A cloud passed under the afternoon sun as sweat trickled down Lee's face.
With swiftness, Arthur ran forward, snatching the kunai on the ground. He lunged at Lee, the weapon raised high in a deadly arc aimed at slicing a bloody line across his face.
But Lee flung his arms up, his hands clamping onto Arthur's wrist just as the kunai came down.
It was quite a tenacious grip, but Arthur could see Lee's body shaking.
"You call that a block?" he snarled, pushing down with more might. Lee's face contorted in effort, his knuckles turning white as he strained to hold on.
Arthur lashed out with his other leg, attempting a brutal side kick to send Lee flying. The impact connected with a thud, propelling Lee several yards back across the grass.
Lee then coughed, his chest heaving in and out. Respectfully, he admitted, "You are undoubtedly a strong opponent! I had not expected you to be so skilled at taijutsu."
The comment was met with silence.
Then, with a nod, Lee began unwinding the bandages around his forearms. A green aura flared around him. The unmistakable energy signaled the activation of the Third Gate, the Gate of Life.
Lee seemed to blur from Arthur's view. A streak of green was already aimed at his legs!
Arthur twisted away, the wind whipping at his face as Lee shot past. But Lee didn't stop. He turned on a dime and launched a flurry of punches aimed at Arthur's head.
Arthur weaved and dodged, his own agility allowing him to keep pace with Lee's new speed. But Lee wasn't finished. With a swift feint, he switched tactics, his leg snapping out in a kick that slammed into Arthur's ribs.
The impact caused Arthur to skid across the grass for several yards. He eventually stopped, staying crouched on his feet, the pain reddening in his chest.
Arthur couldn't help but be impressed. Lee, despite the odds stacked against him, was pushing himself to his limits.
Yet a sense of calm settled over Arthur. He had faced far worse. This was just another fight he had to adapt to.
He rose to his feet slowly, saying, "Alright then…"
Lee had done something no one had before: he pushed Arthur past his boundaries, showing him that he wasn't the strongest.
But the fight was far from over.
"I thank you, Lee," he said. "This fight has made one thing abundantly clear: I need to train harder."
Arthur glanced skyward to remind himself that this was still the digital world. There wasn't a single emotion on his face.
'Everyone else is off fighting,' he thought. 'If that's the case...' He trailed off, his cold gaze returning to Lee.
"You should have taken the chance to leave when I gave it to you," Arthur said.
The wind began to shift with a tension that went beyond the usual pre-fight jitters. Arthur altered his stance. He took a deep breath, and every inhale and exhale was measured and deliberate.
Then, in a blink, everything changed.
A brilliant yellow aura erupted around Arthur, bathing his body in light. Lee gasped. His eyes widened in disbelief as Arthur's muscles bulged beneath his skin, his body turning a deep red as blood pumped through his veins with unnatural fervour.
With one motion, Arthur slowly lowered his hand, causing the wind to cease. The transformation was complete. His pupils vanished, leaving only the terrifying expanse of his white sclera.
'Fifth activation…'
The world seemed to slow down for Arthur. It wasn't just his perception; it was a tangible shift. Things were so much different that even the wind rustling through the grass seemed to move in slow motion.
Lee himself looked inhumanely slow and sluggish to Arthur.
The power emanating could barely be expressed.
Arthur's body, now seemingly unburdened by earthly limitations, felt light and agile. He could almost imagine himself soaring through the air if he were to jump.
In that impossibly slow moment, he took one step, and Lee saw him vanish. Then, with a force that shattered the very ground beneath him, Arthur reappeared, his fist aimed directly at Lee's face!
The blow landed with a crunch, Lee's features contorting in agony before he was launched like a ragdoll, his body slamming into the Science Building!
Lee hadn't even seen the attack coming.
Arthur stood there, motionless, his aura slowly fading. He lowered his fists, his expression devoid of triumph, only content.
The fight was over.
Lee lay unconscious, while Arthur flexed his fingers to consider this battle.
The Seven Heavenly Breaths were indeed a powerful taijutsu skill. While it was only shown to go up to the third activation, it could be pushed higher.
Arthur, because of his relentless training, his dedication, and his support trait, had unlocked up to the fifth activation, a level of power that surpassed even the legendary Eight Gates Formation.
Theoretically, the Seven Heavenly Breaths worked similarly to the Eight Gates. Arthur could very well train himself to achieve the eighth activation, if one existed, but there was a chance it would have consequences like the Gate of Death.
Almost everything in this world comes at a price. Yet this one didn't seem to leave any strain on Arthur's body. If he felt like it, he could easily activate it again!
Lee, for all his prowess, was excellent at taijutsu. While Arthur's own strength placed him at an advantage, Lee's lack of chakra limited his offensive options.
Had Arthur faced a foe who wielded chakra alongside taijutsu, like Han, the five-tailed Jinchūriki, the outcome might have been different. A skilled chakra user could exploit Arthur's state by targeting his weaknesses or using ranged attacks.
Lee's unconscious form lay by the entrance walls. His face clearly showed signs of broken bones mixed with red and purple bruises.
He would need hundreds of stitches, without a doubt.
Pity, however, found no place in Arthur's heart. This was a game—a brutal one with real consequences—and he couldn't afford to lose like before.
As he stared at Lee, a thought came to mind.
The fight had served its purpose, but it had also revealed a potential opportunity. The other players seemed fixated on aiding the story. But what if Arthur replicated those tragic events himself to nudge the narrative in his direction?
Tsunade, the third and last legendary Sannin, was a vital character after this arc. If he could subtly manipulate the players, point them towards seeking her out, it could prove beneficial in the long run.
Even if they didn't seek her out because of tragedies, wouldn't a more experienced healer be an asset in a world as dangerous as this one?
With the thought settled, Arthur entered the Science Building. Inside were sterile hallways lined with doors leading to various labs and classrooms.
He needed the room where the chakra pills were usually stored. So he navigated the halls with a surprisingly sharp memory of the building.
Soon, he found himself before a reinforced metal door guarding a restricted area. With the second activation, he slammed his fist against it. The metal buckled under the force before giving way with a resounding clang.
The room was dimly lit, with rows of shelves stocked with empty vials. That's when Arthur saw them—chakra pills.
He grabbed a handful and popped a few pills into his mouth, tasting their sweet, tangy flavour.
The effects weren't immediate, but he could already feel chakra flowing through him, warm and invigorating. It slowly but surely began dispelling the lingering fatigue from his earlier battles.
After concluding his affairs here, he returned to Lee's side. Standing directly above him, Arthur braced himself for what he was about to do.
This wasn't about vengeance; it was about manipulation, a calculated strategy to help move the story.
'Chakra-enhanced strength.'
Focusing his chakra, Arthur channeled it into his leg, hardening it. Then he stomped down on Lee's left arm repeatedly!
Loud banging of bones shattering could be heard with every hit. The sound echoed in the air, followed by painful groanings coming from Lee's unconscious self.
Arthur repeated the action, bringing his reinforced leg down on Lee's left shin.
The parallelism was deliberate, a cruel mirroring of a past event when Gaara first crippled Lee. Arthur imagined the players hearing about what happened to Lee, and their minds accepting that he wasn't here to play games.
Wouldn't they be desperate to seek out someone with the power to heal such injuries? Someone like Tsunade?
Arthur was a villain—a survivor in an experiment that he couldn't fully grasp. They had thrown him into a fight for his life, and he was determined to escape, even if it meant using these pawns to his advantage.
Standing up, he brushed off his clothes.
He cast a final, emotionless glance at the unconscious figure before turning to leave the village.
As he walked away, suddenly, a voice pierced the silence, sharp and accusatory: "Arthur, you stubborn boy!"
He slowly turned, only to see a character's face filled with a mixture of fury and concern. It was Might Guy.
He roared, "What have you done to Lee?!"
Arthur remained nonchalant, coolly saying, "Nothing more than I warned him about... He got in my way, that's all."
Guy's bushy brows furrowed in disbelief as he yelled with a tremour of hurt, "In your way? Lee wouldn't randomly attack a fellow Leaf villager, especially not one close to his own age!"
Arthur felt a tad irritated. This level of loyalty was both admirable and infuriating. So he said, "Believe what you want, but the truth is right here." He then gestured towards Lee's broken form.
Guy's eyes darted between Arthur and Lee, exactly what Arthur had hoped for—to plant a seed of doubt to hinder Guy's resolve. It was all he needed.
"I… I wanted to believe you, Arthur," Guy admitted, his voice filled with disappointment. "After the incident at the stadium… I tried. But seeing this…" He looked again towards Lee. "Now I know the truth. You're the enemy."
Guy dropped into a familiar low stance, his hands clenched into fists, threatening, "You'll regret betraying the Leaf Village!"
Arthur, although well composed, knew he couldn't overpower Guy, not in his current state. A direct confrontation was losing battle.
But there was another way, a way to exploit Guy's loyalty, his biggest strength and ultimately, his weakness.
"Go ahead, fight me," Arthur calmly demanded. "But remember this: every second you waste here attacking me, Lee's injuries worsen. He'll die if you don't get him help soon."
Horror crossed Guy's face. He glanced at Lee, the urgency in Arthur's words sinking in.
Then, to further amplify the fear, Arthur added, "And that won't be the last. Everyone you hold dear, they'll all suffer the same fate if you try to stop me."
The threat was clear: a cruel manipulation that played on Guy's deepest fears.
Guy's face contorted in a silent battle between duty and the desperate need to protect his precious student. The decision was made in a heartbeat—he would choose the latter.
Just a moment was all Arthur needed. And then it happened. Guy faltered, his gaze darting back to Lee.
It was a brief hesitation, but for Arthur, it was an opening.
'Smoke jutsu.'
Arthur vanished without a trace, leaving Guy alone, with the weight of Arthur's threats still pressing down on him.
Guy spun around, his eyes searching frantically for Arthur, but he was gone. There wasn't a single noise made, let alone the trails of smoke that could be seen.
To Guy, Arthur was truly a mysterious enemy that could not be left unchecked. Because deep down, he knew that if Arthur was let loose to roam this world, he would become the Leaf Village's number one adversary!
With a growl of frustration, Guy rushed to Lee's side, his heart pounding to protect his favourite student, no matter the cost.