Meanwhile, Sakura executed a front flip and attempted another kick. Arthur dodged quite effortlessly. But she wouldn't be bested without a fight. As she drew forth a kunai, Arthur sensed it and readied himself to dodge.
Swift strokes of her weapon sought to carve through his defenses, yet he moved fluidly past each attempt.
In the midst of their clash, something captured his attention: the way Sakura's movements were too well-rehearsed. That was because Sakura wasn't fighting alone—Alice was guiding her.
The connection was undeniable. Alice was using the "Mind Body Transmission" technique. That meant she was not sitting idly by; she was a navigator, telepathically aiding Sakura.
It was quite profound, to say the least. While he engaged in combat, she provided her intel and foresight, covering vulnerabilities while simultaneously enhancing her strategy.
And based on her calm state, she had clearly perfected that technique, which was typically reliant on machinery—a feat that took much time to refine. Yet here she was, still and efficient, like a true tactician.
That was how she managed to defeat the Sound Four in such a small window of time and with no casualties.
It posed a dilemma for Arthur. If she could relay thoughts and tactical movements to her teammates, this wasn't going to be easy.
Arthur, knowing that Alice was taking him seriously, shifted strategy; he released the chains binding Chōji, giving him a moment to fight more easily. Chōji, free at last, wasted no time consuming a yellow chakra pill as Sakura, Shino, and Alice moved away.
"Super expansion jutsu!"
In just a mere moment, his massive silhouette loomed like a mountain, ready to crush Arthur beneath.
"Hmph…" he scoffed.
The ground quaked as the colossal Chōji came crashing down on him. But Arthur, in a breathtaking display, grasped the mighty boy with ease, lifting him effortlessly off the ground with one hand!
"You call this heavy?" he taunted.
Chōji blinked in disbelief. It was clear what he was thinking: 'Just how strong is he?'
At the swell of Chōji's power, Arthur slipped, bounced the expanding mass slightly upward, and ran forward. His fist shot toward Chōji's chin but met nothing but air as Chōji released the technique.
With Chōji reverting to his normal size, Arthur skidded at an awkward angle, recovering his balance just in time.
If Alice hadn't mentally warned the Akimichi, then the boy would have been knocked unconscious—just like last time.
But Arthur was not deterred. He analyzed his opponents beforehand, knowing their strengths and weaknesses.
He lunged forward, targeting Shino this time. He approached rapidly, watching the insect user narrowly evade his incoming fist but not quickly enough as Arthur then struck him in the gut with a knee.
The effect was profound; Shino staggered back, the wind knocked out of him. Then the next question was on everyone's minds: 'Just how fast is he?!'
As Arthur tore through his opponents, Alice strengthened the technique for her thoughts to relay faster.
Sakura, hearing the message, launched forward. But Arthur met her advances, evading all of her attempts. Each parry and deflection—Arthur knew how Sakura fought, having defeated her more than once.
This was the first time Alice had ever encountered someone as strong as him. She had heard of what Shippuden characters were like, but to face what she believed to be one standing before her was different.
Never did she believe that anyone in this world, in the realm of Naruto, could emit such compelling prowess.
As she tried to regain her composure, something registered in Arthur's senses. He shifted his focus for the briefest of moments, and Alice sensed it too—the absence of two chakras—Naruto's and Sasuke's.
Arthur understood.
'They must be in the tunnel leading to the Valley of the End,' he thought.
If that was the case, then he had to keep these Leaf ninjas at bay for a while longer.
Before Alice could process this thought, the battlefield crackled as Chōji surged forward, his gigantic fist drawn back, ready to crush Arthur to the ground.
"Partial expansion jutsu!"
Without needing to turn, Arthur pivoted on his heel and landed a kick to Chōji's rear, sending the hefty boy plummeting toward the ground like a meteor.
Chōji bounced off the floor, momentarily dazed.
But as the dust settled, it became clear to Arthur that he had no time for leniency. In a seamless flow, he landed another strike aimed at Chōji but abruptly backed away, evading Sakura's chakra-infused punch that whistled close to his back.
Shino attempted to flank him, but Arthur was aware.
Without breaking his stride, he shoved his hands into his pockets. Then, with his shin, he blocked Shino's advance.
Alice almost panicked when she understood what she was witnessing.
"He's fighting all three of them—with his hands in his pockets!" she internally exclaimed, disbelieving.
Arthur flowed through the oncoming attacks as if he were breakdancing on clouds, gliding effortlessly past Shino's swarming insects and Sakura's ground-caving assault. Each move was stylish, almost poetic—his body twisting and turning, defying the conventional capabilities of a shinobi.
Every tilt of his body and every fluid motion bewildered them. It left Alice breathless, grappling with a conflating sense of awe and apprehension.
As both Chōji and Sakura lunged at Arthur from either side, he leapt off the ground. Time slowed as he slipped through their attacks, moving cautiously between them.
Seeing this, Alice winced, fully aware of how he toyed with what should have been a certain defeat.
After landing, Arthur didn't need a doctorate degree in psychology to know what she was thinking: 'What is he?!'
There was a clear difference between their capabilities, a skill level surpassing anything she had observed.
Things subsided momentarily as the trio fell back to reassess, confused and overwhelmed by Arthur's ease in navigating the battlefield.
In that lull, Alice seized her chance. She rushed forward, her eyes still closed. When she closed the distance, she went in for taijutsu, ready to test her mettle against Arthur.
They engaged in a swift flurry of strikes, quick jabs, and dodges propelling them. Yet soon, Alice felt the need to retreat. She was not foolish; there was an urgency to learn rather than continue engaging recklessly.
'Clever,' Arthur thought after she backed off.
She wasn't emotional like Jada, nor was she high-minded like William. To fight someone like Arthur, there was something neither of those two did—strategize.
Alice stepped further back to regroup, her breath now steady but her thoughts mingling. She processed each move they'd shared, aware that he had a lot of experience. Too much, even.
"Your four are out of your league," he said, "so allow me to show you real power…"
Quickly, he dashed toward Sakura. She braced herself, drawing her fist back for a punch aimed directly at him. But he expertly dodged, slipping to the side as her fist whistled through the air.
Alice, observing the scene unfold, noticed the glint of something odd on Arthur's thumbs. Was that blood? Then she panicked, knowing what he was planning.
Before Sakura could retreat, he swiftly placed his palm against her belly.
'Summoning jutsu…'
A symbol formed instantly. With a sudden waft of smoke, a small monkey-like girl materialized.
"Huh?" she said, looking at her surroundings. But when she saw Arthur, she became full of jubilee. "Ah! Daddy, you finally called me to action!" She chirped gleefully, stretching her tiny limbs, her bright eyes sparkling with enthusiasm.
Arthur extended his arm for the girl to land on, and Alice's heart sank.
"So this is what he meant by 'real power,'" she whispered to herself.
"Koko!" Arthur calmly commanded. "It's time to put your skills to the test."
Even now, he wasn't thinking about winning this fight; he was challenging his own skills and measuring his own prowess against the horrendous odds.
If Koko could prove her worth against these fighters, he would surely summon her more often.
She puffed up her small chest and practically bounced with excitement. Then declared, "I'm ready!"
Alice mentally warned her teammates. If Arthur were to guess, she was probably saying things like, "We need to be careful" and "I've never seen a summoning like that before!"
Shino's expression shifted to alarm, confirming Arthur's suspicions; they were becoming more cautious.
What caught him off guard wasn't Koko's arrival; however, it was Alice's warning. She was regarded in the Leaf Village for her knowledge; if she was unsure, their situation was far more serious than they could perceive.
"I'll handle this!" he asserted.
"Are you sure?" Chōji asked, glancing back at Shino.
"I'm sure," he replied. "I think I've got him figured out." Then he relayed a mental message: 'I'll go in and distract them while you guys find an opening.'
Just as they prepared to counter, Arthur's demeanour changed, suddenly fixating on Chōji.
"You're Chōji from the Akimichi clan, right?" he coolly asked.
It shocked the group. He seemed to know them.
His gaze intensified, adopting a more solemn tone as he said, "I've heard about you… and two specific individuals you once knew." He paused, letting his words register in the boy's head. "What were their names again? Shika-something and a Yamanaka… Trash like all the rest."
The audacity of his words hit Chōji hard, his eyes widening in disbelief.
"Take that back!" he growled, feeling angry.
"The fat bum let them down," Arthur shot back, not at all perturbed by that sudden outburst.
In that instant, Alice desperately attempted to mentally reach out and calm Chōji down, but it was as if her thoughts were reaching a stone wall—he couldn't hear her.
Whether they were in a team or not, fighting Arthur required everyone to be mentally, spiritually, physically, and psychologically prepared.
The emotional chasm that Arthur opened forced Chōji into a primal response, and in a moment of fury, he pulled out the red pill!
"I don't care who you are," he began. "No one, and I mean no one, talks about my fallen friends! I'm gonna take you down!"
As he consumed the red pill, the transformation was swift. His body swelled with chakra, and his mass shifted into the form of Butterfly Mode. Two grand butterfly wings flared out from his back, radiating with fluorescent chakra, giving him an otherworldly appearance.
"Wow!" Koko chirped. "That's so cool, daddy!"
Then, the chakra began to coalesce into one spot—his right arm. Arthur knew what was coming; or rather, he planned it perfectly.
"Butterfly bomb!"
Arthur's reaction was instinctual; he gauged the distance, and when Chōji charged him, aiming a devastating punch, Koko leapt off his arm as he sidestepped. In that moment, Chōji swung with all his might, but Arthur had a different target in mind.
With precision, he closed the distance to Shino in an instant. As he leaned in with his kunai, he sliced through Shino's throat.
Gasping, Chōji's eyes bulged in horror and disbelief. Had Arthur seriously just killed Shino? But as all tensions focused on the moment, disaster turned into wonder; Shino dissolved into a swarm of bugs, using the substitution technique just in the nick of time.
'He'd be dead had it not been for Alice…'
Though irritated, Arthur remained unfazed. He sheathed his kunai back into his pouch and turned toward Alice, who stood resolute despite the turmoil on everyone else's faces.
Now she was certain: Arthur understood their mental tactic. Why else would he have faced her instead of the others?
At that moment, Koko landed on his shoulder and said, "I thought you had him, daddy!"
Sakura felt disturbed. This little, cute monkey of a girl felt cheery over someone about to die?
"Now," Arthur said with a little intrigue, "I wonder how you'll try to save the rest."
Though he recognized Alice's abilities, the knowledge that she was a player—a mortal among shinobi—made him aware that he wasn't allowed to kill her.
Unlike the others he had slain in the past, he couldn't kill her without consequence. The concept would betray his beliefs, making him a hypocrite. But he didn't need to kill her; he just needed to subdue her to get to the others.