It's the Caster's Life That's Burning!

As soon as he finished speaking, Sarutobi Hiruzen appeared beside him with a whoosh. Tilting his head, he asked, "Hibari, what are you muttering about to yourself?"

"Nothing," Hibari grinned. "Just thinking that for a first mission, this is pretty exciting. It's worth it!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen had no time for idle chatter. He said directly, "You were complaining about how boring the reconnaissance was earlier. Fine, enough nonsense. How's your recovery? My father needs someone to hold back the Seven-Tails so he can cast the sealing jutsu. My chakra is running low, so I need you to lend a hand."

Upon hearing this, Hibari scrambled to his feet. "I'm not fully recovered, but it's enough. Worst case, I'll just give it everything I've got."

Sarutobi Hiruzen didn't dwell on the weight of "everything I've got," taking it as a figure of speech. He urged, "Then how do you want me to coordinate? Quick, tell me, we need to hurry!"

Hibari glanced at Sarutobi Sasuke, who was locked in combat with the Seven-Tails in the distance. "Just like you did with Grandpa Sasuke. I need to get close to the Seven-Tails to weave hand signs. You just need to draw its attention away and buy me some time."

Sarutobi Hiruzen nodded. "You'd better be reliable, kid. Everything depends on you!"

Hibari's lips curled up. "Don't worry, I'm a man of the Senju Clan!"

"If you mess this up, I'll deal with you when we get back!" Sarutobi Hiruzen laughed and scolded, then turned his gaze toward the Seven-Tails Chomei.

He shouted without looking back, "Enma!"

The moment the sound faded, the Monkey King Enma appeared with a poof. Their eyes met, and Enma understood immediately, transforming into the Adamantine Enma Staff in the blink of an eye.

Sarutobi Hiruzen caught the staff, kicked off the ground, and vanished. Hibari rolled his shoulders, his eyes sharpening, and followed suit.

A few breaths later, Sarutobi Hiruzen suddenly appeared above the Seven-Tails Chomei, which was currently chasing Sarutobi Sasuke.

He lowered his center of gravity and held the Adamantine Enma Staff in front of him. The staff expanded with a whoosh and then extended, thrusting straight at the Seven-Tails.

The Seven-Tails had been too focused on Sarutobi Sasuke to defend against this. Its tail was struck squarely, and it was pinned to the ground, dragged all the way until it slammed into the valley wall.

It was worth noting that years later, Sarutobi Hiruzen would use this very technique to shove even the Nine-Tails Kurama out of Konoha. Its power was nothing to scoff at.

Seeing his son take over, Sarutobi Sasuke didn't linger. He flashed away, leaving the battlefield to Sarutobi Hiruzen.

Watching Sarutobi Hiruzen take over the containment, Hibari crept nearby, hid in a crevice between some rocks, and got to work, weaving hand signs at lightning speed.

Controlling a Tailed Beast was no easy feat. With Hibari's current reserves, it should have been impossible. But he happened to have an ace up his sleeve—the A-rank sealing jutsu: Adamantine Sealing Chains!

The power of this technique depended entirely on the user. Someone like his grandmother Mito didn't even need to weave signs; she could use it at will. But for Hibari, it required a long, grueling preparation.

However, once the technique was formed, it had little to do with the caster's own strength; it was a battle of chakra volume. The greater the volume, the more ferocious the chains. It was said that at the peak of mastery, one could even pin down the Nine-Tails!

Hibari's chakra was top-tier among his peers, but it wasn't absurdly high. He knew full well that he couldn't hold the Seven-Tails with this for long. But in this situation, there was no other path but to go all out.

As the final seal was set, Hibari's chakra exploded with a boom. The intensity was so great that even Sarutobi Hiruzen, who was circling the Seven-Tails in the distance, felt it.

Sarutobi Hiruzen's heart skipped a beat: That kid, he's actually going for it!

Sure enough, the next second, Hibari's roar shattered the air.

"Sealing Jutsu: Adamantine Sealing Chains!!!"

Hibari slammed his hands together in front of his chest and shouted. Immediately, four golden, shimmering chakra chains erupted from his back like lightning, lunging straight at the Seven-Tails Chomei.

The Seven-Tails didn't even react before it was wrapped up like a rice dumpling by the chains, unable to move.

Sarutobi Hiruzen's eyes widened, and his expression darkened.

He didn't know the Adamantine Sealing Chains, but he had heard of it. It was a brutal technique capable of going head-to-head with Tailed Beasts. He finally understood what Hibari meant by "giving it everything."

This thing was burning the caster's life force!

"You reckless brat, Hibari!" Sarutobi Hiruzen cursed under his breath, anxious and angry. "If anything happens to you, how am I supposed to answer to Master Tobirama and the Hokage!"

On the other side, Sarutobi Sasuke's movements suddenly accelerated as he began preparing his own large-scale sealing jutsu. If his son knew what was at stake, how could he, the father, not understand?

While worrying about Hibari, he couldn't help but mutter, "Truly worthy of being a child of the Senju Clan... he doesn't even blink when risking his life. Just like before, and just like now."

Hibari was having a rough time. The Seven-Tails was struggling for its life, and he had to grit his teeth and pour more chakra into the chains to hold on.

The chakra he had just recovered was pouring out like a broken dam, feeding the four chains.

Sarutobi Hiruzen wasn't idle either. His chakra was bottoming out, but he could still help a little.

He shouted to the Adamantine Enma Staff in his hand, "Enma!"

"Let's do it, Hiruzen!" Enma replied from within the staff.

Sarutobi Hiruzen didn't hesitate. He swung his arm and hurled the Adamantine Enma Staff at the Seven-Tails. As the staff flew through the air, his hand signs were already complete.

"Binding Jutsu: Adamantine Prison Wall!"

Before the words had faded, the Adamantine Enma Staff in the air made a series of bang-bang-bang sounds, multiplying from one into dozens, stabbing toward the chained Seven-Tails from all directions.

In the blink of an eye, a cage made of staves trapped the Seven-Tails firmly in the center, jamming its joints and making it even harder to struggle. Hibari felt the pressure ease instantly.

But the Seven-Tails wasn't a pushover. Pressed by two layers of seals, it struggled even more violently. Even the Adamantine Prison Wall formed by Enma began to creak, sounding as if it were about to fall apart.

Seeing this, Hibari pushed himself harder, his chakra flowing out as if it were worthless. As a result, sweat beaded on his forehead, and his face turned pale at a visible rate.

Hibari's heart was pounding. His talk of risking his life had been an exaggeration, but in this situation, if he didn't hurry, he really would be risking his life.

With his chakra nearing empty, his eyes turned bloodshot. He wondered if Sarutobi Hiruzen's technique was about to finish. He couldn't afford to fail now, or all this effort would be for nothing.

Besides, this was his first mission. Even though the difficulty had long since exceeded the norm, how could a member of the Senju Clan just give up? If he really messed this up, how could he face the Second Hokage and Lord Hashirama?

"A man of the Senju Clan... cannot be a coward!" Hibari roared, deciding to go all out.

He unleashed the full power of the Adamantine Sealing Chains, instantly draining his remaining chakra. But he didn't stop there; he gritted his teeth,

allowing the chains to ruthlessly extract his life force—that power transformed into surging chakra in an instant, pinning the Seven-Tails firmly within the Adamantine Prison Wall, unable to move.

"Hibari!" Sarutobi Hiruzen felt his heart tighten.

But at this critical moment, a change occurred. Kakuzu's Earth Grudge Fear had somehow crept near Hibari. Taking advantage of the fact that everyone was distracted and Hibari couldn't dodge, it lunged at the exhausted figure!

Although Hozuki Reigetsu had retreated, the talent and ruthlessness displayed by the boy, Senju Hibari, left him feeling deeply unsettled.

The Senju Clan having produced Hashirama and Tobirama was already terrifying enough. Fortunately, the second generation hadn't produced anyone significant, and the few promising sprouts from the early years had been targeted and eliminated during the chaotic wars, never getting the chance to grow.

He had thought the Senju Clan would suffer a generational gap and wither for a long time, but today he had run into a fledgling of the third generation—good aptitude, ruthless methods. This only added to Hozuki Reigetsu's vigilance toward Konoha.

In their brief exchange, he sensed that Hibari's potential was immense. Even if he didn't become the next Senju Hashirama, he might well be the next Tobirama.

This threat was already great enough. If he could eliminate him here, how much trouble would it save in the future? However, going back to finish him off himself was out of the question; unless he wanted to die, Mist and Konoha would surely go to war.

But Kakuzu, that money-grubbing rogue ninja from Takigakure, was with him.

Having Kakuzu do it would cause far less trouble. A rogue ninja's word held no weight as evidence. Even if everyone knew he had ordered it, as long as he denied it, the matter could be dragged out. By then, Mist could just bow their heads and offer some compensation, and it would likely blow over.

Compared to those costs, Senju Hibari's life was clearly worth more. This deal was profitable.

So, before leaving, Hozuki Reigetsu made one last deal with Kakuzu: return to the Insect King Valley and kill Hibari.

Kakuzu was the type who would do anything for money. Once the price was settled, let alone killing a kid, he would even try to pick a fight with Senju Hashirama. Thus, this money-obsessed man snuck back into the valley, waiting to scavenge a kill.

At the time, Sarutobi Sasuke and Hiruzen were dealing with the Seven-Tails and couldn't pay attention to the lurking Kakuzu.

With ninjutsu flying everywhere and Tailed Beast Bombs exploding, the chakra in the valley was in total chaos, and even the recovering Hibari hadn't noticed the anomaly—the seeds of disaster had been sown.

And so, in the split second before anyone could react, Kakuzu seized the perfect opportunity for a kill and struck!

"A guaranteed profit... little brat of the Senju Clan, I'll take that heart!" Hidden in the shadows, Kakuzu grinned as he watched the black threads of his Earth Grudge Fear lunge toward the defenseless Hibari.

Sarutobi Hiruzen's eyes turned red, but he was too far away to intervene, left only to stare in horror.

On the other side, Sarutobi Sasuke caught a glimpse of this and his heart sank.

Hibari wasn't just an ordinary junior; he was the sole heir of the Senju Clan and the grandson of the Hokage. He had long since come to view the boy as his own grandson.

In his panic, his hand signs fell apart, and the sealing jutsu that was about to succeed collapsed with a pop.

The mission? The Seven-Tails? Who cared about that now! Sarutobi Sasuke wished he could sprout wings and fly over to flatten that black-hearted rogue ninja.

But he was even further away; if Hiruzen couldn't make it, he had no chance.

"Damn it!" Hibari sensed the killing intent behind him and cursed internally. "Kakuzu, you old snake, if I survive this, I'll tear you apart and sell you for scrap!"

Cursing was one thing, but he was currently too weak to even stand, let alone dodge; even turning his head was a struggle.

Just as the black threads were about to pierce his back—

"Wood Release: Wood Locking Wall!"

A wooden wall erupted from the ground behind Hibari, blocking the Earth Grudge Fear solidly.

"Grandpa!!!" Hibari screamed at the top of his lungs, his voice cracking.

Almost simultaneously, Sarutobi Hiruzen flashed to his side and pressed down on Hibari's hand, which was still maintaining the seal. Cold sweat dripped down his face: "You brat... you nearly scared me to death!"

And atop the wooden wall, Senju Hashirama stood, his eyes like blades scanning the dark forest. Swept by that gaze, the hair on the back of Kakuzu's neck stood up, and only one thought remained in his mind: Run!

But just as he lifted his leg, Hashirama had already pressed his palms together.

"Wood Release Secret Technique: Deep Forest Emergence!"