Seven days had gone by.
Arthur's relentless grind of becoming stronger had progressed well.
Each session with Tatewaki brought him to new limits, pushing him further towards perfection.
The reanimated samurai, though initially skeptical, couldn't deny the sheer willpower Arthur had.
The benefits were undeniable. Arthur moved with brand-new fluidity, wielding each of his unique blades with better efficiency.
At one instant of the training session, he summoned Mangetsu to make the corpse show Arthur how to properly wield the swords.
It was a well-deserved effort, as Arthur even fought Mangetsu for the entire day, the latter using all six swords at once against him!
A brutal training session, one that he was bested more times than one. But he needed to understand, to better get a feel for how to properly use these weapons.
It paid off well.
The techniques he added to his arsenal were the following: Explosive Blade Jutsu: Multiple Explosions of Death; Longsword Ninja Art: Massacre Method Formation; Ninja Art Long Blade: Stitching Spider; and lastly, Hiramekarei Bloody Mist Sword Art: Honenuki: Bone Mutilation.
The first unfurled the Explosive Blade to capture the opponent in a paper bomb trap. The second tied targets together with wires. The third set up wire traps that he could manipulate.
The last one was perhaps the deadliest of all. It allowed him to summon a multitude of light-blue chakra needles that are then propelled towards his adversaries. Upon striking, the needles pierce the opponent's chakra pathway system, causing a gradual and ultimately fatal decline in their overall vitality.
Translation? They'll die.
The real gain was that he'd devised a fighting style that capitalized on each of the weapon's strengths.
The Long Blade, precise and deadly, for swift attacks and disarming maneuvers; the Explosive Blade, a storm of explosions, for overwhelming offense and creating openings. The Executioner's Blade, to overwhelm the opponent's strength. The Blunt Blade, to shatter every defense. The Boltswords, to shower the stage with lightning. And Hiramekarei, to always keep the opponents on their toes.
Each weapon was like a ruthless poem of violence.
One afternoon, he sent a message to Hiromu, informing him to deliver certain documents.
Around the same hour, a hawk was seen on Arthur's balcony. Thick, rolled-up scrolls were tightly gripped in its talons.
Recognizing Hiromu's handiwork, Arthur retrieved the scrolls and let the bird go.
Inside, sealed with the Mizukage's official seal, were classified documents from the Hidden Mist Village. He wasted no time delving into the contents.
The first few reports were routine, detailing infrastructure projects and minor skirmishes at the border. These weren't anything he needed to know for now.
As he continued scanning the documents, a name jumped out at him: Utakata.
He skimmed through the reports, learning everything there was to know about the Six-Tails Jinchūriki.
Utakata wasn't that difficult of a character to grasp. Originally a loyal ninja from the Mist Village, he became a disillusioned wanderer after a tragic event with his teacher.
Utakata was written to have been quiet and stoic, preferring solitude. He deeply distrusted the concept of a student-teacher relationship due to his past.
However, he had a strong sense of honour and a protective streak, especially towards those who helped him.
He could also use soap bubble ninjutsu, combining his water style with a special tool to create explosive or immobilizing bubbles.
Most notably, he was the current Jinchūriki of the Six-Tails, Saiken.
When he transforms using the Tailed Beasts powers, he gains new abilities and corrosive powers.
Interestingly, Utakata had a better relationship with his Tailed Beast than most Jinchūriki, able to control its power to some extent.
There were nine Jinchūriki in total, one of which was already dead—Yagura. It was never stated what happens to a Tailed Beast when the host dies. However, Yagura's Tailed Beast, Isobu, was currently fresh in a large lake within the country.
The other eight Jinchūriki, from what Arthur understood, were in their respective countries. Naruto in the Fire Country, Gaara in the Wind Country, Killer Bee and Yugito Nii in the Lightning Country, Rōshi and Han in the Earth Country, and lastly, Fū in an unknown country, but in a village called the "Waterfall Village."
But above them all, one specific Jinchūriki had been freely treading in Arthur's country unsupervised—Utakata.
That is who Arthur has mainly been training for.
According to the intel, Utakata was still a rogue ninja, a detail Arthur already knew from the bingo book—his bounty equaling ten million ryō, respectively.
The reports also chronicled his escape from the Hidden Mist, his affiliation with a small ninja village called "Tsuchigumo," and the subsequent search for his capture.
However, based on intercepted communications and eyewitness accounts, Utakata no longer resides in Tsuchigumo Village. His whereabouts were unknown.
Arthur was going to lure him out.
He spent the following days scouring the remaining documents, searching for anything that could give him a clue.
He learned about Utakata's techniques, his fighting style, and even the rumoured location of his last known whereabouts. But none of this information helped him pinpoint the Jinchūriki's current location.
He closed the documents, understanding what had to be done. He needed a different approach—a more proactive one.
Knowledge was power, and there was one crucial detail missing from the Hidden Mist files: the seal they used.
His eyes darted back to the section detailing Utakata's capture. There, buried in the text, was a single phrase: 'Tailed Beast Installation.'
This was the first time he'd ever heard of such a technique. Almost every mention of Tailed Beasts in this world revolved around extraction, the brutal process of removing the creature from its host.
What did this 'installation' entail?
He sifted through the documents again. Nothing.
There was no liable intel on the technique. But then something connected in Arthur's mind: 'Tailed Beast Removal'—that was the technique used by Utakata's teacher to try to extract Saiken from him.
Was there a counterpart, an opposite technique? If a removal technique existed, there had to be an installation one as well.
It was a long shot, but it was a lead—something he could chase.
Two days later, another hawk arrived, bearing a scroll marked with Hiromu's personal seal.
Arthur unfurled it. Inside, scrawled in Hiromu's handwriting, were the instructions for the Tailed Beast Removal technique.
The technique itself seemed simple. It involved a ritualistic arrangement of stones, a complex sealing formula drawn in ink, and a point of rest for the host.
The real challenge lay in execution.
Arthur spent the following days learning the instructions and memorizing the intricate steps.
The potential dangers—the risk of losing control—of a Tailed Beast rampaging unchecked were evident. But he wasn't going to back down on this now or ever.
Finally, the day arrived. Arthur had gathered the necessary supplies—ink and large parchment—for the seal design.
He departed from Wizened Town, leaving civilization behind, and ventured hundreds of miles into the desolate heart of the Water Country.
It was a wise decision, for he needed a secluded spot where he could conduct his experiment uninterrupted.
When he found a barren clearing, devoid of life or landmarks, he deemed it the perfect spot for the unorthodox ritual.
Following the instructions exactly as they were written, he erected stones in a specific pattern, each one carefully selected and positioned. At the center, he placed a flat slab of rock, large enough to accommodate a man's body.
He then took out the ink and parchment. The seal design, a multifaceted web of lines and symbols, was being carefully drawn.
He began to transcribe it onto the ground, a task that took almost an entire hour. When the final flourish was complete, he examined his work, triple-checking it to ensure there were no mistakes. It was a perfect replica.
The next step, however, was the trickiest.
He placed a flying raijin marker right in the center of the stone slab. This was going to be the point of extraction, at which he would teleport Utakata here without needing to spend time traveling.
With the seal prepped and everything laid bare, he calculated the dangers. The risk held a potential for failure, but that didn't deter him.
It simply sharpened his focus.
He spent the next day and a half in quiet contemplation, revisiting the intel on Utakata, his mind running simulations, and formulating strategies.
Finally, the time came to act. With his supplies packed, he left the land. His destination was in close proximity to Tsuchigumo Village.
It wasn't the village itself that drew him; it was the possibility that Utakata might still be nearby.
The journey was uneventful. He arrived at dusk after spending about a day traveling by air.
Here, he would deploy his Simian Sage Mode. So he closed his eyes and gathered natural energy.
His transitioning period had become much faster than before. Now he could gather the energy at twice the speed, being two and a half minutes faster.
While his form shifted, his senses were already amplifying dramatically. His enhanced perception was focused on the village below.
A mixture of chakra signatures flooded his vision. He saw the villagers going about their jobs, the guards patrolling the perimeter, and even the young Hotaru playing in the village square.
Hotaru was a young kunoichi from the Tsuchigumo clan who was housed within the village.
Determined to honour her grandfather's legacy, she volunteered to have her clan's forbidden technique sealed onto her back. This technique held the potential to restore her clan's glory but also posed a major danger—it could blow up an entire village.
In her story, she met Utakata who initially refused to train her. However, she impressed him with her perseverance, and she eventually became his student. Together, alongside Naruto, they faced enemies who sought the forbidden technique's power.
Hotaru learned that the technique was too destructive and ultimately chose to have it removed. Unfortunately, Utakata was captured and killed by Pain shortly after.
Left alone, she was filled with grief but likely continued her ninja training.
This event shouldn't take place for another three years from now.
And while Hotaru was clearly the most notable filler character in the village, none of them held the specific signature Arthur sought.
Disappointment didn't even register. He remained calm, his mind already thinking of a new approach.
If Utakata didn't actively seek him out, he could make capturing him someone else's problem. He could post an All-Bunting Person (ABP) warrant for Utakata's arrest, essentially turning the entire country into his hunting party.
But a quicker, more direct approach appealed to him more. It would be faster, less reliant on outside forces, and, most importantly, give him complete control over the situation.
He dismissed the notion of an ABP warrant.
Then someone finally reached his perception. He honed his focus, revealing a faint but unmistakable signature—Utakata's. Interestingly, it wasn't within the village, but further out, traveling alone.
This was perfect. Arthur didn't need the chaos of the village, at least not yet. He needed a one-on-one encounter, a controlled environment where he could manipulate the situation to his advantage.
He deactivated Sage Mode. Fifty miles—not an insignificant distance, but certainly manageable.
With a burst of speed, he launched himself towards Utakata's location. The hunter was now preying on the beast.
As he drew closer, he formulated his approach. He knew of Utakata's techniques and fighting style, thanks to both the documents and what he had read about the character.
He knew Utakata was a skilled ninja, great at bubble manipulation techniques. But Arthur had something Utakata wouldn't expect—trump cards.
He wasn't here to engage in a prolonged battle of attrition; he was here for a decisive takedown. So he had hoped.
By the time a good plan solidified in his mind, he reached the edge of a clearing, his eyes falling on the unsuspecting figure of Utakata, the first Jinchūriki he had ever encountered outside of the Leaf.
Arthur could visually see his form. He was dressed in a light blue kimono with grey pants and an orange sash. He also carried a bamboo jug and a hidden pipe for his bubble techniques.
Most notably was the malevolent aura inside his character—the Six-Tails.