The act of sneaking into Hiruzen's office and learning a forbidden technique was far too easy the second time around.
When Arthur was done, he left and found a general store still open. Herbs, specific metals, and a vial of water were what he needed. Finding them on the shelves, he paid for the materials and left the store.
"Young troublemakers," the clerk said, eyeing him as he left.
Arthur ignored him, believing the clerk should be thankful that he didn't just take the items after the store closed. But he was content with his gains.
Back in his apartment, he concealed the materials in the closet. Whether someone suspected him of anything or not, these were regular items that held no purpose when left separated.
The next step was finding a place to practice.
So he ventured into a dense forest that was far from prying eyes. When he arrived, he stood in a clearing and closed his eyes to concentrate on his surroundings.
'Crimson gaze...'
There were rustling leaves and nocturnal creatures. Apart from that, he was all alone.
Attempting the Reanimation technique tonight was perfect.
Now, as he readied himself to perform the forbidden ritual, moonlight streamed through the canopy, casting shadows on the forest floor where he stood.
'Tiger, snake, dog, dragon...'
Then he slammed his palms together. The expected surge never came. When he tried again and tried to force the chakra, he received a drawback that almost drained him.
Now he understood why Tsunade claimed that Mizuki, a Chūnin, wouldn't be capable of performing any of the techniques within the Scroll of Seal—desiring to give it to Orochimaru instead.
That was also why Arthur refused to pick up techniques like the Shadow Clones this early. While his chakra control was very exceptional, he didn't have enough to spam the field with clones.
At best, he could probably be able to summon a few clones before they would eventually disperse, preventing him from conducting real training.
Arthur relaxed, allowing himself to recompose. His chakra would have almost been drained had he not pulled back in time. He couldn't afford to make another mistake.
This time, he mentally prepared for the excessive amount of chakra that was going to be unleashed. What he needed to do was treat this as a summoning technique, not an offensive or defensive one.
'Tiger, snake, dog, dragon...'
Clap!
A yellow pulse of chakra glowed in between his palms. After controlling the chakra flow, he kneeled and gently touched the ground with his fingertip, causing a spiraling pattern to spread across the floor.
The reanimation circle, a vortex between life and death, had been fully formed.
The seal flared slightly as he remained composed. He had succeeded in the first step, but there was nothing worth celebrating. He still needed a sacrifice and a recently deceased vessel for the second step.
Tonight, he wouldn't attempt the full ritual; his focus was on the fundamentals, ensuring the hand signs and chakra flow were flawless.
Even if he did have those prerequisites, the amount of chakra needed for the second step was far greater than what he had.
Hours passed as Arthur practiced keeping the seal in control.
The idea of trying to stay like this for the whole night was quickly extinguished when someone entered the edge of his Crimson Gaze's perception. Arthur was wise not to have trained without periodically checking his surroundings.
A faint, tainted chakra signature wormed its way through the trees, growing stronger with each passing moment. He recognized the signature, yet there was a certain dissonance about it.
Not long after, Alex emerged from the undergrowth with a smile.
"Arthur!" he announced, striding toward him. "Alice told me ya finally made it back."
Arthur offered a wry smile. He knew Alex had used his Byakugan to locate him. Thankfully, its range was not comparable to his Crimson Gaze, which had a far superior reach.
"Guess you have a lot to tell me?" Arthur wondered.
"Look at you, always knowing what I'm thinking!" Alex joked. "Before I say anything, ya gotta tell me what you were doing... If you don't mind, of course."
Arthur feigned amusement. "It wasn't anything worth sharing. Alice should have already told you, right? Besides, I'm a little tired from my training here… Perhaps another time?"
"Dude, is that why your chakra's so low right now? Haha. How the heck do you train?!"
Arthur cleared his throat, forcing a smile. "It's not much. Haha. Just tryna to make sure I don't get beat like Will."
His words seemed to satisfy Alex. At least for now.
The conversation eventually shifted to lighter topics: the upcoming tournament, him receiving the curse mark, and the rumours swirling around Orochimaru's activities. All the while, Arthur listened closely, waiting for Alex to slip up.
"Did you try activating it yet?" Arthur asked, referring to the curse mark.
"Na, not yet." Then Alex pondered something. "Say, Arthur, what do you know about the curse mark?"
To be frank, Arthur knew quite a lot.
Born from Orochimaru's research, the seal harnessed Jūgo's unique ability to absorb natural energy and transform. By branding others, Orochimaru grants them this power, but surviving the initial application has only a ten percent success rate.
Alex was fortunate. At least that's what he led others to think.
Arthur would never buy into whatever someone like him said. The two were quite similar in a sense, with the biggest difference being in their faith. In terms of status, Alex's character had to have been stronger because of the curse mark.
Arthur was in the right to be cautious of both it and the curse mark. Primarily because of the cons the seal brought.
While the curse mark offered a tenfold boost in chakra and jutsu strength, it also fed off the user's chakra, replacing it with Orochimaru's. Additionally, prolonged use warps the mind, making the user susceptible to Orochimaru's control.
That was the reason Alex's presence felt tainted when looking at it.
"Well," Alex urged, "tell me what ya know."
"I know that it has two levels…"
The first level caused the seal to spread across the user's body, with the extent affecting the overall effect. To further enhance benefits and manage risks, Orochimaru developed "Mind Awakening Pills," incredibly dangerous pills requiring a near-death state for the body to adjust.
The second level was a transformation that brought a drastic physical change like Jūgo's, but at a terrible cost: the user's mind and personality, driving them mad with prolonged use. It also took a heavy toll on the body.
"Which one did you get?" Arthur asked.
"I'll show you as long as you don't attack me like Marge did."
"I won't."
Alex turned around and pulled back his kimono to reveal his bare neck. The one he had received was the same as Kimimaro's, the "Curse Seal of Earth".
Orochimaru personally created various curse marks, each with differing strengths. The Curse Seal of Earth was one of the most potent ones, the opposite of what Sasuke had received.
What Arthur couldn't quite put his finger on was how Alex was going to convert Orochimaru's chakra into his own. The best way to figure that out was to ask.
"That's an easy one," Alex said, turning back around.
One explanation later, and Arthur had learned that Alex was planning to use the Hyūga clan's sealing methods to reverse the curse mark. In doing so, Alex would retain all of what the curse mark granted, minus Orochimaru's dark influence.
A feat like this was indeed rare. And considering that Alex was born into this world without the Hyūga's curse mark made everyone believe it was possible.
After a few minutes, Alex finally decided to take his leave.
"Well, Arthur," he said, stretching his arms. "It was good catching up. But don't be a stranger, alright?"
"Funny. Alice told me the same thing."
Arthur then watched him disappear back into the trees. Alone once more, he let out a slow breath.
The encounter with Alex had been unexpected but a valuable reminder nonetheless. He had to be cautious; his actions needed to be kept secret. One terribly wrong move could end up leaving him dead.
And trust, it seemed, was a luxury he could never afford. For the only one Arthur trusted was God Almighty.
The next day, Arthur had a plan: he was going to test how much Alex truly knew. And what better way than to use his Crimson Gaze as a lie detector?
Upon walking out the hotel, he walked along the streets of the village and spotted William, Naruto, and Alex eating. Their faces showed amusement as they watched Naruto slurp down an entire bowl.
'Crimson gaze…'
The group continued to talk about their training and how they were progressing. Apparently, Naruto hadn't managed to find William during their game.
But that's not what mattered to Arthur.
To get more info, he approached the venue with a smile.
"Well, well," he said. "Look who it is, enjoying a pre-training breakfast."
"Arthur!" the whole group exclaimed at once.
Alex glanced up with a wide grin on his face. Naruto wiped his mouth with the back of his sleeve and said, "You should come join us! There's plenty of ramen to go around."
Teuchi, the shop owner, smiled upon hearing this.
"Maybe later," Arthur replied. "I came here because I forgot to ask Alex last night more on you-know-who."
Alex chuckled. "No need to worry about him, Arthur. There are guards, like, everywhere day and night looking for Oro."
"But what about your curse mark?" Arthur probed, slightly lowering his head as if feigning concern. "Doesn't it at least hurt you?"
"There was a slight itch when I first got it," Alex conceded, scratching his neck. "But nothing major. I haven't even activated it once."
"Arthur," William added, "we all checked him after he got it. Oro's chakra inside of it was practically nonexistent anyway. The one we should be worried about is Sasuke's cm." The mentioning of the Uchiha made Naruto fidget a little. William stuttered, "I mean not worry, but focus! We're focused on helping Sasuke, cuz!"
"Don't worry, cuz," replied Naruto. "I'm less interested in Sasuke and more interested in knowing if Arthur's ready to knock him off his high horse."
William couldn't help but laugh. He had lost to Sasuke in the preliminaries, but he seemed genuinely fine after having learned his lesson.
"Where is Sasuke anyway?" Arthur asked, repositioning himself.
"He's doing the you-know-what with Kakashi," Alex answered. Arthur understood that Sasuke, at this point in the story, was learning the Chidori. "I can give you some pointers on how he fights."
The offer was tempting. Arthur, however, wanted nothing to do with Alex.
"No thanks," Arthur said, raising a fake smile. "I'm more prepared than you think."
"Wait, really?!" William and Naruto teased.
"Suit yourself," Alex shrugged. "But if you change your mind or just need someone to spar with, don't hesitate to ask."
"Appreciate it," Arthur smoothly replied, turning around.
Their camaraderie faded as he turned the corner.
While things might have seemed lively between their group, the truth of the matter was that Alex was lying. How did Arthur know? The moment he had lowered his head, he had activated his Crimson Gaze. Alex's chakra became irregular, a telltale sign that a person was lying.
As for what part Alex lied about, it was regarding having activated the curse mark. That statement wasn't true. And if that wasn't true, there was no way that Arthur could believe any of Alex's words now.
As he continued walking, he heard someone yell, "Hold on, Arthur." It was William.
"What's up, Will?"
"Alex wanted me to ask if you could meet him later at the eighth district." The eighth district was where a park was. "He said he wanted to talk about something important."
Alex had already lied once, but the last thing Arthur wanted was to be under suspicion. He knew no one would have spotted him subtly using his Crimson Gaze, so whatever Alex—of all people—wanted to talk to him about again piqued Arthur's interest.
"Tell him I'll be there in an hour…"