Path Of War Chapter 236: What Do I Care

Arthur stood in his laboratory.

The ambient light of devices illuminated stacks of papers filled with diagrams and research notes. His cloning project was going smoothly.

While he was walking toward the vat, he ca to a halt. Sothing was off.

He turned his attention to his myriad of hidden flying raijin marks scattered across the Leaf Village. Their placent allowed him to remain attuned to the happenings of the village; however, today, the scenes felt different.

"What's wrong, lord Arthur?" Brie asked from the corner of his eye.

He didn't respond to her question just yet. Instead, he turned to her, his expression serious as he ordered, "Bring Rin over."

Brie recognized the gravity of the situation. Without hesitation, she bowed respectfully.

"Of course, lord Arthur. Right away."

With that, she turned and fled the room, leaving him to resu his work, though his thoughts were far from the task at hand.

As he continued with his construction, his mind returned back to what he had sensed in the village. Nothing seed out of the ordinary with the kids roaming about and the vendors selling their rchandise.

He was also acutely aware of players like Alice, who had dedicated her ti to repairing the ek cracks that had begun to show in the shinobi world.

No, right now sothing was happening. It was that ti once more: a filler arc.

Missions had been posted left and right, filling the village with purpose, though Arthur found little interest in this mindless trail of busywork. It was a necessary part of the unfolding narrative, but not one he cared to engage in himself.

Participation in most filler arcs held no value for him, only distractions. When all was said and done, he couldn't help but scoff at the thought of so of the players constantly intervening in what were essentially quests to help clean up a fictional village.

Amid this, sothing vital caught his attention: a certain shinobi had been posting signs across the village to participate in his dōjō. That shinobi was none other than Rock Lee.

From what Arthur recalled from that episode, Naruto had returned from another mission and stumbled upon a poster advertising a dōjō that turned out to be poorly constructed and owned by Lee.

Initially mistaking Naruto for a challenger, Lee had slamd him through a wall before explaining that he built the dōjō to attract skilled fighters so that he could improve his combat skills.

After narrowly escaping Lee's challenge, Naruto encountered Guy and inford him about the dōjō. Proud of Lee's dedication, Guy attempted to disguise himself and challenge Lee, but he was called away by Tsunade to assist Team 10 with a reported disturbance.

Unbeknownst to them, a thief nad Nanafushi, who sought to steal secrets from the Leaf Village, had impersonated Guy after he left. Naruto, believing he was genuinely interacting with Guy, brought Nanafushi to Lee's dōjō.

Attempting to maintain his cover, Nanafushi challenged Lee but was quickly defeated. Nanafushi then managed to convince Naruto that he was just exhausted and asked Naruto to fill in for him in the fight against Lee.

Knowing he couldn't defeat Lee through direct combat, Naruto employed various shadow clone tactics.

Before the battle concluded, the real Guy arrived and knocked out Nanafushi, who had disguised himself as Lee.

Once they sorted out the confusion, they brought Nanafushi to Tsunade, unaware of his true identity. Tsunade promptly ordered them to search for and capture Nanafushi, and they handed him over to her, marking the fastest mission Naruto had ever successfully completed.

If Arthur were to guess, the players would likely hunt down Nanafushi and bring evidence to Tsunade. That way, Lee could freely face a worthy fighter as opposed to an unskilled spy.

The prospect of a mission at Rock Lee's dōjō was only an opportunity for Arthur. Right now, a few of the players were away from the village, allowing him to narrow down who would intervene and help Lee.

Arthur was almost certain that William and Alice would be drawn into this conflict, given their penchant for heroics and their unique skills—particularly Alice, whose sensing abilities would be invaluable in such a situation.

Arthur had a plan, one that would not only test Rin's ttle but also give him a vantage point over the evolving events within the Leaf Village.

As he finished adding substances within the massive cloning vat, the sound of the lab door swooshed open, announcing the arrival of Rin, Tayuya, and Brie.

They saw him transford as Kaito before stepping in. Each of them had a different expression.

"We're here, like you asked, lord Arthur," Tayuya greeted.

"Funny," Arthur coolly said. "I don't recall asking for you."

Tayuya caught the look on Rin's face and noted Arthur's concentration on the vat rather than them. It was clear to him that she was concerned for Rin's safety.

The two had inevitably beco closer thanks to them spending a lot of ti together.

"I apologize, lord Arthur," she remarked. "I... I was just worried, was all."

Arthur straightened up, turning his full attention to them as he asked, "Tayuya, has Rin perfected the chakra disguise technique yet?"

"Yes," she replied, feeling a bit more confident. "She's been practicing whenever she can."

Rin couldn't hold it in any longer, so she asked, "Did I do sothing wrong, lord Arthur?"

"No," he responded, his gaze searching hers. "I have a mission for you that involves you going to the Leaf..."

Rin felt surprised. She had secretly yearned for an opportunity to venture into the Leaf Village. It was both a place painful and precious for her to rember.

"But, lord Arthur?" Tayuya stamred. "Is it alright for her to go now? So early?"

"Yes," he affird. "Especially since she's perfected the technique." He glanced at Rin, who was barely managing to conceal her exhilaration. "I need you to go to that village, participate in a dōjō, and test your skills against whoever you face."

The opportunity felt surreal for her. So much so that she couldn't find the right words to say. When she understood that she was longing to visit the village again, she declared, "I accept the mission, my lord!"

"Good," he said, knowing her thoughts. "I'm sure you understand what you first have to do."

He watched as she stepped back. With one hand sign, she perford the chakra disguise technique. It wasn't bad. Her chakra signature had changed, resembling that of a kunoichi who had average chakra levels.

"Now the next step," he prompted.

Rin complied with a nod.

"Transformation jutsu!"

She molded into a version of soone else with lighter hair. She was neither too recognizable nor too foreign and appeared to be around Lee's age but slightly younger with more softened features.

"Perfect," Arthur said.

Still, he took precautions. He activated his Tamashii and scanned her chakra. It was different, thanks to the myriad of cells within her. Yet he needed her to have an extra layer of protection, no matter how small it was.

"Here," he said, gesturing to her a pair of glasses,

Many honestly didn't know the effectiveness of wearing glasses as a simple disguise.

With everything in place, he perford the flying raijin to send her directly into the village. In an instant, Rin was launched away from the laboratory.

Tayuya stared at the spot she was in, the scene of her leaving being too quick for her to wish her any encouragent. Even if she was given that chance, she more or less wouldn't have done it.

Tayuya was quite ruthless in nature. Having spent so much ti with soone like Rin was softening her personality.

"She'll be okay," Brie said with a smirk.

"Huh?" Tayuya blinked. "I know she will. I an, what do I care if she doesn't co back?"

At those words, she walked toward the exit, not daring to show her true feelings.

Elsewhere.

By the ti Rin blinked, sounds of the Leaf Village enveloped her ears. She paused for a mont, taking in the setting.

The alarms hadn't triggered, which would have tipped off the Barrier Team had they detected foreign chakra. Rin was born here, and although her chakra signature had changed, she still carried the cells of others who were born here.

With the chakra disguise and a transford face, it was more than safe for her to travel.

Instead of heading directly for the dōjō, she felt an overwhelming pull that instinctively redirected her elsewhere—the cetery.

Arthur, who was simultaneously conducting experints and monitoring her from the safety of his laboratory, knew that she would head there first.

In the quietness of the burial grounds, she made her way to her grave. Winds caused the trees to rustle as she stared at the modest headstone engraved with her na.

She felt quite emotional, knowing that her death had only caused turmoil. mories of her past flooded her mind—her friends, her family, those quiet, precious monts that seed so trivial yet heavy with emotional weight now.

"Why does it hurt so much?" she murmured, feeling small and fragile.

Her forr self lingered, mingling with the grief she'd carried for too long. And Arthur understood the shadows of empathy deepening in her thoughts as he noted how weak her heart still was.

If she continued to fail and not produce any results, he wouldn't hesitate to slay her on the spot.

Rin knelt down and looked at the letters on her tomb. After an agonizing period, she slowly stood, collecting her resolve. It was ti to move onward; lingering too long among these remnants wouldn't lead her anywhere.

With purpose reshaping her thoughts, she left the cetery and ventured toward the familiar streets. This ti, she approached what had once been her ho.

As she neared it, her heart pounded. She slowed, and coming up upon her forr residence, she hesitated, peeking through the small gaps between the wooden fras.

The house was still here, but it had changed. Bright flowers flourished in the garden as she heard laughter from within—a family that was not hers now took root in the place where she once felt safe.

The conflicting emotions she kept bottled up for so long finally resurfaced, mingling with the love that resided in the mories of her childhood.

She wanted to knock, to see who these new occupants were, to intrude on the ho that had once been hers. But the fear settled quickly, a pain in her chest.

She turned away, unable to confront the unknown, feeling hollow inside.

Arthur found her angst to be disgusting. In his mind, he understood her need for connection—yet he also recognized the trivial matter if she didn't focus on the mission given.

And so, as Rin walked away, leaving behind the vestiges of her old self, he saw a slight change. Despite the shackles of her past clamping down, she didn't insist on being tethered to her pain.