As Hibari's words fell, the ground before the three of them sank slightly, forming a moderately sized 'pit.' Thanks to Hibari's precise control, the pit didn't look particularly noticeable, as if it had always been there.
After lowering the ground a bit, Hibari took down the large scroll from his back, unrolled it, and undid a seal. Immediately, a small scroll appeared from within the large one.
Then, standing at the edge of the pit, Hibari opened the small scroll, aimed it at the pit, and said with a smile, "We're all family, so I won't hide anything. Anyway, Sasuke-jiisan and Hiruzen-nii already know that I can't extract Water Release chakra for the life of me, so Water Release jutsu is out of the question. That's why I prepared some small items, so I won't be without water when I need it..."
Hiruzen and his father, Sasuke, had an extremely close relationship with the Senju clan. Furthermore, Hibari's condition had existed since childhood, and Tobirama had even invited Sasuke to help see if there was any solution.
Although they ultimately couldn't find a good way to resolve Hibari's problem, it did make both Sasuke and Hiruzen aware of the matter.
That's why Hibari wasn't hiding anything now.
"Has Tobirama still not found a way to resolve your condition?" Sasuke asked with a hint of emotion.
"He's got some ideas, but hasn't had a chance to work on it yet. Once things here are settled, we'll have to start figuring it out back home," Hibari said with a smile, as if he didn't care about the problem at all.
Sasuke nodded, hearing Hibari's words, then said, "Actually, there is a method... I thought of it recently, but for now, it doesn't fit the situation, and it might be a bit cruel to you."
Upon hearing this, Hibari became very curious, even stopping his hand movements. He asked, somewhat puzzled, "Sasuke-jiisan, what method is it? Even if I can't use it now, it'd be good for reference."
Sasuke was silent for a moment, then said in a deep voice, "Coincidentally, this Five Kage Summit gave me an idea. You can't grasp Water Release chakra, nor can you use it. So, what if... we forcibly make up for this deficiency for you? Would that solve the problem?"
"Five Kage Summit... forcibly make up?" Hibari first murmured, then his eyes lit up. He said, "From what you're saying... do you mean... a Tailed Beast?"
"That's right. Among the Tailed Beasts, the one most proficient in Water Release is undoubtedly the Three-Tails, Isobu. I thought if it were sealed within you, making you a Three-Tails Jinchuriki, then through their combination, you should be able to master Water Release chakra..." Sasuke said in a deep voice.
However, before Hibari could respond, he smiled again and said, "But this method is too cruel. A Jinchuriki... can easily cause problems and would surely be kept under strict surveillance. While it might solve your Water Release issue, it would also bring more, and more troublesome, problems. Moreover, at this Five Kage Summit, the Three-Tails, Isobu, was handed over to Kirigakure of the Land of Water. So, I was just speaking casually... just giving you an idea to broaden your thinking."
"The Three-Tails, Isobu... huh? That does make some sense. If I ever get the chance, I'll definitely look into it," Hibari mused, chuckling.
However, the matter of the Tailed Beasts was already decided. The Three-Tails, Isobu, had been given to Kirigakure of the Land of Water. Even if Hibari didn't mind the drawbacks of being a Jinchuriki, he couldn't possibly go and snatch the Three-Tails, Isobu.
After all, this was no small matter; it would be tantamount to destroying the peace his Hashirama-ojii had painstakingly achieved. Hibari knew he wasn't that selfish.
But if a war were to break out in the future, and if he had the ability, Hibari wouldn't mind trying to fish in troubled waters.
"Thank you for your guidance, Sasuke-jiisan. Hibari will remember it. But let's not dwell on that; what's at hand is more important... Release!" As Hibari spoke, he released the seal on the small scroll in his hand.
The next second, a stream of water erupted from the scroll in Hibari's hand. The stored volume seemed to be quite large, quickly filling the pit Hibari had just created.
As Hibari reapplied the seal, the water flow from the scroll stopped. After putting the scroll away, Hibari looked at the 'small lake' before him with satisfaction. Everything seemed naturally formed; there were no visible signs of artificial alteration. Not bad.
"Hibari, what are you doing making a pond here? You're not hoping to drown anyone who falls into the trap, are you? Don't project your own weaknesses onto others; just because you can't swim doesn't mean others can't..." Hiruzen asked, looking at Hibari with some confusion.
Hearing Hiruzen's words, Hibari said rather ill-temperedly, "Drown them my foot! I wouldn't carelessly fall into water either! You just happen to have five affinities, don't you? Once I cure this problem, and learn all of Ojiisan's Water Release jutsu, I'll show you!"
As soon as Hibari finished speaking, both Hiruzen and Sasuke chuckled. Of course, Hibari was just talking; given his relationship with Hiruzen, he wouldn't actually get angry over such a small matter.
"That's why you need to read more. Mastering the power of science is also very important... Today, I'll open your eyes." As Hibari spoke, he took out an almost invisible transparent thread from his ninja tool pouch and casually wrapped it around two trees in front of the water, creating a trigger-based trap.
Though this trigger was simple, it was very practical. In fact, complex trigger traps were often easier to detect.
After setting up the thin thread, Hibari then buried an iron wire in the ground, leading directly from the ground to the pond he had just created.
Once all of this was done, Hibari took out a special paper tag used for sealing jutsu formulas and placed it on the ground.
Then, Hiruzen and Sasuke watched as Hibari began to form hand seals...
"This jutsu formula... Lightning Release ninjutsu?" Hiruzen murmured, somewhat puzzled.
"Not just Lightning Release ninjutsu, but quite advanced... A-rank ninjutsu, Lightning Release..." Sasuke's eyesight was a little better than his son's. Before he could finish speaking, Hibari interjected.
"Lightning Release: Thunderstorm!" Hibari roared softly.
At the same time, a massive amount of Lightning Release chakra instantly appeared in his hand, and it seemed to want to spread outwards and go out of control. Fortunately, Hibari had very strong control over this jutsu, preventing the lightning from escaping his palm.
As time passed, Hibari accumulated more and more lightning power in his hand, which made both Hiruzen and Sasuke feel a little unnerved.
If this thing suddenly exploded, and they couldn't dodge in time, they would be in serious trouble. As for Hibari, he might end up severely injured.
"Seal!" Just when Sasuke felt he should remind Hibari to stop, Hibari roared, forcibly sealing the lightning power in his hand onto the prepared jutsu formula paper.
Soon, a charm-like paper with the kanji for 'thunder' (雷) written on it, resembling an explosive tag, was clutched in Hibari's hand. Then he smiled and said, "The most troublesome part is done..."
As soon as he finished speaking, he attached this charm to the trigger trap. Once the trap was triggered, this charm would be released, and a large amount of lightning would then be conducted through the buried iron wire into the pond.
"Hibari, you're not actually hoping for people to fall into this water and get electrocuted, are you?" Hiruzen asked again, looking very confused.
"Hahahaha, that possibility certainly exists, but this is just the first layer of this trap. Even if no one falls into the water, what comes next will be enough to give them a hard time..." Hibari said with a confident smile.
Then, under Hiruzen's scrutinizing gaze, Hibari took out an explosive tag from his ninja tool pouch. After walking a bit further away, he added this explosive tag to the trap.
Once all of this was done, Hibari finally stood up and said with a chuckle, "All done. Time to call it a day."
At this point, Hiruzen, still somewhat bewildered, asked, "I've been watching for ages, and I still don't understand what you're concocting here. Can you explain it to me?"
Hibari, a bit smug, said, "Since you taught me so much on the way here, I'll explain it to you this time..."
Hibari then prattled on, explaining everything to both Hiruzen and Sasuke. Although they were still a bit confused, they roughly understood the meaning.
The principle behind it was simple: the first layer of the trap was to see if any unlucky soul actually fell into the lake and got electrocuted. If not, the electricity would decompose the water Hibari had placed, generating hydrogen and oxygen. After a slight delay, the explosive tag would then detonate, igniting the entire 'pond,' creating a much more violent explosion. Judging by its current power, anyone close enough would surely be blown to bits.
"Though I don't understand what you mean by 'this gas' and 'that gas,' it's true that, based on past experience, water permeated by Lightning Release can indeed explode under the right circumstances... I see, so Tobirama carelessly fell into this trap, didn't he? You're quite insidious, you brat..." Sasuke said with a chuckle.
"Sigh, if only I could master Water Release, I actually have a theoretical collaboration ninjutsu in mind that could even reach S-rank power..." Hibari said with some regret.
"S-rank? You mean if you could master Water Release, you could develop a new S-rank collaboration ninjutsu? You're not joking, are you? I'm quite proficient in collaboration ninjutsu, but even I haven't dared to say I could develop an S-rank collaboration ninjutsu..." Hiruzen said in utter surprise.
Hibari glanced at him, then said, "When I can use Water Release someday, I'll properly show you..."
While saying this aloud, Hibari thought to himself, 'Then I'll just hand-craft a small hydrogen bomb for your amusement.'
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