"Where is Sasuke?!" came a venomous voice. It was Orochimaru. Kabuto, being in the room, felt the weight of his lord's ire. He tried to calm him down, but the Sannin was having none of it. "I gave them a task, and they came back empty-handed!"
Moments ago, the Sound Four had been unsuccessful on several attempts to try to enter the Leaf Village.
Everyone knew the narrative: the Sound Four snuck in during broad daylight and tricked Sasuke into leaving the village.
This time was harder on them. Much harder. They'd have an easy time bringing Sasuke back if they could at least reach the boy.
"We greatly apologize, lord—"
"No!" Orochimaru screeched, cutting Sakon off. "This time, Kimimaro will join you four."
"But, my lord," Kabuto began, "if we send Kimimaro, he could die before even reaching the Leaf Village."
"That's not my concern," Orochimaru panted. "Either return to me with Sasuke's body, or do not return at all."
Far away from the Sound Village, Arthur stood in a forest.
He could practically feel the Sound Fours' anxiety as they accepted their fate under the weight of Orochimaru's threats.
It was thanks to his Flying raijin marks that he knew what was happening.
Orochimaru's insatiable hunger for power did not wane even after failing to invade the Leaf and have Tsunade heal him. He yearned for Sasuke, and his judgment was being clouded because his arms were still sealed.
Fortunate for Arthur that the Sannin had yet to use another host. At least, that's how the events of the "Sasuke Recovery" arc went.
Such an arc was a pivotal one in the Naruto series. It was also considered the best arc, if not one of the best, in the entire franchise.
Arthur remembered it well.
The arc began with Sasuke feeling inadequate in light of his older brother Itachi's taunts and the rise of Naruto, whom he perceived as surpassing him.
In a desperate bid for power to avenge his clan, he was suddenly ambushed by the Sound Four inside the village—a skirmish that somehow went entirely unnoticed by anyone else.
This allowed the Sound Four to tempt him further, ultimately leading Sasuke to desire an alliance with Orochimaru.
As Sasuke prepared to leave the village, he was confronted by Sakura, who desperately tried to convince him not to go. She even went as far as confessing her love for him.
But Sasuke rejected her pleas.
When she threatened to scream in order to alert the village guards, he knocked her out.
The next morning, a rescue team was formed, led by Shikamaru Nara and comprising of Naruto Uzumaki, Kiba Inuzuka, Chōji Akimichi, and Neji Hyūga. Each of them were motivated by the promise to Sakura, in that, they would do everything in their power to bring Sasuke back.
Their journey eventually led them to confront the Sound Four, of which Sasuke was inside a sealed box to advance his curse mark.
Each member of the rescue team faced off against a member of the Sound Four, showcasing their growth and abilities in a series of battles.
Chōji's confrontation with Jirōbō. The former won thanks to using the Akimichi clan's special pills. Neji battled Kidōmaru, employing his Byakugan and Gentle Fist techniques to exploit the latter's weaknesses.
Those were the only two real fights won without outside help.
Kiba and Shikamaru had faced odds against their respective foes, forcing them into precarious situations. Had it not been for the arrival of Gaara and his siblings, those two would have most certainly perished.
At some moment, Kimimaro wound up joining the mission to retrieve Sasuke, prompting Naruto to chase after him. Their fight was eventually stopped by Rock Lee, who had made a successful recovery at the time thanks to Tsunade.
Lee would have been slaughtered had it not been for Gaara's arrival prior to Sasuke's awakening. And to be fair, even Naruto could have fallen against Kimimaro.
But thanks to the plot device, the narrative built to a climax when Naruto finally confronted Sasuke.
Their battle was held at the "Valley of the End," a place that culminated all their shared struggles.
Ultimately, Sasuke's desire for revenge superseded Naruto's bonds of friendship. But even after winning that fight, Sasuke chose not to kill Naruto, illustrating his unwillingness to follow Itachi's hopes of having him kill his best friend to gain power.
The mission to retrieve Sasuke, therefore, failed, leading to emotional turmoil among the members of the rescue team. But even after all that, Naruto still promised to continue fighting for Sasuke's sake.
Arthur, remembering all these things, understood that such events couldn't unfold again.
How could they when characters like Shikamaru and Kiba were dead?
'Flying raijin…'
Arthur soon arrived at the outskirts of Orochimaru's hidden hideout. The air itself was never one he enjoyed since it was always filled with a sense of foreboding.
'Smoked jutsu…'
After concealing himself in smoke, he glided through the entrance.
A myriad of silhouettes swayed in his peripheral vision as he remained undeterred. Then, he slipped through several layers of the walls, looking for the Mind Awakening Pills.
The Sound Four already had these pills in their possession, but Arthur's plan did not involve confronting them first.
When he entered a laboratory of sorts, he caught sight of containers lining the shelves. They were unmistakably the pills that he was looking for. And he knew it was them because of their black colour.
After grabbing one, he faded out of the hideout.
Now it was time for his next plan.
'Transformation jutsu…;
Arthur sported a new look: silver hair and a white robe with a purple rope to tie things together.
It was a near-perfect attire a shinobi from the Sound Village would dawn. Things would have been authentic if he had added a tattoo somewhere on his body. But the real Arthur never had any tattoos, as it was bad to pierce the skin and mark it.
After employing the Chakra Disguise technique, it was time to seek his true quarry.
'Flying raijin…'
Arthur now appeared right in the sprawling expanse of the Leaf Village while it was sunset.
He couldn't help but understand why so many reminisced at their return here. However, unlike those whose destinies intertwined here, his was in prison. That meant he could never form real bonds with anyone in this world.
Be it with someone from earth or otherwise.
'Crimson gaze…'
It took only a moment before a vision crystallized in the distance. Sasuke was spotted, standing by a riverbank. And beside him was the familiar figure of Kakashi Hatake.
Judging from their appearance and movements, it looked as if Kakashi was being overprotective.
Arthur wasted no time heading toward their direction.
After drawing closer, he positioned himself behind a tree, allowing their conversation to unfold without their awareness of him.
"Sasuke, you can't isolate yourself like this," Kakashi implored. "You need to connect with your teammates. They're your friends."
In response, Sasuke's demeanour shifted, exuding the unmistakable tension of unexploded ordnance.
"I don't need friends," he retorted. "You should have known by now to stay out of my business."
The insight gleaned from their discussion brought a measure of contentment to Arthur. It was as he had suspected: the struggle for revenge was not lost on the Uchiha.
And judging from their conversation, Sasuke had indeed fought Naruto again. Maybe it was at the hospital rooftop; maybe it wasn't. Either or, at least that requirement was met.
'I wonder which of them had the upper advantage,' Arthur thought as he listened in.
"Maybe you're right about that," Kakashi encouraged, "but you know your behaviour will only push them further away… It's not too late for you to change."
Kakashi was beating a dead horse. Unless he dispelled the Evil Illusion Flattery technique, the Uchiha would never change.
That meant Sasuke was Arthur's!