If there was something Arthur understood about Alice's deadly technique, it was that she couldn't stop it once it was activated. There was a gap between her gathering energy and chakra before its release.
That gap was all that he needed.
He popped the pill in his mouth just as she finished regathering her energy. And with a fierce cry, she unleashed it: "Cerebral Wave!"
The ground beneath them trembled violently, fissures cracking open as the blast tore forward, sending debris flying into the sky while creating a whirlwind of dust that whipped around the scene. The terrain transformed once more, becoming filled with jagged mounds of gravel as the force swept through the air like a tidal wave.
When things cleared, there was a huge gaping hole stretching out like a cone. And at the very tip of that cone stood Arthur, completely undeterred and unshaken with his eyes closed.
Alice furrowed her brows in disbelief. How could he have withstood her attack? The aftermath of it all—no normal shinobi in this world could have withstood it. At least not twice!
She was confused, and her eyes widened in bewilderment.
"What happened to his chakra?" she asked herself, unable to sense it.
At that moment, it was what emerged from his back that captured her full attention. Amber chakra, so thick and dense, began to sprout into existence. Giant wings unfurled from his body, expanding several feet wide, casting an otherworldly light in their wake.
She had seen this transformation before in the Akimichi's Butterfly Mode, a sight that left an impression on those who laid eyes upon it. But what materialized behind Arthur were no insect wings; they were angelic—majestic and luminous, glowing with a power that seemed almost divine.
The sight of them left a gut-wrenching mix of awe and dread in her.
"Just who the heck are you?!" she shouted in anger.
Yet that was not where the strange climax of his power ended. His chakra levels soared higher than she had ever sensed before, rippling with intensity. The wings shifted from their warm yellowish tint, intertwining with chakra she could not recognize.
"What is that?" she asked aloud.
Without meaning to, she took a step back, darting to her feet. Why had they moved on their own? Did he force her to do it? No. Her body betrayed her; she failed to recognize the thing in which she tried to instill upon him earlier: fear.
It was no wonder that she could no longer sense his essence. Right now, she was in the presence of the Gift of the Hermit Chakra mixed with his otherwise potent chakra.
His wings then turned into a brilliant white mixed with a gold aura of purity that made the light around them seem darker by comparison. He finally opened his eyes, revealing their glowing nature—vibrant pools of light that swirled with chakra.
"I admit, Alice… You're strong… But in this world, I have no rival…"
She became silent as only the sounds of their chakra resonated through the land. She just couldn't believe what she was witnessing. Those majestic wings, that golden light—all of it had turned the backdrop in twilight tones.
A being like him shouldn't exist in their world. No one had ever warned Alice of such a threat.
She wanted to attack; she wanted to unleash another technique to throw him off balance. But within that moment of brief pause, she believed that it wouldn't work.
His chakra levels were far beyond the point of recognition, and if she couldn't sense him, her attacks wouldn't hurt him any longer.
She felt a primal instinct to recoil even as she stood transfixed. There was only one thing she could do now—run.
In that split second, she took a powerful leap toward the sky, her feet barely grazing the ground before she tried launching herself into the clouds. But just as swiftly as she'd ascended, she felt a hand touch the back of her shoulder, a touch that sent fear down her spine.
It was Arthur, and his hand alone was enough to bring her right back down to the earth.
"What?!" she fearfully said.
Then he performed a technique.
Without notice, she was abruptly pulled into a darkness that was all her own. Confused, she found things utterly black, barely able to even see her own body.
Where was she?
As she turned and shifted, trying to understand her predicament, she finally understood where she was—her own mind.
When she looked up, she saw glowing red eyes peering down from above. It became evident what this jutsu was—the Eye Mind Reading technique. Arthur had employed it to pry open the doors to her psyche and invade her very mind, the source of where all her telekinetic chakra and Gelel energy was coming from.
In just moments, she felt herself entangled by his stare. She received a massive headache like no other.
Back on the battlefield, she let out a scream that caused a torrential wind to climb toward the heavens. The force of it sent waves across the ground, causing dirt to fly under the power of her psychic tumult.
Yet Arthur remained tranquil amidst her desperation for things to stop. He held onto her, keeping his grip firm even as the winds howled.
Then, as quickly as things had started, she stopped screaming.
Her telekinetic powers began to gradually recede. Arthur, sensing her energy waning, casually released his grip and walked past her. As if cued by his departure, the chakra flooding her mind exploded outward, forcing her to revert to her normal self.
Her body then collapsed onto the ground. Arthur turned around to survey the aftermath, feeling impressed at her tenacity but not showing it.
That last technique he used had required a lot of his amplified chakra to mentally dismantle her.
If this were a different type of fight, he would have been forced to use physical techniques instead, such as adding in the Raigo formation or even going as far as activating his Sage Mode.
Doing such things, however, posed a risk. Both to his body and to his identity.
What if she had managed to survive and escaped? She would have discovered that he was alive and that he had been the cause of a lot of the events happening thus far.
As far as he was concerned, everyone believed that his persona as Kaito was that of a made-up character that happened to spawn as one of Orochimaru's henchmen. Arthur was bent on keeping it that way until the time was ripe.
Originally, he planned on sneaking in their carriage and teleporting the three caskets away. It was more than possible till he understood the consequences an act like that would do. The best thing was to confront the problem head-on and then reap the rewards later.
But still. To think that Alice was that strong. Perhaps not physically but most certainly spiritually.
The game was over for her, though. While he hadn't killed her, he was going to plant a flying raijin mark now that he had the chance to.
Before he could, however, his rewards needed to be collected.
Having already placed a flying raijin mark on each casket prior to the fight, he sensed their locations and found them deep in an earth trench—thanks to that earlier earthquake. The bodies were still inside, allowing him to do what he needed.
'Flying raijin…'
Without needing to teleport to them, he instead focused what was left of his vast chakra and transported them straightway to his laboratory.
The distance between him, three different caskets, and the Cayman Jungles was great—it used up all of his chakra, reverting him back to his original state.
No one else was around, so he didn't need to worry.
Having killed more than a few important characters was enough work for one evening. He honestly hadn't wanted to end their time this early, but it was a necessity considering how far the players had already affected the main storyline.
He was honestly quite sick and tired of letting these players roam freely in this world. Too much freedom for them was not a good thing. Because each day that passed for these Naruto enthusiasts was making them all the more deadly.
"Alice, he declared, knowing she still had some semblance left in her, "I've quite had enough of you…"
Since he didn't want to kill her outright, he could imprison her in her own mind from henceforth—rendering her essentially a mentally disabled child, trapped in fear and unable to form coherent thoughts.
That was the most he could do to stop these players from threatening his grand scheme of things.
So he approached her to finally end things.
Yet, before his hand could connect with her forehead, a sudden figure stormed into view, halting him in his tracks.
"If you touch her again," the familiar voice announced, "it'll be the last thing you ever do!"
Arthur slowly turned, only to see Margaret Campbell. And she wasn't alone. In the midst of them were dozens upon dozens of her wood clones.
Where did she come from? No. How did she get here without him sensing her?
Margaret dropped to the ground, slamming her palms to summon a barrier of wood that shielded Alice's body. Then it sank to the earth, immediately reappearing by Margaret's side.
As Arthur assessed the scene, he noticed the intensity of the clones' collective anger. If he had truly laid a hand on Alice, they most certainly had enough time to react and stop him.
The threat was insurmountable; wood clones were as dangerous, if not more perilous, than shadow clones. They were also not easy to take on alone.
Margaret's attention was divided as she softly cradled Alice. Her fallen friend stirred awake from her mental invasion. But she remained disoriented.
"Marge…?" Alice murmured in a faint voice.
"Alice, don't worry; I'm here. We already lost you once, but I'm here this time."
"How… did you know where I was?" Alice asked, barely able to speak.
"What do you think, mom? Jasper, of course! He sent me back just in time."
Alice's exhaustion was finally getting the better of her. But she managed a smile at that thought.
"He did…? Remind me to thank that idiot."
At those words, she finally fell unconscious.
Margaret swiftly enveloped Alice's body in a protective dome made of wood, allowing it to gently cradle her to the ground.
Arthur had observed, keenly aware of every moment as he processed their exchange. Something about it felt odd; their words didn't make sense. Or rather, it felt familiar.
'How did she get here?' he thought to himself.
Arthur was never one to leave room for mistakes; he was always aware of who went in and out of the village, monitoring the flying raijin marks to ensure his plans went unbothered.
Margaret, from what he recalled, was all the way back at the Leaf Village, which was more than a day's journey from here. There was no shot that she'd have the speed or method to suddenly traverse here without foreknowledge.
But what if she did have foreknowledge? What if she knew about this entire thing beforehand?
Arthur felt disbelief. The implications dazzled and vexed him. Upon connecting the dots, there was a sense of understanding that brought him discomfort, one that he refused to acknowledge.
He had run this scenario dozens of times in his head, having gone as far as training Koko for emergencies that might have otherwise caught him off guard.
Why else was Koko so prepared and quick to activate a technique the moment she was summoned? It was because he had relayed to her of the mission prior and said, "If I summon you, it means you're to defend me against an unforeseen attack…"
His plan was flawless. Yet here was Margaret, arriving at precisely the right moment to intervene. Her presence was an anomaly, one that he had not foreseen.
'It can't be…' he thought to himself.
He scoffed internally at the incredulous idea he was thinking of. Surely such a phenomenon like that couldn't exist within the confines of a constructed virtual world—a realm bound by the rules he believed immovable.
Could it be possible? Surely it couldn't.
Forgetting that notion for a moment, he placed his attention on Margaret.
From what he knew about her, she was a force in her own right. Margaret had selected the Senju clan as her character. Her personality matched her fiery locks, and she wasn't afraid to tell others off when she felt pissed.
Her techniques were a merger of wood style and many of the fifth Hokage's jutsus, which made her deadly in both close combat and long distance.
As if that weren't enough, she also had the ability to enter Slug Sage mode, a never-before-seen Sage Mode that most certainly had special qualities that other Sage Modes did not.
Arthur remembered the last time she had seen him in his Simian Sage Mode. She wasn't the least bit impressed, acting as if her Sage Mode was far greater than his.
Right now, his chakra levels had been drained to near zero, and his body needed to readjust after undergoing such a horrific transformation. He simply could not engage in another battle. Not with a player stated to be even stronger than Alice.
"I don't believe we've met," Margaret said, widening her eyes. He remained quiet, trying to comprehend how she managed to come here while evading both his and Alice's sensing range. "The silent type, huh? Whatever… You won't live long anyway, so I won't bother asking who you are."
With one flex of her hand, he felt the weight of her chakra trying to press down on him. It was incredible, far greater than he had expected.
But he remained unmoved, still trying to assess things.
These players were all unique in their own rights. They were given gifts, talents, and showered with all sorts of techniques that would otherwise be difficult to attain by ethical means.
The thing that Margret and Alice had just spoken about earlier: 'Already lost you once,' 'sent me back…'
"How utterly ludicrous," he finally said to himself after accepting the situation.
It was in this decisive moment that the unthinkable became possible, and the game had changed into levels far beyond his comprehension. There was only one thing and one thing only that could have brought Margaret here to stop Arthur from rising.
"Time travel…"