November 11th, Year 43 of Konoha.
This land, which had known peace for only a few short years, was once again engulfed in the flames of war.
Ten days had passed since the outbreak of hostilities. During that time, Konoha and Sunagakure had already clashed dozens of times in battles both large and small. Casualties continued to rise.
During the Second Great Ninja War, Shimizu had joined the regular forces as a newly promoted chūnin, participating in various direct engagements against the enemy.
Back then, he still bore the halo of a "genius," and the village took particular care of him. Moreover, his squad leader was Maruboshi Kōsuke, an elite jōnin-level shinobi—so his safety had been reasonably well assured.
Ordinary genin without status or backing, however, were often assigned to expendable squads used to probe enemy forces or lure them into traps.
Such squads typically consisted of three genin and one chūnin. Their overall strength was relatively weak. If they became isolated and were discovered by an enemy jōnin, they could easily be wiped out entirely.
Only by surviving in such an environment and distinguishing oneself could one earn the chance to join an elite team led by a jōnin.
Of course, having a jōnin for protection didn't guarantee safety.
Jōnin were high-end assets in ninja warfare, often entrusted with extremely critical missions. Their casualty rate was not much lower than that of cannon-fodder squads.
War was fair—to rookie genin fresh out of the academy and to powerful jōnin alike.
Because sometimes, all it took was a single accident—
And the Reaper would descend.
Now, Shimizu was a member of the ANBU. In wartime, the ANBU's primary duties were intelligence gathering and transmission.
Combat was inevitable, of course—but they would not directly participate in large-scale siege battles or positional warfare.
The ANBU's role was more akin to the special forces units Shimizu had known in his previous life. During war, they would infiltrate behind enemy lines, gather intelligence, rescue hostages, assassinate targets, or form elite strike teams to ambush small enemy units—tasks that massive ninja armies could not accomplish.
Shimizu and the Seventh Division of the Second ANBU Corps under his command were assigned to the southwestern border of the Land of Fire.
Their mission: border intelligence reconnaissance and communication, as well as intercepting and preventing infiltration by Sunagakure intelligence units.
In wartime, much of the precise and detailed intelligence came from operatives like them, who scouted it firsthand and relayed it back.
The area under Shimizu's responsibility lay along the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Rivers—a region of overlapping mountains and forests, with complex terrain.
There were no large supply camps nearby. The closest military fortress, Rakuyō City, lay deep within the Land of Fire's interior, half a day's journey away.
In other words, Shimizu's current position was the very front line of the southwestern sector. The village had truly entrusted him with a heavy responsibility…
After thoroughly studying the terrain, Shimizu and the captain of Team 1 decided on the following arrangement:
Three squads would remain on continuous duty for 12-hour shifts, while another three squads would rotate in after 12 hours.
This ensured 24-hour uninterrupted patrol coverage over this deserted no-man's-land.
The remaining three squads would rest and conserve their strength, maintaining peak combat readiness for any unexpected incidents or engagements. To allow for rapid mutual support, the nine squads were positioned relatively close to one another.
Not long ago, however, a Sunagakure force—approximately five squads, over twenty shinobi in total—had infiltrated deep into the Land of Fire and launched a surprise attack on one of Shimizu's ANBU squads stationed here.
After a distress signal was sent, Shimizu immediately led two ANBU squads to reinforce them. Together with two additional ANBU squads deployed nearby, they launched a coordinated counteroffensive against the Sunagakure forces.
After leaving behind several corpses, the group of Sunagakure ninja finally withdrew in frustration.
Shimizu was now leading the five squads of the Seventh Division as they cleaned up the battlefield.
"How are things?" Shimizu asked.
He stood atop a large tree, observing and keeping watch over the area, trying to glean more information.
"We lost three men. Seven wounded, two of them seriously. Sunagakure lost five. Their wounded should number over ten," replied the leader of Team 1, code-named "Tenkō," a 30-year-old Konoha jōnin who had served in the ANBU for more than a decade—a seasoned veteran.
Shimizu guessed that the Hokage's intention in assigning Tenkō here was to assist him and help him adapt quickly to his new role as ANBU captain.
On the surface, the casualty numbers didn't seem abnormal. But combined with the circumstances, the issue became clear: they had been the ones ambushed—yet their casualties were actually fewer than Sunagakure's…
"The jōnin leading them was very strong… I would have had difficulty defeating him," Tenkō said. "Fortunately, Captain, you arrived in time."
During the battle, the enemy's lead jōnin had engaged Tenkō, who had arrived first, while several other Sunagakure jōnin had entangled Shimizu's remaining squad leaders.
Their high-end combat strength had been formidable.
Yet among the five Sunagakure corpses, two were boys around twelve years old—clearly newly promoted genin.
Tenkō stepped forward and carefully examined the two young bodies, lowering his head as if deep in thought.
"An elite jōnin instructor leading genin students out for field experience?" Shimizu guessed.
During the fight, he had also noticed a considerable number of genin mixed within the Sunagakure ranks.
The enemy's overall strength wasn't weak—but this kind of high–low composition naturally reminded Shimizu of Konoha jōnin leading fresh genin out to gain combat experience and level up…
"Anything unusual?" Shimizu asked.
"Nothing for now…" Tenkō slowly shook his head.
Recalling the battle, the opposing force had indeed been a mixed unit with twelve genin—but they also had six jōnin.
That was the fundamental reason Tenkō's elite ANBU squad had initially struggled to gain the upper hand.
However, once Shimizu entered the battlefield, he relied on his elusive Body Flicker Technique to eliminate two Sunagakure ninja in the blink of an eye and severely wound one of their jōnin—completely turning the tide.
Only then had Sunagakure chosen to retreat.
Because the enemy's sudden strike carried a strange undertone, Shimizu had not rashly ordered a pursuit.
"If it were merely probing our defenses, there'd be no need to send this many people… And this formation doesn't resemble an ANBU-style intelligence unit," Shimizu summarized.
The two exchanged a look and both saw the problem.
The retreating Sunagakure unit had seemed more like a detachment peeled off from a regular ninja battalion.
But what was the point of sending such a unit to test Konoha's border defenses?
Wouldn't dispatching small elite squads to infiltrate behind enemy lines for sabotage or assassination be more effective?
Could it really be for training the next generation?
Although this was Shimizu's first victory in the Third Great Ninja War, he felt no joy whatsoever.
When something is abnormal, there must be a reason.
"Have Team Three heighten their vigilance. Set up perimeter surveillance."
Team Three of the Seventh Division possessed Konoha's strongest reconnaissance bloodline limit—the Byakugan of the Hyuga clan.
Soon, the battlefield was cleared. The bodies of their fallen comrades were to be taken back. The Sunagakure corpses would also be transported—perhaps Konoha's medical-nin or the intelligence specialists of the Second ANBU Corps might uncover something from them.