Waiting for the Perfect Moment

Hibari wasn't afraid of an ordinary Water Dragon Bullet. He could just throw up an Earth Style wall to block it.

But Second Grandpa Tobirama's Water Dragon Bullet was no joke. And he clearly hadn't cast it casually. The dragon was already swooping down overhead—there was no time to block it now!

"What kind of grandpa uses a Water Dragon Bullet this powerful on his own grandson?!" Hibari shouted indignantly.

"And what kind of grandson uses Strength of a Hundred to smash his grandpa over the head?!" Tobirama shot back without hesitation.

As the enormous dragon came crashing down, Hibari knew full well that there wasn't enough time to form Hand Seals and counter with Ninjutsu. The only thing he could still manage was dodging.

But as a man of the Senju Clan, he had his pride.

He also knew that if he failed to show Second Grandpa something impressive during this test, he had little chance of staying by his side to learn those "strange and wonderful" Ninjutsu.

Once I've dodged this, I'll have to show him what I can really do... he muttered to himself.

The next second, just before the water dragon struck, Hibari vanished from his spot with a Body Flicker Technique, calm as could be.

In the blink of an eye, he reappeared at a distance, just beyond the spray of the explosion.

Seeing Hibari dodge the water dragon cleanly, Tobirama didn't pursue him. Instead, he stood where he was with his arms folded and said with a touch of arrogance, "So that's all you've got.

"For your age, you're not bad. But that's all—just not bad. If you don't show me anything satisfactory next, you'll go home and train for a few more years, you brat!"

Hibari caught his breath, then looked seriously at Tobirama. "Second Grandpa, our Senju Clan has always had abundant chakra. You and Great-Uncle Hashirama know that I have far more chakra than the rest of my clan..."

At that, Tobirama's brow furrowed slightly. Hibari was right. For some reason, he and his elder brother Hashirama had noticed something unusual about the boy from the moment he was born.

Senju Clan members were naturally blessed with enormous amounts of chakra, but this boy was well beyond the norm. He had at least twice as much chakra as other members of the clan.

There had been precedents, though. Take his elder brother Senju Hashirama, for instance. Though they were full brothers, Hashirama's chakra completely dwarfed his. So Tobirama hadn't looked too deeply into Hibari's unusual reserves. Having more chakra was a good thing, after all.

But unlike his elder brother Hashirama, Hibari had a distinct weakness... Though now wasn't the time to think about that.

"Are you trying to show off?" Tobirama asked calmly. "Even if you have an advantage in chakra reserves, that's no reason to get conceited, Hibari." He genuinely wasn't sure what Hibari was getting at.

"I'm not so full of myself over something like that, Second Grandpa." Hibari looked at Tobirama, his voice growing more serious. "I just want you to know that because I have so much chakra, I can use jutsu with exceptionally high chakra requirements at an age like this!!!"

As he spoke, his hands were already moving.

Tiger, Hare, Snake, Horse, Ram, Rooster, Tiger, Rat...

Watching Hibari form one complicated Hand Seal after another, not only Tobirama but even Hashirama, watching from a distance, looked astonished.

"That hand-sign sequence..." Senju Hashirama stared at the scene from afar, shock on his face. He murmured, "That's Mito's jutsu..."

Princess Tsunade repeated in confusion, "Grandma Mito?"

At the same time, Second Grandpa Tobirama recognized what Hibari was doing.

He murmured in surprise, "This is an A-rank Sealing Jutsu..."

Hibari saw Tobirama's astonished expression and grinned. "That's right, Second Grandpa. You already know I can even undo the seals on the warehouse. You should've guessed I know a thing or two about Sealing Jutsu, so don't look so surprised."

Tobirama watched Hibari's hands as they continued to form Hand Seals, turning the matter over in his mind. The boy made it sound easy, but the long sequence of signs made it obvious the jutsu was extremely complex. Sealing Jutsu were complicated by nature, and A-rank ones were even harder. Most people couldn't handle them at all.

But Tobirama had no intention of interrupting. If anything, he was intrigued and wanted to see whether Hibari could pull it off.

"Sealing Jutsu: Adamantine Sealing Chains!!!" Hibari finished the final Hand Seal and shouted.

The next moment, several chains of condensed chakra shot from behind him. They whipped through the air, then lunged straight at Second Grandpa Tobirama, clearly aiming to wrap him up like a dumpling.

Great-Uncle Hashirama held Tsunade in his arms in the distance and murmured, "Hibari's pretty impressive. He even learned the Uzumaki Clan's signature technique? Mito really does teach him everything."

As it happened, Adamantine Sealing Chains were indeed a unique technique of the Uzumaki Clan. They relied on powerful life force and chakra, and could even suppress a Tailed Beast. Hibari was still a long way from that level, of course. Grandma Mito could use them without Hand Seals—that was the pinnacle.

The technique was considered unique to the Uzumaki Clan mainly because of its enormous chakra requirements. But the Senju and Uzumaki Clans were related, and they had a lot in common in that regard. So back when Hibari had begged and pleaded with Grandma Mito, he'd eventually managed to talk her into teaching him the technique.

As he dodged the chains, Tobirama still had time to comment, "It's surprising that you can use an A-rank Sealing Jutsu at your age. But Hibari, a Ninjutsu's power can vary enormously depending on who's using it.

"Compared with your Grandma Mito, your Adamantine Sealing Chains are far inferior. And you take too long to form the Hand Seals. Against a real enemy, you'd be dead before you could finish."

Hibari's mouth curled into a smug smile. "Wrong, Second Grandpa! I only dared to take my time with the Hand Seals because it was you. I knew you'd wait for me to finish the jutsu. That wasn't you going easy on me; it was my own judgment. Don't mix the two up!"

His claim was a little far-fetched, but it wasn't entirely without merit. Gauging an opponent's thoughts in battle was a skill in itself, and Hibari hadn't called a timeout before starting his Hand Seals.

Tobirama snorted. "Just a cheap trick. With your current chakra and skill, you can't catch me. Stop the jutsu, quickly. It'll drain your life force if you keep it up!"

Adamantine Sealing Chains were considered a unique Uzumaki technique because, unlike ordinary Sealing Jutsu, which failed once your chakra ran out, they could draw on your life force to keep going. It was extremely dangerous, and most people wouldn't dare use it even if they learned it.

But Hibari wasn't listening at all. He kept pushing his chakra to the limit, sending the chains after Tobirama across the entire field.

After a while, Tobirama began to grow anxious. This was only a test, after all, and Hibari had real talent. If the hotheaded boy burned through his life force, that would be a loss for the Senju Clan. There was no need to let things get out of hand over something like this.

"You damn brat!!!" Tobirama cursed in annoyance.

The next moment, Tobirama's figure, which had been dodging the chains, flickered and vanished from the air. Hibari stared at him, his pupils contracting slightly.

"Flying Thunder God!" Hibari's eyes lit up at once, and he murmured the words.

Before he had even finished speaking, Second Grandpa Tobirama flashed to his side, right by his arm, picking up where he'd left off. "Good eye," he said, as his hand settled on the black layered armor on Hibari's arm with a faint click.

"I've caught you. You know what happens now, don't you, Hibari?" Second Grandpa Tobirama said, gripping his arm in an even tone.

Hibari had been caught, but there wasn't a trace of panic on his face. Instead, he asked, "Second Grandpa, the last two times we met, you placed your jutsu formula on my arm, didn't you?"

"It was a reflex." Second Grandpa Tobirama didn't try to hide it. He admitted it outright.

"What if I told you that was part of my plan?" Hibari turned his head to look at Tobirama, the corners of his mouth lifting. "I started thinking about it when you got worried I'd overuse Adamantine Sealing Chains."

Tobirama clearly paused, but quickly replied, "Whatever your plan was, I've got one of your arms pinned now. Even if you have another trick, you'd still need to form Hand Seals to—"

"Not every Ninjutsu requires Hand Seals, Second Grandpa." Hibari cut him off before he could finish. "You're not the one who's got me pinned. I've... got you pinned!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the arm Tobirama had grabbed twisted sharply, turning the tables and grabbing Tobirama's arm in return. Now the two of them had each other pinned.

At once, all the golden chains rattling around Hibari vanished without a trace. His now-free hand was already raised, visible chakra spinning rapidly and gathering in his palm...

He might have been no more than a fledgling of the Senju Clan, with wings not yet grown, but even a fledgling would peck when cornered!

After all, Second Grandpa Tobirama's title as the Fastest Shinobi in the World wasn't for nothing. At Hibari's current speed, unless Tobirama chose to approach him, touching even the hem of his clothes would be next to impossible.

So that whole performance earlier, with Adamantine Sealing Chains chasing Tobirama around, had really been an act. Hibari had been waiting—waiting for the perfect moment to "trick" Second Grandpa into coming within reach.

There was nothing underhanded about it. The test wasn't over, so Second Grandpa Tobirama was his opponent. When fighting an enemy, winning was what mattered. The method was irrelevant.

Besides, without a little cunning, how could someone with his limited abilities squeeze out even the slightest chance of victory against a master like Tobirama?

Hibari knew the score: if he wanted Second Grandpa's approval, he had to show him something real. An A-rank Sealing Jutsu like Adamantine Sealing Chains might look impressive, but it was ultimately a hereditary technique of the Uzumaki Clan, not his own.

And what kind of person was Second Grandpa? He was a man who spent all day devising new Ninjutsu and had created a whole host of strange techniques.

So Hibari figured he didn't necessarily need overwhelming strength to impress Tobirama. At his age and with his limited experience, dreaming of fighting Tobirama for three hundred rounds was pure fantasy.

In this test, there was another hidden "bonus point" that couldn't be overlooked: "originality." If he could produce a brand-new Ninjutsu no one had ever seen before, it would make a world of difference.

It didn't take much thought. At this point in time, no one had ever seen the Rasengan, a technique that didn't require Hand Seals. That was Hibari's secret weapon for "scoring extra points."

Of course, given enough time, Hibari might genuinely have been able to come up with something new on his own. But on the one hand, he was eager to learn from Tobirama and couldn't afford to wait; on the other, he really liked the Rasengan, and it was practical.

The world might seem peaceful now, but Great-Uncle Hashirama had only just returned from the Five Kage Summit with Second Grandpa that very morning.

Beneath the surface, though, the Shinobi World was full of undercurrents. The next war could break out at any moment. On the battlefield, blades had no eyes; if he wanted to survive, he had to fight to become stronger.

So with a powerful Ninjutsu like the Rasengan, which required no Hand Seals, learning it even a minute sooner was a gain.

Survival came first. It would be foolish to hold back just to respect the Fourth Hokage's future invention. There was no guarantee he'd even live to see the Fourth Hokage's era!

For all those reasons, the shameless Hibari had started working on the Rasengan without hesitation.

Luckily, he really was talented, and it didn't take him long to master it. In other words, he'd snatched the title of "Rasengan's creator" from the future Fourth Hokage ahead of time.

He did feel a little bad for the man, but... he'd make it up to him properly if he got the chance.