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Just as Midorima had anticipated, the moment Deidara realized his explosive clone had failed to achieve anything, he reappeared on the scene. Although he wore a smile on his face, the muscles beneath it were unnaturally rigid. He detested Midorima with every fiber of his being.
"What are you doing here? Weren't Zetsu and Kisame chasing you?" Deidara demanded.
Orochimaru gave a slight nod as well; he was equally curious.
Midorima lifted the object strapped to his back and planted it on the ground with a smile. "You know what this is, don't you?"
Deidara's expression instantly transformed. He stared at Midorima in horror. "What did you do to him?"
"Killed him," Midorima said with a shrug. "Punishing a rogue shinobi of the Hidden Mist—I consider it my duty."
"I don't believe you," Deidara said, shaking his head. He knew full well how powerful Kisame was. Even if Kisame couldn't defeat Midorima, killing him wouldn't have been an easy feat. And on top of that, Zetsu had been with Kisame during the operation.
"I don't believe it either," Midorima admitted with a sigh. "But the fact is, he really did die just like that. Crumbled to pieces. If he can come back from that, the only thing that might do it is probably the Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique." Though, he doubted Pain would use it for Kisame.
"And Zetsu?" Deidara pressed.
"Why should I tell you? Are we close or something?" Midorima shot back.
Orochimaru leaned in close to Midorima's ear and whispered, "Did you really kill Zetsu?"
"He ran," Midorima replied, a trace of frustration in his voice. Zetsu had fallen into the water and been swept away. But swept away still meant he had run. That much was undeniable.
Orochimaru let out a long breath of relief. "I was worried you'd actually killed him. Truth be told, Zetsu also has considerable research value."
Midorima rolled his eyes. Research Zetsu? If Zetsu managed to survive, it would mean the Five Great Shinobi Nations had been annihilated by Kaguya Ōtsutsuki. So Midorima sincerely hoped Orochimaru wouldn't develop any "unhealthy designs" on Zetsu. At the very most... he could study Zetsu's corpse. If, that is, Zetsu's corpse even still existed when all was said and done.
"Hey, Shikaku..."
"Hmm?" Shikaku looked at Midorima. Ever since Midorima had appeared, a sense of reassurance he couldn't quite put into words had settled over him.
Midorima casually tossed Samehada over. "The four of you, take this weapon. Return to the Leaf Village immediately and deliver it to Mei Terumī, or to Mangetsu Hōzuki, who's recovering in the Hidden Mist. The four of you—leave, now, this instant!"
"We still haven't rescued Naruto!" Might Guy protested.
"That's not something you can do... Don't even talk about yourselves—even if Jiraiya were here, it wouldn't be enough! Right now, get back to the Leaf. This great battle is far from over. You need to recover your strength. There will be a time for you to fight with everything you have," Midorima push back.
Shikaku and Might Guy were critically important in the fight against the Akatsuki—especially Might Guy. The last thing Midorima wanted was for them to run into trouble here.
Might Guy opened his mouth to argue, but Shikaku cut him off with a firm shake of his head. Turning to Midorima, he said, "Since you put it that way, we'll press the matter no further. Thank you." With that, Shikaku signaled to Guy and the others, and they turned and departed without another word.
Midorima then looked at Orochimaru. "Why are you still standing here instead of leaving?"
"Are you sure about staying behind alone?" Orochimaru countered.
"If I want to leave, I can do so at any moment. But are you certain you can escape from Pain?" Midorima asked in return.
A faint smirk crossed Orochimaru's face, and without the slightest hesitation, he turned and left. Deidara watched Orochimaru depart, making absolutely no move to stop him. Besides, he didn't have the strength to do so anyway. As long as they captured Midorima, whether one Orochimaru escaped or ten did made no fundamental difference. In the end, the Ten-Tails would wipe them all out.
"Now it's just the two of us," Midorima said, turning his gaze on Deidara.
"Before we fight, there's something I want to tell you."
"Hmm?"
"I am not the least bit afraid of you!" Deidara declared at the top of his lungs.
"Oh," Midorima replied, his tone utterly flat. "In that case, I won't have to hold back. To be honest, I was a little worried you might put on a pitiful expression right before dying. I might actually have found it hard to finish you off."
"..."
Deidara said nothing. Instead, he pulled out a massive chunk of clay, brought it to his mouth, and began to chew. How dare he underestimate him! This was unforgivable. No matter what, he was going to make him pay... even if it meant his own death. Only a single thought occupied Deidara's mind now. True, Midorima's jutsu countered his own in many ways, but with no path of retreat left, he had no choice but to grit his teeth and clash with Midorima head-on.
Still, he understood the reality perfectly. If Midorima could kill Kisame, then finishing him off was merely a matter of time. In the face of absolute power, most techniques ended up looking like empty flourishes. For this reason, Deidara resolved to bring out his ultimate technique: C4. All he needed was one opening... just one... and he could obliterate Midorima completely. Otherwise, he had no chance at all.
It was with this unshakable resolve that Deidara unleashed the jutsu he had specifically prepared to counter Itachi—C4: Garuda! A "Deidara" towering dozens of meters high materialized before Midorima. Even the surrounding trees looked like mere blades of grass in its presence. Midorima was genuinely stunned at the sight of the giant Deidara. He had seen the Garuda jutsu in the manga, but standing directly before it now filled him with an entirely different sense of awe. It was like gazing up at a mechanical warrior from a legend. Without a second thought, Midorima bolted away at top speed.
Deidara, standing atop the golden-winged bird, spotted Midorima attempting to flee and burst into laughter. "You honestly think you can run away? Hey, hold on... don't run so fast!" The C4 Golden-Winged Bird was an explosive clay construct of extreme velocity, pushed nearly to the absolute limits of Deidara's ability. Yet before Midorima, it still wasn't nearly enough. Before the Garuda could even detonate, Midorima was already little more than a speck in the distance.
This... even if the Garuda exploded, what use would it be?! Shameless! Despicable! Coward! Craven! A torrent of profane labels cycled endlessly through Deidara's mouth, but the distance between him and Midorima only continued to widen.
"Hey, is that giant thing dangerous?" A voice spoke up from the ground below.
Deidara looked down and saw the Animal Path gazing up at him, his right hand pointing toward the Garuda ahead.
"Quite dangerous," Deidara admitted. After the Golden-Winged Bird landed, Deidara descended from it.
"Where's Kisame? Why can't I reach him?" the Animal Path asked.
"I heard he's dead," Deidara replied, recalling Midorima's earlier words without hesitation.
"And Zetsu? I can't reach him either."
"I heard he ran," Deidara said, feeling his throat go dry.
"And Mui?"
"Probably got lost." Deidara guessed he must have fallen into an ambush by that Leaf squad, as he hadn't been able to make contact.
"What about Midorima?" The Animal Path was deeply concerned about this; it was the primary reason he had come.
Deidara abruptly stared off into the distance. "This one I can confirm with certainty. He ran."