Arthur couldn't stay at the top for long, so with a quick breath, he launched himself into the air as his body arched through the sky in an acrobatic fashion.
Jada watched him disappearing into the canopy. No matter the cost, she wasn't going to give up this chase. So she quickly bounced off the wall, pinpointed exactly where he was headed, and ran in that direction.
Tree branch to tree branch carried her past the foliage and into an open field about three acres long. There, Arthur stood in the middle with his back turned from her. On his side was a sword sheathed in an uncommonly long scabbard.
"Enough running!" she demanded, nearing him.
The wind whipped through his hair as he slowly turned to face her. "Who said I was running?"
He knew that dismissing a challenge was unavoidable; it was the stage that needed to be set first. Yet she hadn't considered this at all. Let alone why he chose this spot of all places.
At any time, he could have used the Flying raijin to teleport out. But after gauging her chakra, he felt the need to test just how strong he truly was compared to another otherworldly person.
So in slow motion, he gradually unsheathed his weapon. Then he raised it as thin, metallic wires slithered out before fully wrapping around the steel like a protective cocoon. With one strong grip, the blade was encased in a crystalline shell as if it were now a diamond weapon.
Jada watched with an awed expression. She could see how his ice chakra was perfectly infused in and around the sword. Yet she was not intimidated since the Totsuka Blade was still on her person.
The tension rose as Arthur held the sword in front of him. "I wonder how strong you've gotten since the last time we fought…"
"Wouldn't you like to know?" she said, raising her weapon.
Then the two ran toward the middle.
Shing!
Their clash let out a deafening roar, causing the space between them to sizzle.
"What?!" she said, shocked to see her weapon wasn't sealing his.
Arthur pushed forward with a swift thrust, but she parried it just in the nick of time. His blade then clashed against her ethereal weapon for several more bouts.
Shing-shing-shing-shing!
Each strike moved her back and caused the ground beneath her feet to part ways. When she regained her balance, the two danced in the center of the grassland.
Shing-shing-shing-shing!
It was like an icy storm fighting against a fiery liquid, with each strike either freezing or burning the blades of grass. While her attempts were aggressive, his was calculating. Not once could she land a blow.
"You call that kenjutsu?" he mocked, parrying her away.
When she recovered after skidding, she began breathing heavily. Then she smirked after noticing that her efforts weren't in vain.
Throughout their clashes, the Totsuka Blade had indeed been working properly since 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.
'So she noticed early...'
Jada quickly lunged in again and aimed a killing blow at his heart.
Clang!
The attack was intercepted.
Right then and there, 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.
Ka-clang!
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.
"Face it, Jada… You're nowhere near my level."
He was right. Ever since their time in the Leaf Village, he was always better than her. Now, when it came to swordsmanship, he was proving his might. How could she, despite wielding the Sharingan, compare to a warrior who's been training with undead samurai that had unlimited stamina?
"Arthur! I'm going to beat you!"
"Hmph... Keep dreaming."
The grassland continued to be filled with echoing clashes.
Arthur had yet to break a real sweat as he continued to test her skills. She was exquisite, to say the least. And while she wasn't a kenjutsu specialist, she was still able to dodge his attacks with beautiful movements.
An overhead swing was missed by ducking, a forward thrust was leapt from, and a series of slashes was dodged with elegant backflips.
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.
Just then, she saw an opening and lunged.
Woosh!
Her blade missed, leaving behind trailing chakra.
This is what Lee was talking about: fighting Arthur was like fighting an untouchable ghost; he simply had no blind spots.
The ground trembled under the force of their blows as both of them were locked in an epic dance. With every clash, Jada was getting more desperate.
"Losing your focus?" he taunted.
"Shut up already!"
There, he found his opening. With one swipe, he caused a wave of icy wind great enough to secretly freeze her feet. Then he aimed a fatal strike, and when she tried to move in response, she found herself stuck.
Shang!
The saké jar was knocked right out of her hand as it spun violently before landing on the ground. And with no one holding the hilt, it sputtered and died out.
Blood gradually fell from her hand. Arthur just raised his sword directly at her face. There was silence. Time seemed to slow as they looked at one another.
It was all too evident by now: Jada, while an excellent kunoichi, had been baited into this challenge—a challenge he had a better advantage at.
But these results should have been obvious from the start. Arthur had three Kekkei Genkai, of which only two were used. When comparing the Sharingan to the Crimson Gaze, there simply was no competition.
"Why're you so scared?" she asked, smiling. "Don't want me to mark you?"
"Drop the act... I can already sense 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 and his gaze never leaving Jada's.
The moment had arrived as Sasuke lunged with an outstretched arm.
"Chidori!"
Just as it was about to land, Arthur spun around with his weapon.
Swa-crash!
The Chidori impacted the ground instead, 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 he was angry because she had used her Flying raijin to teleport him away.
"You chose to save him rather than attack me," Arthur said, swiping the blood off his blade. "I can assure you that opportunity won't come again."
He was right. The Flying raijin was a technique that could be used in a variety of ways. Rather than teleporting Sasuke away, she could have teleported him to a different location to hit Arthur; that, or she could have teleported herself to Arthur's side and delivered her own attack.
Sasuke shouted at her, "Don't interfere!"
"Quit being like that, please!" she begged. "I helped because he's not someone to mess with. Just look at your hand—you could have lost that arm or worse."
Jada knew Sasuke all too well; he was stubborn when he let his emotions get to him.
"You should listen to your Uchiha sister," taunted Arthur.
"Shut your mouth!" yelled the boy.
The Uchiha's eyes narrowed with intensifying anger. Then, without notice, he rushed forward. Jada was forced to follow behind the boy. But Arthur was ready, knowing that provocation against an angsty teen would always work.
The three danced in the center, with Arthur avoiding their attacks. Just when he saw how uncoordinated Sasuke was, he knocked him back with a forceful kick to the chest.
Bang!
Jada quickly rushed to his side just as he landed. And when he looked at Arthur, his Sharingan was burning with fury.
"You…!" he growled as the curse mark began to slowly form. "I hate you!"
Jada could see the ominous purple chakra mixing in with his rage. The last time this happened, he was turned into a smouldering artwork. "Sasuke, stop!"
"No!" he screamed in retaliation. "He dies right here!"
Before the curse mark could fully take him over, she reached into her pouch, grabbed a piece of paper with sealing inscriptions, and smacked it on his neck. Instantly, the curse mark receded.
Sasuke staggered backward as his vision blurred. He then looked at her 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.
Arthur felt amused at this unexpected performance. After dematerializing his weapon, he couldn't help but ask, "I wonder what else you prepared for..."
"Enough!" she demanded.
He could practically feel her rage and lack of desire for him to be in this world.
But to his surprise, she suddenly calmed herself. It was like her sense of protection changed to something colder, something more devious as the three tomoe in her Sharingan transfigured.
Arthur, unfazed, met her gaze. He had seen this before: her Mangekyō Sharingan.
"From now on," she declared, "there won't be any more distractions." Then she took a completely different stance, the same stance as Hyūgas took—slightly hunched forward with her arms spread upward and down. "Arthur… Tonight, you die…"