Path Of War-Chapter 364: Bustling Village

Arthur headed toward the restaurant district. There, he was planning to invest in their business.

But as he approached a small, modest restaurant, something caught his senses: he spotted two familiar figures seated at a corner table: Samui and her brother, Atsui.

She was laughing softly, a rare sight, with her face relaxed, free from the usual guarded expression. Atsui had apparently said a joke about how he almost lost his fire sword. freёweɓnovel.com

"Seriously, sis!" he exclaimed. "I was trying to see if it'd work underwater, but then I almost drowned."

"You idiot," she chuckled.

Seeing them like this, so natural and at ease, sparked an idea in Arthur's mind.

Rather than invest in restaurants, he could invest more in Samui. Not because he was interested in her romantically—no, that word would be "simp" if he were—but because she was intelligent, capable, and was regarded by the Raikage.

There were others the Raikage also favoured, but Arthur saw Samui as the easiest to manipulate.

He wondered, what if he helped her—supported her—without making it obvious? Small investments, little favours; this was also a way to build reputation. And if he could get her on his side, perhaps she could become an ally in the long run.

Of course, he wasn't a fool; he knew the importance of subtlety. Giving her a few ryō upfront, enough to help her and her brother, wouldn't make her beholden.

Now, he had to do it indirectly.

He watched as their food arrived. They ate, chatting softly, unaware of his gaze. When they finished, Atsui reached into his pocket to pay, but the waiter gave him a dismissive hand and politely said, "I'm sorry, esteemed guests, but you don't need to pay. Someone has already settled your bill."

"Huh?" Atsui's brow furrowed in surprise. "Who was it?"

The waiter hesitated a moment. "I didn't catch his name. He was wearing a blindfold, and he left just after paying."

Samui's eyes' expression shifted as if knowing who this blindfolded man was. She looked at her brother and said, "I think it was Hoshikaze..."

"You mean the new shinobi that has a crush on you?"

Samui shot him a sharp look and snapped, "Be quiet, Atsui."

Her brother smirked, having hoped that her cheeks would turn a tinged pink. But she had great control over her emotions.

"I'm just teasing," he smiled. "But it looks like he's definitely got our attention."

They sat in silence for a moment, both watching as the staff went about their duties. Hoshikaze's face flashed in her mind. The quiet strength he held and the way he carried himself without fuss, as if he owned the place. She wondered what his true motives were, but more than that, she was now more curious about the man behind the calm demeanour.

Meanwhile, Arthur himself turned away from the restaurant district. What he did now was more than enough to make him content. He didn't need to be ostentatious. Subtlety was his weapon.

Now onto his next step.

Word had it that there was an incoming tsunami by the coastline. To find more information on it, he ventured to the Jōnin Station.

There, he discovered mission specs about it. Ironically, Samui was tasked with this mission. Her and her team would be dispatched to the coast within the hour.

There was a village nearby it, hence why it was considered a threat. And if the tsunami was coming from the coast of the Lightning Country, he'd need to get there faster than her team.

Time was short.

As such, he teleported to the closest area there and then sprinted to the location. It took less than thirty minutes. And when he arrived at the coast, the scene was eerily quiet.

The village was cordoned off by the local authorities with guards standing watch at the perimeter. Signs warned of danger, and the shoreline was empty of villagers—evacuated well in advance.

Arthur scanned the area from afar and confirmed that everyone had already left. Good. That meant he could focus on the task at hand.

He moved through the barriers by slipping past the guards. By the time he reached the beach, the rising water reached his shins. The sea was calm—too calm—before a sudden surge of water caught his attention.

'Interesting,' he thought. Although the waters were rampant, he judged the tsunami wouldn't arrive for a moment. He had to improvise. 'Summoning jutsu...'

He smacked his palm against the water's surface, and out came Koko.

"Surprise!" came her cheerful voice. With a grin, she leapt onto his neck and wrapped her small arms around him in a tight hug. "Te extrañé, papi!"

He reached up, tousling her hair lightly, and said, "I need your help. There's a tsunami coming, and I'd like you to stir up the waters."

"Anything for you, daddy! But..."

"But what?"

"Cómo se dice 'tsunami' en español?"

She was asking how to say the word "tsunami" in Spanish. Funny enough, it was the same word in English. That made her feel embarrassed.

After having her task explained to her, she dove into the sea and vanished beneath the surface. Arthur watched and waited for the waters to respond. By creating more waves, she would manipulate the water's flow and hasten the tsunami's arrival.

A few moments passed, and she vanished. Then, he saw it—the distant swell of the tsunami, approaching faster than before. The water was rising, cresting higher like a massive wall hurtling toward the shore.

While threatening, Arthur kept his focus and readied himself for the next step.

'Simian Sage Mode...'

His body transformed, and his Sage Chakra sharpened just as the wave gained momentum. He could see its path more clearly now. With precise timing, he performed his next technique.

'Sage art: triple white whale jutsu.'

Three colossal ice whales erupted from the water, and their massive forms crashed into the approaching tsunami. The impact was thunderous, which sent shards of ice to spray into the air, dazzling in the sunlight.

The collision slowed the wave, causing it to fracture and disperse into smaller, less destructive surges. And the display was breathtaking with ice particles falling from the sky.

Arthur deactivated his Sage Mode as he continued to the shoreline. The waters calmed.

"Hey! You there!" a voice suddenly shouted from behind him. Arthur turned to see a local authority figure rushing toward him with astonished eyes. "That was incredible. Who are you?"

Arthur brushed off a bit of ice dust from his shoulders and calmly said, "Just doing my job..."

The man was clearly not a ninja and had obviously not seen something as spectacular as that.

The story of a lone ninja stopping a tsunami with ice powers would surely make headlines. Arthur was okay with this, as it would boost his reputation even quicker, and many around the region would hear of this feat.

But he didn't stay to bask in the praise right now. His mind was already shifting to the next task. The threat had been neutralized, and so it was time to move on.

He turned away from the guard and disappeared, leaving the man still breathless.

Upon returning to the station in the Cloud Village, Arthur read that Samui and her team, consisting of Atsui and a few unimportant ninjas, had set off only fifteen minutes ago. This was good, for the journey there on foot would take them time both there and back.

It didn't take him long to write off on the mission, stating that it was successful.

When he went to file the report, the Jōnin behind the desk was confused.

"I thought Samui was responsible for this mission," he wondered.

"She was," Arthur replied.

"Then—then how did...?"

He spent little time explaining to this neophyte what he had done. There was no point in hiding this matter, as it would only lead to more questions. And besides, all this shinobi's task was to take in mission reports, not question them.

Needless to say, his jaw dropped when he read what Arthur had done. Before he could marvel further, Arthur had already vanished.

"I've got to tell lord Fourth about this immediately!"

Just as the sun was readying to set, Arthur headed toward a remote training ground. There, he hid himself atop the trees and began watching from a distance.

Who was here that was important enough to study? Far off, too long a distance for the naked eye to see, was none other than Darui.

Like Arthur remembered, Darui was a calm and capable ninja, known for being loyal to his friends and leaders. He was once a student of the third Raikage, learning to control a powerful black lightning technique that only he knew to have.

Because of his skill and dedication, he eventually became the fifth Raikage and earned respect for his strength and leadership.

Despite his serious abilities, Darui has a relaxed and easygoing personality. He often speaks in a laid-back, somewhat lazy way, which is even reflected in his name—"Darui," meaning "dull" or "sluggish" in Japanese.

Arthur knew him well, as well as how to get around that cool exterior of his. Darui was similar to the Raikage, minus the anger.

The last Arthur had seen this character was back in the tournament when he was scheduled to fight Han. Yet because of Han's quick temper, Han was disqualified, and the two never managed to have their match.

Then there was the fact that Darui left early, so no one had the pleasure of seeing him in battle.

As Arthur continued to watch, he understood just why Darui became the next Raikage. His training was intense, and Darui pushed himself on solo drills.

Given a few years, Darui could become a problem for many.

Arthur remained still with his arms crossed and silently observed the man training. While Darui's skills were impressive for the average Jōnin, it was lightning style that piqued Arthur's interest.

Such lightning wasn't easily replicable. Black lightning, as it was called, was more powerful and faster than regular lightning.

The Black Lightning shimmered in Darui's hand, crackling softly like a quiet storm. Arthur watched him closely, noticing how the dark currents moved steadily. Compared to Margaret's yellow lightning, which was enhanced with Sage Chakra, Darui's lightning seemed more controlled and restrained.

Margaret's lightning was quick and dazzling, while his appeared calm and deliberate. Arthur had no respect for either, for it seemed as if neither understood the significance of how deadly lightning truly was.

The man spent several hours repeating the same technique over and over again.

Arthur just stood there without a care in the world until someone finally approached Darui. It was an unnamed Chūnin that seemed to wish to train with Darui.

"I'm sorry," he answered, "but I'm all tapped out for the day. How about you treat me to some dinner instead?"

The joke was light, and the Chūnin agreed.

As the two left, Arthur began to think about what he had just witnessed. In his eyes, Darui appears weak not because of a lack of skill or accomplishments, but because of the limited power the shinobi carries when compared to the broader scope of true perfection.

Despite Darui's impressive feats—such as his Gale Style Kekkei Genkai—Arthur saw them as accomplishments within a certain context. What Darui couldn't do in combat was emphasize the importance of adaptability, innovation, and the ability to handle unpredictable or colossal threats head-on.

To find a shinobi with those qualities was rare. That was considering Darui's skill with weapons, storm techniques, and chakra reserve.

Rin, someone whom Arthur had personally fostered, could most certainly go toe-to-toe with Darui. Practically everyone who trained under Arthur could at this point.

Perhaps if Darui was a little more versatile or had the third Raikage training him again, he would be worth recruiting. But these weren't the case.

Therefore, Arthur was content with what he learned since he understood the concept of Darui's Black Lightning.

One first needed to know how electricity currents through the body. To modify the colour of the lightning to black was a natural occurrence that signified completion.

All one needed to do was attain mental focus and emotional control and then expel the deep essence of their chakra—the part that gave everyone their own distinct nature; the part that was colorized.

Sasuke had done this during the first time he used his version two transformation. And again when he performed the "Onyx Chidori" after acquiring his Rinnegan. Then there was Naruto's various Rasengan colours, which changed corresponding to either the Nine-Tails' chakra or the external environment.

Perhaps Arthur's electricity may not turn black if he were to acquire the lightning element; it was sure to be a different colour if he willed it.