In the end, Kumogakure gave up on taking the Seven-Tails—and Shimizu himself never got the chance to claim it either.
Still, before leaving, he caught sight of Takigakure's Jinchūriki. The man was barely clinging to life, breaths shallow and fading, as though death was already reaching out to claim him.
After all the chaos, Iwagakure had retreated in disgrace, Kumogakure had effectively come and gone without gaining anything, and Takigakure—the host of it all—had only sunk further into ruin. For Konoha, however, the best possible outcome had been achieved: the Seven-Tails would return to its rightful place.
And yet, the true victor of this entire ordeal might well have been Shimizu.
Inside his sealed scroll now rested the miraculous Hero Water—an artifact bordering on the unbelievable.
The only regret was that he had learned nothing useful about Madara or the White Zetsu known as Tobi.
Still… Shimizu was certain of one thing.
When he had stolen the Hero Water, that fleeting surge of chakra he sensed—it hadn't belonged to anyone from Takigakure.
There had been a fifth faction present in the village that night.
And throughout everything that followed, they had never once revealed themselves.
Who were they?
Without any clues, there was no way to form even a reasonable guess. And more importantly… this was something he could not afford to let anyone else know.
...
After returning to the village and delivering a full report on the mission, Shimizu slipped back into his relentless training routine.
He needed to grow stronger.
His chakra reserves were the greatest limitation holding him back, yet there was no shortcut to solving that problem. The only path forward was steady, painstaking accumulation—step by step, day by day.
...
Late one night, as he returned home from training, he found someone already waiting at his door.
Orochimaru.
"You performed quite well on this mission, Uzuki-kun," Orochimaru said with a faint smile.
"It was nothing special," Shimizu replied with a quiet sigh.
"You obtained the Hero Water, I assume?" Orochimaru's tone carried absolute certainty.
Without hesitation, Shimizu tossed him a small vial. "This is part of it."
Then he added, voice steady, "That's not all. You give me results, and I'll continue supplying you."
He wasn't foolish enough to hand everything over at once. Trusting Orochimaru blindly would be the real mistake.
"Heh… your caution toward me is quite obvious," Orochimaru chuckled softly.
"I'm just protecting my own interests," Shimizu said bluntly. "And I expect you to complete your research using as little of it as possible. I have other uses for this water."
"Once the experiments are finished—or results are obtained—I'll inform you," Orochimaru replied.
"No problem," Shimizu agreed without hesitation.
Just as Orochimaru was about to leave, he paused and added, "Danzo's Root operatives failed their infiltration mission in Iwagakure."
"I figured as much," Shimizu said, unsurprised.
Which likely meant… war would erupt again soon.
Orochimaru's lips curved slightly. "Before that happens, would you be interested in making another trip to Takigakure with me?"
"For more Hero's Water?" Shimizu guessed.
"The Seven-Tails' Jinchūriki is dead."
"I see…" Shimizu recalled that it had been the Third Raikage who subdued the beast. Was it that the Seven-Tails was weak… or that the Raikage was simply too strong?
"So?" Orochimaru prompted. "What's your answer?"
Shimizu thought back to that unseen presence—the one that had watched him in silence as he stole the Hero Water. After a brief pause, he shook his head.
"I'll pass. I'm focusing on training for now. I don't plan to take any more missions in the near future."
Then Orochimaru suddenly asked, almost casually, "By the way… have you noticed anything unusual about your body?"
"Unusual?" Shimizu frowned. "No. Why?"
But in truth, he had noticed something.
His appetite had been steadily increasing, and his living expenses had multiplied several times over. At first, he had dismissed it as part of his recovery after injury…
But now that he thought about it more carefully—
Something about his body… might really be wrong.
Telling Orochimaru something like that on impulse…
Wouldn't that be the same as letting a cold, calculating scientist dissect his own body?
"…It's nothing. I'll be going, then." Orochimaru didn't press further and quietly left.
...
Time passed, and for a while, things settled into a rare calm.
Shimizu's training began to bear fruit. His attempts to merge Wind Release with his swordsmanship were finally showing results—faint, elusive, but real. It felt as though he had just brushed against the threshold of something greater.
One hypothesis after another was tested, discarded, refined. Every bit of progress came from relentless effort, from pouring time and energy into endless repetition.
Once again, he executed the Konoha-style sword technique—Crescent Moon Dance.
Four "Shimizus" appeared, striking from above, below, left, and right, converging on an imaginary target. And then—
In an instant, one of the afterimages swung its blade, releasing a streak of azure light.
The slash cut through the air faster than the others, reaching the target over ten meters away before the rest of the attacks even landed.
That was it.
A sign that Wind Release chakra had finally left the blade.
Shimizu immediately dispelled the afterimages, closing his eyes as he carefully recalled the sensation of that strike, committing every detail to memory.
"That was quite an impressive swing just now."
Shimizu's eyes snapped open.
"Hokage-sama?!"
He hadn't expected the Third Hokage to appear here, of all places—the Training Ground No. 43. Had he come personally… just to see him?
But what caught Shimizu's attention more was the faint exhaustion lining the Hokage's face.
"You're close to completing your new technique, it seems," the Hokage said with a gentle smile.
"Not quite," Shimizu shook his head. "That strike just now… it was more of a fluke. To truly integrate it into Crescent Moon Dance will take much more time."
"With your talent and diligence, I don't think it will be a problem," the Hokage replied warmly.
Shimizu let out a soft breath. "Honestly, I don't know if it'll succeed in the end… but I have to try. At the very least, if I fail, I'll know I gave it everything."
The Third Hokage hadn't come all this way just to chat about training. If he had shown up in person, then something must have happened.
The old man sighed quietly.
"If only Konoha had a few more young shinobi like you…"
"You're too kind, Hokage-sama," Shimizu replied calmly. "If we're talking about hard work, then Kakashi, Shisui—even Obito now—they all surpass me by far."
Those three trained relentlessly, rain or shine, even through snowstorms, pushing themselves without pause.
At the very least, Shimizu wasn't that extreme. In harsh conditions, he still knew when to stop.
"It's not just diligence," the Hokage said, shaking his head. "It's diligence, talent, and a grounded mindset. Right now… Konoha lacks shinobi like that."
Only when such individuals rose up could they truly shoulder the burden of the village.
"…What about the Sannin?" Shimizu asked.
The Hokage's expression dimmed slightly.
"Tsunade… has left the village."
"…What?"
The words hit like a sudden blow.
"It happened while you were returning from Takigakure," the Hokage continued with a quiet sigh. "I've done my best to keep it hidden… but news like this can't be concealed forever."
"And now, Sunagakure has learned of it as well. They've been stalling on the ceasefire agreement we proposed… and I suspect they'll ultimately refuse it."
Shimizu understood immediately.
Tsunade's presence alone was a massive deterrent to Sunagakure. Their most feared weapon—poison—was rendered almost meaningless before her.
With her gone…
The thought of launching a counterattack against Konoha would inevitably resurface.
"Can't we bring Tsunade-sama back?" Shimizu asked.
"She evaded the ANBU," the Hokage said, shaking his head. "No one knows where she's gone."
There was a trace of regret in his voice.
"I underestimated what she was carrying inside… I thought that if I gave her enough time, she would recover."
After a brief pause, he continued.
"Since we failed to uncover any information about Madara last time, Jiraiya has gone to the Land of Iron."
That made sense. From Shimizu's perspective, if Madara had relocated, the north was a far more likely direction.
"And Orochimaru has gone to the Land of Waterfall on another mission."
Shimizu couldn't help but think—that guy really hasn't given up on the Seven-Tails…
In other words, all three of the Sannin had left the village at once.
And no one knew when—if ever—they would return.
"Iwagakure's envoy will arrive in Konoha today for the final round of ceasefire negotiations," the Hokage said slowly. "But I doubt they'll accept our terms."
He let out a heavy sigh.
"War… is about to begin again."
The weight of those words settled heavily in the air.
Which meant—
The burden Konoha would have to bear next…
Would fall squarely on those beneath the Sannin.
On shinobi like him.