Chapter 1: Konoha Year 54, The First Inheritance
Konoha Year 54.
The Yagyu Clan Training Grounds
"Nine hundred fifty-seven... nine hundred fifty-eight... nine hundred fifty-nine..."
The young boy's voice, worn thin from exhaustion, counted each swing with determined precision.
"...nine hundred ninety-seven... nine hundred ninety-eight... nine hundred ninety-nine——ONE THOUSAND!"
Ding! You have completed the daily task [Swing the Sword 1000 Times]. Reward: 0.02% synchronization.
*[Your Inheritance: 'Hawk-Eye' Dracule Mihawk Template has been unlocked to 0.7%.]*
"Haah——"
Dusk had settled over Konoha, painting the sky in shades of deep orange and purple. Ryuzen, who looked no older than six, finally ceased his hours-long practice. His small arms, still carrying the soft roundness of childhood, trembled weakly as he lowered the bamboo sword. His fingers, wrapped tightly around the handle for so long, had gone numb.
Taking a deep, shuddering breath, Ryuzen set down the shinai and lowered himself to the training ground floor, sitting cross-legged. His eyelids, heavy with exhaustion and damp with sweat, slowly closed. As they did, the world around him—the wooden walls of the clan's training hall, the distant sounds of the village—began to fade, twisting and warping into something else entirely.
Within his spiritual world, a child appeared. The boy had sharp, golden eyes and his black hair was swept back neatly. He stood alone in an empty field, a wooden sword clutched in his small hands. Over and over, the golden-eyed child practiced the most basic forms of swordsmanship—the same swings Ryuzen had just completed.
Spring turned to summer. Autumn leaves fell and were buried under winter snow. Through it all, the child never stopped. Day after day, year after year, his dedication never wavered. His efforts bore fruit. By the time he was still young, barely older than a boy, he had already defeated more than a dozen children his own age in sparring matches.
This was only 0.7% of that golden-eyed child's life—only the part connected to the path of the sword. But to Ryuzen, it felt like living through every moment himself.
Time flowed strangely in the spiritual realm. What felt like years passing was merely seconds in the real world. The scenes finally paused, freezing on an image of the golden-eyed boy standing over another defeated opponent, his expression calm and unreadable.
Ryuzen's spirit snapped back to reality.
His eyes flew open. For a brief moment, a sharp glint of light flashed across his dark irises, and in that instant, all the fatigue that had weighed down his small body vanished completely.
Something had changed. His understanding of 'the way of the sword' had deepened. It was as if every strike that golden-eyed child had ever made, every lesson learned through years of harsh training, now belonged to him as well. Their experiences had synchronized.
"The greatest swordsman in the world..." Ryuzen whispered to himself, his young voice barely carrying in the empty training hall. "And I've only unlocked 0.7% of his power. The experience I've gained already..."
He trailed off, then suddenly rose to his feet. Snatching up his bamboo sword, he began flowing through the basic forms again. This time, his movements were different. His figure moved lightly, almost gracefully, each stance precise and fluid. Every swing carried a weight and purpose that hadn't been there before. It looked like the work of a talented student who had trained under a master for years.
But Ryuzen knew the truth. He had only been practicing swordsmanship for thirty-five days. There had been no teacher, no instruction, no guidance. Everything he knew came from within.
From the Inheritance System.
Because Ryuzen was not originally from this world.
He was a reincarnator.
The original owner of this body was named Yagyu Ryuzen. His father had been a Special Jounin of Konohagakure, a respectable rank, but he had died during the Nine-Tailed Fox's attack on the village years ago. His mother, unable to bear the grief of losing her husband, had fallen into depression. When Ryuzen was five, she too passed away, her heart simply giving out from sorrow.
After that, the original Ryuzen had changed. The once lively and cheerful child became withdrawn, refusing to leave the house, barely eating. Eventually, he wasted away, and when his body could no longer continue, the soul of a twenty-one-year-old young man from another world had taken his place.
At first, that young man—now trapped in a five-year-old's body—had been lost. When he realized this was the world of Naruto, despair had crept in. He discovered he was the same age as the series' protagonist, but with none of the advantages. No powerful clan name. No kekkei genkai. No special lineage. Just an ordinary orphan in an ordinary house.
In this era of fragile peace, he knew what was coming. In eleven years, the Fourth Great Ninja War would erupt. Before that, Konoha would face the 'Konoha Crush' plan orchestrated by Orochimaru, and later the devastation of Pain's assault. How could an ordinary person with no bloodline limits survive those events? Let alone stand against the god-like beings that would appear during the war.
He had thought, perhaps, that he might have a 'golden finger'—some special power given to reincarnated souls in the stories he used to read. But an entire year passed with nothing. No system. No special abilities. Just the slow, crushing weight of hopelessness.
And then, after he had hit absolute rock bottom, a light finally appeared.
It happened during a fight—a stupid scuffle with some other children that had left him bruised and bleeding. In that moment of pain and frustration, the system he had waited a full year for finally activated.
The Strongest Inheritance System.
It granted him the legacy of a super-powered being from another world. By completing daily tasks, he could unlock that power piece by piece. Each day's task, once finished, gave him 0.02% synchronization. And each time he completed a task, he entered that strange spiritual world and lived through another fragment of the hawk-eyed swordsman's life.
Dracule Mihawk. The greatest swordsman in the world from the world of One Piece. A man who had trained with a blade since childhood, who had carved his name into history through sheer, unwavering dedication.
Every completed task let Ryuzen experience Mihawk's growth firsthand. From an ordinary child picking up a wooden sword for the first time, to a young prodigy surpassing all his peers. The experience was vivid, intense, and absolutely real. Over and over, Ryuzen absorbed it all, transforming from a complete beginner into someone who finally understood what it meant to hold a sword.
His brisk movements came to a halt. Sweat soaked his small body once more, his thin training clothes clinging uncomfortably to his skin. The air around him carried the sharp scent of exertion.
A thousand swings was no small feat for a six-year-old. It had taken hours, with many breaks in between. His clothes had gotten wet, dried, and gotten wet again throughout the afternoon. The smell was unavoidable.
Having absorbed and fully digested this latest fragment of Mihawk's experience, Ryuzen finally left the training hall. He made his way to the bathroom to rinse off, letting cool water wash away the sweat and exhaustion.
The original Ryuzen's father had been a Special Jounin. Though he died in the Nine-Tailed Fox's attack, the family home had been spared from destruction. Between the pension provided by the village after his death and the savings he had accumulated during his life, there was enough money for Ryuzen to live comfortably for several years. If he was careful with his spending, even ten years wouldn't be a problem.
His circumstances meant he never had to worry about food or shelter. All his time could be devoted to two things: completing his daily tasks, and his own training.
Because there was more to his preparation than just swinging a sword. There was also chakra.
Even without a bloodline limit, the original Ryuzen had come from a ninja family. His father hadn't only left money behind. There were also scrolls containing the basics—the chakra extraction method, instructions for the Three Basic Techniques. And two B-rank ninjutsu: the Shadow Clone Technique and the Great Fireball Technique.
Both were powerful techniques. The Shadow Clone, especially, was practically a cheat tool for training. The Great Fireball was a staple of Konoha's fire users, a strong and versatile attack.
Not that Ryuzen could use either of them yet. He hadn't even mastered the Three Basic Techniques. For now, all he could do was slowly, painstakingly extract chakra from his own cells and build his reserves.
But he didn't mind. His path was different now.
On the standard ninja path, unless you learned something extraordinary like the Flying Thunder God Technique or the Eight Inner Gates, or mastered Sage Mode, or became a jinchuriki, you would never reach the true heights of power. And even if you managed to learn those things, against beings like Uchiha Madara, you would still feel helpless. Besides, in times of peace, who would ever give such precious techniques to an orphan nobody?
But now, Mihawk's inheritance had changed everything. It gave Ryuzen hope—hope of reaching a level that rivaled the strongest. The kind of power that could cut through mountains and split the sea with a single swing. Power that matched or even surpassed S-rank ninjutsu. Even if such strength couldn't defeat a Six Paths-level threat, it would certainly be enough to survive.
Only a fool, given the chance to wield that kind of power, would waste time focusing purely on ninjutsu.
Ryuzen stepped out of the bathroom, drying his hair with a towel. Outside the window, the last light of dusk had faded completely, leaving the village bathed in the soft glow of evening lamps. Tomorrow, he would wake up and do it all over again. A thousand swings. Another 0.02%. Another step closer to becoming the world's greatest swordsman.
It would take time. Years, probably. But for the first time since arriving in this world, Ryuzen felt something he had thought lost forever.
Hope.
(End of Chapter)
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