AFTER A FEW MINUTES, Arthur found a new passage.
'The betrayal of my former partner was not out of greed. He was my failsafe in the event I became unsuccessful in using the tree's power on my own. Deep in the valley's edges, I left his body half dead. Enough for me to use it as insurance, but not enough for him to sustain himself. I was a fool to have thought that. For when I returned, he had vanished. Only by using his Kāma to find a new vessel could he have possibly survived. That is the only way. Even now, I can feel his presence lingering somewhere in the shadows, waiting to accomplish our clan's mission. And when he does, I will be ready. Be it decades or centuries, my vigilance knows no bounds.' – Kaguya's Legacy, page 15.
After reading this passage, Arthur was left in riddles.
Kaguya had still failed to mention any name regarding who her partner was. If he were to guess, this same partner must be related to part three of the series. Otherwise, he would have known who it was.
Not all was lost, however. Kaguya believed that her partner had survived because of this thing called "Kāma". That term was written somewhere in this book.
For the remainder of the night, Arthur researched what Kāma was and how it could perhaps give him some clues. What he discovered was only a little interesting.
Kāma was a special seal used by the Ōtsutsuki clan to store a compressed copy of a member's biological data. Its appearance resembled a pyramid-shaped barb embedded in the body. This seal could be embedded into another, suitable body to form a vessel.
Over time, the Kāma would gradually overwrite the vessel's genetic makeup until the person transformed into a perfect Ōtsutsuki. If the Ōtsutsuki was killed, their soul could migrate into the vessel, anchored by the Kāma, and eventually reincarnate by fully taking over the body. This process was automatic if the right conditions were met. Otherwise, a member would have to rely on rituals (or technology).
What Arthur found interesting was that the Kāma allowed vessels to access some of the Ōtsutsuki's powers and abilities, such as enhanced speed, strength, and chakra absorption. The seal also enabled space-time ninjutsu, creating portals to different locations. When fully activated, the Kāma's markings would spread across the vessel's body, sometimes changing patterns or colors depending on the abilities being used.
Not everyone could become a vessel for the Kāma. Compatibility was rare and often unpredictable. If the process was unsuccessful, the recipient could suffer a fatal seizure.
Sometimes, individuals who were incompatible survived but gained a variant called the White Kāma, which didn't allow them to house an Ōtsutsuki's soul but still granted them tremendous power and the ability to transform into a new Ōtsutsuki. This meant they weren't true celestial beings but were still dangerous due to their heightened abilities.
While powerful, the Kāma had drawbacks. Its application required a lot of energy, and incompatible vessels could be damaged or die quickly. Activating the Kāma caused pain, especially for those less experienced, and overuse could cause physical breakdowns.
Additionally, the seal could only absorb chakra-based energy, leaving the user vulnerable to physical attacks.
'So it's like Orochimaru's Transference Ritual jutsu,' Arthur thought after reading.
Before entering this world, he had believed the Ōtsutsuki to be a little special. But now he could only see them as mere copycats of Orochimaru. Just more powerful and scared of death because they don't know what true immortality is.
That being said, Arthur's fascination came to their Kāma. If Kaguya's partner used his Kāma, then that meant that anyone could be him in hiding. Or rather, anyone could secretly be an Ōtsutsuki.
'Perhaps that's what triggered the third part of the series,' he believed.
Yet something drastic did not add up. Because if Kaguya's partner truly had survived and was in hiding all this time until the start of the third series, which wouldn't take place for another thousand years, why wait for so long?
Arthur was interested in finding this partner. But for now, he still had other plans of fostering his strength while still in the past. So he finally shut the book and went to sleep.
The next morning, he awoke early. The first place he headed to was the main dojo.
When he arrived, both A and B were there, standing close to each other and whispering. The monks around them meditated in silence.
Arthur watched for a moment before feeling something off behind their quiet expressions. An urge to speak with him suddenly overtook them. Their suspicion was clear, even if they hadn't voiced it yet. So he approached casually, pretending not to notice their hesitation.
"Cloud Dancer," A began, "there is a question we would fain ask thee."
"Speak freely," Arthur answered evenly.
B cast a look upon him with a frown. "Where was it that thou saidest thou camest from again?"
"Thou wouldst not know of the land, even if I spake its name." Arthur answered honestly.
That made B uncomfortable, and A furrowed his brows. For a moment, the other monks ceased their meditating and exchanged glances at one another.
A then said, "Our journey from our brother's shrine was fruitful, yet something doth weigh upon us. We didst declare unto them how a mighty man such as thyself had visited us. When they did hear thy name, they spake that thou wert there once and hadst stolen one of their most prized books, an important one."
Arthur's eyes sharpened. He knew something was off. Normally, these two were always happy to see him in the morning.
How could he have been so stupid as to use the same name after committing that act at another shrine? Could anyone blame him? He had just arrived in that time period and was new to their ways.
"I did no such deed," he declared. "Yea, I was present. But theft? Me? I was personally given the book."
There was a little silence. A and B looked at him as their suspicion wavered. They could tell he was truthful.
And he really was telling the truth since the monks from the other shrine had indeed handed him the book willingly. Though it was not the book they thought they handed him, they still handed it to him.
Still, the fact that A and B had visited that particular shrine troubled Arthur.
To think these two had that kind of relationship with other monks. He was foolish not to have understood that blatant fact. These monks treated one another as kin thanks to ninshū. Their familial connection was evident.
B looked uneasy. "Verily," he carefully said, "we beseech thee to return the book. There is a misunderstanding; we do believe."
Arthur considered. He could disguise the book with another, but that would take time he didn't have. Or he could give them the book now and retrieve it later. But that was also risky. Handing over a precious item like that would be a waste if he didn't get it back swiftly.
No, he decided, he wouldn't hand over something so important.
"I hath no reason to give up the book," he firmly said.
A and B's faces fell. They looked at him as if he'd betrayed some unspoken trust.
"Unless thou surrender the book," A coldly said, "I shall deem this act as treachery and will take it from thy hands."
Was that a threat? Arthur didn't take kindly to threats. So he tilted his chin and challenged it.
"Go ahead and try…"
A's eyes narrowed, and before he could make a move, B stepped forward quickly. "Now, A! John is like unto our brother. Let us not—"
Swoosh!
It was too late. Arthur sped out of the dojo. A and B were caught off guard. Without waiting for B, A quickly gave chase.
B's eyes widened in shock as he watched both disappear out of the dojo. The other monks nearby immediately stood up, sensing the tension. They approached B, concerned about what had just transpired.
B didn't answer right away. His face was drawn and filled with conflicting emotions. He had tried to help Arthur because, deep down, he wholeheartedly loved Arthur. But now things had spiraled out of control, and very fast.
"We must go after them!" a monk tried.
Yet B just stood there and quietly said, "I calleth him brother…"
Outside, Arthur darted through the courtyard and then out into the open grounds. A's voice echoed behind him, but he kept going, knowing he couldn't be caught so easily.
He hadn't meant to provoke a chase; or rather, he had desired to stay in this congregation a bit longer. But he was by no means going to let them take the book.
He pushed himself by streaking through the forest with the wind tearing past him. His body moved almost automatically, and he could feel A closing in behind him. The crackle of lightning in the air signaled that the monk was not far.
Suddenly, in just a blink, A appeared beside him. The monk was shrouded in black lightning!
His hand swung down, aiming for Arthur's side. An explosion erupted from the space between them. Dust and debris billowed out, obscuring everything in a cloud of smoke. When things settled, A looked around with narrowed eyes at the ground where he'd struck.
Arthur wasn't there. Instead, he was yards away, standing casually atop a boulder with black lightning crackling across his skin.
'Black lightning: electric needle spark…'
His orange jacket flapped against the wind as he stared A down with glowing red eyes.
The aura around him was electric, almost alive, as if the very air vibrated with power.
"Thou thinketh that thou can catch me…?" he mocked.
A stared, stunned. The lightning surrounding Arthur was the same technique being used against him. Yet Arthur's version made him seem like a living storm.
It was then that A understood with a sinking feeling that he did not have the speed advantage. He had sparred with Arthur before, but this time was different.
Arthur was actually trying!
"Just who art though?!" A screamed.
"Hmph," Arthur scoffed.
Then, in a flash, he was gone.
A clenched his fists so tightly that his nails drew blood. His body tensed, and with a roar, he shouted into the heavens. "AHHHH!"
By the time B and the other monks reached the scene, they saw A standing alone with bloody hands. His shoulders heaved with rage, and his eyes burned with fury.
B and the monks hesitated, unsure whether to approach, but A slowly turned to face them. His voice was hoarse but firm as he spoke.
"From this day forth," A declared, "let all my progeny after me knoweth that we ought not to bow our heads so readily! Action and might are what we esteemeth! There shall be no compromise betwixt us!"
What he said was a declaration that outsiders, enemies, or anyone who threatened their secrets would face their full strength. The hostility, the isolation—this was the price of their pride.
While all this happened, Arthur was still running with his Tamashii active. He had heard A's earlier cry. And because he was still in range, he had also read A's lips during that fierce declaration.
What Arthur didn't understand was that this vow was a mirror of words that would be spoken by the fourth Raikage to Naruto Uzumaki a thousand years from now.
The same fierce declaration of independence, cloaked in a different language, was the same sentiment. Such hostility that pervaded this congregation stemmed from the core belief that would one day build the Cloud Village's identity.
To think that Arthur was the reason behind it all!
As he finally slowed to a stop, Arthur released the residual lightning coursing through him.
While it was interesting to know that his being in that congregation had shaped the Cloud Village's stubborn refusal to share or cooperate with others from henceforth, he still had his own goals to work on.
He looked back over his shoulder. The land stretched out before him now.
A and B would never try to chase him this far out. The very technique he'd learned from the ancestors made him nearly untouchable. The most they could do is spread news of him as a traitor, so that the other shrines and users of chakra know to steer clear of "John."