A Little Scroll Popped Out of the Smoke

"Of course!" Hibari lifted his chin. "What's there to be afraid of?"

"You little brat..." Sarutobi Hiruzen shook his head with a laugh, though his gaze was serious. "That's easy to say, but war isn't child's play. Still, I believe that if it comes to a fight, Konoha will definitely win."

With that, he pushed off the branch and vanished from sight with a whoosh.

"Hey! Wait for me!" Hibari hurried after him, calling as he ran, "Don't worry, Hiruzen! With me around, how could we possibly lose?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen's exasperated voice came from ahead. "Call me Uncle Hiruzen! And don't get too cocky, you brat!"

There was a small lake beside Insect King Valley.

A Konoha Ninja crouched by the lakeshore, drawing water with a wooden bucket. A cigarette dangled from his lips, and a scar stretched across his face. He looked so plain that he'd disappear in a crowd.

Yet this man was Sarutobi Sasuke.

Just as he carried the bucket over to the little wooden cabin, Sarutobi Sasuke suddenly stopped. He looked up, his gaze fixed on the woods behind the cabin.

Before long, two figures appeared among the trees. Sarutobi Sasuke narrowed his eyes, and the corners of his mouth lifted.

"I expected Lord Hokage and Tobirama to send you, Hiruzen," he said cheerfully, straightening up with the bucket in hand. "But I never thought you'd be on the list too, Hibari."

Before he had finished speaking, Sarutobi Hiruzen and Hibari had landed in front of the cabin, one after the other. Hiruzen was just about to speak when Hibari darted forward first.

"Heh-heh, Grandpa Sarutobi, surprised?" He grinned and pulled his Forehead Protector from his clothes, waving it in his hand. "Don't underestimate me! I'm a proper Konoha Ninja now. Of course I should do my part for the village!"

Sarutobi Sasuke glanced at the Forehead Protector and smiled. "Looks like Lord Hokage and Tobirama finally decided to let you out..."

He turned to his son, his expression growing more serious. "Hiruzen, what orders did Lord Hokage give?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen immediately replied, "Father, Lord Hokage ordered Hibari and me to assist you. Our mission is to investigate the movements of the Seven-Tails Chomei, confirm whether the information has leaked, and... determine whether a third party has gotten involved."

As he spoke, he gave Hibari a pointed glance. Hibari caught on at once and quickly picked up where he left off.

"If another group really has gotten involved," Hibari said, puffing out his chest, "we'll have to hold them off until Lord Hokage arrives!"

Sarutobi Sasuke fell silent for a moment before speaking. "So Lord Hokage will come handle this himself soon?"

"That's right. This could be a big deal or a small one," Sarutobi Hiruzen said with a nod.

"Ah, this is all because I didn't handle things properly." Sarutobi Sasuke sighed, a hint of shame on his face. "Who could've guessed Takigakure would have a rogue ninja appear at a time like this... The information leaked out just like that. I've let the village down."

"Grandpa Sarutobi, how could you be blamed for that?" Hibari took a couple of steps closer and waved a hand. "You're not familiar with the people from Takigakure. It's only natural for something to go wrong. But from what you just said... the leak has been confirmed?"

Sarutobi Sasuke nodded, his expression turning grave. "Yes, I looked into it. That rogue ninja from Takigakure, Kakuzu, has already put information about the Seven-Tails up for sale on the black market, and... I hear there's already a buyer."

"So not only has the information leaked, there's also a good chance a third party will get involved?" Sarutobi Hiruzen frowned.

"Exactly." Sarutobi Sasuke spoke firmly. "Until Lord Hokage arrives, we have to make sure nothing happens to the Seven-Tails Chomei."

As he listened, Hibari casually took a steamed bun from the table by the cabin door and bit into it. "Grandpa Sarutobi, the Seven-Tails really is in the valley behind us?"

Seeing how at home Hibari seemed, Sarutobi Sasuke didn't mind. He simply nodded. "I went in to scout. There's a huge amount of chakra inside, and I saw the Seven-Tails with my own eyes. There's no mistaking it."

Hibari stuffed the rest of the bun into his mouth in a couple of bites, his eyes lighting up. "Then what are we waiting for? Let's go keep an eye on it! I want to see it for myself!"

"Hahahaha!" Sarutobi Sasuke laughed. "Aren't you afraid it'll fire a Tailed Beast Bomb at you and blast you to smithereens?"

"With you and Uncle Hiruzen here, what've I got to fear?" Hibari said, unconcerned.

"Flattery won't help you." Sarutobi Sasuke laughed and shook his head. After a pause, he added, "But since you're here, we should go in. If anyone else really has gotten involved, they're enemies... We'd better prepare a little 'gift' for them in advance."

"Set traps? That's my specialty!" Hibari thumped his chest. "Even Second Grandpa's fallen for my traps!"

"We don't know when those people might show up," Sarutobi Sasuke said, his smile fading. "There's no time to waste. Let's get moving."

Once they were ready, the three of them headed for nearby Insect King Valley. As they walked, Hibari pondered the Yellow Springs Swamp Technique from earlier, marveling at how impressive it was, but he didn't say anything more.

Just hearing the name Insect King Valley was enough to give you the creeps. Hibari had barely taken a few steps inside before he felt uneasy all over. It was as if some enormous creature lay deep in the valley. Wave after wave of heart-stopping pressure rolled toward them from far away.

"Good grief," Hibari said, clicking his tongue. "The Seven-Tails sure has a big ego. It hasn't even shown itself yet, and it's already trying to scare us off?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen laughed. "An ordinary ninja might go their whole life without ever encountering a Tailed Beast. You've gotten a chance to see one, so count yourself lucky."

Hibari chuckled but didn't respond. Instead, he focused on sensing the movements around them. After all, he'd studied under Second Grandpa Tobirama for so long. He was at least capable of that.

After walking a little farther, Sarutobi Sasuke, who was leading the way, suddenly raised a hand to signal them to stop.

"We can't go any farther," he said in a hushed voice. "If we do, the Seven-Tails might discover us, and it could stumble into the traps we set earlier. That'd be a real mess."

"Got it!" Hibari immediately perked up, a wide grin spreading across his face. "Grandpa Sarutobi, Uncle Hiruzen, you two can take a break. Just watch me show you what I can do!"

"It's Uncle Hiruzen!" Sarutobi Hiruzen corrected him irritably. That brat was always trying to get the upper hand by using the wrong form of address.

Sarutobi Sasuke, on the other hand, smiled, looking eager to see what would happen. "Sure. I've been wanting to see what kind of trap could make Tobirama stumble."

"Just watch!" Hibari said, already forming hand seals at a rapid pace.

Sarutobi Sasuke narrowed his eyes and muttered, "Earth Style?"

"Earth Style: Earth Sinking Technique!" Hibari called out. The ground in front of the three of them silently sank, forming a pit of moderate depth. Its edges looked so natural that you wouldn't notice it unless you looked closely.

Once he'd finished the pit, Hibari swung the large scroll off his back and spread it open with a rustle, then formed a hand seal with one hand. With a soft poof, a little scroll popped out of the smoke.

Holding the little scroll, he walked over to the pit and began unrolling it with a grin. "We're all family here, so I won't keep it from you. You both know my chakra just doesn't get along with the water nature. Water Release is out of the question for me.

"So I prepared a little 'reserve' in case I needed it."

As he spoke, he pointed the unrolled scroll at the pit.

The Sarutobi father and son weren't surprised. Hibari had had this problem since he was little. Back then, Tobirama had worried over it plenty and had even asked Sarutobi Sasuke to take a look, but unfortunately, he hadn't found a way to cure it.

"Has Tobirama still not figured out a solution to this problem?" Sarutobi Sasuke asked casually as he watched Hibari at work.

Hibari grinned. "He's made a little progress, but we haven't had time to work on it yet. Once we're done here, we'll go back and take a closer look."

Sarutobi Sasuke nodded and replied, "I do have an idea, though... I came up with it recently, but things are a bit tense right now, and it might be rough on you."

Hibari immediately stopped what he was doing and leaned closer. "Grandpa Sarutobi, what idea? Even if I can't use it right now, I'd still like to hear it!"

Sarutobi Sasuke paused before speaking. "As it happens, the Five Kage Summit gave me an idea. You can't handle water-nature chakra, so what if... we forcibly filled in that gap for you? Wouldn't that solve it?"

"The Five Kage Summit... forcibly filling it in?" Hibari murmured, then his eyes suddenly lit up. "You don't mean... a Tailed Beast, do you?"

"That's right. The best of the Tailed Beasts when it comes to water is the Three-Tails Isobu.

"If we sealed him inside you and made you a Jinchūriki, the two might work together. You might then be able to use water-nature chakra," Sarutobi Sasuke said.

But then he smiled. "Still, that method would be painful. Jinchūriki... can cause trouble, and people would keep a close eye on you. You'd solve your water-nature problem, but you'd have even more trouble to deal with.

"Besides, the Three-Tails Isobu has already been given to Kirigakure. I'm just bringing it up... to give you something to think about."

"The Three-Tails Isobu, huh? Sounds interesting. If I get the chance someday, I might look into it," Hibari said cheerfully, scratching his head.

But the Tailed Beasts had already been divided up, and the Three-Tails Isobu was in Kirigakure's hands. Even if Hibari didn't mind the trouble of becoming a Jinchūriki, he couldn't just steal him.

This was no joke. If he ruined the peace that Grandpa Hashirama had worked so hard to bring about, Hibari knew he'd be far too selfish.

Still, if war broke out in the future and he was strong enough, Hibari wouldn't mind getting involved.

"Thanks for the advice, Grandpa Sarutobi. I'll keep it in mind. But let's put that aside for now. We've got more important things to deal with... Release!" As he spoke, Hibari swiftly released the scroll's seal.

The next moment, water gushed from the scroll with a rush. There was a lot of it, and before long, it had filled the pit they'd just dug.

Hibari quickly sealed it again to stop the flow. After putting the scroll away, he looked with satisfaction at the little "pond" in front of him. It all looked natural, with no sign of human handiwork. Perfect.

"Hibari, why'd you make a pool of water? Are you hoping whoever falls into your trap will drown?

"Don't assume everyone else can't swim just because you can't..." Sarutobi Hiruzen tilted his head, looking puzzled.

Hibari rolled his eyes at him. "Drown, my foot! I wouldn't jump into water for no reason either.

"You're just relying on having all five chakra natures, aren't you? Once I fix this problem and learn all of Second Grandpa's Water Release techniques, you'll see!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen and Sarutobi Sasuke both burst out laughing. Of course, Hibari was only talking big. He and Sarutobi Hiruzen were close, and he wasn't going to take a little thing like this seriously.

"That's why you should read more. The power of science comes in handy too... I'll open your eyes today."