Since Tobirama had told Yamanaka Kiyono his own secrets, it meant he trusted him. Hibari didn't bother being bashful, thinking that as long as Kiyono didn't use a secret technique to pry into his mind, it was fine. He really did need help with this troublesome condition.
Besides, Yamanaka Kiyono was an elder. Surely he wouldn't overstep.
Hibari quickly undid his shirt, lay down on the bench, and held himself stiffly straight.
Kiyono didn't hesitate. He pressed a palm directly against Hibari's collarbone. The next moment, the Yamanaka Clan's secret sensory technique seeped into him and began carefully searching his body.
Before long, Kiyono found the obscure node Tobirama had mentioned. He probed it a few times, his brows first knitting together, then slowly relaxing.
After examining that crucial spot, he used several methods Hibari couldn't begin to understand to scan him from head to toe. It was quite a while before he wiped the sweat from his brow and spoke. "This really is unusual.
"Tobirama, just as you said, there's never been a case like this before. I've spent the past few days combing through our old family records, but I couldn't find anything about it."
Tobirama nodded. If it had been an ordinary problem, he would have handled it himself. There would have been no need for all this effort.
"So, what do you think? Will the method we came up with work?" Tobirama asked Yamanaka Kiyono in a low voice.
Kiyono didn't answer right away. He stroked his chin and thought it over. Seeing this, neither Tobirama nor Hibari pressed him. They waited quietly.
About fifteen minutes later, he seemed to reach a decision and finally spoke. "In theory, it shouldn't be a problem. We're not trying to forcibly dig out that inexplicable thing. We're just adding a layer of 'sealing paper' over it without touching its core.
"Even if something does go wrong, we can stop at any time and undo the Sealing Jutsu. So Hibari... it shouldn't hurt him."
Those three words—"in theory"—made Hibari's heart skip a beat. But then he thought that he was probably the only person in the world with this strange condition. How could they do anything but rely on theory? Since there was no better option, he stopped worrying about it.
Seeing that Tobirama still seemed hesitant, Hibari grinned and spoke up first.
"Second Grandpa, I'm tough. Nothing's going to happen to me! Letting this drag on will keep weighing on my mind, so we might as well try. If it works, great. If it doesn't... we can figure something else out later!"
Hearing how decisively he spoke, and seeing his determined expression, Tobirama finally stopped hesitating.
"All right. Since you're ready, I won't waste time talking." He turned to Yamanaka Kiyono. "Kiyono, if anything goes wrong, undo the technique immediately!"
Kiyono's gaze sharpened. He answered solemnly, "Leave it to me, Tobirama."
With that assurance, Tobirama still didn't rush to begin. First, he took out several scrolls and removed materials such as cinnabar, brushes, and ink, laying them out one by one.
While they were busy, the door opened. Hashirama poked half his body inside and glanced at the three of them. "How's it going? Are you about to start?"
Tobirama didn't even look up. "Yeah. We're about to 'lock' this kid up. Brother, I'll leave the guard duty outside to you. This is the first time we're using this Sealing Jutsu, and it's being placed on Hibari. We can't afford the slightest mishap."
Hearing how serious his younger brother sounded, Senju Hashirama's expression turned grave too. "Don't worry. Not even a fly will get in!"
With that, he turned and went outside. A moment later, several soft thumps came from beyond the door—Clone Technique. Then one of his Wood Release clones even thoughtfully pulled the door shut from the outside.
Standing outside, Hashirama casually brought his hands together, and chakra surged. He gave a low shout:
"Wood Release: Hōbi Technique!"
Before his voice had even faded, a gigantic wooden box with a demon face burst up from the ground, swallowing the entire room in the blink of an eye. Once it was done, Hashirama himself and his three clones each stood at a corner with their arms crossed, like four guardian deities at a gate.
Inside the room, Yamanaka Kiyono switched on the light. Looking at the solid Wood Release barrier outside the window, he couldn't help thinking: This young master Hibari isn't just Tobirama's favorite. Even Lord Hokage is personally guarding him. What a production...
While Hibari was thinking about all this, Tobirama had finished preparing. He stepped forward and looked at Hibari. "Once we're done, you should be able to splash around in the water a little, right?"
"I'll take your word for it, Second Grandpa." Hibari grinned and answered readily.
Tobirama didn't reply. Instead, he picked up a brush, dipped it in the cinnabar ink, and began drawing on Hibari's exposed chest.
The brush tip swept back and forth for about ten minutes before he stopped. Hibari's chest was now covered in crooked patterns, and several key pressure points were densely inscribed with symbols.
After drawing the final stroke, Tobirama took a deep breath and rapidly formed Hand Seals. Hibari's eyes widened, but he couldn't even make out the afterimages. That was how unbelievably fast Tobirama's hands were.
As chakra began to surge, Hibari started to get nervous too. He'd sounded casual earlier, but this was a first for him. Who wouldn't hope it worked? He thought to himself, Please, let this do the trick...
The next moment, a glowing pattern appeared in Tobirama's palm, faintly echoing the design on Hibari's chest. He gave a low shout. "Spiral Evolution Seal!"
He pressed his palm directly against Hibari's chest. The markings he had drawn twisted at once and all rushed toward Hibari's heart. Chakra poured out of Tobirama as if a floodgate had opened, draining away at a frightening speed.
Just as the sealing was about to be completed, Tobirama's chakra began to run short, and sweat streamed down his temples. He gritted his teeth and held on. He couldn't pull away now. Nothing had gone wrong with Hibari, which meant the technique had a chance of working.
Just as he wondered whether he should risk everything and push through, Yamanaka Kiyono moved beside him. He gently placed a palm against Tobirama's back and slowly transferred his warm chakra.
Tobirama immediately breathed a sigh of relief. The extra chakra filled the gap perfectly. With a soft thump, his palm lifted slightly from Hibari's chest, and the last few markings shot into Hibari's heart and disappeared.
Without even wiping away his sweat, Tobirama hurriedly asked, "Hibari, how do you feel?"
Hibari rolled his shoulders a couple of times and smiled. "I don't feel uncomfortable at all. If anything, I feel a lot lighter..."
"Really?" Tobirama's brows eased, but before he could say anything more, the Wood Release barrier outside the window came crashing down. Hashirama opened the door and poked his head in, grinning. "I sensed the chakra settle down outside. How did it go? Did you manage it?"
"Hibari's fine for now, but we won't know if it worked until we test it." As he spoke, Tobirama gave Hashirama a meaningful look.
Hashirama paused, then grinned. Without a word, he formed a seal and slapped a hand onto Hibari's shoulder. "Water Release: Water Prison Technique!"
Before Hibari could react, water surged up all around him and engulfed him completely. "What the—" He didn't get to finish cursing before only a string of bubbles rose to the surface.
The last time Hibari had been hit by this technique, he'd collapsed instantly, limp as a puddle of mud. But this time, he was splashing around energetically inside the water bubble, flailing his arms and legs. He didn't look the slightest bit weak.
Hashirama, Tobirama, and Yamanaka Kiyono exchanged glances, their faces breaking into smiles.
The Spiral Evolution Seal had worked!
Now that they'd confirmed the effect, Hashirama didn't waste any time. He immediately released the Ninjutsu. Hibari fell to the ground with a splut and choked as he coughed, wiping his face as he complained, "Grandpa Hashirama, couldn't you have warned me first?"
Hibari lay on the ground coughing for ages. At last, he caught his breath, wiped his face, and grumbled, "Grandpa Hashirama, you really are my own grandfather! What kind of grandfather pulls a stunt like that on his grandson? You could've at least given me a heads-up!"
"Forget about that for now." Senju Hashirama didn't even respond to the complaint. Instead, he leaned in, eyes shining. "You were splashing around pretty energetically just now! Nothing like the limp fish you used to be. Looks like that strange condition of yours really was the root cause of your fear of water!"
There was a good reason he was so excited. Tobirama had been thinking of passing his Water Release on to Hibari, but Hashirama had far more than that in mind. For years, he'd been unable to find a suitable successor for his Wood Release Kekkei Genkai.
Hashirama had actually tried many people before, even his own younger brother Tobirama, a genius at developing ninjutsu. But what had come of it? Not a single one had succeeded.
Eventually, he'd figured it out. His own constitution was probably too unusual: his chakra reserves were unbelievably vast, and his vitality was extraordinary. Even ordinary injuries healed on their own. How could anyone else possibly match those conditions?
Passing on Wood Release had always weighed on Hashirama's mind. But no suitable candidate had appeared—until the little Hibari was born.
Hibari had been extraordinary from the moment he came into the world. His chakra reserves were far greater than those of other children his age, and his vitality was strong too. When Hashirama first saw him, his heart had skipped a beat. Wasn't this just like himself as a child?
But who could have expected that a problem would emerge as soon as Hibari grew a little older? The kid couldn't swim, for one thing. Worse, he couldn't even mold Water Nature chakra, let alone use Water Release Ninjutsu.
Hashirama had been so frustrated! His Wood Release was, at its core, a new form created by combining Water Nature chakra with Earth Nature chakra, and it also required tremendous vitality to support it.
Hibari had enough chakra and plenty of vitality, but he was stuck on the simplest part: Water Release.
After all these years, they'd finally found a way to pin down the strange thing inside Hibari.
For now, all they'd managed was to make Hibari unafraid of water. Whether he could go on to mold Water Nature chakra or inherit Wood Release was still uncertain. But at least they'd taken the first step, hadn't they?
The more Hashirama thought about it, the more hopeful he became, as if he'd glimpsed a ray of light in the darkness. Deep down, he was certain Hibari could take over from him!
Hibari had already gotten back to his feet. He wrung the water out of his shirt and muttered, "I used to go limp as soon as I touched water. This time, I've still got all my strength..."
"We can't learn much by testing it indoors!" Tobirama suddenly cut in, excitement held back in his voice. "Come on. We'll make you a pool outside and give it a proper test!"
Without waiting for Hibari to answer, Tobirama turned and strode out, walking as fast as if he were rushing to a market. Once he reached the courtyard, he immediately formed a seal and shouted, "Earth Style: Moving Earth Core!"
A deep rumble shook the ground. A large section of the courtyard suddenly sank, leaving a deep pit. Tobirama didn't stop moving. He brought his hands together in front of his chest, and as chakra surged, a stream of water appeared out of nowhere, pouring into the pit until it quickly filled and became a pool.
"Hibari!" Tobirama called, turning his head. "Get in and try it!"
Hibari dragged his feet over to the pool and peered inside. His brows immediately furrowed. It was no wonder: Tobirama had been in such a hurry that he'd poured in the water before the dirt had settled. The pool was murky. It wasn't exactly mud, but it was still filthy enough.
"Second Grandpa, how about we wait for the water to clear a little?" Hibari turned around, but before he could finish speaking, Tobirama had already kicked him.
He had no time to dodge. A light kick to the hip threw him off balance.
"You two really are brothers!" Hibari shouted angrily as he tumbled into the pool.
With a splash, water flew everywhere. This time, though, Hibari was still a terrible swimmer...
He'd never swum in his life, and his movements were clumsy. Even so, Hibari managed to stay afloat, flailing his arms and legs in the water. He looked exactly like a wild dog splashing around.
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