Chương 178: Fire And Water
As he landed on the rooftop, he didn't have time to survey the landscape below; he could hear the rush of wind as Kisame and Itachi pursued him.
'They're fast,' he thought, quickly reminding himself that panicking wouldn't help his situation.
Instead, he relied on his faith and instincts.
Just as he prepared to spring across a wider gap between buildings, he caught a slight hint of motion in his peripheral vision. Itachi had moved with incredible speed, unleashing another technique with deadly intent.
This time, several shuriken came raining down from above, slicing through the air toward him.
Arthur barely had time to react, just able to avoid this attack. He vaulted to the side, rolling to absorb the shock as the blades sliced through a nearby billboard. Shreds of cloth and wood flew as the billboard shattered.
The urgency of the situation spurred him on, racing forward faster than before. He couldn't give up; he wouldn't allow himself to be captured that easily.
He tore past another group of startled villagers, who gazed wide-eyed, unable to comprehend what was happening right before them.
He felt an odd sense of detachment from the scene, the world around him blurring into a wash of colors. His mind remained focused solely on his next move.
Suddenly, he skidded around a corner, his eyes scanning the streets for an exit—anything that might provide him with a further advantage.
He was beginning to feel the strain in his muscles as Kisame and Itachi's presence loomed ever closer. He couldn't afford to be slowed down.
Using his balance, he leaped onto a wall with a graceful somersault, landing on a low roof. Shaking off the momentary lapse in fatigue, Itachi and Kisame were still sprinting toward him from the direction he had just come.
They were relentless predators, closing in on their prey without hesitation.
He could hear Kisame's cackling laughter echoing in the distance as he taunted, "You've got some pretty impressive moves there, my lord!"
The smugness of Kisame's voice only spurred Arthur on, productively channeling his focus into speed as he bolted down a narrow alleyway.
His skills truly were impressive, considering he was wearing loafers and dodging flying fruits and vendors' carts in a dizzying dance.
Each second counted, and he felt the pressure from behind intensifying.
He dodged through an open archway, heading toward the main marketplace. The streets were an advantage he could exploit.
Grabbing onto the edge of a vendor's stall, he swung himself upward, narrowly avoiding miniature water sharks thrown by Kisame.
Oranges and reds of fruits blurred by him, mingling with the shouts of merchants who suddenly found themselves caught amidst a surreal chase scene. They barely had time to process the swift movement of their new patron as Arthur dashed through the stalls, creating confusion behind him.
Glancing behind, he saw Itachi flick his wrist, generating another fireball, this one larger and moving with a swift intensity toward him. Ignoring it became an impossibility.
With sheer adrenaline, Arthur leapt onto a nearby table, creating an arc through the air, skimming the edge of the market stall. He felt the heat as the fireball exploded behind him, sending a cascade of colors and splinters flying in all directions, igniting a nearby display of flowers.
Itachi, known for his pacifist nature, was quite keen on shooting the technique to only target Arthur. Even though it had missed, no one else was hurt.
The crowd panicked, but Arthur's focus remained sharp. He kept moving, aligning his pulse with his flight, ignoring the disorder behind him.
Then an idea hit him: He needed to find a way to throw them off, to step into the shadows and remove himself from their line of sight entirely.
As he spotted a narrow alleyway ahead, he dove toward it.
If he could just confuse his pursuers, perhaps he could escape without needing to use his Flying raijin so openly.
The alley was tight, flanked by towering buildings on either side. He could barely navigate without scraping his shoulder against the walls, but he pressed on, sensing the tight space would at least briefly stall his adversaries.
The shadows were his allies, and as he sprinted into the darkness, taking sharp corners with practiced ease, it wasn't enough; he could still sense the encroaching danger.
These two formidable Akatsuki members were not going to cut short the life he had built as John Belfort.
As he sprinted deeper into the narrow alleyway, eventually reaching the outskirts, an unmistakable silhouette appeared before him: a second Itachi!
He didn't have time to process the implications. The clone was clearly a water clone.
All doubt of that was extinguished as the clone fired a flurry of shuriken in his direction. Arthur's eyes flared open; the way the shuriken were thrown allowed no room for evasive action—such was the prowess of a real Sharingan user.
On instinct, he skidded to a halt, pulling a kunai from his pouch, and with a quick flick of his wrist, he deflected the shuriken in a burst of metallic clangs.
One by one, the kunai ricocheted off his blade, spiraling away from him and into the air. He had managed to fend them off, but he knew this wasn't even close to the end.
As the water clone closed the distance, Arthur narrowed his eyes. There was no time to think about what had just happened; he needed to act.
He dropped low just as the clone lunged at him. They collided in an armlock, one of them struggling to gain the advantage over the other. But even as he strained against it, Arthur noticed that the clone was beginning to liquefy, its form losing definition as water trickled from its body.
Before he could push back, Kisame, with his Samehada drawn, was ready to slice through the watery doppelgänger!
Arthur pivoted his body, locking the clone in place just as Samehada swung toward him. Then, Itachi's water clone dissolved in a cascade of droplets as the weapon sliced clean through it, releasing a burst of vapor that also hit Arthur.
'Substitution Jutsu…'
Suddenly, Arthur appeared in the sky, having substituted himself with falling leaves that drifted lazily in the air.
Kisame reached out to hold a massive chunk of the clone's watery remains.
"Water Style: Water Shock Bomb Jutsu!"
Grinning, he launched the watery mass, which gradually began taking shape like a shark, toward Arthur.
At the same moment, the real Itachi had readied another attack.
"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"
He unleashed a fireball from behind, enveloping the open space in a radiant glow.
Arthur could feel the impending doom as the two techniques readied to bombard him simultaneously.
Not good, but he was far from out of options.
'Water Style: Water Prison Jutsu...'
A swirling sphere of water enveloped him, encasing his body in a protective shield as both techniques collided with him.
The shockwave flowed through the air, scattering everything around, and when the smoke cleared with him unharmed, he noticed Itachi leaping above him with a kunai in hand.
This was just as bad—he had very few options while descending in midair. But even still, he was Arthur Bennett.
He enacted another strategy; twisting his body upside down mid-fall, he engaged Itachi in a kunai clash before leaping off the shinobi in a perfect arc, using the momentum to propel himself downward.
He landed safely, but his moment of relief was cut short. From the corner of his eye, he recognized a strong motion from behind. Kisame was upon him, swinging Samehada with lethal intent, ready to slice him in two.
'These two…' Arthur thought, reacting instinctively.
He sensed the chakra being drained from him as he kicked off the blade after it was swung, propelling himself into the air for a brief moment until he flipped and landed safely on the ground.
Kisame's laughter was sinister.
"A man without lies is right in front of us," he chortled.
Arthur had heard that phrase before, but he never thought it would be aimed at him during such a dangerous encounter.
As he pondered his next move, considering employing the Flying raijin to distance himself, Itachi took a step forward and spoke, "Kisame... step back for a moment."
Kisame's brow furrowed in confusion. "Hmm?" he replied, momentarily taken aback.
"I'll handle him alone," Itachi asserted.
This was unexpected. Arthur weighed the situation.
If both members of the Akatsuki had come at him simultaneously, he knew he would have no chance. But if it was only Itachi, a rare opportunity presented itself—a chance to measure his strength against an actual S-rank ninja.
He stared into Itachi's Sharingan, accepting the challenge.
"Looks like our friend here's up for it," Kisame said wildly with sadistic glee.
In the blink of an eye, Itachi's chakra pulsed outward, electrifying the atmosphere. With a sharp flick of his wrist, he threw three kunai, each attached to a balloon that bobbed in the air.
Before Arthur could register the command behind the movement, Itachi dashed toward him with speed that even Arthur struggled to comprehend.
The two engaged in a fierce exchange of taijutsu, and it became clear within the first moments that Arthur was outmatched. Itachi's speed and strength reminded him of Lars during the tournament—and Lars was stronger than Arthur by several stages.
Kicks and punches flew as he attempted every measure to counter and evade, but the sheer discipline exuded by Itachi left him hanging by a thread.
What were these movements?
Arthur had his Tamashii clearly active, but it wasn't simple to keep up with Itachi. It was not even close to fighting Jada or Sasuke; this Uchiha was on a whole other level.
Little had Arthur known, the techniques Itachi was employing were all from his video game counterpart, something he had never played.
Just as Arthur went for a punch, Itachi disappeared, transforming into a mass of crows that scattered away, only to reappear behind him.
Without looking, Arthur ducked, narrowly avoiding a punch aimed at him from the back, and Itachi smirked, understanding what had just occurred.
The Uchiha immediately understood Arthur's Kekkei Genkai, which allowed him to perceive things from multiple angles. Still, Arthur wasn't given a moment to breathe.
With a kick that sent Arthur airborne, Itachi's attack was relentless. Arthur quickly blocked the blow, though he felt the force vibrate throughout his body.
As they ascended into the air, Itachi didn't relent. He followed up with a punch aimed squarely at Arthur, but the latter managed to use his momentum to deflect that blow as well, pushing the S-rank shinobi back slightly.
However, Itachi had anticipated the outcome. As he fell back, he was ready—kunai flew from his hands like rain, aimed straight for Arthur.
'Dang it,' Arthur thought, knowing he was drastically underprepared for this fight. There was no doubting both of these Akatsuki members' skills. He had to leave. 'Flying raijin…'
Without a second to lose, he vanished in a flash just before the kunai struck.
For a brief moment, both Itachi and Kisame showed confused expressions. They'd never encountered a user with the Flying raijin technique before.
"I lose sight of him," Kisame chuckled, intrigued. "This'll be interesting news for the others."
"I'm sure it will…" Itachi coolly admitted.
Elsewhere.
When Arthur reappeared, he found himself all the way in the Fire Country, far removed from the chase and the pandemonium of the Water Country.
He couldn't shake the feeling that he was now more vulnerable than ever.
Finally able to catch his breath, he leaned against a sturdy tree, coming to grips with what had just transpired.
That encounter had told him something crucial: He was not prepared to face S-rank ninjas just yet.
Lars, who didn't have a rank, was already proven to be stronger than Arthur. But to think that characters like Itachi and Kisame were on that level as well.
In that split second, Arthur understood he'd have to lay low for a while. The attack on the capital was bound to make headlines, and showing his face again as John Belfort could unravel everything he'd worked to build.
Any further association with the events that had transpired would surely draw unwanted attention, and as much as he loathed the idea of retreating, it was his only option now.
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