Curse Mark

Arthur quickened his pace.

He found a general store still open. Remembering what was written in the texts, he said within himself, "rare herbs, specific metals, and a vial of water."

Arthur paid for the materials without a word, using his saved ryō.

The clerk eyed him suspiciously throughout the transaction, muttering under his breath about "young troublemakers."

Arthur ignored him, content with his gains.

Back in his apartment, he concealed the materials in the closet. Whether someone suspected him of anything or not, these were regular items that held no purpose when left separated.

The next step was finding a place to practice.

He ventured into a dense forest that was far from prying eyes. Here, he stood on a clearing and closed his eyes to concentrate on his surroundings using his Tamashii.

There were rustling leaves and nocturnal creatures. Apart from that, he was all alone.

When he opened his eyes, he knew within himself that attempting the Reanimation technique tonight would be perfect. He would have his power and his vengeance, even if it meant teetering on the brink of darkness.

As the night air swirled around him, he recalled the contents written in the Scroll of Seals. It might have felt like years to some, but to Arthur, it was like he had read it yesterday.

Who could blame him for having devoured the contents of a scroll containing the best techniques in this world?

The scroll itself contained the following techniques: the Eight Trigrams Seal, the Reaper Death Seal, the Multi-Shadow Clone, Reanimation, and the Flying raijin.

While Arthur understands how to perform all those techniques, minus Shadow Clones, he still requires a vast amount of chakra in his reserves to even think about using them successfully in battle. Just learning how to use one of the aforementioned can have dire consequences.

Now, as he readied himself to perform the forbidden ritual, moonlight streamed through the canopy, casting shadows on the forest floor where he stood.

'Tiger, snake, dog, dragon...'

His fingers danced, forming the signs. Opening his eyes, he slammed his palms together.

But the expected surge never came. Instead, he coughed and felt blood in his throat.

He'd pushed his chakra too far, almost reaching the tipping point. Now he understood why Tsunade claimed that Mizuki, a Chūnin, wouldn't be capable of performing any of the techniques within the scroll—desiring to give it to Orochimaru instead.

Arthur relaxed, allowing himself to recompose. His chakra had almost been drained had he not pulled back in time.

He couldn't afford to make another mistake.

This time, he mentally prepared for the excessive amount of chakra that was going to be unleashed. What he needed to do was treat this as a summoning technique, not an offensive or defensive one.

'Tiger, snake, dog, dragon...'

Clap.

A yellow pulse of chakra glowed in between his palms. After controlling the chakra flow, he kneeled and gently touched the ground with his fingertip, causing a spiraling pattern to spread across the dusty floor.

The seal flared slightly as Arthur remained composed. The reanimation circle, a vortex between life and death, had been fully formed.

He had succeeded in the first step, but there wasn't a single sign of satisfaction on his face. He was merely content.

Arthur rose to review the intricate seals on the ground.

The need for a living sacrifice and a recently deceased vessel were all that was missing. Tonight, he wouldn't attempt the full ritual; his focus was on the fundamentals, ensuring the hand signs and chakra flow were flawless.

Hours passed as Arthur practiced again and again until things were perfect.

Without a lifeless body, he couldn't complete the technique, with the final steps remaining out of reach.

But that hadn't bothered him. Finding a random villager—someone expendable in this heavily populated village—would be too easy. While missing citizens would raise concern, he understood the consequences.

The idea of trying to find someone tonight was quickly extinguished when someone entered the edge of his Tamashii's perception. Arthur was wise not to have trained without periodically checking his surroundings.

A faint, tainted chakra signature wormed its way through the trees, growing stronger with each passing moment. He recognized the signature, yet there was a certain dissonance about it.

Alex.

Arthur relaxed his posture, allowing Alex to approach. A moment later, the player emerged from the undergrowth with a smile on his face.

"Arthur!" he announced, striding toward him. "Alice told me you finally made it back to the village."

Arthur offered a wry smile and replied in a neutral tone, "Yeah. I did. There's much to catch up on, I presume."

He knew Alex had used his Byakugan to locate him. The Byakugan, with its focus on chakra points, had an impressive range. But the Tamashii, with its ability to perceive even the faintest flow of chakra, had a far superior reach.

Arthur had sensed Alex coming from miles away.

"Look at you, always knowing what I'm thinking!" Alex laughed, his own smile widening. "Tell me all about your journey! What did you learn? Did you encounter anything cool?"

Arthur feigned amusement and answered, "It wasn't anything worth sharing. Alice should have already told you, right? Besides, I'm a little tired… Perhaps another time?"

He gestured vaguely toward the clearing, hoping to divert Alex's attention. The last thing he needed was a player, the most secretive one at best, prying into his forbidden training.

"Tired?" Alex repeated, feeling a tad curious. "From doing what, exactly?"

Arthur cleared his throat, forcing a smile, and answered, "Just some training to prepare for the finals. Gotta make sure I'm ready for Sasuke's buffs."

His words seemed to satisfy Alex, at least for now.

The conversation shifted to lighter topics: the upcoming tournament, him receiving the curse mark, and the rumours swirling around Orochimaru's activities. All the while, Arthur listened to hear if Alex would slip up on his involvement in this game.

After a few minutes, Alex finally decided to take his leave.

"Well, Arthur," he said, stretching his arms. "It was good catching up. But don't be a stranger, alright?"

"Of course," Arthur replied, watching him disappear back into the trees.

Alone once more, Arthur let out a slow breath.

The encounter with Alex had been unexpected, but a valuable reminder nonetheless. He had to be cautious; his actions needed to be kept secret. After all, the path he had chosen could end up leaving him dead.

And trust, it seemed, was a luxury he could never afford—for the only one Arthur trusted was God Almighty.

The next day.

Last night's encounter left Arthur a tad unsettled. Alex had actively sought to find out what he was doing. And Alex's explanation of having received the curse mark seemed unplausible.

Orochimaru's cursed seal isn't your typical sealing technique. It's a dangerous gamble to grant immense power in exchange for the user's health and mind.

Born from Orochimaru's research, the seal harnesses Jūgo's unique ability to absorb natural energy and transform. By branding others, Orochimaru grants them this power, but surviving the initial application is a ten percent chance.

While the cursed seal offers a tenfold boost in chakra and jutsu strength, it feeds off the user's chakra, replacing it with Orochimaru's. Overuse can be fatal.

Additionally, prolonged use warps the mind, making the user susceptible to Orochimaru's control. Hence, Arthur felt a tainted monicker within Alex's chakra signature.

Initially, users have no control and experience intense pain. Alex, however, never felt that when he first received it. He did go unconscious for a few minutes, but it wasn't anything compared to what Sasuke underwent.

"I haven't tried activating the first level yet," he claimed at the time.

The first level causes the seal to spread across the user's body, with the extent affecting the overall effect. To further enhance benefits and manage risks, Orochimaru developed "Mind Awakening Pills," incredibly dangerous pills requiring a near-death state for the body to adjust.

The second level is a transformation that brings a drastic physical change like Jūgo's, but at a terrible cost. The seal consumes the user's mind and personality, driving them mad with prolonged use.

It also takes a heavy toll on the body.

Orochimaru personally created various cursed seals, each with differing strengths. The one that Alex received was the Cursed Seal of Earth (worn by a Sound ninja named Kimimaro), and it is one of the most potent ones.

What Arthur couldn't' quite put his finger on was how Alex was going to convert Orochimaru's chakra into his own. However, the way this was going to be done only furthered the belief that Alexander was not a natural player.

Those thoughts aside, Arthur set out for the day ahead.

He walked along the streets of the village and spotted William, Naruto, and Alex eating. Their faces portrayed amusement. They watched Naruto slurp down an entire bowl.

Arthur approached the venue with a smile.

"Well, well," he said. "Look who it is, enjoying a pre-training breakfast."

Alex glanced up with a wide grin on his face. "Arthur!" the whole group exclaimed at once.

Naruto wiped his mouth with the back of his sleeve and said, "Come join us! There's plenty of ramen left."

"Maybe later," Arthur replied, declining with a shake of his head. "I just wanted to catch up with you about you-know-who."

He gestured towards Alex's neck, where the curse mark lay. Alex chuckled.

"Ah, you mean that?" he said, pulling down his collar. "Don't worry about it, Arthur. Like we talked about, it's barely even a tickle."

"Is that so?" Arthur said, slightly closing his eyes to rest his fingers on his chin.

"Well, maybe a slight itch," Alex conceded, scratching his neck. "But nothing major. I still haven't activated it once. Orochimaru's chakra is practically non-existent anyway."

'He's lying!' Arthur thought. His mind raced, knowing that Alex wasn't telling the truth due to his irregular chakra flow.

How could Arthur sense it? The moment he had slightly closed his eyes to think, he had activated his Tamashii!

"Interesting," he said finally, opening his eyes after deactivating his Kekkei Genkei.

Alex leaned back in his chair as Naruto suddenly burst, "Why are we even talking about this again?! What I wanna know is if Arthur's ready to knock Sasuke off his high horse."

William couldn't help but laugh. He had lost to Sasuke in the preliminaries, but he seemed genuinely fine after having learned his lesson.

"Where is Sasuke anyway?" Arthur asked.

"He's doing the you-know-what with Kakashi," Alex answered. Arthur understood that Sasuke, at this point in the story, was learning the Chidori. "I can give you some pointers on how he fights."

The offer was tempting, but after having already been lied to, Arthur wanted nothing to do with Alex. Alex claimed that he hadn't activated the curse mark. That statement wasn't true.

"No thanks," Arthur said, keeping his forced smile. "I've already been brushing up on my skills."

"Oh really?!" William and Naruto teased.

"Suit yourself," Alex shrugged. "But if you change your mind or just need someone to spar with, don't hesitate to ask. We wouldn't want you going into the finals rusty, would we?"

The pressure was subtly applied. A friendly sparring session, a chance to test each other's mettle—that sounded harmless enough.

Yet Arthur could hear a hidden motive behind Alex's offer.

"Appreciate it," he replied smoothly. "I'll let you know if anything changes before the finals, alright?"

Alex's grin faltered for a moment before returning in full force as he said, "Of course! Now, who's up for another bowl of ramen?"

Arthur politely declined again, the conversation turning into a lively chatter between the three. He didn't linger here anymore to partake in their camaraderie.

As he rounded the corner, he heard someone yell, "Leaving without even saying goodbye?!" It was Alex, racing toward him with determination.

Arthur raised an eyebrow to ask, "I thought you were eating, so what brings you this way?"

"Just thought we could talk about something," Alex said with a nonchalant shrug. "Besides, you've been gone for like a month, and we haven't seen you since."

There was a playful edge to his voice, but Arthur couldn't shake the feeling of being subtly coerced. He didn't particularly want company, but refusing might arouse suspicion.

With a resigned sigh, Arthur nodded and said, "Alright, alright. Lead the way."