As Arthur strode past Alice, all that could be heard was the crunching of dirt under his feet and the ominous sound of Iruka's blood dripping from the chains.
Kneeling on the ground with her head bowed, she found herself questioning everything she thought she knew.
Did she really believe she could save these characters? Was she that trapped in her own mind? Or had being spellbound in this virtual world crafted by Elysium completely distorted her perspective?
"You people live in a world of despair..." Arthur casually remarked without a single threat of emotion in his tone. "Why bother with befriending those from a village wrought with anguish?"
That was the last straw.
In response, the air around Alice began to stir. Then there was a crack.
Arthur leapt back, surprised but maintaining his composure. Dust began to flow around Alice, swirling as if it were alive, energized by something he couldn't fully make out.
"You think you're something, don't you?" she stated as she slowly stood. "You think you know everything, but you don't know anything about me or this world."
When her gaze met his, her eyes glowed with a brilliant shade of light blue as though they were ethereal. He felt it then, a different source of energy radiating from her—it wasn't chakra; it was Gelel energy. It swirled around her, crackling with intensity and power.
"You're just like all the other criminals out there," she rasped, her body beginning to levitate from the ground. "Always thinking you have the right to kill just because someone hurt you in the past."
As she ascended, a seeable aura illuminated all around her like a thin barrier. The dust around her seemed to reject its proximity, swirling violently off to the sides as if terrified of what she was about to unleash. The very earth began to respond to her calling, stones and pebbles levitating alongside her.
Wind and dust whipped past Arthur's hair as he watched. He could see not just the rocks floating by, but boulders from miles away began to lift, drawn by her potent will.
Why was he allowing her to power up? That was because deep down, he understood: she was a player, a real live person. If he killed her, it would mean the end of her life outside this place, a consequence that would break his beliefs.
As she rose to the pinnacle of her power, the winds around her stilled, a signal of the immense energy gathered in her being. In an ominous, echoing voice, she threatened, "You'll know what fear truly is…"
Without notice, a rock shot past Arthur at a startling speed. He barely registered it before blood began to drip from his cheek. This was different—her power could inflict real harm on him!
His chakra reacted instinctively, healing the gash as he began to leap back. Before he knew it, another rock zipped past, then another, and another, until he began dodging the onslaught of airborne projectiles launched in his direction.
Still composed, debris rained down around him. Dust and stones whipped through the air, and he began to shift at an alarming rate, narrowly avoiding the barrage.
Each rock he evaded scratched against his skin, leaving minuscule wounds that quickly healed.
Alice then lifted her hand higher toward him, causing the rocks to accelerate, propelled by her Gelel energy. They zipped toward him with increased ferocity, scratching at him like angry hornets, leaving him bruised but undeterred.
Soon, he found himself focused solely on dodging the barrage that she directed. She summoned greater quantities of earth and stone, eventually encasing him within a dome of spinning debris.
Then she raised an arm, causing a massive earth spear, infused with Gelel energy, to form above her head.
"Now die!" she screamed, launching the massive projectile toward him.
At that instant, adamantine chains erupted from the surrounding, slicing through the self-directed earth with incredible speed.
Arthur then leapt out, rocketing toward the airborne Alice. His strategy was simple: if he could just touch her and plant a flying raijin mark, it would be game over.
He appeared directly above her, his hand outstretched, but the moment he attempted to make contact, he was rebuffed by an invisible barrier.
She turned to face him, her glowing eyes shining with the intensity of her power. Azure orbs flared, and Arthur was shot back to the ground with an unexpected force, crashing down onto his knees.
"Now that's interesting…" he murmured, steadying himself after her recovery.
He understood why she hadn't used this before. The raw power that was radiating from her was simply too great for any teammate to withstand her presence—it was a double-edged sword.
If she had been using only chakra, he wouldn't have been pushed back so easily. Gelel energy was a source he scarcely understood, and he was facing head-on.
"Get lost!" she shouted, waving her hand.
Instantly, the ground beneath him violently quaked, and the earth trembled. His senses recognized the extent of her ability—the attack was occurring over a vast range. It was an earthquake!
With little time to think, he sprang into action. He began jumping from rock to rock, using his chakra to maintain his balance against the shifting terrain. The ground wriggled and bucked, causing debris to tumble around him as stalagmites shot upward with force, barely missing him.
Each near miss pressured him to continue dodging and weaving with acrobatics that were nothing short of impressive. It became so chaotic that the very sun could no longer be seen.
'This woman's truly trying to kill me…' he thought as he just barely managed to keep his footing amidst the havoc she unleashed.
As the landscape lifted violently, he increased his movements. Arthur was no stranger to life-threatening situations, but this was different—Alice wasn't just angry; she was trying to end his existence.
After leaping from precariously falling rock to rock, he finally spotted an opening—an escape.
He shot upward with a powerful leap, only to see that Alice's rampage had led him to fall down a steep hill. Before he could land, she zoomed past him like a comet that knocked him off course. He managed to twist midair, narrowly landing on his feet.
Alice therefore stopped and turned in the air to face him. She clapped her hands, an action that caused Arthur's head to swim momentarily. He felt a strange shift deep within, making him instinctively close his eyes.
'What just happened?' he wondered. Then he heard his own thoughts say, 'Dive down…'
But when his vision looked down at the hill, he knew that was a bad idea. It wasn't a suggestion he would ever entertain, and yet he felt compelled to dive below.
Something was wrong.
Before he could fully process, a force shot toward him from Alice's direction. It nearly knocked the air from his lungs as he propelled himself back, barely avoiding the attack. Before he could land, he found himself hanging in midair by her telekinesis.
Then it came again—his own thoughts: "Release your chakra to break free…"
What? He would never do such a stupid thing. If he did, then his defenses would shatter, and he'd be vulnerable to all her advances.
Then it finally struck him what was happening; Alice was rewriting his very thoughts!
Determined to assert control over his own mind, he rapidly dismissed her influence and stopped listening to his own voice. Now it was time to act purely on instinct.
'Water style: surface slice…'
Using the molecules in the air, a barrage of razor-sharp water slices raced toward Alice.
Caught off guard by his sudden counter, she placed her palms forward, redirecting the attack. The water splashed against an invisible barrier, bursting apart and shattering her concentration.
In that moment of distraction, he felt the grip of her influence loosen as he was released from mid-air. He then took off running in the opposite direction.
"You're not getting away!" she furiously shouted, giving chase.
Arthur didn't need to look back; he could hear the destruction she left in her wake as she flew.
This woman was truly terrifying. Not only was her prowess so, but so was the depth of her rage and desperation to end him for good.
He ran faster. With each stride, he focused on the landscape ahead—the rocky terrain sculpted by Alice's immense powers. He spotted a series of jagged rocks jutting out from the ground, a possible route to gain higher ground and distance himself from her relentless pursuit.
He leaped toward the rocky formation, using his chakra to propel himself higher. But he was far from her sensing range.
"Get back here!" she roared through the mayhem.
The ground shook even more violently, and with a swift motion, the earth beneath him erupted, leaving sharply pointed stone spikes like a natural trap.
Using his agility, he twisted mid-air, dodging the spikes effortlessly. But he could feel her energy sharpening more than before; she was preparing another attack, one that would surely be lethal if he allowed it to take form.
Then he felt it—her Gelel energy around her beginning to coalesce. In a split second, it happened.
She reeled both arms back, palms open, and caused a brilliant light to envelop her as she drew together every ounce of power she possessed, channeling it into an orb of Gelel energy infused with her chakra.
The world around them lost colour as if nature itself was being affected. Then the unsaturated energy came to a single point where her technique was being gathered.
"Feel the weight of your mistakes!" she said with a furious expression. "Cerebral Wave!"
She then thrust her hands forward, unleashing a devastating blast that surged forward in a wave of blinding light. The energy crashed through the surroundings like a tidal wave, obliterating everything in its path. Trees were ripped from their roots, soaring through the air while earth and dirt were torn away in magnificent arcs, creating destruction that radiated from the point of impact.
Arthur remained stoic, standing at the center of the blast as the violent wave barreled toward him. He could feel its power thrumming against his being, a force so potent that it felt as if the very fabric of the world were splitting apart around him.
'Summoning jutsu…'
A puff cloud emerged, and Koko burst out with enthusiasm: "Surprise!"
"Hazlo..."
The instant the unstoppable energy cascaded over them, she placed her palm forward: "Sage art: 36-layer self-regenerating barrier!"
Erecting her jutsu, the blast slammed into an invisible shield that caused the two to be pushed back slightly. The impact rocked them both, so he steadied himself and placed a palm behind Koko's back.
"Gracias, daddy!" she smiled, looking back at him.
Letting her tongue hang, she concentrated to maintain their defenses.
Then they felt it—the telekinetic wave broke through thirty-five invisible layers and enveloped them completely. Arthur instinctively began to heal them both—drawing upon a deep well of his chakra to counteract damage even while draining him of his own strength.
Pain flared and throbbed as his body absorbed the brunt of the impact, refusing to show any sign of the turmoil.
With each passing moment, as the blast engulfed them, he could sense his chakra reserves plummet. But he stood firm against it, enduring to keep their last layer intact while mending their wounds.
And then, it reached its climax—an explosion of energy that ripped through the surroundings, showering the area with debris and uprooting trees, of which the very landscape was forever altered by Alice's fury.
Slowly, the chaos began to quiet. The oppressive weight of the blast faded upon the surreal silence that settled.
The dust fully cleared as both Arthur and Koko stood amidst the wreckage, untouched. Within him, he felt the irrevocable withdrawal of chakra; he was drained, with mere reserves left.
Alice hovered in the air a short distance away with a smirk. Crossing her arms, she taunted, "Look at you now.... All that confidence of yours vanished the moment I took this fight seriously."
"Don't talk to daddy like that!" Koko jeered. Arthur remained silent due to the exhaustion as she jumped up and down pumping her fist. "He's gonna kick your—!"
In the midst of her cheers, a rock zipped past her head, causing her to poof back to where she was summoned.
"You're sick, you know that?" Alice stated with a sense of foreboding.
He made no move to respond, facing her calmly even as she advanced.
"Think I can't do it again?" she challenged, landing on the ground. Her hands moved in place, preparing another Cerebral Wave. "Think again…"
Arthur knew that he wouldn't be able to withstand another blast like that one. Not with his severely low chakra reserves.
But if there was one thing that he never did, it was panic.
He knew all about Alice's telekinetic abilities. These were things seldom expanded on in the Narutoverse, with no one, save those with a Rinnegan, could comparing to.
No one's ever had that ability before, nor was there any mention of it in the story. And Alice's use of it was nothing short of remarkable.
Telekinesis was so profound that it even left Hiruzen Sarutobi speechless. Why Arthur had entered this battle was to see how far her potential was, to see if it was worth obtaining himself. That's why he put himself through so much training, destroying his mind and body until his spiritual energy could rise above hers.
"I guess it can't be helped," he finally said, reaching into his pocket. What he pulled out next was a rainbow coloured pill. "Your moment was over before it began…"
Now was the time to see just how strong he truly was.