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When Midorima caught sight of Haku and Zabuza, he was startled—especially since Zabuza looked like he was on the verge of death, barely clinging to life. If Sasori decided to take a cheap shot and finish him off, Midorima wouldn't have been able to stop him even if he wanted to.
Fortunately, Sasori only glanced at them before hurrying away.
This left two possibilities: either the Akatsuki had an important mission, forcing Sasori to ignore Zabuza for now, or Sasori simply didn't know Zabuza was worth ten million ryō.
Considering how Kakuzu was the only one in Akatsuki who truly cared about money, the latter couldn't be ruled out.
Still, Midorima finally felt a spark of excitement.
If it was the first scenario, it meant the Akatsuki were likely gathering—which increased the chances of Orochimaru showing up.
From being chased by Sasori to now chasing Sasori himself, wasn't Orochimaru and Jugo the whole reason he was here in the first place?
As he passed by Haku, he subtly tapped him on the shoulder before following Sasori up the mountain.
This time, Midorima didn't get too close. He only wanted Jugo's cells—he wasn't looking to start an all-out war with the Akatsuki.
However, when he saw Itachi, he nearly lost his composure.
No one in Akatsuki understood just how strong Itachi was better than Midorima, but that was in a one-on-one fight. Now, Itachi was trying to take on three opponents at once—that wouldn't be easy.
"Took you long enough. If you'd arrived a few days earlier, we would've already caught him," Kakuzu remarked.
"I would've, but I was held up," Sasori replied.
"You didn't kill them, did you?" Hidan laughed.
Sasori remained silent.
Kakuzu noticed something was off and raised an eyebrow. "Don't tell me you couldn't kill them?"
"He's strong," Sasori said simply.
Hidan rolled his eyes. "So, you failed to kill him. Got it."
"I said he's strong," Sasori snapped, irritation creeping into his voice.
"Yeah, yeah, he's strong," Hidan replied dismissively.
Though his words sounded like agreement, the sheer condescension in his tone made Sasori's temper flare.
He was clearly being looked down on.
Sasori turned his head, scanning the area behind him—but there was no one there.
"Hey, kid! Show yourself!" Sasori's face darkened.
From the shadows, Midorima stayed silent. We're not even that close, dude.
Sasori called out a couple more times, but still got no response. Hidan burst out laughing. "We believe you, alright? Now hurry up and help us catch Itachi."
"No," Sasori said stubbornly. "Not until I drag him out here."
"He's not even your partner. Why do you care?" Kakuzu asked.
"Who knows? Right now, Orochimaru's supposed to be my partner, but I haven't been able to reach him for ages. Shouldn't I be thinking about my own future? Rather than some guy who's never around, I'd rather have someone actually strong." Sasori shot Hidan a glare before turning back. "You followed me all this way, but now that we're here, you don't even have the guts to show yourself? Pathetic."
"Well, yeah. Those three look way stronger than you," Midorima said.
Hidan blinked, then glanced at Kakuzu. "Wait, there really was someone there?"
Kakuzu was equally surprised. He hadn't sensed anyone nearby—until now.
"..."
Sasori clenched his fists, forcing himself to stay calm.
"They're strong, but I'm no pushover. You should know that better than anyone," Sasori said.
"Hmm... I guess?"
Sasori's head throbbed.
Yes or no—what the hell does "I guess" mean?!
"Seems like he's not too impressed with you, old man," Hidan taunted.
Itachi's gaze flickered between the three of them, growing impatient.
These guys are unreliable.
We're already at the critical moment, and now this happens?
Did I just waste my performance for nothing?
No, I need to remind them.
"Ahem. If you're busy, I'll just take my leave," Itachi said.
"Don't move—we'll handle this quickly," Hidan said, swinging his arm and hurling his triple-bladed scythe toward the source of the voice.
At that moment, an earthen wall erupted from the ground, blocking the scythe mid-flight. Simultaneously, a figure darted out from behind the wall.
"Whoa, you really don't care if you kill me, huh?!" Midorima quickly assessed the battlefield.
The three Akatsuki members had Itachi surrounded in a triangular formation. Breaking through head-on would be tough.
But the moment Midorima appeared, Itachi had been glaring at him, clearly not wanting him to interfere.
Midorima instantly understood—Itachi was already in the process of joining Akatsuki. Whether he succeeded or not depended on this moment. And Sasori's mission here had nothing to do with Orochimaru after all.
Disappointed, Midorima sighed.
"Well, you all seem busy. I won't disturb you any further. Let's not meet again."
Since Itachi had a chance to join Akatsuki, there was no reason for Midorima to stick around.
If Akatsuki really did have leads on Orochimaru, he'd find a way to contact Itachi later.
"You think you can just leave? Not a chance!"
Hidan roared and charged at Midorima again, only to find that Midorima was retreating even faster—vanishing from sight in an instant.
"Hidan, we have more important matters!" Kakuzu reminded him.
Hidan reluctantly stopped, though he still shot Sasori a resentful look.
"He's strong," Sasori added.
"If he's that strong, his bounty must be huge, right?" Hidan glanced at Kakuzu.
"Hard to say. Either way, you probably can't beat him," Sasori said flatly.
"Let's just deal with the situation in front of us," Kakuzu said, refusing to engage further.
If they delayed any longer, Itachi would escape.
"So? Will you join us?" Kakuzu asked.
Itachi exhaled in relief. Finally, back on track.
"First, I don't even know who you are. Second, if you want me to join Akatsuki, you must already know my background. My goal is simple—whoever can find my brother gets my loyalty. I was considering whether you were reliable, but now... you can't even catch one guy. Not very impressive."
"Oh?" Hidan smirked, looking at Kakuzu. "I still feel like killing him. What do you think?"
"Then let's show him what we're capable of. Sasori, no holding back—or we'll really be looked down on." Kakuzu removed his cloak, revealing a torso crisscrossed with stitched scars.
Watching the three Akatsuki members, Itachi's lips curled slightly.
...
Midorima hadn't expected to run into Itachi—a miscalculation on his part.
Still, when it came to finding Orochimaru, their goals aligned.
After descending the mountain, Midorima didn't idle around.
Zabuza and Haku had only just left and couldn't have gone far. Plus, he'd left a trace of his chakra on Haku earlier, making him easy to track.