Since Hibari's change was already evident, Hashirama had no intention of truly tormenting Hibari with the Water Prison Jutsu. He swiftly released the ninjutsu.
The next second, Hibari tumbled onto the ground, coughing up water.
"Cough, cough, cough... Ojiisan, you're really my own grandfather. How could you trick your grandson like this? You should've at least given me a heads-up, right?"
Hibari lay on the ground, speaking weakly.
"Never mind that for now, your reaction just now was completely different from before! It seems that strange problem you had was truly the reason you couldn't have much contact with water!" Hashirama said excitedly.
While Tobirama had a whole set of 'Water Release ninjutsu' to pass on to Hibari, Hashirama's eagerness wasn't solely because Hibari was his beloved grandson. He also possessed the Wood Release Kekkei Genkai and wanted to see if Hibari could master it.
Before this, Hashirama had indeed sought out others to try and develop the Wood Release Kekkei Genkai like him. However, without exception, they all failed. Even his own brother, Tobirama, who had developed many strange ninjutsu and intricate formations, couldn't succeed.
Like Tobirama, Hashirama also believed this was due to his own unique physique, different even from other members of the Senju clan. In all his life, he had never seen anyone with more chakra than him, nor anyone with stronger life force. Ordinary people needed to form hand signs to use healing ninjutsu, but he didn't. Minor injuries would naturally recover quickly!
Being able to pass down his proud Wood Release was a small dream of Hashirama. However, for a long time, he couldn't find anyone capable of inheriting this legacy.
Until Hibari was born.
This child, from birth, was incredibly strange, possessing chakra far exceeding that of ordinary Senju clan members, and his life force was also extraordinarily vibrant.
This made Hashirama feel as if he was seeing his past self. At that moment, he suddenly realized that the one who could inherit his Wood Release Kekkei Genkai was his little grandson before him.
However, things didn't go as planned. As Hibari grew, his immense hidden dangers and flaws were exposed. This young fellow couldn't even swim, and to make matters worse, he couldn't even mold water-release chakra, nor could he use Water Release ninjutsu!
This blow deeply saddened Hashirama. His Wood Release Kekkei Genkai was a brand new Kekkei Genkai that could only be developed after the fusion of water-release chakra and earth-release chakra.
Moreover, this also relied on his powerful life force; otherwise, ordinary fusions would only create common Kekkei Genkai like 'Mud Release.'
At the time, Hashirama felt that Hibari had everything: abundant chakra and a strong, vibrant life force. But he lacked the simplest factor, water-release chakra—how frustrating was that?!
Now, after all these years, man has triumphed over nature. They finally found a way to suppress that strange thing within Hibari.
While it only allowed Hibari to come into normal contact with water and no longer be a 'landlubber,' it was still uncertain whether he could later mold water-release chakra or inherit his Wood Release Kekkei Genkai. Still, wasn't this a solid first step?
In this way, Hashirama felt as if he had seen a ray of light in the darkness. He firmly believed that this kid, Hibari, would definitely be able to inherit his legacy!
Having been turned into a drowned rat by his own Hashirama-ojii's Water Prison Jutsu, Hibari was incredibly helpless. He scrambled up from the floor, shook his hair, and said, "Indeed, this time is different. Before, I couldn't even struggle; as soon as I touched a large amount of water, I'd go completely limp and couldn't react at all. But this time, my strength didn't disappear!"
Tobirama was also very excited at this moment. He said, "We can't verify anything in this room. Come out, I'll make you a pool, and you can try it there!"
After speaking, without waiting for Hibari to reply, Tobirama quickly walked out of the room, seemingly unwilling to wait even a second longer. As soon as he stepped out, he formed a hand sign at the doorway and softly muttered, "Earth Release: Earth Flow Divide!"
The next second, the empty courtyard in front of the door violently surged, sinking into a deep pit. Then, without any extra movements, Tobirama crossed his hands in front of his chest, not even bothering to speak. As his limited chakra surged slightly, a stream of water appeared out of nowhere above the deep pit, rapidly filling it and forming a temporary pond.
After doing all this, Tobirama turned around anxiously and said, "Hibari, hurry up and go try it!"
Hibari walked to the side of the pool and looked at the situation inside. Because Tobirama was too impatient, he released a large amount of water without waiting for the deep pit to settle. Now, the pool felt dirty; though not exactly mud, it wasn't far off.
"Ojiisan, how about we wait for the water to settle first? I think it's too dirty..." Hibari turned his head and said.
But before he could finish speaking, he turned back to see Tobirama had already lifted his foot and was kicking towards him.
Before he could even react, Hibari felt a gentle kick to his hip from Tobirama, and he instantly lost his balance.
"You two are truly brothers!" Hibari yelled in great annoyance in the last moment before hitting the water.
With a splash, Hibari fell headfirst into the pool. However, unlike the usual state of sinking immediately upon contact with water, Hibari, though a landlubber by nature, actually knew how to swim. Although he hadn't used this skill in this life and was a bit rusty, he still thrashed around like a 'stray dog' using a dog paddle, staying afloat on the surface.
"Hahahaha, Tobirama-jiisan! Hashirama-jiisan! I can swim! Hahahaha!!!" Hibari had by now forgotten the unpleasantness of his entry into the water and was excitedly splashing and swimming around in the dirty pool.
Watching this long-awaited scene, Tobirama also laughed. However, he then mischievously added, "In this dirty pool, and with your undignified swimming style, you truly look like a drowned dog..."
"Hahahaha, don't mind whether I'm dog-paddling or if I look like a dog! The point is I can swim! That means the 'Vortex Seal' worked! Swimming has already been achieved, so how far off can water-release chakra be? How far off can the Wood Release Kekkei Genkai be? How far off is inheriting your and Hashirama-jiisan's legacy?!!" Hibari said with a laugh from the water.
After splashing around in the water for a while, Hibari was 'washed' clean again by Tobirama with a Water Release jutsu once he got ashore. He then stood bare-chested in front of the three, smiling.
Tobirama looked at Hibari, nodded in satisfaction, then looked at Harano and said, "Harano, I truly thank you for this. It's thanks to you that this kid Hibari could alleviate this problem. Both he and I will remember this kindness."
"Tobirama, you're overstating it. The entire jutsu was completed by you; I merely helped out. It's no great favor, no need to say such things," Harano said with a chuckle, waving his hand.
Before Tobirama could speak, Hibari quickly said, "Harano-san, from now on, your business is my business. If there's anything you need my help with, just ask. I, Senju Hibari, will never refuse!"
Seeing Hibari's earnest display, Harano also chuckled. He felt that his assistance this time wasn't in vain. In his eyes, this kid Hibari was so highly regarded and possessed considerable talent. Now, he had even found a way to suppress his ailment. As long as he didn't die young, he was bound to become the pillar of the Senju clan in the future. He would become a formidable shinobi.
Regardless of whether it was a favor or not, the fact that Hibari would remember his kindness and establish a good relationship with him was already a guaranteed win.
Thus, he also said with a smile, "Alright, Hibari, just remember to visit my house often, have a meal or something, and I'll be very satisfied."
Hearing Harano's words, Hibari also smiled and said, "Isn't that obvious? You don't even need to ask, Harano-san; I'll visit often, as long as you don't find it annoying."
After some lighthearted banter, Harano knew it wasn't appropriate for him to stay any longer, and he was also interrupting their good mood. So, he bid them farewell with a smile.
Hibari politely saw Harano out of the Senju clan's main residence, then turned back to Tobirama and the others.
The large muddy puddle in front of the door had already disappeared, likely filled in by Tobirama and the others.
Upon entering, he saw Tobirama and Hashirama sitting there with beaming smiles. Hibari also smiled. It truly felt great when good things happened. The problem that had plagued him for so many years finally had a solution. How could he not be happy?
"Hibari, although your ailment has been temporarily suppressed, we can't relax too much. After all, it hasn't been completely eradicated. If the sealing jutsu on your body is ever released, you could be in danger..." Tobirama said softly to Hibari.
"Don't worry, Tobirama-jiisan, I understand. I'm already very satisfied that you've helped me this much. In the future, I'll actively look for a way to completely eradicate this problem!" Hibari said with a smile.
"Mm, but before that, to avoid certain situations, you should first learn this 'Vortex Seal.' In the future, if I'm not around and you need it, you must be able to use this jutsu yourself," Tobirama nodded and said.
After speaking, without waiting for Hibari to reply, he flicked out a scroll and continued, "You also participated in the development of this jutsu. You have a good grasp of the theoretical specifics yourself, and it's all clearly written in this scroll. I won't say much more to you; go and learn it yourself."
"Okay, I'll learn it as quickly as possible!" Hibari took the scroll and nodded.
"That's right, learn it quickly, then try to mold water-release chakra as soon as possible. If you can, hurry over to me, and we'll try to see if we can help you develop the Wood Release!" Hashirama said somewhat impatiently.
"You should learn my Water Release ninjutsu first!" Tobirama slammed the table, refusing to back down.
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