How About Setting One Up in the Village Too?

Chakra seeped from his palm into Yaoji. Second Grandpa Tobirama first froze, then his expression turned strange. Suddenly, he pinned Yaoji in place, his gaze darkening. "Who are you? Why are you impersonating Hibari? Where is he?"

"Ow, ow, ow..." Yaoji grimaced as he was held down.

Just then, the door creaked open, and Grandpa Hashirama poked his head in. Seeing what was happening, he paused. "Hm? I clearly saw Hibari leave with Tsunade just now. How'd he end up back here in the blink of an eye?"

He looked at Tobirama. "Did you teach him Flying Thunder God?"

"This isn't Hibari." Second Grandpa Tobirama tightened his grip by another three notches. "Some nobody from who-knows-where is trying to pass himself off as him. He looks just like Hibari, too. If I hadn't examined his body, I nearly would've been fooled."

Grandpa Hashirama's expression darkened, and his presence suddenly pressed down on Yaoji. "Speak! What are you really up to?"

He'd seen Hibari leave with his own eyes, and now his younger brother was telling him otherwise. Naturally, he believed him without a second thought.

Under the pressure of the two big shots, Yaoji was cursing his original self for the eight hundredth time. He'd still been wondering if he could get away with it, but now he hadn't even lasted a minute.

"I'll talk! I'll talk, okay?" Yaoji hurriedly pleaded. "It's really not a Transformation Technique! Second Grandpa, Grandpa Hashirama, I'm Hibari—or you can call me Yaoji!"

At that, Second Grandpa Tobirama furrowed his brow even more. When he'd examined him just now, the chakra had clearly been Hibari's, and all his other characteristics matched, too. There'd just been some subtle irregularities inside him that had made Tobirama suspicious.

Combined with the kid's evasive attitude, that had convinced him something was wrong. But now, hearing him say this...

"What's a Yaoji?" Second Grandpa Tobirama snapped. "Hibari is Hibari. Explain yourself!"

Yaoji promptly explained everything about the Shadow Clone, though he blamed all the details he couldn't explain on "an unexpected side effect."

After hearing his explanation, Second Grandpa Tobirama paused, but he wasn't so easily fooled.

"You can say whatever you want with your lips moving like that." He stared at Yaoji. "Here's what we'll do. You say you can use Hibari's ninjutsu, so use that technique he came up with himself, right here and now!"

"You mean the Rasengan, right? I'll do it!" Yaoji hurriedly replied. "Second Grandpa, could you loosen your grip first..."

Hearing him correctly name the Rasengan, Second Grandpa Tobirama had already begun to believe him—at least halfway.

That kid Hibari had all sorts of oddities about him. You could even say he was exceptionally gifted. It wasn't entirely impossible that he'd created such a bizarre clone.

Besides, the way this guy talked and acted—even his whole manner—was exactly like the original. Without examining him closely, there was no telling them apart. Even if an ordinary person changed their appearance, could they imitate someone's words and mannerisms so perfectly?

Thinking this, Second Grandpa Tobirama glanced at Grandpa Hashirama. Their eyes met, and Tobirama slowly released his grip. "Go ahead."

Yaoji rubbed his shoulder, which had nearly been crushed, and didn't dare waste a moment. He immediately held out his hand. Chakra surged, and in the blink of an eye, a vivid blue Rasengan spun and hummed in his palm.

"See? I told you I was Hibari!" Yaoji held up the orb, his voice turning plaintive. "You can't even recognize your own grandson. My heart's absolutely ice-cold."

Seeing this, Second Grandpa Tobirama finally believed him. But to be safe, he asked one more question. "Then tell me, when did Hibari last wet the bed?"

Yaoji's face flushed bright red. "That's nonsense! I've never wet the bed in my life! Second Grandpa, you can't just slander me like that!"

Only after hearing him yell did Second Grandpa Tobirama's face soften into a smile. "Looks like you weren't lying."

Grandpa Hashirama let his presence fade, then chuckled. "This kid's something else. His clone nearly fooled the two of us."

Yaoji dispersed the Rasengan, still muttering, "I told you it was an unexpected mutation. We don't even know why it happened ourselves."

Second Grandpa Tobirama glared at him. "We'll settle this properly when Hibari gets back. For now, you're staying here and reading. Don't go wandering off!" Then he turned to Grandpa Hashirama, looking puzzled. "Big Brother, what brings you here?"

Grandpa Hashirama didn't usually come looking for him in the study.

"Oh, right!" Grandpa Hashirama slapped his forehead. "Didn't we hear yesterday that Hibari bought books for the village kids? It got me thinking. When we went to the capital before, didn't we see those schools where children were taught to read?

"How about setting one up in the village too? Teach them some basic things.

"You never let me take little Tsunade out to play, so wouldn't it be good for her to go to school and spend more time with kids her own age?"

Hibari had indeed talked to Tobirama before about the ninja system and such, so Grandpa Hashirama's suggestion stirred something in Second Grandpa Tobirama's mind. Setting up a simple little school to teach basic knowledge might even serve as a small test of the village's various clans...

He turned and glanced at Yaoji. "You're staying right here today. Read your books and don't go running off. Your Grandpa Hashirama and I have important business to discuss."

Then he said to Grandpa Hashirama, "This matter involves quite a bit, Big Brother. Let's go to the Hokage Building and bring Sarutobi along. I need to talk it over with you both properly."

After the two grandpas had given Yaoji a dressing-down and shut him in the little room to pore over books, Hibari knew nothing about it. He still thought his "create yourself" Clone Technique had worked flawlessly.

At that moment, he was wandering through the woods behind the village with Tsunade. Though people called it Back Mountain, it was actually an area surrounded by a circular forest ten kilometers wide.

According to the rumors, Grandpa Hashirama had been drinking one day when inspiration struck, and he'd created it with Wood Release, saying it would "bring a little life to the village."

Wild animals gradually began gathering in the vast forest, but no one had bothered to investigate whether the story was true. Hibari couldn't be bothered to ask, either.

Hibari wasn't thinking about what Back Mountain might become in the future. He was busy walking around the woods with Tsunade. This place would eventually be called the Forest of Death, but for now, it was just an ordinary stretch of woodland behind the village. The village hadn't expanded this far yet.

He casually chopped through a branch and sheathed his blade. As they walked, he said to Tsunade, "Princess Tsunade, this forest's so huge we could wander around for two days without seeing a bear. I say we settle for a sika deer instead. The meat's more tender."

"I don't want one!" Tsunade glared at him, cheeks puffed in a huff. "You started saying ominous things as soon as we got here! I want to eat a big bear!"

Hibari grinned and laughed. "All right, all right. Let's go farther in and see."

Just then, a bear roared in the distance. Hibari's eyes lit up, and he turned to Tsunade with a smile. "Well, look at you, little girl—you've got a magic touch! You said bear, and one showed up..."

With that, he scooped Tsunade up, pushed off the ground, and raced toward the roar, bounding forward in a few leaps.

Before long, the two of them were hiding behind a slope. Peeking out, they spotted a sturdy brown bear snuffling around among the trees three hundred meters away.

"It really is a big bear! Big Brother Hibari, let's hunt it!" Tsunade excitedly tugged at his sleeve.

Hibari grinned. Though the little tyrant had dragged him out here, getting to share a bear paw wasn't so bad. He looked away from the bear and turned to Tsunade. "We're in luck. Do you want to take it on, or should I?"

Tsunade wasn't an official ninja yet, but Grandpa Hashirama and Second Grandpa Tobirama had already taught her some basic skills. After all, a child of the Senju Clan couldn't be too useless. With Hibari backing her up, there was no problem if she wanted to test herself.

At the question, the fearless little girl immediately rolled up her sleeves. "I'll do it! Big Brother Hibari, you're always treating me to delicious food. This time, I'll treat you!"

"Sure. I'll watch from the side and see just how capable our Princess Tsunade is." Hibari nodded with a smile.

Tsunade stood up bravely, raised her chin at Hibari, and started toward the bear to challenge it. But before she could take a step, Hibari's expression suddenly changed—he sensed a massive amount of chakra gathering in the distance.

His hand moved faster than his thoughts. He yanked Tsunade back and held her tight, staring at the direction of the chakra disturbance.

Then a familiar voice shouted, "S-rank Composite Ninjutsu: Annihilation!"

Hibari's heart sank. He knew Sarutobi Hiruzen didn't have any such technique. That so-called "Annihilation" was almost certainly the "Little Hydrogen Bomb Technique" whose theory he'd mentioned earlier.

If the guy had really managed to pull it off, its power would be no joke.

He hurried to shout a warning to Sarutobi, wherever he was messing around, but before he could get a word out, a stream of water appeared out of thin air above the brown bear. Then lightning crackled and exploded...

"Holy crap, he actually did it!" Hibari couldn't help swearing.

The next second, a nearly imperceptible gust of wind swept by, and a tiny spark flared up...

BOOM—!

A massive explosion erupted on the spot. The shock wave roared through the air, blasting the surrounding trees away as it surged toward them like a landslide.

"My bear paws!" Hibari cursed as the shock wave rushed toward them. He immediately released Tsunade, rapidly formed Hand Seals with both hands, and sent his chakra surging. "Earth Style: Earth-Style Wall!"

Before the words had even left his mouth, five thick earthen walls burst from the ground with a rumble, forming a barrier in front of the slope.

As soon as the shock wave passed, Hibari released little Tsunade from his arms. He glanced around. Good grief, several trees had been uprooted and sent flying overhead. They came crashing down in the distance a moment later.

"That was quite a show," Hibari muttered.

Once the shock wave had completely died down, all that remained was the sound of the wind. He helped Tsunade to her feet and looked ahead. Of the five earthen walls he'd just raised, three had already collapsed.

Hibari calculated that they were at least three hundred meters away. The residual force alone had brought down three Earth-Style Walls. If they'd taken a direct hit... that would've been bad. The S-rank Composite Ninjutsu title was well deserved.

Clinging to Hibari's arm, Tsunade stood on tiptoe and peered into the distance. But there was no sign of the bear—not even a single hair remained. She froze for two seconds, then pouted and burst into tears.

"My bear! That huge bear is gone! Big Brother Hibari!" She wiped her tears and tugged at his sleeve, sobbing so hard that bubbles of snot formed beneath her nose.

Her crying gave Hibari a headache, so he immediately yelled into the depths of the forest, "Hiruzen! You can stop hiding! I know it was you! Look what you did to Tsunade!"

As soon as he shouted, raucous laughter came from afar.

"Hahahahaha! It worked! It really worked!" Sarutobi Hiruzen stood on a wrecked patch of open ground, waving his arms in delight. "After practicing for so long, I finally managed to pull off this S-rank Composite Ninjutsu! It used so little chakra, yet it's so powerful. That kid Hibari really is something!"

If he hadn't been laughing so loudly, Hibari might never have found him. Hibari picked up Tsunade, who was still sniffling, and raced over to him in a few quick steps.

Only after he'd finished laughing did Sarutobi Hiruzen notice the two of them. He stared in surprise. "Huh? Hibari? Tsunade? What are you two doing way out here in the mountains?"

"I give up!" Hibari glared at him angrily. "Could you at least check your surroundings before testing a technique next time? You nearly wiped us out!"