As things came to a close, Arthur got up from the couch, ready to leave.
"I'll show you to your room at the crib," Alex said to him.
Yet Arthur had no desire to become roommates with anyone here. "It's fine, mate. I'm actually comfortable sleeping outside."
The others blinked in surprise. Jada, having remembered that the Clan-less character started with no money, quickly pulled out her purse and gave Arthur a few hundred ryō.
"Take it," she pleaded, "and at least get yourself something to eat in the morning."
Arthur thanked her but didn't quite appreciate the kind gesture. After all, he already had four hundred ryō in hand, enough to sustain him for weeks in this village if he spent it wisely.
While many pleaded with him to bunk with Alex and Jasper, he refused all of their advances. They reluctantly gave up, allowing him to do whatever he pleased so long as he didn't do anything "story-breaking" and that he attend their regular meetings.
At that, he left, eventually opting to stay at a cheap hotel for the night instead of on the streets. While he did say he was comfortable sleeping outside, he didn't like the idea of being so out in the open in a village full of citizens walking day and night.
The next day, Arthur woke up, deciding not to eat breakfast just yet.
He padded across the tiny room that was being rented. It had a small kitchen, a cramped bathroom, and a single bedroom, costing him fifty ryō a night. It was far from the other stay, and it had a horrible view.
Nonetheless, he was content.
The sun was just peeking over the horizon, and it was still early. So he put on his orange jacket and went out the door.
The team placement announcement was scheduled for tomorrow, and the decisions made would have a significant impact on his capacity to do what he needed.
He was about to make his way to the training grounds when he was interrupted by a quiet voice.
"Um, Arthur, wait!"
It was Jada. Unlike last night, she had her village headband on this time, tightly wrapped around her waist. He turned to see her standing a few paces behind him, holding a small piece of folded paper out awkwardly.
She stumbled, "I… we… we almost forgot to give you this before you left."
"What is it?"
"It's your chakra induction paper."
Arthur knew. An individual's elemental affinity—the particular chakra nature they were most drawn to—was ascertained using the chakra induction paper. Fire, wind, lightning, earth, and water were the five fundamental elements. In a sort of circle, they naturally opposed one another (fire beats wind, wind beats lightning, and so on).
The stronger technique will prevail when two techniques of the same element clash, or they will cancel each other out if they are equal. And while some of these elements can be learned, everyone has a natural affinity for one of them.
The majority of Jōnin are only proficient in two natures. A select few, such as the third Hokage, are exceptional people who possess all five natures.
Other chakra natures that are not elemental are light and dark. These serve as the foundation for non-elemental skills such as medical ninjutsu and genjutsu (illusions).
Lastly, completely new elemental natures with distinct qualities can be produced by fusing two or three basic natures. Usually, though, that called for a Kekkei Genkai or Kekkei Tōta—a combination of three elements.
To find out a ninja's natural affinity, villages often use the chakra induction paper.
If their affinity is for fire, the paper burns and turns to ash. If it's lightning, it wrinkles. If it's earth, it crumbles into pieces. And if it's water, it dampens.
After remembering these facts, Arthur took the paper from Jada. She bit her lip nervously as he held it up and directed his chakra through it. The corners curled inward before completely dampening.
"You have water!" smiled Jada. "That's what I got, too!"
"Interesting," he said. While he knew what Margaret had, he wasn't quite certain what the others got. "What were everyone else's results?"
"Will, Alex, and Alice got wind, Jasper got lightning, and Marge—I'm sure you know what hers is." She then looked at Arthur expectantly, as though she wanted to ask him a question. When he asked what was wrong, she chirped, "Nothing! I was just wondering that since we had the same affinities, you would help me train."
Now he understood her initial excitement. He had planned to train by himself this morning, but working out with Jada might provide insightful information that would enable him to assess her true strength.
"Sure, I don't mind," he said, seeing her joyous smile.
The two walked closely as she talked about what the others were up to.
"Everyone's usually busy in the mornings," she began. "Will practically lives glued to Naruto's side, and they train together pretty hard. When he's not hanging with the mc, he's trying to recreate the Rasengan with balloons."
The Rasengan was said to be a powerful jutsu invented by Minato Namikaze. It concentrated chakra into a spinning ball in the user's hand. That required great chakra control and was learned in three steps: rotation (spinning the chakra), power (increasing the chakra's intensity), and containment (shaping the chakra into a sphere).
Although it's challenging to learn, there are a lot of benefits. For instance, it is regarded as the ultimate form-transformation tool and can grind through nearly anything. Furthermore, there were numerous Rasengan variations, including larger and nature-infused versions.
Without a doubt, Naruto's favourite move, which he wouldn't learn for at least another month from now.
"Seems like Will really is the biggest Naruto nerd," Arthur joked.
"Really? Haha. I think it's Marge."
"Why's that?"
"Well," she added, rolling her eyes jokingly, "she stopped training altogether. She claims she's already perfected her skills and can beat even the Jōnin." That piqued Arthur's interest. "Apparently, the only thing missing from her arsenal is wood style, which none of us thinks she's going to get."
"How'd she get so strong?"
"We don't know, honestly. Even she doesn't know. But I think she found some loophole and just abused it without telling anyone."
"Seems interesting…"
"I'll say. All she does now is lounge around either at home or in the hot springs. Oh! Some random guy touched her once, and she got so upset that she knocked him out in one punch!"
Despite Margaret's strange behaviour, Jada and the others still liked her teenage antics.
"Then there's Alice," Jada continued. "She spends most of her time with Jasper, who seems to be schooling her on the latter parts of the story. When they're not studying, they both disappear somewhere and keep to themselves. Makes me wonder what they're actually up to."
The last statement did not sit well with Arthur.
With a hint of doubt in her voice, Jada asked, "Ugh! Do you think they're dating?"
Last Arthur recalled, it did seem like Jasper was flirting with Alice back at Elysium's HQ. Nonetheless, Arthur gave a vague shrug.
"What about Alex?" he probed.
"Alex? Wait, didn't we tell this to you last night?"
"Tell me what?"
"Guess we forgot. Apparently, his character's background stated that he was the pride of the Hyūga clan." Again with the bullcrap, Arthur believed. "We're all excited for him, but that was too quick, don't you think?"
"I do, but… how did that happen?"
"I think he said something about how he gets most of his training directly from Hiashi."
Arthur held back a scoff. Only about a week into this world, and Alex was already a Hyūga prodigy. Arthur wouldn't doubt it if he already knew how to use the Byakugan right.
The two eventually reached a remote training area, a sizable clearing encircled by numerous trees and a small lake nearby.
Jada took the initiative. "Let's start with some basic chakra control exercises! First, let me see you walk up that tree."
Arthur's eyebrow went up. Supposedly she assumed that his skills were deficient due to his Clan-less status.
With his steps as light as a feather, he directed his chakra to the soles of his feet and ran to the top of the tallest branch. Jada's eyes went wide with shock.
"You did that on your first try?!" she exhaled, momentarily losing her confidence. "I… I guess I shouldn't have underestimated you. Sorry about that."
Arthur pretended to conceal a laugh. "No offense taken…"
Jada then cleared her throat in an effort to regain her composure. "Right, well, maybe jutsu practice then. Do you know any yet?"
"Not really…"
"Perfect! Then let's learn something together. Today's lesson: the water prison jutsu!"
That jutsu was a C-rank technique that encloses the practitioner in a heavy water sphere, preventing them from moving or breathing. To keep it active, the user had to maintain contact.
Jada flourished and started to show the hand signals. Arthur observed the motions, memorizing them. At last she reached out and created a ball of water about five feet across.
"Now you try," she said after dispelling the technique.
Arthur focused his chakra and made the hand signs. In a pitiful display, water formed but then quickly dissolved.
"That's strange," she said, scratching her head. "I thought for sure you'd get it down on your first try."
She was right to think that. He actually could have. But instead, he deliberately faltered and channeled his chakra in an erratic manner so as to seem weaker than he let on. Hiding his skills was better than showing off, after all.
Arthur purposefully kept his performance mediocre as they continued their training, allowing Jada to lead him through simple exercises.
He now knew the hand signs for water prison and water style: surface slice, so it was worth it. The latter was a linear wave of water, strong enough to cut cleanly through rock formations.
When Arthur finally removed his jacket to cool off, Jada couldn't help but notice his physique. The entire time, she had this preconceived notion that he wasn't as strong as the others. Now she was intrigued by the density and lack of fat on his forearms.
"Hey, Arthur! Would you mind sparring with me in taijutsu by any chance?"
Arthur wondered why she would suddenly ask this. Then he remembered that this was actually the first time he'd removed his jacket in front of someone.
'Crap,' he thought.
What's done was done, he supposed. At least he could assess her physical abilities.
"Sure, why not? Let's see what you've got."
The two took a step back and assumed combat positions. Jada rushed in, taking the initiative. But Arthur thought she was slow, almost too predictable.
As though dancing in circles, he easily sidestepped her roundhouse kicks and jabs. He would sometimes deflect her blows, pretending to be taken aback by the strength of their impact.
Though he was never placed in any real threat.
Jada gritted her teeth in frustration. Her attempts to strike were met with his elegant shifts or a last-minute block, and her jabs were now only striking air at this point.
"Alright, fine," she said. She then took a deep breath and channeled her chakra as her hands flashed through the well-known series of signs. "Water style: water dragon jutsu!"
From the neighbouring lake, a watery serpent rushed in Arthur's direction. He measured the speed and strength of the jutsu as he watched it close in. Rather than avoid it, he let it rush over him with unexpected vigor.
As the current pulled him upward, he quickly bounded out and landed safely a few yards away. Then he looked at her with hair plastered on his forehead.
Jada gaped at him. Then she stumbled in amazement, "You... you survived that?"
Arthur smiled slightly and shook himself off. He honestly could have avoided it, but he felt like testing his strength against it just to understand ninjutsu better.
Seeing the slight sag in her shoulders, he walked over to her and said, "You're actually quite strong, Jada… Your water dragon was impressive." Her next response caught him off guard: she fell to her knees and buried her face in her hands, as if deflated by her loss. "Hey now. I said you were strong."
"I'm not strong," she muttered, her voice tinged with melancholy. "I gave that jutsu everything I had, and you just…"
With a look of amusement on his face, Arthur knelt next to her and said, "You're not weak, that's for sure." When she didn't move, he started getting a little annoyed. "Was it really that bad?"
"No, it's just… Now my eyes kind of hurt, is all."
A beat skipped in Arthur's heart. Leaning in, he looked into her eyes and saw two black tomoes etched into her crimson irises.
Her Sharingan had awakened.
When she saw him looking at her, her hands flew to her face in embarrassment. "Why are you looking at me like that?" Then she gasped as she glanced at her hand. Her palms reflected the Sharingan's red light they emitted.
The implications of this abrupt awakening weighed down Arthur as he stared back at her. But Jada let out a happy shriek. Her dismay vanished and was replaced by sheer joy. She then unexpectedly threw her arms around him in a fit of excitement and gave him a hug.
He was taken aback by the unexpected embrace and stayed rigid for a second before giving her a clumsy back pat.
"You did it," he said as she pulled away.
"Are you kidding?! Arthur! You helped me awaken the Sharingan!"
"Glad I could be of help," he said, forcing a smile.
With renewed confidence, she bounded to her feet. Arthur didn't quite want to help Jada progress any further. Doing so would cause him to take a step back, which he couldn't afford. That is until she said something that quelled his interest.
"I hope that I don't experience that Uchiha curse thing!"
"Curse?"
"Yeah, you read about it, right?"
Arthur scoffed. Whether it was in this world or the one he came from, he was still a Christian. "Curses have no power over those who accept Jesus Christ."
Jada nodded, having forgotten about his faith. Hearing that made her confident that she shouldn't be worried but should trust in a higher power that everything was going to be okay.