Flesh

At the Leaf Village.

The Hyūga clan's sacred library was a place few could step foot in.

It was the perfect environment for a player to concentrate and gather intel without prying eyes. That player was Alexander.

Yet it wasn't Alex; it was his clone from the Shadow Clone technique. The real Alex was with Jiraiya and Tsunade in Tanzaku Town.

Right now, the clone was currently engrossed in the task of creating intricate patterns for a seal on blank parchment.

The lamp's soft glow illuminated the room at night. He worked with a relaxed composure, giving him a serene disposition.

Suddenly, a sharp light pierced through the window, cutting through the tranquility of the room. As his brush hovered over the parchment, he paused.

A strange symbol, a grid-like pattern, was forming in the sky. He casually glanced at it, recognizing what it meant: a signal that a player had fallen.

He remained eerily calm with a smile on his face, for he had predicted this would happen eventually.

Jada's call earlier echoed in his mind. Her chakra had suddenly disappeared from the Leaf Village some hours ago. Undoubtedly, she had teleported out of his sensing range and then later used her special technique to try to summon him.

There was only one thing, or rather one person, who she would ever use her flying raijin and her Mangekyō's ability in the same day for—Arthur Bennett.

And if Alex knew her personality well, she would only do it in a desperate situation, one where she was on the verge of defeat.

Pieces fell into place as he deduced what happened.

He had known that Arthur would be a formidable opponent, and he had wanted to test the limits of his abilities by sending Jada after him first. If Arthur failed to impress him, then it only meant that Alex was wrong about Arthur's character.

But if he survived, then Alex would know that Arthur was "him."

With a calm yet grim smile, he dropped his brush and stood up. He then casually walked to the windowsill and sat on it with one leg up, watching the gridlines cross each other.

Based on its patterns, only one player had died. But he couldn't tell which.

Jada, for certain, would have called on all the players to her side. She liked everyone and blindly trusted them. Since that was the case, there was no telling which of the six players had truly died.

"Arthur," he calmly said to himself, "if it's you, I'll be severely disappointed."

The fallen player's identity was critical because it would provide valuable insights into the game's dynamics.

As the last lines faded in the sky, he slowly got up from the windowsill and exited the library.

The next morning.

In the players' main apartment, the atmosphere was light. Alex, in particular, seemed lost in thought, his gaze often drifting into the distance. It was because he had discovered Arthur was the player who was no longer in the game.

The loss had hit him harder than he had anticipated. He did his best not to show his emotions, hiding them so well that no one suspected his strange obsession with the man.

Jada, meanwhile, was the most content. She not only believed the world would be a safer place, everyone was currently sharing what they knew about it.

The game's rules, as they all understood them, were far more complex than they had initially thought. Each one of them explained what Dr. Kapoor had relayed to them.

Alex wound up telling the truth, revealing that he was told a rule, too: if he sees gridlines cross a certain way, then it correlates with how many players are remaining.

Last night, they crossed six times, meaning there were now six players left.

The room became filled with idle chatter, everyone still in a lighthearted mood now that Arthur was eliminated. It was like a heavy weight was lifted off their shoulders.

Only Alex remained indifferent inside.

William, trying to be the voice of reason, said, "We could finally focus on Shippuden, right? I mean, Arthur's gone and Tsunade's being inaugurated as the fifth Hokage soon."

It was revealed that after Jada had released her ability during that epic skirmish, everyone returned to their respected tasks.

William, who was with Alex, finished their mission of getting Tsunade to become the fifth Hokage. It was fairly easy, considering they both knew her character well.

While a success, each player knew that their celebration wouldn't last long. They had to move forward to prepare for whatever challenges lay ahead.

"We still have to stop Obito and the rest of the Akatsuki," Jasper pointed. "As far I'm concerned, I'm the only one who can beat them alone."

"Keep telling yourself that," Margaret countered.

For the first time, they all shared a laugh that seemed genuine.

Later that day, Jada, Margaret, Sakura, and William went to go visit Naruto and Sasuke in the hospital.

Naruto was on the mend, with high spirits. Sasuke, on the other hand, was still unconscious from Jada's sealing tag. It was removed after he was brought here, but he still needed time to recover.

Seeing his friends visit, Naruto's face lit up as he said, "You guys sure took your time paying us a visit!"

"Just be happy we even showed up," Sakura replied.

Jada patted Naruto's shoulder and said with a smile, "You're doing well, I see. Looks like you'll be back on your feet in no time."

"Ya got that right!" Naruto replied, raising a fist. "I'm gonna get stronger so that I don't have to keep holding you guys back."

That contagious determination, that confident declaration—they all could never got tired of it. Naruto was indeed fit to be this world's main character.

"So," he said, "I heard you guys got payback for me by taking down Arthur."

"It was payback for everyone in Team 7," William corrected.

"Right!" the boy cheered. "I knew you guys loved me."

The group laughed at how ignorant and slightly conceited he was. They enjoyed being in his presence. Even Sakura couldn't find a reason to doubt him.

Suddenly, Sasuke's eyes twitched. He slowly opened them to see everyone present in the room.

"Sasuke!" Sakura yelled, holding onto his bedside. Disgusted, he turned around, unwilling to talk to anyone.

Jada assumed it was because she had robbed him of the opportunity to fight his opponent. Whatever the reason, she felt the need to apologize.

"I'm sorry I did that to you," she said. "But we managed to take Arthur out. Everyone helped, and we did it for your sake."

Sasuke didn't want to respond; he clutched his bedsheets, angered that he wasn't the one to kill his enemy—the same enemy who had ridiculed him, put him to shame, and mocked his clan's pride.

Jada smile, believing that she at least got the chance to express herself. Whether he despised her or not, he wasn't trying to leave the village.

Something like that would break Team 7 apart and spiral the story right back into mayhem.

As they were about to depart, Margaret turned to Naruto and said, "We'll be back to visit tomorrow. I'm sure you'd like to be alone with Sakura anyway."

Because she winked after commenting that, it caused Naruto to blush and both Sakura and Jada to scold her. The latter clearly did not want those two having a romantic relationship.

The four eventually left the hospital, having their burdens lifted. They had been reminded of what truly mattered, of the importance of friendship and loyalty.

The road ahead would be difficult, but they would face it together.

Back at the hospital room, Sasuke slowly sat up. This prompted Sakura to give him a hug.

Naruto rose from his bed and wanted to share what the others had told him about the fight.

"We failed the mission since Idate died," he said, lowering his head. Then he smiled, raised himself, and said reassuringly, "But at least we avenged him!"

The Uchiha's cold gaze hadn't left Naruto's eyes as Sakura let go of her embrace.

"Who's we?" Sasuke said with an indifferent tone.

"Huh?" Naruto asked in confusion.

"We didn't do anything," Sasuke continued. "No… You kept getting in my way."

"Sasuke!" Sakura said, noticing the tension rising. "We're a team. We all tried our best. Had Jada not come when she did, who knows what might have—"

"Be quiet!" he said, cutting her off. He then looked back at Naruto with a frustrated expression. In a low voice, he said, "Naruto… I want to fight you."

Those were the same lines uttered in the original story only moments before the two got into a serious scuffle on the hospital's rooftop.

But why was Sasuke saying this now of all times? He never even met Itachi for him to be so angry over nothing. Not a single thing added up to spite his sudden behavioural change.

There could only be one explanation.

Elsewhere.

Sunlight poured into a clearing like a flood, washing over a certain young man's face. It shattered the haze of his unconsciousness.

He felt the warmth against his skin—a comforting feeling that gradually drew him from the depths where darkness lingered. He slowly lifted his eyes, squinting against the brightness. Then he brought a hand up instinctively to shield his eyes as he tried to recollect his thoughts.

Muffled sounds reached him, barely audible but filled with urgency.

"Daddy, wake up! Wake up, daddy!" a familiar voice coaxed, pulling him deeper into a state of consciousness.

This young man, who had survived the unthinkable, was Arthur Bennett.

As his vision adjusted, the brightness faded into clarity, revealing who was nudging him—Koko. The female chimp was perched on her haunches, her wide eyes filled with something akin to relief.

As soon as she understood that he was awake, she leapt forward, wrapping her arms around his neck. Her little body shook with emotion, and in that moment, Arthur's mind was fully aware of things.

"Koko…" he managed in a hoarse tone. He gently pulled away to look at her. Then he shifted his head down at his chest, the fabric of his shirt marred with a hole but devoid of any wounds.

"What happened?" he asked.

"I took it out!" Koko chirped, bouncing on her feet, excitement lighting up her features. "The green stick! I took it out, but…" Her voice faltered as she looked down at her hands. "You… you were dead."

The gravity of her statement didn't seem to faze him one bit. But the events leading up to his current predicament flashed in his memory—a brutal confrontation between the players, the piercing pain on his side, and then nothingness.

"I didn't know what to do at first!" she exclaimed, her voice rising in panic. "I freaked out when I felt myself losing energy!"

She was referring to her chakra being absorbed due to the rod's effects.

Arthur slowly boosted himself to a seating position and said, "You did good, Koko…"

"You think so, daddy?" she replied in a steady voice. "I remembered what you taught me! The Chakra Transfer jutsu! I focused really hard and used it to wake you up." Her eyes sparkled with pride, but worry still flickered behind them. "I think you were gone ever since the moon was still out."

That meant he had been dead for several hours. That also meant she had been performing the Chakra Transfer technique until he finally woke up. And based on the smell of sulfur, she had also mixed in natural energy from the hot springs.

Arthur stretched out his arm and patted her gently on the head. This made her bounce with a joyful screech to express her cares.

How did this all happen exactly?

While Arthur had been preparing to travel to the Land of Tea, he had also made a detour to the Cayman Jungles. There, he had taught Koko two important things.

First, if he didn't return within three days, she was to use the reverse summoning technique to bring him back. And second, he taught her the Chakra Transfer technique for situations like this—cases of life and death.

He hadn't believed that he would find himself in such peril, not really. But Arthur was one who was ten steps ahead of everyone, always plotting contingencies for the worst-case scenarios.

He had anticipated almost every possible scene, even the most convoluted of plot devices and self-sealing repercussions.

Be they Gelel-enhanced techniques or wood techniques, he was prepared.

Arthur could never let himself fall to any of the players. That's simply who he was: a man devoted to keeping his promise. And that promise was to destroy this whole world!

"Do you remember anything while you were dead, daddy?"

Arthur wasn't too sure how to answer that question. All he remembered once his chakra finally hit zero, he could only think of one name and one name only: Jesus Christ.

Even though Team 7 managed to survive his assault, and even though the players were audaciously stronger than expected, his journey to the Land of Tea was not wasted.

It took him a moment to gather his bearings before rising to his feet. As he stood, the clearing revealed itself in stark clarity.

The first thing he did was reach into his bag, rummaging through his supplies until his hand closed around a scroll.

With a quick flick of his wrist, he summoned its contents.

Koko's eyes widened as a blood-stained bundle emerged from the scroll, unfurling to reveal something grotesque yet oddly familiar.

"What are those, daddy?" she gasped, leaping onto his shoulder.

Arthur held it steady, the objects twisting and curling in his grasp as the blood from them soaked into the ground, mixing with the dirt. He spoke with a steady calmness that echoed in the expanse of the jungle, highlighting the gravity of the moment.

"The flesh of the two main characters."