Sealing Release

Once the world finished swirling, her vision fully cleared.

She found herself standing just outside the area where she and Jasper would meet later. Now with the knowledge of an hour's worth of the future at her disposal, she wouldn't let the opportunity go to waste.

She moved quickly down the passage, careful not to be seen, until she arrived at Danzō's sanctum. She tried to open the door, only to find it locked like before.

"Crap," she said to herself. "I forgot!"

Yet she was far from out of options; she recalled the shape of the key that Hiruzen had used to open the door.

"Wood style: hand tool manipulation!"

Focused on her finger, wood sprouted, twisted, and then coiled until it morphed into an exact replica of the key. Satisfied by her creation, she inserted it into the keyhole. There was a click, and the door silently swung open.

She stepped inside, but the moment she did, she heard the sound of footsteps approaching.

This caused her to panic slightly, for she hadn't fully thought through everything. What would she say? How would she even begin to confront a man she knew she was going to kill soon?

Before she could formulate a plan, Danzō walked in, and her heart sank at the sight before her.

The grizzled elder was a tad surprised to see an unassuming thirteen-year-old kunoichi. Yet the intensity of his eyes still bore down on her.

"Who are you?" he demanded with suspicious eyes narrowing as he appraised her headband. "And how did you get in here?"

"Calm down," she said. "I'm Margaret, a Chūnin from the village. I'm here on duties with Hiruzen."

While commendable of her to try, Danzō was no fool.

"Why would Hiruzen send a little girl here?" he scoffed.

"Because I have something important to discuss with you," she pressed after gathering her resolve. "You need to turn away from this—this evil idea you're always thinking of. Like, seriously, dude, you need to dismantle the Root organization and just stop what you're planning before it's too late."

Danzō's expression shifted from disdain to intrigue as he asked, "What do you mean, turn away? And how much do you know about Root?"

Now she'd done it.

Margaret could only tell him so much, and revealing the truth could change everything.

"I know you're manipulating people," she tried. "You're using them as pawns; you can change that; you can be better."

Some part of her actually believed that she could change this timeline. By chance, perhaps she didn't have to resort to killing him and that Danzō could return to his post and rectify all the evil he's done over the years.

Her thoughts of that shattered when he gave a harsh and derisive laugh that echoed around the room.

"Better?" he repeated. "I'm far beyond the concept of 'better.' You're naïve if you think I would take advice from a girl who knows nothing about power."

"Seriously?" she shot back in frustration. "You don't know anything about me or my life! Like, you think you understand sacrifice? I've seen the consequences of your choices and know you've done!"

Danzō shifted uncomfortably. Her words had struck a nerve.

He regarded her with both interest and animosity as he demanded, "The last thing I need is a little girl prying into an old man's business. So leave now before you get yourself hurt."

The conversation teetered on hostility, and Margaret's hands clenched at her sides. There was no reaching him; he was entrenched in his beliefs, in his bitter resolve.

"Why won't you change?" she asked, raising her voice. "You could earn people's trust—work with them instead of ruling with fear!"

"Because trust is a weakness, and I have no interest in the concepts of companionship!"

Danzō had snapped, and it was clear that his anger was just starting to simmer.

"You could help instead of hurting," Margaret forced out. "You think you're protecting people? All you've done is make things worse!"

His fury ignited as he yelled, "I'm not interested in your childish beliefs, so don't lecture me on protection! If you continue this foolishness, I'll be forced to take care of you myself under acts of terrorism."

The ultimatum was harsh. Margaret's fists trembled at her sides, knowing that there was no point in trying to change a mind so set in darkness.

"Fine!" she shot back. "You're too far gone for this conversation. I'm done trying to reach out to a monster!"

She then turned on her heel, slamming the door as she stormed out of his home. As she marched down the trail, she growled to herself, "This dude deserves to die!"

Some time later.

Arthur stood at the designated outskirts of the Leaf Village.

Ten minutes passed, then twenty, and finally, someone in the distance caught his attention.

Alice approached hurriedly. When she finally came into view, he didn't bother to stamp out the coolness in his voice.

"Danzō's dead…"

"What?" The shock was evident on her face. "What makes you so certain? I didn't even sense anything."

"There are still locations where even your sensing abilities don't reach," he replied.

"Then… How did you know he died?"

He remained quiet. She could feel the unspoken truths, but he was adamant about not sharing personal insights. All that mattered to him was the succinct nature of their exchange.

"That doesn't matter anymore since Margaret time traveled to kill him," he finally stated. "The deal's off…"

"What?!"

"You heard me," he continued with cold detachment. "I don't feel obligated to tell you where my hideout is now that Danzō's not in this world."

Alice opened her mouth to refute the startling reversal as she angrily said, "It's not my fault! I didn't know Marge would take it that far!"

"Hmph…" he scoffed.

His tone had already cemented the finality of his decision. So without another word, he turned to leave. But Alice wasn't ready to let this slip away so easily.

She planted herself directly in front of him, blocking his route. "Wait!"

Arthur paused but didn't look her way as he said, "You're not in a position to be making demands of me."

"It's not a demand," she insisted in a surprisingly calm voice. "It's a request… Arthur, you're strong—too strong for your own good, in fact. I need you to consider not mentally disabling the other players."

"Now why would I agree to something like that…?

"They need to have the freedom to roam so I can maneuver this world better."

Arthur remained unconvinced. He knew he didn't have to comply, even if she were to blackmail him with the knowledge of his existence.

Still, he found himself mulling over the implications of her request. He understood the desperation and pragmatism in her approach.

After all, she was a French government agent first and a player second.

"I'll consider it," he slowly replied. "But only if you meet one condition."

"What is it?" she asked, furrowing her brow.

"I need the formula for the 'Sealing Release' technique. Bring it to me, and I'll agree."

For a brief moment, she was confused.

"You want that?" she wondered. "Of all things, I thought you'd ask for Sakura's head on a plate or something."

"Like I said," he replied without ever having looked at her. "Bring it to me, and you'll have my cooperation regarding the players."

She hesitated but ultimately didn't balk as she said, "I can find that information in the Science Building. It's not a problem."

Before he could continue to leave, she added, "But why don't you just go get it yourself, and why do you need something like that?"

Arthur turned slightly to face her. His figure began dissolving into the air, leaving the faintest echo of his answer: "Wouldn't you like to know…?"

Alice stood alone in the quiet of the clearing as the truth of their conversation settled.

As much as she wanted to continue deciphering his motivations, she knew she had a new objective: she had to secure that information for him—fast.

So with purpose guiding her, she sprinted back towards the village.

The Cayman Jungles.

Arthur settled into the comfort of his laboratory. Currently, he was surrounded by scrolls, potion vials, and the remnants of previous experiments—each serving as a reminder of the long journey that had brought him here.

Within those scrolls lay many techniques that could have potentially removed the seal placed on him by Konan.

They were all quite useful, but many were filler-related or considered obsolete according to the canon of what he understood. And the ones that he really needed wouldn't be introduced until the ongoing Boruto series.

His purpose for acquiring the Sealing Release was for freedom from the Akatsuki's hold that they thought they had on him.

As he mulled over various options, he felt Alice had finished infiltrating the building with the scroll containing the technique he desired.

Leaning back in his chair, he closed his eyes and concentrated.

It was not long before he sensed her waiting for him where they last met.

'I wonder how long she plans to wait…'

He didn't need to contact her verbally; instead, he activated the Flying raijin technique.

In an instant, he was standing close behind her. Alice, completely unaware of his presence, stood with her back to him and the scroll grasped in her hand.

In one quick motion, he reached out and lightly tapped the scroll. Just as she began to turn, he vanished.

Alice felt a brief chill skitter up her spine, having thought she sensed a momentary presence behind her. She spun around, eyes darting to catch a glimpse of what stirred the air.

Yet there was nothing.

Her heart dropped as she understood what had happened. "The scroll!" she gasped, inwardly shocked. The thought of Arthur came into her head. He must have done it, extracting it from her grasp without her even feeling it.

With her side of the bargain fulfilled, she resigned herself and pivoted back to the Leaf Village, disturbed by how cunning he truly was.

Meanwhile, back in his laboratory, Arthur stood in silence.

The scroll was in his possession, but more pressing was the uncomfortable seal in his chest.

He straightened and involuntarily coughed up sand. This time it was distinctively different—there was no blood mixed in, an indication that he was indeed healing, albeit slowly.

Gathering himself, he unfurled the scroll containing the Sealing Release technique. One section detailed the necessary hand signs, while another explained the regenerative chakra flow needed to override the bindings of a sealing mechanism.

It wasn't at all a complicated technique.

Five minutes slipped by, and already he understood what he needed to do. The technique could liberate him from Konan's grip, but even after comprehending the theory, it was the practical application that remained an obstacle.

He needed a second set of eyes—someone who could help him gauge the physicality of the technique's application.

"Koko…" he called out.

"I'm right here, daddy!" she shouted as she jumped atop his shoulders.

While she was indeed trying to hide, her playful energy was never hard for him to miss.

Instantly, she climbed onto his arm before flipping herself upside down.

"I'd like you to do something," he coolly said.

"Help? Ooh! What is it?!"

"I'm going to need you to place a seal on my leg to restrict my movements…"

Koko hesitated before swinging on his arm and observing him earnestly as she protested, "But I don't want to hurt you, daddy!"

"Don't worry," he insisted. "You won't…"