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Susanoo.
Midorima stared at the colossal crimson warrior standing before him, and the pressure he felt was immense—like the weight of a mountain pressing down on his shoulders.
This was the first time the two of them had fought at full strength. His advantage lay in the body that had been reinforced and enhanced through the Cell Laboratory, which was far more durable than that of an ordinary person. He could also wield a wide variety of ninjutsu and, most importantly, senjutsu.
Itachi, of course, had his own advantages. One was his genjutsu, which could easily ensnare an opponent and place them entirely under his control. The other was Amaterasu.
Against the former, Midorima could activate his Mangekyo Sharingan and fight on equal footing. But dealing with Amaterasu was far more troublesome.
As the most powerful fire-style technique, Amaterasu's destructive force was undeniable. What kept Midorima even more on edge was its defining trait—anything ignited by those black flames would inevitably be reduced to nothing but ash.
He remembered all too well how the Fourth Raikage, A, had been forced to sever his own arm after it was set ablaze by Amaterasu. The phrase "desperate times call for desperate measures" had never been more literal.
Because of that, Midorima remained hyper-focused whenever he faced Itachi. The moment he sensed that Itachi was about to activate Amaterasu, he would immediately use the Substitution Jutsu to evade the attack, then employ his instantaneous movement technique to close the distance in a flash and force Itachi onto the back foot, leaving him no time to regroup.
And whenever that happened, Itachi would retaliate with genjutsu to slip away from Midorima's assault.
During their initial probes, neither fighter managed to land a decisive blow. But as tempers began to flare and the battle intensified, the situation grew more and more heated.
By that point, both of them had stopped using large-scale ninjutsu altogether.
It wasn't that they didn't want to—there simply wasn't enough time.
Kunai and shuriken, due to the sheer speed with which they could be deployed, had become the most commonly used tools whenever they disengaged and tried to create distance.
But in the heat of combat, Midorima made a critical oversight—he momentarily forgot about Itachi's genjutsu, Tsukuyomi.
When Itachi cast the illusion, Midorima very nearly fell under his complete control. At the instant black flames ignited on his clothing, Midorima immediately broke away from the battlefield, retreating at full speed. Only afterward did he realize that he had not actually been hit by Amaterasu.
"You managed to break free of Tsukuyomi… That's not something you see every day," Itachi remarked, but no sooner had the words left his mouth than Midorima appeared directly in front of him. A concentrated Lightning Cutter slammed into Itachi's abdomen, sending him flying backward several meters.
While Itachi was still hurtling through the air, thick vines suddenly erupted from the ground, twisting and lunging at him repeatedly in an attempt to bind his body, but he deftly evaded every single one.
Midorima pressed his attack right behind the vines, watching for even the briefest moment of distraction to launch a fatal strike. Then, all at once, Itachi pulled back his sleeve, preparing to unleash Amaterasu. But in the very next instant, Midorima closed in again, seizing Itachi's wrist and hurling him away with brutal force. At the same time, he formed hand signs and shouted, "Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet!" A massive dragon of water surged forward, its enormous jaws gaping wide as it lunged to tear into Itachi midair. Itachi responded in kind with a volley of seals, and a colossal fireball collided head-on with the water dragon.
The moment Itachi touched the ground, Midorima was already on top of him again, this time with two shadow clones flanking him.
"Great Ball Rasengan!"
There was no time for Itachi to dodge. The spiraling sphere of chakra struck him cleanly and blasted him away once more.
Having taken one heavy blow after another, Itachi struggled to rise. His stance was unsteady, his body wavering. He coughed several times and spat up blood.
Under these circumstances, Itachi activated Susanoo.
An enormous spectral armor encased his faltering body, creating an image of extreme dissonance—a nearly broken man wrapped in overwhelming power. And yet, Midorima did not dare let his guard down.
Susanoo was essentially the ultimate trump card of the Uchiha clan. It was incredibly difficult to find any ninjutsu capable of matching it head-on. Moreover, Itachi possessed both the Totsuka Blade and the Yata Mirror, which drastically limited Midorima's options.
For example, if he summoned Kuro or Shinga, their fates would likely end up no different from Manda's—run through and sealed by the Totsuka Blade without a second thought.
"I don't want to keep fighting you," Midorima said, spreading his hands. "Is there even any point in continuing this?"
"How is there no point?" Itachi shot back.
"You said you've already reached a point of no return. I'll accept that you feel you have no choice. But what meaning is there in us continuing to fight? Your real objective isn't to complete some mission—it's to stay alive. Otherwise, how could you ever have the chance to unearth Madara's secrets?" Midorima countered.
"Are you implying that I will lose?" Itachi asked.
"No," Midorima replied. "I'm saying you'll die."
"You're confident you can break through Susanoo?"
"No," Midorima answered honestly.
Unless he activated Susanoo himself, defeating Itachi in a direct confrontation would be extremely difficult.
"But you should know that Susanoo isn't completely impenetrable either," Midorima said, his gaze shifting toward Mei Terumi, who was locked in a grueling struggle against Kisame.
In the original story, Mei's Lava Style had the power to corrode and destroy Susanoo.
"And besides, I don't even need to clash with you head-on. I just have to drag this out long enough, and you'll eventually collapse on your own. You've already noticed something wrong with your body, haven't you?" Midorima asked.
Itachi remained silent.
His physical condition was indeed dire. On one hand, the battle with Midorima had drained a massive amount of chakra, leaving him profoundly exhausted. On the other, Midorima's ninjutsu allowed him to instantly put distance between them at any moment.
If Midorima made up his mind to evade direct combat, Itachi's Susanoo simply could not be maintained for long. When that time came, Midorima wouldn't even need to face him in a frontal assault—Itachi would be forced to release Susanoo on his own, completely spent.
A heavy feeling settled in Itachi's chest. He had already foreseen how the situation might unfold, and his gaze unconsciously drifted toward Naruto in the distance.
"If you dare to dodge or run, I'll switch my target."
Midorima froze for a beat. He hadn't expected Itachi to be so unyielding. But quickly, he fired back, "The moment you lay a hand on Naruto, I'll find Sasuke immediately."
"You wouldn't dare!" Itachi snarled.
"Can you give me one good reason why I wouldn't? You're not my equal in this fight. Your threats carry no weight here," Midorima said with a faint smile.
Gritting his teeth, Itachi suddenly swung the Totsuka Blade.
Almost before anyone could react, the legendary sword smashed into the spot where Midorima had just been standing, carving out a crater several meters deep.
At that moment, massive trees burst forth from the ground, coiling around Susanoo's body at terrifying speed, but the Totsuka Blade hacked them all apart.
Midorima frowned.
He didn't want to use high-level Wood Style techniques. Pain had yet to make an appearance, and there was no telling what kind of unforeseen consequences might arise. But without tapping into those Wood Style abilities, it seemed impossible to put Itachi down.
After weighing his options carefully, Midorima finally resolved to deal with the Itachi in front of him first.
Just as he was about to weave hand signs and execute his technique, Itachi abruptly dispelled Susanoo.
"Enough…" Itachi drew a long breath. "Since there's no way to obtain the Six-Tails or the Nine-Tails, continuing this any further is pointless… You know what comes next, don't you?"
"Sure," Midorima said. He activated his instantaneous movement technique and appeared directly in front of Itachi. In the next heartbeat, his fist struck Itachi lightly in the abdomen.
Itachi's eyes widened for a split second before Midorima's voice reached his ear.
"Fall."
Without the slightest hesitation, Itachi collapsed naturally to the ground.
Midorima inhaled deeply, then turned around and surveyed the battlefield.
The Raikage and the Tsuchikage were still locked in fierce combat against Obito. Tsunade and Mei Terumi were tangled up with Kisame. Meanwhile, Kurotsuchi and Isamu were embroiled in a bitter struggle against Mui and one other unidentified shinobi.
Midorima barely needed to think. His gaze locked onto Mui.
"Pick on the weakest first"—he understood that principle perfectly.