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After his conversation with Tsunade, Itachi's mental state had noticeably improved. Even Sasuke could sense the change in him and repeatedly asked if something had happened.
Of course, Itachi couldn't reveal the truth to his beloved younger brother. However, when facing his mother, a sense of unease crept over him—could she have been the one who leaked the due date of the previous Nine-Tails jinchūriki?
No one wanted to take responsibility for the incident, and even if his mother outright denied the suspicion, Itachi doubted he would believe her.
Perhaps it was similar to… his father assigning Shisui to monitor him?
It wasn't a matter of distrust, but rather because they knew each other too well—they understood each other's nature.
After learning that there was a shinobi named "Uchiha Madara" outside Konoha, Itachi began considering another possibility: Could the "Nine-Tails Incident" be related to this "Uchiha Madara"? If they could find him, would the conflict between the Uchiha clan and Konoha finally be resolved?
Thus, tracking down "Uchiha Madara's" movements became Itachi's top priority.
But that was impossible. Even Tsunade had only heard rumors about Madara and had never actually seen him.
The source of this information was only one—the so-called "rogue ninja" Tsunade had mentioned.
Where exactly was this rogue ninja? Or was he just a fabrication by Tsunade?
But why would she make up such a character?
The thought that this person might not even exist put Itachi in a bad mood again.
However, he soon realized there was one way to confirm whether the rogue ninja truly existed—by investigating the bounty listings.
After half a day of searching, he finally found a bounty that matched the description—worth a staggering 25 million ryō. Additionally, he discovered another bounty worth 50 million ryō.
Upon closer inspection, he noticed something interesting about the two bounties.
Returning to Konoha, Itachi immediately sought out Tsunade and placed the two bounty sheets on the table.
"Is the rogue ninja you mentioned named Midorima? "
Tsunade was startled by Itachi's sudden intrusion. She had been in the middle of a dice game, just about to reveal her roll when the two bounty sheets landed on top of the dice.
"That's right."
Since Itachi already knew, there was no point in hiding it.
"Where is he?"
That question stumped Tsunade, especially with the urgency in Itachi's expression…
"His situation is actually quite dangerous. Because of the high bounty, many people want him dead. For example, I once fought alongside him against an organization called 'Akatsuki.' As for what happened to him after that… no one can say for sure. He might be dead, or captured. Even if he's still free, he could be hiding somewhere you'd never find."
"Then… what if I go to Kirigakure to uncover the truth about 'Uchiha Madara'? What do you think?" Itachi asked.
"'Uchiha Madara' can control the Mizukage. Are you sure you can capture him?" Tsunade countered. "Besides, the Chunin Exams are in two or three months. As the first rookie to pass the exam, there's no way you can leave right now, is there?"
Itachi frowned but finally nodded. "I was thinking… this man named Igawa Bu must know 'Uchiha Madara.' I plan to use him as a breakthrough."
"No, I still think it's better to find Midorima first if possible," Tsunade shook her head. "If Igawa Bu is truly involved in this whole incident, things might not be as simple as you think. Midorima is also quite strong. The fact that he didn't return to Kirigakure but chose to flee suggests he has his own concerns."
Itachi nodded, though internally, he knew that finding Midorima would be ideal. But where the hell was that guy?
…
"Hah… hah…"
Midorima lay sprawled on the ground in a "大" shape. He glanced at his body—his dark skin had turned pale again, and the fleshy wings on his back had retracted.
Returning from his second form to his normal state, his first sensation was exhaustion—the kind that felt like his body had been completely drained.
The good news was that the progress of the Cell Laboratory had skyrocketed to 80%.
While in his second form, Midorima could clearly feel his chakra surging—nearly more than double his usual capacity. Even in his normal state, his chakra reserves had increased by 40% compared to before.
Such a terrifying boost was something he had never dared to imagine before.
If the progress reached 100%, would the chakra increase reach 50%?
Of course, corresponding to the 80% progress, the color of the Cursed Mark on his neck had also faded significantly.
At 100%, it might disappear entirely.
This was one of Midorima's two major expectations—the other being the Cell Laboratory unlocking a new functional area.
He speculated that this new area had something to do with the Analysis Lab.
Before leaving, Orochimaru had mentioned that he would need two weeks, but now, three weeks had passed with no news.
If it weren't for Danzō treating him with relative "courtesy" and not kicking him out, Midorima might have suspected that Orochimaru was already dead.
However, the analysis of the Cursed Mark would have to pause here for now.
He still needed to find a way to obtain a Sharingan. If Orochimaru discovered that the Cursed Mark had disappeared, the consequences would outweigh the benefits.
Just as Midorima was planning his next steps, the training ground's door suddenly opened.
He quickly sat up—only for a dark figure to flash past, followed by countless snakes lunging at him.
Midorima leaped back, forming hand signs before spewing a fireball from his mouth, incinerating the snakes. Meanwhile, the shadowy figure appeared behind him, attempting a sneak attack—but Midorima tightly grabbed its wrist.
"Seems you've been training hard these past few weeks," Orochimaru said, his long tongue flicking out like a serpent's.
"It's already been three weeks," Midorima reminded him.
"Good. I'd hate for you to have another accident." Orochimaru glanced at his wrist, now bruised from Midorima's grip.
"Don't worry, I'll stay alive." Midorima smirked.
"Three weeks… Took longer than expected." Orochimaru tilted his head, grinning. "I'm about to conduct an experiment. Care to lend a hand?"
"Can I refuse?" Midorima despised Orochimaru's experiments from the bottom of his heart.
"Then shall I use you as the test subject?" Orochimaru countered.
"…" Midorima glared at him furiously.
"Relax, I won't ask you to do anything too difficult. After all, your research skills are… lacking." Orochimaru's lips curled. "But keeping an eye on the subjects should be within your capabilities, no? Besides, some of them might die—they may need your help to survive."
Midorima's expression tightened.
He had assumed Orochimaru would only use one person.
Clearly, he was wrong.