Arthur was currently seen at his gym. He exerted himself beneath the heavy pull of gravity, performing one-handed push-ups that carved his will into his very muscles.
Sweat glistened on his brow, dripping onto the floor in a relentless cascade. Each drop beca part of the training ground—testant to his indomitable spirit and relentless ambition.
Beyond the confines of his solitary workout, a small army was forming.
Kimimaro had transitioned surprisingly well in Sun Stream Plaza. With his return from death's grip, he had taken to assimilating himself among the ranks.
With his acquisition, that now made six individuals at Arthur's disposal. Each one brought different strengths that he used when the ti called for it.
Tayuya had taken it upon herself to bring Kimimaro up to speed. While she offered to train him, he rejected, claiming that he was much stronger than his forr comrade.
As her irritability clashed with Kimimaro's earnest nature, their interactions turned sowhat comical. While Tayuya grumbled to Arthur with incessant demands like a child, Kimimaro remained steadfast, frequently referencing Arthur as his lord, eager to fit into a role that they both now inhabited.
It was evident that Kimimaro had technically beco weaker since he lost the curse mark. Yet even with it, that didn't an that she was considered stronger than Tayuya. Tayuya herself, who also lost the curse mark, had been training with Athur's guidance, bringing her to his level.
Koko had actually brought an unexpected challenge to Kimimaro's authority. She was a point of contention. And when Kimimaro attempted to assert a semblance of leadership, declaring that Arthur would want this or that, Koko scoffed at him.
"Who do you think you are telling what to do?!" she bounced, beating her small chest. Yet, her bravado took a turn upon witnessing Kimimaro's Kekkei Genkai. It wasn't that she was scared, more so disgusted at the display of bones tearing through flesh. "Ewwwww!"
Those were just the minor things Arthur had to deal with. His main focus still remained on training.
As he focused on pushing his limits, a strange sound echoed through the facility. It was a discordant clang that grabbed his attention. The lights flickered and then snuffed out entirely, returning the air to normal.
Calmly, Arthur stood and navigated to the control panel. Flicking switches and pressing buttons, he soon confird that everything appeared operational. There were no faulty readings.
He then went to the generator, only to find that it also functioned correctly.
His brow knitted together in consternation, Arthur made his way to the area housing the magnets. There, he discovered that one of the larger magnets had chipped. That was most certainly not good.
Without the full capability of the antigravity effects, of which his training ground relied heavily on, he wouldn't be able to continue strengthening himself.
He therefore ceased his training to focus on making repairs. And repairing sothing as complicated as this was not going to be easy.
A short stop at Diana's office was required. He, of course, did not need permission to cease her black card.
When he arrived at the black market, searching for replacents, he found himself vexed. There were no more illegal magnets in stock.
Those magnets were specially crafted for antigravity effects; they didn't exist elsewhere. To make them would also take months, sothing he didn't have ti to spend on.
If he desired to repair his training facility, he needed those magnets. As such, he infiltrated the market's transaction logs and found who bought the last magnets before him—an anonymous buyer from the Fire Country who then donated it to none other than the Advanced Technology Research Institute (ATRI) that had been established in the Leaf Village.
Those were where the last highest-quality magnets were housed. Only the best would do, and he would need to once again enter a location he dreaded.
Arthur did not like venturing to the Leaf Village. He would prefer to avoid coming to the attention of the authorities, especially given the heightened security due to the events he had instigated.
Yet, the risk was necessary; he needed those magnets.
'Flying raijin...'
In a flash, he rematerialized outside the structure of the Advanced Technology Research Institute. He arrived in silence, already conjuring the plan to take what belonged to him.
Twisting smoke swirled around him as he slipped inside and navigated through the maze of corridors. He was keenly aware of his surroundings, noting the emptiness of the building due to it being outside of work hours.
Of course, he would still need to act quickly and decisively to reduce the risk of being caught.
Eventually, he found a locked chamber with terminals and screens. The magnets lay inside and seed like they were going to be used for engineering. They were just sitting there, not even connected to anything.
Arthur easily made it inside. Knowing that taking them outside would raise eyebrows, he marked them with his Flying raijin and then teleported them to his plaza. To the outside observer, it just looked like the magnets vanished via his touch.
Now that they were safely secured, it was ti to leave.
Suddenly, there was a subtle shift in the air, as if sothing had moved. Instinctively, Arthur turned around and grabbed the space in front of him. His hand gripped sothing soft, and as the tension rose, the figure's form gradually beca visible, revealing Alice!
"How interesting," Arthur calmly said as he tightened his grip. "That technique allowed you to avoid my sensing range, but it doesn't stop your sound."
Did she perhaps ti travel to get here? He was honestly surprised by the suddenness of her presence and by how easily she had invaded a space he believed was safe.
Alice's face reddened as she began to choke under his hold.
"You've gotten stronger since the last ti we fought... but coming here was a big mistake."
After those words, Alice managed to gasp out a declaration, "I'm here... as an ally."
Arthur narrowed his eyes skeptically, feeling as though he had just stumbled into a web of deception. Should he trust her? Or should he knock her out here and now?
He watched as drool ford at the corners of her mouth, a sign of desperation. With her struggling for breath and it being evident that no one could stop him, he decided to let her go.
As she slipped from his grip and fell to the floor, gasping for air, he maintained a sardonic expression.
"An ally, you say?" he challenged, crossing his arms. "I have no allies in this world, Alice..."
"Were you really going to kill ?" she coughed, slowly scrambling to sit up.
"Last I checked, I don't kill."
The fear in her eyes was clear, and for the first ti, Arthur saw the chink in her usually confident deanour.
"I see," she said understandingly. "Then, can we both agree that I'm not here to fight?"
"Why should we?" he coolly replied, watching her carefully. This was a player, so who knew what she might have up her sleeve? "What's to stop from just erasing your mories and turning you into a ntal vegetable?"
Alice hesitated, visibly shaken but resolute in her demand for clarity.
"Look, I can explain," she gasped.
Arthur activated his Tamashii, causing Alice to rember all too well how frightening those glowing eyes can be. But he wasn't using them to scare her; he was going to examine the honesty of her words.
"Alright then," he intoned, locking onto her gaze. "First, start by telling how you knew I'd be here."
"I didn't; I had my suspicions," she answered with her voice gaining strength. "Ever since you perford that Mind Invasion technique on the last ti we fought, I started connecting the dots."
The mory of their last battle flashed through Arthur's subconscious—the fierce ntal struggle and the intense spiritual warfare the two engaged in.
"During that fight," she continued, "I tried to counter you and caught a glimpse of your mind—enough to sense who you were behind your transformation. What unsettled most was when I heard that little monkey girl speaking Spanish."
A great deduction indeed. No one speaks Spanish in this world. Even if it was a virtual one, it's still based in Japan.
Arthur accepted this, though it didn't completely placate his suspicions. "That doesn't tell how you tracked down here."
"I believed you'd been entering and exiting the Leaf through so kind of covert ans, so I altered my sensing technique to track anything that entered the village, regardless of camouflage techniques."
That ant that if sothing or soone attempted to teleport to the Leaf Village, Alice would instantly detect it. It was like a bubble arising out of a pool despite no one stirring up the water.
Clever, Arthur thought. That would have also ant that she'd been keeping up her sensing every hour of every day until she finally saw a sign of his potential presence.
That was why Arthur despised coming to the Leaf Village—there were tricks and nuisances like various sensing tactics others could develop to find him. Now he wouldn't be able to co here without risking detection, not if he didn't improvise a new strategy.
"Hmm..." he said, contemplating his next question. "What made you act on your own in search of ?"
Alice revealed that Arthur had actually been the first person to harm her in their last fight. Because of that, she had never been able to compare just how far the level of pain in this world went. Upon finally being injured to a high level of degree, she understood that Elysium's pain-dampening promise was a lie.
"Tell sothing then, Alice—what's stopping from just getting rid of you right now?"
At this, her resolve wavered, but she masked it quickly and said, "I haven't told anyone about you yet."
The word yet wasn't missed.
"So you're implying that because you didn't reveal to the world that I'm alive, it makes you my ally?"
"No," she firmly stated. "I an yes. Listen to , Arthur... You're the most fascinating person I've t by far, and I'll also admit it: you're stronger than . But if you don't want to hear what I have to say, I do have safety asures in place."
This genuinely piqued his interest. She wouldn't have told him about this contingency unless she had a real purpose for coming here. On top of that, she said asures with an "s," aning more than one.
"Amusing," he retorted. "You're clever; I'll give you that."
At that mont, Alice swallowed her nerves and said, "A funeral was held for the people you killed, Arthur. Almost everyone here wants to lynch Kaito."
"I'm aware," he flatly corrected her. "But they are not people. No one here is worth calling 'people' except the six who refuse to open their eyes."
She winced, suddenly reminded of the brutality of her own mories.
"Sorry... I forgot." Distantly, she recalled Iruka's brutal execution. "But after you killed Iruka... sothing in snapped. I've been haunted by it. We all have."
It was clear that because of Arthur's actions, Kaito's face and na had made it to the Leaf's wanted list. And because he was wanted in the Leaf, that ans their allied countries also wanted his head.
What was Kaito's bounty price? A ager one million ryō, nothing too insane.
"Then why are you here?" Arthur's gaze bore down on Alice, searching for signs of deception—but for once, she t his scrutiny with clarity.
"I need to know where you actually stand," she resolutely stated.
"Where I stand?" he pressed. "For all I know, you could be working for Alex or soone else."
At the ntion of Alexander, she said, "I don't even trust Alex anymore. He lied to about what happens when a player dies."
Arthur wasn't there for that. There had been a mont when Alice witnessed Alex's chakra fluctuate during one of their conversations. She only told Jasper about it.
Yet she remained inscrutable as Arthur questioned, "Why should I believe any of this? You seem to have forgotten what happened in the Land of Tea."
"You don't have to believe ," she softly said, feeling regretful. "But at least know that I'm not your enemy."
"That so...?"
"Yes, seriously!" she asserted. "Whatever you're planning, whatever path you're on, I'm not here to compromise it... I just don't like the idea of others being hunted or controlled. And as much as I may resent you for your past actions, I can't deny that you had your reasons. And maybe I'm a fool for playing this ga, but if you give a chance, we could find so mutual benefit."
At that bold statent, Arthur summoned the Thunder Sword and brought it threateningly close to her throat.
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