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Midorima had no intention of getting tangled up with Deidara for long. Beyond the constant threat of aerial bombardment, Deidara still had that ultimate trump card—self-destruction. The knowledge made Midorima wary; even if he could dodge the blast, he saw no reason to gamble his life on it.
Besides, as long as Deidara stayed airborne, Killer B would have a much easier time slipping away.
The moment Deidara hit the ground, Midorima shifted his attention back to the main battlefield.
The Third Kazekage puppet had already unleashed its Magnetic Release. Countless grains of iron sand swirled through the air, coalescing into a massive three-sided pyramid that hurtled straight toward Killer B.
At that moment Killer B's entire body was cloaked in a thick layer of crimson chakra. Though he still retained his human shape, the tailed-beast energy poured outward in visible waves, radiating raw power.
Seeing the iron-sand pyramid closing in, Killer B used his explosive speed to sidestep. He was about to counterattack when Samehada's jagged maw suddenly lunged forward, snapping toward his shoulder.
"Killer B, whatever you do, don't let Samehada bite you!" Midorima shouted in warning. "It'll drain your chakra dry!"
He had no desire to see Killer B captured. The more tailed beasts Akatsuki collected, the greater the danger to Midorima himself. Once the organization turned its full strength against him, survival would no longer be guaranteed.
Naruto and the Hidden Leaf had already taught him that lesson the hard way.
Forewarned, Killer B twisted away just in time. But the iron sand responded instantly, reshaping in midair into a wide, spiked barrier that forced him to keep moving, restricting his footing.
"Damn it!" Killer B cursed as he dodged another wave of iron sand—only for Samehada to clamp down hard on his shoulder.
In an instant he felt the difference. Chakra began pouring out of his body and into the blade in a steady, unstoppable stream.
"Get off!" Killer B tried to blast Kisame away with a burst of raw power, but the chakra he released simply flowed straight into Samehada instead. Only then did he remember Midorima's earlier warning.
Habit and instinct had betrayed him.
Midorima started moving to assist—only to be intercepted by dozens of small clay birds streaking toward him from the side.
"You're not going anywhere!" Deidara shrieked hysterically from above.
"You're not my opponent," Midorima replied calmly. His hands flashed through seals. A thick wall of earth erupted from the ground directly in front of him.
A chain of explosions rocked the barrier. When the dust settled and the wall collapsed, two enormous clay serpents burst from the rubble, coiling around Midorima's body in an instant.
"Behold true art!" Deidara roared. "Explode!"
The twin snakes detonated simultaneously.
Deidara's lips curled into a triumphant sneer.
"This is what happens when you cross me… turned into fireworks, scattered on the wind." Clutching his injured chest, he bellowed the words—then immediately winced as the motion tugged at his wounds.
Yes, he loathed Midorima even more than he hated Itachi.
From the very first moment—before they had even properly met—Midorima had humiliated him by punching him out of the sky. The shame still burned.
"Is that so? Turns out making you happy is pretty easy."
Deidara whipped around. Midorima stood directly behind him, smiling faintly.
"You—"
Deidara stared, frozen, until he saw Midorima raise his right hand. A sphere of lightning far larger than before crackled into existence in his palm.
"Lightning Cutter!"
The massive Lightning Release attack slammed into Deidara's chest. His body was hurled backward, crashing heavily to the ground. He lay motionless, unconscious.
Midorima immediately turned his attention back to Killer B. The situation there had grown dire.
Since Samehada had latched onto him, it was steadily draining his chakra reserves. At the same time, maintaining even partial tailed-beast transformation meant his own chakra was being siphoned away by the Eight-Tails. The two effects compounded each other.
Once his personal chakra reached zero, death would follow.
Under the combined pressure of Samehada and the transformation feedback loop, Killer B could not sustain tailed-beast mode for long.
He understood the danger perfectly and had already begun to release the cloak—but Kisame, empowered by the massive influx of stolen chakra, had only grown stronger.
Midorima hated opponents like Kisame precisely because their strength scaled upward the longer the fight continued, introducing unpredictable variables.
Samehada refused to let go of Killer B's shoulder. On the opposite flank, iron sand once again gathered into another deadly three-sided pyramid—this time aimed straight at Midorima.
Midorima formed seals with both hands. A gigantic earth dragon erupted from the ground and collided head-on with the iron pyramid, shattering it in a spray of metallic fragments. In the same instant Midorima closed the distance to Kisame and unleashed Lightning Cutter, forcing the swordsman to retreat.
In the original story, Kisame and Killer B had indeed fought a major battle—and Killer B had ultimately subdued Samehada.
But the current circumstances were completely different.
Back then, the Raikage and Killer B had faced Kisame together. Now Killer B was caught alone between Kisame and Sasori, with no realistic opportunity to turn the tables on Samehada.
Sasori, seeing Midorima suddenly enter the fray, paused in genuine surprise. "Where's Itachi?"
Midorima jerked a thumb over his shoulder. "Taken care of."
A full-power Itachi would never have gone down so easily. But Itachi hadn't been fighting seriously—much of it had been theater. And while Midorima's Big Ball Rasengan had landed solidly, it still hadn't been enough to completely incapacitate him. Both men understood this unspoken agreement and neither called it out.
As for Deidara, Midorima hadn't used lethal force either—but two consecutive Lightning Cutters were more than sufficient to knock him out of the fight.
Killer B's situation, however, was far more precarious. Midorima had no time to finish off fallen opponents.
"You arrived just in time," Sasori said coldly, pointing at Midorima. "I've been wanting to kill you anyway. We used to be partners—until you betrayed both me and Akatsuki. There is no forgiveness for that."
"Have you forgotten already?" Midorima replied lightly. "You were never my equal. That was decided the moment we first met."
"If it were just me, perhaps. But with Kisame here as well, the two of us are more than enough to handle you. Die buried in iron sand."
The Third Kazekage puppet surged forward. At the same moment Kisame swung Samehada in wide, relentless arcs.
Midorima immediately fell back, opening distance to prepare Sage Mode—just as a sharp cry rang out behind him.
From the corner of his eye he saw Itachi—having somehow circled around—strike Killer B cleanly in the back of the neck. The Eight-Tails jinchūriki crumpled, unconscious.
With Itachi, Kisame, and Sasori now converging on him from three directions, Midorima wasted no more time. Using Instant Body Technique, he flashed hundreds of meters away in a single blink.
"Three against one? That's poor sportsmanship. I'm done playing. Farewell."
He waved casually and vanished into the distance at full speed.
Itachi hoisted Killer B over his shoulder and turned to the others. "Midorima escaped too quickly—we can't pursue. But capturing the Eight-Tails still makes this mission a success. Grab Deidara. We're leaving immediately."
Sasori nodded. Kisame slung the unconscious Deidara across his back. The three of them departed without looking back.
Behind a massive boulder not far away, Killer B let out a long breath of relief once the trio disappeared from sight.
"They really are tough customers. But if Midorima thinks I've been captured… doesn't that mean I can finally leave the Hidden Cloud Village?" He rubbed his chin seriously.
"No. We should report this to the Raikage first."
Killer B spun around at the voice. Midorima stood there, smiling faintly.