As the initial frenzy subsided, all three giant gorillas lay on the ground, dead.
The remaining primates huddled together in the village square to discuss what was happening. But before any of them could understand, many more cries erupted from elsewhere.
Following a loud bang, flames began erupting from different locations.
"What the heck is going on?!" some cried.
It's then that they saw the cause of this horror: Arthur. He looked like a monster with a cold vehemence burning in his eyes.
"Who are you?!" they cried.
Arthur only had one answer: 'Sage art: surface slice…'
Just one flick of his wrist sent several linear streams of water soaring toward them and the rest of the village.
Splash-splash-splash!
The impact had caused flames to erupt everywhere. Panicked screams filled the air as the primates scrambled for escape routes. Yet the fire was acting like a barrier.
A little monkey boy tried crawling into a hole. But the moment his upper body went through, Arthur grabbed him by the tail and ripped his arms off!
The screeching pierced his ears. Yet even then, he still did not make a face.
"What have you done?!" he heard from behind.
It was Nala with a despairing face. Arthur slowly turned to her, only to see a whimpering baby chimp clutched in her arm.
No matter how he looked at Nala, she was an enemy at the end of the day.
"Was I late to my test?" he asked, leaving her dumbfounded.
"How dare you?!"
'Sage art: surface slice…'
Shot to the ground, the impact quickly created dust that filled the clearing. One by one, Nala continued to hear her people cry before slumping to the ground.
Angered, she jumped once and landed so hard that it cleared the dust. Arthur could now be seen holding a monkey by the neck.
"Stop it this instant!" she cried.
Yet who was he to listen to a mere animal?
Crack!
The primate's body collapsed to the ground after he dropped it. The face Nala made was a horrendous one.
"Why?!" she screamed. "Why have you done this?! What reason have you brought this evil to our land?!"
"Evil?" Arthur coldly repeated. "Was it not you who threw a boy out into the wild?"
The answer left her in shock. She simply couldn't understand him. But if there's one thing she did know, it was that he was killing her kind, and he had to be stopped.
Suddenly, a group of burly guards emerged onto the scene. They roared, "We shall defend our land!"
Once they charged in, sounds of flesh cracking bones filled the air as Arthur dealt with them one by one. By the time Nala looked, her guards had been defeated.
"Care to give it try?" Arthur taunted.
Nala screamed, causing invisible tendrils to constrict Arthur's body. Yet he could see through this technique: it was a genjutsu produced by her sound.
"Was this what you were going to test me with?" he rhetorically asked. With just one flex of his overgrown muscles, the tendrils shattered like glass. "Pathetic…"
Nala's face contorted in despair. Little did Arthur know, that was her best technique, and it had failed. What about taijutsu? No, she knew that she was no match for him in a physical confrontation. Not after he defeated her guards so easily.
As Arthur slowly stalked closer, she tried a punch, but he twisted ever so slightly before avoiding the brunt of her attack. She tried again and managed to claw his arm. Yet it didn't even wound him. After a third attempt, Arthur scoffed and tripped her to the ground.
"Waah!" the baby chimp cried after being dislodged.
"Hmm…" Arthur said, walking toward it.
Suddenly, his ankle was snatched by Nala's grip. "I won't let you!"
Arthur used his other leg to smash into her arm, creating a deep enough wound to be visible. She cried, letting go of his ankle. This allowed him to near the whimpering chimp before scooping it while ignoring Nala's frantic shrieks.
It was a heartbreaking sound, like a primal plea torn from a mother's very soul. But he wasn't remotely moved.
Nala rasped, "You may think you're almighty, but you will never win. You can never take the spirit of the jungle. It will remember!"
"Your words… they're hollow to my ears."
It was then that she managed to stand. The sight of him carrying her child greatly irked her.
"Let… let her go!" she breathed.
"Make me…"
Nala lunged, but when she closed the distance, Arthur delivered a swift blow to her temple. Her eyes glazed over as he watched her slowly fall to the floor.
From the beginning, he believed this chimp in his arm was her newborn. It would be the best explanation as to why she was so protective of it. Yet he had never heard of Enma having a child. Then again, he had never heard of him having a wife either.
Suddenly, a tremour shook the ground as a deafening roar ripped through the clearing. Arthur slowly turned to his adversary who yelled, "Alex!"
Enma, the king, had finally arrived.
His normally regal posture was replaced by a hunched, primal stance, and his eyes were filled with rage as his face was obscured by the flames licking at the village's remains.
Arthur held his ground, having already known he was coming moments ago. This was the reason he chose now of all times to attack: the monkey king outside the village, scavenging for food with a search party.
"You seem angry, Enma…" Arthur carefully placed the baby chimp down on a patch of untouched earth. "Are you not happy to see me?"
The question was met with silence. Only the sounds of crackling fire and the whimpering baby were heard.
The two glared into one another's eyes. Arthur could see the fury and hurt inside the king. Enma's wife lay dead. His guards, dead. His citizens, dead. All of them were dead.
"Why have you done this…?" Enma finally asked.
"I wonder what you mean. The fact that I came to your realm and suckered you into this mess, or the fact that you never saw it coming..."
Enma roared with heart-wrenching sorrow. "I shall rip out your heart and grind your bones beneath my teeth!"
Arthur spread his arms in a display of dominance. "You were a threat, Enma… Nothing more."
Enma stared at him with conflicting emotions. Rage, grief, and something akin to betrayal—all of it gnawed at him.
"You," he finally managed, "were said to be a prophet... We welcomed you… trusted you…"
"Trust?" Arthur scoffed, lowering his arms. "Since when did you ever hear me say that I was a prophet?"
Enma was done with words. He quickly lumbered toward Arthur as the ground trembled with earth-shaking steps. Closing the distance, he raised his body up and slammed his fists to the ground.
Bang!
Arthur had dodged. "You want revenge that badly?" he said, a few paces away. "Come and get it."
Enma's colossal form charged for another slam, but Arthur dodged with impeccable timing. In that same motion, Enma summoned his Adamantine Staff and swung it.
Swish!
The attack whipped past Arthur's hair, blowing out the flames close by.
"Come here!" Enma growled.
Swish-swish-swish!
Each of his swings missed its mark.
Enma was too fueled by rage, while Arthur's Simian Sage Mode's enhanced reflexes were being used perfectly. Every swing, every twitch of Enma's muscles—all of it was being telegraphed with great clarity.
After Arthur gained some distance, Enma huffed a large amount of air, wondering why Arthur hadn't attacked yet. "You think you can tire me out?! Me, the king of the jungle?!" Enma then charged in for another swing.
Once again, it missed.
"Wrong…" Arthur said, coming to a halt. "I chose not to attack yet because I was merely testing the limitations of Sage Mode."
The reaction was painful to hear. Sage Mode? That's why Arthur looked that way now? But how? How did a child manage to acquire their greatest technique?
'Sage art: body oxidation jutsu...'
Arthur disappeared from sight as the king roared in frustration while searching for his opponent. Before he could react, a searing pain erupted from within him before falling to the floor.
'Hmm…' Arthur noticed.
Feeling his Sage Chakra rapidly depleting, he materialized outside of Enma.
Arthur was certain that he had at least he had at least ten more minutes remaining. So what was happening?
The answer came quickly to him: the more he used a Kekkei Genkai technique, the faster the Sage Chakra was used.
That was fine to know, as it was his first time fighting in this transformation anyway. Besides, his Sage Mode-enhanced smoke technique had done its work, leaving Enma's organs in a disastrous state.
Enma coughed up blood as his rage increased tenfold. Then, to Arthur's surprise, he actually stood up with blood dripping from his fangs.
"Mark my words!" he roared. "You won't get away with this!"
Arthur wasted no time closing the distance. The combo came quickly: a kick to the back of Enma's knee, followed by a backhand to knock Enma backward.
In the next few seconds, king of the jungle was reduced to a lumbering target, unable to stand against a foe that seemed unbeatable.
Suddenly, from the undergrowth, emerged Ooka-Ooka.
"Alex!" Ooka-Ooka roared, his voice laced with betrayal. "What have you done?!"
"I'm glad you came, Orangi…" Arthur then met the orangutan in the eyes. "You saved me the trouble of hunting you down like the rest that fled."
Enma was surprised. Why had Ooka-Ooka come? As such, he used the last vestiges of his strength to rasp out a single word: "Run!"
Ooka-Ooka, however, ignored his king's desperate plea and ran toward Arthur.
"You monster!" he thundered, closing the distance. His fist aimed for Arthur's head, but just as the blow was about to land, Arthur vanished. "Huh?!"
Bang-bang!
Two quick jabs were delivered to Ooka-Ooka's back before he fell to his knees.
"Tell me, Orangi," Arthur said, slowly walking past the ape. "Who are the real monsters here?"
Ooka-Ooka then slowly placed a hand on Arthur's shoulder. He tried to squeeze Arthur to the ground, but Arthur remained unmoved.
"Well?" Arthur asked. He gripped the ape's wrist and removed it. "The answer is simple." Then he brought the ape to the floor with one pull and stomped on his neck. "It's those whose hearts are filled with sin. Sage art: chakra dissection blade." Shank! "And my heart knows no sin…"
Enma's eyes were filled with horror upon seeing Ooka-Ooka's head roll off his shoulders.
All that could be heard were the whimpers of the baby chimp.