Chapter 198: Flower Of Grass
As the first light of dawn began to rise, the remnants of the fierce battle that had unfolded throughout the night were visible—massive craters pocked the ground where powerful jutsus had crashed, burnt patches of greenery surrounding them like the aftermath of a volcanic eruption.
Arthur knelt with a blank expression on his face, one hand propped on the ground, the other resting on his knee. His body was marred with bruises, scrapes, and the dark stains of dried blood.
He was exhausted, drained far beyond any time in the past, yet he faced the dawn with an unsettling calmness.
Koko had poofed away hours ago due to both her and his significantly low chakra reserves.
The barrier that had confined Shikamaru, Ino, and the others was punctured with cracks, its integrity failing with each passing moment. It wouldn't be long before it completely collapsed, allowing the duo to escape and reveal the truth about Arthur.
Throughout the battle, he had only managed to disarm his adversaries momentarily before they retrieved their weapons and charged back into combat.
Healing techniques had kept him alive, but they only staved off the inevitable; damage still accumulated grotesquely across his body.
That was what made fighting reanimated corpses so difficult: they could regenerate any wound and had unlimited chakra.
Arthur hadn't once activated Sage Mode, insisting to himself that he must grow stronger without relying on it. It was a bold but reckless philosophy, one he started to question as his breath came in ragged gasps.
"Looks like it's almost over," Shikamaru remarked as his gaze settled on Arthur. "You're finally down for the count."
Arthur, however, only shut his eyes in exhaustion.