Path Of War-Chapter 348: Make Me Feel It

Both Margaret's and Sasuke's minds were going crazy at this new revelation.

"How are you alive?" Margaret wondered in a voice that was filled with confusion and anger. "No, you can't be here! This has to be a joke!"

Arthur, unfazed, performed his next technique: 'Sage art: smokescreen jutsu...'

His whole body turned into a cloud of smoke that billowed out and blocked her view. The smoke swirled and churned like a violent hurricane, as if a storm was about to tear the sky apart.

As Margaret was trapped, Sasuke was trying to piece things together. Because if Kaito really was Arthur, then that would explain why Orochimaru didn't know who Kaito was when Sasuke tried to explain how he arrived at the Sound Village.

That also explained why Arthur mentioned "meeting before."

The sky was a battlefield of its own now. High above, Arthur and Margaret clashed. Unsurprising to Arthur, she was holding her own, so much so that she was able to sense him through this thick smoke.

One physical smoke attack and she parried it away with her wings. Another, and she dodged by slightly flying downward.

When she tried to evade the smoky terrain by climbing higher, she noticed that he was following her.

"Even at this speed?" she said, alarmed at Arthur's strength. "Then get a load of this!"

She spun her wings and created a vortex that drew in the smoke, threatening to dispel it entirely. And it was so strong that it was if she was forming a storm.

Arthur, feeling her pressure, solidified his form again and began to slowly fall backward. Then Margaret stopped and formed the Chidori in her palm once more. With glowing, yellow eyes, she raised her arm in the sky to summon a massive yellow dragon: "Kirin!"

Sasuke was enthralled at the sheer magnitude of such lightning; the irony was paramount, for this was his own technique, and his whole body tensed under the pressure.

The dragon roared as it shot toward Arthur, who responded with a calm, deliberate motion, drawing the Blade of Chaos. When Margaret saw that, her face dropped.

He swung his weapon in one wide arc, and then the two forces collided—lightning meeting the primal, collective energy of various elements. Sparks and shockwaves rippled through the air as an explosion lit up the sky with an earsplitting noise that blinded everyone.

When the light subsided, Margaret saw him floating there in his smoke form, and he was completely unscathed. He was calm yet powerful, and in his hand, he held the Blade of Chaos that was still gleaming in the aftermath of their clash.

She blinked, stunned, as her mind simply couldn't process what she had just seen. That weapon—the same weapon that brought back nightmarish memories—was in his possession of all people? How did he possibly get it? And if it was in his hands, was he also John Belfort, or had he defeated John to obtain it?

Regardless of how he obtained it, there was one thing she couldn't deny: Arthur Bennett was beyond anyone she'd ever witnessed.

"Even after you obtained that Sage Mode," he mocked, "you're still not worth my effort..."

Her wings twitched as she took a deep breath, and her heart pounded. No one could comprehend just how much her mind was spiraling out of control—she'd never faced someone like him before, nor had she ever seen anyone in this universe with such power.

Then something flashed in her memories: the way he spoke; it was the same behaviour as John.

When Arthur saw that masochist smile spread across her face like the last time they fought, he knew she had made the connection: that he was both Kaito and John.

But that expression she was giving him. He couldn't tell whether she was feeling amorous or taking pleasure in the idea of killing him. Perhaps both.

Her instincts told her she was in trouble, yet her resolve to fight him no matter what outweighed any sense of reasoning left in her.

"Arthur," she huffed, clenching both her fists. "There's no way... I can win, can I? I don't know how you survived... But if you've been living all this time under my nose, then show me... Make me feel it; make me feel that same pain again!"

At those words, her form instantly switched from Crow Sage Mode to Slug Sage Mode. Then she rushed at him.

Red slime threatened to cover Arthur, but he danced around her, flipping and twirling in the air against her deranged attacks. Each time she tried to grab him, he either slipped past her attempts or knocked her hand back.

Seeing her attacks fail, she summoned three slug clones. The clones all tried their best to surround him, but with three quick swipes of his weapon, he destroyed all of them just as quickly as they formed.

She didn't want to give up, so she used a new technique: "Sage art: acid shot!"

'Sage art: ice dome...'

A barrier crystallized in front of Arthur, blocking her attack. But his defenses didn't last due to the acid melting away at the ice. Impressive, considering this barrier was sage-enhanced that not even lava could melt it.

But why wasn't Arthur attacking her directly? That was because he knew of her immunities to taijutsu, genjutsu, and certain ninjutsu.

Margaret's anger flared. How dare he only avoid her? How dare he not hit her? Surely it wasn't because he was a Christian, so she thought.

She clenched her fists tighter and prepared another technique, but before she could move, Arthur's hand shot out faster than she could react. He gripped her face in his palm and lifted her off the ground with ease.

She wanted to struggle but found herself bound, as a part of her wanted to feel what he was going to do next. As such, he flew downward and smashed her into the ground with a loud crash. Dust and debris exploded outward as Sasuke continued to stare.

In that moment, Arthur raised the Blade of Chaos with cold eyes. If she wanted to feel pain so badly, he was going to deliver it at point-blank range.

'Sage art: tailed beast fractured strike...'

Slashing down, the weapon created a series of invisible lacerations mingled with all manner of elemental force to tear through her flesh and bone!

From within the blast, Margaret's body was torn apart by the attack as her screams echoed and she was cut down. Her Sage Mode ceased, and her chakra nearly plummeted to zero. There was no escape, no way out of this one—just pure destruction.

Soon the battlefield fell into silence from the aftermath of the brutal strike. As the dust began to settle, Sasuke stood there with a level of surprise too clear on his face.

The magnitude of that attack had been unlike the Kirin he had witnessed. It wasn't just powerful; it was so overwhelming and beyond comprehension that even portions of his own body were cut from being in the vicinity.

He watched as Margaret lay unconscious and her body battered and still. Standing over her was Arthur, calm, composed, and, more importantly, triumphant.

The way he moved—the way he had defeated her so quickly—made Sasuke's stomach tighten. As if defeating Naruto wasn't enough, to think that Arthur had also taken down such a formidable enemy in so little time.

It was staggering, to say the least.

But Sasuke didn't realize something. That wasn't the first time Arthur had fought Margaret. Their previous encounter had been more of a test—Arthur had only been gauging her strength, seeing what she was capable of with her Slug Sage Mode.

At that time, he'd only needed to see her in action once. What he understood back then aided him today. So much so that her new Sage Mode became far too easy for him to defeat.

All Crow Sage Mode did was enhance her sensing capabilities and make her more attuned to her surroundings. From the moment she switched to Slug Sage Mode, he knew he had won. Or rather, from the moment she dared to come here alone, he knew his victory was assured.

But beyond that, Arthur had something even greater—his faith. Because he had planned this even before meeting up with Sasuke, it had brought him this win.

Arthur was a man who never stopped training no matter what events he was working on. Such was his belief: to push himself beyond the limits others couldn't imagine while preparing for the worst case scenario.

Still atop the girl, he released his Sage Mode, and his transformation faded. Then he knelt beside her as his hand glowed a soft blue colour. He gently pressed it to her forehead, prompting Sasuke to step closer with curiosity.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

Arthur looked up at him and answered, "Erasing her memories..."

"Why erase her—?" The answer came to the Uchiha before he could even ask: it was to prevent her from knowing that he was truly alive in this world.

If people, specifically the players, knew that he was alive, they would make the connections of all the events that have occurred thus far just as quickly as Margaret had done. And if they did, they would come looking for him straightaway.

Sasuke understood this as well—keeping that a secret was indeed a wise move. But then another thought occurred to him.

"Why did you help me leave the Leaf Village?" he asked, referring to the rescue mission. "Don't tell me you're working with Orochimaru as a spy." ƒreewebɳovel.com

"Hmph..." Arthur scoffed. "Not even close, boy... I only helped you because your destiny isn't with the Sound Village. It's with your clan."

Sasuke had almost forgotten about their conversation due to the amazing feats shown.

Before the boy could ask, Arthur answered, "Like I said before, the Uchiha are very much present in this world and are currently residing in my village. If you want to meet your family again, then abandon Orochimaru and follow me..."

Sasuke stared at him. The Uchiha clan were thought to be wiped out. How could he be sure Arthur was telling the truth?

So many questions flooded the boy's mind, but one thing was clear: Arthur was like no other.

Not just because he had stopped a Sannin, not just because he had defeated the strongest Jinchūriki, not just because he had defeated a Sage Mode user, but because for the longest time, no one had ever moved Sasuke's heart like he had.

Finally, after a moment of silence, Sasuke spoke, "Take me there..."

Dressed in a flowing white cloak, a figure appeared in the midst of the two.

"It's been a while, Sasuke," the stranger calmly said.

"Who're you?"

The man slowly removed his hood, making Sasuke's jaws widen. Even if that man was wearing a blind fold, he recognized the figure. Out of everything he'd seen, out of the powerful techniques unleashed today, this one man finally sealed the deal: Shisui Uchiha.

Suddenly, Sasuke felt a piercing pain across his wounds that made him fall backward. Shisui leapt toward him, held his head, and then gave him a pill to eat. The boy, without even knowing what it was, chewed and swallowed.

"You were hit with lord Arthur's Blade of Chaos," Shisui faintly smiled, knowing Sasuke would heal. "Any moment and you would have died from the poison inside of it."

Sasuke finally recovered and stood up at the Uchiha. Just how was this possible? How was Itachi's best friend here?

"Shisui... is that really you?"

With a faint smile, Shisui said, "Come on... Let's go see your family."

Sasuke hesitated. He looked back at Arthur, who hadn't once looked in their direction. That made Sasuke feel a strange pull—an urge to go, to find out if this was real.

After accepting, he cast one last glance at Naruto and Margaret. Naruto was battered but breathing while lying there silent. Margaret herself was in no better condition.

From what Shisui could see in Sasuke's face, he understood that Sasuke had hoped Naruto would join him and be part of his new journey. But just like one of Arthur's clones had told Shisui, those two walked separate paths.

Sasuke's decision had been made, and now the fate of everything would begin to unravel soon.

As they vanished in a flash from the scene, Arthur stayed behind. His gaze lingered on Naruto's and Margaret's fallen forms. He knew Naruto would undoubtedly recover. But as for Margaret, he silently wondered if she would recover, or if her memories of this battle had truly been erased.

Either way, he was already moving forward, preparing for what was next. The fight was far from over, and he would be ready for the next player to challenge his might.