第43章 把云雀体内那怪东西给摁住了

Since Tobirama had already revealed his hand to Yamanaka Kiyono, it meant the man was trustworthy. Hibari stopped being coy, thinking that as long as he didn't use secret techniques to pry into his mind, it would be fine. He truly needed help with the trouble he was carrying.

However, Yamanaka Kiyono was an elder, after all, so he surely wouldn't lack discretion.

He nimbly loosened his collar, lay down on the long bench, and straightened himself out.

Yamanaka Kiyono didn't stand on ceremony, pressing his palm directly onto Hibari's collarbone. The next second, that sense of secret technique belonging to the Yamanaka Clan permeated inward, beginning to search his body in detail.

Before long, Kiyono touched the obscure node that Tobirama had mentioned. He probed it a few times, his brows knitting together at first, then slowly relaxing.

After checking this critical spot, he used several methods that Hibari couldn't understand at all to scan him from head to toe. After a good while, he wiped the sweat from his temple and spoke: "This is truly rare.

Tobirama, it is exactly as you said before; an example like this has never appeared. I have flipped through all the ancient texts in the clan over the past few days and found no relevant records."

Tobirama nodded. If it were a common ailment, he would have solved it himself; there would be no need for such trouble.

"Then, in your opinion, this situation... is the method we pondered feasible?" Tobirama looked at Yamanaka Kiyono and asked in a deep voice.

Yamanaka Kiyono didn't answer immediately, stroking his chin in thought. Seeing this, neither Tobirama nor Hibari urged him, waiting quietly.

After about a quarter of an hour, he seemed to have figured it out and finally spoke: "Theoretically speaking, it shouldn't be a big problem. We aren't trying to forcibly dig out that inexplicable thing, just adding a 'seal' to it without disturbing the foundation.

Even if some accident occurs, we can stop at any time and undo that sealing technique. So, for Hibari... it shouldn't cause any harm."

The three words "theoretically speaking" made Hibari's heart skip a beat. But on second thought, he was likely the only one in the world afflicted with this strange illness, so "theoretically" was all he could hope for. Since he had no other choice, he stopped agonizing over it.

Seeing that Tobirama still seemed to have reservations, Hibari grinned and spoke up first:

"Second Master, I have a tough life; nothing will go wrong! Dragging this out is just a mental burden, so we might as well try. If it succeeds, that's best; if not... at worst, we'll just think of another way later!"

Hearing him speak so decisively with a firm expression, Tobirama finally stopped hesitating.

"Fine, since you're ready, I won't nag." He turned to look at Yamanaka Kiyono. "Kiyono, if there's any situation later, undo the technique immediately!"

Yamanaka Kiyono's gaze sharpened, and he replied solemnly: "Leave it to me, Tobirama."

Having received the confirmation, Tobirama wasn't in a rush to act. He first took out several scrolls, retrieved materials like cinnabar and ink, and laid them out one by one.

Just as he was busy, the door was pushed open. Hashirama poked half his body in, peering at the three people in the room: "How is it? Are you starting?"

Tobirama didn't even look up: "Yes, preparing to 'lock' this kid. Brother, I leave the perimeter security to you. This is the first time using this sealing technique, and it's being cast on Hibari, so not a single mistake can happen."

Once Senju Hashirama heard his brother speak so gravely, his expression turned stern: "Rest assured, not even a fly will get in!"

With that, he turned and went out. The next second, a few soft "poof" sounds came from outside—it was the Shadow Clone Technique. Immediately after, a Wood Release clone even thoughtfully pulled the door shut from the outside.

Standing outside the room, Hashirama pressed his hands together casually, and chakra surged suddenly. He gave a low shout:

"Wood Release: Wood Shield Technique!"

Before the words had faded, a massive, demonic-faced wooden box rose from the ground with a roar, swallowing the entire room whole in the blink of an eye. After doing this, Hashirama's original body, along with his three clones, stood at each corner with arms crossed, looking just like four door gods.

Inside, Yamanaka Kiyono reached out and turned on the light. Looking at the impenetrable Wood Release barrier outside the window, he couldn't help but mutter to himself: This young master Hibari is not only the apple of Tobirama's eye, but even the Hokage himself is personally standing guard; the scale is truly not small...

While Hibari was pondering these things, Tobirama was already prepared. He stepped forward and looked at Hibari, saying: "After this is done, you should finally be able to splash around in the water, right?"

"Then I'll take your word for it, Second Master." Hibari grinned and answered readily.

Tobirama didn't reply, instead picking up a brush, dipping it in cinnabar ink, and beginning to draw on Hibari's exposed chest.

The tip of the brush wandered back and forth for about ten minutes before he stopped. By now, Hibari's chest was covered in crooked patterns, and several key acupuncture points were densely packed with runes.

After drawing the final stroke, Tobirama took a deep breath and quickly formed hand seals. Hibari widened his eyes, but he couldn't even see the afterimages, showing just how ridiculously fast his hand speed was.

As his chakra began to churn, Hibari's heart started to drum. Although he had been relaxed with his words earlier, this was the first time, after all; who wouldn't hope for success? He muttered to himself: "It must work..."

The next second, a glowing pattern lit up on Tobirama's palm, echoing faintly with the design on Hibari's chest. He gave a low shout: "Vortex Seal!"

He pressed his palm directly onto Hibari's chest, and the drawn techniques immediately distorted, drilling into his heart all at once. The chakra in Tobirama's body flowed out like a sluice gate, at a terrifying speed.

Seeing the seal about to finish, Tobirama's chakra couldn't keep up, and sweat poured down his forehead. He gritted his teeth and held on; he couldn't pull his hand away now. Hibari hadn't suffered any mishaps, which meant the technique was working.

Just as he was wondering whether to risk his life to supplement it, Yamanaka Kiyono moved. He pressed his palm lightly against Tobirama's back, and gentle chakra flowed over.

Tobirama breathed a sigh of relief; the missing amount was just enough. With a soft "pop," he pulled his hand slightly away from the chest, and the final few techniques vanished into Hibari's heart.

Too busy to wipe his sweat, Tobirama asked urgently: "Hibari, how do you feel?"

Hibari moved his shoulders twice and laughed: "Nothing uncomfortable, in fact, I feel much lighter..."

"Is that so?" Tobirama's brows relaxed slightly, but before he could finish, the Wood Release barrier outside the window vanished with a rustle. Hashirama pulled the door open and poked his head in, laughing happily: "I sensed the chakra stabilize from outside. How is it? Is it done?"

"This kid Hibari is fine for now, but whether it succeeded or not remains to be seen." Tobirama said, giving Hashirama a look.

Hashirama was stunned, then delighted. Without a word, he formed a seal and pressed a palm onto Hibari's shoulder: "Water Release: Water Prison Technique!"

Before Hibari could react, a massive surge of water erupted around him, wrapping him inside. "Damn it..." Before he could finish cursing, only a string of bubbles rose to the surface.

In the past, when hit with this move, Hibari would instantly go limp, soft as a pile of mud. But this time, he was thrashing vigorously inside the water sphere, flailing his limbs—where was any sign of lethargy?

Hashirama, Tobirama, and Yamanaka Kiyono looked at each other, their faces blooming with smiles.

This Vortex Seal technique had truly succeeded!

Since the effect was tested, Hashirama didn't delay and immediately dispelled the ninjutsu. Hibari fell to the ground with a "thud," coughing violently. Between coughs, he wiped his face: "Grandpa Hashirama, you could at least give a warning!"

Hibari lay on the ground coughing for a long time before he finally caught his breath, wiping his face and complaining: "Grandpa Hashirama, you really are my own grandfather! Who pits their grandson like this? You could have at least chirped a warning beforehand!"

"Never mind that for now." Senju Hashirama didn't take the bait at all, instead leaning in with glowing eyes. "You were thrashing quite vigorously just now! It's a completely different story from that dead-fish look you had before—it seems that strange illness of yours really is rooted in a fear of water!"

There was a reason he was so excited. While Tobirama was pondering teaching Hibari Water Release, Hashirama had more than just that on his mind. He hadn't found a suitable successor for his Wood Release bloodline limit all these years.

In fact, Hashirama had tested many people earlier, even his own brother Tobirama, a genius at developing ninjutsu, but the result? Not one succeeded.

Later, he figured it out: it was likely because his own constitution was too special, with an absurd amount of chakra and an unnaturally vigorous life force—even ordinary wounds healed on their own. How could others compare to those conditions?

Passing on Wood Release had been a wish of Hashirama's. But a suitable candidate had been nowhere to be found, until little Hibari was born.

Hibari had been extraordinary since he left the womb, with a chakra volume far exceeding children of his age and a very vigorous life force. When Hashirama saw him then, his heart skipped a beat: wasn't this just himself as a child?

But who could have guessed that as Hibari grew a little older, the problem would emerge. The kid was a total landlubber, and worse, he couldn't even refine water-attribute chakra, let alone touch Water Release ninjutsu.

Hashirama had been so depressed back then! His Wood Release was, at its core, a new trick fused from water and earth-attribute chakra, and it required a powerful life force to sustain it.

This kid Hibari had enough chakra and enough life force, but he was stuck on the simplest link: the water attribute.

After all these years, they had finally found a way to suppress that strange thing in Hibari's body.

Although it only meant Hibari was no longer afraid of water for now, and whether he could refine water-attribute chakra or inherit Wood Release later remained to be seen, at least they had taken the first step, hadn't they?

The more Hashirama thought about it, the more hopeful he felt, as if he had caught a glimpse of light in the darkness. He felt from the bottom of his heart that this kid Hibari would definitely be able to take his place!

Hibari had already climbed up from the ground, wringing the water from his sleeve while muttering: "I used to go limp whenever I touched water, but this time, at least I still have my strength..."

"You can't tell anything in the room!" Tobirama, standing nearby, suddenly interjected, his tone heavy with excitement. "Come on, let's go outside and make a pool for you; let's test it for real!"

Without waiting for Hibari to reply, Tobirama turned and walked out, his pace as hurried as if he were rushing to a market. Once outside, he immediately formed a seal in the courtyard and gave a low shout: "Earth Release: Earth Core!"

With a muffled rumble, a large chunk of the open space in the courtyard collapsed, revealing a deep pit. Tobirama didn't stop, pressing his hands together in front of his chest; as chakra surged, a stream of water appeared out of thin air, pouring into the pit with a splash, and in the blink of an eye, it had filled into a pool.

"Hibari!" Tobirama turned his head and shouted, "Hurry down and try it!"

Hibari walked to the edge of the pool sluggishly, poked his head in to look, and frowned. It was no wonder; Tobirama had been too impatient and hadn't waited for the dirt to settle before releasing the water. The pool was quite murky; while not mud, it was dirty enough.

"Second Master, how about... waiting for the water to clear up a bit?" Hibari turned his head, but before he could finish, he saw Tobirama had already raised his foot to kick him.

He had no time to dodge; he was given a light shove on the hip, and his entire body instantly lost its balance.

"You two really are brothers!" Hibari shouted in anger before crashing into the pool.

With a splash, water flew everywhere. However, this time, even though Hibari was still a landlubber...

Although he had never swum in his life and his movements were clumsy, Hibari managed to float after all, flailing his limbs wildly in the water in a posture that looked exactly like a thrashing wild dog.