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Confusion aside, Midorima still maintained a reasonable level of rationality. Getting too close to someone with a muddled consciousness was dangerous.
Before his transmigration, he had read plenty of web novels—and martial arts novels, for that matter.
In those stories, when the protagonist fell off a cliff, they would often be captured by a reclusive but peerlessly skilled old man.
His current situation was no different from those novels, with one exception: this place was probably close to Kirigakure.
If he disappeared for too long, someone should come looking for him.
Yes, should—not definitely.
Because he wasn't entirely sure whether anyone would actually care about his whereabouts.
As for spending an extended period with the Third Mizukage… well…
He remembered all too clearly that the reason Midorima Asachi had been killed by Zabuza was due to the Third Mizukage's policies.
The Third lying on the ground? Better pretend he hadn't seen him.
Midorima stood up, ready to leave, when suddenly his arm was seized in a tight grip.
"Where do you think you're going?"
Startled, Midorima looked down and saw that the Third Mizukage had opened his eyes.
"You know who I am?" Midorima's heart pounded in fear.
The Third Mizukage shook his head.
"Then… why won't you let me leave?" Midorima retorted.
"If you go out, you'll expose my location," the Third Mizukage said.
"Why are you afraid of me exposing your location?" Midorima was baffled.
As far as he knew, Kirigakure hadn't specifically targeted the Third Mizukage. But the man before him now was completely different from the one he had seen earlier.
Earlier, the Third had been on the verge of death, barely clinging to life. Now, he seemed perfectly normal—unnervingly energetic.
The Third Mizukage froze, as if he had never considered the question. Seizing the opportunity, Midorima yanked his arm free and made a dash for the cave entrance—only for the Third to grab his wrist again.
"Why are you running?" the Third demanded.
"Because I'm afraid you'll kill me," Midorima said, rolling his eyes.
Even with the [Cell Laboratory] enhancing him, he was still a rookie ninja. Going up against a seasoned veteran like the Third Mizukage? He'd be lucky to escape with his life.
"If you don't expose my location, why would I kill you?"
Great. Now the old man was just talking in circles.
Midorima sighed in exasperation before turning around to face the Third properly. "Old man… what's your name?"
The Naruto series had never mentioned the Third Mizukage's name—just like it hadn't named the Third Kazekage.
"Me?" The Third blinked, his eyes rolling upward twice before snapping back to attention. "Don't change the subject!"
"..." Midorima stared blankly, a bead of sweat rolling down his temple.
Wait… had this old man forgotten his own name?
"Why are you here?" Midorima pressed, unwilling to let it go.
The Third fell into thought for a moment before growing angry again. "My whereabouts are a secret! Why should I tell you?!"
Great. Now he'd forgotten why he was hiding here, too.
"Are you hiding from someone?" Midorima ventured.
The Third erupted once more. "You sneaky little brat, always trying to trick me into talking! You tell me—who am I hiding from?!"
How the hell should I know?
Midorima rolled his eyes, inadvertently completing the "Three Times Enraging the Third Mizukage" achievement.
Still, one thing was certain: the Third's mind had likely suffered some damage. The exact cause, however, was hard to determine.
After all, in the world of Naruto, there were far too many ways this could happen—a blow to the head causing mental instability, a genjutsu like the one cast on the Fourth Mizukage, or even an unbearable psychological trauma.
"Old man, I don't know who you're hiding from. But I can see that your physical condition isn't great. I'm a medical ninja—if you need help, I can examine you." After some deliberation, Midorima decided to take the risk.
Since transmigrating, he had spent every moment honing his ninja skills.
Now, nearly a year after graduating from the academy, he could hold his own against Zabuza in a fight. His only shortcoming was lack of combat experience—in a real life-or-death battle, he'd still lose to Zabuza.
With the Seven Ninja Swordsmen selection approaching, sparring with Zabuza wasn't enough to make waves or significantly improve his strength.
Running into the Third Mizukage was agonizing—but it was also an opportunity.
That punch to the chest earlier? It was on a completely different level from anything Gōketsu Mangetsu or Zabuza could dish out.
To grow stronger, he had to dance on the edge of death—using the [Catalysis Chamber] to withstand the Third's attacks while the [Analysis Lab] decoded his techniques. The success rate might be low, but with enough attempts, he'd get there.
He was even prepared to get beaten up a hundred times.
Only by acclimating his body to the Third's level could he fight others with ease.
But there was a problem.
The state the Third was in before passing out could have killed Midorima outright—without him even getting a chance to fight back.
Because a madman didn't know restraint.
In contrast, the current Third, while still forgetful, was at least somewhat rational. He wouldn't go for the kill—otherwise, instead of grabbing Midorima's wrist, he would've trapped him in a Water Prison Technique right away.
So a semi-lucid Third was invaluable to Midorima—unlikely to kill him, yet capable of "feeding" him jutsu.
"Me? My physical condition?" The Third looked at his own withered hands in confusion.
"Yes. Whoever you're hiding from must be incredibly strong. Alone, you probably can't win—especially not in your current state. If you're found, you're dead. But if you recover even a little, even if you can't defeat them, at least you can escape, right?" Midorima reasoned patiently.
The Third remained wary, stepping back as if to say, Every commoner is out to get the emperor.
Their positions had reversed.
Midorima had no choice but to raise his hands in a gesture of peace.
"Me. A medical ninja. A good guy," he reiterated.
"Stay back!" The Third retreated further. "I don't trust you!"
"Tch…"
Was this the same furious Third from earlier?
All bark and no bite? Or had that outburst just been a defensive act?
Midorima suddenly lunged forward, seizing the Third's wrist.
The Third tried to pull away but failed.
Channeling chakra into the Third's body, Midorima probed his chakra network and immediately noticed something strange.
During their first contact, the Third's chakra had been overwhelmingly powerful—on par with the strongest in Kirigakure—but chaotic.
Now, however, the Third's chakra was unnaturally orderly, almost as if it had been forcibly restrained.
"Old man… can you perform a jutsu?" Midorima asked softly.
He needed to confirm just how much of the Third's abilities remained.
"A jutsu?" The Third looked utterly lost. "What's a jutsu?"
Midorima stared at him, just as bewildered as the Third was staring back.
Then, a horrifying realization struck him—
When the Third was in a rational state, he forgot how to use jutsu. But when he could use jutsu, he was impossible to reason with.
This… was a dead end.
No wonder he hadn't used the Water Prison Technique earlier—he couldn't.
Midorima's head throbbed.