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Midorima gave Samui and Karui's injuries a simple treatment. Once he had confirmed that neither of them was in any mortal danger, his thoughts immediately turned to pursuing the Deva Path as quickly as possible. Nagato used the Rinnegan to control the Six Paths of Pain through chakra receiver rods. Because of this, Nagato had to choose a location where the signal could be easily transmitted—much like a signal tower. The only thing to keep in mind was that Nagato might not simply be hiding in some fixed place. It was entirely possible that Konan had concealed him, given that she could even disguise herself as an entire sea. Disguising herself as a giant tree or a small mountain wouldn't pose much of a problem either.
Midorima voiced his desire to track the Deva Path. Hiruzen sank into deep thought for a long while before ultimately rejecting the proposal, which caught Midorima completely off guard.
"I understand what you're thinking. In truth, I'm even more anxious than you are. Naruto has been taken by them. Every second we delay, he is in one more second of danger. What's more, they've also devastated the Hidden Leaf Village. This debt must be settled, no matter what. But the matter isn't that simple," Hiruzen said, shaking his head. "Uchiha Madara and Pain fled together. Even if you managed to catch up to them, could you really withstand both of them? And furthermore, you have no idea what kind of backup plans they might have left behind. If, by any chance, you were also captured, wouldn't everything be completely over?"
Hiruzen's expression was exceedingly grim. Just as he had said, he wanted to stop the Six Paths of Pain more than anyone. That was precisely why anyone could be sent to track, or even intercept, "Madara" and Pain—anyone except Midorima. If others failed, the worst outcome was death. But if Midorima were captured, the Akatsuki's plan would be fulfilled.
Midorima was about to say that he had means of escape, but the words caught in his throat as he suddenly recalled that Pain still possessed another lethal technique: the Sealing Jutsu: Phantom Dragons Nine Consuming Seals. That jutsu was specifically designed to extract tailed beast chakra. Naruto was already in their hands. If they used Naruto as a hostage, Midorima would likely find himself crippled by an impossible dilemma.
Seeing Midorima lost in thought, Hiruzen made the decision for him. "Leave this matter to me. You should rest for now."
Midorima nodded slightly. At this point, being anxious wouldn't do any good. Fortunately, Naruto was the Nine-Tails jinchuriki. Until they secured the Six-Tails, the Akatsuki could hardly make a move on the Nine-Tails. In that regard, Naruto was safe for the time being.
Just as expected, Hiruzen immediately returned to the village and began arranging personnel to track Naruto's whereabouts. Midorima took the opportunity to check on the other battlefields.
Obito's sudden abandonment of his fight against the Raikage and the Tsuchikage had a direct consequence: it left Sasori completely sold out. Originally, with the Third Kazekage puppet supporting him, Sasori had been locked in an intense, deadlocked struggle against Ebizo, Baki, and Kurotsuchi. In fact, due to his mastery of poisons, he had even held a slight advantage. However, after Obito fled, the Tsuchikage and the Raikage turned their full attention onto Sasori. The scales of battle didn't just tip—they were completely upended by the two Kage. Sasori didn't even have time to mount a proper resistance before being utterly pulverized by the two leaders.
By the time Midorima arrived, Sasori had already been "dismantled," and the Third Kazekage puppet had been recovered by Ebizo. The passing of a former comrade didn't come as a surprise to Midorima.
The one thing that left Midorima deeply unsettled was that there was still no trace of Tsunade and Mei Terumi. But after thinking it through carefully, this wasn't so difficult to understand. Kisame, with Samehada in hand, was the type who grew stronger the longer he fought. In other words, whenever Kisame used ninjutsu, it was almost always on a massive scale—after all, he never lacked for chakra. Therefore, the battlefield would be extraordinarily vast. It was even possible that the three of them had drifted several kilometers away. That said, this didn't mean that Mei Terumi and Tsunade were in any particular danger. Though Mei was young, her strength was by no means ordinary. Even if her chakra reserves couldn't match Kisame's, she still had Tsunade fighting alongside her. Although Tsunade's forte lay in medical ninjutsu rather than direct combat, she was, after all, someone who had lived through the Second Great Ninja War and had fought on the front lines. What storms and tempests hadn't she weathered before? The two of them joining forces should, at the very least, be able to hold their own without losing. That was what Midorima speculated in his heart. The reason he couldn't be absolutely certain was that if they happened to run into Obito, an accident could occur.
Just as Midorima's emotions were seesawing between anxiety and hope, Mei Terumi and Tsunade actually returned to the Leaf ahead of him. Mei was slightly better off—merely somewhat exhausted—while Tsunade was sneezing repeatedly, clearly having spent no small amount of time submerged in water. Yet even in that state, after changing into a set of clean clothes, Tsunade immediately began treating the wounded.
When Mei Terumi laid eyes on Midorima, her entire demeanor perked up. But seeing the Raikage with his arm draped over Midorima's shoulder, her face was filled with bewilderment. "Since when did you two get so close?" Mei's words were blunt, showing not the slightest regard for the Raikage standing right there. The Raikage simply turned his head aside and whistled, pretending he hadn't heard her "complaint."
"It's a long story," Midorima said. After Naruto had been taken, everyone realized that the Akatsuki's sole remaining target was Terauchi Midorima. Therefore, ensuring Midorima's "safety" had become the highest priority. The Raikage was sticking to Midorima so closely that they were practically inseparable. Midorima had, of course, protested—after all, this felt more like being in prison than being protected—but the Raikage completely ignored his objections. If it were a beautiful woman, Midorima might have been able to tolerate it, but the Raikage was a rough, burly man. Staying this close to him made Midorima more than a little uncomfortable.
After learning the reason, Mei Terumi's brow furrowed sharply, and she promptly kicked the Raikage away. "He is a shinobi of our Hidden Mist Village, and I, as the Mizukage, do not permit the high-ranking officials of other villages to maintain prolonged, uninterrupted contact with him without permission." Mei pounded her chest and glared up at the Raikage, positioning herself squarely between him and Midorima. Before Midorima could even feel touched, Mei added, "I will take responsibility for his safety."
"..." Midorima just narrowed his eyes at her. He was fairly certain that Mei Terumi was no match for him.
"Is your head bothering you? Lady Tsunade is right over there. I'll take you to her." Without even waiting for Midorima's consent, she grabbed him and pulled him away from the Raikage. Compared to seeing Tsunade for a "checkup," what Midorima needed far more was rest.
"By the way, what about Kisame?" Midorima asked, his hand still being pulled along by Mei, yet still curious about Kisame's fate.
"He ran," Mei said with a grimace, her face full of irritation.
"Ran?" This genuinely surprised Midorima.
"That's right! He merged with Samehada and fled like a slippery eel. There was no catching him in the water," Mei said, still fuming at the thought of Kisame.
Midorima's mouth opened slightly. He hadn't expected that outcome at all.
Just as Mei was leading Midorima off to find Tsunade, Hiruzen, with almost no rest at all, immediately summoned a number of capable shinobi and began tracking Pain's movements.