Path Of War

Arthur jolted awake, the world coming into focus with a jarring snap.

Cold, damp stone pressed against his back. A single torch cast long shadows across a cramped cell. He was in prison. The tang of blood in his mouth was a grim reminder of the events that led him here.

Disorientation gave way to a crushing sense of dread. He couldn't tell how long he had been unconscious. He tried to rise, but a surge of panic overtook him as he felt the weight on his limbs. Heavy chains bound him to the floor, restricting how far he could move.

Every muscle in his body ached. The world outside this virtual one had always seemed harsh, but this was beyond cruel.

He wouldn't accept his fate. With a ragged breath, he threw his head back and screamed, "Dr. Kapoor! This has gone too far! You can let me now!"

He didn't care if it sounded pathetic; he needed to be heard to break the suffocating silence.

"Dr. Kapoor! I'm done! Unplug me from the machine!" His outburst was met with silence, broken only by the dripping of water somewhere in the darkness. "Quit messing with me, you pretentious—"

"How 'bout you quit yappin' y'er mouth?" a figure sneered, barging through a door.

The sound sent chills down Arthur's spine. He had cried out to end the experiment but was met with a hulking figure, shrouded in shadow by the doorway.

"One more outburst like that," the figure said, "and I'll come in y'er cell and break y'er bones!"

The figure then chuckled before slamming the door behind him. Arthur felt scared, a feeling in which had not felt in a long time. He understood the gravity of the situation. This wasn't a game anymore; this was a world of violence, where his life was at stake.

He squeezed his eyes shut and a sob escaping his lips. The world of ninjas promised adventure and a chance to prove themselves. Instead, it had led him to a nightmare in which there was no waking.

The loneliness pressed down on him—a suffocating weight that threatened to crush him.

Staring into the abyss of his despair, he couldn't help but wonder if he'd ever see the light of day again, virtual or otherwise. Tears welled up in his eyes, blurring his vision.

Regret gnawed at him—regret for his naiveté, for believing that he, out of hundreds of millions of people, was randomly selected to experience a groundbreaking discovery like virtual reality.

Who's to say the others weren't in on this? Look at Jasper, heir to the Reza throne. For all Arthur knew, his family could have bought his way into the experiment. Then there was Alice, who seemingly did a thorough background check on him, knowing that he was a Christian.

What about Margaret, Jada, or William? Arthur understood that anime was a popular, on-demand form of entertainment, but they came into this experiment with extensive knowledge. It was almost as if they knew about it in advance.

And Alex? Arthur's memory never betrayed him. Alex was the only person Dr. Kapoor never addressed formally. She called him "my dear Alex."

Arthur had been a fool to trust this scheme; he was a fool to trust the world. For it is even written in the holy scriptures: It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man.

The next day.

The torch sputtered and died, plunging the cell into darkness once more. It was only twice that a guard opened the door to bring Arthur a chipped cup of water.

Arthur gulped it down, the meager offering doing little to quell the hunger in his stomach. Because of the chains, he urinated himself, wreaking his own piss. Sleep was hard due to the throbbing pain in his body.

Hours passed, measured only by the dripping water in the distance.

Arthur, defeated and humiliated, found solace in the quiet recitation of Bible verses his parents read to him at night. Each familiar passage offered hope, a connection to his life before this virtual nightmare.

As the night wore on, he understood something. This wasn't some fever dream or elaborate prank; this was a virtual world meticulously crafted to test his limits. And despite the pain, the fear, and the utter humiliation, a spark ignited within him.

They wouldn't break his spirit!

He wasn't some hero destined to save the day. No, in this world of darkness, a hero wouldn't survive in this cell. Let alone be placed inside it.

Here, only the ruthless, the cunning, and the ones who reveled in power thrived. That's when it hit him—the only way out of this twisted game was to become the very monster they feared!

Arthur's eyes, previously filled with despair, now held a steely resolve. He wouldn't play by their rules; he would become the villain, a force of destruction so absolute that the creators of this world would have no choice but to release him.

No smile played on his lips. Only a chilling counterpoint to the grime that caked his face.

He didn't know how; he didn't know when, but he would annihilate this world, brick by bloody brick. He would become a legend, not of heroism but of sheer, unadulterated terror. This virtual world may have imprisoned him, but it had underestimated one crucial factor: God's wrath.

On this night, a villain was born.

No longer the ignorant newcomer, he was now a predator, waiting for his opportune moment to strike. And the moment he understood that, the torch outside sputtered back to life.

"This world will know my name," he rasped. "And they will tremble."

At this proclamation, Arthur recalled the story's antagonists.

From start to finish, the first villain was a mercenary named Zabuza Momochi. He held one of the seven legendary swords, the Executioner's Blade, letting his ambition and thirst for power drive him to betray his village, the Mist Village.

Though initially presented as a villain, Zabuza met his end at the hands of Kakashi Hatake, the main character's teacher.

Arthur wouldn't become a one-dimensional mercenary. He would use his knowledge to manipulate others, building power before striking.

Next up was Orochimaru, a power-hungry Sannin (or legendary ninja). Obsessed with immortality and forbidden techniques, he experimented on countless individuals, including the second main character, Sasuke Uchiha.

Orochimaru's thirst for knowledge led him down a dark path several decades ago, ultimately resulting in his redemption during the Boruto series.

Arthur wouldn't fall victim to the same obsession. He'd use forbidden techniques for power, but he'd remain focused on his ultimate goal—escape.

Something fascinating about the story was that it cycled through antagonists. Orochimaru was the main threat during the first part. The second part, however, had a powerful ninja from the Rain Village named Nagato Uzumaki.

Like the surname suggests, Nagato was part of the Uzumaki clan. His group of mercenaries referred to him as "Pain."

Pain was a pawn. Driven by the horrors of war and loss, he sought to achieve world peace through dominance. Naruto eventually defeated Pain, showing him a different path to peace.

Arthur wouldn't ever change his mind, nor would he be manipulated by others. He would use his charisma and cunningness to build his own foundation.

But who could be so methodical as to manipulate an Uzumaki? Obito Uchiha, the next antagonist who publicly began running the scenes after Nagato's death.

Obito was a talented young ninja who believed the world was a cruel place filled with suffering. After witnessing the death of his teammate, Rin Nohara, he became disillusioned and fell under the manipulation of another antagonist, Madara Uchiha.

Obito was written to have orchestrated numerous events from the shadows, including the Nine-Tails' attack on the Leaf Village, ultimately aiming to cast an illusion on the entire world to make it perfect.

He was eventually defeated by Naruto Uzumaki, and was redeemed by sacrificing himself to save Naruto's life. That was perhaps one of the most convoluted acts in the story since he was won over the main character's "Talk-No-Jutsu."

Some would say that Arthur's predicament was like Obito's.

But Arthur would never be burdened by misplaced loyalty. He would be ruthless and calculated, sacrificing anyone for his own goals, unlike Obito's initial attachment to his comrades.

However, Arthur would use the art of manipulation to orchestrate events from the shadows if necessary. He could build his power base and influence subtly, striking fear into the hearts of his enemies before revealing his full might.

Next up was the aforementioned Madara Uchiha. A legendary figure and co-founder of the Leaf Village, Madara sought to control the Tailed Beasts and use them to create an illusionary world peace. Since he had died, he was revived by a ninja named Kabuto Yakushi and eventually defeated by Naruto and Sasuke.

Arthur wouldn't be consumed by a naïve vision of peace. He would use the Tailed Beasts for his own personal gain.

The last main villain, the one whom hardly anyone who knew of the series expected, was Kaguya Ōtsutsuki. Kaguya was the progenitor of all chakra. She wasn't originally a villain, but rather a devil from outer space who arrived on earth to cultivate a parasitic tree that drained life force from the planet.

Consumed by the power of the tree's chakra fruit, she became a tyrannical ruler, manipulating men and harvesting their chakra. She was eventually sealed away on the moon by her sons, Hagoromo and Hamura, only to be released, only to be defeated by Hagoromo's son's incarnates, Naruto and Sasuke.

There was a reason why few fans saw her appearance coming. It was because the writer made stuff up as the story progressed.

Kaguya wasn't a flashy villain; she played the long game, manipulating men for centuries—through her manifested will named Zetsu—before revealing herself. Arthur could adopt this strategic approach, but he would have less than four years to do so.

What would distinguish Kaguya from him is that he wouldn't be a power-hungry tyrant, but a cunning manipulator who used his foreknowledge to win this game.

Fueled by his newfound purpose, Arthur shuts his eyes, pushing the chill of the cell and throbbing pain to the back of his mind. He needed focus, clarity, and the ability to tap into the power source of this world—chakra.

Chakra was the life force that fueled all ninjas. It was a potent blend of physical and spiritual energy, swirling within every being in this world.

Skilled ninjas could channel this energy, moulding it to perform extraordinary feats like walking on walls and breathing fire. But just having chakra wasn't enough. Control was paramount.

The main character, who perhaps had the most chakra out of everyone at one point, was hardly able to control it. An untrained ninja with a vast amount of chakra would be like a flimsy dam holding back this force—the energy would burst forth irrepressibly, leaving them exhausted and vulnerable.

Arthur remembered two particular ninjas, Rock Lee and his teacher, Might Guy. These two, despite their exceptional physical prowess, were unable to utilize the traditional methods of harnessing chakra. But that didn't mean they didn't still have it inside them.

Arthur settled into a meditative pose. His mind, honed by years of praying and learning philosophy, became still.

An unknown amount of time passed. The pain threatened to shatter his focus, but he preserved it. He visualized a single point of light within himself—a tiny pool of water.

Then, a faint sensation.

A tingling warmth bloomed deep within his core. It wasn't much, but it was real. This was chakra.

He remained calm and collective, reminding himself that harnessing was nothing; control was important.

Focusing on that tiny pool, he visualized it spreading like ripples in his mind. With excruciating slowness, he willed a miniscule amount of that energy outward. It felt like pushing against a wall of resistance, and his muscles were straining with the effort.

Finally, with control, he felt a shift. It wasn't a dramatic burst of energy, but a subtle change, like the air around him had grown a degree cooler.

He slowly opened his eyes. With one look at the torch and a sudden whoosh, the flames sputtered and died, plunging the cell into blackness.

It wasn't a parlour trick; this was the raw power of the ninja world!

He might be a prisoner, but he was also a ninja. How was it that he managed to control his chakra so easily? Simple: He was clan-less. The less chakra someone had, the easier it was to manipulate.