Chapter 108 (Patreon)

Several more days passed, and on the surface, nothing seemed to have changed.

But one person had undergone a dramatic transformation.

Hinata.

After using the Kekkei Genkai Evolution Catalyst, she had not experienced any immediate awakening or obvious mutation.

Instead, the changes appeared gradually over the following days.

The first was her chakra reserves.

In only five days, the amount of chakra within her body had risen from the level of an ordinary Jōnin to that of an elite Jōnin, and it showed no sign of stopping.

Large chakra reserves did not necessarily translate directly into greater combat strength.

However, they allowed a shinobi to use powerful techniques repeatedly without exhausting themselves.

Hinata knew very little ninjutsu, but she had already mastered the Eight Trigrams Palms Revolving Heaven.

With her current reserves, she could use the technique far more freely than before instead of worrying about running out of chakra after only a few attempts.

Despite that, there had been no visible change in her Byakugan.

Mihawk could not tell whether the catalyst was incapable of evolving her eyes or whether the transformation required a much longer period of time.

He even began to wonder if it would take years, much like the long process required for certain Uchiha to awaken the Rinnegan.

That possibility left him faintly disappointed.

It seemed there was no such thing as instantly reaching the highest level.

Fortunately, Mihawk had never explained the catalyst’s full potential to Hinata.

Had he told her that it might cause her Byakugan to evolve, she would likely have been disappointed by the lack of an immediate result.

Instead, Hinata was overjoyed by the sudden increase in her chakra.

She believed it was the result of her recent training and threw herself into her practice with even greater determination.

Mihawk decided not to correct her.

For now, there was no harm in allowing her to believe that her hard work had produced the change.

If the catalyst ultimately failed to evolve her Byakugan, then he would simply continue protecting her himself.

Neither Mihawk nor Hinata noticed what happened later that night.

Hinata continued training beneath the moon until every trace of strength had left her body.

As she reached the limit of her endurance, her Byakugan suddenly changed.

A faint blue light flickered deep within her pale eyes.

For a brief moment, the glow was completely different from the usual appearance of the Byakugan.

Then, just as quickly as it had appeared, the light faded.

...

It was now the middle of May.

At 11:40 in the morning, Mihawk sat on the sofa in the living room of their temporary house.

Leaning slightly forward, he held a pen in his right hand and wrote steadily in a notebook. Rows of unfamiliar characters filled the pages, each stroke flowing smoothly into the next.

Hinata was preparing lunch in the kitchen, while Hanabi lay across Mihawk’s back.

Despite being nearly one and a half meters tall, her weight had no effect on him whatsoever.

With both arms wrapped around his shoulders and her chin resting beside his right shoulder, Hanabi watched him write without pausing.

After staring at the strange characters for a while, she finally asked, “Mihawk-nii, what are you drawing?”

“…”

Mihawk’s pen stopped for a moment.

He had no idea how he was supposed to explain the written language of his previous life.

After a brief pause, he continued writing.

“It’s a type of cipher. I’m using it to record some important information.”

“Oh!”

Hanabi immediately understood.

Ciphers were common in the shinobi world. Important intelligence was often written in code before being delivered to the village’s Cryptanalysis Team.

However, she had no interest in anything so complicated.

After watching him for a little longer, Hanabi climbed off his back, lay down on the other side of the sofa, and began reading a book.

“Woof! Mihawk!”

A sudden bark broke the peaceful silence in the room.

A familiar small dog leapt in through the open balcony.

He wore a Konoha forehead protector and was one of Kakashi’s summoned ninken.

Mihawk lowered his pen in surprise.

“Pakkun?”

“Finally found you.”

Pakkun wasted no time explaining why he had come.

“The Fifth Hokage sent me to summon you.”

“Understood. I’ll go immediately.”

Mihawk did not ask why Tsunade wanted to see him.

“In that case, I’m heading back.”

Poof!

After delivering the message, Pakkun disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

Mihawk closed the notebook and handed it to Hanabi.

“Keep this somewhere safe.”

He then raised his voice toward the kitchen.

“Hinata, I’m heading to see the Hokage. If it turns into something urgent, I might not be back tonight.”

Pakkun had only summoned Mihawk, not the rest of Team Eight.

As one of Kakashi’s ninken and a messenger acting under the Hokage’s orders, Pakkun would not have made a mistake like that.

Therefore, Mihawk had no reason to bring Hinata with him.

“All right.”

Hinata wiped her hands and stepped out of the kitchen.

She went into the bedroom and returned carrying Mihawk’s katana and sword belt. Standing in front of him, she carefully fastened them around his waist.

“Be careful, Mihawk-kun.”

Mihawk lowered his head and gently stroked her hair.

“Don’t worry. It probably isn’t a combat mission.”

“I want one too!”

Hanabi suddenly jumped up from the sofa and hurried toward him.

Mihawk smiled and leaned down, intending to tap her forehead.

Before he could do so, Hanabi grabbed his face and planted a quick kiss on his cheek.

Hinata covered her mouth in surprise, and a faint blush spread across her face.

However, she was not angry.

To her, Hanabi’s actions were simply another sign of how attached she had become to Mihawk after living together for so long.

Mihawk had not expected Hanabi to kiss him so openly in front of her sister either.

Seeing that Hinata did not seem bothered, he merely rubbed Hanabi’s head.

He then adjusted the katana at his waist, walked toward the balcony, and disappeared with the Body Flicker Technique.

After he left, Hinata turned toward her younger sister.

“Hanabi, you shouldn’t kiss boys so casually.”

“Why not? It’s Mihawk-nii.”

Hanabi showed no sign of concern.

Then she covered her mouth and gave Hinata a mischievous smile.

“Besides, you kiss him too whenever you think I’m not looking.”

Hinata froze.

Her face instantly turned bright red, and it almost seemed as though steam might rise from her head.

When it came to teasing people, a hundred Hinatas would still be no match for Hanabi.

————

After leaving the temporary house, Mihawk headed toward the section of the village where Konoha’s administration was currently operating.

The Hokage’s office building had been damaged during Pain’s attack, so Tsunade and the village’s senior officials were working from a temporary camp near the reconstruction area.

The camp was not far from Mihawk’s temporary residence.

Before long, he arrived at the village outskirts and extended his Observation Haki, quickly locating Tsunade’s presence.

“Mihawk-sama!”

“Good morning, Mihawk!”

The shinobi he passed greeted him warmly.

After witnessing his battle against Pain, nearly everyone in the village now regarded him with deep respect.

Mihawk acknowledged each greeting with a polite nod as he continued toward Tsunade’s location.

He soon arrived in front of a large tent.

Without announcing himself, he lifted the entrance flap and stepped inside.

The interior was simple.

A plain desk stood near the center, with Tsunade seated behind it and Shizune standing beside her.

The moment she saw Mihawk enter, the seriousness on Tsunade’s face eased slightly.

“Mihawk. You’re here.”

“Hokage-sama.”

Mihawk nodded and stopped in front of her desk, waiting silently for her to explain why she had summoned him.

Tsunade opened one of the desk drawers and removed a letter.

“I didn’t want to interrupt your leave, but we received this from Kumogakure not long ago.”

She placed it on the desk and pushed it toward him.

Mihawk stepped forward, picked up the letter, and quickly read through its contents.

A trace of surprise appeared on his face.

“The Five Kage Summit?”

“Yeah.”

Tsunade leaned back in her chair, looking troubled.

“According to the letter, Uchiha Sasuke has joined the Akatsuki. He attacked Killer B, the Eight-Tails jinchūriki and the Fourth Raikage’s younger brother.”

“The Raikage is demanding an explanation from Konoha, and he has called for a meeting of the Five Kage.”

Mihawk’s confusion only deepened.

Wasn’t Danzō supposed to attend the Five Kage Summit?

In the original course of events, Pain’s attack had left Konoha almost completely destroyed, while Tsunade had fallen into a coma after exhausting herself protecting the villagers.

Danzō had then used the opportunity to remove her from power and install himself as the acting Sixth Hokage before attending the summit.

But because of Mihawk’s interference, Tsunade had never fallen into a coma.

The village had also avoided the complete destruction it had originally suffered.

Had his actions changed the course of events so drastically that Danzō no longer had an opportunity to seize the position?

Mihawk looked at Tsunade.

“You summoned me because…”

Tsunade nodded.

“I’ll be attending the Five Kage Summit, and I need someone powerful whom I can trust to accompany me as a guard.”

“In my eyes, no one is more suitable than you.”

Mihawk gave a slight nod without hesitation.

“Understood, Hokage-sama. When are we leaving?”

“Immediately.”