Shija was the next chosen Iwagakure shinobi to potentially succeed the current holder of the alias Gabimaru the Hollow. After the shogun came to Iwagakure for assistance in retrieving the Elixir of Life from Kotaku, having become impatient with the first group, Shija and a squad of Iwa ninja was assigned by the village chief to the second team to hasten the completion of the mission. In actuality, the Iwagakure shinobi squad's true mission was to kill Gabimaru, who was assigned to the first team, and take back the alias, which became Shija's personal goal.