed his eyes, and began absorbing the latest fragment of swordsmanship experience contained within the template.

After the template surpassed seventy-five percent, the experience it provided had become noticeably more profound.

The fragments no longer consisted merely of sword techniques or memories of battle.

They contained Hawkeye’s understanding of distance, timing, rhythm, pressure, and the minute changes that occurred in an opponent’s body before an attack.

Even the smallest movement of a blade carried countless details.

A slight adjustment of the wrist could alter the path of a slash.

A change in breathing could reveal when an opponent intended to attack.

The position of a swordsman’s feet could expose whether he planned to advance, retreat, or shift his centre of gravity.

Each fragment required Mihawk’s complete concentration to understand.

The process was slow, but he could clearly feel his swordsmanship becoming more refined with every passing day.

Even so, he had yet to discover the exact period of Hawkeye’s life from which the template had originated.

The memories he had received revealed many battles and years of relentless training, but none contained enough information to provide a definitive answer.

For now, he could only continue increasing the template’s progress and wait until the later memories revealed the truth.

“Hmm?”

Just as Mihawk finished absorbing the latest swordsmanship experience, his Observation Haki detected a familiar chakra signature rapidly approaching the residence.

A moment later, Hinata rushed into the dojo.

Her normally gentle face was filled with worry.

“Mihawk-kun, something happened to Kurenai-sensei.”

Mihawk’s expression remained composed.

He slowly rose to his feet and turned towards her.

“What happened?”

Hinata lowered her eyes, sadness clouding her pale features.

“Kurenai-sensei’s partner… Team 10’s jōnin leader, Asuma Sarutobi, was killed in battle.”

Mihawk fell silent.

“So the story has already reached this point…”

He felt no personal sorrow over Asuma’s death.

Instead, his attention was immediately drawn towards the timing of the event.

In that respect, it was similar to the Konoha Crush.

Back then, Mihawk had possessed more than enough strength to prevent the tragedy, yet he had neither warned anyone nor interfered.

The reason had been simple.

Even Mihawk had wanted the Third Hokage to die.

This situation, however, was different.

Mihawk had known that Asuma would eventually be killed by Hidan, but he had never remembered precisely when the battle would occur.

Besides, he could not have simply approached Kurenai and Asuma and claimed that Asuma would one day be murdered by an Akatsuki member they had never encountered.

They would naturally have questioned the source of his information.

Without evidence, such a warning might have created suspicion or placed unnecessary strain on their relationship.

Even if events changed and Asuma survived, there was no guarantee that they would be grateful. People did not always react rationally when confronted with prophecies of their own deaths.

Had Mihawk learned about Team 10’s mission beforehand, he might have intervened and eliminated Hidan and Kakuzu for Kurenai’s sake.

But Asuma was already dead.

Nothing could be done about that now.

As long as nothing happened to Hinata or Hanabi, the deaths of most other people meant little to Mihawk.

Kurenai, however, had once been his teacher.

She had gradually withdrawn from active shinobi duties after entrusting Team 8 to him, and during the past few years, Mihawk had only seen her on a handful of occasions.

Even so, he had not forgotten what she had done for him and his teammates.

Although Mihawk felt no grief over the death of her lover, he was at least willing to help her deal with those responsible.

Even without his involvement, Team 10 would soon pursue Asuma’s killers with Kakashi accompanying them.

Mihawk had always found Shikamaru and the others somewhat troublesome, especially whenever they came looking for him.

However, that attitude was merely a product of his unsociable nature.

No matter how coldly Mihawk treated them, they had never shown any genuine impatience towards him.

They continued to regard him as a comrade and place their trust in him.

For that reason alone, Mihawk had no justification for standing aside this time.

He would help them.