Early in the morning, the Senju compound was in an uproar, with two figures, one large and one small, chasing and roughhousing.
"Tsunade! You stop right there! If I don't spank your bottom until it's red today, you'll never know why the flowers are so crimson!!!"
The Senju clan members spotted Hibari in the distance, chasing little Tsunade while yelling.
Upon closer inspection, Hibari's eyes were bruised and swollen, as if someone had punched him.
Some clan members, recalling the usual antics between Tsunade and Hibari, instantly understood what had happened. It was probably our young master Hibari who got punched in the eye by Tsunade-hime.
Though the injury looked a bit embarrassing, as Senju clan members, they all knew Hibari had been exceptionally lively since childhood, so a punch wasn't a serious injury. No one intervened; some aunts and grandaunts, eager for entertainment, even cheered Hibari on.
"Hibari, run faster! You're a grown man, can't you even catch Tsuna-chan?"
"He's probably going easy on her, isn't he?"
"Is he? Oh, our Hibari is such a thoughtful oniisan..."
"Hahaha..."
With all the elders chiming in, Hibari's face flushed with a bit of shame and annoyance. Indeed, the bruise around his eye was caused by little Tsunade.
Earlier that morning, Hibari was still luxuriating in bed when he felt a small presence sneak into his room. Drowsily, he didn't pay much attention, guessing it was either Tobirama's cat or little Tsunade.
But then, when Hibari finally woke up, got dressed, and headed out to buy some pastries that Mito loved, planning to present them as a filial gesture and perhaps "trick" some powerful ninjutsu out of her, he patted his pocket and realized his wallet was gone!!!
Fortunately, he bore the name of the Senju clan's young master, and the clan's reputation as a prestigious family in the village was solid. He managed to buy the pastries on credit from the pastry shop.
However, the experience itself was quite humiliating. Every time he recalled the pastry shop owner's half-smile and teasing gaze, Hibari felt his face burn.
He finally composed himself, thinking he'd eat breakfast first, then deliver the pastries to Mito. But wouldn't you know it, after breakfast, he pushed open his room door to find little Tsunade had already eaten most of the pastries, leaving crumbs all over the table.
A glance at the empty wallet casually discarded nearby confirmed it: the "culprit" who had secretly swiped his wallet that morning had returned and walked straight into the trap!
Recalling how this little girl had unhesitatingly betrayed him in front of Tobirama, all the "new grudges and old resentments" surged forth. Hibari was furious. He scooped up Tsunade, intending to give her a good lecture and make her understand that there was a fundamental difference between a little princess and a "brat"!
Unfortunately, before Hibari could even say two sentences, little Tsunade was also angered by his slightly exasperated tone. She raised her hand and punched Hibari right in the eye. Then, she made a face, childishly yelling things like "I'm never playing with you again, Hibari-nii!" and "thump-thump-thumped" away.
This little Tsunade had always been heavy-handed since childhood. No wonder she'd later punch Jiraiya to the brink of death.
That punch, infused with a bit of Monster Strength, landed squarely on an unsuspecting Hibari's eye, making him feel disoriented. He watched helplessly as the little girl scampered off on her short legs before he finally reacted.
And so, the current scene unfolded: Hibari chasing Tsunade all over the Senju compound...
"Hibari-nii! As a man of the Senju clan, you should have enough magnanimity and tolerance! You shouldn't get angry about everything! This is Ojiisan's teaching, don't forget it~~~" Tsunade, running ahead, looked back at Hibari nervously, "admonishing" him.
"You little brat! Is that even human behavior? You dare to hit your own oniisan? If I don't teach you a lesson today, tomorrow you'll set this Senju compound on fire!!!" Hibari said, even more enraged by Tsunade's words.
However, he also worried about chasing too fast and making Tsunade fall, so he subconsciously slowed his pace again, thinking he'd wait until Tsunade got tired and stopped, then go up and properly educate her.
Around a corner, little Tsunade vanished from Hibari's sight. When Hibari followed, he found the little girl had already climbed into someone's arms and was constantly making faces at him.
"Hibari, what's going on? Chasing Tsuna all over the place so early in the morning?"
A gentle, soft, yet dignified voice reached Hibari's ears, making him finally catch his breath and look at the figure holding little Tsunade.
It was a woman with wine-red hair, carrying herself with great grace. Her face was exceedingly beautiful, but from her eyebrows, one could discern a heroic spirit rare in ordinary women, adding a different kind of charm.
Between her brows was a rhomboid mark. Hibari knew that this was another famous sealing jutsu: the Yin Seal. It was because of this jutsu that she maintained her youthful appearance.
This woman was Hibari and Tsunade's grandmother, the mistress of the Senju clan, and the wife of the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju: Mito Uzumaki, or she could also be called Mito Senju.
After hearing Mito's question, Hibari first glared fiercely at little Tsunade, who was making faces at him, then said with some annoyance, "Mito-baasan, don't even get me started on how infuriating this is! If Tsunade isn't disciplined soon, she'll truly become lawless!"
Following that, Hibari "exaggeratedly" recounted all of little Tsunade's misdeeds to Mito, making Mito chuckle to herself occasionally.
"Even the pastries I prepared to bring to you as a filial gesture were secretly eaten by her, almost all of them! And she only took a few bites from each, then threw them all over the table! Don't you think this little girl needs to be disciplined?" Hibari finished his rambling complaint about Tsunade, then walked over to Mito's side and took a few not-so-heavy packages from her hands.
Seeing Hibari so sensible, Mito smiled and said, "Tsuna acting like this is indeed unseemly. I used to think she was just young and wanted her to be lively, but I didn't expect your Hashirama-ojii to spoil her rotten. She's becoming more and more mischievous. Hibari, I will discipline her properly. You, as her oniisan, shouldn't always be angry with her, understand?"
Hibari nodded, seeing that his grandmother had already spoken. "I understand, Mito-baasan. If I really wanted to give her a beating, would I let her run so far? I was just trying to scare Tsunade a little..."
Mito naturally understood this reasoning. She chuckled and nodded, then looked at little Tsunade, whose face was now a bit sheepish. She gently tapped little Tsunade's head and said, "Tsunade, you need to know that you're not just a child of the Senju clan now; you're also the 'Hime' of the entire Land of Fire. As a princess, you must have appropriate grace. It's fine to be playful sometimes, but always know your limits, understand?"
Little Tsunade bit her lip and nodded somewhat aggrievedly. "I understand, Mito-baasama..."
Then she looked at Hibari, her sparkling big eyes full of cuteness, and said in a sweet, childish voice, "Hibari-nii, please forgive me too..."
Since Mito-obaa had said she would properly discipline little Tsunade in the future, Hibari saw no need to remain angry. Moreover, seeing Tsunade's adorable expression, he couldn't stay mad anyway.
"Hmph, Tsunade, this time you're protected by Mito-baasan. Next time, if you dare to be so 'bratty' again, I'll have to show my authority as an older brother... Well, I'll forgive you this time." Hibari mumbled.
Seeing that the matter had finally been settled, Mito smiled and looked at Hibari. "Just coincidentally, I woke up this morning and was going to look for you. Hibari, I heard you've started training with your Tobirama-ojii, is that right?"
One could say Hibari's skills were cultivated by "eating from a hundred families" within the Senju clan. One day he'd learn a technique from an aunt, the next he'd mingle with an uncle and pick up some ninjutsu.
Of course, Hashirama and Tobirama would also often guide Hibari, but those two had always been very busy, and Hibari was quite young, so they weren't too strict.
Therefore, even now, Hibari hadn't truly trained under anyone specific. Mito's question wasn't wrong.
Hearing this, Hibari nodded and said, "That's right. The Five Kage Summit just concluded, didn't it? Ojiisan said they signed a peace treaty, so there shouldn't be any war crises for a while. With stability all around, Ojiisan has more free time, and my problem has been dragging on for too long, so Ojiisan decided to train me."
Mito smiled and nodded at Hibari's words. "That's good. I only know a few sealing jutsu, after all, and can't teach you much. Your Tobirama-ojii has so many good things. And you, my child, are so smart. If you can inherit your Ojiisan's legacy, our Senju clan will have a worthy successor..."
Because of Hibari's "cannot touch water" problem, Mito didn't mention Hashirama's Wood Release, so as not to put unnecessary pressure on Hibari.
Hibari smiled upon hearing this. "Mito-baasan, you're too humble. That Adamantine Chains really let me show off to Hashirama-jiisan and Ojiisan! Just because I'm training with Ojiisan, you can't stop teaching me new things. I've been coveting that Yin Seal for a long time. I'm just waiting for you to be in a good mood someday so I can find an excuse to 'trick' it out of you..."
Hibari spoke of "tricking," but Mito didn't get angry at all; in fact, she seemed quite pleased. She gently stroked Hibari's head and said with a smile, "Yin Seal, huh... When the time is right, and Obaasan is in a good mood, you can try to 'trick' me then... you little rascal."