"Finally, the Chidori is mine," Shimizu sighed with emotion. He had waited a long time for this technique.
Now, wielding a devastating Lightning Release ninjutsu, his offensive capabilities had grown tremendously.
It was just a pity about the Rasengan—he might never have the chance to learn it in this lifetime.
During the Second Great Ninja War, Shimizu had once taken the opportunity to explain the attack concept of the Rasengan to someone his age—Minato Namikaze, the man who would later become the famed "Yellow Flash" and Fourth Hokage.
But Minato hadn't been interested at all.
It wasn't until a later, chance moment—after being inspired by the Tailed Beast Bomb—that inspiration struck him like a flood. He immediately began independently developing the Rasengan and, unbelievably, completed it smoothly in a short period of time.
Damn it!
As a transmigrator, Shimizu hadn't been able to provide any concrete or feasible development plans from start to finish—only the basic principles and its outward form.
Of course he couldn't. First, who watches anime and remembers exactly how a technique was developed? Second, after so many years, his memories of those details had long faded.
In the end, it was his own fault—he lacked both the time and the ability to independently create new ninjutsu.
So after Minato successfully developed the technique, he gave Shimizu a sum of money as compensation, treating it as repayment for the original idea.
But when Shimizu held that money, his heart felt cold.
Because it also meant he would never learn the Rasengan.
In the world of Naruto, learning ninjutsu—especially powerful, signature techniques—was nearly impossible unless you were from the same teacher lineage or a direct relative.
It was easy to understand. If everyone in Konoha knew the Rasengan, then by the next day every ninja in the world would know it too—just like the Three Basic Techniques that had become commonplace.
For any ruling class, monopolizing resources to maintain stability was only natural. And a no-seal A-rank offensive technique like the Rasengan was revolutionary.
The reason Kakashi had been willing to share Chidori's hand seals and principles with him was twofold. First, Kakashi was still young, and Shimizu was a senior who had once saved his life. Second, Shimizu genuinely worked hard to gain the ability to develop his own ninjutsu. He truly studied and thought deeply about it.
He wasn't like before—waiting for Minato to finish developing Rasengan so he could pick up scraps. That naïve stupidity was enough for one lifetime.
Because reality proved he couldn't "pick it up."
If he wanted to learn such a technique, he had to use his own brain and hands—truly participate in its creation.
The development of Chidori had lasted a full two years. Many of the key ideas and principles during the early and middle stages had come from him. In other words, half the credit for this technique belonged to Shimizu.
Leaving the small forest where Kakashi trained, Shimizu walked straight to the Hokage Rock. There, the stone faces of the First, Second, and Third Hokage gazed proudly over the land.
He looked down at the entire village.
Twenty years. People aren't made of grass or wood—how could they feel no attachment?
He already felt he belonged here. He had teachers, friends, comrades-in-arms.
Many times he had asked himself: Could he really stand by and watch this village suffer catastrophe?
The Nine-Tails? War? Or even the Akatsuki?
He knew some historical events, but many specific details were blurred, and the timelines vague. Even if he knew the Nine-Tails would rampage after Minato became Hokage, what could he do? Could he stop the man who claimed to be Madara? Could he directly tell others that "Madara" would target the Fourth Hokage's wife?
Interrogation by the Anbu—or worse, by Root—would strip him of a layer of skin. Perhaps even cost him his life.
He couldn't change the course of history.
Because he didn't have the strength.
He was still too weak—just a jonin of one village, unable to influence the tide of a war.
As he was now, he couldn't defeat those with Kage-level power, nor could he stand against the Akatsuki.
Shimizu Uzuki… you must become stronger!
Suddenly, a ninja wearing white and black attire with a purple-striped clown mask appeared behind him.
Body Flicker Technique.
"Senior Uzuki, the Hokage has urgent business with you."
"Understood."
Without turning around, Shimizu simply waved to show he had heard.
He was very familiar with the person behind him—an Anbu ninja from the First Division, directly under the Hokage's command. These shinobi came and went without a trace; their mastery of the Body Flicker was exceptional.
"Then I shall take my leave."
The Anbu ninja vanished silently.
Shimizu cast one last glance at the peaceful village.
When was the last time the Third Hokage had summoned him for something described as "urgent"?
If it were merely a standard S-rank mission, that old man wouldn't have used the word "urgent."
It seemed something really had happened.
Had the gears of war begun to turn?
...
With a few swift leaps, Shimizu arrived at the Hokage's office. Inside were his three Anbu subordinates—apparently the Hokage had summoned them as well. It looked like a team mission. They exchanged nods in greeting.
"Shimizu, you're here."
"Yes, Lord Hokage."
The Third Hokage, wearing the Hokage's hat, smiled and nodded.
Shimizu looked at the four people across from him. Besides the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, there were three of Konoha's four senior advisors: Homura Mitokado, Koharu Utatane, and Torifu Akimichi.
"Senior Mitokado, Senior Utatane, Senior Akimichi." Shimizu lowered his head respectfully in greeting.
"Mm." ×3 The three nodded in acknowledgment.
Long ago, the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, had trained six powerful ninja. Of the four standing before him, another had been a member of the Uchiha clan—Uchiha Kagami—who had died before Shimizu was born. The last was the true controller of Root, Danzo Shimura.
These individuals were not only the current power holders of Konoha, but also formidable ninja who had rendered great service to the village.
Especially the Third Hokage—now in the prime of his life. A Kage-level powerhouse proficient in all five chakra natures, honored with the title "Professor of Ninjutsu."
Mastering even one chakra nature required ten or twenty years of dedication… yet this Hokage had mastered five.
Without exceptional talent and intellect, such a feat would be impossible.
Even now, Shimizu could only say he had some modest proficiency in Water, Fire, and Lightning Release. Yet the Third Hokage had achieved mastery in all five—truly one in ten thousand in both talent and fortune.
"Shimizu Uzuki, we have a mission for you," said Koharu Utatane, wearing pearl earrings, her tone serious. Shimizu had once seen a photo of her in her youth—time spared no one; back then, she had been quite beautiful.
"The mission is to investigate several locations along the border between the Land of Rain and the Land of Rivers. According to reports from ninja on assignment, since the beginning of this year, unidentified ninja have been sighted there multiple times. The most recent sighting involved two full squads. No battle occurred, but the other side withdrew extremely quickly. If not for the Byakugan, we might not have even known they were there," Homura Mitokado said, adjusting his black-framed glasses.
That meant the other side also had capable sensory ninja—but not on the level of the Byakugan.
"So combat is a real possibility. We need an experienced and capable Anbu squad to carry out this mission," Torifu Akimichi added.
The Third Hokage looked directly at Shimizu. "I'd like to hear your opinion."
After thinking for a moment, Shimizu said, "I'd like to see a map of the previous sighting locations and estimated numbers."
"It's here." The Hokage pointed to a map on his desk.
Shimizu picked it up and studied it carefully. There had been five sightings in total, all clustered along the border between the Land of Rain and the Land of Rivers, and very close to one another. The earlier sightings involved only one or two ninja and thus had not raised concern. But the last sighting—two standard squads detected by the Byakugan—had made Konoha's leadership uneasy. The location was less than an hour's travel from the border of the Land of Fire.
Shimizu speculated: perhaps earlier sightings had not detected all the ninja present? Maybe those incidents also involved multiple squads, but the sensory ninja weren't skilled enough to detect them. Only during the last encounter, thanks to the Byakugan, had they seen the full force. And perhaps even the Byakugan hadn't detected everyone.
A prelude to war?
The sudden thought startled him. That was not something to say lightly.
"The terrain there is mountainous, with rivers and waterfalls. It's sparsely populated, with no mineral resources, and not a trade route. It's hard to understand why unidentified ninja would appear there so frequently. If they were just passing through, repeated sightings wouldn't make sense. From a probability standpoint, five coincidental encounters are unlikely. If our ninja happened to spot them five times, how many times did they go unseen?"
He finally concluded firmly: "It's likely that a ninja faction has become active along the two nations' border since this year. As for their specific purpose, only on-site investigation will tell."
The Third Hokage nodded, satisfied with Shimizu's reasoning.
"I've already asked Danzo. He claims Root has had no operations involving the Hidden Rain Village. As for the Hidden Rain itself, it is currently unstable. The Land of Rivers doesn't even have a ninja village…"
"Shimizu Uzuki!" the Third Hokage called out loudly.
"Sir!"
"You are hereby ordered to lead Anbu Fifth Division, Fourth Squad, to investigate the identities and activities of the unidentified ninja along the Land of Rain and Land of Rivers border. Mission rank: S. Duration: one week."
The Third Hokage handed him the mission authorization document.
"Yes, sir!"
Shimizu accepted the order and left the Hokage's office, followed by his three subordinates.
As they exited the Hokage building, Shimizu couldn't help but wonder—he considered himself fast, so how had his subordinates arrived at the office before him? And already dressed in mission gear?
"You were already at the Hokage's office?" he asked.
"Yes," explained the black-clad ninja wearing a purple dog mask. "We arrived about an hour ago. The Hokage saw you discussing ninjutsu with Kakashi Hatake and didn't want Anbu to interrupt… Later, you moved too quickly. Even Anbu from the First Division couldn't find you…"
"I see."
Shimizu understood immediately. He remembered that at the beginning of the story, the Third Hokage had a habit of peeping through his crystal ball. It seemed that bad habit hadn't formed overnight—this old man was clearly a seasoned repeat offender.
That old geezer…
"So you're all prepared?"
"Yes!" ×3 they answered in unison.
"How many supplies did you bring? One week's worth?" Shimizu asked.
"The round trip will take about four days. Three days should be enough for us to thoroughly search the area. That was Lord Hokage's estimate as well. So one week of supplies should suffice," explained the ninja wearing the green clown mask.
Shimizu unfolded the map and shook his head. "Bring two weeks of supplies. We'll enter the mission area light." He pointed to three separate locations across the Land of Fire, the Land of Rain, and the Land of Rivers. "Set up three supply caches here, here, and here. Distribute the remaining provisions among these three points."
The female ninja wearing the yellow-and-white fox mask asked in confusion, "Captain, do you mean we're likely to encounter fierce combat? So we prepare an escape route in advance?"
Shimizu rolled up the map and replied in a low voice, "There's a high probability we'll run into ninja from another faction. Leave ourselves a backup plan—just in case."
He couldn't remember the exact cause or timing of the Third Great Ninja War.
But every war had a prelude.
What if this was a military operation by another nation? What if this incident became the fuse that ignited the Third Great Ninja War?
The region was vast and sparsely populated. Five encounters in just a few months might not seem like much, but statistically, it implied a considerable number of ninja were operating there. What if they ran into a full ninja battalion?
One battalion equaled nine squads. A standard squad consisted of four members—meaning a battalion would have thirty-six ninja, including at least three or four jonin.
Losing their lives here due to arrogance or carelessness would be utterly senseless. Better to be cautious.
This wasn't paranoia. It was the instinct and experience of an Anbu jonin who had completed 243 B-rank missions, 176 A-rank missions, and 29 S-rank missions.
"Prepare two weeks' worth of supplies. Bring double the usual amount of soldier pills and explosive tags. Repack and regroup. We depart from the main gate in one hour," Shimizu ordered.
"Yes!" ×3
From behind the glass window of the Hokage's office, Hiruzen Sarutobi watched as Shimizu issued new instructions. The four dispersed in different directions—likely to adjust their supply preparations.
Very cautious.
"This matter could be serious—or it could simply be a routine military movement by some hidden village. After all, we've suffered no casualties, and their movements haven't crossed into the Land of Fire," Koharu Utatane said doubtfully. "Hiruzen, isn't classifying this as an S-rank mission a bit too sensitive?"
"It's unlikely they'll return empty-handed. I originally intended to send Minato Namikaze, but he hasn't returned from his current assignment. Shimizu Uzuki's Anbu squad is suitable—there's a reconnaissance ninja, a medical ninja, and Shimizu himself. That's sufficient for most situations. At the moment, there's no one more appropriate in the village. And I don't know where Jiraiya has disappeared to…"
The Third Hokage felt a headache coming on. Whenever Jiraiya was needed, he was nowhere to be found.
Then again—who would dare restrain one of the Legendary Sannin like Jiraiya? Anbu? Root? Would they dare? Could they even keep up with him?
Just who are you people…? The Third Hokage wondered, a heavy stone of unease settling in his heart.