Chapter 3: Two Months of Growth
Time passed, and the classroom gradually filled with students.
From his seat in the back, Ryuzen watched as the remaining members of the future Rookie Nine filtered in one by one. As expected, he had been placed in the same class as Naruto and the others. This wasn't surprising—when it came to the Academy's new semester, this was quite simply the only class.
Yes, all of them were students of this single classroom.
Though Konoha was a large village with many children of the same age, not everyone wanted to become a ninja. And even among those who did, not everyone possessed the necessary qualifications. For every one hundred children who applied for enrollment, perhaps eighty would pass the initial screening. But if fifty of those could actually survive the full enrollment test and begin their training, that was already an excellent result.
Because the enrollment test wasn't over yet.
Extracting chakra was no simple task. Not everyone could refine it quickly—or at all. Chakra was the energy produced from the perfect fusion of physical energy and spiritual energy, and achieving that fusion required both talent and training.
During enrollment, the Academy tested each child to determine who had the potential to refine chakra. Those who showed promise would receive professional instruction from the teachers, helping them meet the requirements over time. Nearly half the students in this classroom didn't have chakra yet. They were here on potential alone, hoping it would manifest with training.
This was the real world, after all. Life wasn't as clean and simple as it appeared in the anime.
The classroom eventually reached capacity, and Iruma Umino—assigned as this year's homeroom instructor—made his entrance. He began with a warm introduction of himself, then organized everyone to attend the entrance ceremony outside.
On the training ground, the Third Hokage stood before the gathered children and spoke to them about Konoha's Will of Fire. His aged voice carried across the crowd as he recited the village's most famous creed:
"When leaves dance, fire burns. The shadow of the fire illuminates the village, and new leaves sprout once more."
Listening to those words, Ryuzen could clearly feel the excitement swelling in the hearts of the children around him. Some had tears glistening in their eyes. Others stood a little straighter, their small fists clenched with determination.
It truly was a moving speech. For orphans and children from broken homes, those words gave them somewhere to belong. It strengthened their connection to Konoha, made them feel like they were part of something greater than themselves.
But Ryuzen remained unmoved.
Setting aside his mature mentality—the soul of a twenty-one-year-old housed in a child's body—he knew the truth about this world. Among the three great shinobi villages, Konoha's politics were arguably the darkest. The kindly old man speaking so warmly about the Will of Fire was the same Third Hokage who had lost the "Tale of the Gallant Ninja" idealism of his youth, replaced by the weary pragmatism of an aging leader. Rooted in the darkness, lurking just beneath the surface, was Danzo Shimura—a man who coveted the Hokage position and would sacrifice anyone to achieve his goals.
Next year, these two old men would stand by and allow the Uchiha clan—the strongest family in the entire ninja world—to be exterminated. All because of politics. All because of fear.
Peaceful times were both the worst and the best.
The worst part was that without war, students grew up sheltered like plants in a greenhouse. True geniuses rarely emerged, and even when they did, graduation at a young age was nearly impossible.
But the best part was that even if you became the top student, unless you possessed some special kekkei genkai, you didn't have to fear being targeted by Danzo, lurking in the shadows with his Root organization.
Since activating the Strongest Inheritance System, Ryuzen had already mapped out his next six years.
Obscene development. Stay in the shadows. Grow in silence.
Based on his current rate—0.02% experience per day—one year would grant him 7.3% synchronization. Six years would bring him to 43.8%. Nearly half of Mihawk's total power unlocked before he even reached his teens.
At that point, his strength would be unmatched among his peers. Maybe even among adults.
A glint of light flashed across Ryuzen's crimson eyes as these thoughts passed through his mind.
The morning was spent distributing textbooks, with no actual classes held. After receiving his books, Ryuzen followed the flow of students leaving the classroom.
He was eager to return home and practice swordsmanship. When other children his age enthusiastically invited him to play, he politely declined and walked out of the school grounds, leaving them staring after him with disappointed expressions.
Back home, Ryuzen wasted no time. He changed into his training clothes, hurried to the training hall, grabbed his bamboo sword, and immediately began his daily task.
One thousand swings sounded simple, but form and posture had to be perfect. The system wouldn't count incorrect movements. The bamboo sword's weight, while light to an adult, was significant for a six-year-old's underdeveloped muscles. To protect his arms from injury, Ryuzen controlled his pace carefully—one swing every ten seconds or so, with short rests every few dozen strikes.
After completing the task, he still needed to enter the spiritual world and absorb the latest fragment of Mihawk's experience. Then came more physical practice until every lesson was fully integrated into his muscle memory. Only after all that could he finally sit down and extract chakra.
Before attending the Academy, this schedule had been manageable. But now, with classes occupying both mornings and afternoons, only lunch breaks and evenings remained free. It was nowhere near enough time.
Ryuzen counted every second.
And he had a feeling that [Swing the Sword 1000 Times] was just the beginning. The system wouldn't stay this easy forever.
As it turned out, his hunch was correct.
Swinging a sword a thousand times with perfect form was indeed grueling for a complete beginner new to kendo. But once you adapted—once your body grew and your muscles strengthened—a thousand swings became almost trivial.
So, nineteen days later—two months after Ryuzen first obtained the system—the daily task changed.
[Swing the Sword 2000 Times]
The number had doubled.
Yet even this increased task didn't put much pressure on Ryuzen.
Over those nineteen days, his Mihawk template had unlocked to 1.32%. As the synchronization percentage grew, the scenes in his spiritual world evolved as well. No longer did he only witness Mihawk practicing basic forms or fighting children his own age. Now, the golden-eyed boy was growing up—facing young swordsmen, challenging opponents years older than himself.
The Mihawk in the spiritual world was no longer a beginner just learning to hold a sword. He was a talented young swordsman with real achievements, including victories over sixteen-year-old boys.
Through assimilation and understanding, Ryuzen had transformed in just two months. From a clueless layman who knew nothing of the blade, he had become someone who wielded a sword with the instinct and precision of a genius.
Every swing during his daily tasks now flowed naturally, smoothly. He no longer needed to consciously control his form—a casual strike was already textbook perfect. The thousand swings that once took two or three hours now required no breaks at all and could be completed in a single hour.
Even with the task doubled to two thousand swings, taking about five seconds per strike, he could finish in just over two hours.
His swordsmanship had improved so dramatically that his very temperament had changed. Confidence radiated from him now, quiet and unshakeable. His comprehension had sharpened, and his vision—his ability to see—had evolved in ways he hadn't expected.
The best proof came when he glanced out the window at the older students training on the Academy grounds. Watching them practice their forms, he could clearly perceive their weaknesses. The flaws in their stances. The openings in their guards. The moments when they were most vulnerable.
And even more than that, ideas came to him unbidden—precise, practical methods to exploit those weaknesses. How to strike. How to evade. How to end a fight in an instant.
The strategies simply appeared in his mind, as natural as breathing.
This was what it meant to inherit the eyes and instincts of the world's greatest swordsman. Even at just over one percent synchronization, Ryuzen was already seeing the world differently from everyone around him.
And he was only getting started.
Hey guys!! 🌟 This is my new fanfic 📖If you enjoyed it , please don't forget to add it to your collection 📚😊Your support means everything to me ❤️