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After finishing treatment on Mei Terumī, Midorima Asachi sank deep into thought.
He was so absorbed that even when Mei brought dinner over, he didn't notice her at all, leaving her to wonder if he had fallen ill. She pressed her palm against his forehead but still felt nothing out of the ordinary.
Just as her confusion was reaching its peak, Midorima finally came back to his senses. The first words out of his mouth upon seeing her were, "I have something to discuss with you."
"Huh? Oh... alright."
Mei hadn't quite processed the sudden shift, especially since Midorima's expression was unusually serious. It made her heart start pounding erratically.
What could he need to tell me so solemnly? Does it have something to do with me?
A rush of heat flooded Mei's cheeks.
What else could there be between him and her? A confession?
Well, with a massive battle looming on the horizon, the timing wasn't exactly ideal...
No, no, no—what if there wouldn't be another chance later? Put that way, maybe now was actually the perfect moment.
Unless...
Mei was just spiraling into wild fantasies when a single thought surfaced in her mind and doused every last one of them like a bucket of cold water: I've been observing the celestial phenomena...
That man... his celestial observations never brought any good news.
Mei shot Midorima a glare.
Midorima looked at her with bewilderment. Her complexion had gone from flushed to ice-cold in an instant.
That... was an awfully rapid shift in mood.
"Ahem... I'm planning to find another quiet place to further increase my strength. So I may have to leave the Leaf Village very soon. After that, I'll have to ask you to handle any communications with the Hokage and the others," Midorima said.
"What?" Mei froze for a moment, and then a wave of disappointment washed over her.
"What's wrong?" Midorima asked.
"Nothing..." Mei shook her head quickly.
His words were nothing like what she had been imagining. The upside, at least, was that they also had nothing to do with "observing the celestial phenomena."
After steadying her emotions, Mei replayed Midorima's words in her mind and immediately sensed something unusual. "You're still going to train?" she asked.
"Yeah."
"But you're already extremely strong, aren't you?" she pressed.
"Not strong enough," Midorima said, shaking his head.
How far had he really come? Once Madara Uchiha returned to life, he estimated it would be nearly impossible to defeat him in a direct confrontation. That was precisely why he had to raise his strength yet again.
Mei's expression grew heavy, and she nodded. If Midorima was saying this, it meant the battles to come would be far more brutal than she had imagined.
"Is there anything you need me to do?" she asked.
"I've already told the Hokage everything I can. I doubt there's much more that needs to be said," Midorima replied.
If Tsunade had indeed questioned Kakashi as planned, then the true identity of Tobi would likely come to light very soon.
Mei nodded and was just about to offer some words of caution when a sudden knock came at the door. It was very faint—so soft that anyone not paying close attention would have easily missed it.
At first, Midorima thought he had misheard, but then the knock sounded again, and his senses instantly went on high alert. If it were a Leaf shinobi, there would be no need for such furtive behavior. So who could it be?
Midorima glanced at Mei, who looked just as bewildered. "It's probably not Chōjūrō or the others," she said. "They should still be helping out at the medical unit."
Even as she spoke, Mei discreetly drew a kunai, ready to strike at a moment's notice.
Staying on guard, Midorima pulled the door open and immediately burst outside, his elbow slamming against the visitor's throat and pinning the person against the wall, poised to deliver a fatal blow in an instant.
"It's us, Lord Midorima!" a female voice called out from the side.
Once the situation had stabilized, Midorima got a clear look and saw that the person at the door was Kabuto, and the one who had called for him to stop was Tayuya.
"It's you two? What are you doing here?" Midorima released Kabuto, perplexed.
"We came to—"
"Ahem..." Kabuto cut Tayuya off, his eyes darting meaningfully toward the room inside.
Midorima understood immediately and turned to Mei, saying, "Just a couple of kids I know coming to see me. Nothing important." With that, he casually pulled the door shut behind him.
Mei blinked, her head swimming with question marks. Kids? What kids? How come she'd never heard about this before?
Midorima had no idea what was running through Mei's mind. He led the two of them up onto the rooftop and asked, "What's this about?"
"Lord Midorima, I've got huge news. There's a chance Lord Orochimaru can be brought back to life," Tayuya said earnestly, clenching her fists.
"Uh..." Midorima rubbed the bridge of his nose.
Orochimaru could be revived? He knew that better than anyone. But how had Tayuya found out? Midorima's gaze slid toward Kabuto, and a thought surfaced in his mind. Could this be Kabuto's idea?
If it really was Kabuto who had proposed this, then that genuinely surprised Midorima. The Kabuto from the manga had been far more devoted to Orochimaru than the current one, and yet even he hadn't moved to revive Orochimaru right away. That implied either Kabuto didn't know the "Evil Releasing Method," or he simply couldn't locate anyone bearing the Cursed Seal of Heaven.
Others aside, Anko Mitarashi definitely carried the Cursed Seal of Heaven, and Kabuto had eventually captured her later on. Yet he still hadn't taken action then. The only explanation, therefore, was that Kabuto didn't know how to perform the Evil Releasing Method. This led Midorima to suspect that Kabuto might have discovered the technique among Orochimaru's many scrolls and research notes—or perhaps this was something the Sound Trio had negotiated as part of their arrangement with him.
"You don't seem very surprised," Tayuya remarked, catching the look on Midorima's face and growing suspicious.
"Not at all, I'm a little surprised too. But whether Orochimaru lives or dies doesn't really have much to do with me," Midorima replied. Inwardly, though, he was counting himself fortunate that he hadn't gotten too close to the Sound shinobi. If Orochimaru were truly resurrected and these people all flocked back to his side, then all of his own efforts would have been a complete waste. He wasn't particularly worried about Jūgo, at least—Jūgo's ties to Orochimaru weren't all that deep.
"But—"
Tayuya opened her mouth, already scrambling to figure out how to persuade Midorima, when she heard him continue, "You should be aware that I was once captured by Orochimaru. He even wanted to make me his next vessel. I only managed to escape by sheer luck. So yes, I know Orochimaru very well, but that doesn't mean I'm on good terms with him. Even more to the point, I have absolutely no desire to see him standing in front of me. Wouldn't you agree?"
Midorima looked over at Kabuto.
Kabuto nodded and turned to Tayuya. "It's not that I don't want to help you. Since Lord Midorima has spoken, I have no intention of going against his wishes."
Tayuya's expression shifted. She stepped forward until she was standing directly in front of Midorima, her eyes fixed on him. "Can't you just help us one more time?"
Midorima spread his hands. "First of all, I don't do things that offer me no benefit. The meager assets of the Hidden Sound Village don't interest me in the slightest. And don't get indignant about it—once war breaks out, the Hidden Sound will be nothing but a liability. It won't even have a chance to flee. In peacetime, I don't see much value in it either. Secondly, I genuinely have no way to bring him back."
"We just need to borrow your Cursed Seal of Heaven," Tayuya said urgently.
Midorima touched his neck and gave an awkward laugh. "The Cursed Seal of Heaven... is already gone."