Chapter 8

The valley that he had been living in for over two decades now was around 3000 meters in height and the mountain where he could feel the signatures was around 10000 meters so there was a bit of hiking needed. He concentrated chakra on the soles of his feet and started walking up the mountainside. The wind was blowing extremely fast so without proper control of your body you would be sent flying immediately. After walking for a few kilometers at a steady pace while looking at the stunning view around him he picked up the speed and started running.

~On top of the mountain, Shikkotsu Forest~

"Hashirama-sama do you feel someone approaching?" A giant slug asked the man sitting in a lotus position.

"I do. There's a beast coming, he has much more chakra than I do and the density of it is unbelievable. It doesn't feel sinister though."

"Still… Be careful Hashirama-sama."

"Hahaha, you don't need to worry about me," He gave a confident laugh.

Shibai soon arrived at the top and looked around. Before him stood the God of Shinobi - Hashirama Senju and the slug summon of Tsunade and Sakura. With his Observation Haki he could sense Hashirama's interest in him, slight apprehension and ultimately confidence in his own abilities.

"Yes this is it!" Shibai shouted out loud. "Finally some real living creatures, I'm so stoked!"

"Huh?" Both Hashirama and Katsuyu blinked rapidly.

"Ahh nothing… It's just that I haven't seen any real people in a while."

"Uhhm okay. Who might you be and what are you doing here?"

"I'm Shibai and I just came here since my training is now pretty much complete so I got some free time," He told them. "You must be Hashirama Senju right?"

"Yes you are correct but how do you know that?"

"Of course you are famous all over the world for your Wood Release kekkei genkai capable of suppressing even the tailed beasts, quite impressive I must say," Shibai said. "Of course I'm no slouch either."

"Hoo," Hashirama gave a smirk. "You seem quite confident. Want to spar?"

"Wa- wait a second Hashirama-sama he just arrived. Do you know where we are Shibai-kun?"

"This must be the legendary Shikkotsu forest. The nature energy up here was so potent I had to come check it out."

"What!? You can sense natural energy Shibai-kun?" Katsuyu asked looking shocked.

"Sure can, I just didn't draw it in since I didn't want to risk turning into an animal. Can you teach me?"

"Anoo… Shibai-kun I could teach you but I don't really know you yet. I hope you understand," said the slug looking sheepish.

"Heh don't worry I have some time off now. What are the requirements to learn here?"

"Uhh well… we have to make sure that you won't… well~ misuse the power natural energy gives you," came an awkward reply.

"No need to act so reserved, I'm not here to cause any problems," Shibai said, giving them a friendly smile. "Anything else?"

"You would need to become our summoner too."

"Become a summoner? That's so cool, I've always dreamed of having my own summons, thank you Lady Katsuyu!" he squealed with stars in his eyes.

'Eheh this guy is quite eccentric. First he appears out of nowhere shouting about meeting living creatures and now he has stars in his eyes. I wonder who he is,' both Hashirama and Katsuyu were in their thoughts.

"Shibai, I'm curious about where you came from. The only one with chakra levels as high as yours is probably the Kyuubi so how come I don't know you. Even though chakra levels don't equal power I feel like you are at least somewhat strong."

"I've remained separated from the rest of the world for a while, there aren't too many people who would still remember me," he lied since literally no one could know of him. "Well you want that spar now Hashirama? I'm up for it if you are. I think that sparring is a fine way to introduce ourselves."

"I agree. Lady Katsuyu do you mind?"

"Go ahead Hashirama-sama, Shibai-kun."

The two men stood across from each other with a 10 meter difference between them. A confident smile was seen on Shibai's face as his shihakushō flapped in the wind making for an extremely cool sight. Hashirama looked excited for a good battle.

"When this kunai lands on the ground, we start."

"Fine by me, Hashirama."

A kunai was thrown high into the sky, it accelerated until eventually it ran out of steam and began falling. Time seemed to have stopped until finally the kunai finally struck the ground and the two men sprang into action. Apparently they had reached a mental agreement to test each other's taijutsu skills first. Hashirama approached at a moderate pace and went for a half-assed swing first not wanting to hurt Shibai if he wasn't that strong. This seemed to have been a mistake since Shibai dodged the punch effortlessly and quickly countered with a chakra infused fist to Hashirama's open side. A man was sent flying, managing a few flips in the air and landing on the ground again.

"You'll have to go all out if you want to even hope of making me try," a smug face said.

'Such a strong hit, what has this guy been eating? Looks like I'll have to try harder or he will smack me around,' Hashirama thought. "You know that punch would have killed any normal person. If I didn't have my super regeneration I would have to spend weeks recovering from that, are you sure you aren't trying to murder me?"

"Hmph don't complain, I already went easy on you." It was true. He didn't even go with the fully powered chakra fist much less use his haki.

"I apologize, you won't catch me like that again."

Hashirama closed his eyes and stayed still for a few seconds. After opening his eyes the color of his iris changed along with black markings appearing close to his eyes and on his forehead.

"Already entering sage mode? Well it's a good choice."

The God of Shinobi charged again with all the speed he could muster. The number of people in this world who could react to him going all out could easily be counted on one hand. Unfortunately for Hashirama, Shibai was one of them. Just as a fist was about to hit him he moved to the side and let it pass along with throwing a counter right back. Shibai's fist was just blocked by Hashirama making the character 'x' with his hands. A nasty crunch was heard as the fist connected and shattered the bone with his feet skidding a dozen meters backwards leaving a dirt trail on the ground. Shibai didn't dawdle and rushed after the man knowing the bone had already recovered. They entered a fierce taijutsu match where Shibai was constantly pushing Hashirama to the edge, not allowing him to throw a good punch at any moment.

'What is happening? He is anticipating all my moves perfectly leaving me with no other choice than to try and dodge or block. I can't contest him in taijutsu at all, do I have to use my mokuton already?'

Hashirama jumped backwards signaling that the taijutsu match was over.

"I have to admit that your taijutsu is better than anyone I've ever met, however what about ninjutsu?"

"I'm not one to back out from a challenge, especially when I know who the winner will be," said the cocky man across from Hashirama.

Watching the spar from the side, Katsuyu looked gobsmacked. 'Incredible, I have always thought that Hashirama-sama is the strongest shinobi to ever exist and someone managed to easily suppress his strength with taijutsu alone, granted that mokuton wasn't used.