At the Senju clan's main residence, Hibari stood by a small river that flowed through the compound. He repeatedly dipped his hands into the water and pulled them out again.
This was his third day doing this.
Molding water-release chakra wasn't entirely easy, nor was it incredibly difficult; it varied from person to person. Some people were born with certain chakra natures and didn't need to specifically train for them.
For example, as a member of the Senju clan, Hibari naturally possessed Yang-release chakra. He could use Monster Strength after learning it, and he also knew some medical ninjutsu.
However, Yin and Yang-style chakra weren't among the standard five natures, so they were rarely mentioned. Theoretically, Hibari was also a shinobi with five natures.
Now, he was moving towards six natures.
Before, he hadn't considered trying other methods to learn Yin-style chakra, but he ultimately found it difficult to master.
Later, he asked Hashirama, Tobirama, and other Senju clan members and found that, apart from top-tier experts like Tobirama, few in the Senju clan could master Yin-style chakra.
Tobirama also frankly admitted that it took him a great deal of effort and several years to mold Yin-style chakra back then.
It seemed as though members of the Senju clan inherently found Yin-style chakra difficult to master, so Hibari had stopped that idea at the time. He couldn't waste too much time on it. It was better to learn other things to increase his strength. As for Yin-style chakra, he could always figure out a solution later.
Reaching out to ripple the water's surface, Hibari smiled and softly said, "Water Release: Shape Transformation, huh..."
Feeling that his internal chakra had undergone some changes, and noticing a slightly humid sensation in his breath, Hibari was delighted. His hands quickly began forming seals.
"Water Release: Water Formation Wall!" Hibari formed a few seals, then let out a soft cry.
The next second, his internal chakra surged. He had tried forcibly using Water Release ninjutsu before, so he knew many Water Release hand seals. However, back then, as soon as he completed the seals and began to move his chakra, he would feel all his meridians block up. The chakra simply wouldn't move, and any attempt would cause excruciating pain.
But this time, he could completely feel his internal chakra becoming active. As his hand seals fell, a delicate stream of water began to swirl from his feet, enveloping his body and steadily rising.
Seeing this, Hibari's eyes lit up, and he grinned, softly saying with a smile, "Three days. I truly am a genius!"
It sounded impressive, but such things varied from person to person. Many geniuses could master a chakra nature within a few days. And Hibari, in fact, had always possessed talent in water-release since birth; it was just forcibly suppressed by the power of the Devil Fruit within him.
Now that the Devil Fruit's negative effects were sealed away, his talent in water-release began to emerge.
Hibari had, after all, only just begun to master water-release chakra. The amount he could convert wasn't much. A defensive Water Release ninjutsu like Water Formation Wall, which could protect the entire body, couldn't even reach his waist before he ran out of chakra.
However, very quickly, Hibari began to connect with the small river in front of him. Water Release ninjutsu had a unique characteristic: it was heavily dependent on the environment. If the environment contained a large amount of water, then ordinary shinobi could borrow this surrounding water when using Water Release, thereby using very little chakra to perform powerful ninjutsu.
Of course, for shinobi like Tobirama who used 'Sea Release,' that was a different story. You could throw him into a desert, and he could still conjure an 'ocean' out of thin air.
The next second, Hibari felt his body lighten, and the internal pressure suddenly decreased. The Water Formation Wall, which had been stuck at his waist and couldn't rise higher, violently absorbed the water from the small river. In an instant, it shot up, completely enveloping Hibari in protection.
Just as Hibari was manipulating these water currents, experiencing the achievement he had finally reached after so many years, Tobirama's figure appeared from afar. Seeing Hibari using Water Release ninjutsu, his heart relaxed, and he couldn't help but smile.
Although he had sealed the mysterious things within Hibari a few days ago, allowing Hibari to swim, Tobirama wasn't sure if Hibari could master the water-release chakra nature transformation.
This kid Hibari had been practicing here for three days, and he would take time to peek in every day. Today, when he came to look, he saw Hibari using Water Formation Wall. How could he not be happy?
Didn't this mean that Hibari had broken through his own shackles and successfully mastered the water-release chakra nature transformation?
In this way, wouldn't his own formidable Water Release jutsu have a successor?
Hibari also noticed Tobirama getting closer. The chakra in his body relaxed, and then the Water Formation Wall enveloping him rapidly receded, merging back into the river.
"Ojiisan, hahahaha, impressive, right?" Hibari turned to Tobirama, laughing as he spoke.
Tobirama also smiled and said, "Not bad. You truly didn't disappoint me. How's the situation now?"
"I've just barely managed to grasp some water-release chakra transformation. I haven't even had time to fully control it, and I can't even effectively release a single Water Formation Wall jutsu without connecting to the surrounding environment. But this is enough! As long as I've got the basics down, give me a few days to prepare, and I'll be able to use it as freely as any other ninjutsu!" Hibari said with great confidence.
Tobirama nodded, then said, "Then I'll give you a few days, and then you'll come learn some powerful Water Release ninjutsu with me..."
Hibari nodded in agreement. He had long coveted Tobirama's powerful Water Release ninjutsu. Before, he didn't have the ability to learn it, but now he couldn't miss this opportunity.
"Oh, right, Ojiisan..." Hibari seemed to remember something, raising an eyebrow mischievously.
Tobirama was a bit puzzled, looking at Hibari and asking, "What is it?"
Hibari grinned, chuckling, and said, "Well, it's about time you let me inherit your Summoning Jutsu, too, isn't it?"
"What Summoning Jutsu? You're interested in my Summoning Jutsu?" Tobirama was momentarily surprised, then said.
"Isn't that obvious? The outside world says you, Ojiisan, signed a summoning contract with the ocean! Before, I couldn't use Water Release, so I didn't think much of it. But now I'm an all-rounder shinobi! Aren't you going to let me sign a contract with the ocean too?" Hibari said excitedly.
Tobirama couldn't help but laugh upon hearing Hibari's words. Then he said, "You little rascal, what are you thinking about all day? What 'summoning contract with the ocean'? It's one thing for people outside to talk nonsense, but you actually believed it? The ocean isn't a living being; how could you sign a contract with it?"
"But isn't Hashirama-jiisan's Rashomon also inanimate? Couldn't he still sign it? Don't make excuses, just tell me if this is true or not!" Hibari quickly pressed again.
"Nonsense! My Water Release isn't like what people outside say, that I signed a contract with some ocean to use such kinjutsu-like Water Release. I trained all of this myself! Think about it, I'm a shinobi with seven natures, so why don't I use other jutsu often? It's because I've dedicated most of my time to Water Release... That's why I specialize in Water Release!" Tobirama said irritably.
Hibari listened to Tobirama's words and said, somewhat bored, "What? I thought you had some hidden tricks up your sleeve, but it's just this. Then I guess learning this Summoning Jutsu was pointless; I still don't have a summoned animal..."
"That family heirloom summoning scroll... is a rare treasure," Tobirama said softly, looking at Hibari.
"Then why don't you sign it, Ojiisan?" Hibari said, glancing at Tobirama helplessly.
Tobirama also looked a bit awkward, then cleared his throat and said, "Cough, cough. With my strength, I don't need a summoned animal, and Katsuyu isn't really suitable for me either."
"She's not really suitable for me either..." Hibari quickly added.
"Anyway, the Summoning Jutsu isn't limited to just one summoned animal. You can sign with Katsuyu first, and if you meet someone you like later, you can sign with them too..." Tobirama said with a smile.
Hibari thought to himself, if it were ordinary summoned animals, there really wouldn't be many restrictions. However, Katsuyu was one of the Big Three Summoning Animals. Who knew if these three families had any special quirks?
He hadn't seen anyone capable of simultaneously using two summoned animals of that caliber, so it was better not to bother for now. What if he had a chance to go to Mount Myōboku or Ryūchi Cave later?
"Forget it, let's not talk about this for now. I'll deal with it later. I'd better focus on mastering Water Release first," Hibari said after thinking it over.
"Yes, exactly. That's the correct approach. Water Release is the strongest ninjutsu among the five natures, it..." Tobirama raised an eyebrow and began to say.
"Cough, cough, never mind, don't say that. When Madara-jiisan was still around, he used to say Fire Release was the strongest ninjutsu..." Hibari quickly interrupted Tobirama, saying.
"Hmph, what do you know, kid? Don't listen to Madara's nonsense. Fire Release? That's the ninjutsu most countered by Water Release! You used to like hanging around with that guy. It's a good thing he disappeared later; otherwise, I'd really worry about you being led astray by him. I'm warning you, that guy's ideology is too extreme, and he's not someone to be trifled with. Even if you have a chance to meet him in the future, keep your distance!" Tobirama said, getting a bit angry as soon as Hibari mentioned Madara.
Hibari chuckled, "Got it, Ojiisan. I'm just curious about him, after all, he's known as a legendary shinobi alongside Hashirama-jiisan..."
At this moment, neither Hibari nor Tobirama knew that as they were discussing Madara, the subject of their conversation had already appeared near Konohagakure.
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