Chương 88: Back Up Those Words
As they ascended the cliff, the world below them shrank into a miniature landscape. The forest canopy stretched out like a green ocean.
Arthur reached the top first, but he knew that he couldn't stay there for long. He had to keep moving.
With another quick breath, he launched himself into the air, his body arcing through the sky in an acrobatic fashion. He landed on a nearby tree branch and his momentum carried him forward as he continued to run from branch to branch.
Jada watched him disappearing into the canopy. She knew that she had to catch him, no matter the cost. So she quickly bounced off the wall and pinpointed exactly where he was headed.
When she landed, she continued to give chase. After a few seconds, she broke through the foliage into an open field about three acres long.
Arthur stood in the middle, his back turned from her. And on his side was a sword sheathed in an uncommonly long scabbard. She met his unmoving form, standing a few meters away.
"Enough running!" she demanded, swiping the air with her arm. "The only thing pathetic here is you avoiding me."
The wind whipped through his hair as he slowly turned to face her. The world seemed to hold its breath, waiting for his response.
"Words as empty as your threats…"
He wasn't just mocking her; he was implying that her efforts were insignificant and that he wasn't trying to run. He knew that dismissing a challenge was unavoidable; it was the stage that needed to be set first.
Arthur, at any time, could have used the flying raijin to teleport out. But after gauging Jada's chakra, he felt the need to test just how strong he truly was compared to a player.
Jada remained silent with her eyes fixed on him. She hadn't considered why he was running in the first place, let alone why he had stopped in such an open space.
In response to her lack of a comeback, his hand moved to his side. With a swift, fluid motion, he drew his weapon—the Long Blade.
As it was drawn, thin, metallic wires slithered out, wrapping around the blade like a protective cocoon without obstructing its form. Then, with a sudden chill, the blade froze, encasing itself in a crystalline shell as if it were a diamond weapon.
Jada watched with an awed expression. She could see how his ice chakra was perfectly infused in and around the sword. It was a creation she had never witnessed before.
Yet she was not intimidated.
The Totsuka Blade was still on her person. She gripped the handle with both hands, preparing for a fight.
The tension rose as Arthur slowly brought the sword up, saying, "Let's see how your world crumbles after I show you real power."
The first strike came from him. The two clashed weapons with a deafening roar, causing the space between them to sizzle with chakra. A shockwave was sent rippling through the ground, disintegrating the grass.
The Totsuka Blade wasn't sealing the Long Blade. That caused Jada to be more shocked than anyone.
She looked at him in frustration, his eyes showing no remorse for going easy on her.
Arthur pushed forward with a swift thrust, the frozen blade aiming at her heart. She parried the attack by deflecting the incoming strike. His blade then clashed against her ethereal weapon several more times. Each strike moved her back, causing the ground beneath her feet to part ways.
She managed to regain her balance before arcing her way around him. The two danced, blurring in the center of the grassland.
While her attempts were aggressive, his was calculating. He was repelling her every advance. It was like an icy storm fighting against a fiery liquid, with each strike either freezing or burning the blades of grass.
"You call that kenjutsu?" Arthur mocked, parrying her away.
When she recovered after skidding, her chest heaved up and down. Then she pulled a smile, noticing that her efforts weren't in vain.
'So she noticed early,' he thought to himself.
Throughout their clashes, the Totsuka Blade had indeed been working properly. Arthur's weapon had a small portion of its ice chipped, signifying that those pieces had been sealed away.
If he hadn't taken measures by using seals on his weapon, it would have been absorbed by now.
She lunged in again and aimed a killing blow at Arthur's heart. But Arthur was ready. With a swift movement, he intercepted her attack, his frozen blade meeting hers with a resounding clang.
The battle reached a crescendo as they exchanged blow after blow. Seeing her finally make the wrong move, he swiped his blade at hers, creating an impact so forceful that it sent her flying backward.
The saké hilt of her weapon was let go of for a second, but she managed to grip it back in time just before flipping to recover.
Her sword skills compared to his were clear: he was better.
How could she, despite wielding the Sharingan, compare to a warrior who's been training with undead samurais that had unlimited stamina?
It was just a few exchanges, yet her body was aching. She steadied herself, and her eyes were burning with determination. With a fierce cry, she declared, "Arthur! I'm going to beat you!"
"Hmph. Come and try."
The grassland continued to be filled with echoing clashes. At its heart were those two, Arthur having not even broken a sweat yet.
Jada knew that she was outclassed, but she still didn't want to yield. She was exquisite, just like her weapon. And while she wasn't a kenjutsu specialist, she was still lashing her attacks with beautiful movements.
An overhead swing from Arthur was countered by ducking quickly, a forward thrust was quickly leapt from, and a series of slashes were dodged with an elegant backflip.
She knew she could attack back during his assaults. But if she did that, her Sharingan saw ahead of time that one of her limbs would be cut off.
Her body was simply too slow to react to his insane speed.
When she finally did attack, her blade left trailing chakra, hitting nothing but air. This is what Lee was talking about—fighting Arthur was like fighting an untouchable ghost.
The ground trembled under the force of their blows. Both players were locked in an epic dance. With every clash, Jada was getting more desperate.
"Losing your focus already?" he taunted upon noticing her frantic behaviour. "You probably can't even remember what your original hair colour is, can you?"
Jada flinched before retorting, "That has nothing to do with this fight!"
There, he found his opening. With one swipe, he caused a wave of icy wind great enough to freeze her feet.
She tried to move in response to another incoming slash. But when she found herself stuck, she looked back up, only to see him already in motion. She raised her weapon in defense, and Arthur knocked it right out of her hand!
The Totsuka Blade spun violently before landing on the ground. With no one holding the saké hilt, it sputtered and died out.
Arthur raised his sword directly at her. Then silence. Time seemed to slow as they looked at one another.
It was all too evident by now. Jada, while an excellent player, had been baited into this challenge—a challenge Arthur had a better advantage at.
"Why are you so scared?" she asked, smiling. "Don't want me to mark you?"
"Drop the act," he countered. "I can already see him coming."
Sasuke crouched low like a taut bowstring, creeping forward fast with the Chidori surging violently in his hand. The ground broke apart as he got closer and closer.
Arthur, seemingly oblivious to the incoming danger, stood with his back turned, his gaze never leaving Jada's.
The moment had arrived. Sasuke lunged with an outstretched arm. The Chidori tore through the air, aiming straight for Arthur's back.
But Arthur was faster. He spun around with his weapon, aiming to slice the Uchiha's entire hand off!
Jada, sensing the danger, activated the flying raijin, teleporting Sasuke to her side. The Chidori crashed to the ground, causing a large dust cloud to form.
When it cleared, Jada and Sasuke were seen standing side-by-side, both still with their guards up. She had been freed, but the Uchiha looked angry.
Arthur swiped the blood off his blade and said in a menacing tone, "You chose to save him rather than attack me… That chance may not come again."
He was right. The flying raijin was a deadly tool that could be used very strategically. Rather than teleport the Uchiha away, she could have teleported him in a different direction land the Chidori, that or she could have teleported herself to Arthur's side and deliver her own blow.
Sasuke, his anger burning, shouted at her, "Don't interfere!"
"Quit being like that, please!" she begged. "He's not one to be underestimated. Just look at your hand—you could have lost that arm or worse."
Jada knew Sasuke's character all too well. He was stubborn when he let his emotions get to him. But her focus remained mainly on Arthur.
While Arthur himself tried to brew the tension between the two, Sasuke scolded him with an annoyed "shut up!"
The Uchiha's eyes narrowed, his anger intensifying. He lunged at Arthur. But Arthur was ready, knowing that provocation against an angsty teen would always work.
Jada was forced to follow behind the boy.
The three danced in the center, with Arthur barely avoiding their attacks. Just when he saw how uncoordinated the Uchiha was, he knocked him back with a forceful kick to the chest!
Without making haste, Jada rushed to Sasuke's side.
He managed to recover, looking at Arthur with eyes that were far too furious to be considered a simple emotion. In a low tone, he growled, "You… I hate you!"
Suddenly, the curse mark began to take control of the boy.
"Sasuke!" Jada urged.
"No!" he screamed in retaliation as he prepared to perform another Chidori. "He dies right here!"
She could see the ominous purple chakra mixing in with his rage. The last time this happened, Sasuke was turned into a smouldering artwork.
She knew she had to do something, and she had to do it quickly. So she reached into her pocket and grabbed a piece of paper with sealing inscriptions.
To Arthur, it hadn't looked like much. Only when she activated it and he saw the chakra imbuing inside did he understand its purpose.
Before Sasuke could launch another attack, Jada tossed the paper towards him. It attracted right to his neck like a magnet, adhering to his skin.
Instantly, the curse mark began to recede.
Sasuke staggered backward, his vision blurring. He looked at Jada in disbelief and asked in confusion, "What did you do?!"
She offered no explanation. Instead, she activated the flying raijin, teleporting the Uchiha away just as he was losing consciousness.
"I wonder what else you prepared for," Arthur said, dematerializing his weapon.
It was believable that a player like her, who vowed to help bring this world justice, would train in all types of ways to prevent things like the curse mark's activation.
"Enough!" she demanded in a cool tone.
She then squinted at him, eyes yearning to stop who was in front of her. He could practically feel her rage, her undesire for him to be in this world.
She stood oddly calm before him, her eyes locked on his. There was no point in using the Sharingan's genjutsu on him. She knew this because of his Kekkei Genkai.
And she had truly had enough.
Suddenly, her demeanour shifted. Her sense of protection changed to something colder, something more devious.
Her eyes began to glow with an ethereal crimson light, the three-tomoe Sharingan transfiguring.
Arthur, unfazed, met her gaze. He had seen this before, but never with such intensity. This was a different level of power, a level he had only encountered once—her Mangekyō Sharingan.
"From now on," she declared, "there will be no more distractions." She took a completely different stance, the same stance as Hyūga's took when they were ready to perform the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms technique—slightly hunched forward with her arms spread upward and down. "I'll take you seriously."
Arthur closed his eyes for a moment, knowing that this was going to happen. "Is that so?" he calmly replied. When he opened them again, his Tamashii was glowing even brighter than before. "Let's see if you can back up those words."
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