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Midorima had no time to think. Instinctively, he leaned back, dropping to the ground at incredible speed. A blade shrouded in mist swept past his face. Before he could even rise, the man kicked at him.
"Stop!" Mei Terumī shouted, intercepting the attack meant for Midorima.
Seizing the opportunity, Midorima adjusted his stance and threw five kunai, forcing the assailant back and creating distance between them.
"If I were a rogue ninja, you'd already be dead," the masked man said coldly.
"Are you Akizuki?" Mei asked.
"I am," the masked man replied, sheathing his blade.
Unlike the standard ninja swords of the Hidden Mist, Akizuki's blade was half a meter longer, nearly matching a person's height—though not as wide as the Executioner's Blade.
Still, among the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, whose weapons were all bizarre in their own ways, this one was relatively normal.
"Why did you attack us?" Mei pressed.
"With your amateur skills, you'd be nothing more than cannon fodder," Akizuki said bluntly.
"Not necessarily," Midorima retorted, unimpressed. "Maybe with us, you wouldn't get hurt."
Being greeted with a full combo attack right off the bat? Who could handle that? He wasn't a training dummy.
Akizuki turned to Midorima. "You noticed."
"I'm a medical ninja. I'm sensitive to the smell of herbs. But the ones you used are low-quality—they're hindering your wound's healing. I'm guessing it's started bleeding again?" Midorima asked.
"How did you know?" Akizuki instinctively touched his injury.
"Blood has a smell. It's just masked by the herbs."
Midorima had spent two months in the medical unit, working extensively with medicinal herbs. While he couldn't identify every type, the scent of blood mixed in was unmistakable.
As for calling them "low-quality herbs"—
What did ANBU know about medicine?
"So, you have a better solution?"
"I'd need to examine the wound first. But before that, answer me this—why ditch us and go solo?" Midorima stared at Akizuki, curious about his response.
Akizuki tilted his head back, gazing at the darkening sky. "I'm the squad leader. If you die, I'm responsible for your safety."
"How do you know we'd be useless?" Mei protested.
"You couldn't even pass your graduation exams. What else can you do?"
Mei's eyes widened in indignation.
"Do you know who this rogue ninja is?" Akizuki asked.
Midorima shook his head. "The Mizukage said his identity was unknown."
"Impossible. A rogue ninja's techniques, fighting style—anyone who's faced him would have clues. Cross-reference with the rogue ninja registry, and you'd have a rough idea. But very few know about him because what he did… was vile. The Mizukage probably didn't tell you to avoid affecting your morale."
"Vile? I've never heard of it," Mei muttered, puzzled.
"Because a major incident overshadowed it at the time… He defected three years ago."
"Three years ago?" Midorima frowned. "That would be…"
The Third Great Ninja War.
"We were at war with Konoha. How brutal it was needs no explanation. Only three of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen survived—that says everything. That rogue ninja was part of a squad sent to battle, but he committed an unspeakable atrocity—he killed all six of his teammates, then took their heads to a bounty exchange for a massive reward. His name… is Katsumaru."
Midorima was stunned, an F-bomb nearly escaping his lips.
Truly, Kirigakure's ninja were brutal—from Zabuza to Kisame Hoshigaki, it was all the same.
But this guy? He took it to another level—slaughtering his own squad.
Midorima instinctively glanced at Mei. Thank goodness she wasn't like that.
Mei happened to meet his gaze but quickly looked away.
"Because of the sheer depravity of his actions, the Third Mizukage issued an S-rank bounty. We thought he was dead, but now he's resurfaced. See now? He could kill you with a finger."
Mei scoffed.
"With a finger? Keep dreaming."
She'd fought rogue ninjas before.
"But you're struggling alone too, aren't you? Otherwise, you wouldn't be injured," Midorima pointed out, hitting a nerve.
"…" Akizuki took a deep breath, steadying himself. "Treat my wound."
"Fine." Midorima reached into his pack for medicinal ointment.
Akizuki clamped a hand over the bag. "I'm fighting Katsumaru tonight. Use medical ninjutsu. Don't tell me you can't."
Mei stepped forward, glaring up at him. "What's wrong with ointment? Before we came, you were slapping herbs on yourself! Besides, he just—"
"Enough. It's fine," Midorima cut her off.
Picking a fight with an ANBU member here was unwise—especially since Akizuki didn't know he'd already treated another Mist ninja earlier.
But his chakra wasn't fully recovered either, so medical ninjutsu was out of the question.
Still, as an ANBU, Akizuki shouldn't be short on chakra, right?
"Mei, grab a torch."
The fading light made it hard to see, increasing the risk of mistakes.
Akizuki sat against a tree while Midorima unwrapped the bandages, using water to rinse away the herbs stuck to the wound.
Mei held the torch, watching as Midorima meticulously cleaned the injury. The process was agonizing for both of them—Akizuki endured the sting of water repeatedly flushing the wound, while Midorima struggled to find a comfortable position.
By the time the wound was clean, both were drenched in sweat.
Next came [Activation], stimulating cell regeneration by drawing on Akizuki's latent chakra reserves.
Akizuki's chakra was the most abundant Midorima had encountered in the Mist, so he went all out.
It wasn't his chakra, after all—why hold back?
If the healing was too slow, Akizuki would probably complain.
But the injury had cracked a rib, requiring far more chakra than Midorima expected—almost equivalent to a minor surgery.
Given ten more hours, Akizuki's chakra would've naturally recovered. Now? He might be weaker than before treatment.
Since his reserves were originally high, he'd only notice the drain when using large amounts of chakra.
'I warned you the ointment would've been better—for both of us. But you insisted on the 'real deal.' So here you go. If something goes wrong in your fight with Katsumaru… not my problem!'
Midorima grumbled internally.
Everyone had a little devil in their heart, right?
As for Katsumaru—if they couldn't win, they could always run. It wasn't their first time facing him.
Akizuki was stunned by how quickly the wound closed—without even a scar.
"Done?"
"Uh… yeah."
Midorima's vague reply brushed it off.
"Alright. You've got some skill. I acknowledge you." Akizuki glanced at Mei. "And you… fine. Since you're both determined to join, let's plan for tonight.