After descending from the back mountain and arriving at Konohagakure, the soreness and numbness in Hibari's body had vanished. With the side effects gone, he was full of vigor again, though his appearance was a bit disheveled.
Hibari held two pieces of shattered blue armor in his hand, speaking triumphantly, "Look, look at this! This is equipment from the fastest shinobi in the world, and I tore it off him! Hiruzen-jisan, you couldn't do that, could you?"
Hiruzen glanced unhappily at the smug Hibari, then said, "You only tore off a piece of Tobirama-sensei's armor. Why don't you look at yourself? What a mess you are!"
At this moment, Hibari's clothes were tattered, and he had several bandaged wounds. His black layered armor was effectively scrapped. This was a birthday gift from Hashirama, and its destruction made Hibari feel a pang of reluctance.
He touched his broken chest armor and said, "Sigh, its historical mission is complete. It protected me as I grew into an excellent shinobi. When I go back, I'll put it away and tell my son about my glorious experiences today..."
"Son? You don't even have a girlfriend, and you want a son?" Hiruzen glanced at Hibari, saying with disdain.
Currently, he not only had a wife but also a son of his own, so he was naturally many steps ahead of Hibari in this regard, allowing him to mock Hibari so righteously.
Hibari was annoyed by Hiruzen's 'upstart' look. Then, his eyes darted around, and he gave a sly smile, saying to Tobirama beside him, "Hokage-sama, can't you hear Hiruzen-jisan's malicious words? He's showing off to me on the surface, but secretly, who knows who he's hinting at? Right?"
Hiruzen's face darkened upon hearing this. Then, as if he remembered something, he quickly said, "Sensei, that's not what I meant..."
Tobirama's face had already turned green with anger from these two. He raised his hand and slapped Hibari on the head, saying, "I think you, kid, have ill intentions. You're trying to sow discord here. You just want to make me angry to make yourself happy, don't you?"
Among the two leaders of the Senju clan, Hashirama could be said to be a winner in life, with a beautiful wife and other offspring. But Tobirama was in an awkward position.
In his youth, he was constantly immersed in ninjutsu research and couldn't extricate himself. Coupled with the chaotic Warring States Period, where survival was uncertain, he had no time to think about romance.
By the time he came to his senses, he had been single for decades. Thinking he was getting old and had no suitable partner, it eventually came to nothing.
There was nothing wrong with growing old alone; besides, he wasn't lonely, as the large Senju family was still very lively.
But despite saying that, now that Hibari, this scoundrel, brought up the matter, he was very displeased.
"Hahahahaha, right, Tobirama, I also met some single women in the capital..." Hashirama heard this and burst out laughing, wanting to join Hibari in teasing his brother.
However, before he could finish his sentence, he saw Tobirama give him a cold glare, then quickly said, "Anija, if you want Aneja to know that you met some single women in the capital, feel free to tell me..."
Hashirama's expression froze. If Mito misunderstood anything, he might be in deep trouble again. So, his expression stiffened awkwardly, and he spoke incoherently, "I met a few single old sows in the capital, thinking maybe one day the Emperor would come back to breed them with the boars we keep at home, something like that?"
As his words fell, he saw Tobirama's expression darken to the extreme. At this point, he also realized he had said the wrong thing and quickly said, "No, Tobirama... I mean... I'm not saying you're a pig... I meant to say..."
Watching Hashirama and Tobirama, these two brothers, squabbling, Hibari almost cried from laughter. Hiruzen, however, angrily punched Hibari's shoulder and said, "Look at you, kid, what nonsense are you talking when you have nothing to do? If you accidentally anger the two Hokage-samas, can you bear the responsibility?"
"Hahahahaha, I'm dying of laughter..." Hibari said, almost out of breath.
Fortunately, Tobirama wasn't a narrow-minded person. He knew that Hashirama just spoke without much thought and wasn't actually calling him a breeding pig.
After a bit of commotion, the matter passed. As the group walked a few more steps, they saw Tōka Senju rushing towards them from a distant street.
Before Hibari and the others could speak, Tōka Senju ran over and said urgently, "I finally found you! Hurry back home, Renge is about to give birth!"
As soon as Tōka Senju's words fell, Tobirama's expression changed. Then, without even the thought of speaking to Hibari and the others, he instantly activated the Flying Raijin Technique and vanished from the spot.
"Damn it, Flying Raijin again! What a show-off! When I learn it, I won't be so smug!" Hibari complained, watching the scene.
As soon as Hibari's words fell, Hashirama also vanished from there with a Body Flicker Technique, his speed also incredibly fast. Watching this, Hibari shouted again, "You old man, you should watch your health! Don't cough up blood halfway there!"
However, Hibari wasn't truly worried. Although Hashirama's body was not what it used to be and he couldn't use overly powerful ninjutsu, using a Body Flicker Technique was still no problem.
Tōka Senju, seeing this, didn't bother with Hibari and quickly left with them. Hiruzen, however, looked at Hibari and asked somewhat confusedly, "Aren't you going to hurry over?"
Hibari said very casually, "What's the rush? It's not my son being born. I figure by the time I walk over, I'll arrive just right. Those two unreliable guys have already left. If I leave too, our Tsunade-hime will be left here all alone, won't she start crying?"
Tsunade, who had been completely bewildered, hugged Hibari's waist happily after hearing his words, saying with a giggle, "I like Hibari-nii the most."
"Well, of course! See? This grandpa can have many grandsons and granddaughters, and you also have two grandpas, but you only have one big brother, Tsunade. Don't trouble me with your Hashirama-ojii anymore, okay? Side with me," Hibari said with a chuckle.
Then Hibari looked at Hiruzen and said, "Wanna come?"
Hiruzen shook his head with a smile and said, "Forget it. I was planning to stay for lunch or something, but now it seems your Senju family will be busy. I won't add to the trouble. What would a Sarutobi clan member do joining this commotion? I might as well go back and prepare a congratulatory gift..."
"Good idea!" Hibari said with a smile. After bidding farewell to Hiruzen, he leisurely walked towards the Senju clan's main residence with little Tsunade.
Hiruzen stood in place and smiled, then whispered softly, "If this new little one could be as smart as Hibari..."
After speaking, he looked at the clouds above, which seemed to have lowered a bit. Then he rubbed his hands together, dispelling some of the cold, and said, "It's going to snow in this weather..."
Having said that, he turned and walked in the direction of the Sarutobi family's compound. However, after only a few steps, his brow furrowed. He then turned and walked into a dark alley, where an Anbu member quickly appeared beside him.
"Commander, urgent news..." The Anbu member said, handing over a scroll.
Hiruzen solemnly took the small scroll. Without hesitation, he pulled it open and began to read. The more he read, the more serious his expression became, his brows furrowing, and his face gradually darkening.
"Is the intel accurate?" After a long pause, Hiruzen asked in a deep voice.
"This is intel our Anbu acquired independently. We've just compared it with the Intelligence Division's special operations team. Both sides received consistent information, so the possibility of misinformation is very low..." the Anbu member said without hesitation.
"What's coming will still come. This winter will truly be difficult..." Hiruzen murmured softly.
Then a glint flashed in his eyes, and he said, "Notify all Anbu members to prepare for war starting today. The Third Squad and Fourth Squad are to depart now towards the border of the Land of Lightning to investigate the situation!"
"Yes!" the Anbu member quickly replied.
After a slight pause, Hiruzen frowned again in thought, then said, "Kumogakure has made a move. The Land of Water and the Land of Earth might also be planning something. And we can't ignore the Land of Wind... Tell the Intelligence Division to share information with us and quickly analyze the movements of each country!"
After sending the Anbu member to execute the orders, Hiruzen also walked out of the dark alley. He glanced in the direction of his own compound, then in the direction of the Senju clan's compound, and then sighed, whispering softly, "What an interruption..."
Then Hiruzen quickly walked towards the Senju clan's compound. This matter was no small feat. Perhaps the Intelligence Division had already gone to report to the Hokage-sama, but as the Anbu Commander, the commander of the Hokage's direct forces, he had to rush to receive orders at the third opportune moment.
Just as Hibari arrived at the entrance of the Senju clan's main residence, he saw Harano Yamanaka rushing towards him. Seeing this, Hibari thought Harano had also heard that the Senju family was having a baby and came to offer congratulations, so he greeted him first.
"Harano-san, your Intelligence Division's news is truly well-informed. The child hasn't even been born yet, and you're already here..." Hibari said teasingly with a chuckle.
Harano was stunned for a moment, then stopped and asked, "Renge-san is giving birth?"
"Huh? You're not here for that?" Hibari was also momentarily stunned.
At this point, Harano also realized and quickly said, "Let's not talk about that for now. I apologize for the interruption, but Hibari, you should also hurry back and change. War is about to begin. Large numbers of shinobi from the Kumogakure are advancing towards our Land of Fire border. I need to quickly inform the Hokage-sama..."
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