Tobirama hadn't finished marveling when Hibari already pulled out a small, intricate scroll from his waist.
Hibari swiftly tossed the scroll into the air. It burst into a puff of smoke, and then a gigantic Fūma Shuriken materialized out of thin air before him.
The next instant, Hibari's left hand snatched the Fūma Shuriken from the air. Without hesitation, he flung it.
A clever flick sent the Fūma Shuriken curving through the air, meticulously bypassing the Earth-Style Wall and striking towards Tobirama, whose feet were ensnared by the Swamp of the Underworld.
Trapped in the Swamp of the Underworld, Tobirama watched the Fūma Shuriken, imbued with fierce momentum, rapidly approach him. A flicker of satisfaction crossed his eyes. However, while Hibari's combination of sharp ninjutsu and ninja tools was commendable, it was merely that, commendable, and not enough to truly impress him.
Tobirama remained motionless in the slowly sinking Swamp of the Underworld. He merely deftly drew a kunai from his waist and gripped it. Just as the Fūma Shuriken was about to strike him, he precisely parried it with his kunai.
"If this is all you've got, Hibari, you're way too early to learn those 'strange and wondrous' ninjutsu I possess..." Tobirama quietly spoke, looking at the Fūma Shuriken, which was only a hair's breadth from his brow.
However, the next second, something slightly surprising occurred: the Fūma Shuriken, which he had blocked with his kunai, suddenly transformed into Hibari with a 'bang!' Then, Hibari's triumphant grin appeared before him.
"Ojiisan, you underestimated me, didn't you?" Hibari said, a smug smile on his face.
At the same time, Hibari raised his fist, delivering an unreserved punch towardsTobirama's head. His fist was imbued with powerful chakra.
The Senju clan, born with an abundance of chakra, also possessed a taijutsu technique passed down through generations to fully utilize this chakra: the taijutsu known as Chakra Enhanced Strength, or more commonly, "Monster Strength."
This taijutsu wasn't just mastered by the future Fifth Hokage, Tsunade; the First Hokage, Hashirama, and the Second Hokage, Tobirama, were also highly skilled with this technique.
As the third-generation fledgling of the Senju clan, Hibari had naturally mastered this technique early on. Now, that powerful Monster Strength punch was a lethal blow aimed at Tobirama!
Indeed, Tobirama's eyes showed some surprise. He already knew Hibari could use a taijutsu like Monster Strength, so that wasn't what surprised him. What surprised him was that he hadn't detected the Fūma Shuriken turning into Hibari at all.
As a top-tier shinobi, he clearly understood that the Fūma Shuriken just now wasn't a simple trick where Hibari used a Transformation Jutsu to turn himself into the shuriken and throw it. At least when he blocked it, the shuriken was genuine!
This meant that, in that instant, Hibari and the Fūma Shuriken had swapped places, which likely involved the highly advanced ninjutsu concept of "space-time." How could this not surprise Tobirama?
But this surprise lasted only a brief moment before Tobirama figured out what had happened. To say the situation involved "space-time ninjutsu" wasn't entirely wrong, as Tobirama had thought of a simple "space-time ninjutsu" that almost any ninja would know a bit about.
That was the Substitution Jutsu.
Generally, when a shinobi uses Substitution Jutsu, they randomly select a target within range to swap places with. This already involves a slight touch of "space-time ninjutsu," though it's superficial and not deeply explored. Most shinobis who learn this jutsu merely "know how" but don't "understand" it.
More advanced Substitution Jutsu allows the user to swap with a pre-prepared item, similar to a "Summoning Jutsu" in how it functions as a space-time ninjutsu, instantly swapping the prepared substitute item with themselves. Usually, these items have Explosive Tags or similar attachments to achieve advantageous swaps or turn the tide of an attack.
Even more advanced Substitution Jutsu exists, but it wasn't relevant here, and Tobirama didn't ponder it further. That Fūma Shuriken just now was clearly a "substitute" that Hibari had prepared in advance. He instantly used Substitution Jutsu, achieving a "body-item swap."
To think that Tobirama, who had traversed the shinobi world for so many years, had never seen someone use such a clever trick before. In that instant, it genuinely caused him to momentarily lose focus and overthink things.
It was precisely this momentary lapse in concentration that Hibari exploited. His fist, imbued with Monster Strength, struck Tobirama's head without mercy.
"Got him!!!" A flicker of excitement flashed in Hibari's eyes, and he couldn't help but think it.
But reality is always cruel. Just as Hibari's punch connected with Tobirama, Tobirama's head exploded directly. However, no blood gushed forth; instead, pure water burst open...
"Damn it, a Water Clone!!!" Hibari cursed exasperatedly, immediately preparing to escape the area.
But before he could even use the Body Flicker Technique, he heard Tobirama's voice coming from right beside his ear...
"Brat, you've got plenty of petty tricks, but in the end, shinobis rely on raw power!"
The moment the words fell, Hibari felt a gust of wind approaching his face. He only had time to raise his arm to block. Before he could make a proper defensive move, Tobirama delivered a sweeping kick, sending him flying.
Fortunately, he had anticipated this sparring match with his grandfather before leaving home, which was why he wore the black layered armor, essentially his battle attire.
This layered armor, the signature attire of the Senju clan, was very cleverly designed. Layer upon layer, it could dissipate a significant amount of force.
Relying on the armor on his arm, even though Hibari was kicked and sent flying, he didn't suffer any severe injuries. After all, Tobirama was only testing him, not trying to kill him, so he would naturally hold back to some extent, wouldn't he?
After landing, Hibari first moved his arm to relieve the soreness, then, before he could even speak, he noticed his grandfather forming hand signs again...
"Water Release? No... it's... Damn it! Genjutsu!" Hibari instinctively observed Tobirama's hand signs, trying to predict the ninjutsu in advance to decide whether to dodge or block.
But this instinct played right into Tobirama's hands. As a seasoned warrior who had constantly fought on battlefields and emerged from the brutal Warring States Period, Tobirama deeply understood the "instincts" of "fledglings." While instinct can sometimes save a shinobi's life, other times, it can bring death...
There are many types of genjutsu, but at their core, they forcibly impose a "suggestion" on the target. How this suggestion is imposed varies. The Uchiha clan's Sharingan typically uses its dōjutsu power, while most other genjutsu rely on physical movements to guide it. Currently, Tobirama was doing just that.
He cleverly placed this "suggestion" in his hand movements. Hibari instinctively observed the sequence of his hand signs, naturally falling into the trap.
"Ninja Art: Bringer-of-Darkness Technique!" Tobirama quietly whispered.
Instantly, Hibari lost his vision. It was as if he had fallen into an endless darkness; he couldn't feel anything, and his surroundings were pitch black, utterly devoid of light.
At the same time, Hashirama, who was watching the spectacle from afar, smiled and quietly remarked, "Tobirama is using my jutsu to deal with others? I feel a little proud thinking about it..."
Indeed, the Bringer-of-Darkness Technique wasn't originally Tobirama's ninjutsu; he had learned it from his elder brother, Hashirama. He didn't use it often, but this time, on a whim, it just so happened to put Hibari in a difficult spot.
Having lost his vision and seeing nothing, Hibari was frustrated. Breaking out of genjutsu sounds easy, but it's quite troublesome in practice. Most importantly, it depends on who cast the genjutsu. Tobirama's genjutsu wasn't something you could just break out of!
Moreover, this wasn't an illusionary genjutsu but a sensory deprivation type.
Though he couldn't see, his other senses were still active. Feeling a gust of wind rush towards his face, Hibari gritted his teeth, stomped his foot, and channeled all his chakra into his arm, unleashing a powerful punch downward onto the ground.
"Rock Collapse Fist!"
Accompanying Hibari's roar, from Hashirama's perspective, the ground around Hibari cracked as if struck by a meteor. Tobirama, who had intended to seize the opportunity to attack Hibari, was forced to retreat by this brute force strike.
"He reacts very quickly, doesn't he..." Hashirama quietly murmured, watching Hibari.
The reason for saying that breaking genjutsu sounds simple but is troublesome, especially when cast by Tobirama, is that if you fall victim to his genjutsu, he could instantly chain together attacks or even kill you with a single blow. What's the point of trying to break free then?
That's why Hibari didn't frantically try to dispel the Bringer-of-Darkness Technique the moment he was caught. Instead, he chose to force Tobirama back first.
After realizing his powerful strike had been effective, Hibari began to dispel the genjutsu. To dispel genjutsu, the simple method is to disrupt one's own chakra, which is effective. As a member of the Senju clan, who pride themselves on precise chakra control, Hibari, having mastered Monster Strength, was naturally familiar with this.
"Release!" Clasping his hands together in front of his chest, he let out a low roar. After his chakra rippled throughout his body, Hibari's vision returned to normal.
However, the moment he opened his eyes, he saw a roaring Water Dragon Jutsu descending from the sky!
Hibari wouldn't be bothered by an ordinary person's Water Dragon Jutsu; he could just block it with an Earth Release jutsu. But Tobirama's Water Dragon Jutsu was incredibly powerful. This one didn't look like something that could be easily blocked, especially with the dragon already descending—there wasn't even time to block it!
"What kind of Ojiisan uses such a powerful Water Dragon Jutsu on his grandson!!!" Hibari cursed, feeling incredibly aggrieved.
"And what kind of grandson uses Monster Strength to punch his Ojiisan in the head!!!" Tobirama retorted, not holding back at all.