Chapter 174 (Patreon)

The following morning, the three of them sat around the low dining table in Mihawk’s villa.

Hanabi had rushed over early that morning. According to her, eating breakfast with them felt better than eating at home. She took a bite of rice and glanced to her left.

Mihawk was calmly drinking his tea.

She took another bite and looked to her right.

Hinata was carefully arranging the side dishes, yet a small smile had remained on her face since breakfast began.

Hanabi narrowed her eyes.

Something was different.

She couldn’t explain exactly what it was, but the atmosphere between Mihawk and Hinata had changed. Her sister appeared more relaxed than usual, while the look in Mihawk’s eyes seemed noticeably gentler whenever it fell upon her.

Hinata reached for the grilled fish at the same moment Mihawk did.

Their fingers brushed.

Hinata quickly drew her hand back, her cheeks turning pink.

Without saying anything, Mihawk placed the fish in her bowl.

“Thank you, Mihawk-kun.”

“You’re welcome.”

Their eyes met.

Hinata’s smile deepened, and Mihawk responded with one of his own.

Hanabi’s chopsticks stopped halfway to her mouth.

There it was again.

She slowly looked from Hinata to Mihawk, then back to Hinata.

“If you keep turning your head like that, you’ll make yourself dizzy,” Mihawk remarked.

Hanabi placed her chopsticks down.

“Onee-sama.”

“Y-Yes?”

“You’re acting very... very strange this morning.”

Hinata nearly dropped the teapot. Her personality may have changed somewhat, but the thought that her little sister might have discovered what happened yesterday was enough to make her heart jump out of her chest.

“Wha-What makes you say that, Hanabi?”

“You’re both hiding something from me. I can smell it~”

“...”

Seeing her sister fall silent and pretend to be calm only made Hanabi’s suspicions grow stronger as her eyes narrowed further.

A possibility finally occurred to her.

Her pale eyes widened.

“Wait...”

A blush spread across Hanabi’s cheeks as her imagination raced ahead.

‘No way... did they really?’

Now even she fell quiet and stopped asking questions. No matter how quirky she was, even Hanabi could feel shy when such lewd matters were involved.

Still, she pouted at Mihawk and sulked. Although it felt somewhat strange, she was surprised and happy for her sister. Hinata had always been such a scaredy-cat, but she had slowly changed because of Mihawk-nii, and now she had actually taken that step with him...

Deep down, Hanabi wanted to give her sister her blessing, though a part of her still couldn’t help feeling envious.

All in all, she was in a conflicted mood, and breakfast ended in a somewhat awkward silence.

Mihawk soon left the villa to get some fresh air.

After walking through the village for a while, he spotted Shikamaru coming from the opposite direction with both hands buried in his pockets.

“You’re out early,” Mihawk said.

Shikamaru raised a hand in greeting. “I was about to say the same thing. I thought you’d be enjoying a quiet morning at home.”

The two fell into step beside each other.

“What about you?” Mihawk asked. “Where are you going?”

“Nowhere in particular. My mother decided that the shinobi world being peaceful means I have plenty of free time. She already had a list of chores waiting when I woke up.”

They continued down the street as villagers opened their shops around them.

“It feels strange,” Shikamaru said after a while.

“What does?”

“Having known you for a while, it feels strange to say this, but you look... happy today. It’s kind of strange seeing you smile like that.”

“...”

“Shikamaru, do you perhaps happen to feel rusty after all this peace? If you want a warm-up, I’d be happy to lend a friend a hand.”

“That’s such a drag... I think I’ll pass.”

Shikamaru’s face twitched as sweat formed along the side of his face. This guy was just as much of a tsundere as ever.

After a while, the two parted ways. Mihawk soon stood atop the Hokage Rock, overlooking the village below. Deep in thought, he glanced up at the sky.

The system had unlocked the World Gate, and Mihawk planned to find out which world lay beyond it. If it was somewhere safe or worth exploring, he could bring Hanabi and Hinata along with him.

Back home, Mihawk took off his suit and changed into his usual black kimono. He then took out a storage scroll, packed a few things, and stored them inside. Of course, he didn’t forget Nemesis, his black blade, which he secured at his waist.

Afterward, Mihawk sealed the storage scroll into the summoning formula on his left wrist.

Once he had finished, Mihawk told Hanabi that he would be going out for a while. He then secretly left Hinata a note telling her not to worry if he didn’t return for a few days.

He had simply gone out to find a place where he could test a recent idea related to his swordsmanship.