Now the room began to understand why Arthur was here: he was to be named the successor.
This truly came as a shock to everyone. Seventeen years into his reign, and Hiromu had never so much as hinted at a successor.
Rumours of discontent had always swirled around the fact that his only son, a pampered and arrogant youth, would eventually take the throne. So this announcement was a bombshell that fractured the carefully constructed political landscape within the castle walls.
A tense silence soon followed after Hiromu's declaration as all eyes swiveled toward Arthur.
His face remained impassive. Internally, however, he was content because he had not at all told Hiromu that he wanted to be the successor; the former simply felt it right.
Suddenly, a woman's voice cut through the silence: "My lord, with all due respect, surely this is a decision that requires careful consideration." She was one of Hiromu's most trusted advisors. "After all, Mr. Belfort, while undoubtedly a man of… refinement, has been with us for a mere evening. We know little about him."
Arthur knew she wouldn't be easily swayed; her loyalty was rooted in a deep sense of duty to the nation, not blind obedience to a feudal lord.
"Nonsense," Hiromu replied. "Mr. Belfort possesses a unique blend of experience and vision. He has impressed me with his insights into the challenges facing our nation, and I believe he is the ideal candidate to lead us into a better future."
Arthur inclined his head slightly in acknowledgment. Then, as if reading his thoughts, Hiromu grabbed a goblet.
"Let us raise a toast," he declared. "To prosperity, stability, and a bright country under my new successor, John Belfort!"
Hesitantly at first, the others raised their goblets, wishing Arthur 'good fortune' and 'wise decisions'.
Though many of them were in disbelief, some wishing to object in private, Arthur met their gazes one by one and gave them fake smiles.
As the night wore on, the focus of the conversation shifted from the unexpected announcement to the state of the nation so they could test Arthur's knowledge.
"Tell us, Mr. Belfort, what about our country's affairs did you say to impress lord Hiromu this much?" This wasn't the only question asked. Virtually everything was thrown at him: "What do you plan to do?" and "Can you ensure our country's finances will be in order?"
Arthur, expertly navigating the political discourse, found himself fielding questions from trade routes to agricultural yields. But he was ready for them all because his knowledge from his traveling experiences was not lacking.
By the time that he finished answering, even the woman who spoke earlier was impressed.
He had spoken with so much authority and with a genuine understanding of the country's needs that it only further solidified his position as the chosen successor.
An hour later, the banquet finally ended.
Not a single one of them departed without understanding that Arthur was indeed fit for the role.
✟
The following morning, Arthur returned to the castle for a private meeting with Hiromu in his bedchamber.
"Let's get to real business," Arthur commanded. Gone was the jovial camaraderie of the previous night. "Show it…"
"Yes, lord John!"
A clutter of scrolls and documents soon piled up on a nearby table.
Arthur looked at the documents, needing to understand the state of the nation. Many of them regarded pleas for permits, complaints about failing crops, and reports of natural disasters. Floods were apparently ravaging farmlands, and earthquakes had toppled over buildings.
Now why exactly was he looking over these reports? Simple: the moment that Arthur had placed Hiromu under his illusion, he had immediately become the feudal lord himself!
He scanned the documents to search for something specific. Tucked away amidst a stack of trade agreements, he found an unmistakable map of the location regarding the Hidden Mist Village—the exact thing he had been working toward the whole time.
But his business here wasn't finished. When his gaze met Hiromu's, he commanded, "Tell me everything you know about my hidden village."
Hiromu described in detail everything. From their enclave of ninjas to their current status.
The Village Hidden in the Mist was shrouded in thick mist, making it difficult to find. It was founded after the Warring States Period. Shortly after its formation, they received two Tailed Beasts from the Leaf Village to create balance among the ninja nations.
Regarding their ninjas, many used water style techniques. Go figure.
Their society was divided into a caste system, with those from conquered nations placed in the lowest caste and forced to perform the most dangerous missions.
This system gained them a dark reputation as the "Village of the Bloody Mist" because of a graduation ritual where students would have to fight to the death. Interestingly, this tradition was eventually discontinued.
Their current Mizukage was Mei Terumī. Arthur knew a great deal about her already.
Mei was written to have been a strong kunoichi. She took office after that dark period for the village and had been hard at work rebuilding diplomatic relationships with other villages.
She was also stated to be a calm and observant leader, being a skilled fighter who could use various elements such as water, fire, earth, and lightning. But her true powers lay in her two Kekkei Genkai: vapour style and corrosion style.
Corrosion style allowed her to spit acidic mud that melted almost anything, while vapour style created a scarring mist that could burn through almost any defense.
What Arthur found most important wasn't her, but that her village was the home of Hiramekarei, another one of the Seven Ninja Swords.
He needed Hiramekarei, and he needed it fast in order to complete his already innate collection.
✟
Three days later, a commotion outside his hotel room awoke Arthur from his meditation.
A heavy crate stood outside his door, and he knew what it was. After prying the crate open, he saw wrapped inside layers of silk was Hiramekarei.
Arthur neither grinned nor smiled.
But how had he acquired the weapon so easily?
Simple. Three days ago, he had instructed Hiromu to send a message to the Mizukage. The message was that Hiramekarei was deemed too dangerous and a threat to the stability of the land. To ensure national security, Mei was instructed to confiscate Hiramekarei from its current wielder, Chōjūrō.
Who was she to refuse a direct order from her feudal lord? Or rather, who was she to refuse Arthur Bennett, the new shadow ruler of the Water Country?!
Hiromu, terrified of facing Arthur's displeasure, played his role well. He had packaged the weapon and arranged its clandestine delivery to Wizened Town without leaving any traces under either's name.
It was a risky maneuver that could have backfired spectacularly. But Arthur had calculated the odds, and his risk had paid off.
Hiramekarei was now his.
He gradually unwrapped the weapon to gauge its prowess. It was truly a remarkable sword, being ranked second best among the other seven—Samehada ranked number one, respectfully.
The design was also unique: a wide, flat blade and two handles, resembling a flounder fish.
The key ability of Hiramekarei was its chakra storage. By releasing the stored chakra, the user could transform the blade into various chakra-like weapons, like a hammer or a longsword. The more chakra stored, the bigger and more powerful the weapon became.
Better yet, it could also detach into two single-handled swords for dual wielding.
Now no one could say that Arthur wasn't a being to be taken lightly since six of the seven swords were in his possession.
Kisame Hoshigaki, the current wielder of Samehada, was still out there. But for now, Arthur had more than enough swords at his disposal.
Chōjūrō would undoubtedly find a way to compensate for the loss of Hiramekarei. Perhaps he would acquire a new weapon or fighting style.
But that wasn't what was on Arthur's mind. The other players had no idea how dangerous he was becoming. And if he was amassing such a great treasure, who knows what they were doing?
Arthur soon placed his weapon down as his eyes narrowed to the window. To truly tip the scales between him and the others, he understood what he needed: a Tailed Beast.
Capturing one of those colossal chakra monsters would be a significant change. It would solidify his dominion over most things and send a shockwave throughout the entire ninja world if he were successful.
The intoxicating ambition curdled into understanding. Even if he acquired a Tailed Beast, he would still be too weak to make a huge difference. He was strong, yes, but only on paper.
His list still needed to be pieced together. For instance, acquiring Hiramekarei was one thing, but perfecting its unique properties was another. And while the other swords were a formidable collection, they were useless without the skills to wield them effectively.
Currently, he was only able to utilize the Boltswords, and even that weapon's skills he hadn't fully harnessed yet.
Capturing a Tailed Beast was an audacious goal, and charging headfirst into such a battle was a fool's errand.
So Arthur crossed his arms and leaned on the wall to think of what he should do now to strengthen himself.
The Flying raijin was a powerful teleportation technique, yet he could barely muster it twice in a real fight. Even the Reanimation technique could only manage a single, unruly corpse that needed him in Sage Mode to fully control it.
Koko herself was a loyal summon, yet she was still a young primate with barely any combat experience.
For a while now, Arthur had never trained hard in anything save his taijutsu. There was his chakra control, yes, but these were naturally given to him because of his support trait.
While his ninjutsu was also alright, his entire skillset relied on tactical advantage by subduing his opponents with various techniques until they could no longer figure him out.
Place Arthur in a one-on-one match to the death against someone like Margaret, and he was bound to lose eventually.
Most of his fights had been won because his enemies didn't know who they were facing.
He had bested Raiga because an Anbu had intervened in the match. He had demolished Ino and Shikamaru because they were young and incapable of grasping the severity of the situation. He defeated Chōji in one blow because the latter was fat and too slow to react. He wrecked Sasuke because he toyed with the Uchiha's emotions.
He outclassed Rock Lee because the character was a taijutsu-only user. He slew Kiba and Akamaru because they were unaware of his Boltswords. And lastly, he won against three samurai at once because he relied on his Kekkei Genkai.
Arthur had honed his skill with strong techniques and borrowed power for far too long. If he was truly going to be force to be reckoned with, all six of his unique swords deserved a true wielder.
Not a pretender.