By the village gates.
Arthur draped a backpack across his shoulder. It contained the letter of trade agreement and other necessities that Hiruzen had given him. He held a thorough map of his destination, showing a safe route that would take three days to walk.
He saw the well-known faces of Izumo and Kotetsu as he approached the village gates. They offered their nods of farewell, but Arthur ignored them since he was not in the mood to play pretend again.
Outside, it felt like ages since he'd roamed the lands. Arthur eventually quickened his pace as his legs leapt from tree to tree. His destination was by no means the Land of Mist, but rather, the Land of Rivers.
The Land of Rivers was said to be a hidden country bordering the Land of Wind and the Land of Fire. It didn't appear much in the story, but he knew of two specific characters residing there who would help him grow stronger: Raiga Kurosuki and his companion, Ranmaru.
Raiga was a member of the "Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist," the top swordsmen from the Hidden Mist Village. Only the most skilled blade wielders were chosen for this group, with a maximum of seven members at a time.
Each swordsman wielded a special, mystical blade passed down through generations. These swords were so powerful that, together, the Seven Swordsmen were almost as strong as their village leader.
Over time, the group underwent many changes. Some members died, while others defected and became wanted ninjas, taking their swords with them. By the Fourth Shinobi World War, only one of the original swords, Hiramekarei, remained in the Mist Village's possession.
During the war, five of the deceased Seven Swordsmen were revived to fight for the enemy. These revived swordsmen were eventually defeated and sealed.
In the aftermath of the war, the remaining six swords were recovered by the village. However, a group of rebels tried to steal the swords and take over the territory. Their attempt failed, but the village did loan the swords to three of the captured rebels to help them fight a new threat.
The seven swords themselves were incredibly powerful and possessed unique abilities. These included a sword that could absorb chakra, one that could be used to sew people together, and another that could explode things on contact.
Raiga just so happened to still be carrying one of these swords, known as the "Boltswords," two long, thin, straight blades with a slight curve near the tip and base. The most special feature about them was that they were imbued with lightning, making them incredibly sharp and dangerous.
This lightning also allowed the wielder to use powerful lightning techniques without needing hand signs and with minimal chakra use. The swords themselves could even conduct natural lightning from the sky.
Despite Raiga's skills and his famous weapon, he was a troubled man who questioned the meaning of life. But there was no reason to pity him. He was known for his cruelty, randomly killing others during missions.
Raiga had also served in the Anbu forces before defecting from his village. During that time, he had met Ranmaru, a weak but perceptive boy with a special Kekkei Genkai that allowed the boy to see things at great distances that others could not.
Raiga offered Ranmaru protection in exchange for using his abilities to help him see. Since then, the two had become very close, with Raiga developing an unhealthy attachment to the boy, viewing Ranmaru as the only thing in this world he cared about.
Raiga eventually deserted the village and formed a criminal group called the 'Kurosuki Family.' They took over a mining town and forced the villagers to work for them.
Anyone that unsettled Raiga there was buried alive.
Ranmaru, despite his loyalty to Raiga, was said to be troubled by the violence. He believed Raiga could find happiness without killing but wouldn't come to that conclusion until Naruto's intervention several months from now.
Arthur couldn't afford to be reckless around those two. His priority was to find them first, without drawing unwanted attention, then take what he needed. Heading to the Katabami Gold Mine was his best chance of that.
The sun climbed higher in the sky as rays of light peered through the trees.
Arthur navigated the safe path on foot, occasionally consulting the map. He did his best to stay alert for any signs of potential danger. And although this was classified as a C-rank mission, the Land of Rivers had a reputation for harbouring bandits and rogue ninjas alike.
By nightfall, he had reached a small clearing and decided to rest by a towering tree.
He was used to this type of environment, as opposed to resting on a soft bed. No firewood, no tent pitched—just small rations under the starry sky.
The next two days went by quickly.
Arthur stuck to the main trail, blending in with the random travelers passing by. The map proved to be invaluable, guiding him through a safe route without encountering any enemies.
When he could, he kept his training light, rarely doing anything save a few physical exercises. Since he planned to meet a Seven Ninja Swordsman, he needed to save his chakra.
On the third day, a slight change in the landscape indicated he had arrived in the Land of Rivers. Consulting his map, he knew that the mine was only a few miles out. All he needed to do was pass the border patrol, and he would be there.
Quickening his pace, he arrived at a gate where an average-looking man was dozing off in a chair. Arthur's arrival jolted him awake.
"May I help you?" the man asked.
Arthur spent little time explaining that he was just passing by. The man let him through, and he continued onward without any further questions.
As he entered a canyon-like area, the air grew noticeably cooler. Towering cliffs rose on either side. The silence was profound, broken only by the crunch of his boots on the rocky ground.
Something was off.
'I'm being watched,' he thought to himself.
Suddenly, three figures emerged from behind a rock formation. All of the figures wore the same dark garb, and their faces were filled with scars.
"This is Kurosuki territory," the one in the center said. "Trespassers are not welcome."
"Yeah, kid, so beat it if you know what's good for ya."
Arthur's expression remained unchanged. He was in the right place after all. With a cool voice, he said, "I have no intention of trespassing; I'm simply here for Raiga Kurosuki."
The men gave skeptic looks. One of them, a burly man, scoffed. "You think you can just waltz in here and demand an audience with our boss?"
"That's exactly what I'm going to do," Arthur replied, unflinching.
The same man reached for the hilt of his sword and growled, "Ya've a lot of nerve, kid. I hope you walk as big as you talk." Without waiting, he lunged forward, unsheathing his sword. "You can die young for all we care!"
Arthur stood his ground. The moment the man reached him, he stopped the attack by grabbing hold of the man's forearm. Everyone was stunned.
"You," Arthur said, delivering a swift kick to the knee that sent the man to the ground with a yelp of pain, "aren't on my level…"
The other two Kurosuki members lunged forward in a coordinated attack with wolverine claws aimed at Arthur's vital points. But he anticipated their moves.
'Chakra-enhanced strength...'
He dove beneath a sweeping slash from one while simultaneously grabbing the other's arm and twisting it with surprising force. A loud crack echoed as he broke both the man's claws and arm with his bare hands.
Before the remaining Kurosuki member could react, a figure descended from the top of the cliff, landing silently behind him. It was Raiga. "What's the big idea about roughing up my family?"
Arthur didn't show it on his face, but excitement threatened to dull his senses. Rather than going to his prey, the prey had come to him.
Arthur allowed his adversaries to scramble on their feet and back away. There was a tense silence until he spoke. "Raiga Kurosuki... I've been looking for you."
"I have a lot of people looking for me, kid, but they're usually met with a funeral."
Arthur wasn't at all fazed by the man's imposing stature or his threat. He knew all about Raiga's personality and fighting style. "What about Ranmaru?"
Raiga's smirk vanished, replaced by a look of surprise. The scene became even more tense. He clearly hadn't expected anyone to know about his young companion.
"How do you know about Ra—!"
Before Raiga could finish, Arthur lunged upward from the ground with a right hook, aiming for Raiga's jaw. However, the attack never landed; it was dodged at the last possible second.
'So it really is different fighting Ranmaru too,' Arthur thought, continuing his assault.
A spinning back kick aimed for Raiga's head was met with a casual sidestep. A flying knee was dodged by a simple crouch. A failed stomp caused Raiga to slightly leap back. Each attack was met with effortless dodges, so precise it bordered on precognition.
Arthur remained stoic. He wasn't landing a single hit, but he also wasn't going to give up.
He launched into a flurry, switching between punches, kicks, elbows, and takedown attempts with impeccable speed. Raiga continued his evasion as his face grew weary at how much faster Arthur was getting.
The Kurosuki members couldn't believe a mere child was keeping their boss on the defensive.
But if they were in Arthur's shoes, they would know that he was actually having a hard time. That was because he was fighting both Raiga and Ranmaru at the same time.
Ranmaru, strapped in a bag behind Raiga's back, was quick enough to relay to Raiga what moves Arthur was going to make beforehand. And the boy only knew because of his Kekkei Genkai—one of the few without a name, activated with red glowing eyes.
Like the Byakugan, it granted the boy powerful vision. He could see and hear from great distances, see through objects, and sense chakra. The main difference was that Ranmaru's Kekkei Genkai was even stronger; it could disrupt other visual techniques and create powerful illusions that other Kekkei Genkai had trouble seeing through.
What made it deadlier was that the boy could also sense a person's life force, allowing him to predict their moves and even heal them by transferring his own life force.
Arthur paused for a split second, seeing a pattern in Raiga's dodges. He lunged forward, telegraphing a right hook. As expected, Raiga prepared to dodge. But just before the impact, Arthur shifted his weight and launched a spinning elbow aimed at Raiga's unguarded side.
Instead of evading, Raiga raised his forearm to block. The blow connected with a loud thud, making him grimace as he was pushed back several yards.
Arthur relaxed his posture, watching Raiga lower his arm. The man flexed his fingers gingerly. A deep bruise was spreading across his forearm, showing the flesh beneath his skin visibly throbbing.
Staring, Arthur saw Raiga's lips moving. The man was whispering something to Ranmaru.
"What do ya mean his body's not normal?" Raiga asked in annoyance. "Fine! I'll give him a different kind of funeral!"
A dangerous glint showed in Raiga's eyes as he reached for his weapon—the Boltswords. But Arthur was not going to wait. The Boltswords were too dangerous to take head-on.
Before Raiga could complete the motion of drawing his weapon, Arthur launched himself forward in a burst of speed. Raiga reacted with a last-ditch dodge sending himself to the side. Simultaneously, the Boltswords were unsheathed, slicing through the air, but missing Arthur's face by only a hair's breadth.
Adrenaline pumped through Arthur's movements. He desperately weaved as his body twisted and turned against Raiga's storm of slashes.
Arthur couldn't afford to be on the defensive end; he needed to neutralize Raiga's advantage with the swords.
Feigning a left hook, he forced Raiga to lunge in for a counter. Arthur dipped under Raiga's stab attempt, launching himself into a low sweep. The move caught Raiga off guard, causing him to dodge by leaping back. But Arthur followed, keeping the gap closed.
They grappled in a close-quarter struggle, dancing fervently against each other's attacks.
'Seven heavenly breaths: first activation…'
A burst of energy coursed through Arthur, and in a lightning-fast motion, he ripped the bag strapped to Raiga's back free. The movement was so swift that although Raiga heard it coming, he wasn't quick enough to react.
When he registered the sudden loss of weight, he stopped attacking and stared in disbelief. Arthur now had the bag. Or rather, he now had Ranmaru in his hands.
Before Raiga could react further, Arthur reached inside the backpack and grabbed onto the startled Ranmaru. Then he pulled out a kunai and pressed it against the boy's throat.
"Now Raiga," Arthur mocked, "you wouldn't him getting a funeral…"