Who Told You to Go Around Without a Mark?

"You make a fair point." The leader's lips twisted into a chilling smile. "In this line of work, age doesn't matter..."

"Earth Style: Earth Flow River!" Hibari called out.

The ground churned at his command. In the blink of an eye, a river of mud surged up and thundered toward his opponent.

"Water Style: Great Waterfall Technique!"

The leader attacked almost at the same time. A torrent burst from nowhere and swept the mud away. It didn't lose momentum—instead, it grew larger and larger, quickly piling into a towering curtain of water that rumbled overhead. It was a terrifying sight.

"Just my luck." Hibari inwardly clicked his tongue. "Not only did I run into someone who uses Water Release, he's picking the techniques that annoy me most... From the way he fights, he's almost certainly from Kirigakure."

Whatever he thought, his hands didn't stop moving. He hated techniques like the Great Waterfall, which could turn a battlefield into a bath, so he'd specifically trained a few ways to counter them.

"Earth Style: Earth Flow Rampart!"

The hand seals complete, he unleashed the technique. Just as the raging flood came crashing down, a sturdy stone wall thrust up beneath Hibari's feet, carrying him high into the air like a castle wall.

Earth overcame water—that principle held true everywhere. The intimidating torrent smashed into the rampart but couldn't break through. It could only split around the wall and reluctantly drain away on either side.

Hibari's smooth succession of counters made the leader inwardly uneasy.

"This kid... where'd he learn so many tricks?" The more he watched, the more surprised he became. "His technique is polished, like he's used to dealing with Water Release ninja. He knows my style inside and out.

"The strangest thing is how much chakra he has. A kid his age, no matter how talented, shouldn't be able to keep this up."

Thinking of that, he looked up and shouted at Hibari on the wall, "Hey, kid! What village are you from? Give me your name!"

Hibari felt a sudden surge of satisfaction. If his opponent was asking, it meant he was taking him seriously.

He lifted the corner of his mouth and replied without hesitation, "Hidden Leaf Village. Senju Hibari."

"From the Leaf, huh? That's no surprise..." the leader murmured. But when he heard the rest, his expression changed. "Senju? You're from the Senju Clan?"

"Sure am." Hibari answered openly, with the particular pride of someone born into a great clan.

The leader fell silent for a moment before finally speaking. "No wonder... A Senju's exceptional talent makes sense. That ridiculous amount of chakra, too."

Then his tone turned cold. "Too bad. The more talented you are, the sooner you need to be put down."

Before he'd even finished speaking, his hands were already flying through another set of hand seals.

Hibari moved almost in sync with him atop the wall. He stared intently at the man's hands, rapidly weighing his options as he formed seals of his own.

"These seals... They look like Water Dragon Bullet, but something's off..." Before Hibari could figure it out, his opponent completed the technique.

"Water Style: Twin Water Dragon Bullet!"

At the low shout, the water below exploded. Two massive water dragons burst through the waves and soared into the air, baring their fangs as they lunged toward the heights.

"Damn, two at once?" Hibari tensed. The final hand seal was just then completed.

"Earth Style: Earth Rock Dragon!"

The wall shuddered as a fearsome earth dragon reared up, charging fearlessly at the twin water dragons.

A dragon's head thrust out from the Earth Flow Rampart. A moment later, the entire earth dragon surged forward and collided head-on with one of the water dragons. Earth overcame water, and the water dragon was smashed apart on the spot.

But the other water dragon didn't slow down for even a moment. It kept charging straight at Hibari atop the wall.

"That's got some force..." Hibari muttered, rapidly simplifying his hand seals.

The water dragon was about to slam into his face. Hibari grinned and shouted, "Earth Style: Earth Core!"

The rampart beneath his feet rumbled. The already towering wall suddenly shot even higher. The water dragon misjudged the height and slammed headfirst into the rock face, bursting into a huge spray.

The ninja standing on the water laughed. "Senju Hibari, you seem... pretty scared of water, don't you?"

Hibari frowned. The man had a sharp eye, quickly picking up on his weakness after just a few exchanges. And the techniques he used were no ordinary ones. Hibari thought those few techniques of his would be enough to give any jonin a hard time, but his opponent had handled them with ease.

So far, Hibari had mostly been on the defensive, while his opponent had been completely at ease. If the man really was from Kirigakure, he certainly wasn't some ordinary ninja.

Unfortunately, Hibari's memories of the era's top fighters were hazy. He couldn't figure out who his opponent was.

But it made sense. The man knew Konoha was involved, and even Sarutobi Sasuke was present, yet he'd still brought three companions to stir up trouble in Insect King Valley. He wouldn't dare pull a stunt like this without real skill and confidence.

In the distance, Sarutobi Sasuke and Sarutobi Hiruzen were quietly exchanging their thoughts as they watched.

Normally, Sarutobi Sasuke ought to have at least recognized a ninja of this caliber, but the man's face was unfamiliar.

After thinking for a moment, Sarutobi Sasuke said, "He doesn't look like he's following a standard approach. He probably used some kind of disguise. They're completely clean—no identifying marks at all—which makes that likely."

"His strength is certainly no joke," Sarutobi Hiruzen agreed. "While fighting Hibari, he's been keeping part of his attention on his surroundings the whole time.

"He used the Great Waterfall Technique to reshape the battlefield just to deal with an Earth Flow River... I suspect it wasn't only to counter the technique. He was also guarding against possible reinforcements. And after using so many Water Release techniques, he doesn't look tired at all. His chakra reserves must still be plentiful."

"From what we've seen so far, he's experienced, too. A ninja like this couldn't possibly be a lone drifter," Sarutobi Sasuke mused. "My best guess is that he's from Kirigakure."

He paused, his tone growing serious. "Hibari looks like he can hold his own for now, but he's still behind this man in combat experience and raw strength. On top of that, he's already at a disadvantage against Water Release. His odds aren't good.

"The man's probably testing him while also keeping an eye on us... Hiruzen, don't just stand there watching. Go support him and find an opening to take the man out."

Though the Five Great Nations were technically at peace, their conflicts had never stopped. They were simply kept within certain bounds.

Besides, this man was concealing his identity and had no identifying marks. That meant the force behind him didn't want its involvement exposed, either. Even though Sarutobi Sasuke was ninety percent certain he was from Kirigakure, he had no hard evidence. You couldn't confront Kirigakure based on a guess drawn from the man's techniques.

But there was an upside. Even if they killed him here, Kirigakure could only swallow its anger. Who told him to go around without a mark? If they treated him as a missing-nin or a wandering ninja, who could complain?

Sarutobi Hiruzen nodded. "Understood, Father."

Before the words had even left his mouth, he disappeared from where he stood.

Meanwhile, the ninja had naturally done more than just figure out that Hibari was afraid of water. He raised his hands, a new set of seals already flowing through his fingers.

The ninja crouched and plunged both hands into the water. "Secret Technique: Water Manipulation - Great Tsunami!"

As soon as he spoke, the water's surface roiled. Water surged up from nowhere, gathering into a towering wall before crashing toward Hibari atop the Earth Flow Rampart like a tsunami.

Hibari spat and kept forming hand seals. "He's even pulling out secret techniques now? This bastard's definitely no pushover!"

He cursed, but he wasn't panicking. As the tsunami bore down on him, he even snorted. "You're not the only one with secret techniques!"

Hibari roared, "Earth Style Secret Technique: Great Collapse Technique!"

The entire battlefield shuddered. Even the roaring tsunami wavered. Hibari had always hated Water Release, especially techniques like the Great Waterfall, so he'd prepared for it in advance, learning this technique from a Senju Clan scroll.

Once the technique took effect, the surrounding ground suddenly collapsed into a deep pit. The water rushed down with a crash, swallowing the entire body of water until nothing remained but scattered rocks.

But using the technique immediately left Hibari in bad shape. His chakra was nearly spent, and he dropped to one knee atop the wall, gasping for breath.

As he panted, Hibari wondered, Other protagonists get to beat up weaklings in their debut. I get thrown straight into a fight with a big shot?

The ninja's technique had been broken, but he nimbly leaped onto a pillar of rock. Seeing Hibari's sorry state, he curled his lips into a smile.

But halfway through his grin, his expression froze. He hurriedly ducked as a blade of wind skimmed past his waist, cutting straight through the stone pillar in front of him.

After dodging the attack, he turned toward its source and muttered, "So he really did have backup..."

He'd expected as much. The intel said Sarutobi Sasuke was there, and Hibari was a Senju prodigy. Someone was bound to be looking out for him. The attack had come at the perfect moment, and the water had failed to warn him—but luckily, he'd reacted fast enough.

When he saw who it was, his brow furrowed. "Sarutobi Hiruzen..."

Sarutobi Hiruzen wasn't some rookie. He was Sarutobi Sasuke's son, exceptionally talented, and had made a name for himself in the Shinobi World. Still, Hiruzen didn't waste time talking. He formed the Tiger seal, chakra surging through him.

Sarutobi Hiruzen opened his mouth and spat, "Fire Style: Flame Bullet!"

The ninja was just as quick. He spat out a ball of water. "Water Release: Iron Cannonball!" The water ball extinguished the Flame Bullet in midair.

Fire and water collided, billowing out a thick cloud of mist that instantly obscured their vision.

As soon as the ninja saw the way Sarutobi Hiruzen formed his seals, his heart gave a jolt. He didn't hesitate, darting away and landing on another pillar of rock.

He knew better than to fight a quick-handed ninja like this head-on with ninjutsu. Putting some distance between them couldn't hurt.

He'd barely dodged when the spot where he'd been standing was smashed to pieces with a boom by a blast of wind that tore through the mist.

Before he could catch his breath, Sarutobi Hiruzen burst through the mist and charged right up to him, kicking straight at his face.

He wants to fight with Taijutsu? The mysterious ninja's thought flashed through his mind. His arms moved even faster, crossing to block the kick and taking it head-on. Then he reached for his waist. A flash of cold light appeared as he thrust a kunai straight at Sarutobi Hiruzen's stomach!

But whether because Sarutobi Hiruzen was out of practice or for some other reason, he was half a beat too slow against the vicious thrust. He looked as if he hadn't reacted at all, neither dodging nor defending himself.

Got him! A flash of delight crossed the mysterious ninja's eyes. He was sure this would do it.

But the kunai struck something that felt wrong—hard, like he'd stabbed an iron lump. It wouldn't go in at all.

Before he could figure out what was happening, Sarutobi Hiruzen's hands clamped around his shoulders like iron pincers. The ninja's heart lurched. This is bad.

In the blink of an eye, Hibari appeared behind him like a ghost.

He had one hand on his sword hilt. A moment later, a cold flash of steel flared as he drew his blade. With the ninja pinned in place, he struck without hesitation, slashing across the man's neck!

The head flew off cleanly.

Hibari landed lightly on another stone pillar, sheathed his sword, and grinned. "How was that, Hiruzen? I timed my finishing blow pretty well, didn't I?"

As soon as he finished speaking, another figure emerged from the mist. It was Sarutobi Hiruzen. The "Sarutobi Hiruzen" who'd been holding the mysterious ninja in place burst into a cloud of white smoke with a poof, revealing the true form of Monkey King Enma.

The whole trap had been set in motion the moment Sarutobi Hiruzen spat out that "Flame Bullet." Otherwise, why use a Fire Release technique that he knew his opponent could counter with Water Release? It was all to create the thick mist when fire and water collided!