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 from his pursers.

'They're fast,' he thought.

But he was still fast enough, relying on faith and instinct to guide him.

Just as he prepared to spring across buildings, he caught a slight hint of motion in his peripheral vision. Itachi had moved with incredible speed, unleashing another technique.

"Shadow shuriken jutsu..."

Several shuriken came raining down from above. 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 behind him.

Now he had to race 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. To him, the world was blurring into a wash of colours.

Suddenly, he skidded around a corner. Using his balance, he leaped onto a wall with a somersault, landing on a low roof.

Itachi and Kisame were still sprinting toward him from the direction he had just come. They were liked relentless predators, closing in on their prey without hesitation.

He could hear Kisame's taunt, "You've got some pretty impressive moves there, my lord."

The smugness of Kisame's voice only spurred Arthur on, so he bolted down to an open market. His skills truly were impressive, considering he was wearing loafers and dodging flying fruits and vendors' carts without breaking stride.

Each second counted, and he felt the pressure from behind intensifying.

The streets were an advantage he could exploit. That is, until he felt Kisame perform a technique.

"Water style: four shark shower!"

Grabbing onto the edge of a vendor's stall, Arthur swung himself upward, narrowly avoiding the miniature water sharks.

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 movements as Arthur dashed through the stalls, creating confusion behind him.

Glancing behind, he saw Itachi flick his wrist. "Fire style: fireball jutsu..."

This one was larger and moving with a swift intensity toward Arthur. Ignoring it became an impossibility. With sheer adrenaline, he 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 colours and splinters flying in all directions.

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 still panicked, but Arthur's focus remained sharp. He kept moving, ignoring the disorder behind him.

Then an idea hit him: He needed to find a way to throw them off and step into the shadows to 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 and hoped the tight space would at least briefly stall his adversaries.

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, yet he knew this either had to be a crow clone or a water clone. All doubt of that was extinguished as the clone fired a flurry of water shuriken in his direction.

Arthur's eyes flared open for a second upon seeing that 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 all the shuriken in a burst of metallic clangs.

Clang-clang-clang-clang-clang.

One by one, the single kunai managed to fend them off, but he knew this wasn't even close to the end. As the water clone closed the distance, he narrowed his eyes. There was no time to think; he needed to act.

So he dropped low just as the clone lunged at him and they collided in an armlock. Both of them were shaking as they tied to gain the advantage over the other. This strength was impressive for a clone.

But as they held one another, Arthur noticed that the clone was beginning to liquefy. Its form was losing definition as water trickled from its body. Before Arthur could fall back back, Kisame, with his Samehada drawn, began slicing through the back of the watery doppelgänger.

Arthur quickly pivoted his body just as the water clone dissolved in a cascade of droplets and the weapon sliced clean through it, releasing a burst of vapour that managed to still hit Arthur.

'Substitution jutsu...'

Just as the weapon made contact, Arthur's body turned to scattering leaves. He appeared in slightly in the air. Kisame reached out to grab a massive chunk of the clone's watery remains.

"Water style: water shock bomb jutsu!"

The watery mass gradually took the shape as it rushed toward Arthur. At the same moment, the real Itachi was right above Arthur with a hand sign.

"Fire style: fireball jutsu..."

Now there were two large techniques ready to bombard Arthur simultaneously. Not good, but he was far from out of options. With quick hand signs, he readied his defensives.

'Water style: water prison jutsu...'

A sphere of water immediately encased his body in a protective shield as both techniques collided with him.

Boomb!

The shockwave scattered everything around, and when the aftereffects cleared, Arthur was slightly higher in the air, unharmed.

The two Akatsuki's members assaults didn't stop there. Arthur noticed Itachi coming down on him with a kunai in hand. This was just as bad since Arthur had very few options while descending in midair.

But even still, he was Arthur Bennett.

Twisting his body upside down mid-fall, he engaged Itachi in a kunai clash before leaping off the shinobi in a perfect arc. The momentum propelled himself down, allowing him to safely land.

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 to bring it down.

'These two don't know when to quit,' Arthur thought, reacting instinctively.

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. Because he had made contact with that weapon, his chakra was drained by more than half!

And Kisame knew this, so he chortled, "A man without lies is right in front of us, fighting for his life, Itachi."

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."

"Hmm?" his partner replied.

"I'll handle him alone..."

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 with sadistic glee.

There was a moment of silence as Arthur adjusted his collar. Then, in the blink of an eye, Itachi's dropped three kunai, each attached to a balloon that bobbed in the air. Before Arthur could register the command behind the first attack, 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.

Poof. The balloons popped, revealing a plethora of shuriken hurling behind Itachi. The Uchiha jumped while Arthur leapt to the side, dodging that slick trick. By the time the two landed, they squared off, ready for the next round.

Itachi's speed and strength reminded Arthur of Lars during the tournament—and Lars was stronger than Arthur by several stages.

The two closed the distance, and already kicks and punches flew as they attempted to overwhelm one another.

The sheer discipline exuded by Itachi left Arthur short. He had his Tamashii active, but it wasn't simple to keep up with the likes of the Uchiha. It wasn't even close to fighting Jada or Sasuke; this Uchiha was on a whole other level.

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 kick aimed at him from the back.

Itachi smirked, understanding what had just occurred: Arthur's Kekkei Genkai allowed him to perceive things from multiple angles.

The moment this was known, Arthur wasn't given a moment to breathe. He turned around and was met with a kick that sent him airborne.

Bang!

Although he had managed to raise his arm to block, Itachi's attack had still managed to sent a vibrational force through his body.

He ascended higher into the air, and Itachi leapt up to meet him. Itachi followed up with a punch aimed squarely at Arthur, but the latter managed to use his momentum to deflect the blow, pushing the shinobi slightly back.

However, Itachi had anticipated the outcome. As he fell back, he had already performed a hand sign. "Fire style: blaze ball..."

Arthur had never seen this technique before. How could he, when ever since this one-on-one began, Itachi had been using straight video games techniques?

An abnormally large fireball that blazed with lava shot forth. There was no way to dodge due to its mass.

'Bastard...' 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…'

Just before the technique could land, he vanished in a flash.

Itachi landed, and both Akatsuki members showed confused expressions. They'd never encountered a user with the Flying raijin technique before.

"Looks like he got away," Kisame chuckled, feeling 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 relax, he leaned against a tree.

He then came 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. Not unless he used all of his might.

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 destroy everything he'd built.

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.