Utakata's journey was abruptly halted by a lone figure standing in his path. The sun was obscuring the newcomer's features, but Utakata couldn't shake the feeling of being watched and scrutinized.
The silence continued until the figure finally stepped forward, revealing a calm, calculating face.
It was Arthur.
"Can I help you?" Utakata asked in a wary voice.
The stranger didn't respond; he only cracked his neck. The message was clear: a challenge.
Utakata frowned. He had no desire for a fight, especially not with someone he didn't know.
"Look," he said, "I don't want any trouble. You best turn around and keep on walking."
Arthur remained silent. He performed a series of quick, limbering jumps to warm himself up.
"You should know," he finally said after the last hop, "the only person in trouble here is you."
Utakata bristled at the threat. He recognized a challenge when he heard it. With a growl, he cupped his hands together.
"Water style: water waves!"
A geyser of water erupted from his mouth—a torrent aimed directly at Arthur.
The water engulfed him whole, a curtain obscuring him from view. But the torrent persisted, with the force seemingly having no effect. Utakata's surprise grew as the water continued to flow; the silence on the other side was unsettling.
Finally, after a beat too long, the water subsided.
There stood Arthur, drenched but unscathed. He ran a hand through his wet hair and said in a condescending voice, "Is that really the best you can do?"
Utakata clenched his fists. He wouldn't be underestimated.
"Water style: soap bubble jutsu!"
A flurry of bubbles surrounded Arthur, each one filled with explosive water. Before Utakata could detonate the bubbles, Arthur raised a hand.
A faint blue aura sparked around him. The bubbles, caught in the freezing grip of his chakra, instantly hardened into ice spheres, shattering harmlessly around him.
Utakata's eyes widened in disbelief. He had clearly never faced someone with ice style before. More so, this wasn't your typical shinobi; Arthur was something entirely different.
Determined to gain the upper hand, he launched several kunai and shuriken. But Arthur, with his Tamashii active, tracked every projectile.
He leaned back, closing his eyes, as two kunai whistled past him. Then he leaned forward again, evading a few shuriken that were way off course. He dodged them all effortlessly, causing Utakata to growl again.
"You're nothing special, I see," Arthur coldly pronounced.
He summoned the Explosive Blade. When Utakata saw it, he marveled.
Almost everyone in the country knew about the seven swords. And if it wasn't in the hands of the one they thought had it, then it only meant that there was a new sheriff in town!
Arthur charged. Utakata sidestepped the initial swing by a hair's breadth. It was so close to an attack that hair follicles fell from his head.
He retaliated with a punch, but Arthur deflected it with ease. Not panicking, he tried to create more bubbles again, but Arthur swung his weapon relentlessly, popping all the bubbles before they could fully form.
He forced Utakata to be on the defensive, sweat beading on his opponent's forehead.
Suddenly, as Arthur lunged forward, his foot caught on something sticky. He froze in place, almost losing his balance. When he looked at the ground, there was a glue-like substance beneath his feet.
One of the bubbles must have been filled with it as he was destroying them. His foot was stuck, immobilized by the viscous substance.
Utakata, seeing his advantage, backflipped away. Gloating, he said, "Looks like you're all out of tricks, buddy."
But Arthur remained calm, unfazed by his predicament. He let go of his weapon, allowing it to return to its scroll.
Utakata squinted at him, unsure of how someone could remain so composed. Then, something sparked in his eyes, and he heard a faint, sizzling sound.
When he looked directly down, he noticed a small, unassuming explosion tag stuck to the ground. His eyes widened in horror.
A flash of white, then the explosion tag detonated with a roar!
When the dust settled and the smoke cleared, Arthur stood calm and collected.
Utakata, on the other hand, wasn't so fortunate. Clothes singed and hair singed, he coughed, clutching at his singed arm.
It was humiliating. No, it was mortifying to think that he, a Jinchūriki, was being toyed with.
Utakata had enough. With a howl that echoed through the clearing, he unleashed his Tailed Beast chakra!
A swirling vortex of black smoke engulfed him. Arthur watched with detached interest as the smoke coalesced, revealing Utakata in his Six-Tails Jinchūriki form, version two.
A thick, malleable cloak of dark red chakra draped his body, his eyes glowing a menacing white. He had six tails protruding from his back, each waving casually in the air.
"You must be really glad to be a walking cheat code," Arthur taunted.
Utakata's response was immediate and brutal. All six tails lashed out simultaneously.
Arthur's Tamashii glowed brighter than ever, anticipating the attack. He moved out of the way like a whirlwind, weaving between the colossal limbs with impossible agility.
The air threatened to burn his skin as the tails narrowly missed, sending shockwaves through the ground with enough force to shatter steel!
Just as one tail threatened to whip him from behind, he launched himself forward with a powerful jump, flipping over the deadly appendage. Another tail anticipated this maneuver, but with a surprising burst of chakra, Arthur managed to hover mid-air for a split second, just long enough to evade its grasp.
He landed gracefully on his feet, an inch too close to being pulverized. Suddenly, Utakata spat out a viscous stream of acidic liquid, aimed directly at him.
He recognized the signature of the Six-Tails' corrosive technique and wasted no time.
'Ice style: glacial dome...'
With a swift hand sign, a dome of ice materialized around him, encasing him within a protective barrier. The acid hit the ice with a hiss, causing it to sizzle and melt at an alarming rate.
But it served its purpose. The dome held firm, offering him precious seconds of protection.
As the last of the acid sputtered and died, he deactivated the technique.
Utakata remained undeterred. His body changed colours, activating another technique known as "Leech Slip."
His now-blue skin morphed, contorting in a grotesque manner before dissolving into a viscous, caustic liquid. With a fluid motion, his liquid-like form oozed towards Arthur, aiming to engulf him in its burning touch.
Arthur began leaping and backflipping, narrowly avoiding the caustic liquid that sizzled and smoked wherever it touched the ground.
'He's fast,' Arthur noted in his head.
Utakata, growing increasingly frustrated, deactivated his technique, reforming into his red chakra cloak form. With an animistic scream so primal that it could splinter eardrums, he lunged at Arthur.
His tails whipped wildly, but Arthur met the charge head-on. He sidestepped the first tail, using the momentum to flip right onto the beast's back.
'Ice style: chakra-enhanced strength...'
With both control and agility, his hands were encased in a thick, seeable icicle chakra. He proceeded to land a sequence of precise blows, all hitting Utakata's neck.
Utakata roared in confusion, as if the blows hadn't done a single thing!
Suddenly, he whipped one of his tails around, slamming Arthur into a nearby tree. The impact was enough to break Arthur's concentration.
The moment of vulnerability was all Utakata needed. With another scream that could pierce eardrums, he lunged at Arthur, pinning him to the ground with all four of his massive limbs.
The grotesque form of the Six-Tails loomed over Arthur, its eyes glowing white with a feral rage. Most men would have succumbed to fear under such pressure, but Arthur remained eerily calm.
At point-blank range, a Tailed Beast Bomb began to form within Utakata's mouth. An orb of swirling blue and dark red chakras grew larger with each passing second, combining together to create a black sphere.
'Flying raijin…'
Just as the Tailed Beast Bomb was about to explode, Arthur vanished.
The detonation rocked the clearing, leaving a crater where Arthur had been moments before. Utakata roared in frustration, searching for his quarry. He scanned the surrounding area, but there was no sign of Arthur.
That Tailed Beast Bomb was no joke. It's a super powerful ball of chakra fired by a Tailed Beast or a Jinchūriki in their transformed states. It necessitates a precise mix of positive and negative chakras and can be devastatingly destructive, leveling mountains and causing widespread damage!
Had Arthur been hit with that at such close range, his body would have disintegrated.
Unbeknownst to Utakata, Arthur had teleported himself to the edge of Tsuchigumo Village.
There, he first checked his surroundings for any signs of an alarm. Finding none, he wasted no time. Entering a lotus position, he closed his eyes and focused.
'Simian Sage Mode…'
His strength, speed, and sensory perception heightened to a preternatural level. With the transformation complete, he once again disappeared, returning to the battlefield.
Utakata, his senses still on high alert, darted his head towards the sudden chakra signature. A devilish grin spread across his face as he saw Arthur appear.
He roared again—a scream so loud that it could make children cry. But Arthur remained unfazed.
"I've seen enough," he stated. "You've proven to me just how strong you things are."
With those words, a spectacle unlike any other unfolded.
Arthur reached behind him and simultaneously unfurled six scrolls. In a dazzling display of coordinated movement, he summoned all six of his unique weapons!
On his back, secured by straps, were the Executioner's Blade and the Explosive Blade. The Long Blade, held by his teeth, shone with a daring gleam. His left hand grasped the Blunt Blade's hammer and axe, while his right hand held Hiramekarei. Finally, behind him, the Boltswords rotated in the air, forming a cross formation.
Never before had anyone witnessed such a breathtaking display of weaponry. It was a sight that would intimidate even fans.
Perhaps in his regular form, this level of weapon handling would be impossible, but with the enhanced strength and reflexes of Sage Mode, it was seamless and awe-inspiring!
Utakata was so in tune with his primal instincts that he couldn't be mesmerized by the legendary scene. He roared once more, charging at Arthur with all four limbs flailing.
Arthur didn't budge. As Utakata lunged, his Tamashii saw the telltale signs of the first attack—a swipe with the massive right tail.
With a preternatural sense of timing honed by Sage Mode, Arthur twisted his torso ever so slightly. The tail whipped past him, causing the wind to ruffle his cloak.
He swung his left arm, slamming the Blunt Blade into Utakata's exposed leg!
The impact sent a shockwave through the clearing and a screech of pain from the Jinchūriki.
The momentum carried Utakata forward briefly, throwing him off balance. With a powerful left-leg thrust, Arthur launched himself into the air, soaring over Utakata's back.
He let go of the Blunt Blade and drew the Long Blade from his mouth.
As Arthur descended upon Utakata's neck, aiming for a vital strike, the Jinchūriki contorted his body, whipping his tail upwards in a desperate attempt to block the blow.
With a flick of his wrist, Arthur changed the trajectory of the Long Blade, using its chakra-infused wires to slice through a tendon in the tail rather than risk a direct confrontation with the thick muscle.
The tail went limp, allowing Arthur to land directly behind Utakata.
He didn't waste a second. He reached for the Executioner's Blade on his back and unsheathed it in a single, smooth motion.
Utakata, sensing the deadly weapon, whipped his remaining tails around in a panicked frenzy. Arthur, however, bobbed and weaved through the chaos, severing the tails as they neared him.
His Tamashii predicted each movement, and his Sage Mode's reflexes allowed him to react with insane speed.
Suddenly, Utakata spat out a torrent of acidic bubbles, aiming to engulf Arthur in a corrosive trap.
But Arthur was ready. He sheathed the Executioner's Blade, brought the Long Blade's hilt back to his teeth, and caught the falling Blunt Blade. Simultaneously, he raised Hiramekarei in front of him.
Chakra erupted from the blade, forming a large shield. In a shower of caustic foam, the bubbles struck, exploding harmlessly.
Seizing the opportunity presented by Utakata's momentary lapse in defense, Arthur swung Hiramekarei in a wide arc. The chakra coalesced into a powerful, tangible crescent shape, aimed directly at Utakata's remaining tail.
The attack cleaved straight through the tail, severing it from Utakata's body and causing him to roar across the clearing!
The Jinchūriki staggered back, clearly weakened by the loss of its multiple limbs. But Utakata wasn't finished yet. In a last-ditch effort, he performed another Tailed Beast Bomb!
The blast hurtled towards Arthur!
But he had one final trick up his sleeve—behind Utakata were the Boltswords, levitating only inches a few feet from him!
'Flying raijin…'
Arthur disappeared, only to reappear slightly off the ground, exactly where the swords were. The swords crackled with electricity powerful enough to cause his hair to stand.
Pointing two of his fingers forward, he caused the swords to go flying toward the Jinchūriki.
The attack pierced through Utakata's cloak, disrupting the Tailed Beast Bomb. A maelstrom of electricity and chakra caused a devastating explosion, ripping through the surrounding trees and sending debris flying in all directions!
When the dust settled, the clearing was a cratered landscape. Utakata lay motionless in the center, his Tailed Beast cloak fading.
Arthur stood a few meters away, his Sage Mode finally receding. All of his swords dropped from his body, each clanging on the surface floor.
The explosion had broken the Boltswords, as the blades were now in pieces.
His body ached, and he was all out of chakra from the intense battle.
As he drew closer, he could see Utakata's chest rising and falling with shallow breaths. The Six-Tails Jinchūriki was unconscious but still able.
Arthur knew that killing Utakata wasn't an option. No one truly knew what happens to a Tailed Beast when the host dies.
The death of a Jinchūriki could mean the death of the Tailed Beast as well, or a free Six-Tails rampaging through the countryside.
That was the last thing Arthur needed. Not to mention, drawing that level of attention would blow his cover and bring the entire ninja world down on him.
Nonetheless, he had achieved his objective, subduing a Jinchūriki without resorting to lethal force.
"You were strong," Arthur said in a low voice. "I'll give you that… But me… I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me."
Philippians 4:13.