Time flowed like water. With the end of the war, Hibari no longer had many official duties to attend to; any that came up were handed off to his Deputy Commander, Hitenn Hyūga.
Furthermore, since the Anbu's restructuring had been implemented, Hitenn's workload wasn't excessive, so Hibari wasn't really working him to death.
The Mitsumine Group's development entered a new peak. Not long ago, Kumogakure sent over the hundred million ryo in compensation, signaling that the relationship between the two nations had completely emerged from the shadows and become an alliance. The very next day, the Mitsumine Group, which had already prepared, formed a large investment team and traveled to the Land of Lightning with Kumogakure's envoys.
The subsequent progress was also very smooth, with a large-scale investment of approximately three hundred million ryo in the Land of Lightning, of which nearly two hundred million was injected into Kumogakure, stimulating its economy and commerce and strengthening commercial circulation between the two countries.
There was no need for a detailed explanation; this first batch of investments was naturally not too sensitive. Most of it was used to build up Kumogakure's catering, clothing, and other industries, as well as to establish a branch of the Mitsumine Merchant Guild in the Land of Lightning to help the merchants of Kumogakure and the Land of Lightning prosper together.
However, with subsequent investments in various industries, Hibari's influence in Kumogakure and the Land of Lightning would gradually increase, and the scope of his involvement would no longer be limited to just these.
Danzō had been mostly unseen recently. He would occasionally visit the Senju household to see his sensei, Tobirama, and chat with Hibari. Their relationship was still very good.
Since the 'Root' organization was officially separated from the Anbu, he had been working on a massive project: digging a huge secret facility deep beneath Konoha. It was currently under construction. In his words, 'Root' was meant to be buried deep underground, to adapt to this darkness.
Hibari not only said nothing about this but even provided him with some funds. As far as Hibari was concerned, Danzō could do whatever he wanted as long as it didn't involve him. In the future, he might have to conspire with Danzō on some shady business, so investing some money now was a way to deepen their relationship. It couldn't just be about friendship; there had to be mutual benefits as well.
Time passed like this for over a month, and the end of winter had completely passed. New buds had sprouted on the tree branches in the village, and some areas had begun to turn green.
Waking up early in the morning, Hibari rubbed his sleepy eyes. He then saw a delicate tea set on a table not far away, and the corners of his mouth couldn't help but curl up. Tsunade had given it to him. He had just celebrated his birthday two days ago, and it was a birthday gift.
This was the first time Tsunade had given him a birthday present, and Hibari was very pleased.
Since he was already awake, Hibari didn't plan to sleep in. He sat up, put on his clothes, tidied his bed, and then, after washing up, he sat in his room and began to read the ninja scroll Tobirama had given him.
It wasn't the Flying Raijin Technique. Hibari had been studying the Flying Raijin Technique for a long time. He was already very familiar with the theories of space-time ninjutsu, and his physical fitness and nerve reflexes were up to par, allowing him to keep up with the jutsu.
Therefore, after Tobirama had personally instructed him for a few days, Hibari had already learned the jutsu. Subsequent developments, such as 'Flying Raijin Guiding Thunder' or 'Flying Raijin Slash,' still required him to figure things out for himself, and he also needed to use the jutsu more often to become proficient.
But these were all minor details that could be taken care of slowly. It was impossible to achieve Tobirama's level of mastery overnight.
So Hibari wasn't in a hurry. Instead, he began to learn a new jutsu. A diamond-shaped mark had already appeared between his eyebrows. That was another advancement he had made in the past month besides the Flying Raijin Technique.
It was the 'S-rank Sealing Jutsu: Yin Seal,' which he had learned from his grandmother, Mito.
Hibari had spent a long time learning the Yin Seal. It truly lived up to its S-rank status, with an extremely high level of complexity. But hard work paid off, and he finally learned it.
Learning this jutsu was a massive boost for Hibari. As a shinobi with all five elemental natures, Hibari had a vast array of jutsu at his disposal. He knew a bit of every type of ninjutsu, not to mention forbidden jutsu, secret jutsu, sealing jutsu, and barrier jutsu.
He could be said to be an all-rounder shinobi, though he was a bit 'behind' in genjutsu and medical ninjutsu, lacking any powerful techniques.
And no matter how many jutsu he learned, it would be useless if he ran out of chakra, as they would all be duds. Although Hibari's chakra far exceeded that of ordinary people, it still had a limit. He also preferred to use powerful and flashy techniques, so his chakra consumption was like a floodgate being opened.
But with the Yin Seal in hand, it was different. He could seal a large amount of chakra that he accumulated daily inside it. Once he encountered a prolonged battle or a war of attrition, he could completely unseal the Yin Seal to sustain himself, fight for three hundred and sixty-five days, and release all kinds of flashy jutsu at will!
Not only that, but the Yin Seal could also be considered a 'cure' for Hibari's Shadow Clone Jutsu. He no longer had to be 'restricted' by Hiyoko. Every time he appeared, he would absorb all of Hibari's chakra. Now with the Yin Seal, as soon as he unsealed the mark, Hibari's chakra would instantly be restored, and he wouldn't have to worry about anything anymore.
At the same time, the small diamond-shaped mark on Hibari's forehead, while just a tiny embellishment, also changed Hibari's appearance slightly. His originally strong and handsome face gained a hint of softness. In short, he became much more handsome, and his overall attractiveness increased.
In the past, Hibari's attire was usually very tough, either layered armor or the Anbu's uniform. Even regular clothes, worn by him and combined with his aura, looked very heroic.
But now, it was a little different. Hibari was wearing a set of loose-fitting home clothes that felt like a combination of a kimono and Hanfu. He sat at home reading the scroll in his hand, appearing much quieter and having a more scholarly vibe.
The jutsu Hibari was reading about was also a forbidden jutsu, called the Tandem Paper Bombs Technique. It was a killing technique invented by Tobirama. The principle was very simple, but its power was quite terrifying.
This technique, combined with his Flying Raijin Technique, had reduced many powerful opponents to dust. Just think, it was already very dangerous to be hit by a Flying Raijin Technique mark, often resulting in death. If a person also had an exploding tag attached to them and was subjected to continuous explosions, it would be a miracle if they survived.
"Ultimately, the real barrier to this jutsu is wealth. This is a jutsu that only wealthy shinobi are qualified to learn..." Hibari murmured softly.
The principle of the Tandem Paper Bombs Technique was quite simple, but it still involved some concepts of space-time. It was about attaching an exploding tag to a person, and then, through a space-time summons, using this tag as a 'marker' to infinitely summon new exploding tags for continuous explosions until the caster stopped the jutsu or the opponent was completely obliterated.
Theoretically, as long as you had enough exploding tags, you could continue to explode them without limit.
But exploding tags weren't cheap. After all, they were a high-end product. They looked like a simple piece of paper, but the fact that they could cause explosions and unleash such power was not simple. And the simpler something looked but the more complex its principle, the more expensive it was.
Generally, shinobi wouldn't buy them. Those who were capable would learn barrier jutsu and sealing jutsu to make their own. Exploding tags also came in several grades, and their power varied. But even the cheaper ones cost around five hundred ryo per tag, while the more expensive ones could cost seventy to eighty thousand ryo per tag.
Even using the cheapest and weakest exploding tags, the basic requirement for the Tandem Paper Bombs Technique was ten tags to start. In other words, using this jutsu at the minimum requirement cost five thousand ryo per use.
If you were to use the most powerful exploding tags at the minimum requirement, it would cost seventy to eighty thousand ryo per use. Who could afford that? After all, not everyone was like Konan, a Paper Ninjutsu user who could afford to store six hundred billion exploding tags.
That's why Hibari said this was a jutsu only wealthy shinobi would learn and use. And they had to choose the right moment to use it. Otherwise, one misstep could result in a mission that not only didn't make money but also cost a fortune.
No wonder almost no one inherited the Tandem Paper Bombs Technique in the future. After all, not everyone had a big family like Tobirama to throw hundreds or thousands of exploding tags without blinking an eye.
"It's a good thing this jutsu doesn't put too much financial pressure on me. When it comes to wealth, I'm probably richer than my grandfather. I'll go get more exploding tags later. In the future, if I run into someone I don't like, I'll use the Flying Raijin to tag them with one and turn their bones to ash," Hibari said with a smile.
While learning the jutsu, Hibari also found the time to brew a pot of hot tea for himself with the tea set Tsunade had given him and began to drink it with great enjoyment.
Just then, there was a rush of footsteps in his courtyard. Then, the door to the hallway was pulled open, and soon after, his own door was also opened. He saw Tsunade rush in with an excited look on her face.
When she saw Hibari, she didn't hold back at all. She happily shouted the words 'Hibari-nii' and lunged at him.
This startled Hibari. He had just poured a cup of hot tea, and he didn't want to spill it on Tsunade and disfigure her.
So he quickly put down the ninja scroll in his hand, stood up, and caught Tsunade in mid-air. He said in an exasperated tone, "What kind of trouble are you causing now, you little girl? Watch where you're going!"
But Tsunade was too excited to care about any of that. She held up a brand-new Konoha forehead protector in her hand and said, "Hibari-nii, I just passed the shinobi exam at the academy and officially became a shinobi of our Konohagakure~"
As she spoke, Tsunade excitedly planted two loud kisses on Hibari's face, covering him in saliva.
Hibari laughed and said, "You're all grown up now, and you're not even ashamed. You're not afraid of others laughing at you."
"Why would I be? I already said I'm going to marry Hibari-nii someday," Tsunade said, still not caring.
"You also said you were going to marry Hashirama-jiisan..." Hibari teased her with the same words.
But Tsunade didn't care about that either. She quickly slid off Hibari's embrace to the floor and held up her forehead protector, saying, "From today, I'm also a glorious shinobi of the Senju clan. Hiruzen-sensei said he'll assign me missions tomorrow!"
Hibari smiled and reached out to ruffle Tsunade's hair, saying, "That's incredible. Our Tsunade-hime is also becoming an independent ninja!"
——————————
Want to read ahead of schedule? Head over to my Patreon ——— patreon(.)com/PrimalDemon [remove the parentheses ( )]
There are 50+ advance chapters available for you to read!