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"Midorima, it's been a while. I heard you performed exceptionally well in the Hidden Mist Village last time and even managed to eliminate Kakuzu and Hidan," Kisame said with a wide grin.
"What do you mean it's been a while? Didn't we see each other not long ago in the Hidden Cloud Village?" Midorima replied with a calm smile.
"Oh, you're referring to that incident… Well, although we crossed paths during that event, my real opponent was Killer Bee. I just didn't expect Itachi to fail in capturing you," Kisame said, planting the bandaged form of Samehada firmly on the ground. A rare smile appeared on his face.
"Isn't it perfectly normal that he couldn't take me down? After all, even the man who calls himself 'Uchiha Madara' couldn't do anything to me," Midorima replied with a light laugh.
"That remains to be seen!" Kisame suddenly kicked off the ground, closing the distance to Midorima with incredible speed. He gathered all his strength and swung Samehada horizontally in a powerful strike aimed directly at his target.
The moment Samehada made contact with Midorima, the young man transformed into a simple wooden chair that instantly shattered into pieces.
Substitution technique…
Kisame was about to pursue Midorima when several fireballs came hurtling toward him. The air around them seemed to burn intensely from the heat. He quickly raised Samehada to block the incoming flames.
The fire scorched the bandages wrapped around the massive sword, quickly revealing Samehada's true, menacing appearance. Its grotesque, shark-like form caused Naruto to clutch tightly at Iruka's clothes in fear.
"Tsunade, take Naruto and get out of here!" Midorima shouted urgently.
Tsunade snapped out of her momentary daze and asked quickly, "Do you need any he-"
Before she could finish speaking, the wall on the left side suddenly collapsed with a thunderous crash. The small bed where Naruto had been sleeping moments earlier was now buried under a pile of debris. Itachi stood there with cold, emotionless eyes, staring at both Midorima and Tsunade. His hands moved rapidly through hand seals as several fireballs shot forward toward Midorima. At the same time, Itachi advanced swiftly, following closely behind the flames.
Seeing this, Kisame showed no mercy either. He swung Samehada in a ferocious arc, launching a powerful attack straight at Midorima.
At that moment, Samehada resembled a massive shark with its jaws wide open, charging forward with overwhelming ferocity.
Both Itachi and Kisame ranked among the strongest members of Akatsuki. Once Kisame unleashed the full power of Samehada, his combat ability would surge dramatically. This put considerable pressure on Midorima, especially with Naruto and Iruka still behind him.
As for Tsunade, while her close-range combat skills were formidable, both Itachi and Kisame possessed far greater experience in actual battle. They were unlikely to give her many openings.
Midorima quickly formed hand seals and summoned a Water Wall to block the incoming fireballs. Just as Samehada was about to reach him, he slammed both hands onto the ground, causing a thick Earth Wall to erupt upward and collide violently with the massive sword.
The Earth Wall shattered instantly upon impact. At the same time, a large flock of crows suddenly appeared behind Itachi, blocking the escape route of Tsunade and Iruka.
"Lady Tsunade, hand him over to me," Itachi said calmly.
"Itachi… I never imagined you would be the one standing in our way," Tsunade said through gritted teeth, clenching her fists tightly.
"I only want the Nine-Tails jinchuriki," Itachi replied, extending his hand.
"There are four Kage-level shinobi right next door. Do you really think you can leave this place alive?" Tsunade demanded sharply, though a flicker of doubt crossed her mind.
Under normal circumstances, the sounds of Itachi and Kisame's continuous attacks should have been loud enough to alert the people in the adjacent room. Yet there had been no response from next door, which was quite strange.
"Are you referring to them?" Itachi placed his hand against the wall. With a deafening boom, the wall collapsed entirely, revealing the scene inside the main conference hall to Tsunade's view.
Terumi Mei, Ebizo, Onoki, and the Raikage A stood with their backs to Midorima and Tsunade. Facing them were four figures: Obito, Sasori, Mui, and one shinobi Midorima had never seen before—possibly a new recruit Akatsuki had brought in.
Both groups were locked in a tense standoff. The earlier sounds of fighting had been so loud that they had drowned out the confrontation happening in the main hall.
Once the wall was destroyed, the people in the two rooms could now see each other clearly. However, due to the layout of the space, they were effectively divided into two separate battlefields.
Terumi Mei glanced behind her and spotted Midorima. Her tightly wound nerves relaxed slightly for a moment—until her eyes landed on Kisame. Her brows immediately furrowed with rage as she shouted, "Kisame! It's you!!"
Midorima had become a rogue ninja due to false accusations, but Kisame was a genuine traitor to the Hidden Mist Village.
The corners of Kisame's mouth curved upward. "Terumi Mei, I never expected you to become the Mizukage."
Terumi Mei clenched her fists tightly and declared, "Can the rest of you handle things here? There is a traitor from the Hidden Mist Village present. No matter what, I must kill him."
"Understood. There are two jinchuriki on the other side. Relying solely on Tsunade and Midorima might not be enough," the Raikage said, extending his arm as lightning began to crackle around his body. "Leave this side to us!"
Without hesitation, Terumi Mei immediately dashed toward the adjacent room.
"Don't let her through!" Obito moved swiftly to intercept her.
Even though Tsunade had reached Kage-level strength, she was fundamentally a medical ninja. Her immediate combat effectiveness still could not match that of Itachi or Kisame. Therefore, even with Midorima present, Kisame and Itachi held the advantage.
If Terumi Mei joined the fight, the situation could easily shift to a point where one plus one became greater than two. With Terumi Mei focusing on offense and Tsunade providing medical support, neither Kisame nor Itachi would have an easy time against Midorima.
Obito, who had fought Midorima before, understood his strength well. The moment Terumi Mei began moving, he sprang into action to stop her.
"You're not going anywhere!" The Raikage, seeing Obito rushing toward Terumi Mei, activated his lightning chakra mode and instantly caught up. From above, he attempted to slam Obito down to the ground.
However, the lightning-clad Raikage was completely caught off guard when his fist passed straight through Obito's body and smashed heavily into the floor with tremendous force.
A deafening crash echoed as the wooden floorboards were shattered.
Damn it!
The Raikage quickly looked up, only to see that Obito had already caught up to Terumi Mei.
Although Terumi Mei was charging forward, she could sense Obito right behind her. She immediately activated a ninjutsu, spewing a stream of viscous, corrosive acid from her mouth directly toward Itachi.
Itachi had not anticipated the sudden attack from Terumi Mei. He dodged hastily, and the acid landed on the floor, instantly corroding a large, smoking hole in the wood.
Itachi's eyes widened in genuine surprise.
If that acid had struck him directly, it likely would have melted through his body.
Obito, who was following closely behind Terumi Mei, had also not expected her to completely ignore his presence. Just as he was about to block her path, a dark shadow suddenly appeared in front of him. Before he could react, a powerful punch slammed into his body, sending him flying backward and crashing heavily onto the ground.
Midorima rubbed his wrist, feeling somewhat surprised that he had actually managed to land a solid hit on Obito.
'I should have used a Rasengan instead.' Midorima thought to himself.
Taking advantage of that brief opening, Terumi Mei slipped past Itachi and reached Tsunade's side.
The dynamics of the battlefield shifted dramatically in an instant.
Tsunade and Terumi Mei now faced Kisame together, while Midorima stood opposite Itachi. Obito, who had been knocked back by Midorima's punch, found himself on the same side as Mui, confronting the Raikage, Onoki, and Ebizo.
"Looks like it's just the two of us again," Midorima said, staring directly at Itachi.
"That's fine with me. If my opponent were Lady Tsunade, I might not fight with full seriousness. But against you, things are different," Itachi replied, cracking his neck slightly. "This time, I won't hold back."