The execution of the Third Hokage's new orders was incredibly efficient; the entirety of Konoha mobilized with startling speed.
Such is the prestige and power of a leader in times of crisis.
The following day, Shimizu and Minato arrived together at the ANBU headquarters to receive their new subordinates.
For the first time in both his past and present lives, Shimizu held such significant authority. Inevitably, he felt a little excited.
This was the Seventh Unit of the Second ANBU Corps—fully staffed with nine squads, thirty-six ninja in total, all under his command.
Under normal structure, he would also serve as captain of the First Squad within the unit. However, the Third Hokage had arranged it differently: like Minato, he would operate independently while retaining full command authority over his entire unit.
How much faith did the Hokage have in their strength?
Minato, he could understand—Jiraiya's disciple and future Hokage successor.
But as for himself? By seniority, he was merely a newly promoted jōnin.
What exactly was Hiruzen Sarutobi planning?
Additionally, the Second ANBU Corps commander had assigned them a structure where veterans with three to five years of service would mentor this year's new recruits.
Overall, it was a very young force. Most were around twenty years old, with the oldest only in their early thirties.
Soon after, Shimizu received his first mission following his promotion:
He would be responsible for security during the second stage of the Chūnin Exams—the Forest of Death—and the preliminary matches of the third stage. Minato, meanwhile, would oversee security for the final tournament arena.
It was clearly a trial by fire arranged by the Hokage.
The mission itself wasn't difficult. Only Konoha's own genin were participating, so fundamentally there was no real danger involved.
But through the arrangement and deployment of forces, their command abilities could be evaluated.
Still, Shimizu couldn't figure it out.
Why was the Third Hokage suddenly placing such "importance" on him?
He had killed Root members—Konoha ninja—and yet he was promoted and given a pay raise…
Then again, greater authority meant greater protection.
The death of an ordinary ninja had minimal impact.
The death of an ANBU squad captain was limited.
But if a full ANBU unit commander were to die…
Danzo would have to carefully weigh the consequences.
And if war broke out, he'd have a whole group of subordinates charging alongside him.
Why not?
Most importantly—
The ANBU captain position he had just acquired originally belonged to Danzo's faction.
He couldn't confront Danzo head-on just yet. But being able to disgust him a little? That was satisfying enough.
After thinking it through, Shimizu's mood shifted from gloomy to cloudy.
Then that very day, he received a package that made him positively elated.
It was from the Land of Artisans.
Cloudy turned to sunny.
He had waited years for this. His long-cherished dream was finally about to come true…
He opened it.
Two Lightning Release kunai. Two Lightning Release shuriken.
Those were indeed what he had ordered.
But where was the most important item—the longsword?
Sunny turned to thunderstorms.
They only shipped a few packages per day, and they still managed to miss one?
One-star review.
Then, at the very bottom of the parcel, he found a contract.
It bore his fingerprint seal.
It was a letter from Princess Senruri of the Land of Iron.
The contents were the same compensation clauses he had read and rejected before.
But his fingerprint was on it.
"…"
Shimizu clearly remembered only picking it up to read carefully. The fingerprint must have been left then—and somehow restored and extracted by Senruri through unknown means.
They had sparred. Blades had no eyes. Was he really supposed to pay compensation?
He hadn't even mentioned that the two collapsed buildings were probably shoddy construction!
He had assumed the other side had given up.
Instead, they had dug a massive pit for him.
If he refused, all of his funds in the Land of Artisans would be frozen.
…
Reluctantly, he reread the core terms.
They demanded a substantial monetary compensation. If he couldn't pay, S-rank missions could be used as repayment…
It didn't sound that impossible.
But at a time like this, how could he spare the time to travel to the Land of Iron to "argue," or to the Land of Artisans to retrieve his money?
Most crucially—
He didn't care about the money.
He wanted his Wind Release longsword.
At the end of the letter, it clearly stated that once he signed and agreed, the weapon would be delivered to him within about three months.
They even understood the tactic of carrot and stick.
But he, Shimizu Uzuki, was a transmigrator!
How could he possibly bow to the "intimidation" of some random native character who never even appeared in the original storyline?
So—
He decisively chose the carrot.
He immediately wrote back, agreeing to the terms, and signed his name.
Ahem.
But did they really think that a signature and a fingerprint would force him to fulfill these terms later? Signatures? He'd give them as many as they wanted!
The Chunin Exams were starting tomorrow. He had to manage the security of the Forest of Death. Who had time to waste on their nonsense
…
…
…
This suddenly convened Chūnin Exam, backed by Konoha's vigorous mobilization efforts, attracted a considerable number of genin applicants.
As Shimizu flipped through the long list of names, many familiar ones caught his eye:
Sarutobi Asuma: The second son of the Third Hokage, the "Second Young Lord" of Konoha.
Yūhi Kurenai: daughter of Yūhi Shinku, skilled in genjutsu.
Nohara Rin: the medical-nin of Minato's team. The two purple markings on her cheeks left a deep impression on Shimizu.
Might Guy: son of Might Duy, thick-browed and specializing almost entirely in taijutsu.
Uchiha Obito: the dead last of Minato's team, a rookie of the Uchiha clan who had yet to awaken his Sharingan.
Uchiha Shisui: hailed as the new generation genius of the Uchiha clan.
And countless other promising youths from Konoha's great clans, along with the next generation from civilian families, had all joined this unprecedented Chūnin Exam…
Finally, at the very bottom of the list, Shimizu saw a name that surprised him:
Uchiha Megumi.
Megumi… Sawei's younger sister.
There was no way the Uchiha clan didn't understand what this Chūnin Exam signified.
Even so, they still allowed this nine-year-old girl—who had only just graduated from the Academy this year—to participate.
Did the Uchiha not need flowers raised in greenhouses?
Or had she stubbornly chosen this path herself?
"Congratulations, Uzuki-kun. You've officially become an ANBU captain."
Shimizu could never forget that familiar, slithering voice.
Orochimaru!
Shimizu was currently alone in a remote corner of the Forest of Death. Why would Orochimaru come looking for him here?
And he had even evaded Shimizu's 140-meter sensory range…
Within his field of vision, Orochimaru slowly rose from the rotting, muddy ground.
So it was Earth Release.
Shimizu immediately understood. His sensory ability had a blind spot against high-level Earth Release users.
He would need to be more cautious in future battles against Iwa ninja…
"Orochimaru-senpai," Shimizu replied calmly, neither humble nor overbearing.
"I didn't expect that in just a few months, Uzuki-kun's strength would have transformed so dramatically… 'Shunshin Shimizu.' If Jiraiya hadn't said it himself, I would have had difficulty believing it."
"Thank you for the praise, senpai. If I remember correctly, the Hokage assigned you to expand the sensory ninja corps. What brings you here instead?"
"I remember what Uzuki-kun promised last time. I've come to ask you to honor your word…"
Last time, Orochimaru had exchanged the Second Hokage's ninjutsu notes for samples of Shimizu's blood for his experiments. Shimizu had also agreed to provide his blood long-term to support Orochimaru's research.
But Orochimaru and Root were aligned. After finally shaking off Danzo, how could Shimizu dare entangle himself with them again?
Absolutely not.
Moreover, there was now an additional chakra storage organ within his body—Samehada.
If Orochimaru discovered that, Shimizu would never know peace again.
If Orochimaru developed an interest in such rare and peculiar biological anomalies…
Anything would be possible.
Just imagining facing a group of his own clones in the future—or worse, floating in formalin in a laboratory—
His skin crawled.
Fortunately, his strength had risen to a new level. Power was the greatest source of security. And in such a sensitive period—when even Danzo had just taken a hit—how could Orochimaru act recklessly?
Refuse. Definitely refuse.
Just like in his previous life, when he rejected the "affection" of a 181cm+ toe-picking macho guy online.
…