Later.
As the sun set, Alice stood at the balcony of her apartnt, gazing out at the Leaf Village below. Her thoughts were consud by Arthur's return and the complexities that lay ahead.
The connection with Arthur was a dangerous one, but with her own goals needing to be reached, she knew the players had to be inford.
Just as the sun fully set, Jada returned.
"You're back!" Alice exclaid, stepping away from the balcony.
"Yes, I am," Jada replied, letting out a breath she didn't realize she'd been holding. "And you won't believe how long I'd been gone."
A few monts later, the girls' apartnt was rife with discussions of their ongoing missions. Jada settled into a chair, eager to recount her recent experiences with all the other players.
"So what happened that you're so excited about?" Marge asked, settling into her seat.
"I was trapped in a ti loop," Jada began. "Like a real one, I an. Over and over again, I lived the sa day, with no hope of escape until Hoshikaze helped out."
"Hoshikaze?" Margaret said in a skeptical tone. She then crossed her arms defensively, not willing to accept this plot twist lightly. "Isn't he showing up far too often? I an, we hardly know who he really is."
Alexander, sensing the tension, spoke up, "Let's not jump to conclusions. What matters is that Jada's here now, safe and sound."
"He's right," William agreed. "She might have been trapped there for years if Hoshikaze hadn't co to help." There was sothing about the way he spoke, almost as if respecting Hoshikaze. "That's pretty terrifying, to say the least."
It's then that Alice nudged Jasper's shoulder. Jasper leaned back and relented in a not-so-apologetic tone, "Alright... I'm sorry that I didn't dismantle the ti loop after sending Margaret back. It was my—"
"It's okay, Jasper," Jada kindly interjected. "Honestly, I had so fun going through the sa day like a hundred tis."
Margaret raised a perplexed eyebrow. "Fun? Trapped in a ti loop? How is that even possible in this world?"
After Jada explained to everyone what Hoshikaze revealed back then, Jasper expressed that he knew where the loop had ford. Yet he would rather not venture so far just to stop one distortion, believing it was small and couldn't expand.
Alice, wanting to steer the conversation to sothing more important, turned to address the group. But Margaret pressed, "Seriously, how is a ti loop even possible?"
Alexander chuckled lightly and remarked, "It's simple, really. We're just playing a ga, and in gas, anything is possible. You shouldn't sweat the minutiae."
"I don't even know what that word ans." Margaret said in confusion.
"Still," Jasper admitted, "I don't think I should use my Ti Travel technique again. Too much responsibility."
In truth, he knew that Alice would force him to travel far if the distortion occurred outside the Leaf Village.
Margaret countered, "But it was ti traveling that saved Alice in the first place. We should definitely not dismiss it outright."
"That brings us to the next topic," Alice again declared. "Danzō."
The other players shifted uneasily at the ntion of the controversial figure. Why was she bringing him up of all characters?
William shook his head as he said, "Danzō's still under house arrest, right? And with Hiruzen back, there's a good chance he'll be banished entirely."
Quiet murmurs of agreent filled the room. Neither of them quite liked Danzō in the first place.
Alice, however, pushed back with a thought-provoking question: "But what if getting rid of him changes the original plot in a way that endangers our later missions? As in, what if we can find a way to change him?"
"The plot's already broken," Jasper laughed.
He was quickly t with a punch to the arm, for his comnt was quite harsh considering that many had already died.
Margaret considered Alice's words as she wondered, "Would it be possible to reform that old dude? Seriously, what could he bring? He's a little too dangerous to be converting."
"I believe we can change him," Alice answered. Then sothing registered in her head: "Hey, since when did you think soone else was dangerous?"
"I said a little!" Margaret pouted.
"Well," Alice continued, "it's about flipping Danzō's perspective anyway. If we rewrite parts of his character early on, we may create a different outco for the village."
Intrigued and hesitant, the players exchanged looks at her proposal.
"Marge," Jada addressed, "you seem the most knowledgeable about him, so what do you think?"
Margaret exhaled slowly until she finally said, "Alright, I see where this is going. You guys want to convert Danzo because I'm the strongest and the only one who can do it."
They all looked at her, understanding that she still held pride in wishing to be known as the best.
Alex, seeking to clarify the group dynamic, added, "You'd be the best option, honestly."
Whether this was true or not, it was Alice who needed to push things further to gain their support.
"Let's put it to a vote then," she declared. "Who agrees that we task Marget with attempting to change Danzō?"
The group quickly cast their votes. Wanting to see Danzō reford was a welco alternative compared to the potential risks he posed. Each mber of the circle showed their approval until it beca evident that the vote was unanimous.
Marge couldn't hide her bright smile as he said, "It's decided then. Let the best player complicate this less in the village."
Jada let out a giggle while Jasper shook her head.
As the players dispersed from their eting, Jada pulled Alice aside for a mont.
"Are you sure about all this?" she asked. "We're placing a lot of trust in Marge."
"Did you not want her to go or sothing?" Alice wondered.
"No, it's not that... I just don't want anything bad to happen. I know she's strong and all, but you heard what I went through—anything unexpected could happen at any ti."
"Fair point," Alice responded. "I'll let her know to tread carefully. It's Marge we're talking about here. Don't forget that she helped when Kaito attacked."
"You're right," Jada breathed. "Okay, I'll trust that she can co back alive."
When the two entered their separate bedrooms, Alice felt emboldened. She held on to the hope that unity and a willingness to change would pave the way for a brighter fate, not just for themselves but for all those with intertwined destinies.
The next day.
The morning sun failed to peek through Arthur's laboratory.
The area was cluttered with beakers, scrolls, and various implents that showed how much ti he always put in here.
As Arthur imrsed himself in his work, a peculiar sensation was felt. It was one of his marks responding to sothing amiss in the Leaf Village.
He paused, placed down his device, and allowed his senses to stretch out.
anwhile, in a sunlit courtyard of the village, Hiruzen Sarutobi t with Margaret. They stood beneath the shade of a tree.
Hiruzen regarded the young woman with parental pride as he said, "Margaret, your competence is quite extraordinary. You remind so much of my dear pupil Tsunade."
Margaret winced at the comparison, saying, "Please, lord Third, don't do that. I wouldn't want to be compared to a legendary figure like her."
Hiruzen chuckled, not aware that she was actually offended. "But it's true. You embody the spirit of a true shinobi with imnse potential."
"Okay, fine," she replied, waving him off while brushing aside the praise. Wanting to redirect the conversation, she insisted. "How do I compare to Hashirama?"
The question caught Hiruzen off guard, and he turned to her with a knowing look. "What do you know about the first Hokage?"
Margaret smirked and happily said, "You already know that my wood style basically ca from him. I might not have all of his techniques down yet, but I've inherited a good bit."
Hiruzen rolled his eyes, although he was clearly intrigued as he said, "Your wood style is indeed remarkable, even surpassing soone in the Anbu Black Ops, in fact."
Margaret recognized the implication and chose to keep quiet, fully aware that he was referring to Yamamoto. She wanted to blurt out how she didn't like her reputation being compared to others she deed weaker than her, but she kept herself in check.
"Umm, lord third," she said, refocusing the topic, "I didn't co here to chat about myself; we need to talk about Danzō."
"Danzō Shimura?!"
"Yes, I think he's been doing so investigating during his ti on house arrest. And he's at fault for much more than the Uchiha Massacre those years ago."
Hiruzen bristled at the mory. "He's already received his punishnt, Margaret. He's kept away from us for a reason."
Her resolve only intensified as she pressed, "No, this is serious. He has more underground experints, and we need to confront him before it's too late."
Hiruzen pondered her words, and after a mont of silence, he finally gave in. "Very well. Let us go see him then."
Had Margaret not been the one to both rescue Hiruzen from peril and show that she could rival the best of the Leaf's Jōnin, the forr Hokage might not have given her this opportunity.
The two made their way through the village toward a secluded area where Danzō was kept. Margaret had never ventured into this part; it was restricted for most Leaf ninjas and only accessible to the Hokage or the village elders.
Expectations of a modest confinent faded as they approached a large mansion.
"To think when they said Danzō was on 'house arrest,' he was living in luxury," Margaret muttered under her breath.
When they made it to the door, Hiruzen unlocked it with a key. The door creaked open, revealing a lit interior filled with various collections of antiquities and likely artifacts from Danzō's past exploits.
The foyer even led to an elegant staircase that spiraled downwards.
Once they entered, Danzō made his presence known as he descended the stairs.
As Margaret gazed at him in person, she was sowhat struck by his frail, elderly appearance. His black, shaggy hair frad a face marked by the sa X-shaped scar on his chin that she rembered.
He also had that one eye obscured by a bandage, walking with the aid of a cane that further emphasized his decrepit state. His long, dark robe draping over his white shirt didn't help show that he was a kind old man.
'Thank goodness that eye patch is covered,' Margaret thought to herself.
Almost everyone knew that the elder's robe concealed multiple Sharingan on his grotesque right arm, as well as the image of the first Hokage's face protruding from his shoulder.
"You're back?" the elder tersely stated with eyes narrowing suspiciously at the sight of Margaret. "I already told you I'm not interested."
"Huh?" she replied, furrowing her brow in confusion at his rudeness. "You do know this is the first ti I've t you, right?"
"Don't play dumb with ," Danzō snapped with irritation perating through his voice.
Hiruzen stepped forward and said, "Show so respect, Danzō. This young kunoichi is here to discuss serious matters."
To Hiruzen's utter disbelief, Danzō smirked, almost mocking him as he said, "And you, an elder of our proud village, would yield to a little girl?"
Margaret felt herself growing heated. The whole scenario only added fuel to the fla of her upset feelings toward the elder.
"You know," she said, "I've heard so pretty disturbing rumours about you, Danzō. Even I know that you're the one responsible for the Uchiha Massacre!"
The declaration was dramatic. She should not have said. For instance, she brought about a matter that was supposed to be hidden from Leaf citizens. And then, she neglected to call him "lord Danzō."
Feeling as if he had been outplayed, Danzō narrowed his gaze and shifted his stance, hissing, "Don't trust her, Hiruzen!"
"Why would you say such a thing?" Hiruzen inquired as his brows knitted further together in a confused frown.
Before he could further question, Danzō lunged towards Margaret, aiming to incapacitate her under the guise of conspiracy charges.
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