After landing on a rooftop, Arthur continued to hear the rush of wind from his pursuers.
'They're fast,' he thought, sprinting forward.
Just as he prepared to spring across a building, Itachi unleashed another technique: "Shadow shuriken jutsu...!"
Several shuriken came raining down from above as Arthur vaulted to the side and then flipped in the air before rolling on the ground. He tore past another group of startled villagers, who gazed wide-eyed, unable to comprehend what was happening right before them.
To him, the world was blurring into a wash of colours.
Suddenly, he skidded around a corner and somersaulted onto a low roof.
Itachi and Kisame were still sprinting toward him like relentless predators closing in on their prey.
"You've got some pretty impressive moves there, my lord," taunted Kisame.
Arthur's skills truly were impressive, considering he was wearing loafers.
But the smugness of Kisame's voice only spurred him on as he bolted down to an open market. Fruit carts were dodged without him breaking stride. Each second counted, and he felt the pressure from behind intensifying.
"Water style: four shark shower!"
Grabbing onto the edge of a vendor's stall, Arthur swung himself upward, narrowly avoiding miniature water sharks from Kisame.
Things continued to blur with the shouts of merchants who suddenly found themselves caught amidst a surreal chase scene. They barely had time to process the swift movements as Arthur dashed through the stalls, creating confusion behind him.
"Fire style: fireball jutsu...!"
This one from Itachi was larger. Ignoring it became an impossibility.
Arthur swiftly leapt onto a nearby table, creating an arc through the air before skimming the edge of the market stall.
Ka-clash!
The fireball exploded right behind him, sending a cascade of colours and splinters flying in all directions.
The crowd panicked, but Arthur's focus remained sharp as he kept moving.
If he could move from their line of sight, he could use the Flying raijin without being seen.
His moment came when he spotted a narrow alleyway ahead. The alley was tight as he scraped his shoulders when navigating through.
But he hadn't escaped them; Kisame was right above him.
'I have no choice…'
At that thought, Arthur sprinted deeper into the alleyway, eventually reaching the outskirts.
Suddenly, an unmistakable silhouette appeared in front of him: Itachi.
'No, a clone…'
The real Itachi was still behind him, so that meant this one was summoned to try and cut him off.
The clone quickly fired shuriken in his direction, so on instinct, he skidded to a halt, pulled out a kunai, and began deflecting them all.
Clang-clang-clang-clang-clang.
The single kunai had managed to fend them off.
But by the time the last shuriken hit the ground, the clone had already closed the distance.
Bang!
The two collided in an armlock as both their bodies shook from their weight. This strength was impressive for a clone.
Just then, Arthur slowly witnessed the clone's form losing definition. Water splashed from its torso as Kisame, Samehada drawn, began slicing through its back.
'Substitution jutsu...'
Ka-splash!
Arthur's body turned to scattering leaves just as Kisame made contact, exploding the clone into a light geyser. Once Kisame caught sight of where Arthur was, he reached out and grabbed a massive chunk of the clone's watery remains.
"Water style: water shock bomb jutsu!"
The watery mass gradually took shape of a shark as it rushed toward Arthur. At the same moment, the real Itachi was behind him with a hand sign.
"Fire style: fireball jutsu...!"
'As if. Water style: water prison jutsu...'
The moment Arthur clapped his hands, a sphere of water encased his body in a protective shield as both techniques collided with him.
Ka-ka-boom!
The shockwave scattered everything around, and when the aftereffects cleared, Arthur was left, unharmed.
Itachi quickly dashed forward with a kunai in hand.
Clang!
Arthur deflected it with the kunai from earlier, and before Itachi knew it, he planted a foot on his chest to bounce back.
Arthur safely landed, but his moment of relief was cut short; Kisame was already coming down with Samehada.
'These two…'
Arthur shifted left, causing the weapon to crash to the ground. Then he kicked off the hilt and flipped to safer grounds.
Arthur's eyes twitched after feeling a small effect of chakra exhaustion.
But how? As far as anyone was concerned, he had only employed a select few techniques: Crimson Gaze, High-Speed Movement, Substitution, and Water Prison.
His problem, however, was Samehada. Because even after using the Substitution technique, the sword had still made contact with him. Then there was that last kickoff. Just the simple touch from Samehada had drained his chakra by more than half!
The sword was never that potent. Neither were Itachi and Kisame predicted to be this strong.
"The successor to the feudal lord," Kisame chortled, "is more capable than we imagined. Aye, Itachi?"
"Kisame... stay back for a moment."
"Hmm?" his partner replied.
"I'll handle him alone..."
Arthur weighed the situation. If both members of the Akatsuki had come at him simultaneously, he knew he would have no chance. But if it was only Itachi, he might be able to create a diversion.
Arthur steadied himself as he locked eyes on to Itachi's Sharingan, accepting the challenge.
"Looks he's up for it," Kisame said with sadistic glee.
Arthur adjusted his collar.
Then, in the blink of an eye, Itachi shot three kunai straight in the air before dashing toward Arthur.
The two engaged in a fierce exchange of taijutsu.
Pow-bang-pow!
Itachi's speed was far greater than expected, and within their skirmish, Arthur saw the kunai hovering in the air with balloons attached to them.
Poof!
The balloons popped, revealing a plethora of shuriken hurling behind Itachi. The Uchiha jumped while Arthur leapt to the side, dodging that slick trick.
By the time the two landed, Itachi quickly closed the distance again.
Boom-bam-pow!
Kicks and punches flew as they attempted to overwhelm one another.
In just moments, it was clear that Itachi's speed was better. It was just as fast as when Arthur fought Lars in the tournament—an opponent who was far stronger than Arthur by several stages.
Just as Arthur went for a punch, Itachi disappeared, transforming into a mass of crows that scattered away, only to reappear behind him.
Swoosh!
Arthur ducked, narrowly avoiding a kick aimed at him from the back.
Itachi smirked, understanding what had just occurred: Arthur's Kekkei Genkai allowed him to perceive things from multiple angles.
The moment this was known, Arthur wasn't given a moment to breathe. He turned around and was met with another kick that sent him airborne.
Bang!
Although he had managed to raise his arm to block it, Itachi's attack had still managed to rattle his bones.
This Uchiha; he was strong. And his Sharingan wasn't a joke, being far more effective than Sasuke's or Jada's.
As Arthur ascended higher into the air, Itachi leapt after him and followed up with a punch.
Smack!
Arthur used his momentum to deflect the blow, pushing Itachi back. But Itachi wasn't fazed as he formed a hand sign.
"Fire style: blaze ball...!"
An abnormally large fireball that blazed with lava shot forth.
'Bastard...' Arthur thought. There was no way to dodge due to its mass and him still being airborne. That's it; Arthur had drastically underestimated these two. He had to escape! 'Flying raijin…'
Swoosh!
Itachi landed moments after the technique failed to land. The confused expressions on both Akatsuki members couldn't be more obvious since, as far as anyone was aware, they had never encountered someone with the Flying raijin before.
"Looks like he got away," Kisame said, feeling only a little intrigued. "This'll be interesting news for the others."
"…"
✟
Elsewhere.
When Arthur reappeared, he found himself all the way in the Fire Country, far removed from that hectic encounter.
Coming here, near its borders, was the best place.
Now, he was out of chakra and needed to restore himself. So he leaned against a nearby tree.
Just what was going on in his mind after meeting two of the most deadliest duos?
For one, he understood that he was not prepared to face S-rank ninjas yet. Not unless he willing to use all of his might.
Lars, who didn't have a rank, was already proven to be stronger than Arthur. But to think ninjas like Itachi and Kisame were on that level as well.
Just what was that last attack Itachi had used?
The Blaze Ball technique was never showcased anywhere. So if Arthur were to guess, it must have been straight out of one of the video games from earth.
That just made Itachi Uchiha even more formidable. The same applied for Kisame, who Arthur was sure was only meant to be a threat after he merged with Samehada.
Yet those two duo proved that even without unleashing their most potent techniques, they still posed to be difficult to deal with alone.
Arthur loathed the idea that he had no other choice but to retreat. He hated it even more because the Akatsuki somehow knew he was alive.
At that thought, he understood he'd have to lay low for a while. The attack on the capital was bound to make headlines, and showing his face again as John Belfort too early could destroy everything he'd built up until now.