A cloud passed under the afternoon sun as sweat trickled down Lee's face.
With swiftness, Arthur ran forward, snatching the kunai on the ground. He lunged at Lee with the weapon raised high. But Lee flung his arms up, and his hands clamped onto Arthur's wrist just as the weapon came down.
It was quite a grip, but Arthur could see Lee's body shaking.
"You call that a block?" he snarled, pushing down with more might.
Lee's face contorted in effort as he strained to hold on. So Arthur lashed out with his leg.
Bang!
The brutal sidekick sent Lee propelling several yards across the grass. When he landed, he coughed. Then he respectfully admitted, "You are undoubtedly a strong opponent! I had not expected you to be so skilled at taijutsu."
The comment was met with silence.
"I see that I must go all out then!" Lee began unwinding the bandages around his forearms. A green aura flared around him. "The third gate, the gate of life, open!"
Almost immediately, Lee seemed to blur from Arthur's view. A streak of green was already aimed at his legs. Arthur twisted away as the wind whipped past.
But Lee didn't stop; he turned on a dime and launched a flurry of punches. Arthur weaved and dodged against Lee's new speed. Seeing this, Lee switched tactics; his leg snapped out in a kick that slammed into Arthur's ribs.
Bang!
The impact caused Arthur to skid across the grass for several yards. He eventually stopped, staying crouched on his feet as the pain reddened in his chest.
'Not bad.' A sense of calm settled over him. He had faced far worse. This was just another fight he had to adapt to. So he slowly rose to his feet. 'Alright then…'
"I thank you, Lee." Arthur then glanced skyward to remind himself what sort of world he lived in right now. There wasn't a single emotion on his face. "You made me understand that I need to train harder… As for you…" His cold gaze then returned to Lee. "You should have used the Fourth Gate…"
"What?!"
Suddenly, the wind then began to shift with a tension that went beyond the usual pre-fight jitters. Arthur altered his stance, crossed his arms, and began slowly breathing. Every inhale and exhale was measured.
"Whatever you are planning," Lee said, preparing to strike, "I shall not let it happen!"
But then, in a blink, everything changed.
A brilliant yellow aura erupted around Arthur, bathing his body in light.
Lee gasped, and his eyes widened in disbelief at what he was seeing.
Arthur's muscles bulged beneath his skin, his body turned a deep red, and blood pumped through his veins with unnatural fervour. When he finally lowered his arm, he caused the wind to cease. His pupils had vanished, leaving only the terrifying expanse of his white sclera.
The transformation was complete: "Seven heavenly breaths: fifth activation…"
The power emanating could barely be expressed.
The world just seemed to slow down for Arthur. And it wasn't just his perception; it was a tangible shift. His body, now seemingly unburdened by earthly limitations, felt light and agile. He could almost imagine himself soaring through the air if he were to jump. Things were so much different that even the wind rustling through the grass seemed to move in slow motion to him.
Lee himself looked inhumanly slow and sluggish now.
In that impossibly leisurely moment, Arthur took one step, only for Lee to see him vanish. Then, with a force that shattered the very ground beneath him, Arthur reappeared with his fist at the ready.
Boom!
The blow landed with a crunch, causing Lee's features to contort in agony before he was launched like a ragdoll and his body slammed into the Science Building.
Lee hadn't even seen the attack coming.
When Arthur gently landed, he flexed his hand. There was blood on his knuckles. Lee's green aura had vanished, so that only meant one thing: Lee had lost. And not just lost, but lost at his own game.
Arthur stood there, motionless for a second before his own yellow aura slowly faded. He then lowered his hand with an expression devoid of triumph. There was no need to be joyous of anything. Only content.
Theoretically, the Seven Heavenly Breaths worked similarly to the Eight Gates. While it was only shown to go up to the Third Activation, it could be pushed higher. And because of Arthur's relentless training and his support trait, he had unlocked up to the Fifth Activation.
That was going to be his trump card against Sasuke had they wound up fighting fairly at the stadium.
Arthur could very well train himself to achieve the Eighth Activation, if one existed, but there was a chance it would have consequences like the Gate of Death.
Almost everything in this world came at a price. Yet Seven Heavenly Breaths didn't seem to leave any strain on his body. If he felt like it, he could easily activate it again.
A skilled chakra user could exploit Arthur's state by targeting his weaknesses or using ranged attacks. Lee, for all his prowess, was excellent at taijutsu. While Arthur's own strength placed him at an advantage, the boy's lack of chakra limited his offensive options.
Had Arthur faced a foe who wielded chakra alongside taijutsu, like Han, the five-tailed Jinchūriki, the outcome would have surely been different.
Lee's unconscious form lay by the entrance walls. His face clearly showed signs of broken bones mixed with red and purple bruises. He would need hundreds of stitches, without a doubt.
Pity, however, found no place in Arthur's heart. This was a brutal world with real consequences, and he couldn't afford to go easy on these ninjas.
As he stared at Lee, a thought came to mind. The fight had served its purpose, but it had also revealed a potential opportunity. The other players seemed fixated on aiding the story. But what if Arthur replicated those tragic events himself to nudge the narrative in his direction?
Tsunade, the third and last legendary Sannin, was a vital character after this arc. If Arthur could subtly manipulate the players and point them towards seeking her out, it could prove beneficial in the long run.
Even if they didn't seek her out because of tragedies, a retired ninja like her would still be an asset for them.
With the thought settled, Arthur turned and entered the Science Building. Inside were sterile hallways lined with doors leading to various labs and classrooms. He needed the room where the chakra pills were usually stored. So he navigated the halls with a surprisingly sharp memory of the building.
Soon, he found himself before a reinforced metal door guarding a restricted area. With the First Activation, he slammed his fist against it. The metal buckled under the force before giving way with a clang.
The room had rows of shelves stocked with empty vials. That's when Arthur saw them: chakra pills. He grabbed a handful and popped a few pills into his mouth, tasting their sweet, tangy flavour.
The effects weren't immediate, but he could already feel chakra flowing through him, warm and invigorating. It slowly but surely began dispelling the lingering fatigue from his earlier battles.
After concluding his affairs here, he returned to Lee's side. Standing directly above him, Arthur braced himself for what he was about to do. This was going to be about manipulation, a calculated strategy to help move the story.
'Chakra-enhanced strength…'
Focusing his chakra, Arthur channeled it into his leg and hardened it like never before. Then he stomped down on Lee's left arm repeatedly.
Boom-boom-boom-boom!
Bones shattering could be heard with every hit. The sound echoed in the air, followed by painful groanings coming from Lee's unconscious self.
Arthur repeated the action, bringing his reinforced leg down on Lee's left shin.
Boom-boom-boom-boom!
The parallelism was deliberate, a cruel mirroring of a past event when Gaara first crippled Lee.
When the other players find out about this act, wouldn't they be desperate to seek out someone like Tsunade? Perhaps, perhaps not. That didn't change this one fact: Arthur was a villain, a survivor in a world that chose not to show him any mercy. So why would he show them any mercy?
Standing up, he brushed off his clothes and cast a final, emotionless glance at the unconscious figure. As he walked away, suddenly, a voice pierced the silence, sharp and accusatory: "Arthur, you stubborn fool!"
He slowly turned, only to see a man's face filled with a mixture of fury and concern.
"What have you done to Lee?!"
"Come now, Guy-sensei…" Arthur remained nonchalant, coolly explaining, "He had a choice and got in my way. Nothing more."
Guy's bushy brows furrowed in disbelief as he yelled with a tremour of hurt, "In your way? Lee wouldn't randomly attack a fellow Leaf villager, especially not one close to his own age!"
Arthur felt a tad irritated. This level of loyalty was both admirable and infuriating. So he said, "Believe what you want, but the truth is right in front of you."
He then gestured towards Lee's broken form.
Guy's eyes darted between Arthur and Lee, exactly what Arthur had hoped for—to plant a seed of doubt and hinder Guy's resolve.
"I wanted to believe you, Arthur… After the incident at the stadium, I tried. But seeing this…" He looked again towards Lee with a disappointed look. "Now I know the truth: you're the enemy." He dropped into a familiar low stance with his hands clenched into fists. "You'll regret betraying the Leaf Village!"
Arthur, although well composed, knew he couldn't even come close to overpowering someone as strong as Guy. At least not in his current state. A direct confrontation against the world's greatest taijutsu user was simply asking to enter a losing battle.
But there was another way, a way to exploit Guy's loyalty, his biggest strength and ultimately, his biggest weakness.
"Go ahead and attack then," Arthur calmly demanded. "But remember this: every second you waste here fighting me, Lee's injuries worsen. He'll die if you don't get him help soon."
Horror crossed Guy's face. He glanced at Lee as the urgency in Arthur's words sunk in his chest.
To further amplify the fear, Arthur added, "He wasn't the first and won't be the last. Everyone you hold dear, they'll all suffer the same fate if you try to stop me now."
The threat was clear: a cruel manipulation that played on Guy's deepest fears. The shinobi's face contorted in a silent battle between duty and the desperate need to protect his most precious student.
The decision was made in a heartbeat. He chose the latter.
Then it happened: Arthur's chakra was fully restored!
When Guy faltered upon his gaze darting back to Lee, Arthur used that moment to escape.
'Smoke jutsu…'
Guy spun around as his eyes searched frantically for Arthur, but Arthur was gone. There wasn't a single noise made, let alone the trails of smoke that could be seen; he had vanished without a trace, leaving Guy alone, with the weight of those threats still pressing down.
To Guy, Arthur was truly a mysterious enemy that could not be left unchecked. Because deep down, he knew that if such a person was let loose to roam this world, he would become the Leaf Village's greatest enemy.
With a growl of frustration, Guy rushed to Lee's side. His heart pounded to protect his favourite student, no matter the cost.