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"I'm not going to treat you like some harmless little white rabbit," Orochimaru said, a strange smile spreading across his face.
Midorima shrugged. Orochimaru was sharp, as expected.
"Believe what you want. But the Akatsuki killed you—do you really feel no desire for revenge?" Midorima pressed.
"That's my own affair. It doesn't have much to do with you," Orochimaru replied.
"If that's how you're going to be, I'm sorely disappointed. Surely you understand that with your strength alone, you have no way of defeating the Akatsuki. I thought you were a clever man," Midorima said, his tone regretful.
"True enough. But as you just said yourself, I can't kill the Akatsuki—they're far stronger than I am. Given that, I could simply go into hiding. There's no need for me to throw my life away, is there? Why should I take such a risk?" Orochimaru countered.
"Are you certain you can hide? And even if you can, can the Hidden Sound Village do the same?" Midorima shot back.
Orochimaru said nothing, but his smile faded.
Midorima was well aware that the Hidden Sound Village didn't hold much weight in Orochimaru's heart. Given the right circumstances, Orochimaru would abandon it without a moment's hesitation.
"A vessel..." Midorima decided to stop dancing around the subject and went straight to the heart of the matter. "You're in need of a suitable vessel right now as well, aren't you?"
Orochimaru paused, and the smile on his face grew somewhat forced. "Surely you're not offering yourself as my vessel?"
"Do you even qualify?" Midorima retorted.
Orochimaru let out a cold laugh, fixing Midorima with a withering gaze.
"Zetsu... he should be quite perfect for you, shouldn't he? You were in the Akatsuki for so long; I refuse to believe you don't know Zetsu's true nature," Midorima said, smiling.
A glint of interest flashed in Orochimaru's eyes.
Zetsu couldn't compare to Sasuke. By every conceivable measure, Zetsu fell far short of him. Yet, at the same time, Zetsu was indeed a very suitable vessel. His very existence had been extracted from the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, which gave him an exceptionally unique nature.
"How about I help you acquire Zetsu?" Midorima offered with a grin.
"Oh..." Orochimaru rubbed his chin, clearly tempted.
Zetsu was a member of the Akatsuki. Getting hold of him would be extraordinarily difficult, especially given that Zetsu was a product of Kaguya Ōtsutsuki's will and shared an extremely close relationship with Tobi. If Orochimaru had to rely solely on himself, capturing Zetsu would be an immensely challenging endeavor. On top of that, although he had been resurrected, his current body was pathetically weak—something he was far from pleased with.
"Since you've already laid your bargaining chips on the table... let's hear the terms. What do you need me to do?" Orochimaru asked.
"The Akatsuki is extraordinarily troublesome. They've already captured seven of the tailed beasts, and even though they failed to capture the Eight-Tails, they did manage to obtain a portion of its chakra, which satisfies the conditions for absorption by the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path. Under these circumstances, even if we rely on the combined strength of the Five Great Shinobi Nations, the outcome is still far from assured. More importantly, even if by some stroke of luck we manage to win, it's destined to be a pyrrhic victory. My idea is simple... use the Reanimation Jutsu. Bring back every past Kage-level shinobi from every great village and make them fight against the Akatsuki."
"Are you joking?" Orochimaru asked skeptically.
"Do I look like I'm joking?" Midorima's expression was dead serious.
In the manga, Kabuto had used the Reanimation Jutsu to create enormous trouble for the Allied Shinobi Forces. The resurrected Kage-level shinobi of previous generations, in particular, had drained the alliance's main fighting strength. Midorima absolutely wasn't about to let that happen again. Besides, at this moment, there were two people who could use the Reanimation Jutsu: Midorima himself and Orochimaru. Kabuto also had the potential to perform the technique in the future, and its impact on the caster was minimal. Holding a trump card like this and not using it would be the height of foolishness.
"Tsunade doesn't know that you resurrected me for something like this, does she?" Orochimaru suddenly laughed.
"She doesn't know the specifics, but she could sense that I was planning to do something she wouldn't approve of. That's why she took Shizune and left."
"The Reanimation Jutsu requires two components: cellular tissue from the person being resurrected, and a living vessel—a human sacrifice. Are you going to provide those living vessels?" Orochimaru looked at Midorima, genuinely curious to hear his answer.
"How could I possibly do something like that? You think far too little of me. Every person only has one life. I won't let you use ordinary human lives to perform the Reanimation Jutsu."
"You're not actually planning to use livestock, are you?" Orochimaru jeered.
"White Zetsu," Midorima said, ignoring Orochimaru's mocking tone. "White Zetsu has countless clone bodies. Once we capture them, you can use them to perform the Reanimation Jutsu, can't you? I'm confident you're capable of that."
"..." Orochimaru rolled his eyes. He had intended to set a trap for Midorima, but he hadn't expected him to answer so bluntly and decisively.
"Well? What do you say?"
"Let me state this upfront: my current body isn't strong enough to engage powerful enemies in battle."
"That doesn't matter. You'll have me and Jūgo with you. All you need to do is supply the devious ideas," Midorima said, narrowing his eyes with a light laugh.
"..."
Kabuto and Tayuya stared at Orochimaru and Midorima. Through what had sounded almost like bickering, the two of them had hammered out their entire follow-up plan. It had gone far more smoothly than either of them had ever imagined.
After settling Shizune down to rest, Tsunade deliberately waited for over half an hour before returning. She knew that Midorima's reasons for resurrecting Orochimaru wouldn't be simple. Orochimaru's methods were always unpredictable—no one could ever truly guess what he was thinking. As for Midorima, she had known him for several years now, and he had never once deceived her. She harbored an inexplicable but genuine trust in him. What those two might cook up together, she couldn't say for certain. She could only hope the outcome would be favorable. Once Shizune's condition stabilized and the noise from outside had ceased, she rose to her feet and made her way back to the room. The window was wide open, and the room was completely empty.
...
Led by Tsume Inuzuka, Shikaku Nara had been running at full speed until they finally came to a halt beside a river. The ninja hound Kuromaru trotted back and forth along the riverbank twice, then turned to look at Tsume.
"What's wrong?" Shikaku asked.
"The trail's been cut off by the river," Tsume replied.
"We cross." Shikaku decided after a moment of deliberation.
What they would face on the other side, he had no idea. But this was the Hokage's mission, and on top of that, Naruto had been taken by the Akatsuki. Whatever happened, they needed to produce a result. If they simply turned around and returned to the Leaf like this, they wouldn't have the face to see the Hokage. The others raised no objections. Together, they forded the river. With Kuromaru guiding them, they eventually located where Pain had been sheltering—but the place was already empty. Tsume confirmed repeatedly that there was no longer any trace of Pain's scent.
"Where did they go? Did they fly up into the sky or something?" Shikaku planted his hands on his hips and stared up at the night sky. It suddenly struck him that the Akatsuki did indeed have someone who could ride a giant bird and fly. He stomped his foot in frustration.