Tobirama and Hibari had no objections to the chosen location, so after exchanging 'harsh words,' they walked together towards the river valley area in the back mountain. This area was relatively open, yet it also had plenty of obstacles and cover, making the environment suitable for combat.
Hashirama and Hiruzen stood in the distance, accompanied by little Tsunade, who had also come to watch.
Hibari stood opposite Tobirama, no longer exhibiting the arrogant demeanor from earlier. Instead, he was very serious. The reason he spoke those smug words was, firstly, to give himself confidence, and secondly, Hibari truly didn't want his grandfather to hold back. He wanted to provoke him to see if there was still a gap between them, and if so, how significant it was!
Indeed, while Hibari was confident in himself, he wouldn't underestimate his grandfather. After all, his grandfather was one of the legendary shinobi. If just anyone with a bit of talent could rival him after three to five years of training, that would be utterly ridiculous. Even if Hibari was exceptionally gifted, did that mean Tobirama was mediocre?
At this moment, Tobirama's expression also turned serious and stern. A powerful sense of pressure emanated from him, making the pebbles on the ground tremble.
Tobirama understood the meaning behind Hibari's earlier words; it was as if he was trying to 'provoke' him.
As for why Hibari would provoke him like this? Did he even need to think? It was because this kid wanted to use him to gauge his own abilities.
As the Hokage and Hibari's grandfather, Tobirama felt it was necessary for him to assess Hibari.
"Are you ready to take a beating, Hibari?" Tobirama asked, looking at Hibari with his oppressive gaze.
Hibari lowered his center of gravity slightly, one hand resting on the katana at his waist. Then, a confident smile appeared on his lips, and he said, "Bring it on, Ojiisan!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Tobirama showed no politeness. In Hibari's line of sight, his grandfather's figure instantly blurred, leaving behind a mere afterimage where he stood. The entire person vanished, and at the same time, a gust of wind struck from the front.
"So fast!" Hibari's heart skipped a beat, he thought.
Although he couldn't see Tobirama with his naked eye, Hibari's katana was unsheathed without hesitation. Relying on his own senses, he swiftly brought it horizontally across his chest.
Sure enough, just as he adopted this parrying stance, Tobirama's figure abruptly appeared in Hibari's pupils. Simultaneously, the short blade he had unsheathed at some point struck Hibari's katana.
A powerful force instantly traveled from the hilt into Hibari's hand, causing the ground beneath Hibari's feet to crack slightly. Before he could make any effective counterattack, he saw Tobirama free up a hand, attempting to touch the armor on his arm.
Seeing this, Hibari immediately understood what his grandfather intended to do. He was 100% trying to place a Flying Raijin Technique formula on him, then find an opportunity to instantly kill him.
This wasn't the first time he had faced Tobirama. If he had suffered this loss before, that was one thing, but could he still fall for it so easily now?
Just as Tobirama's finger was about to touch Hibari's armor, Hibari's expression became serious, and he quietly uttered, "Lightning Release: Armor!"
As his words fell, a shocking surge of Lightning Release chakra instantly erupted from Hibari's body, directly deflecting Tobirama's finger.
Then, Hibari's katana was instantly enveloped by this powerful Lightning Release chakra, transforming into a 'lightning blade.' With the power of this lightning, his katana became incredibly sharp, literally 'cutting' a small notch into Tobirama's short blade. If he had another moment, he could have directly severed the short blade!
However, it was clear that Tobirama also noticed this phenomenon. He didn't give Hibari any extra opportunity, unhesitatingly letting go of the hilt of his short blade and leaping backward at an incredibly high speed, creating distance from Hibari.
Seeing this, Hibari felt a little confused. His grandfather's decisiveness in abandoning his weapon was too high, wasn't it? Did he not even think about it?
It turned out that as soon as he lowered his gaze, he saw an explosive tag stuck to the hilt of the short blade lodged in his katana, and it was already beginning to emit black smoke...
"Holy crap, despicable!" Hibari cursed under his breath, his body's reaction speed also incredibly fast. He swung his katana fiercely, directly flinging the short blade away.
The next second, in the air not far away, the short blade exploded directly. Due to the close proximity, Hibari was also caught in the blast.
Furthermore, his action of swinging the blade exposed his chest, and in just that brief moment, Hibari realized he had made a mistake.
Indeed, in terms of combat experience, there was a world of difference between him and his grandfather. In just a short exchange, he had once again fallen into a 'instinctive' error, just like when he used to stare at his hands to see the sequence of hand signs.
Sure enough, Tobirama also didn't miss the opportunity when Hibari instinctively exposed a weakness by throwing the blade away. Just as Hibari was about to retract his blade to defend, Tobirama's figure had already reappeared in front of Hibari at an incredibly high speed.
A Monster Strength punch, imbued with powerful chakra, showed no intention of holding back. It directly struck Hibari's lightning-flashing chest. A powerful force directly passed through his body.
Hibari, taking this blow, involuntarily groaned and coughed up a mouthful of blood. He flew backward, tumbling several times on the ground before stopping. Covering his chest, he looked around, and Tobirama's figure was gone again...
Meanwhile, Hiruzen, watching from a distance, clicked his tongue and said, "The difference in other aspects hasn't been revealed yet, but the gap in experience is still too obvious. From the beginning, Hibari fell into Sensei's rhythm."
"Hahaha, that's true! Perhaps Hibari's strength has increased greatly, but how can he manage by 'building his cart behind closed doors' all day? Tobirama is teaching him these things now, so he doesn't get too arrogant. In war, it's not uncommon for experienced, slightly weaker shinobi to defeat enemies far stronger than themselves," Hashirama said, holding his arms and laughing as he looked towards the fight.
"Practical combat training, huh? Hahaha, it truly is a test..." Hiruzen said with a smile.
However, neither of them seemed to think that Tobirama had gone too hard on Hibari, despite him spitting blood. It seemed they both had great faith in Hibari's physical prowess and life force.
Only little Tsunade looked worried, clutching Hashirama's clothing tightly, watching her highly vigilant Hibari-nii in the arena.
Hibari was currently carefully searching for the vanished Tobirama, feeling extremely wary. He had fought Tobirama before, but back then, he hadn't felt this strong sense of pressure and tension. He figured his Tobirama-ojii was truly serious this time.
Just as Hibari's gaze shifted from the riverside to behind a rock, a high-pressure water blade suddenly shot out from the water, heading towards Hibari's location.
"Water Severing Wave?" Hibari recognized the jutsu at a glance. This jutsu was extremely aggressive among Water Release ninjutsu and was rarely completely defensible, let alone when he didn't even have time to form hand signs.
Unable to defend, Hibari could only choose to dodge. He abruptly pushed off the ground, and a dazzling burst of Lightning Release chakra instantly flared from his body. Before the Water Severing Wave could hit Hibari, his figure had already vanished from that spot.
The moment Hibari left that area, he had already begun forming hand signs. As his feet touched the ground, his hand signs were completed at an incredibly fast pace.
"Earth Release: Stone Spikes!" Hibari lightly shouted.
The next second, the river area where the Water Severing Wave had been launched was affected by this ninjutsu. Several sharp stone spikes erupted from the riverbed, instantly cutting off the flow of water in that area.
However, this did not allow Hibari to find Tobirama Senju's figure.
'Can't even find his figure? The fastest shinobi in the world... truly terrifying,' Hibari thought to himself while observing his surroundings.
"He's here..." Hashirama and Hiruzen, watching from a distance, said simultaneously.
The next second, two hands reached out from the ground beneath Hibari's feet, grabbing at his ankles.
'I knew it!' Hibari wasn't flustered at all at this moment. His katana, imbued with lightning, mercilessly thrust downwards onto the ground directly beneath him.
Instantly, the blade plunged into the ground, and then the arms that had intended to grab Hibari's ankles turned into white smoke and vanished.
'As expected, it's the Shadow Clone Jutsu combined with the Headhunter Jutsu?' Hibari thought to himself, pulling out his katana while continuing to observe his surroundings with extreme vigilance.
"Waiting for an opening to attack by maintaining defense, ensuring no weaknesses are exposed? Hibari's mind works quickly! If he had frantically searched for Tobirama's figure, he probably would have already 'died'..." Hashirama said, smiling as he watched Hibari stand ready, unwilling to reveal any weakness.
Hiruzen also showed a smile, saying, "He's the Anbu Vice-Commander, after all... Even if he loses to Sensei, he can't lose so shamelessly, can he?"
At this moment, Hibari had already released a large amount of chakra, spreading it outwards along the ground, hoping to locate the vanished Tobirama. However, this seemed to have little effect. Tobirama was originally a shinobi with extremely strong sensory abilities, and thus, he was very skilled in dealing with such sensory techniques, perfectly masking his information, making it impossible for Hibari to find him.
The scene continued in silence and tension for a while, as if both sides were testing each other's patience.
Hibari slowly planted his katana into the ground, standing it upright, while vigilantly observing his surroundings. Then, he formed a hand sign in front of his chest and said, "Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
The next second, four figures identical to him appeared around him, surrounding him in a protective formation.
Only then did Hibari slightly relax. He began forming hand signs again, and the chakra energy in his body surged.
"That hand sign... Earth Release? Trying to find Tobirama's figure by changing the environment of the battlefield? Very insightful, hahaha." Hashirama, watching from a distance, said with a loud laugh.
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