No Blood or Brains as Expected

Tobirama frowned slightly. "Fire Style..." he muttered under his breath.

Born into the chaotic era of the Warring States and having fought the Uchiha clan for so many years, Tobirama possessed an almost instinctive sensitivity and repulsion toward their signature Fire Style ninjutsu.

Perhaps it was because he always viewed the Uchiha as potential adversaries that he had poured such painstaking effort into Water Style, eventually becoming a top-tier master of the discipline.

"Fire Style: Flame Bullet!" Hibari took a deep breath, his chest expanding, before opening his mouth to spew a scorching fireball that surged straight toward Tobirama.

This technique was considered basic among Fire Style, but its strength lay in its practicality. The principle was simple: convert chakra into oil within the body and ignite it upon expulsion. The more oil refined, the greater the power; refined less, and it was merely a small trick.

Hashirama watched from the sidelines, shaking his head, and reached out to shield little Tsunade in his arms.

"These two... they don't care about anyone else at all," he muttered. "Little Tsunade, don't you ever pick up these bad habits from your granduncle and brother Hibari, you hear me?"

Though Hashirama spoke with feigned annoyance, his movements were nimble. Fearing that any random ninjutsu he used might interfere with this assessment, he didn't even bother to block; he simply kicked off the ground while holding Tsunade and zipped out of the combat zone, slipping away faster than anyone.

Tobirama's reaction was no slower. Almost the exact moment Hashirama vanished, his hands had already formed a simple seal in front of his chest.

"Earth Style: Earth Wall," he whispered.

The words had barely left his lips when a thick wall of rock and earth rose from the ground, blocking his path just in time. The fireball Hibari had spewed slammed into it, exploding in a shower of sparks.

The Flame Bullet was blocked, yet there was not a hint of disappointment on Hibari's face.

After all, he knew exactly what level of strength Tobirama possessed; it would have been strange if he couldn't even defend against that. Far from being frustrated, the corner of his mouth curled into a smile of successful planning.

The dust from the Earth Wall and the exploding fireball mingled, instantly obscuring their line of sight. This momentary cover was exactly what Hibari wanted. He changed his hand seals, and his internal chakra began to surge.

Almost simultaneously, Tobirama, standing behind the earth wall, felt his brow twitch and glanced down at his feet. The once-solid ground had somehow become soft and sticky, slowly sinking.

"Swamp of the Underworld?" he hummed softly. "Following Fire Style with Earth Style, you certainly know how to combine them."

Before he could finish muttering, Hibari's movements hadn't stopped. The boy reached behind his waist, pulled out an exquisite scroll, and tossed it into mid-air.

The scroll exploded into a puff of white smoke. As the smoke cleared, a giant Shuriken of the Wind Demon hung before his eyes. Hibari reached out with his left hand, gripped the handle firmly, and swung with the strength of his waist—

The Shuriken of the Wind Demon spun through the air, tracing a tricky arc that cleverly bypassed the Earth Wall and headed straight for Tobirama, who was trapped in the mud.

Watching the massive object whistle toward his face, a trace of approval flashed in Tobirama's eyes. However, approval was one thing; in his eyes, this combo of Hibari's was merely "not bad."

He stood motionless in the sinking swamp, simply pulling a kunai from his waist. The instant the Shuriken of the Wind Demon reached him, he raised his hand to block. With a metallic clang, he held the blade steady.

"If this is all you've got," Tobirama said calmly, looking at the blade just an inch from his brow, "you're a hundred years too early to learn my 'bizarre' ninjutsu."

But before he could finish, something slightly unexpected happened.

The Shuriken of the Wind Demon he had just blocked suddenly puffed into white smoke and, in the blink of an eye, transformed into Hibari himself! The boy's smug face was suddenly inches from Tobirama's.

"Granduncle, aren't you underestimating me a bit too much?" Hibari grinned.

As he spoke, he had already wound up his fist and swung it mercilessly toward Tobirama's face. The wind of his punch, wrapped in surging chakra, whistled loudly.

The Senju clan was born with vast amounts of chakra. To push this advantage to the limit, their ancestors had passed down a form of nin-tai-jutsu, which would later become known across the ninja world as "Strength of a Hundred." This technique wasn't just something Tsunade could handle; Hashirama and Tobirama had both been masters of it in their day.

As a third-generation Senju, Hibari had naturally learned it long ago. This heavy punch, imbued with that immense strength, was the "surprise" he had saved for Tobirama.

A look of surprise did indeed flash in Tobirama's eyes—not because he was shocked Hibari could use the technique, as he had known that for a long time. He was surprised that he hadn't realized the shuriken was a decoy.

With his keen perception, it would have been impossible for a standard Transformation Jutsu to fool him. When he had blocked it, the shuriken had clearly been a solid piece of iron.

In other words... in that split second, Hibari and the shuriken had swapped positions. This likely involved the high-level concept of "space-time."

At this thought, Tobirama's gaze deepened.

This thought crossed his mind, and Tobirama's intuition cleared instantly. If the move involved "space-time," that was correct, as he immediately thought of the simplest and most basic space-time ninjutsu that almost every ninja knew a little bit about.

That was the Body Replacement Jutsu.

A standard Body Replacement Jutsu was nothing more than swapping places with a random object nearby. It barely touched the edges of "space-time," remaining at a superficial level that few truly bothered to study in depth.

Most ninjas stopped at "knowing how to use it" and could hardly be said to "understand" it.

More advanced versions allowed one to prepare specific items in advance, like "Summoning Jutsu," and swap instantly when needed. Such replacements were often rigged with small items like explosive tags by the user to ambush others or turn the tide of a battle, yielding excellent results.

Of course, there were even more powerful versions, but those were irrelevant to Hibari at the moment.

Tobirama's mind raced, and he instantly concluded that the Shuriken of the Wind Demon must have been a "replacement object" Hibari had prepared in advance, waiting for the right moment to pull a "bait-and-switch."

Having walked the ninja world for so many years, what hadn't Tobirama seen? Yet, this was his first time encountering such a clever trick, using basic ninjutsu to create such elaborate results. Because of this momentary surprise and contemplation, he had been distracted for a split second.

Hibari had been waiting for exactly that tiny opening!

"Got you!!!"

A flash of excitement shone in Hibari's eyes, and he couldn't help but cheer internally. His fist, infused with immense strength, slammed solidly into Tobirama's face!

However, reality was always harsh.

The moment the fist connected, Tobirama's head exploded with a pop. There was no blood or brains as expected; instead, it burst into a spray of clear water, splashing all over Hibari's face.

"Damn! Water Clone!"

Hibari cursed in frustration, wanting to retreat without a second thought.

But before his Body Flicker Jutsu could even activate, Tobirama's calm voice sounded right against his ear:

"Brat, you've got plenty of tricks. But in the ninja profession, what matters in the end is raw strength."

The moment the words hit his ears, Hibari felt a malicious gust of wind! He only had time to raise his arm in a hasty block, and before he could even complete the motion, Tobirama's fierce sweeping kick had slammed into his arm!

Bang!

Hibari was sent flying backward. Fortunately, before leaving, he had anticipated "sparring" with his granduncle today and had specifically worn the Senju clan's signature black layered armor.

The armor was cleverly designed, layer upon layer, capable of absorbing a significant amount of impact. Relying on the arm guards for cushioning, Hibari was kicked quite a distance and landed in a somewhat disheveled state, but he suffered no serious injuries. After all, Tobirama was only testing him, not trying to take his life, so he naturally held back.

Hibari rolled on the ground twice, scrambled to his feet, and shook his numb arm. Just as he was about to say something, he looked up and saw Tobirama in the distance already beginning to weave hand seals.

"Water Style? No... these gestures... damn! It's a genjutsu!"

Hibari instinctively tried to identify Tobirama's hand seals, hoping to predict the ninjutsu and decide whether to dodge or block.

But this instinct was exactly what Tobirama had counted on. As a veteran who had survived the blood-soaked Warring States era, Tobirama knew the habits of these "fledglings" all too well. Instinct could save your life, but sometimes, it could cost you it.

No matter how many variations a genjutsu had, the core was always to plant a "suggestion" in the opponent's mind. How one planted that suggestion depended on the school.

The Uchiha relied on the ocular power of the Sharingan, while most other schools relied on guiding physical movements. At this moment, that was exactly what Tobirama was doing.

He had cleverly hidden the key "suggestion" within the motion of his hand seals. Hibari's instinct to observe his finger movements led him to be drawn in, and naturally, he fell for it.

"Ninja Art: Bringer of Darkness Jutsu."

Tobirama whispered the name of the technique.

In an instant, Hibari's vision went black! All light and scenery vanished without a trace, as if he had been thrown into a jar of ink. He couldn't see his own hands, and he couldn't even distinguish up from down.

At the same time, Hashirama, watching the show from afar, chuckled and rubbed his chin. "Oh, Tobirama is actually using my technique to bully a kid? That's actually quite interesting to think about..."

That's right, the "Bringer of Darkness" was originally Hashirama's technique; Tobirama had simply learned it from his brother and rarely used it. Today, on a whim, he decided to use it to "teach Hibari a lesson."

With everything pitch black and unable to sense anything, Hibari felt both anxious and annoyed. Breaking a genjutsu was easy to say, but hard to do. Moreover, this genjutsu was cast by Tobirama—how could it be broken so easily?

Furthermore, this wasn't an illusion that created false imagery, but one that directly deprived him of sight, which was incredibly troublesome.

Although it was pitch black, his senses remained. The moment he felt a gust of wind rushing toward him, Hibari gritted his teeth, stomped his foot, poured all his chakra into his arm, and swung his fist down hard toward the ground!

"Rock-Crushing Fist!"

He roared. To Hashirama, it looked as if the ground around the boy had been struck by a meteorite, shattering violently! Tobirama, who had intended to take advantage of the situation, was forced back by this unreasonable strike.

"Whoa, quick reaction..." Hashirama rubbed his chin and grinned.

The reason breaking genjutsu was troublesome, especially in Tobirama's hands, was that once you were caught in his trap, he would likely finish you off with a combo before you even had a chance to break it. That was why Hibari hadn't panicked to break the jutsu, but instead chose to force his granduncle back first.

Feeling that the heavy blow had worked, Hibari finally began to break the genjutsu.

The principle of breaking genjutsu was simple: disrupt one's own chakra flow. As a member of the Senju clan, known for their precise chakra control, and as someone who had mastered the "Strength of a Hundred," this operation was naturally no stranger to Hibari.

"Release!"

He clapped his hands together in front of his chest and shouted. His entire body's chakra followed...