Arthur packed lightly. Food, water, a change of clothes, and his arsenal of weapons. That was all he needed for his next destination: the Lightning Country.
The journey from the Water Country to there would take a fair bit.
Days quickly turned into nights as he traveled across the sea.
His mind wasn't idle; he spent the hours in contemplation, strategizing his next move, and planning for the challenges that lay ahead.
When he finally set foot on the unfamiliar shores of the Lightning Country, he surveyed the land with a ready mind.
He was now in enemy territory, a land that was also ruled by a rigid hierarchy. So he chose a rocky outcrop overlooking the vast ocean to stop and begin his training.
'Summoning jutsu: reanimation…'
The familiar coffin materialized and revealed the corpse of Minato. The fourth Hokage's eyes snapped open and looked around in confusion.
Unlike previous instances when Arthur had taken the extra step to suppress Minato's consciousness, reducing him to a mindless killing machine, he allowed Minato to be aware for this session thanks to the new charm that gave him far more control.
"Your purpose is simple," Arthur stated. "Attack me relentlessly."
Minato looked at Arthur without any emotion. Then he looked at his palms and understood. "The forbidden Reanimation jutsu? You must be a shinobi then." Arthur was not at all impressed that this enigmatic Kage wasn't troubled to know what had unfolded. "If you don't mind me asking, where am I and what's the status of the Leaf Village?"
"I gave you an order. Now follow it..."
With that command, Minato unwillingly lunged at Arthur. Arthur's eyes flashed red as he met the attack head-on.
The scene was soon filled with the clash of flesh and hardened dust. Minato's strikes were relentless, each one very heavy. Arthur could barely hold his ground, but his movements were a counterpoint to Minato's assault.
Throughout their entire session, Minato continually tried to ask him various questions like "Who's the current Hokage?" and "Can you at least tell me how long I've been dead for?"
Arthur ignored every one of them.
By the time their warm-up ended, blood trickled down Arthur's lips. Minato remained untouched. It was only a few exchanges, yet it was clear who had the upper hand.
Arthur needed this pain, this constant barrage of attacks. It was only through adversity that he would truly grow. Minato himself was focused on gauging his predicament. It was clear that he was trying to adapt and understand the situation—the fact that he was dead and now reanimated.
Without a word, as if he had a choice, he lunged again. This time, he began to incorporate new tactics by making his attacks more unpredictable.
Arthur, despite his Crimson granting him something akin to precognition, was always one step behind. He barely dodged, could hardly parry, and had his own attacks continuously countered.
It wasn't that he was weak; Minato was just that much stronger!
✟
Their battle had raged on for hours.
Arthur pushed himself to his limits as his body ached from exertion. But he refused to yield.
Bang!
Minato delivered a single kick that sent Arthur flying by several paces. The blow left blood in his mouth. He tried to focus on his healing technique to repair his injuries but found himself falling to a knee.
Arthur was finally exhausted, forced to call a halt to the battle.
As Minato tried to ask him more questions (without naming Naruto), Arthur dismissed the reanimated body, and the coffin reappeared to carry the past Kage inside.
He then planted his palm on the ground. The pain was intense, something he hadn't experienced in a while. But this familiar ache had to be endured.
Amidst it all, a sense of contentment arose. He knew training with the likes of a Kage-level shinobi would yield better results, and he still had a long road ahead of him to see those results come to pass.
✟
The following day, after his recovery, the sun rose higher in the sky, allowing him to once again resume his training with Minato.
This time, however, the session shifted from physical strength to tactical finesse.
"What's your purpose here?" Minato asked while dodging Arthur's blows.
"You seem to never want to stay quiet." Then Arthur lashed out with a series of strikes that were all parried. "Your sole purpose is to train me... Nothing more."
Minato smiled and remained a dutiful servant.
Arthur, of course, wasn't concerned with loyalty or respect. All he needed right now was a training partner through whom he could absorb knowledge. Who better to train with than someone who was once stated to be the strongest in the ninja world at one point?
As the exercise continued, Minato demonstrated his Flying raijin far better than Arthur knew how to perform. Seeing it first-hand also allowed Arthur to understand its intricacies and how to correctly flow the chakra while in combat.
It wasn't long until Arthur was forced to stop after, once again, being overwhelmed. Yesterday was only one training session, not enough to show any notable signs of improvement.
As such, he began controlling Minato in a way that allowed him to see the former Kage's techniques being used in person.
The first technique demonstrated was the "Area Sensing" jutsu, a technique that allowed the user to perceive chakra signatures within a vast radius. Then he had Minato use the "Chakra Transfer" jutsu, a method of transferring one's chakra to another to help replenish their reserves.
What Arthur enjoyed most about the latter technique was that he could use a reanimated corpse to transfer it to him.
And then there were the variants of the Flying raijin. Minato was a legend in his own time. It would have been foolish not to acquire his knowledge of his most famous skill.
Throughout this educational lesson, Minato was surprised that Arthur knew so much about him.
"I can't say I recall ever fighting a boy like you before," Minato wondered. "Are you perhaps affiliated with the Leaf in any way?"
There he went again: trying to probe his disturbing situation. But Arthur ignored him even more.
By the time he was finished learning things, Arthur understood the speed of marking locations and teleporting to them instantly could be minimized if he simply thought ahead of the location and pictured himself already there.
All this information allowed him to understand three new techniques he would have never garnered from the Scroll of Seals: the Flying raijin: teleportation barrier, the Flying raijin slice, and Flying raijin: level two.
The first technique allowed him to teleport massive objects elsewhere. The second involved teleporting with a sharp object at high speed while in the midst of attacking (practically impossible to dodge), and the last involved a thrown weapon to perform a well-timed attack that not even an opponent with the Sharingan could react to.
There were many more techniques Arthur saw performed, but he had never seen any of them before because they were all video game techniques. On top of requiring way too much chakra to perform, they had ridiculous names like "Flying raijin: jiku shippu senko rennodan zeroshiki."
The training session soon ended with Arthur exhausted after sixteen whole hours.
"You learn very quickly," Minato commended, "and I'm shocked to know that someone of your age knows the secrets to the flying raijin. Before you let me go, can you do me the honour and at least answer one question?"
'Polite,' Arthur thought, 'but not stupid…'
Seeing as his summoner didn't retract him back yet, Minato asked, "How long has it been since my death?"
"Twelve years…"
"I see… Is the Leaf Village still up and running?"
"You said 'one' question…"
Minato sighed with a smile. Clearly, he was in no position to argue, let alone make any more requests. As such, Arthur returned him to his coffin.
Enough was learned in the span of two days.
To perfect these new techniques would be long and arduous, but Arthur was ready to embrace the challenge when the time came.
So he packed his belongings and set off.
✟
The part of the country that he was in now was filled with mountains.
Known for its frequent thunderstorms, it boasted beautiful coastal scenery and numerous hot springs. Its hidden village, unlike the Mist Village, was its capital and home to the Raikage.
Additionally, the country was home to Genbu, a massive, ancient turtle that served as a special training ground for specific Cloud ninjas.
Arthur's problem was that he wasn't aware of any of this country's landmarks. Even with the world map, there were hardly any notable places he could venture to.
Nonetheless, he still needed to move swiftly and gather information without attracting attention.
'Transformation jutsu…'
With his features altered and his chakra masked, he continued through the taxing terrain of harsh landscape, towering mountains, and treacherous canyons.
After a while, he finally stumbled upon a small village nestled amidst a verdant valley. It was quite the peaceful oasis for a land known for its harsh climates.
The villagers, simple folk, greeted him with hospitality. So he spent a few days there by blending in with the locals and gathering intel about the country.
Sadly, this place was a microcosm of the nation. While he first had to learn about their history and its customs, his most important find was information about the Gold and Silver Brothers, Kinkaku and Ginkaku.
The villagers spoke of the brothers with reverence and fear, of which there were many unconfirmed rumours said about them. Distantly related to the Sage of Six Paths, their appearance was said to be striking, with gold and silver hair styled as headdresses, giving them their names.
Their personalities were equally formidable, marked by arrogance and a complete disregard for their comrades. This entailed that they were willing to use any means necessary to achieve their goals, often relying on deceit and betrayal.
Despite their villainous nature, there was a bond between the brothers. Ginkaku deeply cared for Kinkaku, and Kinkaku displayed anger when Ginkaku was in danger.
After a failed coup against their country, they were presumed dead.
From what Arthur recalled that these villagers didn't know, the brothers would be revived by Kabuto and cause havoc during the Fourth Shinobi World War. Ultimately, they were sealed away once more after being defeated by a Cloud shinobi named Darui.
Yet none of these tales gave him any clues as to where their dead bodies might be.
So Arthur spent his days exploring the village, its surroundings, and the nearby mountains. He learned of the terrain, looking for potential hiding spots, escape routes, and vantage points—going as far as placing secret marks where he deemed necessary.
After a couple of days, he had gathered enough information to leave the village since no more secrets could be garnered.
The chances of him returning were slim.