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Midorima noticed Tsunade's brows were tightly knit and continued, "Surely the Leaf Village can investigate anyone capable of using that kind of ability, right?"
Tsunade let out a slow breath. "It's… complicated. Right now the upper echelons are extremely wary of the entire Uchiha clan. I don't have any realistic way to use the clan's own records or members to look into this without raising immediate suspicion."
Midorima rubbed the back of his neck with a wry expression. "How troublesome..."
"Yes, it is."
"By the way," Midorima added, "do you actually know what Madara looked like?"
Tsunade shook her head again. "Didn't you just say he wears a mask?"
"Exactly."
Midorima gestured for Jūgo to bring paper and a brush. He quickly sketched a simple outline on the sheet—a figure wearing the distinctive spiral mask with only one eyehole visible.
"If this person is genuinely calling himself 'Madara,' then hiding his face behind a mask makes no sense at all. Moreover, the real Madara—as a revered elder of the Uchiha clan—would never have wanted to drive a permanent wedge between his clan and the Hidden Leaf. Everything he's done points to deliberate division and conflict. That alone proves this isn't the historical Madara. And since he clearly possesses Uchiha blood, someone inside the Leaf Village must know his real identity."
"But… who?" Tsunade frowned deeply, fingers drumming lightly against the table.
"Two key details," Midorima said. "First, this mask exposes only a single eye. That should be self-explanatory, right? Or rather—can you connect that detail to any recent incident? An incident that took place right here in the Hidden Sound Village."
Tsunade's eyes suddenly sharpened. At the same time, the three Sound Four members—Tayuya, Sakon, and Kidōmaru—visibly tensed, expressions shifting from confusion to excitement.
"You're talking about what happened here in the Sound?" Tayuya asked urgently.
"Probably," Midorima replied, careful not to sound too certain.
"If it happened in the Sound Village, then there's really only one possibility…" Tsunade interlaced her fingers tightly. "The eye Kakashi lost."
"Correct." Midorima lowered his head again and began sketching the distinctive pattern of Obito's Mangekyō Sharingan.
While normal Sharingan patterns were uniform, each Mangekyō was unique.
Midorima had seen Obito's eye countless times in the original story, so recreating the design came easily. As an explanation he could simply say he had fought "Madara" directly and witnessed the technique firsthand—specifically Kamui.
He slid the finished drawing across the table toward Tsunade.
"I know this might be difficult," he said quietly, "but if even the smallest clue turns up…"
It wasn't a question of "if." He was certain there would be clues.
Tsunade drew in a long, steady breath. "So you're saying this 'Madara' is one-eyed, and he specifically needed Kakashi's Sharingan. The most logical reason would be that he wanted to reclaim something that originally belonged to him. But I still think that's impossible. The person who gave Kakashi that Sharingan… is already dead. He died during the Third Great Ninja War. So this 'Madara' cannot possibly be that person."
"Is that so?" Midorima feigned mild surprise, then appeared to sink into thought.
The others in the room looked crestfallen. A promising lead seemed to have dead-ended almost immediately.
"What about the body?" Midorima suddenly asked, lifting his head to meet Tsunade's gaze. "You sound extremely certain. That implies you've seen the corpse yourself, right?"
Tsunade shook her head. "No. Battlefield conditions were horrific. Not every shinobi's body could be recovered."
"But Kakashi ended up with that man's Sharingan, didn't he?" Midorima pressed. "Why not simply ask Kakashi directly? And even if it isn't that particular shinobi… doesn't Kakashi himself want his original eye back?"
Tsunade fell silent. She considered the question for nearly half a minute before finally giving a small, reluctant nod.
"Besides," Midorima continued, "I spoke with Itachi and asked him why he killed Kimimaro. 'Madara' captured Sasuke and used Sasuke's life as leverage to force Itachi to eliminate Kimimaro. I'm not claiming Itachi is innocent—far from it—but it does show that Akatsuki is far more ruthless and underhanded than most people realize. They may do things in the future that ordinary shinobi would consider unthinkable."
He deliberately avoided mentioning Itachi's role in the Kazekage's death.
Even if that information leaked, no one would believe it right now—not while the Hidden Sand and Hidden Leaf were still locked in open war and killing each other with abandon. If anyone accused him of fabricating evidence to frame Akatsuki and force cooperation, he would lose all credibility.
The Sound Four showed no visible reaction.
They didn't care whether Itachi had been coerced or not. He had killed Kimimaro; that made him their enemy. His current affiliation with Akatsuki only deepened that enmity.
Once Midorima finished speaking he took a slow sip of tea, preparing to ask Tsunade what she planned to do next. Before he could speak, the sliding door burst open.
Midorima whipped around—only to see Shizune standing there, drenched in sweat and breathing hard.
"Lady Tsunade, something terrible has—huh? You're here?" Shizune's eyes widened the moment she noticed Midorima.
Midorima gave her a small smile. "Just arrived… Take your time. Drink some water first."
He poured a cup of tea and handed it to her.
Shizune drained it in a single gulp, steadied her breathing, and spoke more calmly. "Everyone—something major has happened."
"What is it?" Tsunade asked immediately.
"The One-Tail in the Hidden Sand Village has been taken," Shizune said.
"What?!" Midorima's eyes widened. "I heard the One-Tail jinchūriki was just a child."
Gaara can't be dead already… right?
"Yes. But it was a strange coincidence. During the attempt to abduct the jinchūriki, Leaf shinobi picked up their trail. Unfortunately, by the time our forces caught up, the boy was already dead. In the end, Lady Chiyo arrived and managed to save him."
Midorima clicked his tongue in quiet frustration.
So in the end, Chiyo's fate remained unchanged. She had almost certainly used One's Own Life Reincarnation.
"My situation just became a lot more dangerous," Midorima said, exhaling slowly. "If Akatsuki already has most of the earlier tailed beasts, then once they decide they need the Ten-Tails, I'm almost certainly next on their list."
"What are you going to do?" Shizune asked, alarmed.
"It's not hopeless—they still can't catch me easily. But I can't keep hiding forever either. All along I've hoped the five great villages would take Akatsuki seriously, yet too many people still believe I'm inflating the threat just to settle a personal grudge." Midorima spread his hands helplessly.
Among the five great villages, only the Hidden Mist seemed willing to listen to him seriously. As for the others, they would first have to decide whether Midorima himself was trustworthy.
"That was before," Tsunade said firmly. A rare, genuine smile touched her lips. "Things are completely different now. The moment the Leaf intervened to help rescue the One-Tail jinchūriki, tensions between the Leaf and Sand began to ease. And Akatsuki successfully taking the One-Tail has just confirmed every warning you gave us. No matter how you look at it, Akatsuki is now an enemy every great village must confront. I'm heading back to the Leaf immediately. I'll do everything in my power to arrange a second Five Kage Summit."
Midorima gave a solemn nod. "Then… I'm counting on you."