How About We Start One in the Village Too?

Chakra seeped into Yaoji's body through his palm. Tobirama froze for a moment, his expression turning peculiar, before he abruptly pinned Yaoji down, his gaze darkening. "Who are you? What are you trying to do by disguising yourself as Hibari? Where is he?"

"Ouch, ouch, ouch..." Yaoji grimaced as he was pressed down.

Just then, the door creaked open. Hashirama poked his head in, blinked at the scene, and asked, "Hm? I clearly saw Hibari head out with Tsunade just now. How did he end up back here in the blink of an eye?"

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

"This isn't Hibari." Tobirama increased the pressure on his grip. "Some petty thief from who knows where, trying to sneak through by wearing his face. A convincing disguise, too; if I hadn't probed his body, I would have been fooled."

Hashirama's face darkened, his aura suddenly bearing down on Yaoji. "Speak! What exactly are your intentions?"

Having seen Hibari leave with his own eyes and hearing his brother's assessment, he was naturally convinced.

Feeling the pressure from the two powerhouses, Yaoji cursed his original self a thousand times over. He had hoped to bluff his way through, but he hadn't even lasted a minute.

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

Tobirama frowned even deeper. When he probed him earlier, the chakra was clearly Hibari's, and the other traits matched, but subtle anomalies in his body had made him suspicious.

Combined with the boy's evasive attitude, he had concluded something was wrong. But hearing this...

"What kind of Yaoji?" Tobirama barked. "Hibari is Hibari. Explain yourself clearly!"

Yaoji quickly spilled everything about the Shadow Clone, though he chalked up the inexplicable origins to "accidental circumstances."

Tobirama remained skeptical after hearing the explanation; he wasn't so easily fooled.

"You can say whatever you want to suit your needs." He stared at Yaoji. "Fine, you claim you can use Hibari's ninjutsu. Then use that technique he invented right now and let me see it!"

"You mean the Rasengan? I'll do it!" Yaoji hurried to respond. "Second Master, please loosen your grip first..."

Hearing the term "Rasengan" pop out so accurately, Tobirama was already five or six parts convinced.

That boy Hibari had many strange things about him; calling him a prodigy was an understatement. It wasn't entirely impossible for him to create such a bizarre clone.

Besides, the way this guy spoke and acted—even his mannerisms—was carved from the same mold as the original. Without careful probing, one couldn't tell the difference. Could an ordinary person really mimic someone's behavior so perfectly just by changing their appearance?

Thinking this, Tobirama glanced at Hashirama. Their eyes met, and he slowly released his grip. "Begin."

Rubbing his shoulder, which had nearly been crushed, Yaoji didn't dare delay and immediately extended his hand. Chakra surged, and in the blink of an eye, a bright blue Rasengan hummed and spun in his palm.

"See? I told you I was Hibari!" Yaoji held up the sphere, his tone aggrieved. "You can't even recognize your own grandson; my heart is ice cold."

Seeing this, Tobirama was completely convinced. Still, for the sake of caution, he added, "Then tell me, when was the last time Hibari wet the bed?"

Yaoji's face turned beet red. "Nonsense! I haven't wet the bed since I was a kid! Second Master, you can't slander me like that!"

Hearing him shout, a hint of a smile finally appeared on Tobirama's face. "It seems you aren't lying."

Hashirama also withdrew his aura, laughing heartily. "This kid is interesting. He created a clone that even the two of us almost fell for."

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

Tobirama glared at him. "We'll settle this with you two when Hibari returns. For now, sit there and read your books properly!" He turned to Hashirama, looking puzzled. "Brother, what are you doing here?"

Hashirama rarely came to the study to find him.

"Ah, it's like this." Hashirama slapped his forehead. "Didn't I hear you say yesterday that Hibari bought books for the village children? I was thinking, back when I went to the capital, didn't I see those schools that teach children how to read?

How about we start one in the village too? Teach them some basics.

You guys never let me take little Tsunade out to play; wouldn't it be good for her to spend more time with children her own age at school?"

Hibari had indeed discussed the ninja system with Tobirama before, so Hashirama's suggestion struck a chord. Establishing a simple elementary school to teach basic knowledge might serve as a subtle probe into the various clans in the village...

He looked back at Yaoji. "You stay here today and read properly. Don't run around. I have important matters to discuss with your grandfather Hashirama."

He then said to Hashirama, "This involves quite a lot, Brother. Let's go to the Hokage Building and call Sarutobi as well. I need to discuss this with you both in detail."

Yaoji was left in the small room, forced to chew through books after being disciplined by the two elders; Hibari, naturally, knew nothing of this. He was still happily thinking his "self-creating" clone technique was flawless.

At that moment, he was strolling through the forest behind the village with Tsunade. It was called the back mountain, but it was actually an area enclosed by a circular forest ten kilometers wide.

Legend had it that Hashirama had created it with Wood Release during a drunken whim, calling it a way to "add some vitality" to the village.

Later, wild animals gradually gathered in the large forest, though no one bothered to verify if the rumors were true, and Hibari couldn't be bothered to ask.

Hibari had no interest in pondering what the back mountain would become in the future; he was busy wandering the woods with Tsunade. This place would indeed be called the Forest of Death later, but for now, it was just an ordinary back mountain, and the village hadn't expanded that far yet.

He casually chopped off a branch, sheathed his blade, and said to Tsunade as they walked, "Princess Tsunade, this forest is endless. We could wander for two days and not even run into a bear. If you ask me, let's just settle for a sika deer; the meat is more tender."

"I don't want that!" Tsunade glared at him, pouting. "You started saying unlucky things the moment we got in! I want to eat a big brown bear!"

Hibari chuckled. "Fine, fine, let's keep walking and see."

No sooner had he spoken than a bear's roar echoed from afar. Hibari's eyes lit up, and he turned to Tsunade with a grin. "Yo, did you bless your mouth or something? Speak of the bear and the bear appears..."

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

Before long, the two hid behind a hillside and peered out to see a sturdy brown bear sniffing around in the woods three hundred meters away.

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

Hibari grinned. Even though he had been dragged out by this little ancestor, a bear paw dinner wouldn't be bad. He looked away from the bear toward Tsunade. "Luck is on our side. You want to take it, or should I?"

Although Tsunade wasn't an official ninja yet, Hashirama and 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, it wouldn't be a problem if she wanted to try her hand at it.

Hearing this, the fearless little girl immediately rolled up her sleeves. "I'll do it! Brother Hibari, you're always treating me to good food, so this time, I'll treat you!"

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

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

His hands moved faster than his brain; he grabbed Tsunade, pulled her close, and stared fixedly in the direction of the chakra fluctuation.

Immediately after, a familiar voice roared, "S-Rank Composite Ninjutsu: Annihilation!"

Hibari's heart skipped a beat. He knew Sarutobi Hiruzen didn't have this move in his arsenal; that so-called "Annihilation" technique was nine times out of ten the "Little Hydrogen Bomb Technique" whose theory he had leaked earlier.

If that guy actually pulled it off, the power would be no laughing matter.

He opened his mouth to shout at Sarutobi, who was tinkering somewhere, but before the words could leave his lips, he saw a stream of water appear out of thin air above the brown bear, followed by crackling electricity...

"Damn it, he's serious!" Hibari couldn't help but curse.

The next second, an imperceptible wind pressure swept by, followed by a spark of fire...

BOOM!

A massive explosion erupted on the spot, the shockwave roaring as it flattened the surrounding trees and surged toward them like a tidal wave.

"My bear paw!" Hibari cursed, watching the shockwave rush toward them. He immediately let go of Tsunade, his hands forming seals in a blur. Chakra surged violently as he shouted, "Earth Release: Earth Wall!"

Before the words faded, five thick earthen walls rose from the ground with a rumble, just in time to block the hillside.

As the shockwave rolled past, Hibari released little Tsunade from his arms. He scanned left and right; good grief, several large trees had been uprooted and flown over their heads, only now crashing down in the distance.

"That's quite a show of force," Hibari muttered.

Once the shockwave dissipated, the surroundings fell silent, save for the wind. He pulled Tsunade up and looked ahead; three of the five earth walls he had erected had already collapsed.

Hibari calculated that at a distance of at least three hundred meters, the mere aftermath was enough to crush three earth walls. If one were to take it head-on... that would be truly rough. An S-Rank composite ninjutsu—the title was well-earned.

Tsunade clung to Hibari's arm, standing on tiptoe to look into the distance. But there was no sign of the brown bear, not even a hair left. She blinked for two seconds, her mouth turned down, and she burst into tears.

"My bear! Such a big bear is gone! Brother Hibari!" She wiped her tears while tugging on Hibari's sleeve, snot bubbles forming from her crying.

Hibari felt a headache coming on from her wailing and immediately roared at the depths of the forest: "Hiruzen! Stop hiding! I know it's you! Look at what you've done to Tsunade!"

No sooner had he shouted than a burst of wild laughter echoed from afar.

"Hahahaha! It worked, it really worked!" Sarutobi Hiruzen stood in a devastated clearing, dancing with joy. "After practicing for so long, I finally managed to pull off this S-Rank composite ninjutsu! To think it uses so little chakra but has such power—this kid Hibari really has something!"

If he hadn't been laughing so loudly, Hibari wouldn't have been able to find him. Hibari picked up the still-sobbing Tsunade and reached him in a few strides.

Sarutobi Hiruzen only noticed them after he finished laughing, his face full of surprise. "Eh? Hibari, Tsunade? What are you two doing in this deep, wild forest?"

"I give up on you!" Hibari glared at him. "Next time you test a technique, can you check your surroundings first? We were almost wiped out by you!"