Arthur leveled a fierce and undeterred glare at the Sound Four and said, "If you don't wish to follow Orochimaru's orders, I'll gladly dispose of all of you right here and deliver the Uchiha myself."
The others looked at their comrade remove himself from the tree. They saw him struggle to regain his footing because his body was protesting in pain.
When he finally got to one knee and looked up, his earlier hostility was replaced by both fear and misperception. "Wh… where are you from?"
"The North Hideout." To validate his claims, he named the supervisor there. "You can call me Kaito."
Kaito, a name that meant 'ocean fighter', reflecting Arthur's dominion over the Water Country and its neighbours.
For a moment, silence fell over the group.
Because that supervisor's name was a well-guarded secret that only the most loyal could know. There was no way Arthur could possibly know that information unless he was part of the Sound Village himself.
After finally getting up, Sakon conceded. "Alright, I get it." Arthur's words held merit. "I see that lord Orochimaru's got a secret unit stronger than our last leader."
"Don't compare me to Kimimaro…"
Gasp! So Arthur was indeed part of their village.
How could they not be convinced by this much evidence? He had proved himself through strength, wore the Sound ninja attire, and looked to have already performed one of their own sealing techniques to aid Sasuke in advancing the curse mark.
Arthur was indeed the real deal.
"Fine," Tayuya spoke first. "What's the plan now?"
"What do you think?" he hissed. "We set off towards the main hideout…"
Sakon hung back, still recovering from the earlier blow yet eyeing Arthur with respect.
They had been searching for Sasuke for so long, bound by their loyalty to Orochimaru. Now, in this unexpected moment, they knew they couldn't fail the Sannin again. So that meant they were going to follow Arthur's plan.
Arthur himself was content.
Mainly because he was not looking for an all-out fight. He was feeling drained after having done so much in just the span of a few hours. Sage Mode twice and the Flying raijin about four times—that was one too many chakra-draining techniques without any sleep.
Even that earlier punch was a front to make the Sound Four believe he was strong. If they knew that it was enhanced with chakra, they would have surely retaliated.
As the group moved through the forest, Arthur used this moment to try and restore his chakra.
The choices he had made thus far surely had repercussions, and it wouldn't be long before someone began searching for Sasuke. After all, leaving the village without a care would surely invoke a swift response from the Leaf Village's protectors.
The main thing Arthur was considering was who would be sent out to retrieve him.
Jada floated to the forefront of his mind because she had the Flying raijin.
Then there was Alice. Her powers were stated to surpass even William's. If she were sent out, the Sound Four would have little chance of standing against someone like her.
And who's to say that it wouldn't be a group after Sasuke?
Kiba and Shikamaru were dead, so that meant there was a limited pool of ninjas to choose from.
If Arthur were to guess that it was Jada or Alice who was leading the team, she would likely rally Sakura due to her early combat efficacy, Shino for his tracking abilities, Chōji for his strength, and perhaps TenTen or Hinata because the latter had the Byakugan.
'No,' he deduced, 'Jada's chakra control was too low to travel those distances.'
The Flying raijin required impeccable chakra control to even traverse a few feet. Jada proved her inability to spam it on multiple occasions.
That meant Alice would likely be leading a group.
But would Alice really risk all those ninjas?
Regardless of whom she stood beside, they wouldn't present a challenge to someone like Arthur. At least not all of them.
Last he recalled, Alice had managed to bind him while he was still in Sage Mode. That was something he couldn't afford to let happen again.
Finishing his mental deductions, Arthur cast his Crimson Gaze to scan the area.
Ten minutes later, no one was in range.
Twenty minutes later, still nothing.
Forty minutes later, his suspicions were confirmed: Alice and her team were traveling at an even faster pace than his group.
"Humph.."
"Something wrong?" Kidōmaru asked, seeing Arthur's glowing red eyes.
But Arthur ignored him to focus on Alice's group.
Everyone he deduced earlier was present except Hinata and TenTen.
'So she wanted to minimize any casualties…'
"All of you, stop…" commanded Arthur. The Sound Four exchanged glances but obeyed, halting in their tracks. "We're being followed."
"How's that possible?" Kidōmaru scoffed. "I've been setting traps along the way. Would've noticed someone tailing us."
"And I've set a genjutsu trap just in case," chimed Tayuya. "No one could get close without triggering it."
Arthur felt the need to sigh at their naivety.
"You're both clueless about your enemies," he hissed. "The group following us is an advance tracking team. Whatever you've done is amateur work for them."
Sakon's face fell. Their own techniques, the pride of the Sound Four, were futile against an enemy capable of breaching such defenses?
"What's the plan, then?" Jirōbō asked, looking to Arthur for guidance.
"We wait for them…"
"Wouldn't it be best to separate and take them on?" Tayuya asked him. "I mean, even if they're that strong, one of us should be able to at least slow them down."
"Try than and you'll be reducing our numbers even faster."
Arthur was right not to split them up. Because just like in the original story, they were still defeated once backup arrived. He reckoned the same thing would happen. That also meant he couldn't afford to make any crucial mistakes.
"We can't just sit here and do nothing!" Sakon defiantly said.
In an instant, Arthur lifted Sakon up by the neck. The remaining Sound Four members were in shock as they watched their comrade dangle unceremoniously.
"Let go of me, you bastard!"
"Silence," Arthur hissed. "Neither of you knows who you're dealing with. And last I check, Kimimaro managed to take you all down by himself. Think I can't do the same?" Sakon's struggle subsided, finally understanding the gravity of the situation. So Arthur released his grip. "Either follow my plan or risk losing the Uchiha."
"Fine," he gasped, averting his eyes. "We'll wait…"
The group eventually fell into an uneasy silence as they stood there.
Arthur, meanwhile, continued to strategize inwardly as his mind turned over almost every possible scenario that could unfold with Alice and her team.
The worst-case scenario was, once that team arrived, they would place retrieving Sasuke as their top priority.
Arthur knew how all of them fought except for Alice. So the question of the matter was how intense their efforts would be.
The Sound Four had glaring weaknesses that someone like Alice could easily exploit. Chances of all of them surviving were slim.
'What if they could separate Alice from her team?' If Arthur could draw her out, perhaps that would give them the upper hand. It might even buy time to retreat with Sasuke. 'No… That wouldn't work.'
While a plausible idea, he knew little to nothing about Alice's other abilities. He could just as easily narrow them down to every secret technique from the Yamanaka clan, but that was just the tip of the iceberg.
A safety net would have to be in place to ensure his own survival.
"Excuse me, Kaito," Tayuya spoke.
"Hmm…?"
"Just how do you know so much about this group?"
"I was once a Leaf shinobi, and I recognize their chakra signature." She looked away, having expected that answer. He spent little time explaining who one was and what they could do. "It should be clear who they're after."
"What if they come for him first?" Jirōbō asked, glancing at the wooden box.
"Does it matter?" Kidōmaru replied. "They won't get him without a fight."
Minutes passed.
The Sound Four's confidence waned from waiting. Arthur himself could almost feel Alice's presence drawing closer, and her chakra levels were dangerously high. Perhaps not as high as William's, but certainly on a threatening level.
Just what had these people from earth been doing to achieve these levels of strength so quickly?
"They're getting closer," Arthur warned his group.
A rustle of leaves later and Alice arrived with her team. Her long blonde hair waved across the wind as she peered not at the Sound Four but at Arthur himself.
"Sasuke Uchiha," she breathed. "Hand him over now."
"And if we refuse?" Tayuya smirked.
"Then risk dying where you stand…"
"Like we're gonna be threatened by a little girl," Jirōbō bellowed.
"That wasn't a threat," she said, furrowing her brows, "that was a promise!"