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Midorima emerged from the side, having just unleashed "Hard Vortex Water Blade," only to see an ultra-large Rasengan hurtling toward him.
Even going all out, blocking this senjutsu would be incredibly tough for him.
The instant the two techniques collided, he felt the overwhelming force of the senjutsu. He shifted his body desperately, trying to dodge, but even so, his side took the full brunt of the "Sage Art: Ultra-Big Ball Rasengan," sending him flying.
He hit the ground and skidded back over ten meters, coughing up a mouthful of blood.
Sasori rushed over right after. "You okay?"
Midorima shook his head, about to speak—when another gush of blood came up.
What rotten luck. He'd only meant to put on a show, but ended up eating a "Ultra-Big Ball Rasengan" square on.
In this whole fight, he was turning out to be the biggest victim—of himself.
"Beginning analysis of 'Ultra-Big Ball Rasengan.' Difficulty level: Unknown; Success rate: Unknown..."
"Huh?" Midorima froze as a notification from the [Analysis Lab] popped up before his eyes.
For a long time, he'd been using the Cell Lab to learn ninjutsu and had snagged plenty of scrolls from Orochimaru's lab, but he'd never quite nailed a one-shot finisher—a technique like "Rasengan" or "Chidori" that could deal massive damage to a single point.
The power of the "Sage Art: Ultra-Big Ball Rasengan" was no joke. His "Hard Vortex Water Blade" hadn't stood a chance against it. If not for his superhuman physique honed on the edge of life and death, the healing from the [Incubator Chamber] in the [Cell Lab], and the protection of [Last Line of Defense], he probably wouldn't have survived.
Of course, he couldn't use senjutsu yet. But once the lab cracked the "Ultra-Big Ball Rasengan," he might leverage the [Cell Lab] to develop the base "Rasengan" too—giving him a proper ace up his sleeve.
Relying on wide-area AOE blasts that couldn't land killing blows had worn him down.
So, trading an injury for a shot at decrypting the [Ultra-Big Ball Rasengan] wasn't a bad deal for Midorima.
If he could snag Hashirama's cells, he might even wield this senjutsu for real.
Right now, his biggest hope was that the [Cell Lab] would pull through and crack this technique.
Naturally, being sidelined with injuries had another perk: he didn't have to chase Jiraiya. Kisame, after fusing with Samehada, had plunged into the lake to track him down.
Midorima was certain that even if Kisame caught up, he might not be able to keep Jiraiya there.
In that sense, Jiraiya making it back to Konoha alive would be no small feat.
Sasori dragged Midorima to safety as best he could, watching as Midorima cracked a faint smile.
"What?"
"Your mask's broken."
"..." Midorima touched his mask, realizing the left side was indeed cracked. He felt his face and asked Sasori, "I didn't get scarred, did I?"
Sasori removed the mask and inspected Midorima's face closely, shaking his head. "Looks fine."
Midorima's heart settled.
This wasn't his real face—if it got damaged, he'd be exposed for sure.
Konan hurried to the Animal Path's side. "How'd it go?"
"Teacher Jiraiya got away."
"How?" Konan's brow furrowed. "So... what now?"
"We'll deal with that later." The Animal Path shook his head. "Kisame dove in after Teacher Jiraiya—hoping he comes up with something."
"What's that about?"
Konan looked down and spotted Sasori facing Midorima, hands on his shoulders—though his expression was blocked by Midorima.
"They... th-this..."
Konan stammered, the words "What kind of decorum is this?" nearly slipping out.
"Yoshida Shin looks injured—hit by Teacher Jiraiya's senjutsu. Sasori's probably checking him over?" The Animal Path recalled the earlier scene and said offhandedly.
Konan's heart eased a bit; the thought that had just flashed through her mind nearly made her head spin.
"What next? What can we do?"
"All our plans got wrecked by Orochimaru and Danzo. No matter what, we have to take them out." The Animal Path turned and headed toward Manda.
Midorima watched the Animal Path and Konan move off, his brow creasing. He tried to stand, but several bones were broken—he couldn't move just yet. And with Sasori right there, he couldn't risk using medical ninjutsu.
"Sasori..."
"You go check it out? We failed to hold the intruder—if Orochimaru slips away too, Pain's gonna be pissed." Midorima said.
"But you're..."
"I won't die. Just can't move for now." Midorima shook his head. "If you don't hurry, there might not even be scraps left."
Sasori nodded, stashing Midorima in a concealed spot before dashing toward Manda.
Midorima let out a long breath, eyeing the still-rampaging Manda with some exasperation.
Finding Orochimaru's hideout in short order was going to be a nightmare.
As for Orochimaru's life or death, Midorima wasn't worried at all.
With the Cursed Seal in play, Orochimaru was bound to revive.
Once Orochimaru nabbed Sasuke, he'd slap that curse mark on him too.
With that safety net, Orochimaru wasn't dying anytime soon.
Once Sasori vanished from sight, Midorima started assessing his wounds.
Three broken ribs, one in a nasty spot.
Midorima used a chakra scalpel for some basic treatment on the areas.
Thanks to the [Catalysis Chamber], even without medical ninjutsu, these injuries would heal fast—so Midorima skipped the healing jutsu to avoid raising suspicions.
Seizing the lull, Midorima turned his focus back to the [Analysis Lab].
The lab's proficiency had maxed out at 100% long ago, and now with the [Ecology] function boosting the whole [Cell Lab] synergy—who knew if it could brute-force the "Ultra-Big Ball Rasengan"?
But considering how "secret" techniques or certain kekkei genkai could crack it, decrypting the senjutsu version didn't seem over the top, right?
Midorima took two deep breaths, steadying his mind. He was about to tap into the [Analysis Lab] to check progress when a message flashed: [Rasengan] decryption successful.
Rasengan?
Wasn't it supposed to be the "Ultra-Big Ball Rasengan"?
Midorima's mind filled with question marks, but he opened the [Analysis Lab] anyway. A notification blazed up: "Sage Art: Ultra-Big Ball Rasengan" decryption successful (requires senjutsu chakra); "Rasengan" decryption successful.
Two techniques decrypted at once!?
Midorima's brow relaxed as he exhaled in relief.
He hadn't gotten injured for nothing today—this haul was pretty solid. At least now he had a trump card in hand.