The Breath of All Things

Time flies, one year later.

Since becoming the student, Yagyu's life has become dull.

The assistance from the ninja school, apart from theoretical knowledge, no longer provided him any help.

He had mastered everything, from the Shadow Clone Technique to shuriken throwing.

Three months ago, Yagyu's shadow clones were able to last for four hours, and he bid farewell to his school life completely.

He stayed at home every day, spending his time exercising, practicing swordsmanship, and contemplating his own path of the sword.

After a year, Yagyu's inheritance template from Dracule Mihawk had unlocked to 9.22%.

In his spiritual world, Dracule Mihawk had already grown from a child to a teenager.

During his growth, Yagyu's time spent on sword training and contemplation far surpassed his time spent in battles.

Even the scenes of battles had long ceased to appear in his spiritual world.

But compared to battles, Yagyu cherished his sword training and contemplation more in the eyes of Yagyu.

Even though Dracule Mihawk rarely engaged in battles, Yagyu could clearly feel his power rapidly skyrocketing.

Because...

"So... quiet..."

Upon returning from the spiritual world to the training hall, Yagyu suddenly noticed that the world was completely different from usual.

The surroundings, the entire world... in that instant, everything seemed to have fallen into silence, becoming incredibly quiet.

In Yagyu's ears, there were only the sounds of his own heartbeat and the breathing coming from ahead.

The source of the sound was a wooden training dummy specifically made by the carpenter.

"This..." Sensing the sound of breathing coming from the training dummy, Yagyu widened his eyes in disbelief.

Even after several tens of seconds, this phenomenon did not disappear.

Yagyu stood up and retrieved a sword he had purchased half a year ago from a nearby sword rack.

The clear sound of the blade being unsheathed resonated in the silent world, accompanied by a streak of silver light.

*Thud!*

The blade, shimmering with a cold light, descended from top to bottom, effortlessly slicing through the training dummy.

A few seconds later, a smooth mark appeared on the training dummy, neatly dividing it into two halves, which fell heavily to the ground.

*Ding! You have taken the first step on the path of a swordsman. Reward: Novice Gift Pack. *

*Ding! You have obtained a Novice Gift Pack. Would you like to open it?*

Staring at the training dummy divided into two halves, the notification sound in Yagyu's mind confirmed his speculation.

However, the overwhelming shock kept him from recovering his senses.

Only when the second notification sound rang did he finally answer, "...Yes."

*Ding! You have opened the Novice Gift Pack and obtained the clothing item [Men's Kimono] and the weapon [Shigure Kintoki].*

As the notification sound faded, two items appeared out of thin air before Yagyu's eyes, placed on the tatami mat.

One was a black kimono, and the other was an ordinary-looking bamboo sword.

The kimono was not an ordinary one; it possessed special effects. It would change its appearance according to the wearer's body shape, had an automatic cleaning function, and even if damaged, it could be repaired through the conduction of chakra.

This garment was not an armor; it had no defensive power, but its effects were extremely suitable for warfare, perfectly solving health-related issues.

It could even save Yagyu the trouble of washing and selling clothes forever.

A lazy person's specialty!

However, compared to the kimono, Yagyu was more interested in the other item—Shigure Kintoki.

Shigure Kinshi was the weapon used by Yamamoto Takeshi, the Rain Guardian of the Vongola Family, in "Katekyo Hitman Reborn!"

It appeared as an ordinary bamboo sword, but when wielded by someone with both presence and talent, it would transform into an incredibly sharp true sword.

It was a bamboo sword with the ability to change into metal sword.

Setting the kimono aside, Yagyu stood up, grasping the bamboo sword and lightly swung it toward the half of the wooden stump on the ground.

A white streak flashed, and the half of the wooden stump, as thin as a sheet of paper, split into two.

The blade of the bamboo sword in Yagyu's hand had disappeared, replaced by a shimmering blade with a black and white intersecting iron hilt.

With a slight thought, the Shigure Kintoki in Yagyu's hand returned to being an ordinary bamboo sword.

"It may not be the Black Blade 'Yoru' of the Supreme Sword Twelve Works, but it's still a decent sword," Yagyu gave such an evaluation.

Subsequently, Yagyu sat cross-legged on the floor, placing the bamboo sword on his leg, and slowly closed his eyes, his breathing becoming steady and prolonged.

As if falling asleep.

This was "Kenzen," a method for swordsmen to contemplate their own path of swordsmanship and cultivate their state of mind.

In this posture, Yagyu felt exceptionally peaceful in his heart.

The surrounding world fell silent, and faint breathing sounds seemed to emanate from all around.

There were his breaths, and there were the breaths of all things.

After a long while, Yagyu opened his eyes and exclaimed with a hint of admiration, "Truly worthy of Hawkeye. To comprehend the breath of all things at such a young age, he must be not far from the realm of slashing steel and sending slash cuts."

Just how strong was Hawkeye's swordsmanship? Yagyu could finally catch a glimpse.

Unlocking the inheritance template reached only 9.22% completion, not even a tenth of the progress, yet Hawkeye had already grasped the breath of all things.

Although the breath of all things did not necessarily mean he could already slash steel, it was the closest one could get to that realm.

As mentioned before, the difference between a swordsman who cannot hear the breath of all things and one who can is like night and day.

Yagyu, though he couldn't yet slash steel, could already be considered a swordsman on the path to becoming a swordsman of renown.

However, this path would be longer and more arduous than the journey from swordsman to swordsman of renown.

As for why he couldn't slash steel despite hearing the breath of all things, it was actually quite simple. Although all things were referred to as "all things," there were far more than just ten thousand types of objects in the world, many of them possessing astounding hardness.

The swordsmen of the world of pirates, both swordsmen and great swordsmen, could cleave mountains and split seas because they heard the breath of all things in nature, capturing that trace of aura. Only then could they treat those objects as "people" and sever them with their blades.

But even someone as strong as Hawkeye had his attacks blocked by Diamond Jozu. Although it wasn't his full strength, it indirectly proved that even great swordsmen couldn't cut through everything.

Why, then, could Hawkeye become the world's greatest swordsman when both could perceive the breath of all things?

That was because of his superb swordsmanship and his abilities in this regard, making him the strongest among all swordsmen.

But his position as the strongest was also something he achieved step by step.

He didn't start out being able to truly hear the breath of all things.

From the path of a swordsman to becoming the world's greatest swordsman, Hawkeye must have walked a very long and arduous road, as evidenced by the fact that the completion of his inheritance template was still over 90%.

Therefore, Yagyu would need a long time to reach the level where he could lightly swing his sword and cleave an iceberg, just like in the original story.

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