Some time later.
Even after training with the fourth Hokage himself, two new reanimation summons, and the acquisition of four out of the five Treasured Tools, Arthur was still weak!
Why this was the case was because he lacked a lot of knowledge, as he needed to understand how things have been faring lately.
The world of ninjas was very complex. To truly make sense of it, he needed to observe things from where the story took place the most: the Leaf Village. And to do that, he needed to gather intelligence on where he was in the narrative.
Plus, he needed to know where everyone was, what their objectives were, and how his actions might have impacted everything.
With a plan in mind, he activated his Chakra Disguise and Transformation techniques to alter himself into that of a nondescript traveler. Then he used the Flying raijin to teleport directly to the Hidden Leaf Village.
Upon arrival, he noticed that that village had undergone some changes since his last visit.
The destruction left by Orochimaru's invasion was no longer visible. There was also a sense of resilience in the air, a determination from the citizens despite the setback.
Arthur spent the next hours observing things with his Crimson Gaze constantly scanning the surroundings. To his surprise, he couldn't locate any of the other players' chakra signatures from where he was.
Perhaps he could get closer to their apartments and expand his search there. But he was in a hurry to gather intel, not risk this clandestine mission.
'Jasper left the village with Alice, so maybe the others did too…'
Intrigued, he decided to visit the Jōnin Station.
There, he easily infiltrated the building without raising any alarms. The recent reports were his target, as it would allow him to understand which arc he was currently in.
When he arrived in the storage room where he was certain documents were housed, he slipped through via his smoke form and found exactly what he was looking for.
Paperwork detailed a lot of the things that took place after the invasion. The Sannin was ultimately defeated, no surprise to Arthur.
Hiruzen Sarutobi had also been critically injured in the battle. Not dead from having sacrificed himself like in the original lore.
If Arthur recalled from what he read before entering this world, Orochimaru had sealed off the battlefield with a strong barrier that trapped Hiruzen and him inside. It's then that a climactic confrontation between the former teacher and student ensued.
Orochimaru, having learned the Reanimation technique, summoned the first and second Hokages to aid him. The third Hokage, undeterred, fought back with his own arsenal.
Their final confrontation ended with Hiruzen sealing the two Kages with two of his shadow clones, and then he sealed Orochimaru's arms using the Reaper Death Seal, thus killing the old Kage in the process.
What transpired this time was completely different.
Margaret and William had now participated in that battle.
Somehow they had managed to sneak inside the barrier moments before it finished forming. Trapped with Hiruzen, they fought valiantly against Orochimaru. But once the Sannin summoned the two Kages, things changed.
Hiruzen was forced to summon two clones and use the Reaper Death Seal. While he hadn't died once they dispersed, it left him significantly drained.
William, therefore, summoned his own shadow clone to try and seal away Orochimaru himself. And what sort of seal was he planning to use? None other than the Reaper Death Seal.
'So he managed to learn it from the Scroll of Seals?' Arthur deduced.
If that was the case, who's to say that the others didn't try the same thing?
As Arthur continued reading the reports, he verified what happened next.
Both William and his clone, plus Margaret, all tried to subdue. The two failed, but the clone managed to get ahold of the Sannin. It then performed the Reaper Death Seal, attempting to kill Orochimaru.
But the Sannin wasn't a pushover; he had managed to summon Manda, a purple serpent the size of a Tailed Beast, prior to the sealing ritual. Because of that, Margaret and the real William were kept from helping the clone.
So the clone, in a fit of desperation, was left with no other choice but to do what Hiruzen had done in the original story: he sealed Orochimaru's arms, thus preventing the Sannin from using hand signs.
With plans ruined, the Sannin retreated alongside his ninjas.
Instead of being stunned after reading that, Arthur's eyes scanned for the details of the aftermath.
All that happened next were the rebuilding efforts and the search for missing ninjas. There was an instance involving Jada and her bravery in helping many citizens, but this was to be expected.
One name caught Arthur's attention: his own. Not to his surprise, a bounty had been placed on his head, and the charges were absurdly inflated with a litany of crimes that painted him as a monster.
Desertion, mutiny, treason—the list went on and on. General misconduct, false statements, murder, second-degree assault, espionage, aggravated battery, mayhem, homicide, theriocide (the act of killing an animal), fragging, and… collateral damage?
In total, he racked up three and a half million ryō on his head—wanted alive. That was a pretty hefty amount for a supposed twelve-year-old boy.
Most of these charges wouldn't even be a thing had Jada, the only person who saw him commit theriocide, not reported his actions.
'A highly dangerous shinobi,' he read about himself. 'Be cautious of his manipulative tactics, ability to disguise his form, and knowledge of the Leaf Village's system.'
Both these reports and his charges were all absurd. He had honestly done nothing wrong in his eyes. Yet he was being branded a threat to society.
Was it his fault that the makers of this world lied to him? Or how about the fact he spawned in with the bare minimum, only to be thrust into prison without any fairness involved?
The only real criminals here were the rest of the world.
But the underlying message was clear: Arthur Bennett was not welcomed in the Fire Country.
As he continued reading, he understood exactly why he was deemed a criminal: Sasuke Uchiha and Rock Lee were hospitalized with injuries.
The latter's was much more severe because Arthur had caused significant internal bleeding and organ damage. It was so bad that without extensive medical care, he would have died. Worst of all, the boy's career as a ninja had ended.
At least for now.
Regarding Sasuke, it was thanks to his curse mark—something he still bore—that prevented him from ending up like Rock Lee.
Everything else involving Arthur's actions was primarily due to having killed Ino and Shikamaru. Their respective clans were enraged and wanted his head on a platter.
The most shocking revelation was the state of Hiruzen. Though he survived the Reaper Death Seal and was hospitalized, his health was gradually deteriorating by the day. Recovery was uncertain.
While William had also performed the same technique, he had only sealed Orochimaru's arms. That was enough to prevent him from suffering fatally.
Village elders, Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane, were currently in charge of things. Thankfully, Danzō Shimura was still on house arrest, so he couldn't take the Hokage's position.
Arthur felt no sense of sympathy for any of them. Hiruzen had sacrificed much for his village already, and his reward was met with pain and suffering—a clear reminder of this brutal world.
Arthur continued his research by delving into more reports.
As he read, signed-up mission specs revealed that William, because he had helped save the Hokage and seal Orochimaru's arms with a highly advanced technique, had been promoted to a Chūnin. His bravery and skill had also earned him the respect of the village elders.
He wasn't the only one promoted. So was Margaret, due to her skillful healing techniques and summoning of slugs.
Their combined efforts had not only saved Hiruzen but also saved the village, and their names were now synonymous with heroism.
Arthur felt like ripping the report up. But he restrained himself from doing so.
It was bad to see that they were stepping up to take on the mantle of leadership. Because if they continued living in this world, they could be trapped forever. Or worse.
The reports on Alexander and Jasper were even more surprising. Alex had also been promoted to a Chūnin, but for unknown reasons. Jasper, on the other hand, had only been promoted thanks to Alex's recommendation.
That's some level of influence Alex held. But what intrigued Arthur was why those two had that strong of a bond. They didn't seem like the type to get along. Perhaps it was their determination and ability to adapt after discovering he was their enemy.
Whatever the reason, there was no denying that the world of ninjas was constantly changing. Alliances were being forged more than they were being broken.
Evidently, the other players were clearly in pursuit of power to prevent internal struggles. Why else would they seek after things like promotions and go traveling outside the village?
Ranking up in Leaf was somewhat meaningless anyway. After all, Naruto was able to stop a war as a Genin. Sakura herself did better than most of the cast as a Chūnin.
Still, many secrets were waiting to be uncovered.
One such report claimed that because of the invasion, it had attracted the attention of other shinobi. Among them were Kisame and Itachi, two members of the Akatsuki.
Their presence had forced the Leaf Village to mobilize its forces. A combined effort by Kakashi, Might Guy, Kurenai, Naruto, William, Alex, Alice, and Jasper had managed to drive the two wanted shinobi away.
They clearly didn't want Sasuke involved like last time, so one of them (likely Jada) had stayed behind the mix to keep the Uchiha from meeting his older brother again.
Arthur deduced that thanks to their foreknowledge, this group was able to repel such a great threat.
Itachi, as everyone knew, didn't want to fight Sasuke anyway. But something was odd about this report: Asuma wasn't involved. He was supposed to be in this scene like the lore dictated.
Arthur was interested in wondering what had changed. That's when another report caught his attention: Asuma was currently on a mission at the moment—a mission to capture Arthur.
The Leaf Village was obviously determined to bring him to justice. But to think they'd send Asuma after him. Was it out of revenge for killing his students?
Whatever the case, he wondered what a clash with that Jōnin would be like. Perhaps he would spare the ninja in exchange for working as his slave. An interesting thought, but he needed to look bigger than slavery.
Right now, Asuma and his team were scattered around the Fire Country looking for Arthur. They consisted of a few elite Yamanaka, Nara, and Akimichi clansmen.
Even Chōji was reported to be training to join Asuma's team. Clearly a vendetta.
The others, particularly Jiraiya, were also active in another mission. From what was written, Hiruzen's conditions were so severe that the village required a new Hokage to take his place. The elders, therefore, called Jiraiya.
But much like in the original story, Jiraiya refused, recommending someone else for the position.
As such, the mission he was given was to locate the other Sannin, Tsunade Senju. Regarding who was even with him, it wasn't Naruto; it was William and Alexander.