Shimizu stared out through the hospital window at the rooftop of a residential building twenty meters away. Even under the cold light of the moon, he saw no one standing there.
An invisibility technique? he guessed inwardly.
Who could it be?
At the moment, he had virtually no ability to resist. His chakra reserves were completely empty. Because of his severe injuries, he had stopped synthesizing chakra—after all, converting physical energy into chakra would slow his recovery.
Now, a powerful ninja was lurking nearby using some kind of concealment technique. His nerves were stretched taut. Years of bloody experience in the Anbu had taught him that "accidents" were everywhere.
Even though this was Konoha, just days ago during that S-rank mission he had killed nearly twenty Sand ninja. He had even crippled the Sand Anbu captain, Dust, by severing one of his arms. It wouldn't be impossible for Sunagakure to dispatch elite Anbu to infiltrate Konoha and assassinate him.
But this chakra…
It was overwhelmingly powerful.
Even stronger than Tsunade's, who had just left.
Back when his sensory ability had been weak, even if the Third Hokage stood before him, he could only vaguely sense that "the Hokage's chakra is stronger than mine, but not by much."
Now he realized the truth—it wasn't that the Hokage's chakra had been only slightly stronger. It was that his perception had been too weak.
This time, he truly understood what "powerful" meant.
It was the kind of overwhelming gap that left one in despair.
"Stronger than one of the Sannin? Could Sunagakure possibly have someone like that? Did the Kazekage come personally?"
He could hardly believe it.
"Uzuki-kun, no need to be so tense."
Before Shimizu could decide whether to begin synthesizing chakra despite the risks, a somewhat unfamiliar voice drifted into his ears.
The speaker was already at the window.
When?!
That speed of Body Flicker…
For a moment, he wondered—Minato Namikaze?
But the voice…
He looked up.
His eyes met a pair of golden, vertical pupils.
Orochimaru.
It was Orochimaru.
What was he doing here?
From his previous life, Orochimaru's image as a major villain was deeply ingrained. Strange scientific experiments were one thing—but the horrifying human experiments were very real. If Orochimaru took an interest in him and decided to dissect him…
He remembered clearly: even before leaving Konoha, Orochimaru had used Konoha Anbu as experimental material.
That deeply rooted impression made Shimizu instinctively wary of this powerful ninja.
In fact, the only time he had ever interacted with Orochimaru was during the final battle of the Second Great Ninja War. After that, they had never exchanged another word.
"Such sharp perception, Uzuki-kun. Do you possess some special sensory ability?"
Orochimaru asked casually.
From the opposite rooftop, he had already noticed Shimizu attempting to locate him. Clearly, the moment he arrived, Shimizu had detected him through some method.
Though concealment wasn't Orochimaru's specialty, it wasn't something a ninja of Shimizu's level should have been able to see through—especially since Shimizu wasn't known as a sensory-type ninja.
"Orochimaru-sama, what brings you here so late?"
Shimizu avoided answering the question.
His sensory ability had suddenly increased dramatically—something like that was too strange to explain. If he said too much and piqued Orochimaru's curiosity…
That would be courting death.
"Hehe…"
Orochimaru didn't mind the deflection.
He was about to step through the window when his movement paused.
He had sensed a barrier.
A detection barrier.
If he forced his way in or attempted to erase it, the caster would immediately be alerted.
Most likely, it had been arranged by Tsunade.
So the old man really does value this junior, Orochimaru thought to himself.
No wonder Danzō had been left with no options and had come seeking his help. If he handled that matter by force, he might still complete the transaction with Danzō—but that would not be the outcome he wanted. To openly stand against the Third Hokage for such a small gain simply wasn't worth it.
Orochimaru had already made his decision.
He smiled faintly. Under the cold moonlight, the smile appeared somewhat chilling.
"The last time I stood face to face with Uzuki-kun like this… was during the Second Great Ninja War. The final battle against Hanzo of the Salamander…"
Shimizu was surprised.
It made sense that he remembered that encounter—but why would one of the legendary Sannin remember a mere chunin from back then? A coincidence?
"When facing Hanzo, the courage and decisiveness you displayed were the most dazzling presence on that battlefield," Orochimaru continued, as if answering his unspoken question. "Not just I—Jiraiya and Tsunade surely remember it clearly as well."
Orochimaru spoke lightly.
"If your talent hadn't been so… limited, you would likely have been recruited eagerly by the major clans long ago."
Shimizu remained silent.
Back then, he had indeed shown boldness in front of Hanzo—but the real reason was simple: he knew how it would end. Hanzo would not slaughter the Konoha forces or the Sannin. Instead, he would extend goodwill and grant them the title "Sannin."
Otherwise, even with a hundred times the courage, he would never have dared provoke the so-called "Demigod."
"In the blink of an eye, six years have passed. Uzuki-kun has broken through the jonin bottleneck and grown to this level. Many clan heads must have misjudged you… No, I suspect everyone misjudged you."
When Shimizu was two years old and already capable of refining chakra, Konoha had truly believed a super-genius was being born. As an orphan, he had even been given special allowances.
But as he grew, tests and cellular analyses revealed that his innate talent was, in fact, quite limited—painfully ordinary.
To put it bluntly, even if he fully developed his physical energy by age twenty, he should never have broken through the jonin barrier.
After he secured a bargain mentor in Maruboshi Kosuke—an elite jonin-level shinobi—based on his childhood brilliance, the village stopped allocating extra resources to him. The clans would not invest in him either. Naturally, Minato Namikaze would not teach the Rasengan to an obscure ninja of no renown.
Class.
An unavoidable product of human society.
In his previous life, it had been about money.
In this life, it was about strength.
But strength did not come from hard work alone. Without a renowned teacher, without opportunity, without talent—chunin, or at best special jonin, would be the ceiling.
And in war, even jonin could become bones in the dirt at any moment.
"Orochimaru-sama came here in the middle of the night… just to remind me that I might attract attention now? Perhaps even recruitment offers?" Shimizu asked calmly.
"Uzuki-kun seems very wary of me."
Orochimaru was unbothered.
"Powerful shinobi are naturally courted. As for which side you choose, I neither care nor mind. I am simply speaking from my personal standpoint."
His golden, slit pupils locked onto Shimizu.
There was something almost hypnotic in his gaze. His voice was low and magnetic.
"The Anbu squad you led exists in name only now. When you return, I imagine you will be greeted by three unfamiliar faces."
"What did you say?!"
For a split second, Shimizu thought he had misheard.
"Your subordinate Starfire lost both legs. He can no longer be a shinobi. As for Gray Hawk and Storm Fox… they are dead."
Orochimaru's voice was utterly emotionless.
"That's impossible! They left at least half an hour before me! How could they not escape? How could Suna possibly catch up to them?"
Shimizu's pupils slowly lost focus.
He could not accept what he was hearing.
"It is simply the truth. One of the 'Sannin' has no need to fabricate such lies."
There was overwhelming confidence—bordering on arrogance—in his tone.
It seemed…
Events had indeed taken the worst possible turn.
How could this happen? Why?!
Shimizu closed his eyes in pain.
He forced himself to breathe deeply, suppressing the emotions that were about to erupt. Within moments, he regained composure.
Head lowered, face obscured, his voice turned icy and detached.
"Orochimaru-sama didn't come merely to tell me this, did you?"
"In the black market, a bounty has been placed on your head—thirty million ryō."
Orochimaru's lips curled faintly.
"I suspect there won't be a shortage of S-rank shinobi willing to take that contract. Everyone knows it was issued by Sunagakure. But who could resist thirty million ryō?"
"Even if it means becoming an enemy of Konoha."
"Uzuki-kun, your strength is indeed impressive. But when facing truly powerful opponents, you are still far too weak. Because you lack genuinely formidable techniques—and those are things Maruboshi Kosuke neither knows nor can teach you. No one else will teach you either."
Orochimaru's golden pupils seemed to gleam with temptation.
"I possess the Second Hokage's ninjutsu notes. Within them are records of his S-rank techniques."
He continued calmly:
"Your subordinates were important to you, weren't they? Otherwise, why would you have abandoned your chance to escape and chosen to act as bait alone? Unfortunately, things did not go as you hoped. And now, you cannot avenge them—because you are still too weak."
"What do I need to do?"
Shimizu lifted his head. His expression showed no trace of disturbance. His calm, deep eyes met Orochimaru's golden gaze directly.
"I am conducting research recently and have encountered a minor obstacle. I believe only Uzuki-kun can help."
Human experimentation?
"What kind of research would require specifically me?"
"I seek to uncover the secret behind a shinobi's strength. Uzuki-kun is an excellent positive specimen—a ninja without a bloodline limit who has surpassed his innate ceiling and stepped into a higher realm. That has tremendous research value."
Orochimaru smiled faintly.
"I will only draw blood and collect cellular samples. It will cause you no harm. You may rest assured."
Though Orochimaru offered what sounded like the promise of one of the Sannin, under normal circumstances Shimizu would never have believed him—nor agreed to such a seemingly enticing deal.
Orochimaru was confident, however, that his genjutsu had already exerted a subtle hypnotic effect. He simply waited for Shimizu to accept.
"Fine. Deal."
"A wise choice."
Orochimaru smiled, turned, and added over his shoulder:
"I will come to see you again."
Then he was gone.
Had Orochimaru's genjutsu influenced him?
Perhaps.
But Shimizu did not care.
When a person possesses conviction, they can shine with incomparable brilliance.
Minato Namikaze had sacrificed his life to seal the Nine-Tails for the village.
Hiruzen Sarutobi had chosen to perish alongside Orochimaru to atone for his past failures.
Jiraiya had infiltrated the Hidden Rain alone and faced a godlike enemy without retreat.
They all had something they wished to protect. And for that, they were willing to sacrifice themselves.
It was a sentiment ordinary people could not understand.
As for him—Uzuki Shimizu—
He had lived in this world for twenty years. No parents. Most of the friends he had grown up with lay buried on battlefields.
He had drifted like duckweed, rootless, until he joined the Anbu—where he finally found bonds as real as family.
Gray Hawk. Starfire.
Subordinates to whom he could entrust his back without hesitation. Such trust did not come without profound friendship.
And Storm Fox…
Just recently, he had been imagining her appearing before him again, gathering the courage to take that next step.
Fate was a cruel joke.
Perhaps making a deal with someone as dangerous as Orochimaru was courting death.
But so what?
If it meant obtaining greater power, he would neither hesitate nor retreat.
Under the cold moonlight, his hands hung weakly at his sides.
A single tear slid silently down his cheek.