With a flick of his wrist, Arthur commanded the reanimated corpses, Tatewaki, Mangetsu, and Zabuza, to step closer.
He then reached into his pocket, pulling out a small spherical item. When Shikamaru saw it, he noticed it looked vaguely familiar, but he couldn't quite make out where he had seen it.
Arthur popped it into his mouth. It was a little sweet. Yet it was the effects it granted: a substance designed to restore his chakra.
While keeping a straight face, he instantly felt the energy course through him, strengthening his chakra reserves.
Then, he clapped his hands together and spread his arms apart: 'Golden chain: barrier jutsu…'
The ground trembled as multiple glowing adamantine chains erupted from Arthur's person to form a colossal cage around a significant portion of the forest clearing.
Turning around slowly, he surveyed the barrier and announced with finality, "I'm going to release my control over you… If you can beat me, you'll be set free and get the chance to tell the Leaf Village everything."
Those words left the two feeling very uneasy. Shikamaru processed the gravity of the situation; Arthur was taking an immense risk here. Releasing control meant that if he failed to subdue them in combat, everything he had worked for could come crashing down.
Why would he put everything on the line like this? Was he that committed to his training?
By all means, he was. Because if he couldn't prove himself here, he wouldn't stand a chance against the more difficult challenges.
Shikamaru pondered, feeling quite desperate. He could sense that if Arthur didn't win, he truly wouldn't deserve to continue anywhere.
With a sweeping gesture, Arthur stripped away his binding. Not to his surprise, Shikamaru and Ino bolted away!
They scrambled toward the edges of the barrier and found themselves halted by an impenetrable force. The sparkling chains clinked together as if laughing at their futile attempts.
Koko, watching from the sidelines, giggled, saying, "My daddy always thinks of everything!" Her playful voice was enough to break through the tension.
Ino spun to her teammate, exasperated, and asked, "Shikamaru! What do we do?!"
He sighed at their predicament. This scenario had spiraled into what he deemed the worst-case situation.
"If Arthur just summoned us here to train," he said, shifting his gaze to the chains, "we might have a chance at beating him. But…" His voice fell. "You need to keep your guard up."
There was no denying that they couldn't escape unless they defeated Arthur. As such, they became resolute. Shikamaru and Ino returned to face Arthur. They didn't look as frightened, but he could still sense the fear coming from Ino.
"I have a question first," Shikamaru said. "Why are the other three reanimated characters here?"
"They'll be your teammates," he declared matter-of-factly.
Each of the reanimated figures stood in full view, waiting in silence, their features unchanged yet lifeless.
"Teammates?" Shikamaru repeated.
"Yes," Arthur pressed on. He began to identify each of their strengths and weaknesses. "Tatewaki is skilled with the sword. Mangetsu can use any weapon and has interesting water techniques. As for Zabuza? He's similar to Mangetsu—also from the same village."
Ino struggled to keep her composure as Arthur outlined their powers. Yet Shikamaru understood why Arthur had blatantly revealed these things; the more Shikamaru knew about his "teammates," the easier it would be for them to fight Arthur.
"And what makes us different from them?" she questioned, strained under the pressure.
"They don't possess their personalities, and they are under my complete control," Arthur explained, his tone unyielding. "However, they'll have two commands: to listen to you two at all costs and to kill me."
What Arthur was doing was purposefully putting himself at a disadvantage.
For a moment, the scene became silent. Shikamaru's mind reeled at the absurdity of it all.
"You're insane!" he finally managed to utter.
Of course, Arthur was nowhere near being a lunatic. Crazy, perhaps, but very determined. His life was always hanging by a thread, so this was nothing more than a survival exercise to him.
Ino's resolve finally wavered after understanding the depths of Arthur's willingness to live.
"I don't want to fight," she admitted. "This shouldn't be happening."
She then staggered, grappling to understand the surreal reality in which she now found herself.
As the weight of their situation dawned on them, it struck both Shikamaru and Ino that they truly felt like they were in hell—a personal purgatory filled with shadows of their former selves.
The wind brushed past Arthur's hair as his voice cut through the melancholy, "Hell is a torturous place for those who deny Jesus Christ… You two are only part of an experiment."
"An experiment?" Shikamaru repeated, dread twisting in his gut. "Just what the heck are you hoping to accomplish?"
Arthur looked up for a moment, knowing the answer. It had been a while since he'd had a conversation like this—to reveal the truth to those who needed to hear it.
In a calm tone, he gave a simple response: "Hmph… Wouldn't you like to know?"
Ino stepped back as she tried to comprehend the magnitude of Arthur's insanity.
"But why us?" she implored, searching for a shred of compassion that Arthur had long since abandoned for this world.
"Because you represent the essence of teamwork," he answered without a hint of kindness in his eyes.
What were these two trying to stand against?
"Arthur," Shikamaru tried asking in a steady voice, "if we defeat you, do you promise to let us go?"
"What would I get out of this by lying?" he assured.
Unbeknownst to Ino, Shikamaru understood the deeper machinations at play. Arthur didn't need to return their consciousness to their bodies, and the reasons behind his actions were beginning to reveal themselves like fragments of a dark puzzle.
Yet, in that moment, Ino finally caved under the pressure.
"I can't take this anymore!" she suddenly screamed. "I need to get out of here!"
Fueled by sheer desperation, she turned and sprinted toward the barrier again, hoping to escape the nightmare enveloping her.
"Ino, wait!" Shikamaru shouted, trying to reach for her, but she was already moving.
Her foot caught on a root jutting from the ground, and she stumbled forward into the grass. Koko giggled at her misfortune.
"You're going to make daddy upset again!" she chimed, still unaware of the seriousness of the situation.
Arthur menacingly stepped forward and coldly declared, "I'll have no problem turning her into a complete puppet if she keeps this up…"
"No!" Shikamaru rushed in front of Ino. "Give her some time to think this through. She just needs a moment."
Exactly as Arthur desired—for Shikamaru to plead so that he wouldn't have to make Ino into a dummy. He stopped in his tracks and waited to see the results.
After a moment, Shikamaru knelt beside Ino, who was trying to regain her sanity.
"Ino," he gently said, "you need to focus. I know this is tough, but we can't lose our minds over it. That's what he wants."
Shikamaru couldn't have been more wrong. Nonetheless, Ino looked up at him, her eyes wide with desperation as she asked, "How can we? We're dead and trapped."
"We're not completely lost," he pressed. "Remember, we have an opportunity to take him down. And if I'm not giving up, neither should you. So come on and help me!"
Arthur observed their exchange. They both seemed to have come to terms with things. Even better, Ino was starting to look angrier.
This was good.
"Koko," he instructed, "go and join their side. You'll be helping them…"
The young chimp frowned as she softly pouted, "But I don't want to hurt you, daddy!"
Her murmur seemed genuine.
"For you," Arthur assured, "it'll be different. Simply hit me once and it'll be the end."
Koko dramatically sighed, but after a moment, she replied, "Wait! That sounds like tag."
Arthur never recalled teaching her that. But if that's how she wanted to view it, then so be it.
"I see…" Arthur considered. "Yes, like tag. If you can even land a single touch on me, you win. But if I land a touch on you, you lose."
Koko's face brightened, seeing the challenge as more of a game than a confrontation. Shikamaru grimaced at their bizarre father-daughter relationship. To him, it wasn't a game, but to them, Ino and him were nothing more than playthings.
He clenched his jaw, steeling himself for what lay ahead. They had to find a way to turn this situation to their advantage or risk losing everything. Perhaps with the reanimated corpses ready to engage, they wouldn't be at a total loss.
"Listen, Ino," he urgently said as the reanimated corpses took positions around them. "Stay close, and follow my lead. We'll need to exploit his weakness."
He then took a moment to devise a quick plan—one that involved using their teammates to their best capabilities.
Ino nodded, embracing the plan while trying to hide her fear and dread. The sight of the dead warriors stepping forward only fueled her resolve to fight for freedom from this nightmare.
Arthur was quite content with having chosen Shikamaru for this. The deceased Nara was just a twelve-year-old boy, yet he had kept calm and was able to think of a plan in such a short time—all without even seeing the other three corpses in action.
Yet the stakes were still not high enough.
As Koko bounced enthusiastically on her feet, Arthur unfurled a scroll, causing a cloud of smoke to billow around him. Once it cleared, various weapons materialized from its depths.
The sight was nothing short of staggering: the Executioner's Blade, the Thunder Sword, the Blunt Blade, the Explosive Blade, the Long Blade, Hiramekarei, the Leaf Fan, and a pouch filled with an assortment of ninja tools lay before them.
To say Arthur didn't come prepared would have been an understatement.
He tossed the Executioner's Blade to Zabuza, who caught it. The Long Blade followed, landing in the hands of Tatewaki. Shikamaru was handed the weapon pouch while Ino received the Leaf Fan. The remaining weapons were distributed among Mangetsu, who received an impressive array, as he could wield them all at once.
Shikamaru peered into the pouch, assessing its contents. He immediately understood why Arthur had given Mangetsu so many weapons—to utilize their full potential in combat, Mangetsu needed to be armed to the teeth.
Knowing this, however, didn't settle well in Shikamaru's gut. If Arthur was willing to go this far to train, who knows what abilities he had?
"What about me, daddy?" Koko cheerfully asked, her big eyes shining with anticipation.
"Nothing," Arthur flatly said.
Koko's expression shifted to one of exaggerated sorrow as she began to wail, "Daddy's playing favourites again!"
Her childish antics and the impending battle somehow lightened the stress, yet the seriousness of their situation quickly emerged again.
"I'll test my commands," Shikamaru said. "Get into formation!"
The three reanimated warriors snapped into action, moving with a speed that took Ino by surprise.
"They're… they're so fast!" she exclaimed. "They must be Jōnin-ranked or above!"
"Stay focused," he instructed.
He was thinking more of how dangerous the man who commanded them was.
"That fan," Arthur pointed, "can conjure up all five natural elements with just a thought. And since you're a corpse, you have unlimited chakra…" Then, he shifted into a fighting stance. "Don't hold back," he finished ominously. "If you know what's good for you."
Shikamaru would have been drenched in sweat by now if he had any bodily fluid. There was no turning back.
Immediately, he reached into the pouch and pulled out a flash bomb. He then threw it behind himself.
'Tamashii…'
Arthur could already see through the ruse. The flash bomb detonated, filling the area with blinding light. As the brilliance swelled, Shikamaru raised his palm toward Arthur.
"Shadow crushing palm jutsu!"
A colossal shadow hand loomed below Arthur's feet. He was only a little impressed by Shikamaru's execution, hardly expecting him to know such a specific technique. That was because it was a game-derived maneuver.