章 43: Nothing More
As the initial frenzy subsided, the two gorillas lay on the ground, their massive bodies filled with wounds and their roars reduced to whimpers. They were broken giants, victims of Arthur's insidious manipulation.
The remaining primates huddled together in the village square. They looked up at Arthur, their eyes filled with a mix of disbelief and dawning horror. Whoever it was to them, it was a monster.
A cold vehemence burned in Arthur's eyes. He wasn't done yet.
He raised his hand to perform a technique: 'Sage art: surface slice…'
Water, enhanced with sage chakra, formed in his palm. With a flick of his wrist, he sent the linear line of water soaring towards the village's central tree.
The impact was immense. Water caused flames to erupt, quickly engulfing the oak. Panicked screams filled the air as the primates scrambled for escape routes.
Arthur watched with darkened eyes.
The fire would act as a barrier, forcing them out into the open, into his waiting grasp. He would purge them one by one.
While others might have seen this act as cruel, it was truly a sense of justice. He was like a virus, cleansing the host and weeding out the weak to protect what was necessary—himself.
As the first terrified primate burst out of the burning village, he noticed someone coming. It was Nala, her face expressing terror and despair.
In her arms, she clutched a whimpering baby chimp. No matter how he looked at her, she was an enemy, a danger to his plans.
Eliminating her was necessary.
With a clenched fist, Arthur forced a vortex of smoke to reshape in his palm. This time, he unleashed a thick, lethal gas that quickly filled the clearing.
The primates, caught off guard, began coughing and sputtering, their eyes watering as the gas took effect.
One by one, they slumped to the ground, overcome by the fumes. Arthur watched, knowing he had achieved his objective.
The village was subdued, with many of its inhabitants slowly dying.
He was an expert villain who knew how to use all of his techniques as weapons. The jungle, once a paradise for primates, was now filled with the whimpers of his victims and the flames licking hungrily at the heart of the community.
Arthur needed to silence any potential threats or witnesses who might expose his actions.
This self-preservation instinct led him towards Nala.
She stood amidst the smouldering ruins of the village, a broken figure shrouded in ash. In her trembling arms, she clutched the sleeping baby chimp.
Her gaze burned with a fury that mirrored the flames devouring the village.
"You!" she spat. "You did this!"
Arthur simply stared back. He couldn't feel any turmoil within him—this visible destruction. All she could see was the cold, calculating gaze of a monster.
"So what?"
That response sent a fresh wave of horror through her. The Arthur, whom she thought she knew, never existed. This was a stranger, a creature willing to annihilate anything that stood in his wake.
"Why?" she questioned. "My husband and I trusted you! We tried to open our home to you!"
"Hmph… Last I remember, you were the one who wanted a fight," Arthur replied. "Do you think I attacked on this night without reason?" He had known that Enma wasn't present in the village at this hour. "You things merely posed a threat... Nothing more."
Suddenly, a group of burly monkey guards emerged from the smoke-choked remains of a hut. They roared before charging towards Arthur.
But his Simian Sage Mode's influence quickly snuffed it out.
He didn't hesitate. His hands ignited with a swirling vortex of black smoke. With outstanding speed, he launched the corrosive technique, targeting each assaulter.
The effect was swift and brutal. Shrieks of pain tore through the air as their bodies wracked with the technique's corrosive effect, collapsing onto the ground.
Nala watched in stunned silence. She was horrified.
Then it dawned on her—Arthur had perfected their Simian Sage Mode!
The power she heard about for who knows how long was a power to be fearsome amongst their kind. Now it was Arthur's!
She panicked until she remembered that this was her home. If brute force wouldn't work, she would resort to other means.
Chanting, Nala unleashed a powerful genjutsu. As invisible tendrils threatened to constrict Arthur's body, the air twisted around him.
"Pathetic," he said, standing still.
Simian Sage Mode not only improved his strength and senses, but also gave him a near-immunity to illusions!
The constricting tendrils dissipated harmlessly, not even slowing him down.
Nala's face contorted in despair. Her last resort had failed. She was no match for him in a physical confrontation, and her attempts proved useless.
"You were supposed to be different, Arthur," she cried. "This isn't what I was told about you!"
Arthur, unfazed by her pleas, stalked closer. She tried to attack, but his enhanced reflexes kicked in. He twisted slightly, avoiding the brunt of her attack.
Her clawed hand grazed his arm, unable to even wound him. The momentum of her lunge carried her past him, sending her sprawling onto the ash-covered ground.
The baby chimp, dislodged from her grasp, landed on the soft earth.
Steeling himself, Arthur scooped up the whimpering chimp, ignoring the frantic shrieks from Nala.
It was a heartbreaking sound, a primal plea torn from a mother's very soul.
But Arthur wasn't at all moved.
Nala's rasped, "You may think you're almighty, but you will never win. You can never take the spirit of the jungle. It will remember!"
Her words rang hollow in his ears, dismissing them as the ramblings of a desperate monkey.
He had what he needed—the leverage to ensure the primates wouldn't expose his actions. But to ensure this need, he needed to finish their extinction.
Nala lunged with incredible agility. Arthur, while carrying the baby chimp, twisted slightly.
With quick efficiency, he delivered a single, swift blow to her temple. Her eyes, wide with shock, glazed over before her body went limp. The last thing she could see was the baby being held as if it never belonged to her in the first place.
Arthur watched, understanding the look in her eyes. This baby chimp wasn't just any ordinary animal; it was her newborn!
Suddenly, a tremor shook the ground as a deafening roar ripped through the clearing. Arthur slowly turned to his adversary and yelled out his name: "What have you done?!"
Enma, the king, had arrived.
His face was obscured by the flames licking at the village's remains. His normally regal posture was replaced by a hunched, primal stance, and his eyes were filled with rage.
Arthur held his ground, having sensed his arrival moments ago. He carefully placed the baby chimp down on a patch of untouched earth.
Then, the silence stretched.
The crackling of the fire and the whimpering of the baby chimp were the only sounds heard.
Finally, Enma spoke, "Why have you done this…?"
Arthur stepped forward and asked, "I wonder what you mean. The fact that I came to your realm and suckered you into this mess, or the fact that you never saw it coming..."
Enma roared with heart-wrenching sorrow. He lumbered towards Arthur, the ground trembling with each earth-shaking step.
As he emerged from the shadows, the devastation of the village became fully visible—the smoldering huts, the fallen guards, and the lifeless body of his wife.
Enma's enraged gaze fell upon Nala, his eyes widening in disbelief and horror. Grief and fury warred within him, threatening to consume him whole.
Arthur watched with morbid curiosity. This wasn't the heartless leader he had expected. So he said, "And you call yourself a king, Enma... Hmph… Your so-called kingdom lies in ruins, and your wife... is dead because you valued food more than your village."
Enma, his body trembling, slowly turned his gaze towards Arthur. His eyes burned with an inferno of hatred as he rasped, "Why…?"
Arthur spread his arms in a display of dominance, declaring, "Because they posed a threat."
Enma stared at him with conflicting emotions. Rage, grief, and something akin to betrayal—all of it gnawed at him.
"You," he finally managed, "were said to be a prophet... We welcomed you… trusted you…"
"Trust," Arthur scoffed. "No ye not it is better to trust in God than a man. And why call me a prophet? Since when did you ever hear me confirm that I was a prophet?"
The dam broke. Enma roared, a primal sound that shook the very trees.
With a thud, he slammed his massive fist into the ground, sending a shockwave that ripped through the clearing. Dust and debris rained down as the earth itself seemed to tremble.
Arthur, however, stood his ground.
"You want revenge, Enma…? Then come and get it."
Enma's colossal form charged, his fists clenched tight. Arthur, however, remained rooted to the spot with a solace expression.
The clearing immediately exploded in fury.
Arthur dodged Enma's earth-shattering blows with impeccable timing. With another charge, Enma summoned his adamantine staff. It whipped through the air, sending a shockwave that ripped through the smouldering remains of the huts.
Each of Enma's swings, fueled by grief and rage, missed its mark. Arthur darted around Enma, exploiting the monkey's size and brute strength.
Simeon Sage Mode's enhanced reflexes were being used perfectly.
Arthur weaved his way through the staff's deadly arcs. Every swing of the staff, every twitch of Enma's muscles—all of it was being telegraphed with great clarity.
Enma huffed a large amount of air, wondering why Arthur hadn't attacked yet. Then it became painfully obvious: Arthur was testing the limitations of his Sage Mode.
Another fist swung, but Enma's blow connected with nothing but air. Arthur was too fast.
'Sage art: body oxidation jutsu.'
The king roared in frustration, searching for his opponent. Before he could react, a searing pain erupted in his shoulder.
Arthur materialized behind him, his body solidifying. The Sage Mode enhanced smoke technique had done its work, leaving a gaping bruise on Enma's thick hide.
Enma shrieked in pain, his fury momentarily replaced by a primal cry of agony. He spun around, his rage increasing tenfold. But Arthur began to grow bored.
Appearing next to Enma, he aimed his attacks on vulnerable points—a kick to the back of Enma's knee, bringing the monkey to the ground, followed by a backhand hand to knock Enma back.
With each blow, the corrosive effects of the Body Oxidation ate away at Enma's flesh, causing him to roar in a mix of pain and fury.
The towering titan of the jungle was being reduced to a lumbering target, swatting at a foe that seemed unbeatable.
Suddenly, from the undergrowth, emerged Ooka-Ooka!
"Alex!" Ooka-Ooka roared, his voice laced with betrayal. "What have you done?!"
"Whatever do you mean, Orangi? I'm liberating the threat I talked about."
Enma, gathering the last vestiges of his strength, rasped out a single word: "Run!"
Ooka-Ooka, however, ignored his king's desperate plea. He raced towards Arthur, the ground threatening to give way under his force.
"Liar!" he thundered. "You came as a guest, promising peace, and you betrayed us all!"
The distance was closed. His fist aimed for Arthur's head. But just as the blow was about to land, Arthur vanished.
Ooka-Ooka's fist crashed into thin air, sending a shockwave through the clearing that extinguished some of the flames.
With a swift, precise movement, Arthur delivered a powerful blow infused with sage chakra to Ooka-Ooka's pressure point. The impact sent a jolt of pain shooting through the orangutan's body, momentarily paralyzing him.
'Sage art: chakra dissection blade.'
With a cold, calculating efficiency, Arthur channeled his sage chakra into his hand, forming a sharp, razor-like blade of energy. Enma, his eyes wide with horror, watched as Arthur lunged at Ooka-Ooka.
The orangutan, regaining some control over his paralyzed limbs, tried to turn, but it was too late.
The chakra blade sliced through his throat in a clean, silent motion.
Ooka-Ooka crumpled to the ground, his massive body hitting the earth with a heavy thud. His eyes, wide with disbelief, stared vacantly at the sky.
The clearing was silent, broken only by the whimpers of the baby chimp.
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