Romantic
In those moments, vulnerability cracked through the surface of his steely persona. It was clear that pain and anger were propelling him forward.
Instincts like those were simple for Arthur to manipulate.
"I'll give you time to think," Kakashi said with a heavy sigh.
He nodded slightly before vanishing into the distance. As the finality of Kakashi's figure faded from Arthur's vision, Arthur emerged from his concealment, now aware that the coast was clear.
This would be his moment. Sasuke was isolated, filled with anger and ambition, and the absence of Jada's flying raijin mark meant this was a well-calculated opportunity—the opening to seize his target.
"Who the heck are you?" Sasuke growled upon seeing Arthur's approaching figure.
"Why don't you relax for once?" Arthur responded, unshaken. His voice was smooth and composed, resonant with authority. "I happened to eavesdrop on that conversation, and you're right; you don't need friends or teammates. They'll only hold you back…"
Sasuke's surprise mottled with intrigue, yet he contradicted hotly, "What do you know? You don't understand anything!"
Arthur insisted, "On the contrary, boy, I understand a lot. You want power, and you won't find it trapped in this village. You're meant for something greater—something that these walls can't contain."
Sasuke's irritation shifted; it began to unravel in response to Arthur's words, revealing vulnerability beneath the hardened exterior. He was teetering on desperation now.
"What're you saying?" he demanded, feeling a tad uncertain.
Arthur seized that moment and said, "If you want revenge so badly, there's only one person to turn to... I'm sure you know who that is."
"Orochimaru…?"
"Good guess," Arthur calmly responded. "Accept Orochimaru, and I'll lead you right to him. That's the only reason why I'm here: to bring you to him."
The name of Orochimaru ensnared Sasuke's mind. The two had only met once, thanks to Arthur's warning back in the Forest of Death.
A flash of fury erupted in Sasuke's heart, eating away at the clarity of his thoughts.
"Orochimaru…" he asserted once more. "I have to become stronger to kill him."
This is what Arthur needed: for the Uchiha to once again be consumed by vengeance for his older brother.
The players made a terrible mistake. They thought they could convince the Uchiha that Itachi was truly on the village's side. But they didn't know how to approach him regarding that matter.
Jada, who was an Uchiha herself, was incapable of reasoning with the boy. Because of her background, he didn't want to ever get close to her.
William chose his route the moment he became an Uzumaki. Just trying to speak to Sasuke would yield no results. In fact, Sasuke viewed the former as weak after having beaten him in the preliminary rounds.
Then there were players like Jasper, who honestly didn't care about Sasuke; he only cared about building himself up.
Arthur could see the wheels turning in Sasuke's head; the proverbial bargain was being struck.
"Then you'll follow me," he proposed, maintaining an unyielding calm. "I'll be waiting at the top of the village gates tonight. When you're ready, I'll be the one to take you directly to him."
"Tonight," Sasuke echoed with certainty.
With a nod, Arthur gradually dissipated into a plume of smoke, leaving only the sound of the rushing river behind. Even as he vanished from Sasuke's sight, his thoughts remained sharp, constantly analyzing the situation unfolding.
While he could have just as easily used the flying raijin to bring Sasuke directly to Orochimaru, that would have been a terrible mistake.
From what he recalled, Orochimaru originally wanted Sasuke's Sharingan. To get it, he had to perform a technique called "Immortality Jutsu, Transference Ritual."
It was conceived by Orochimaru to enable him to transfer his consciousness into another individual's body. By using this technique, he could inhabit a more powerful body, essentially avoiding the natural deterioration of his current physical form.
The process involved Orochimaru momentarily relinquishing his existing physical body, transforming into a large serpent composed of numerous smaller snakes. After this metamorphosis, he consumes the chosen host and transports their essence to a distinct mental realm.
In this state, he integrates his consciousness and asserts control over the new body, while the souls of his previous hosts remain trapped within him, subdued yet preserved.
This connection allows for a tenuous survival of the host's essence, with the potential for them to emerge again if Orochimaru's chakra diminishes significantly during a host transfer.
Post-transfer, Orochimaru modifies the new body to incorporate snake-like attributes, enhancing his adaptability and survivability. These modifications include physical alterations that allow him to heal rapidly, elongate, and even regenerate lost parts, giving him an edge in battle.
A character named "Gen'yūmaru" had to become Sasuke's replacement when the latter couldn't arrive in time. That gave Sasuke up to three years to train and hone his skill before the technique could be used again.
When it was used, he reversed it and wound up absorbing Orochimaru instead.
In the present time, since Gen'yūmaru hadn't been observed yet, that meant if Arthur were to bring the Uchiha now, the latter would be a sitting duck.
Patience was the key here.
As the sun continued to dip below the horizon, Arthur stood atop the village gates. He took a moment to contemplate their economy.
No one had ever truly destroyed the Leaf Village. Obito and Orochimaru had merely toppled structures or divisions; they had been flawed in their execution.
They sowed the seeds of destruction without the foresight required for totality.
Arthur was not like them; he sought to do the opposite. He longed for a day when the Leaf Village would be remembered as the forsaken village, one that would never be remembered or rebuilt.
With that thought aside, he entered his Simian Sage Mode and sensed the flying raijin mark he had placed on one of the Sound Four.
They were currently traversing from tree branch to tree branch within the Fire Country, lithe and focused. Among them, Sakon was at the back with Kidōmaru ahead of the pact, and there was something on Sakon that Arthur needed.
'Flying raijin…'
In that moment, he disappeared from atop the gates and materialized behind Sakon with an ethereal silence.
In a razor-thin instant, he reached for the giant scroll secured at Sakon's back. The moment his fingers latched onto it, he performed the flying raijin again and vanished alongside the scroll, leaving no trace of his presence.
Sakon, sensing an extremely subtle shift around him, stopped abruptly.
"Everyone, move!" he barked with urgency. "Something just happened!"
Startled, the other three halted. Their expressions went from confusion to alertness.
"What do you mean, something?" Tayuya asked, narrowing her eyes as she scanned their surroundings.
"I felt something just now... but it's gone," Sakon responded.
He couldn't tell what exactly it was.
Kidōmaru's gaze swept across the clearing, narrowing in on the absent scroll bound to Sakon's back.
"Wait—where's the scroll?!" he panicked.
Sakon's wide eyes met Kidōmaru's as he said, "It should be right here!"
They immediately fell into an offensive stance, muscles taut, but as they surveyed the area, they found only the eerie silence of the forest surrounding them. There was no enemy, no indication of a threat lurking nearby.
Arthur had executed his move with such precision that his presence had escaped detection entirely.
Meanwhile, at the top of the village gates, he reappeared, glancing back to ensure the pieces were falling into place. Beside him was the scroll he had managed to take.
As the red and orange rays of sunlight remained, he calmed himself and released his Simian Sage Mode. It was thanks to that he could both perform and execute that trick so easily. Otherwise, he would have run out of chakra.
Not a moment too soon, he spotted two familiar figures approaching the gates below—Sakura and Alice.
Arthur had been aware of Alice since his arrival in the village, noticing the distinct chakra signature that accompanied her. Yet Jasper and Alexander remained outside his perception, a notable absence that stirred a little interest in the back of his mind.
What were they up to that would cause them to leave this village?
They surely weren't on the east side, where Arthur had constructed the tournament. Players like Jada, William, and even Margaret were still there—either spending a bit more time to enjoy the city or in the midst of traveling.
As he observed, he could hear their conversation drifting upward.
Sakura's voice was ringing with worry as she urged, "You don't have to keep coming to the village gates like this, Alice."
Her tone was one of gentle insistence.
"But I will," Alice replied. "You're worried about him, right? Sasuke isn't getting any better, and you need to stop torturing yourself over it."
Sakura sighed heavily, concern clouding her expression.
"You don't understand, do you?" she reminded. "He's my friend, and if I don't at least try, I'll regret it."
Those words were said to the wrong person. Alice tilted her head with a look of bewilderment on her face, already knowing how deep their bonds went.
"But why him?" she asked. "You could do so much better. Like Naruto, for instance. He's such a great guy now!"
When Arthur heard that, he understood what Alice was trying to do; she was trying to pair the two up again like a romantic fanfiction.
Sakura laughed lightly at the suggestion. Whatever Alice had said, it brought some warmth within her.
"I appreciate that Naruto has changed, but he feels more like... family to me now. Not to mention, Sasuke is—"
"Incredibly distant," Alice interrupted. "I get that you have a connection with him, but what good is that when he doesn't care?"
"It's not just that," Sakura said, her voice softening. "When Ino... When she died, it shook everyone, especially me. It's like losing a part of yourself. I need to be there for my friends, and Sasuke requires help now more than ever."
The mention of Ino's death caused their conversation to become a tad gloomy.
Arthur listened intently, each revelation bringing insight into what was most likely to happen. After all, it was him who had slain Ino.
Sakura, sensing that she shouldn't have brought the matter up, turned the subject and curiously asked, "So, how's your relationship with Jasper going?"
Alice smiled; she clearly relished the distraction and answered, "It's fine, I guess. But he mentioned wanting to do something private, though I can't remember exactly what it was now. Something about the Lightning Country?"
Surprise was evident on Sakura's face as she said, "The Lightning Country? I've never been there!"
Alice chuckled, responding, "Oh! Just wait until you meet Killer Bee!"
Sakura raised an eyebrow, smiling as she asked, "Killer Bee? Who's that?"
Alice shrugged off the question, forgetting that the two wouldn't meet for another three years. Best not to overwhelm or confuse her until the time came.
Her expression shifted awkwardly, and she teased, "Never mind. Just ignore what I said."
Arthur's attention sharpened at this exchange. What would a player like Jasper be doing in the Lightning Country?
Then something registered. During the tournament, the Raikage abruptly left to attend to an important matter regarding Killer Bee.
While the original story never expanded on Shippuden characters like Bee in part one, Arthur had brushed the matter aside. But what if it was Jasper that was the cause of that shift?
Not wishing to assume things just yet, Arthur's attention returned below.
Eventually, their conversation wound down, and Alice prepared to depart. Her eyes were sincere as she looked at Sakura and said, "Just don't forget, if you see Sasuke, call for help, okay?"
Sakura nodded, pulling a slip of paper from her pocket, replying, "I still have the flying raijin paper Jada gave me, so don't worry."
"That's great," Alice replied, gauging Sakura's emotional state before saying one last thing. "Hold onto that, and everything will be okay. I promise… Oh, and while I haven't heard from her or the others, they should be back in a few days."
"I'm really glad to hear that," Sakura said with a genuine smile. "I really like Marge and Will, too, and hope one of them comes out as the winner."
With that, Alice departed, leaving Sakura alone on the park bench.
The sun was now completely eclipsed by the burgeoning twilight. Arthur rested against the edge post of the village gate with the scroll securely behind his back.
He understood his next move; the pieces were in place. Each moment of observation had revealed more than mere dialogue—it had exposed avenues for manipulation, desires to exploit.