By the village gates.
Arthur draped a backpack across his shoulder. It contained the letter of trade agreement and other necessities that Hiruzen had given him. He held a thorough map of his destination, showing a safe route that would take three days to walk.
He saw the well-known faces of Izumo and Kotetsu as he approached the village gates. They offered their nods of farewell as he fully departed.
It had felt like ages since he'd roamed the lands.
The last time he was out, he was only good enough to take down bandits. Now his body was agile enough to traverse the trees via leaps.
As for his destination? It was by no means the Land of Mist, but rather, the Land of Rivers.
The Land of Rivers was said to be a hidden country bordering the Land of Wind and the Land of Fire. It didn't appear much in the story, but he knew of two specific individuals residing there who would help him grow stronger: Raiga Kurosuki and his companion, Ranmaru.
Raiga was a member of the "Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist," the top swordsmen from the Hidden Mist Village. Only the most skilled blade wielders were chosen for this group, with a maximum of seven members at a time.
Each swordsman wielded a mystical blade passed down through generations. These swords were so powerful that, together, the Seven Swordsmen were almost as strong as their village leader.
Over time, the group underwent many changes. Some members died, while others defected and became wanted ninjas. By the Fourth Shinobi World War, only one of the original swords, Hiramekarei, remained in the Mist Village's possession.
During the war, five of the deceased Seven Swordsmen were revived to fight for the enemy. These revived swordsmen were eventually defeated and sealed.
In the aftermath of the war, the remaining six swords were recovered by the village. However, a group of rebels tried to steal the swords and take over the territory. Their attempt failed, but the village did loan the swords to three of the captured rebels to help them fight a new threat.
The seven swords themselves were incredibly powerful and possessed unique abilities. These included a sword that could absorb chakra, one that could be used to sew people together, and another that could explode things on contact.
Raiga just so happened to still be carrying one of these swords, known as the "Boltswords," two straight blades with a slight curve near the tip and base. The most special feature about them was that they were imbued with lightning.
This lightning also allowed the wielder to use powerful lightning techniques without needing hand signs and with minimal chakra use. The swords themselves could even conduct natural lightning from the sky.
Despite Raiga's skills and his famous weapon, he was a troubled man who questioned the meaning of life. But there was no reason to pity him. He was known for his cruelty because he would randomly kill others during missions.
Raiga had also served in the Anbu forces before defecting from his village.
During that time, he had met Ranmaru, a weak but perceptive boy with a special Kekkei Genkai that allowed him to see things at great distances that others could not.
Raiga offered Ranmaru protection in exchange for using his abilities to help him see better. Since then, the two had become very close, with Raiga viewing Ranmaru as the only thing in this world he cared about.
Raiga eventually deserted the village and formed a criminal group called the 'Kurosuki Family.' They took over a mining town and forced the villagers to work for them.
Anyone that unsettled Raiga there was buried alive.
Ranmaru, despite his loyalty to Raiga, was said to be troubled by the violence. He believed Raiga could find happiness without killing but wouldn't come to that conclusion until Naruto's intervention several months from now.
Arthur couldn't afford to be reckless around those two.
His priority was to find them first, without drawing unwanted attention, then take what he needed. Heading to the Katabami Gold Mine was his best chance of that.
✟
The sun climbed higher in the sky as rays of light peered through the trees.
Arthur navigated the safe trail on foot while occasionally consulting the map. He did his best to stay alert for any signs of potential danger because, although this was classified as a C-rank mission, the Land of Rivers had a reputation for harbouring bandits and rogue ninjas alike.
By nightfall, he had reached a small clearing and decided to rest by a tree.
He was used to this type of environment, as opposed to resting on a soft bed. No firewood, no tent pitched—just small rations under the starry sky.
The next two days went by quickly.
Arthur had stuck to the main trail while blending in with the random travelers passing by. The map had proven to be invaluable.
When he could, he kept his training light by rarely doing anything except a few physical exercises. Since he planned to meet a Seven Ninja Swordsman, he needed to save his chakra.
On the third day, a slight change in the landscape indicated he had arrived in the Land of Rivers.
Consulting his map, he knew that the mine was only a few miles out. All he needed to do was pass the border patrol, and he would be there.
Quickening his pace, he arrived at a gate where an average-looking man was dozing off in a chair.
"Huh?!" he said, jolting up. "May I help you?"
Arthur spent little time explaining that he was just passing by, so the man let him through as he continued onward without any further questions.
After entering a canyon-like area, the air grew noticeably cooler. Towering cliffs rose on either side. The silence was broken only by the crunching of his boots.
Something was off.
'I'm being watched,' he thought to himself.
Suddenly, three figures emerged from behind a rock formation. All of them wore the same dark garb, and their faces were filled with scars.
"This is Kurosuki territory," the one in the center said. "Trespassers aren't welcome."
"Yeah, kid, so beat it if ya know what's good for ya."
Arthur's expression remained unchanged. He was in the right place after all.
So with a cool voice, he said, "I have no intention of trespassing; I'm simply here for Raiga Kurosuki."
The men gave skeptic looks. One of them, a burly man, scoffed. "You think you can just waltz in here and demand an audience with our boss?"
"That's exactly what I'm going to do," Arthur replied, unflinching.
The same man reached for the hilt of his sword and growled, "Ya've a lot of nerve, kid. I hope you walk as big as you talk." Without waiting, he lunged forward while unsheathing his sword. "You can die young for all we care!"
The moment the man reached Arthur, he stopped the attack by grabbing hold of the man's forearm.
Everyone was stunned!
"You…" Arthur then delivered a kick that sent the man to the ground. "Aren't on my level…"
The other two Kurosuki members lunged in a coordinated attack with wolverine claws.
'Chakra-enhanced strength...'
Arthur dove beneath a sweeping slash from one while simultaneously grabbing the other's arm and twisting it with surprising force.
Crack!
The sound echoed after he broke both the man's claws and arm with his bare hands.
Before the remaining Kurosuki member could react, a figure landed silently behind him.
It was Raiga with an annoyed look. "What's the big idea about roughing up my family?"
Arthur didn't show it on his face, but excitement threatened to dull his senses because, rather than going to his prey, the prey had come to him.
"Raiga Kurosuki..." he said, eying the man. I've been looking for you."
"I have a lot of people looking for me, kid, but they're usually met with a funeral."
"What about Ranmaru?"
The scene became even more tense.
"How do you know about Ran—"
Before Raiga could finish, Arthur lunged upward from the ground with a right hook.
Whoosh!
The attack was dodged at the last possible second.
A spinning back kick aimed for Raiga's head was met with a casual sidestep. A flying knee was dodged by a simple crouch. A failed stomp caused Raiga to slightly leap back.
Each attack was met with effortless dodges, so precise it bordered on precognition.
When Arthur pulled back, he instantly knew: 'So Ranmaru's KG is that effective, eh?"
Ranmaru, strapped in a bag behind Raiga's back, was quick enough to relay to Raiga what moves Arthur was going to make beforehand. And the boy only knew because of his Kekkei Genkai—one of the few without a name, activated with red glowing eyes.
Like the Byakugan, it granted the boy powerful vision. He could see and hear from great distances, see through objects, and sense chakra. The main difference was that Ranmaru's Kekkei Genkai was even stronger; it could disrupt other visual techniques and create powerful illusions that other Kekkei Genkai had trouble seeing through.
What made it deadlier was that the boy could also sense a person's life force, allowing him to predict their moves and even heal them by transferring his own life force.
Despite this, Arthur launched into a flurry, switching between punches, kicks, elbows, and takedown attempts with impeccable speed. But Raiga continued his evasion as his face grew weary at how much faster Arthur was getting.
The Kurosuki members couldn't believe a mere child was keeping their boss on the defensive. If they were in Arthur's shoes, however, they would know that he was actually having a hard time.
Arthur paused for a split second after seeing a pattern in Raiga's dodges.
This time, he telegraphed a right hook just as Raiga prepared to dodge. But before the impact, Arthur shifted his weight and launched a spinning elbow.
Bang!
Raiga had blocked it with his forearm, but he was suddenly pushed back several yards.
Arthur then flexed his fingers upon seeing that he had left a deep bruise where his attack landed.
"What do ya mean his body's not normal?" Raiga asked after recovering. He was talking to Ranmaru. "Fine! I'll give him a different kind of funeral!"
A dangerous glint showed in Raiga's eyes as he reached for the Boltswords.
Arthur was not going to let that happen as he launched forward. But Raiga hurled himself to the side while simultaneously unsheathing his weapon.
Swish!
An attempted slice with the Boltswords missed Arthur's face by only a hair's breadth.
Adrenaline then pumped through his movements as he desperately weaved against the storm of slashes.
When saw an opening, he feigned a left hook that forced Raiga to lunge in for a counter. But Arthur dipped under it and swept Raiga off one foot. Raiga wasted no time using the other foot to leap backward. But Arthur followed to keep the gap closed.
'Seven heavenly breaths: first activation…'
A burst of energy coursed through Arthur, and in a lightning-fast motion, he ripped the bag strapped to Raiga's back free.
When Raiga registered the sudden loss of weight, he stopped attacking and stared in disbelief. Arthur now had the bag. Or rather, he now had Ranmaru.
Before Raiga could react further, Arthur pulled out a kunai, opened the bag, and pressed it against the Ranmaru's throat.
"Now Raiga," Arthur mocked, "you wouldn't him having a funeral…"