The first to act was William. He lunged forward, aiming a punch at Arthur's face. But Arthur blocked the attack with his leg. Then he pivoted on his foot and swept William off balance with a kick.
William kept himself balanced with one hand and immediately tried to counter. But Arthur brought up his other leg to intercept it. He then leaped into the air as Jada tried to land a swipe from behind him.
He spun elegantly mid-air, and his body performed a breakdancing twirl before he landed.
Alice lunged in with a kunai and aimed it for his midsection. Yet he sidestepped her first attack, then her second, and again barely avoided the third, all while keeping one eye on William, who re-engaged.
William charged in with the simplicity of taijutsu, but Arthur had him well-scouted; each of William's strikes met only the firm resistance of Arthur's shin.
Then Arthur spun and disarmed Alice with a kick just as Jada streaked by.
Time slowed as their eyes locked. To her, he was an anomaly that needed to be taken down, but to him, she was getting in his way.
When her eyes flared slightly, she rushed forward and launched a barrage of rapid punches.
'She's improved,' Arthur thought while dodging.
Yet he was still relaxed and evaded her strikes without even needing to utilize his Tamashii. His blocks alone were mesmerizing because he was doing it all with his legs.
Taking a hop back, Jada narrowed her eyes and mirrored his stance.
"Think you can copy me?" he taunted, knowing the Sharingan's ability well.
The battle intensified as they exchanged kicks. William leapt into the fray and tried to add onto this fray, yet it was clear that he was only getting in her way. Otherwise, he would have summoned his clones by now.
Meanwhile, Alice, finding an opening, unleashed a burst of kunai and shuriken aimed right at Arthur. But even that couldn't stop him; his body flowed like water as he dodged and deflected each projectile with the most subtle, slick motions, making it look almost natural.
In a dazzling display, he spun around, and his foot knocked William off course just in time for one of Alice's kunai to careen on his back.
William comically yelped and was shocked by the sudden turn of events.
Arthur was right: they were communicating mentally, hence why neither of them had spoken yet.
And there was another problem. Yes, he was doing well by fending them off. But the more he continued to fight, the more he noticed they were adapting to his fighting style.
Seizing the moment of distraction, he kicked William square in the face and sent him directly toward Jada.
She had a choice to make: either catch him and risk losing her target or let him fall and try to corner Arthur. She went with the former.
Just moments before she was about to rescue William's falling form, he was found suspended in mid-air thanks to Alice.
Arthur hadn't wasted that open window, so he dashed away. Yet Jada was by no means going to let him go so easily.
Her doggedness propelled her forward. The air whipped past her as she closed in on him, who, despite the distance, continued to show no signs of slowing down.
He was impressive, and his agility made him more mysterious. Just who was he? She had to know.
Her Sharingan locked on his every move. Then, with a sharp pivot, she darted to intercept him. Sensing her approach, he executed a supple flip and twisted in mid-air while still maintaining his trajectory.
She suddenly found herself off-balance.
"Stop!" she yelled in desperation.
For once, he actually slowed down and turned around without breaking stride. This allowed her to close the distance, and just as their bodies shifted, she found herself in an almost choreographed dance of predator and prey.
Each time she attempted to grab him, he was already a step ahead and lithely moved while arching over her outstretched hands. Then he spun away as if taunting her since she was just out of reach.
There was a mysterious ease in his movements, and with every narrow miss, she felt her frustration growing.
"What're you so scared of?" she spat, trying to deter him.
After feinting once, she lunged at him again. But as she reached out to grasp his shoulder, he caught her wrist and pulled her close.
Then he whispered in her ear, "You're not ready yet…"
Before she could process what he meant, he flipped her then slammed her to the ground.
Bang!
After recovering from that stun, she adjusted and found herself pursuing him again.
Her instincts told her that Arthur was not merely evading her; he was toying with her in this high-stakes chase.
Arthur continued to evade her attempts by countering her every move with backflips and nimble maneuvers. She had faced many quite like him before, but he was incredibly different, almost as though he had become one with the very air around them.
It was infuriating.
Why couldn't she land a single touch? She had the Sharingan and had been training ever since. Yet each of her movements felt predictable.
At that moment, Arthur received a mental message from Alice—a surprise rather than a distraction.
'Why aren't you teleporting away?' she questioned upon understanding it was him.
Yet, he chose silence and severed the connection before plunging deeper into the valley.
Jada, already in a stance to charge for another attempt, was completely unaware of this exchange. But then, William and Alice finally burst onto the scene. They barely regarded her as they rushed forward.
While all three were once again giving chase, Jada released a technique.
"Fire style: fire ball jutsu!"
Flames leapt from her mouth towards him. With a simple pivot, he danced sideways and avoided the fiery blast.
Yet that attack was only the distraction for the real one: William's Rasenshuriken.
"Now, Will!" she shouted.
"Rasenshuriken!"
With a shout, he threw the jutsu directly at Arthur. Arthur himself was impressed since not even Naruto could throw one without first being in Sage Mode.
But even then, Arthur maintained his composure.
'Water style: surface slice…'
A large wave of water rushed backward, and the two jutsus collided in a blinding explosion. Debris, wind, and water vapour scattering through the valley like confetti.
When William finally reeled back in the smoke, he felt disbelief. His s-rank technique had been rendered practically useless against a seemingly standard elemental jutsu!
"How the heck did he—?!"
"Keep moving!" Alice interjected, not wishing for him to get flustered.
It's then that Arthur felt as if they were going for a team attack now.
Jada, taking Alice's cue, unleashed another technique while William sought to amplify it.
"Fire style: dragon flame jutsu!"
"Wind style: air bullets!"
Both techniques were launched toward Arthur in a combined attack. As they flew, Alice used her telepathy to freeze his movements.
The combined jutsu roared, and with a sudden flash, the fireball and air bullets connected, creating a massive explosion that lit up the valley.
Dust and smoke erupted, but when it cleared, they were greeted not by Arthur's defeated form but by a charred log in the aftermath.
"That cheap—!" Before William could voice how unfair that was, Alice's senses prickled her spine to alert her to where Arthur had headed.
"He's over there!" she relayed to her companions.
So the trio sprinted after him in unison.
'Why aren't you listening?' Arthur heard Alice project in his mind. 'Will's taking this seriously, and he's going to do something rash if you don't—'
But Arthur cut her off; he didn't need the likes of her to know what his opponents would and wouldn't do; he could tell just by looking at their angered faces.
William fought against the frustration. He had been humiliated once before back at the tournament, and now it was happening again.
No, he simply didn't want to look pathetic in front of Jada.
In a split-second decision driven by impatience and the need to close the distance, he slipped into one of his most lethal transformations.
"Toad Sage Mode!" he declared. "You're not escaping this time, buddy!"
"Oh…" Arthur's voice casually drifted back to him.
Seeming unfazed, he turned to look at William, who had dramatically closed the distance.
"Will, back away quick!" Jada shouted, trying to rein William in before more reckless decisions were made.
But the moment was lost as he used a technique.
"Sage art: massive rasengan!"
'Ice style: glacial dome…'
Just as William launched it with all his might, Arthur coolly raised a deflective barrier. The massive Rasengan then collided against the icy wall, causing shattering waves of chakra to erupt.
It was thunderous, and the bright light was nearly blinding. Yet when the dust settled, Arthur remained unfazed behind his protective dome.
He casually walked backward as though mocking the effort William had put into his technique.
"That was one of my best jutsus!" William exclaimed. "I don't get it!"
"You don't have to get it," Arthur shot back.
Seething with anger and confusion, William cursed. But Jada and Alice were already gathering themselves.
'Ice style: a thousand needles of death…'
Manipulating the scattered remnants of his earlier technique, sharp ice crystals formed around them. Each one was already poised to strike.
"I've got this," asserted William after preparing a hand sign.
But before he could complete it, Jada's expression hardened. Then, in a swift motion, she pulled out the Totsuka Blade. and spun it expertly in her hands.
Immediately, she began to slash at all of the incoming ice needles. She was like a ballerina twirling a deadly weapon while ensuring not a single one of her teammates was hit. Each slice either sent shards flying or was absorbed on contact.
William and Alice watched in shock as she maneuvered through the onslaught. Her speed was astounding as she dismantled Arthur's attack.
The shards shattered and harmlessly fell around them. When the last one crumbled into fragments, there was silence punctuated only by the echo of her final strike.
William shook his head in disbelief, remarking, "Jada, that was…" then he gulped. "Scary!"
She turned toward her companions with an unchanged expression as she insisted, "We have to go after him!"
Alice, still composed despite the tautness, shook her head slowly and said, "It's too late. After that stunt you pulled, he used it as a moment to run away; he's already out of my sensing range."
"What?!" Jada exclaimed in disbelief. If Alice, their trusted sensor, couldn't locate him, then he wouldn't be found for ages. Jada gave a nervous laugh as she brushed a hand through her hair and said in frustration, "He just vanishes like that?"
William had never seen her act this way. It was clear that she wanted much more than revenge; she wanted to know who this John Belfort was.
As the adrenaline ebbed, she felt her features soften, and slowly, she deactivated her Sharingan.
Their frantic chase faded into a cloud of confusion. How had this one person managed to counter them so easily?
Jada could hardly wrap her mind around it.
Alice, noticing the inward struggle reflected on Jada's face, stepped in and said, "Let's regroup back at the village… If someone like John can evade us so easily, we'll need a solid plan before we make another move. Besides, Marge was sent back without any aid."
"You're right," Jada conceded. She most certainly wanted to continue going after Arthur, but her desire to ensure her friend's safety took over. "I'll teleport us back now."