While the two continued to wait, William thought of one more topic that had been pressing on his mind. Something that could derail the "happy ending" they were striving for.
"Naruto," he carefully asked, "are you still planning to take revenge on Obito?"
Naruto's step faltered. His face hardened instantly. The goofy, love-struck teenager vanished, replaced by the shinobi who had once lost his parents.
"I am," he said. "He killed my mom and dad and attacked the village by using Kurama. He's the reason I grew up alone."
This deeply troubled William.
In the original story, Naruto was the key to Obito's redemption. It was Naruto's empathy, his ability to see himself in Obito, that turned the tide of the Fourth Great Ninja War. If Naruto hated Obito—if he sought pure vengeance instead of understanding—then Obito wouldn't turn.
So the ending would change, and likely not for the better, if they didn't carefully watch things.
"Why don't you hate him like I do?" Naruto asked, looking at William. "You have every right to."
"Ugh... I never really met him, so I can't say I feel it personally."
"You're smart, cuz," Naruto began, stopping to look William in the eyes. "If you give me a reason why I shouldn't want him dead, maybe I'll change my mind about him."
William's thoughts raced. He tried to think of an argument.
Perhaps stating that Obito was actually being manipulated by Madara? No, that sounded too weak since Madara was technically manipulating everyone. Naruto would have to see it for himself before making a conclusion.
What about the idea that Obito did it for his love of Rin? Irrelevant to the victims he had murdered.
Then what about the fact that he was an upright Genin? Funny. So was Orochimaru.
The facts were damning. Obito had technically killed Minato and Kushina; he had orchestrated the Nine-Tails attack, and he was a ruthless killer who had destabilized the world for decades. Without the context of the anime's flashback music and emotional monologues, Obito was just a terrorist.
William opened his mouth, but nothing came out. He couldn't justify it. Not to the beloved cousin standing in front of him. So he admitted, "I... I can't think of anything."
"Exactly." He turned his head back toward Ichiraku and vowed, "I don't want anything happening to anyone after Iruka-sensei. No matter what, I'm going to take revenge on Obito and rescue Sasuke."
William could only watch him. He felt a chill that had nothing to do with the evening air. The narrative had shifted so much, and he didn't know if he could fix the broken parts.
Eventually, the two decided to wait inside. Naruto sat on a stool, drumming his fingers on the counter.
"She's late," William noted, checking an imaginary watch on his wrist.
"She's not late; we're early," Naruto corrected with bouncing legs.
Just then, Hinata Hyūga stepped into the light. She looked radiant with her dark hair framing her face and her natural flush that deepened when her pale eyes landed on Naruto. She was wringing her hands slightly, a nervous habit, but her smile was genuine.
"N-Naruto," she softly greeted.
"Hinata!" he beamed, sliding off his stool.
Her gaze drifted past Naruto, landing on the third wheel at the counter. That made her smile falter for a fraction of a second.
"Oh," she said. "Will. You're... here too."
"Evening, Hinata," William said with a polite nod, not moving from his seat.
Naruto, usually dense about such things, saw Hinata's shoulders slump slightly. This was supposed to be their first proper date since he was put on suspension. Having his cousin looming over them like a chaperone was killing the vibe.
"What's wrong?" Naruto asked, tilting his head.
"N-Nothing," Hinata quickly stammered, forcing the smile back onto her face. "I'm just... happy to see you. After everything I heard... I'm glad you're safe."
She meant it. Seeing him whole, without the weight of the world crushing him, was enough. But Naruto's emotional intelligence had sharpened. He looked at William, then back at Hinata.
"Hold on a sec," Naruto said as he grabbed William by the sleeve. "A word, Will!" He then dragged his cousin a few feet away, near the entrance of the shop, lowering his voice to a harsh whisper. "Cuz, ya gotta go."
"Negative," William said, crossing his arms. "I'm on watch duty still."
"We're just eating ramen!" Naruto begged. "Nobody's gonna to attack me in Ichiraku's!"
"You don't know that," William countered. "I promised mom I'd make sure you didn't do anything stupid. And frankly, leaving you alone on a date counts as a risk factor for 'stupid.'"
Naruto groaned, dragging his hands down his face. "Please, Will. Just for an hour. Look at her! She's disappointed. I finally get a chance to be with her, just us, but she's gonna think you're ruining it."
William looked over Naruto's shoulder. Hinata was currently sitting on the stool now, staring politely at her hands, looking very much like a girl whose romantic evening had turned into a group outing.
"Can't I just have one normal night?" Naruto pressed.
William sighed. He then rubbed the bridge of his nose. The fanboy in him knew the plot armour was thick right now. And after Arthur was sealed, the threat level was practically zero.
"Okay," he relented. "But only because I don't see anything bad happening in the next hour. And if you tell mom I abandoned my post, I'll deny everything."
"You're the best, cuz!" Naruto grinned, punching him lightly on the arm.
"Yeah, yeah. But only one hour."
Naruto soon walked back to the counter alone, feeling lighter. He hopped onto the stool next to Hinata.
"Where's Will?" Hinata asked, looking at the empty spot.
"He went home," Naruto said, grinning. "Said he wanted to give us space."
Hinata's face lit up. The tension in her shoulders evaporated. "Oh. I see."
"Finally!" Naruto said, turning his attention to Teuchi. "Two miso ramens! Extra pork!"
As they ate, the conversation flowed easier. They talked about training, about the weather, about anything other than the blood and ash of the past week. But eventually, the shadow of the village's current state crept in.
"How's your father doing?" Hinata gently asked between bites.
Naruto pouted, blowing on a spoonful of broth. "I haven't seen him in two days since he's been working late nights because of that war caused by Arthur and the Akatsuki. Mom brings him fresh clothes, but he won't come home."
Hinata nodded sympathetically. She had only briefly heard the details from her clan and William—the scale of the deception, the revived armies—but she knew it was serious. Apparently, Minato had been on this case non-stop with the other elders of the village. Even now, while the village slept, the lights in the Hokage's building were burning bright.
✟
At the Hokage's manor.
If Ichiraku Ramen was a haven of warmth, this room was a bureaucratic nightmare. The large oak table was buried and submerged under a storm of papers, scrolls, and mission logs.
Hiruzen sat in his chair, rubbing the small ache on his back. He felt every year of his age tonight due to the sheer weight of the revelations they were processing.
"Another one," Koharu said, sliding a dossier across the table. "Political fraud involving the feudal lord of the Land of Money. Arthur, posing as an investor, manipulated the markets and embezzled millions of ryō for unknown reasons."
Hiruzen sighed, accepting the file.
The list of heinous crimes Arthur had committed was staggering. From political fraud to a variety of charges that even Hiruzen, a veteran of three Great Ninja Wars, didn't know existed. There were violations of treaties that hadn't even been written yet.
"These crimes... Hiruzen muttered, looking at a report detailing money laundering, "they surpass even Orochimaru's."
Across from him, Minato was working with a focused, terrifying intensity. He was shuffling through papers regarding the confirmed list of shinobi Arthur had revived using the Edo Tensei.
His mind reeled at the names: Ashina Uzumaki, a former clan head, Shisui Uchiha, Fugaku Uchiha—the list went on and on. Friends. Rivals. Ancestors.
"These reports," Minato said in a tight voice. "Are we certain Jada, Jasper, and Alex saw correctly? There's a chance that they might have just mistaken who they thought they sensed."
"We have supplemental testimonies," Tsunade added, organizing a stack of scrolls. "Naruto, Shikamaru, Ino, Rock Lee, Might Guy, Asuma... William, Alice, Margaret. Everyone who ever crossed paths with Arthur lines up perfectly with what happened in that war."
It was one thing for the elders in this room to question how three teenagers even knew those fallen shinobi, but it was another that Arthur did, too.
And because all those names had either fought or interacted with Arthur at least once, they were obliged to give as much detail as they could. Every interaction, every strange comment, every jutsu he had displayed—it was like a complicated puzzle the elders were piecing together in reverse.
Hiruzen paused, holding a specific report confirmed by Alice regarding Arthur's summoning contract. He lowered the paper with a look of profound realization crossing his face.
"I can see why I can no longer summon Enma," he voiced his thoughts aloud.
Minato looked up. "What do you mean, lord Third?"
"As you know," Hiruzen began, leaning back, "some time ago, during a recent invasion attempt, I tried to summon Enma to help me fight Orochimaru. But the summoning jutsu failed. I thought it was my age, or perhaps Orochimaru's barrier interfering with it." He then tapped the paper. "In fact, after I awoke from my coma, I tried again to contact Enma. But even then it failed."
"I see..." Minato said as the pieces clicked into place. He shuffled through another pile and pulled out the cross-reference from Alice's interview. "So he shared the same summoning animal as you."
"That's right," Hiruzen said, shaking his head in disbelief. "To think he'd find a way to sever my connection and override a blood contract held by the Sarutobi clan for generations... I had high hopes for such a talented young child when I saw his performance before the Chūnin Exams. I never imagined he could become the Leaf's… No, the whole world's greatest enemy."
"It's still hard to believe," Tsunade said from across the room. She was holding a long scroll that had just been delivered by an ANBU captain. "I've never heard of anyone like him existing before."
She was right to claim this. Not even her own grandfather, Hashirama Senju, a proclaimed "god of shinobi," could compare to the sheer variety of powers Arthur displayed.
"Is that the technical breakdown?" Minato asked.
"It is," she said, unrolling it.
It kept unrolling, hitting the floor, and rolling even further.
When Tsunade verified the list, she was absolutely stunned beyond measure as her eyes widened with every line item. "This... this is impossible. Arthur possessed a variety of Kekkei Genkai that defied genetics. "Smoke style," she read, "the ability to turn his physical body into smoke, making him impervious to physical attacks."
"A red glowing Kekkei Genkai," Hiruzen noted.
"Ice style too," Minato continued. "And here... the Uzumaki's Adamantine Sealing Chains."
"How could one boy acquire so many Kekkei Genkai at once?" Tsunade asked in horror. "All without his body breaking down or turning into something hideous?"
The room fell silent. Not a single council member wanted to say what they were thinking: Arthur was not a boy; he was something else. In their eyes, looking at this data, he was a monster constructed of stolen parts and stolen brilliance.
As they continued reading, the list became an indictment of the laws of nature.
He excelled at medical ninjutsu—specifically a dark variant that bordered on instant regeneration. He possessed chakra-enhanced strength that rivaled Tsunade's own. He had perfected various high-level water style techniques. And he utilized the Seven Heavenly Breaths.
Minato paused when he reached the section on space-time ninjutsu.
"He learned the Flying raijin," he softly said. "And he placed marks... everywhere."
The report detailed marks that could potentially be found in the Hokage's office, in the ANBU locker rooms, and in the Academy.
"What could this mean?" Tsunade wondered.
"He was using the jutsu for surveillance," Minato answered. "Likely to enter the village whenever he wanted."
Minato himself had never thought of using the technique like that. To him, the Flying raijin was a tool of protection. Yet to Arthur, it was a skeleton key to the village's secrets.
The list continued, relentless.
A Primate-like Sage Mode. Samurai swordsmanship at the highest skill level. Sensing capabilities that exceeded Kages. Cursed seals—both the creation and application of them. The Thunder Sword of the Second Hokage—stolen. The Blade of Chaos—an artifact of unknown origin. At least five of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen weapons. A specialized cloak that nullified sensory ninjutsu. The forbidden Reanimation technique—perfected.
"And this," Hiruzen pointed to the bottom of the list. "Black lightning."
"The third Raikage's technique," Tsunade muttered. "He was in the Cloud Village, too."
This was incredibly unheard of. It bordered on a made-up fictional tale, a power fantasy that simply could not be registered in their minds as real. How could an orphan boy, born in this village, exceed even the most notorious legends that anyone's ever seen? He was a one-man army, a library of forbidden arts.
By the time they finished gathering everything, the sun was beginning to rise. The three leaders sat in silence, surrounded by the physical proof of their failure to notice the evil walking among them.
"The council's divided," Homura said, entering the room with a fresh pot of tea. "Some argue we should study him. Others argue we should never release him from that orb, not even for execution, but for fear he might escape."
"Opinions are mixed on whether he should be released," Hiruzen agreed, rubbing his eyes. "Like I originally thought, we can't make this decision alone."
Minato stood up, gathering the main file. It was heavy. "This report and all of his past crimes must be sent to the Feudal lord.
"Agreed," Tsunade stated. "This is no longer a village matter. It's a national crisis."
"And the other nations?" Homura asked.
"We plan on sending redacted versions," Minato decided. "Enough to prove he's been captured, as well as an explanation to the resurrections like myself."
As the morning light hit the Hokage monument outside, the leaders of the Leaf prepared to tell the world that the most dangerous ninja in history was one of their own.