Relaxing, Arthur suppressed any lingering vestiges of Minato's personality, focusing solely on the task at hand.
He wasn't interested in a fair fight; he wasn't interested in conversation; he needed to hunt down his prey before they knew what hit them.
He armed the reanimated Minato with a handful of kunai, expertly strapped to his cloak. With a silent command, he propelled the fourth Hokage forward, causing him to disappear into the undergrowth.
Moments later, Zabuza and Haku rounded a bend in the path, their conversation trailing off as they felt something odd.
Zabuza came to a halt, his hand instinctively reaching for the hilt of his Executioner's Blade.
"Haku," he muttered in suspicion. "Something's not right."
Their suspicion wouldn't matter. Arthur, hidden from sight, watched as the reanimated Minato hurtled a kunai in their direction.
Reacting on instinct, Zabuza lunged forward, his broadsword whipping out. The clang of metal echoed through the trees as he easily deflected the first kunai with a powerful swing.
But it was only the beginning. More kunai followed, and a hail launched with inhuman speed. Zabuza, forced back on his heels, spun and weaved.
Haku reacted instantly. With just a single hand sign, a wave of icy air surged forward, freezing the remaining kunai mid-flight. They shattered with a crystalline tinkling sound, raining down as harmless shards of ice.
"Who are you?" Zabuza roared. He planted his feet firmly, the broadsword held low in a defensive stance.
Minato performed the high-speed movement technique, finally making himself known.
"I just attacked you," Arthur said through the reanimation, "and yet the first thing you want to know is my name?"
"Clever little ambush," Zabuza shot back with sarcasm. "But showing yourself was a big mistake."
Haku spoke from beside him, saying, "Zabuza, something's wrong. Look at his face."
Zabuza squinted, finally taking a closer look at the figure before him. At first glance, it appeared to be a living person wearing a white cloak. However, upon closer inspection, their attacker's sclera was black, and he didn't seem to show any signs of breathing.
Arthur was impressed by their observation skills. They hadn't encountered a reanimated corpse before, but they were astute enough to recognize something wasn't quite right with Minato. Yet the element of surprise was still present.
Snow fell softly as Haku shot forward. Four needles flew from between his knuckles, aimed at Minato. Arthur, sensing the distraction, had Minato deflect them effortlessly with a kunai.
Even before the needles landed, Arthur had felt another presence lurking in the blind spot. With a rapid backflip, Minato narrowly avoided a blow from Zabuza's Executioner's Blade.
Haku was in shock. Minato shouldn't have been able to react so quickly, let alone see the attack coming.
The moment Minato landed, Zabuza spun, wasting no time. He swung his broadsword, aiming a slash at Minato's neck. Arthur had Minato take one step back, dodging the blade by mere inches.
Zabuza slashed again and again, but each slash met air. Minato was constantly out of reach.
Frustrated, Zabuza finally broke off the assault, leaping back. Haku, seizing the opportunity, launched himself at Minato, attempting to grapple with him. Minato, however, countered by capturing both his wrists in a vice-like grip.
Undeterred, Haku used one hand to perform a technique: "Secret jutsu: a thousand needles of death!" The air shifted as countless ice needles materialized, a deadly storm trapping Minato.
But Arthur, having seen this technique before, reacted swiftly. He propelled Minato skyward in a leap just before the needles slammed into the ground, covering the ground in ice.
There, as Minato reached the apex of his jump, Zabuza was waiting like a predator. The Executioner's Blade swung with terrifying force, aiming to cleave Minato in two.
Arthur quickly had Minato intercept the attack, catching Zabuza's wrist mid-swing. The momentum, however, sent Minato spiraling through the air. He landed with a roll, backflipping to his feet.
Sweat trickled down Arthur's face. He had underestimated the strain of control on a reanimated powerhouse like Minato. But thanks to his Sage Chakra, he felt the burden ease off his shoulders a little bit.
Zabuza landed, undeterred. With a cry, he released his technique: "Water style: giant vortex jutsu!" A raging waterfall engulfed Minato, threatening to drown him in its fury.
Yet, as the last vestiges of the water subsided, both Zabuza and Haku were left bewildered. Minato was gone; he vanished as if he had never been hit by the technique.
Arthur hadn't been idle. He placed marks on all his scattered kunai before the fight, for which he'd teleported Minato out of harm's way during Zabuza's watery assault.
With a flash of yellow, Minato reappeared several yards behind the unsuspecting pair, a shadow clone by his side—two of Minato's for the price of one.
The two Mist ninjas were shocked.
Arthur's plan was simple: divide and conquer. While the shadow clone, imbued with Minato's speed, kept pace with Haku's icy attacks, Arthur had the real Minato engage Zabuza.
The battle continued with a flurry of metal and ice.
Zabuza, bellowing orders, commanded Haku to return to his side. The clone, however, proved a formidable opponent, stopping Haku's movements and attacks with uncanny precision.
Haku, knowing who he served, formed a single mirror about twice his size. He then phased through the mirror, leaving the clone unable to stop him.
Arthur, watching things unfold, saw Haku appear before Zabuza. As a result, he dispersed the clone in order to focus more.
Kabuto, in his Snake Sage Mode, was able to command thousands of reanimated corpses during an entire war, all of them with monstrous chakra, which was baffling. Arthur could barely manage one!
Then something strange happened—something Arthur had never witnessed before.
Zabuza and Haku, standing side by side, performed a series of hand signs. A large water dragon materialized behind them almost instantly. But that wasn't all. As they looked ahead, Haku unleashed a wave of icy chakra, encasing the entire creature in a thick layer of ice.
The result was a chilling spectacle—a giant water dragon, frozen solid, its eyes glowing ominously.
Without warning, the ice dragon lunged with a roar. It slammed into Minato, burying him in an avalanche of ice and broken rock.
A massive ice pillar erupted from the ground, with Minato frozen solid at the peak. Around this pillar, a cage of crystal ice mirrors formed.
Haku then encased himself in a block of ice before speeding towards the other mirrors. Immediately, Minato was being attacked by Haku, swerving in and out of different mirrors.
It was a dazzling display of speed, creating the illusion of multiple Haku's aggressively slashing at the helpless Minato.
Zabuza then raised his Executioner's Blade. With a battle cry, he swung the massive blade up in an arc, directly at the ice pillar.
The blade bit deep, sending a shockwave of chakra up to the peak where Minato was being assaulted by Haku.
A loud crack echoed through the clearing as the ice fractured and shattered!
At that moment, Haku landed beside Zabuza, his chest heaving from exertion. Ice shards settled around them, highlighting their combined efforts.
Minato lay sprawled amidst the wreckage, a jagged line bisecting his frozen form. They walked towards the fallen figure, their boots crunching on the ice shard carpet.
There was a gruesome sense of finality to the scene.
But then something shifted. Minato's blue eyes snapped open. Zabuza and Haku leapt back in unison, disbelief spreading on their faces.
How could he be alive? An attack like this should have killed Minato.
Then something sparked in Zabuza's head. He barked a question: "Haku, did you draw any blood?"
Haku shook his head, answering that he hadn't.
Minato rose, brushing off the ice from his garments. Dust gradually collected around him, replacing the gaping wound on his chest until he was whole again.
It finally dawned on the two that they couldn't kill Minato because Minato was already dead!
Zabuza had fought monsters before, but this? This was something altogether new for him.
Arthur watched his opponents' comprehension dawn. He felt disappointed, having wished to see the full potential of the Reanimation technique unleashed.
But Zabuza and Haku were no fools. They understood the threat.
"How do we proceed?" Haku wondered.
Arthur ignored their strategic talk. Instead, he focused on his will, channeling it through Minato.
A ball of blue energy, a Rasengan about a foot in diameter, materialized in Minato's hand. Zabuza and Haku tensed, the former's eyes widening in alarm.
But before either could react, there hadn't been a single character present. One moment Minato was standing in front of the shattered ice pillar; the next he was a blur, reappearing directly above Haku!
With a loud thud, the Rasengan slammed into Haku's back, paralyzing him instantly.
Zabuza was shocked beyond measure, leaping back in a desperate attempt to escape. But it was too late.
In a blink, Minato reappeared behind him, another Rasengan glowing ominously. Zabuza swung his blade backward, but Minato teleported again.
Bang!
"Argh!" Zabuza screamed after the Rasengan slammed into his body.
The mighty ninja crumpled to his knees, overwhelmed by the technique's sheer force.
Confusion clouded his eyes. How was this possible? The answer was clear the moment he saw his wrist—a flying raijin mark was etched right on it!
During their earlier grapple, when Arthur had grabbed his wrist, it wasn't just a defensive maneuver; it was a simultaneous effort to place a mark without anyone being aware.
The flying raijin was simply that deadly of a technique. It wasn't just an offensive technique; it was a death sentence.
Arthur knew personally that the moment Zabuza was marked, the fight had concluded. Otherwise, he wouldn't have fallen to their combined attack; he was merely testing his own might and control.
That's simply who Arthur was—a being that had no rival.
Zabuza finally fell. The world blurred as Arthur's Sage Mode receded. He then focused his remaining chakra, deactivating the Reanimation technique.
Minato's body hunched forward. The familiar coffin materialized behind him as he drifted inside, before it closed and sank to the ground.
Now it was time to deal with the loose ends.
Arthur approached Haku. The young ninja lay still, his body convulsing with the residual effects of the Rasengan.
Arthur knelt beside him, checking for a pulse. It was faint. This wouldn't do.
"Characters like you sicken me," Arthur said, aware that Haku couldn't respond. "Know ye not what Deuteronomy 22: 5 says? The woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man, neither shall a man put on a woman's garment: for all that do so are abomination unto the LORD thy God."
Drawing his kunai, he cut Arthur's throat, ending the boy's time in this world.
Standing up, his gaze turned towards Zabuza. The mighty ninja of the Mist lay sprawled on the blood-stained snow, his once-proud features contorted in pain.
Every ragged breath he took seemed like an agonizing effort. Arthur felt no pity.
"The boy you encountered before," he said with chilling calmness. "His name was Naruto... He's the reason you two fell today… He lied to you, and now you're paying for his misdeeds."
Zabuza's eyes snapped open, burning with hatred despite the haze of pain. He croaked, "You… you were the one controlling that monster."
"Looks like you finally understand what it means to be hunted like the devil you are."
Zabuza's face contorted in fury as he forced a yell: "Coward! Hiding behind a puppet!"
Arthur's face remained a cold indifference.
"That's a strange accusation coming from someone who relies on a gay child as a weapon. The two of you were supposed to die on that bridge anyway."
Sensing his approaching demise, Zabuza coughed up blood, staining the snow crimson.
"You may have won this battle," he groaned, "but you won't win forever, boy."
Arthur knew better than anyone what it meant to lose. A battle like this hadn't compared to his hardest fight of all—attempting to escape this world.
He met his gaze unflinchingly and said, "I beg to differ."
Zabuza's eyes contorted as if he were smiling. Laughing, he said, "You'll be hunted down like how you hunted us down!"
Arthur didn't respond. There was no point in arguing with a dying character clinging to misplaced pride.
Nothing but silence filled the air, broken only by Zabuza's laboured breaths. With a swift motion, Arthur used his kunai and plunged it into Zabuza's skull, silencing the devil forever.