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"What's the situation right now?" Might Guy called out, sticking close behind Shikaku. If he hadn't been watching Shikaku intently, he might never have caught the intention behind his movements.
"We run."
"Can we actually get away?" Guy asked.
"No."
"Then why are we—"
"But he's in the sky and we're on the ground. He holds the absolute advantage. We're at too great a disadvantage. We have to find a way to lure him down. That's only the first step..." Shikaku's brow furrowed deeply.
"What's the second step?"
"Don't give him a chance to use any more jutsu. Sō said earlier that Deidara's hands are pooling a massive amount of chakra, correct? If we can restrain his hands, we'll have a chance to win," Shikaku said.
"How do we restrain them?" Guy pressed.
"That problem comes after we solve 'how to bring him down from the sky,'" Shikaku replied.
Guy was just about to ask precisely how they were supposed to bring Deidara down when a deafening explosion erupted from behind them. Trees were ripped out by their roots, and clods of earth were hurled skyward along with the blast.
…
Midorima poked at his ear. The sound of explosions, rolling in from a distance, caught him off guard, and his thoughts drifted momentarily toward the source of the noise. What was that sound? It was a bit grating. At first, he assumed it was just an isolated blast, but then they came in rapid succession, one after another. That confirmed it—these were the sounds of detonating bombs. As for why such sounds were occurring... considering the two individuals standing right in front of him, Midorima was almost certain Deidara was behind it.
"Are you people splitting up your forces right now?" Midorima asked the half-black, half-white figure before him.
"That's none of your business, is it?" Zetsu countered.
"I wouldn't be so sure about that," Midorima replied, shaking his head. "Look, Deidara is one of yours, and he's currently engaged in combat with another group... You've heard the saying, 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend,' haven't you?"
Zetsu remained silent.
"Let me give you a simpler example. Say you and Kisame don't exactly get along, but both of you want to kill me, so you team up. Following that logic, the people Deidara is currently bombing should also be your enemies. Which would make them our comrades in the same trench." Midorima rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"You're in no position to split your attention right now," Zetsu said.
"With just you two? Not necessarily," Midorima answered, shaking his head.
"And what makes you think it's only us?"
"It doesn't matter how many of you come, unless Pain himself shows up," Midorima said with a shrug.
Neither Zetsu nor Kisame uttered a word. Midorima stole a glance at their expressions, but whether it was Kisame or Zetsu, neither face betrayed anything unusual. The Akatsuki really is full of poker faces, Midorima grumbled internally. He turned his head to look at Orochimaru. "How about you go check out what's happening over there? Leave this place to me for now."
"Can you handle it?" Orochimaru cast a glance toward the direction of the explosions, his tone skeptical.
"They still can't capture me. If Pain shows up, though, you probably won't be able to escape."
Orochimaru had been about to make some retort, but when he saw the resolute look in Midorima's eyes, he understood that Midorima was completely serious. Without another word, he moved out immediately. Midorima found it curious that neither Zetsu nor Kisame made any move to go after him.
"You're just going to let him walk away like that?" Midorima asked.
"He's not the Six-Tails jinchūriki," Zetsu replied.
Midorima shook his head. Obtaining the power of a jinchūriki meant shouldering the accompanying risks as well. Still, once they secured the Six-Tails, they could fuse the Ten-Tails. At that point, whether it was Orochimaru or anyone else, they would become utterly insignificant in the eyes of the Akatsuki.
"I'm not going to just sit around waiting to die," Midorima declared, spreading his hands, a faint smile curving his lips.
"You won't escape," Kisame said, pulling Samehada from his back. As he swung his arms, a twinge of discomfort ran through him, but he quickly adjusted.
When Midorima's eyes landed on Samehada, his expression turned deadly serious. That weapon, out of all the legendary blades, was the one that gave him the biggest headache. Not only because it could absorb chakra, but because it possessed a will of its own, often making its own judgments, which made handling it exceptionally troublesome. Even the Raikage or Killer B would suffer some nasty surprises when facing the combination of Kisame and Samehada. As for a countermeasure... it wasn't as though one didn't exist. The instant Kisame drew Samehada, Midorima made his decision. He slammed his palm against the ground, and curse patterns rapidly spread across the earth. A woman materialized before him.
"Why have you dragged me out again?" Tagitsuhime demanded, planting her hands on her hips and fixing Midorima with an irritated glare.
Midorima pointed a finger at Kisame and Zetsu. "Obviously, because I've run into some troublesome opponents."
Tagitsuhime's gaze flicked rapidly between Kisame and Zetsu, and a look of displeasure immediately settled on her face. "They're your opponents?"
"Yes."
"Well, there's no helping it. I can see that they're extremely powerful."
Midorima reserved judgment on that assessment. The primary reason he had decided to employ Sage Jutsu was, in fact, Samehada. Samehada could absorb an opponent's chakra and then supply it to Kisame. However, senjutsu chakra had one defining characteristic: when natural energy, physical energy, and spiritual energy fell out of balance, the result was progressive petrification. So he wanted to see whether Kisame, too, would end up turning into a stone serpent. The moment Kisame saw Tagitsuhime suddenly appear, he sensed something was off. He swung Samehada in a wide, sweeping arc. The blade passed straight through Tagitsuhime's body, as though slicing through empty air.
"Sigh, you're finished." No sooner had the words left her mouth than Tagitsuhime transformed into a silver serpent and landed on Midorima's shoulder. "Don't hold back on my account. Beat him to death."
"With how tough you were talking, I thought you were going to handle him personally," Midorima said with a laugh.
"Save the chatter—he's coming!"
Kisame brandished Samehada and attacked Midorima directly. Midorima shifted his body backward, maintaining a steady gap of one full step between them. Using that space, his hands flew through a rapid sequence of seals, senjutsu chakra gathering in his throat. When he opened his mouth, a torrent of water surged forth, taking the shape of a water dragon. It collided head-on with Samehada, instantly shredding the bandages wrapped around the blade. Samehada gaped its enormous mouth, revealing a hideous, savage visage.
"That sword really is bizarre," Tagitsuhime remarked with curiosity.
"Don't underestimate it. That sword's true power is far more terrifying than it looks," Midorima warned, his eyes fixed unwaveringly on Kisame, not daring to lower his guard for an instant. The combination of Kisame and Samehada absolutely possessed the strength to challenge a Kage-level shinobi. When Water Release jutsu were added to the mix, their combat power was amplified even further. An ordinary shinobi truly stood no chance against him. And on top of Kisame, Zetsu was still standing off to the side, which meant Midorima had to be even more cautious.
"Midorima, you really are something. Watching you grow has made even me burn with envy. But do you know what? Even now that you've elevated your strength to this level, you still have a glaring weakness. And that's precisely why I'm confident I can keep you locked in a stalemate." Kisame suddenly closed the distance, swinging Samehada in a relentless barrage of attacks. "Your taijutsu is terrible!"