Chapter 162: Nightmares Come True
The village lay swathed in shadow, and the streets finally died down.
Under the pale moonlight, Sasuke walked quietly towards the village gates. From the perch above the gates, Arthur could see the impending confrontation.
Sakura stood glancing nervously at the walkway leading to the gates. She had been coming to the gates each night, waiting to ensure her intuition was wrong. But when she spotted Sasuke emerging from the shadows, her heart raced.
There he was—the object of her affection and concern, moving closer yet again away from the village she held dear.
"What are you doing here, Sakura?" he asked, his voice devoid of inflection.
"This is the only road that leads outside of the village," she replied, feeling quivery. "I've been coming here every night to make sure you won't leave."
Sasuke fell silent. As the seconds passed, the tension built. There was an invisible thread tugging at the hearts of both individuals—one buried in thoughts of pain and revenge, the other suffocated by an overwhelming sense of loyalty.
Who else could have been pulling that thread but Arthur?
Just as the moment threatened to deepen, he shifted from the shadows and materialized from behind Sakura.
Hearing him, she swiftly turned around and saw the abrupt and jarring presence. The sight of him caused her to gasp in both fear and confusion.
"Who are you?" she demanded, her eyes wide as she instinctively took a step back.
Sasuke remained calm. He stood firm at first, not at all flinching at Arthur's arrival.
Arthur himself walked past Sakura, positioning himself next to Sasuke, the two standing at an impromptu threshold of confrontation.
At that moment, Sakura's hand reached toward her pocket.
"Is this what you're looking for?" Arthur asked, raising his hand to reveal the white flying raijin paper.
It illuminated the darkness with a red hue. Panic filled Sakura's insides as she registered the paper dangling between Arthur's fingers.
"You… When did you?!" she stammered, reaching for her bag in a frantic search.
But her movements were futile; the slippery grip of fear had wrapped around her thoughts: Arthur had taken the moment he walked by without her noticing.
"There's no point in screaming or crying for help," Arthur continued with derision. "I sealed that paper, so that girl can't teleport to it. Not without my permission, at least."
How could he not understand a technique that both Jada and he shared?
Simply ripping the paper up or crumbling it wouldn't have any effect, for she would still be able to sense it and teleport to it. But sealing it in the manner Arthur had done prevented both actions.
Sakura's heart beat hard against her ribcage. This was not just some random encounter, but a calculated move against her that she had never expected.
"Sasuke, get away from him!" she shouted, gripping a kunai from her belt while placing herself in a defensive stance.
"Sakura, don't—" Sasuke began, but Arthur interjected before he could finish.
"You're wasting your time," he flatly said. "Sasuke doesn't love you. You're overly obsessed with him for no reason. No different from a stalker, really."
Fury sparked in Sakura's eyes at the insignificance with which Arthur belittled her feelings. Gripping her kunai tightly, she spat back, "You don't know anything—anything about us!"
Arthur continued to probe at her easily manipulable heart and said, "There is no 'us,' Sakura… You and Sasuke never had anything to begin with."
His words were sharp, cutting through whatever feelings she had latched onto. He caused a chill to run through her, making her veins feel icy.
Despite being a stranger, the sting of his words hit harder than expected. Just who was he, and how did he know so much about their relationship?
Sasuke didn't respond, and the absence of his support felt like a definitive blow.
It was only a simple exchange of words, yet Sakura felt her breath catch in her throat. The weight of it all felt unbearable. Whatever this cruel game of words was, she was losing.
The old Sakura would have screamed for help; perhaps even cried at this moment. But this version had been trained by outsiders, knowing her nature well enough to mature her personality.
And Arthur knew that better than anyone.
With one swift motion fueled by denial, she lunged at him with the kunai aimed toward his chest. Her instincts took over, but his movements were precise.
As she neared, he effortlessly sidestepped, countering her aggression. She staggered forward as he disarmed her, twisting her wrist until the kunai clattered to the ground.
The sound clanged to the floor like a mockery of her resolve, shattering her confidence.
Then, with a swift back kick, he sent her sprawling backward, the force knocking the wind out of her.
She gasped, scrambling to her feet, but Arthur was there before her. He caught her by the collar, lifting her off the ground as she kicked and flailed, desperate to escape the vice grip of his hand.
This pink-haired girl hadn't progressed since the last time they met back in the Land of Tea!
"Sasuke!" she begged, her words struggling to come out. "Don't… let him…"
"Like I said, girl," Arthur hissed, "You're wasting your time."
With that, he jabbed her belly so hard that it caused her to spew out stomach fluids. He then cast her to the ground, letting the impact do the rest of the work.
Sasuke stood still, witnessing the entire scene unfold. It was as though he was a spectator watching in a theatre, his stoic demeanour unbreakable despite his own teammate having been trampled on.
Many people never liked Sakura to begin with. Whether her character had evolved or not, Arthur had many in his favour.
And he wasn't done yet!
The confrontation quickly escalated as he followed her down to the ground, raining a series of blows that landed—each jab delivering pain, each kick punctuating her resolve further.
He struck at her side, a fist to her ribs, forcing a muffled cry from her as the air left her lungs. She tried to curl up, instinctively protective, but he was relentless.
His fist connected again, striking her squarely in the stomach, causing her to double over, gasping for breath.
The world spun as he pulled her up slightly, unleashing another knee into her abdomen, sending her toppling backward onto the ground.
Stars swirled in her vision as she battled against unconsciousness.
In a cruel kneeling position, Arthur took hold of her hair, raising her head slightly to meet his gaze, dismissing her efforts to fight back.
"You really are obsessed with this boy, aren't you?" he wondered.
She couldn't respond due to the persistent beating she had received. Not as if he wanted to hear an explanation anyway, he released her hair, and she gasped as she fell back.
The world around her faded in and out of focus. Arthur stood above her, and then it became clear to her what was happening: he was the very embodiment of her nightmares come true!
With one final impact, he struck her again, and that was it—her consciousness drifted away, engulfed by shadows.
Arthur watched as her body went limp. He felt no satisfaction; merely a sense of accomplishment in the execution of his plan.
It had felt alleviating to let out his internal frustrations from having been stuck in this world for so long.
Of course, leaving her mind untouched could lead to complications, especially with her volatile affections for Sasuke.
Stepping forward, he positioned himself over her limp form and formed a series of hand signs.
'Eye mind reading jutsu…'
His eyes slightly glowed, pulling Sakura's memories from the depths of her consciousness.
He sought the fragments of the past moments—the betrayal, the hopelessness, her unrequited love for the Uchiha—and began to alter them. Memories were erased, leaving no trace of their encounter at the village gates.
This would have been a lot easier if he had the Sharingan, as that would have allowed him to replace those memories instead of just erasing them.
Sasuke, however much of a pawn he was at the moment, wouldn't bend that easily.
If anything, Arthur would have filled those memory gaps of Sakura's with visions of companionship, of hope and warmth—moments she could hold dear without the burden of this night.
Doing that would have given Arthur enough time to bring the Uchiha to Orochimaru without any problems.
When Arthur felt the technique complete, he withdrew, allowing her weary mind to rest. Her brow unknotted from turmoil, and she collapsed further into slumber.
With assurance that she wouldn't awaken to remember the encounter, he turned to Sasuke, who had remained an unflinching observer through the entire beatdown.
"You ready…?" he coolly asked.
Sasuke nodded, eyes lingering on Sakura for a moment longer, void of any emotion. In a low, measured tone, he replied, "Yeah… Let's go…"
Arthur took one moment to first heal the unconscious girl before moving her to the bench.
The two then abandoned the village gates, leaving behind their shadows and the weight of what had transpired buried deep within the folds of the night.
As they walked, Arthur reflected on his actions. Surely, this was just the beginning.
Some time later.
As morning came, Sakura blinked and eventually arose. Things were quiet, and she couldn't seem to remember last night's events.
She rubbed her eyes and sat up on the bench.
The last thing she recalled was waiting for Sasuke, then... everything went dark.
"I guess I fell asleep," she said, glancing around, half-expecting to see him pop up out of nowhere.
But there was no sign of him anywhere. Her heart sank as if she had forgotten something very important. Gathering her belongings, she prepared to head home.
Just as she stood, a familiar figure sprinted toward her, panting heavily. It was Alice.
"Sakura!" she called. "Where's Sasuke?!"
Sakura's brows knitted together, momentarily taken aback by the urgency in Alice's tone. Sakura tried to keep her voice steady as she answered, "He... he should be home. I didn't see him at the gates last night."
"Are you sure?!" Alice's eyes flared, searching Sakura's face. The way she asked sent a chill through the pink-haired girl. "I can't sense him anywhere in the village."
Sakura's stomach dropped. It shouldn't have been possible for Sasuke to vanish without a trace.
"He's probably on a mission," she suggested, trying to shake off the feeling of dread. "You know how it gets sometimes."
Alice shook her head and said, "No, Sakura. He's not allowed to leave the village, remember? There are not even any signs that he's been home. And look at your shirt!"
Arthur might have been a genius when it came to medical ninjutsu, but he wasn't a renowned tailor.
The two exchanged glances, knowing how concerning this was. Without another word, they rushed to Tsunade's office.
Upon arrival, Alice instructed that Sakura wait here. She didn't want Sakura worrying any further.
The door to the office opened, and the sight that greeted Alice was expected—Tsunade slumped forward on her desk, drool pooling at the corner of her mouth. The Hokage had clearly stayed up all night filing paperwork.
"Wha... what?" she mumbled, stirring awake and blinking against the light. "What's the problem, and why is it so early?"
She blinked again, wiping away the remnants of sleep from her eyes as Alice stepped forward.
"Lady Tsunade, Sasuke is missing!" she said. "I'm not sure how long he's been gone!"
"What?!" The shock jolted the Hokage upright. "How is that possible?"
"It's undoubtedly Orochimaru," Alice declared.
Tsunade was well aware that Orochimaru was after Sasuke. To be frank, it was the players who were informed of this after she was inaugurated.
Tsunade had a lot of extra work to do after becoming the fifth Hokage. For instance, she had to try and heal Hiruzen, a task that was proving to be impossible.
Tsunade's expression shifted to one of gravitas.
"Many of the other ninjas are out on missions or away from the village," she reminded. "If he's been taken, we need to do something fast."
"Oh!" Alice panicked. "I knew this would happen!"
"What?" Tsunade wondered. "What do you mean by that?!"
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