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Everyone has their own curiosities. Take Sasori, for example—the reason he became a puppeteer was largely due to his childhood fascination with puppets.
Of course, he also understood that different people had different curiosities, some stronger, some weaker.
If Midorima had responded with something like, "Really? I don't believe it," or "I'm not well-read, so don't try to fool me," Sasori would have been confident in persuading him. After all, such responses would indicate at least some level of skepticism—and skepticism meant there was still "curiosity" at play.
But Midorima simply replied, "I don't want to know," leaving Sasori momentarily at a loss. A single thought flashed through his mind—This guy doesn't play by the rules.
What he didn't know was that Midorima's understanding of "Akatsuki" was no less than his own.
However, Midorima had his own considerations.
He did want to get closer to Akatsuki—but he couldn't agree too quickly, for reasons similar to Itachi's.
Accepting too readily would only arouse suspicion.
Sasori was one thing, but who knew if Zetsu was lurking nearby?
After all, Zetsu wasn't truly loyal to Nagato—he was aligned with Obito and Madara Uchiha. His allegiance to Akatsuki was nothing more than a facade.
Sasori stared at Midorima, his mind in turmoil. Should he ditch Midorima and find someone else? Or should he just stick with him?
Putting everything else aside, in terms of pure combat ability, Midorima's displayed strength was no weaker than the other members of Akatsuki.
Though their battle hadn't reached a definitive conclusion, nor had they fought all-out, this was how clashes between experts often went. Just a brief exchange was enough to gauge an opponent's skill—through their choice of jutsu, their power, their composure in response.
Their skirmish had been nothing more than a light probing, with neither gaining a clear advantage. But the fact that Midorima hadn't pressed his attacks even when he had the upper hand suggested a deeper understanding of combat.
Since there was no real conflict between them, there was no need for a life-or-death struggle. Besides, Sasori's combat style relied heavily on puppets—expendable tools. Unless absolutely necessary, he had no intention of wasting them recklessly.
Of course, if Midorima pushed him too far, he wouldn't hesitate to go for the kill.
"I think… you've earned my recognition. I don't often approve of someone." Sasori refused to back down.
"Can I make money?" Midorima rubbed his fingers together.
"Before, when you were following me, wasting all that time, you didn't seem to care about money," Sasori retorted.
"Back then, I thought you were a 'big fish'—your head had to be worth at least eight or nine million. I just never got the chance to cut it off. Now that I've given up, of course I need to find my next target." Midorima grinned.
"..." Sasori was speechless. He hadn't expected someone to actually consider killing him. "You've got some nerve."
"Of course. If you don't even dare to think about it, what can you do?" Midorima replied as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
"How about this—you follow me, and I'll give you opportunities like that. Plus, Akatsuki takes on plenty of… stimulating missions." Sasori pressed on, though his persuasion skills were lacking.
Midorima sweatdropped internally. Sasori clearly had no experience as a negotiator—he couldn't even lie convincingly.
Still, if he dragged this out any longer, he risked scaring Sasori off entirely. After a brief pause, he feigned contemplation. "Hmm… maybe I'll think about it?"
"No need. Once you join, you'll have plenty of time to think." Sasori urged impatiently.
"Even so… I can't shake the feeling you're trying to trick me."
"How could I?" Sasori doubled down. He didn't want to be the only one without a partner at the next gathering. No matter what, he needed to drag someone in.
If Midorima turned out to be stronger than Orochimaru, great. If not, he could always replace him later with someone better.
In the end, it didn't matter who his partner was—as long as he had one.
"Fine. Don't let me down. My name is Yoshida Shin, formerly a shinobi of Takigakure. My hobby is 'money.'" Midorima smiled.
"I'm Sasori. My hobby is crafting puppets. Let's hope we can work well together." Sasori returned the smile.
"Speaking of puppets, I have a question. Mind if I ask?"
"Hm? If it's about construction techniques, those are secret. I won't tell you."
"Nothing to do with making them."
"Go on."
"Do puppet dolls… go to the bathroom?" Midorima was genuinely curious. He also knew Sasori had modified his own body—his chest cavity was hollow.
Sasori's face darkened. With great difficulty, he spat out a single word: "Get lost."
Both men harbored ulterior motives, but there was one thing they agreed on—they intended to use each other, and both hoped to eliminate the other when the time was right.
"By the way, now that you've agreed to join Akatsuki, I think we should be open with each other. As you can see, this is my real appearance. The one you saw earlier was my puppet, Hiruko. What about you? Wearing a mask all the time isn't appropriate, is it?" Sasori said.
"Sorry, too many enemies. Can't help it." Midorima removed his mask, revealing Yoshida Shin's face.
Sasori looked mildly disappointed. Glancing over his shoulder, he muttered, "I was expecting someone younger or more handsome, like Itachi."
Only then did Midorima notice a white dot emerging from the darkness behind Sasori. It expanded rapidly, taking on a humanoid shape.
Zetsu…
Midorima felt a headache coming on.
This guy was a nuisance.
"Well, nobody's perfect. Everyone's missing something." Zetsu materialized before Midorima.
For some reason, the way Zetsu looked at him was… odd. As if Midorima owed him a fortune.
At that moment, Zetsu really wanted to grab Midorima and give him a piece of his mind. This idiot wore a plain black mask with no distinguishing features, and Sasori—that fool—actually drew him as a black egg!
To track Midorima down, Zetsu had deployed countless clones, spending nearly a week before finally locating him.
In one word—exhausting.
"Alright, go report to the leader. I've found my partner. We're ready to take on missions anytime." Sasori said.
Zetsu nodded before melting back into the darkness.
"He's… weird." Midorima put his mask back on.
"Akatsuki is full of weirdos. You'll see when you meet the others. Oh, can you do me a favor?" Sasori turned and walked toward the shadows.
"What is it?" Midorima asked.
"Help me dig Hiruko out… This is the fourth time you've buried him." Sasori continued forward without looking back.
Midorima rolled his eyes. Why the hell is this my problem now? If he'd known, he would've held back a little during their fight.
After officially joining Akatsuki, Midorima began accompanying Sasori on missions—though they weren't hunting tailed beasts just yet. Instead, they took on assignments from smaller nations.
From Midorima's perspective, this was likely Akatsuki's second phase—flooding the market with low-cost missions to monopolize the small nations' "war economy."
In other words, a price war.
Honestly, under normal circumstances, it was the major villages that engaged in price wars—their vast resources and manpower allowed them to absorb the costs. For an organization like Akatsuki, even with Amegakure's backing, dominating the small nations' war market was a stretch.
But since Nagato had devised this plan, he must have considered it carefully. As for Midorima? He was just along for the ride, coasting in Sasori's shadow. If they expected him to take the lead, they'd be sorely disappointed.