Path Of War-Chapter 350: Already Winning

The throne room was quiet as Arthur stood near the high window, gazing out at the landscape beyond.

His mind was elsewhere. He thought about what had recently happened, about Margaret, and more.

He knew her well. Their recent confrontation had revealed a lot about her—her nature, her desires, and her pain. He remembered her face during their last encounter—her defiant expression that was tinged with something more.

Margaret had grown up with issues with her parents, and that craving for recognition was deep in her. She always wanted to be the best, to be noticed. It wasn't just pride; it was a need to be acknowledged, to feel seen.

Some might see her as a masochist, but Arthur saw it differently.

The pain response, which Elysium had said was small in this world, was something that affected her mind. When she arrived here, she was pampered, overpowered, and pushed to become formidable.

Yet she hadn't truly felt any real pain until she met Arthur. Because of that, she was both bored and lost in this world—nothing pleased her.

And when that pain finally came, it was quick and intense. Thanks to her ability, she healed just as fast. And that swift recovery made it almost seem like she enjoyed the feeling of being hurt, but it was more complicated than that.

She didn't love the pain itself; it was the feeling of being alive that she sought.

Being damaged, enduring hardship—these made her feel real. Her desires were tangled up in her need for recognition and her need to prove herself.

Arthur didn't like this side of her. It unsettled him. It was dangerous. He didn't want to be the one fueling her strange pleasures. His attention was elsewhere, on more pressing matters.

Once their fight concluded, and Sasuke departed with Shisui, Arthur had deactivated the secret curse mark on Naruto.

Afterwards, he looked at Margaret. Her body was battered, and her bones showed through torn skin. Yet she was healing, slowly but surely.

She'd spent weeks with Alexander in a secret land, acquiring her new Sage Mode. Arthur knew Alex well. The man was a manipulator, a schemer hiding behind a charming exterior. Trusting him was a mistake, but alliances in this world shifted quickly.

Margaret had been resilient but vulnerable to people like him.

After Arthur had turned away from her to focus on Naruto, he performed a sealing jutsu—"Unseal"—to remove the seals covering the Flying raijin marks on Naruto's Eight Trigrams Seal.

The seals had dissolved, allowing Minato and Jada to arrive almost instantly.

Their faces registered shock when they saw Arthur standing there, hood pulled low over his eyes while cloaked in shadows.

"What have you done to them?" Jada demanded.

"They attacked me," Arthur said at the time. "So they suffered the same fate."

"You—" she started, then clenched her fists. "How could you?"

Minato, more composed, stepped forward to ask, "Who are you?"

"Rather than worry about me," Arthur calmly said, "you should focus on those two."

Minato hesitated as he looked at Naruto's fragile state. His son was indeed in a dire condition, and that understanding hit him hard.

Jada was not satisfied. She looked at Margaret, then back at Arthur, before saying, "You'll pay for what you did!"

Arthur's expression remained impassive as he said, "Little girl, you don't know half of what's really going on. And the more you fight it, the worse it gets."

Such a cryptic message. It made Jada clench her fist while asking, "What the heck are you talking about?"

"You'll see soon enough..."

Jada's jaw tightened. She looked at Minato, then back at Naruto, weighing her options. Her instincts told her that the man in front of her, whoever he was, was dangerous. But the urgency of their situation made her consider her priorities.

Minato therefore exclaimed to her that they need to get both Margaret and Naruto to safety. Jada hesitated only a moment longer before finally agreeing. Her eyes still burned with anger, but the safety of her friends was more important.

Without another word, Minato activated his Flying raijin, and they vanished in a flash of light, taking Naruto and Margaret with them—exactly as Arthur expected them to do.

He wondered how long Jada could endure, how long anyone could survive in this world of constant conflict. He wasn't here to indulge her or anyone's strange pleasures. His purpose was clear: to survive.

The world was changing quickly, and he had to adapt.

In the here and now, a light cast shadows across Arthur's face as he stood by himself in the throne room.

Although he had a calm demeanour, his thoughts were anything but. In the quiet, he thought back on the route that had led him here, on the successes and setbacks that had moulded him into the person he was today.

He was filled with a quiet resolve—the knowledge that every step and every setback was a necessary component of the process of growth—rather than sin.

He was not ashamed of the outcome, of course. Instead, he had learned to view these accomplishments as turning points that would help him get closer to his ultimate objective.

The recent successes, including defeating the third-strongest player, Margaret, were a major turning point. She had been a brutal opponent. But he was better than her; that player was beneath him now. freёweɓnovel.com

That fact alone demonstrated his progress.

In silence, he thought about this. Margaret had been his most formidable foe to date, and despite her loss, she had challenged him to reach new heights.

Her fortitude and perseverance had compelled him to change and become more resilient. That was the most important thing. Setbacks and failures served as teaching moments and stepping stones.

He improved his methods and sharpened his strategies by learning from each. Once only a representation of his power, the throne room now represented his journey. He wasn't just sitting on his laurels; he was actively moving forward.

He was now stronger than four of the six players who were left. That was no easy task.

He didn't know anything about the other two, Jasper and Alexander. How strong were they? Would they be as strong as he was now? Or did they contain secrets he had not yet discovered?

Then his mind strayed to the wider scene. Jasper and Alex were undoubtedly superior to Margaret. That meant that Arthur had to outperform them if he hadn't already.

He was pretty sure he could pull it off, especially after having an extraordinary journey in this world.

Arthur established an empire in less than two years, something that many would consider impossible in that short a time. He had also manipulated political systems, made people wealthy, and even got his clone to join the Akatsuki.

All these things were no small accomplishment; they were evidence of his strategic thinking and determination.

He not only owned but also secretly ruled the entire Land of Birds, a whole nation. He laid the foundation for that with great care and attention to detail.

Who among them could claim to have achieved Arthur's feats? Very few, if any, could.

His ascent was quick, decisive, and based on strength and guile. He was more than just a player; he was a force that changed the shinobi world as a whole.

Everything he did was like a paradigm shift affecting many.

Arthur reflected on the disorder and power struggles that characterized the world of ninjas. Despite their danger, the Sannin—Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Orochimaru—felt like merely pawns in his scheme.

Even they were the least of his concerns when one was Arthur. Sure, they had their advantages, but none compared to his adaptability, versatility, and drive for dominance.

He was there to control the narrative, and it was no accident that he helped Naruto by giving the boy back Kushina and Minato. It was a calculated action; Naruto was in charge of the story's central theme—the protagonist's emotional fulcrum.

As a result of bringing the main character's parents back, Arthur had power over the foundation of the entire world.

However, the boy was only a component of Arthur's long-term strategy. Arthur himself needed to sway both of Naruto's friends and his foes. For this reason, Arthur had to bring back two important characters: Ino and Shikamaru.

This allowed him to take advantage of their presence as a diversion; he used it to buy himself some time so he could concentrate on gaining more authority. For his primary objective was to create a devoted army that could defeat any opposition.

And he was fully aware of how to do it. The Uzumaki and Uchiha, the resurrected clans, were ideal for this.

With their powerful Sharingan and power, the Uchiha were a sleeping giant.

It was also a brilliant move to bring Fugaku back as the Torikage, putting him in charge of the clan and giving him authority and a purpose. The Uchiha could be united under Fugaku's leadership and become a powerful force.

In the same way, the Uzumaki, who were renowned for their resilience and sealing methods, were not given enough credit in this world.

Itachi and Sasuke were also taken into consideration.

Itachi was a wild card who was unaware of the clan's resurgence. But Sasuke was easier to control. That boy was the second main character, someone Arthur could control. He could affect half of this world's story—possibly even change it completely—if Arthur could fully manipulate that Uchiha.

This was the crux of his plan. Take charge of the story and the main characters.

Arthur would therefore remain at the top that way. And he was meticulous in his methods. Clan revival was only the beginning; it was crucial to give them meaning—to make them relevant.

While still in the throne room, Arthur's thoughts continued to linger on the potential outcomes: the influence and potential of Sasuke and Itachi.

For them, he had plans. Sasuke was the ideal pawn because of his innate talent and desire for power. Itachi's ignorance presented both a risk and a chance. Arthur could mould them into his tools and use them to affect the entire ninja community with the correct manipulation.

He reflected once more on his present strength. He was already outperforming some of the strongest players. That was an important turning point. It indicated that he was getting closer to the more elite players—Jasper and Alexander.

Even Arthur was curious about them. And because of that, he would find a way to challenge them one day—all for the purpose of escaping this world.

Why wouldn't he want to get away from this world? He had had enough of all the mayhem, the never-ending conflicts, and the never-ending plans. All he desired was to return home.

Just look at his feats. He had manipulated entire nations, become wealthy many times over, and even established an empire—a hidden village—within this world. Few could match him, for he was a ninja who defied the laws of this world and was a force of nature.

But even with all of his strength, he knew he couldn't stay indefinitely. He would make more enemies the longer he stayed. Such was the web that grew more complex the more he played the game.

However, power was always expanding and challenging.

Arthur's mind shifted to the impending conflicts: the plans he was already creating, the enemies hiding in the shadows, and the alliances he had formed.

Every action was deliberate, and every error served as a teaching moment. He was a tactician and strategist who understood that flexibility was essential to success. More importantly, he was still the same person both before and after he entered the game: a Christian who never lost hope in Jesus Christ.

Think Arthur could have made it this far without faith? Not even close. It was faith that brought him this far, and it was faith that would allow him to continue going strong.

For a moment, he closed his eyes. Yes, there was chaos in the world. But he saw opportunity in that chaos. He had made it through, prospered, and now found himself on the brink of something even bigger. He had a long way to go.

Actually, it was still just the beginning of things.

With a keen gaze, he opened his eyes. The path ahead was clear: control the narrative, dominate the opposition, and build an empire—one that would endure till the end of the world.

That was his purpose. That was his destiny. And as he stood in the silence of the throne room, Arthur knew that he would not stop until he achieved it.

The game was ongoing, and he was already winning.