Tobirama smiled at Hibari, then placed his teacup on the table. His expression grew slightly more serious as he quietly began, "Early yesterday morning, the sealed door to my warehouse was opened. Though the seal was simple, it still required our Senju clan's blood to open. Hibari, do you have anything to say?"
Upon hearing Tobirama's words, Hibari immediately shook his head. "Ojiisan, I have no idea what you're talking about. Even if that seal requires our Senju clan's blood, there are so many people in this compound who have it. Why do you suspect me the moment you return? What if it was..."
At this, Hibari glanced at Tsunade, who was currently perched on Hashirama's shoulders, gripping his forehead protector and riding him like a horse. He continued, "Perhaps Tsunade opened it?"
Hearing Hibari's words, Tobirama also looked at Tsunade, his expression growing a bit more severe. It must be said, Tobirama seemed to naturally possess a cold, imposing aura. Even though Hibari knew this imposing air was feigned, he couldn't help but feel a hint of pressure.
If even Hibari felt this, the younger Tsunade naturally felt this invisible pressure even more. She stopped her playful antics, first looking at her "Hibari-nii" who was constantly winking at her, then at the stern-faced Tobirama, before timidly speaking.
"Ojiisan, Hibari-nii told me to open it..." Tsunade said, a hint of grievance in her voice.
As expected, without even a second of hesitation, Tsunade betrayed the unfortunate Hibari.
"Tsunade! That five hundred ryo... cough, cough..." Hibari, in his exasperation, cut himself off mid-sentence, realizing he'd misspoken.
"Oh ho ho, five hundred ryo? What five hundred ryo? Hibari, Tsuna has already confessed, do you still want to deny it?" Tobirama instantly dropped his serious expression, looking at Hibari with an amused grin.
Seeing his beloved little sister betray him without a second thought, and with no way to deny it now, Hibari grumbled, "Ojiisan, you can't blame me for this, can you? From the moment I saw that note, I understood. This was a trap you set for me! You subtly brought up that warehouse when you left, wasn't that hinting at me? If you think about it, you were practically baiting me!"
"Hmph," Tobirama scoffed. "I was testing your qualities as a shinobi. A shinobi... what's the need for so much curiosity? You know, it's not one or two shinobis who've been killed by curiosity. If you can't control yourself, sooner or later, you'll..."
He stopped himself mid-sentence, cutting off the unpleasant words that were about to follow. After a slight pause, he looked at Hibari again and continued, "Hibari, you're good in every way, but your curiosity is too strong. Remember, sometimes, the more you know, the more dangerous it becomes, and the more you'll be targeted..."
Konohagakure had only been established for a few years, and the great village leader was still the First Hokage, Hashirama. Various policies and facilities were still in their nascent stages. Everyone was gathering to form a village for the first time, essentially "crossing the river by feeling the stones," and many things were unclear, leading to many oversights.
For example, currently, the "Academy" that would later train countless powerful shinobis didn't even exist. Shinobis were mostly trained within their own great shinobi clans, passed down from grandfather to father, and father to son. At most, friendly clans would seek out powerful masters to teach their children.
For instance, the Senju clan and the Sarutobi clan had an excellent relationship. Currently, the village's elite Jonin, and the father of the future Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi, Sasuke Sarutobi, was a capable assistant and friend to both Hashirama and Tobirama.
Thanks to Sasuke Sarutobi, Hiruzen Sarutobi, the genius of the Sarutobi family, was trained by Hashirama and Tobirama from a young age. Though still young, he was already a formidable shinobi.
And Tobirama was now using his own methods to instruct the Senju clan's third-generation fledgling, Senju Hibari.
Hibari listened to Tobirama's words, falling silent for a moment. Then, he broke into a bright smile. "Ojiisan, I understand all those principles. But isn't curiosity the stepping stone to a shinobi's progress? When it comes to curiosity, you're at least a hundred times more curious than me, aren't you? Otherwise, where would you get all those strange and wondrous ninjutsu? But I'll remember what you said. I'll maintain my curiosity while ensuring my safety!"
Tobirama paused, then shook his head helplessly. "You've got a set of twisted logic, Hibari... Do you really want to know what those strange ninjutsu I'm researching are?"
As soon as Tobirama brought this up, a glint flashed in Hibari's eyes. He then spoke excitedly, "Ojiisan, isn't that obvious? At my current level, even if I can't learn your strange ninjutsu, I should at least be qualified to be exposed to them, right? At the very least, you can't keep guarding against me like a thief all day, can you?"
Hearing Hibari's words, Tobirama's lips curled slightly. Then he quietly said, "Whether you're qualified? I'll have to test you..."
As his voice faded, Tobirama, who had been sitting on the stone stool, instantly kicked out a leg at Hibari. Judging by the speed and force, he seemed to be holding nothing back. The whistling wind immediately stirred Hibari's clothes beneath his black layered armor.
Hashirama, who had been playing with Tsunade, also turned to look at Tobirama and Hibari, who had suddenly engaged in battle. He seemed quite curious about the half-grown boy Hibari's current strength.
Truth be told, as the third-generation fledgling of the Senju clan, Hibari's aptitude was exceptionally outstanding. Moreover, having lived two lives, he deeply understood the importance of strength and the depth of this world.
Therefore, from the moment Hashirama and Tobirama began teaching him, he had continuously absorbed knowledge like a sponge from these two top masters. Thus, even at his age of barely ten, he was already stronger than most adult shinobis.
The instant Tobirama kicked, Hibari's eyes became serious and focused. Perhaps his strength was exceptional among his peers, and he might even be able to handle ordinary shinobis, but Tobirama was no ordinary shinobi; he was a bona fide top master. As the subject of this test, how could Hibari be careless?
In a flash, Hibari's body lowered slightly, and he extended his still somewhat childish arm at an incredible speed, accurately pressing against Tobirama's toes.
Then, with a flick of his wrist, he deflected some of the force, instantly lifting himself off the ground. Using Tobirama's remaining momentum, he lightly pushed off, completing a full flip in the air.
He landed steadily on the ground, simultaneously creating distance between himself and Tobirama.
After landing, Hibari didn't hesitate at all. Without blinking, he reached into his ninja tool pouch behind him, and with a flick of his wrist, threw several shuriken and kunai at Tobirama.
Tobirama and Hashirama rarely wore casual clothes; they usually kept their layered armor on. Facing the ninja tools Hibari threw, Tobirama showed no intention of pulling out his own tools to block. He simply used the armor on the back of his hand to deflect them a few times, knocking all of Hibari's ninja tools away.
However, before Tobirama could relax, he saw Hibari rapidly forming hand signs.
Looking at the hand signs in Hibari's hands, Tobirama frowned slightly and murmured softly, "Fire Release... is it?"
Born amidst the chaos of the Warring States Period and having been long-time enemies with the Uchiha clan, Tobirama harbored an extreme dislike for the Uchiha, whose signature ninjutsu was Fire Release. Consequently, he also had an instinctive hostility and unusual sensitivity to Fire Release.
Perhaps it was precisely because he considered the Uchiha clan "potential enemies" that he put so much effort into Water Release, which counters Fire Release, becoming an exceptionally powerful ninja in Water Release ninjutsu.
"Fire Release: Flame Bullet!" Hibari took a deep breath, then opened his mouth and spat out a ball of flame, sending it towards Tobirama.
Flame Bullet is a relatively simple but very practical Fire Release ninjutsu. It only requires the user to convert chakra into oil within their body, then ignite it with a spark as they exhale.
The power of this Fire Release ninjutsu can also be controlled based on the total amount of oil produced.
"Are these two really not going to consider us at all? Tsuna, don't learn these bad habits from your Ojiisan and Oniisan in the future!" Hashirama grumbled, quite displeased seeing Hibari disregard him and Tsunade and unhesitatingly unleash a Fire Release jutsu that would engulf them.
But grumbling aside, Hashirama's movements were incredibly swift. Perhaps fearing that using any ninjutsu here would unnecessarily interfere with the test, he didn't try to actively block anything. Instead, cradling little Tsunade, he stomped his foot down, instantly moving himself out of Tobirama and Hibari's combat zone at an extremely high speed.
Tobirama's reaction speed was also incredibly fast. The moment Hashirama vanished, he also formed a very simple hand sign across his chest.
The next second, he quietly whispered, "Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall!"
In an instant, a wall of rock and earth appeared before him. Immediately after, Hibari's Flame Bullet struck it, erupting in a shower of sparks.
Hibari saw his Flame Bullet blocked, but he didn't show any expression of disappointment. After all, Tobirama's strength was undeniable; how could a mere Flame Bullet not be defended against?
At this moment, Hibari felt no regret. Instead, a triumphant smile played on his lips. Using the smoke and dust generated by the collision of the Earth-Style Wall and the Flame Bullet, Tobirama's vision was momentarily obscured—this was the opportune moment!
Hibari formed another hand sign, and his chakra surged instantly...
Meanwhile, behind the Earth-Style Wall, Tobirama's brows slightly furrowed. He glanced down at the ground, which had already begun to change, then quietly murmured, "Earth Release: Swamp of the Underworld... Heh, Earth Release after Fire Release?"