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Midorima had been careless.
In the manga, Danzo had used the "Reverse Four Symbols Sealing Technique" in an attempt to seal both Shisui's Sharingan and Sasuke entirely.
This technique's range was vast, capable of sealing everything within hundreds of meters.
Midorima hadn't anticipated that Danzo would be so cautious as to etch the "Four Symbols Seal" onto his body before coming to Amegakure.
Once activated, Midorima bolted outward with reckless abandon.
"Reverse Four Symbols Sealing Technique!?" Itachi, too, didn't hesitate, spinning around to flee.
Sasori and Kisame, seeing Midorima and Itachi running in the opposite direction, didn't know why but followed suit, driven by herd instinct.
"What's going on!?" Konan exclaimed in confusion.
"Danzo's triggered the 'Reverse Four Symbols Sealing Technique.' If we don't get out fast, we'll all be sealed." Obito warned.
Though he could escape using "Kamui," there was no need.
The "Mangekyo Sharingan" was practically a trump card, and Obito wasn't about to reveal it here.
Danzo's blood sprayed, and surrounding objects—debris from collapsed houses and more—rapidly converged toward him, soon sealed within his body.
Within a two-hundred-meter radius of Danzo, aside from a pool of blood on the ground, nothing remained—a true wasteland.
Midorima's heart pounded wildly, unable to calm down.
He'd just felt death brush so close.
The "Reverse Four Symbols Sealing Technique" was no ordinary ninjutsu.
Once sealed, even "Impure World Reincarnation" couldn't summon the victim—hardly surprising, since both body and soul were locked away. It'd be stranger if they could be called back.
Right—the First's cells!
Midorima glanced back at where Danzo had been. Aside from the bloodstain, there was nothing else.
"Damn it!"
Without Danzo's right arm, getting the "First's cells" would be a lot harder.
Midorima sighed, kicking himself.
Why hadn't he grabbed that arm when he had the chance?
Turning his head, he was startled to see a large tree beside him.
Huh? How was that there!?
Midorima blinked, bewildered, then realized his hand was clutching a severed arm.
"..."
He scratched his head. In his frantic escape, he'd instinctively brought Danzo's arm along without even noticing.
Time was tight—Obito or Pain could show up any second.
Without hesitation, Midorima swiftly extracted the First's cells and stashed them away.
Useful or not, he'd store them for now and later see if he could use the [Cell Lab] to make them work.
He'd thought the "First's cells" would be the hardest to get, yet he'd nabbed them before Karin's cells.
As for the remaining three Sharingan, Midorima left them untouched. Running out with a tree and an arm in plain sight was one thing—if the eyes on it vanished too, it'd raise too many eyebrows.
Besides, the "Sharingan" didn't hold as much allure for him anymore.
In less than twelve hours, Amegakure had been ravaged by Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and Danzo, suffering massive losses—especially around the tower, where nearly everything had been sealed by the "Reverse Four Symbols Sealing Technique."
Midorima dragged Danzo's arm over to the rest of "Akatsuki" and tossed it to the ground.
"Three Sharingan on this." Midorima looked at Itachi. "Your call?"
"Me?" Itachi blinked, staring at Midorima.
He genuinely couldn't figure out Midorima's identity.
"You're Uchiha, right? Should be qualified to handle them." Midorima said.
Itachi glanced at the arm, then without a word, unleashed "Fire Release," incinerating it.
"You're not keeping them?" Kisame asked, surprised.
"Their owner's dead, and their purpose is done. No need to keep them around."
Obito watched the arm burn to ash before shifting his gaze to Pain. "You all rest up. We might need to rethink our plans."
"Rethink!?" Pain said, startled.
"Jiraiya got away—who knows how much trouble that'll bring? If we keep going by the book, we might miss our window." Obito explained.
Pain nodded. "Let's go over the details?"
"Yeah."
"Isn't Kakuzu due back soon?" Konan interjected.
Pain looked at her. "You go explain what happened to the village."
"..."
Konan's brow twitched twice. She could already picture Kakuzu's reaction to Amegakure's destruction.
But it was all out in the open—no way to hide it.
"Can someone else do it?" Konan rubbed her forehead.
"Look at them—who here can explain it clearly?" Pain asked.
Konan glanced at the other four.
Itachi was the best fit, but he was probably the most exhausted. "Yoshida" was injured. Kisame? He'd probably rather fight Kakuzu. And Sasori...
He'd likely prefer turning the loser of a Kakuzu-Kisame brawl into a puppet.
"Fine, I'll try." Konan rubbed her forehead, exasperated.
"Wait!" Itachi called out as Obito and Pain turned to leave. "Orochimaru and Danzo are both dead—where am I supposed to find Sasuke now? Don't tell me you've been lying to me!"
Midorima was invested in this too, his eyes locking onto Pain and Obito.
"Sasuke?" Obito turned, facing Itachi. "I can find him, but give me some time."
"You're not playing me, are you?" Itachi's heart brimmed with doubt.
"No way. I may have left the Uchiha clan, but their blood still runs in my veins... I won't deceive you." Obito said.
"You'd better keep your word." Itachi clenched his fists, out of options, then turned to Midorima. "Thanks for saving me."
"No big deal. Your strength speaks for itself, and 'Akatsuki' doesn't want to lose you." Midorima said casually.
Itachi nodded. After a long pause, he added, "I hope we get a chance to talk properly sometime."
Midorima rolled his eyes. In Amegakure, that chance seemed slim.
...
Jiraiya rubbed his chin, sighing as he watched Orochimaru fall.
He'd been hunting Orochimaru for years, only to meet him briefly, exchange no words, and see him die.
"Don't dwell on it—getting this intel back to Konoha is the priority." Fukasaku said.
"But it's so little. I still think I could dig up more."
"Orochimaru's strength speaks for itself, doesn't it? And Danzo—though he's been behind the scenes, his power's no joke either. They couldn't handle it—think you can?" Shima asked.
"..."
Jiraiya furrowed his brow, deep in thought, before letting out a sigh.
He could only hope Itachi would come through with something.