Sasuke growled, "Change? What do you know about change?"
It was clear that pain and anger were propelling him forward.
"I'll give you time to think," Kakashi said with a heavy sigh.
Without waiting for a response, he vanished from sight.
The coast was clear. Not a single other person was in range for miles. Not even Jada's Flying raijin paper was on the boy's person.
So Arthur emerged from his concealment.
"Who the heck are you?" Sasuke barked upon seeing Arthur's approaching figure.
"Why don't you relax for once?" Arthur responded, unshaken. His voice was smooth and composed. "I happened to eavesdrop on that conversation, and you're right; you don't need friends or teammates. They'll only hold you back…"
Sasuke's surprise was mottled with intrigue, yet he was still acting stubborn. "You don't know me!"
"On the contrary, boy, I know a lot about you. You want power, but you're struggling to find it in this village." Sasuke's irritation shifted. That was Arthur's queue. "Don't you know you're meant for something greater—something that these walls can't contain?"
"What're you saying exactly?"
"If you want revenge so badly, there's only one person to turn to... I'm sure you know who that is."
"Orochimaru…?"
"Good guess."
"So that's why you're here…"
"Correct again. If you accept Orochimaru, I'll lead you right to him."
Orochimaru's form ensnared Sasuke's mind. The two had only met once, thanks to Arthur's warning back in the Forest of Death.
That caused a flash of fury to erupt in Sasuke's heart, eating away at the clarity of his thoughts. He wanted to become strong, strong enough to kill Itachi.
Those from earth had made a terrible mistake. They thought they could convince the Uchiha that Itachi was truly on the village's side. But they didn't know how to approach him regarding that matter.
Even when one of them spawned in as a member of his clan, they still couldn't reach the boy.
Arthur didn't need to linger here any further upon noticing the wheels turning. The proverbial bargain was being struck.
"Tonight," he said with an unyielding calm, "I'll be waiting at the top of the village gates."
"Tonight," Sasuke echoed with certainty.
At that, Arthur gradually dissipated into a plume of smoke, leaving only the sound of the river behind.
That almost felt too easy.
While he could have used the Flying raijin to bring the boy directly to Orochimaru, that would have been a terrible mistake. Because, from what he recalled, Orochimaru originally wanted Sasuke's Sharingan. To get it, he had to perform the "Transference Ritual" jutsu.
It was conceived by Orochimaru to enable him to transfer his consciousness into another individual's body, essentially avoiding the natural deterioration of his current physical form.
The process involved Orochimaru momentarily relinquishing his existing body by transforming into a large serpent composed of numerous smaller snakes. After this metamorphosis, he consumes the chosen host and transports their essence to a distinct mental realm.
Post-transfer, Orochimaru modifies the new body to incorporate snake-like attributes, enhancing his survivability.
A character named Gen'yūmaru had become Sasuke's replacement when the latter couldn't arrive in time. That gave Sasuke up to three years to train and hone his skill before the technique could be used again.
In this present time, Gen'yūmaru hadn't been observed. That also meant if Arthur were to bring Sasuke now, the latter would be a sitting duck.
Patience was the key here.
✟
As the sun continued to dip below the horizon, Arthur stood atop the village gates.
No one had ever truly destroyed the Leaf Village when he thought about it. Obito and Orochimaru had merely toppled structures or divisions. Pain, however, was the closest one to end the village's existence.
Arthur was not like either of them; he sought a day when the Leaf Village would be remembered as the forsaken village, one that would never be remembered or rebuilt.
With that thought aside, he entered his Simian Sage Mode then sensed the Flying raijin mark on one of the Sound Four. They were currently traversing from tree branch to tree branch within the Fire Country, lithe and focused.
Kimimaro wasn't present among them. But Sakon was at the back with Kidōmaru and the rest ahead of the pact.
There was something on Sakon that Arthur needed.
'Flying raijin…'
In that moment, he disappeared from atop the gates and materialized behind Sakon with an ethereal silence. Then, in a razor-thin instant, he reached for the giant scroll secured at Sakon's back and vanished alongside it.
Sakon abruptly stopped after sensing a loss of weight.
"Everyone, stop!" he barked with urgency.
Startled, the other three came to halt atop a branch. Their expressions went from confusion to alertness as Tayuya asked, "Did something happen?"
"The scroll I had… It's gone!"
They all suddenly fell into an offensive stance with taut muscles. But as they surveyed the area, they found only the eerie silence of the forest. There was no enemy nor any indication of a threat lurking nearby.
Meanwhile, at the top of the village gates, Arthur reappeared, glancing back to ensure the pieces were falling into place. Beside him was the scroll he had managed to take.
The plan he had just executed was perfect. Because not only had they failed to detect him, they wouldn't simply return to their village without Sasuke. Doing so would incur the wrath of Orochimaru.
'Idiots…'
✟
As the red and orange rays of sunlight remained, Arthur soon spotted two familiar figures approaching the gates below: Sakura and Alice.
He had been aware of Alice's presence in the village. But Jasper and Alexander remained outside his perception. As for Margaret, she hadn't returned from the Wave Country yet. The journey from there would take days.
As he observed, he could hear their conversation drifting upward.
"Alice, you don't have to keep coming to the village gates like this with me."
"Actually, I do. You've been coming here every day since we told you what we thought."
We must have been the foreknowledge from the others that knew the story.
"I guess you're right," Sakura sighed.
"You're worried about him, and that's okay. We all are. But we don't want you torturing yourself over it."
"I can't just stop… He's my friend, and if I don't at least try, I'll regret it."
Those words were said to the wrong person. Because, as Arthur last recalled, Alice hadn't known how deep their relationship truly was.
She tilted her head with a look of bewilderment on her face. "But why him? You could do so much better with someone else."
"Like who?"
"Naruto!"
Sakura laughed lightly at the suggestion. "I appreciate Naruto for who he is, and all, but… He feels more like family now. Not to mention, Sasuke is—"
"Incredibly distant," Alice interrupted. "Seriously, girl, what good is that when he doesn't care?"
"It's not that!" Sakura blurted. Then her voice softened. "I just need to be there for my friends."
Alice knew why she had felt so strong about this. It was because of Ino. When Ino had died, it was like Sakura lost a part of herself.
Sakura, sensing the gloom, tried to change the subject. "So how's your relationship with Jasper going?"
"It's fine, I guess. He mentioned wanting to do something in the Lightning Country?"
"The Lightning Country? I've never been there before."
Alice chuckled. "Oh! Just wait until you meet Killer Bee!"
"Who's that?"
"He-he. Never mind. Just ignore what I said."
Arthur's attention sharpened at this exchange. What would someone like Jasper possibly be doing in the Lightning Country? Then it registered: during the tournament, the Raikage abruptly left to attend to an important matter regarding Killer Bee.
Could Jasper had been the cause? Arthur couldn't quite tell.
Not wishing to assume things just yet, his attention returned below.
"Just don't forget," Alice reminded before departing, "if you see Sasuke, immediately call for help, okay?"
"I still have the flying raijin paper Jada gave me, so don't worry."
"Perfect!"
With that, Alice departed, leaving Sakura alone on the park bench.