第18章 万一有状况再补上也来得及

"The first time I took a job, I spent five days buried in the dirt. I ate, slept, and relieved myself in that same hole. The smell when I finally crawled out... tsk, tsk. Compared to that, this is a vacation, so quit your whining."

Before his words even faded, Sarutobi Hiruzen, hiding on the other side, chimed in with a laugh: "Exactly, Hibari. It's only been two days. If you can't handle this, how could we ever trust you with an important mission?"

"Do you really think being a ninja is all thrills? Sometimes, the ability to endure boredom is the true skill. As for moving forward, if you give us away, these last two days of waiting will have been for nothing."

"Observe the Seven-Tails? Don't be ridiculous. That's a Tailed Beast. We aren't confident in your strength for that, so just stay put!"

"I thought I'd get to see some real action, but instead, I'm just wasting away here. If I'd known, I would've waited to set out with the Hokage..." Hibari curled his lip and muttered.

Sarutobi Sasuke chuckled. "In my experience, this kind of stakeout rarely lasts more than two or three days. Even if others are involved, they won't arrive too late, or the opportunity will have already passed."

"Besides, the Hokage set out two days after us, so he should be arriving right about now. So, we'll be wrapping up soon. Don't you dare drop the ball at the final moment, kid..."

"I was just talking. I know that a journey of a hundred miles is half over at ninety." Hibari nodded and grinned. "Since you say there's going to be movement soon, I can hold out for a few more days. It's not like a little extra time matters!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen was just about to tease him further when his expression shifted abruptly.

Beside him, Sarutobi Sasuke tensed instantly, his presence vanishing completely. Though Hibari wasn't as sharp as the two of them, he saw their posture and immediately held his breath, closing his mouth and staring intently toward the direction where they had set their traps.

Sure enough, not long after, four figures emerged from the woods, none of them wearing headbands. The leader walked to the edge of the puddle, stopped, and frowned at the water. "Has it rained around here in the last two days?"

"Captain, I don't think so..." one of his subordinates replied.

"If it hasn't rained, where did this puddle come from? Something's fishy. Stay alert." Once the leader finished speaking, the other three immediately fanned out to search the surroundings.

Soon, one of the ninjas crouched down and shouted, "Captain, there's a tripwire trap here!"

In the distance, a flash of annoyance crossed Hibari's face. He was still a bit green; he'd forgotten to account for the weather when setting the trap, leaving a trail. But his frustration lasted only a moment.

After all, he had a veteran like Sarutobi Sasuke crouching beside him. The mistakes he made were ones the old man would never commit. Thinking of this, the corners of his mouth actually curled up.

At that moment, the ninja who found the trap looked up and asked, "Captain, should we disarm it?"

The leader squinted, scanning the surroundings, his gaze eventually landing on the small hill where Hibari and the others were hiding. He shook his head. "Don't touch it. A trap this obvious is either the work of a rookie or... a decoy, with a chain of traps hidden behind it."

"I heard Konoha was involved in this. It wouldn't be surprising if this was Sarutobi Sasuke's handiwork. Do you really think that old man would be a rookie? Maybe... he's crouching somewhere right now, watching us."

It had to be said, the leader was sharp; his few words had guessed the situation with startling accuracy.

However, he never imagined that the trap really was set by a rookie—and a "unique" one at that, one that even Tobirama had fallen for in the past.

The leader stroked his chin, pondering for a moment before saying, "Logically speaking, a puddle appearing out of nowhere in this place, with a trap set so obviously, can only mean two things: either there's an ambush, or it's a warning for us to stay back. It's not like... this puddle is going to explode on its own, right?"

He paused, then continued, "I think it's a warning. But we're on a mission; we can't just turn around because of a little intimidation."

He turned to his two subordinates behind him. "You two, go check the water. Be careful, don't touch the trap, and see if anyone is hiding in the water."

The two ninjas didn't hesitate and dashed to the edge of the puddle. The pool Hibari had created wasn't deep, and they could see the bottom at a glance.

Not stopping there, they pulled out a few shuriken and fired them into the water, churning it up for a long time before reporting back. "Captain, the water is clear. It seems it really was just a warning."

At that moment, the ninja who had found the trap grinned. "Maybe it was just some novice messing around?"

Before his words had even landed, the leader's expression changed. He stared at the trap and roared, "Idiots! This thing is remote-controlled!"

On the hillside, Sarutobi Sasuke smirked and whispered, "The captain is sharp, but his men are dragging him down... one sentence led his thinking astray."

That was right. He had secretly modified Hibari's tripwire trap into a remote-controlled one, though it still looked the same. The technique was incredibly refined; if the leader had discovered it himself, he might have noticed the discrepancy.

But because his subordinate had shouted "I found a tripwire trap," the leader had been biased and hadn't looked any deeper.

By the time he realized, it was too late—Sarutobi Sasuke released his hand seal, and the Thunderstorm Seal Hibari had buried instantly activated.

With a sharp crack, electricity exploded around the four ninjas, but it vanished as quickly as it appeared, and nothing else happened. The leader was stunned: they went to all that trouble just to scare them?

Though puzzled, his body instinctively leaped backward. This jump alerted the subordinate beside him, who also retreated in a hurry. But the two crouching by the water weren't so lucky.

Just as they stood up to run, an Explosive Tag went off in the distance.

Before the two could figure out why the tag was so far away, the scene before them left them dumbfounded—the entire surface of the water had been set on fire!

They didn't even have time to scream before the violent explosion swallowed everything around them.

In their final moments, they both remembered the leader's words: "This puddle isn't going to explode on its own, right?"

Good grief... the water really could explode!

With a deafening roar, the puddle exploded into a deep crater, and even the other traps Sarutobi Sasuke had set were sent flying into the sky.

A small mushroom cloud drifted lazily from the crater. The two ninjas who had narrowly escaped stood there, covered in dust and stunned, and even Sarutobi Sasuke and Sarutobi Hiruzen, hiding on the hill, stared with wide eyes.

Although they had heard Hibari brag about the power of his traps, seeing it with their own eyes left them speechless.

Sarutobi Sasuke swallowed hard. "Kid... you really have a knack for demolition."

Sarutobi Hiruzen smacked his lips. "I've learned something today... don't go spreading this method around, it'll cause big trouble."

He paused, then suddenly turned to look at Hibari. "No wonder you said your jutsu could be rated S-rank... with this kind of explosive power, if you really pulled it off, I'd believe it was an S-rank composite ninjutsu!"

In truth, it wasn't just them; Hibari himself was a bit dazed. He had expected a powerful explosion, but he hadn't anticipated such a perfect result. On second thought, the surrounding forest was rich in oxygen, which naturally fueled the fire...

However, Hibari quickly regained his composure, striking a smug pose with his hands on his hips. "Don't look at who set the trap! This power... eh, it's just average, hahahaha!"

Before Hibari could get too carried away, Sarutobi Sasuke spoke up. "Hiruzen, Hibari, you two go finish off the remaining two. There might be reinforcements coming, so I'll stay here and cover you."

Upon hearing this, Sarutobi Hiruzen nodded briskly and stood up, intending to use the smoke as cover to strike first.

But just as he moved, Hibari interjected, "Brother Hiruzen, just cover me. Let me practice my skills!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen thought about it; the mission was essentially to stall until the Hokage arrived, so there was no need to kill everyone. Since Hibari wanted to try, he could go first. He would watch from the sidelines and step in if anything went wrong.

With that in mind, he nodded. "Fine, let's see your performance."

Hibari curled his lips into a confident smile. "Don't worry, leave it to me!"

Before the words were out, he pushed off the ground, activated the Body Flicker Technique, and vanished from the slope.

On the other side, the shockwave of the explosion had just passed, and the lead ninja had already climbed to his feet. He didn't have time to ponder why the puddle had exploded and shouted, "Stay alert! Watch out for an ambush!"

The man was indeed experienced; he hadn't panicked even when faced with such a sudden situation. It was no wonder he had been sent to lead the team.

Just as he finished shouting, several shuriken and kunai flew out of the smoke, heading straight for him and his only remaining subordinate.

As for the other two? They were likely blown to ash; they'd be lucky to find a whole body.

Facing the incoming ninja tools, the leader remained calm, drawing his kunai to deflect them with a series of clangs.

He didn't know who was attacking, but it was likely a Konoha ninja—maybe even that Sarutobi Sasuke, whose name alone made one's scalp tingle!

Just as he was thinking this, two large Fuma Shuriken were flung out of the smoke, one flying toward him and the other straight at his subordinate.

"Water Style: Water Severing Wave!" The leader reacted with lightning speed, forming seals and spitting out a stream of water that slammed into the Fuma Shuriken, sending it spiraling into a nearby tree trunk.

His subordinate didn't hesitate either, drawing his blade to block the incoming shuriken. But before he could breathe a sigh of relief, the shuriken went "poof" and transformed into the shape of Hibari.

It was the very technique Hibari had used against Tobirama—the Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique!

The moment he turned back into human form, Hibari had already pinned the man's blade with his kunai, and then, to the man's astonishment, he raised his leg and kicked him in the abdomen.

"Rock-Crushing Kick!"

This kick was infused with chakra, the very same Strength of a Hundred, a secret ninjutsu-taijutsu of the Senju Clan.

With a muffled thud, the ninja spat out a mouthful of blood, flew backward, and slammed heavily into a tree, twitching twice before going still—it was unclear if he was unconscious or dead.

Hibari had just landed when he heard the leader's shout:

"Water Style: Water Severing Wave!"

A sharp jet of water tore through the air, heading straight for Hibari. Judging by the timing, the leader hadn't cared about his subordinate's life at all—if Hibari hadn't kicked the man away, the water jet would have pierced through his own ally.

"Ruthless, and it just had to be a Water Style ninja, the kind I hate the most..." Hibari muttered to himself, but his movements were anything but slow.

He wouldn't have time to form seals for a defense, and besides, his Second Uncle could use this technique; Hibari knew the power of the Water Severing Wave, and ordinary defensive jutsu wouldn't stop it, so he didn't bother.

He tapped his feet lightly, eyes locked on the trajectory of the water jet, and leaped into the air. With a mid-air spin, he grazed past the water blade and landed steadily on the ground.

The entire sequence was fluid, and while he was in mid-air, his hands had already finished forming seals.

The moment his feet touched the ground, Hibari took a deep breath, his chest expanding, and he spat out a fierce blast of wind:

"Wind Style: Vacuum Sphere!"

"Water Style: Water Gun Bullet!" The opponent countered almost simultaneously, a water bullet colliding with the wind.

The Vacuum Sphere and the water bullet collided in mid-air, exploding into a spray of water.

Before the mist had even cleared, the leader finally had a chance to look at Hibari. His brows were knotted in frustration, his tone filled with indignation: "I thought it was Sarutobi Sasuke... it's just a brat?"

"Since when does being a ninja depend on your age and weight?" Hibari laughed, but his hands didn't stop, his fingers dancing as he began to form seals again.