Hebrews

With an unsure gulp, Koko finally agreed. "Okay! If you say so!"

She then hopped down onto the floor and performed the technique. Before long, the chakra expelled from her resulted in a small seal imprinted onto his leg—the first course of action.

The moment it hit him, he felt a jolt resound up through his lower legs that climbed to his head. He was effectively paralyzed, yet a part of him felt fine; he understood that with sheer will, he could break through if necessary.

Yet the experiment was what he considered.

'Sealing release jutsu…'

Although paralyzed, he invoked his chakra and directed the flow toward his leg. His chakra spiraled and coiled until it formed a luminous orb of light. Then, in an electrifying flash, Koko's seal began to glow.

There was a brief moment of resistance before the seal shattered like glass around him. They looked like shards dissipating into the air, making Koko raise her arms to try and grab them.

His expression remained stoic, offering no inclination at a first successful attempt. Instead, he instructed her again to place another seal on his leg. This time, however, he required it to be amplified with Sage Chakra—a means to simulate the experiment.

The size and strength of the seal had to be formidable if he needed to ensure efficacy in the Sealing Release technique.

"Let's do this!" Koko proclaimed after placing a new seal on him.

As the markings spread larger across his leg, he felt an even greater force than before. His body almost tightened under the weight of it, yet he held firm.

'Sealing release jutsu…'

Once again, the infusion of his chakra caused her seal to shatter.

"Wow," Koko squealed, "you did it again! You actually did it again!"

Arthur stood back and assessed himself. When he deemed that there was no more of Koko's chakra, he concluded that it was time for the real test.

'Simian Sage Mode…'

The instant he entered it, he wasted no time performing the Sealing Release technique, but with Sage Chakra. He then placed his hands carefully over the seal.

With his chakra flooding it, he forced his will against the seal and gradually fractured it by binding it like glass. The shards fell away, tumbling from his chest as they evaporated into nothingness.

Yet he hadn't completely severed the connection. One solitary shard remained, embedded and hidden in the center of his chest. It was a well-placed insurance policy in case Konan were to ever be alerted to the removal of her seal.

Even if she did find out, she wouldn't have the capability to call upon its full effects—it would only prickle at his chest rather than killing him.

Either way, the bindings had loosened, and he could freely roam without the Akatsuki's threat.

Now came the act of regaining his former strength.

This entire time, he hadn't been fighting at one hundred percent due to his sickness. Only now was he starting to recover.

"Follow me, Koko…"

The two exited the laboratory.

It had been a while since they'd ventured outside together, and she glided alongside him as he made his way towards the tallest boulder overlooking the valley.

Koko, on instinct, climbed the boulder with a mischievous grin. From below, Arthur wrapped his arms around it as he lifted the boulder with both hands.

Koko's eyes widened, thinking that she had already broken the rock. But when she saw it was Arthur, she clapped her hands and cheered, "You're so strong, daddy!"

He remarked with a straight face, "No… I should be lifting this with one hand…"

Then he tied one arm behind his back, planted his feet firmly on the ground, and used his chakra. The air vibrated a little as he began effortlessly pressing it over his head with one hand.

Koko watched with admiration before asking, "How heavy is it, daddy?"

From his reps, he estimated it to be approximately one thousand pounds (roughly four hundred fifty kilograms).

"Wow!" she squealed.

Little did he know, and as smart as Koko was, she actually didn't know how heavy that truly was for a man his size.

After five hundred reps, he gave a final push and set the boulder down. To his dismay, his forehead was covered in sweat. Great, but not perfect.

Now was the time to check on his clone. When he made mention of it, Koko pouted.

"What's wrong?" he wondered after not sensing anything off.

"I don't like it when you check on your clone," she admitted. "It's daddy's clone, and it's supposed to be like you, but it's not. I like you better!"

Her honesty almost struck him, but he knew better than to let his guard down. The innocence of her perception wasn't enough to sway his heart.

Rather, he was interested if others also felt this disconnection. It might serve him well if that were the case.

As they re-entered the laboratory, Brie was spotted by Hoshikaze's chamber.

"He won't be usable for about a week," she stated upon noticing them. "His chakra levels are dangerously low. I'm actually impressed he managed to keep his body stable after all that exertion."

This was a setback since Arthur only had one cloning chamber. That chamber was supposed to be repurposed soon for his Kaito clone.

Without a second thought, he vanished.

"He just disappeared like always," Brie sighed.

"You know how daddy is!" Koko laughed.

Half an hour later, Koko was perched on her tiptoes while tapping the glass of Hoshikaze's chamber. The clone lay dormant with its eyes closed.

"Koko, stop that! The glass is fragile!"

That only made the monkey girl stick her tongue out at Brie before skipping away. She then began running around the laboratory.

Watching her, Brie sighed, pondering, "Why does lord Arthur keep you around, anyway?"

Just as her thoughts settled, the space shifted, and Arthur reappeared. He was laden with an array of equipment.

"Koko!" he called. "Bring these cloning vats next to Hoshikaze."

Koko bounced on her feet with a sharp salute before scampering to help him. Brie's eyes widened as she noticed the sheer volume of items.

"Where did you even get all—" she started but stopped, no longer surprised by his resourcefulness. It was typical for him to somehow acquire what he needed in astonishing ways, often bordering on the extraordinary. "How long will it take to set another one up?"

"Who said we're making just one?" he corrected.

When she scanned the items again, her clipboard slipped from her fingers and clattered to the ground. "Four?!"

…

While the trio were diving deeper into setting up the cloning vats, a peculiar sensation caught Arthur's attention from the Leaf Village.

In the warm light of the afternoon sun, two figures were sitting and chatting by a park bench: Asuma Sarutobi and his father, Hiruzen.

"How's that private investigation going?" Hiruzen asked.

Asuma scratched the back of his head as he answered, "It's actually coming along. I finally found a lead."

A while back, Asuma had gone on a mission to another country. During that mission, he stumbled upon something odd—words written in dirt near the site of an epic battle that had already taken place: "ISC Yagura."

"What did you find?" Hiruzen asked in intrigue.

"Yagura," Asuma explained. "It's an opening strategy in shogi."

He then paused, contemplating whether to reveal the full extent of his reasoning to his father.

"What are you getting at?" Hiruzen inquired, noticing Asuma's reluctance.

After coming to terms with things, he said, "Yagura was my late student's favourite opening when we played shogi together."

Hiruzen's brow knitted together. "Your former student? What does he have to do with this?"

Asuma continued. "I believe the 'ISC' before it means 'Ino-Shika-Cho'—our team's go-to strategy in battles… I think Shikamaru was trying to lead me somewhere with this message."

"You're not saying what I think you are?"

"Yes," Asuma confirmed in a steadier voice. "I believe Shikamaru wrote that message, and it means he's involved some way or somehow."

The scene became silent as Hiruzen contemplated Asuma's conclusions. The son braced himself for his father's response—for potential criticism. However, to Asuma's astonishment, Hiruzen's face softened.

"If you truly believe that," the elder said, "then I'll assist you."

Asuma blinked, caught off guard by the unexpected support.

"I… really didn't think I'd hear that from you," he stammered, trying to hide his surprise. "But you know, it's something I've already asked for help with. I'm headed to the Water Country for further investigation."

"And who will accompany you?"

Just a few who think it's worth looking into: "Kurenai, Kakashi, and Guy."

At this moment, Arthur understood it all.

The day he had trained himself with his reanimated corpses, that blowhard Shikamaru managed to encrypt a message on the floor, likely hoping it would reach the eyes of his former sensei.

Had Arthur not taken that pill so as to demolish them in their training session, he would have noticed it.

But things weren't all bad. Because now he knew. And having just regained a measure of his strength, he recognized the golden opportunity: four of the most formidable Jōnin in this world were set to embark on a mission—one that Arthur could intervene in.

Brie, trying to piece the machines together, looked over only to see Arthur had vanished once more.

"There he goes again…"

Arthur currently stood at the edge of the plaza, overlooking the expanse of the Cayman Jungle.

As he observed the intertwining silhouettes of trees, his mind wandered back to the journey that had brought him here.

He was keenly aware of the stakes.

Margaret and Jada were likely to accompany the Jōnin. But that hadn't mattered. He had been the ruler of the Water Country once, placing Flying raijin marks to ensure he could monitor all that transpired.

No matter what obstacles or time-bending twists the players might conjure, he would remain steps ahead.

Once thrust into this virtual world under Elysium's false pretenses, he had forged himself into someone grand.

Who could blame him when he had positioned himself to weather deception and hardship while meticulously shaping resources and alliances that others had overlooked?

Failure was simply not an option.

The involvement of the French government and the potential for deep conspiracies only heightened his resolve.

It was their game, but he had learned to perfect almost every facet.

He had faced the strongest of foes: shinobi from the Leaf, Mist, Sand, and Sound, alongside the dreaded Akatsuki. They had underestimated him or disregarded him as merely a support character.

And each time, he had risen to prove them wrong.

Whether he had been born outside the threat known as Japanese animation, he was now a true manipulator of the current narrative.

The players saw a chance at glory, yet many failed to grasp the depths of deceit in their game. Let them think that they have power. Arthur would only continue sowing discord and confusion to outmaneuver them at every turn.

They would soon understand the depth of their mistake for not having sided with him when they had the chance.

A fragile leaf was seen falling in front of him. With a slow movement, he caught it and traced his fingers over its stem.

"Some believe they're heroes, while others might be trying to play pretend… But me… I remain the same."

As he let go of the leaf, the sky darkened above him. He then teleported back into his laboratory, prepared for the challenges ahead and knowing that him winning this thing was his destiny.

Because as a born again Christian, at the end of the day, Arthur Bennette was the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow (Hebrews 13:8).