Arthur pushed himself through the destruction taking place within the Leaf Village.
He had managed to slip away from the chaos in the stadium, transforming into smoke just as the explosion occurred.
Now cloaked in the invisibility of his smoke, he weaved through deserted streets, searching for a safe haven.
His escape had been a gamble, a fortunate chance that the other players failed to prevent Orochimaru's invasion. Regardless of what they thought of him now, he let their false judgments crumble in his heart, choosing to focus on survival.
Chakra is the most important thing right now. He needed to solidify soon and find a secluded spot to preserve his chakra.
Spotting an abandoned lot within the village, Arthur saw his chance. He pulled himself back together, his physical body solidifying with a soft thud.
He was just regaining his bearings when a shadow suddenly fell across him.
Arthur slowly turned around.
"Planning a disappearing act, Arthur?" the familiar voice said.
"Hmph… Sasuke Uchiha," Arthur acknowledged with a calm voice. How the Uchiha had tracked him down, he couldn't fathom. "What a surprise."
Sasuke stepped closer; his expression unreadable.
"Whatever's going on, you're clearly involved."
Arthur scoffed again, saying, "And you chose to follow me because of that?"
An awkward silence followed until Arthur broke it.
"You could have avoided getting tangled up in this mess. Go back to the village, Sasuke. This doesn't concern you."
"Doesn't concern me?" Sasuke repeated, feeling a tad annoyed. "Anbu trapped you earlier, before the explosion. That makes you an enemy of the Leaf. So I'd say that does concern me."
How ironic, coming from a character who abandoned his home and was manipulated into wishing to destroy it. This was all before he declared to become the "Hokage."
"Compared to what's coming, this is a mere inconvenience," Arthur said with a stoic expression. "But you wouldn't understand, would you? Content to walk on a path under the shadow of your precious brother."
The mention of Itachi sent a surge of rage through Sasuke. He lunged forward, grabbing Arthur by the collar, his voice low and dangerous.
"Don't you dare!"
Arthur met his gaze unflinchingly and said, "The famous Uchiha prodigy, forever haunted by his pathetic, angsty emo past."
Sasuke tightened his grip, ready to say something, but Arthur shoved his hand away. The two stood a few yards apart.
"You don't understand anything!" Sasuke spat.
"Oh, I understand plenty," Arthur mused. I understand about duty, about sacrifice, about the burden of responsibility. But you... you are nothing more than digital waste beneath the soles of my feet."
That statement struck a raw nerve in Sasuke. He lunged forward, activating his Sharingan!
With a flick of his wrist, two shuriken shot through the air, aimed at Arthur's chest. Arthur, expecting the attack, drew a kunai from his pouch and deflected both shuriken with a swift clang.
The metal projectiles spun harmlessly away, clattering to the ground.
Upon noticing Sasuke was no longer in front of him, Arthur's head snapped up, only to see the Uchiha preparing a kick.
With a balletic grace, he dipped beneath the aimed kick. Sasuke landed softly, spinning on the ground in a whirlwind of motion. His leg lashed out, a backhand aimed at Arthur's chest.
Boom!
Arthur had met the attack head-on, his own arm raised in a textbook block.
Sasuke, teeth gritted, pressed the advantage. This close, the Sharingan should have given him an edge.
He feigned a right hook to draw a reaction, only to blur directly behind Arthur and go for a jab instead.
But Arthur didn't react. He didn't even blink.
Instead, something impossible happened. Arthur sidestepped, effortlessly dodging the blow aimed at his back.
Sasuke was astonished. He quickly backed off to create space.
Arthur slowly turned and conceded, "Any other enemy would have attacked again. You might be a genius in combat, but you're still too predictable."
Then Sasuke saw it: the change in Arthur's eyes. They seemed to glow with an ethereal light, something that Sasuke had never witnessed before. It was enough to send shivers down his spine.
"What is that?!" he demanded in a voice mixed with rage and curiosity.
Arthur stared at him for a long moment, his expression unreadable. Then, with a scoff, he said, "Wouldn't you like to know…"
Sasuke stared, bewildered. This sort of chakra felt eerily unsettling.
"Even without this," Arthur continued in a calm voice, "reading your movements is still child's play."
That statement hit Sasuke like a physical blow. The revelation morphed into a different kind of anger—a need to understand just who Arthur was.
Sasuke charged once more, blurring in front of Arthur, only to reappear behind him again. A fist was already aimed at his spine.
With a whiplash turn, Arthur met the attack with his own forearm, the sickening crunch of bone meeting bone echoing through the empty lot.
Kunai still clutched in his hand, Arthur lunged his arm forward, aiming for the eye. Sasuke reacted quickly, a kunai appearing in his hand just in time to deflect the deadly stab.
Sparks flew as metal met metal. The air was filled with clanging as they traded blows. Each desperate slash from Sasuke was met with a block or a well-timed dodge by Arthur.
The fight grew ragged.
Sasuke's breaths came in gasps, his clothes marred with crimson streaks. Arthur, however, remained unscathed.
In a desperate gamble, Sasuke used the momentum of a deflected attack to launch himself into the air, hoping to gain an advantage. But the moment his feet left the ground, Arthur's hand shot out.
'Seven heavenly breaths: first activation.'
Arthur's fingers clamped around Sasuke's ankle with an iron grip. Sasuke's eyes widened in horror as his world flipped upside down.
Arthur slammed him back to the earth with a loud thud; the air knocked from his lungs. A searing pain erupted in his abdomen as Arthur's foot connected with his stomach, with blood from his mouth spewing into the air.
It was commendable of Sasuke to face Arthur alone, but without knowing anything about his adversary, he was walking into his own grave.
Truly, the Uchiha had become digital waste.
Sasuke coughed, blood dribbling down his chin. Arthur hadn't said a word, removing his foot to walk away.
"Wait!" Sasuke growled, struggling to stand.
Arthur slowly turned to see how persistent the Uchiha was. Sasuke's breathing was calming by the second, showing that he wasn't out for the count.
Frustrated, he launched into a series of attacks of kicks and punches.
Arthur, however, seemed to anticipate each move.
With ease, he dodged and parried, deflecting Sasuke's blows with the bare minimum of effort. His movements were fluid and efficient, unlike anyone Sasuke's faced before!
Sasuke gritted his teeth, frustration mounting with each failed attack. He couldn't believe it. His Sharingan, usually an undeniable advantage, was useless against Arthur.
Was Arthur's Tamashii that much stronger? No, Arthur simply knew how to fight against the Sharingan.
Here Sasuke was, the Uchiha prodigy, facing an opponent who seemed to see through his every attack before he even threw it.
Sasuke sprang backwards. His mind raced, hand signs forming almost on instinct.
Arthur narrowed his eyes. He recognized what technique Sasuke was attempting, deciphering it based on the first hand sign—snake.
"Fire style: fireball jutsu!"
A fireball erupted from his mouth, lancing towards Arthur. But Arthur himself remained unimpressed.
With one hand sign, a colossal water dragon materialized behind him. It was the perfect counterpoint to fire techniques.
The fireball met the water dragon head-on, clashing in the center of the battlefield.
There was a hiss, a plume of steam, and then the flames were devoured.
The water dragon, still formed, surged forward with an unstoppable force. It engulfed Sasuke in a torrent of water, drenching him and then slamming him back against the ground.
He coughed and sputtered, his eyes momentarily obscured by the water cascading down his face.
"You should know something, boy... I'm not even the strongest in the village. There are others who will far surpass you. And when that happens, your chances of taking revenge for your clan will cease."
A strangled gurgle could be heard as Sasuke attempted to rise, his body writhing in pain.
"Don't you," he rasped in a low growl, "mock me…!"
He glared at Arthur with his Sharingan in a cold, furious light. But Arthur remained unconcerned.
Just then, magma-like marks began to spread across Sasuke's arm, quickly followed by more on his face. His curse mark was activating!
Sasuke, fueled by a dark power and rage, slowly rose to his feet. His voice, when he spoke, was a low growl: "You're dead."
Arthur didn't flinch.
That's when Sasuke suddenly clutched his neck in pain. The raw power, both exhilarating and terrifying, was a double-edged sword.
"You think you can become strong alone?" Arthur scorned. "It won't come from staying in this village. Soon, you'll be visited by ninjas from the Sound; those will give you real power in exchange for… something else."
Sasuke didn't believe him. This was some elaborate trick by the village's "traitor." He snarled, ignoring the growing agony in his neck.
With a relaxed hand, he lowered it and said, "I exist for one reason…" He then performed hand signs. "Until I find him," A surge of purple electricity crackled around his hand, the Chidori finally taking form, "I cannot lose!"
It was different than what Arthur remembered, but it was still the Chidori nonetheless, being fueled by the curse mark.
The light reflected off Arthur's stoic face, a scene in which many would cower. The angry electricity, the sounds of multiple birds chirping—they were all reflections of the turmoil within Sasuke.
He lunged at Arthur, intent on making him pay, on making him regret ever crossing his path.
Sasuke's roar echoed through the deserted lot as he slammed the Chidori into the ground. The earth broke apart, shooting sparks of purple lightning into the air.
Arthur, however, was already moving. He quickly reached into his pouch and unfurled a scroll. The seal inside glowed momentarily before two swords materialized in his hands—the Boltswords!
"That won't work!" Sasuke screamed.
The Chidori then clashed with the crossed blades head-on, causing a rage of electricity to sizzle everywhere.
Sasuke's eyes were slowly widening with disbelief. He poured every ounce of his fury into the attack, expecting his technique to cleave through any defense.
But the Boltswords held firm with a mix of blue and purple electricity surging through the blades.
Arthur wasn't yielding!
His eyes locked with Sasuke's as he said, "If this is the power you're going to fight your brother with…" With a swift, powerful movement, he slashed forward.
The collected electricity channeled through the Boltswords erupted in a blinding arc, deflecting the entire force of Sasuke's attack. Sasuke, caught completely off guard, let out a scream of agony as the redirected Chidori slammed into him!
He was thrown backwards like a ragdoll, a charred streak trailing behind him as he soared through the air.
"Then you'll always be weak."
Arthur released the Boltswords, watching the Uchiha's figure arc through the sky.
The swords left behind puff clouds, disappearing.
These special swords were dubbed special for a reason. Rather than go against the Chidori's lightning, he let Sasuke's chakra channel into the blades, creating a source to help redirect the attack—a feat that required magnificent chakra control.
Despite being a prodigy, a well-refined genius among his peers, Sasuke knew nothing about Arthur. It didn't matter if Sasuke was buffed or received special treatment; as long as Arthur prepared himself, he could never be outclassed.
Just as Sasuke was about to become a bloody smear on the ground, a figure materialized beneath him. Her blonde hair spread as she caught the Uchiha just in time and landed softly on the earth.
It was Alice, her eyes narrowed in a glare at Arthur!
"That's far enough!" she announced, cradling Sasuke's unconscious body. "I'm not gonna let you kill them, Arthur!"