The evening sun eventually concluded their training session.
With her stomach growling, Jada proposed a festive dinner at Ichiraku Ramen, the popular ramen restaurant that the main character often visited.
"Actually," Arthur interjected, graciously turning down the offer, "ramen isn't really my thing. And besides, there's something else I need to do before it gets dark. Maybe another time?"
She was a tad disappointed. But after everything he'd already helped her with, she wasn't going to pressure him. "Sure thing, Arthur. See you at tonight's meeting in a few hours then!"
He hadn't thought there'd be another meeting tonight. Nonetheless, he watched her leave.
It wasn't long before he found himself in a secluded section of a forest surrounded by dense foliage. Here, amidst the quiet air, he waited patiently for night to fall. And when it did, he activated his smoke jutsu.
His body quickly dissolved into a wispy cloud. Then he drifted through the village. His destination: the Hokage's office.
When he got there, he remembered the many times he'd seen characters traversing in and out of the different rooms. So he navigated the familiar corridors, bypassing guards with ease.
His target: the Scroll of Seals.
The Scroll of Seals was a forbidden scroll containing instructions for powerful and dangerous jutsu. Following a war, the first Hokage sealed away these techniques to prevent misuse. It's kept by whoever the current Hokage is, and only it's accessible to them.
Naruto was the first character to be shown taking the giant scroll and learning the Shadow Clone jutsu from it. No other character attempted to take the seal, but there have been some who broke into the Hokage's manor numerous times.
When Arthur finally located a peculiar door, he phased through the keyhole and reformed on the other side. The room was dark, but he could still see various scrolls inside. One in particular stood out: a larger scroll bigger than all the rest.
He unfurled it and determined that this was the Scroll of Seals.
Instead of reading it in his physical form, he returned it to its original spot, then turned into smoke again. Reading while still a wisp of smoke provided a practical advantage. Should someone enter unexpectedly, they wouldn't be able to detect his presence.
Arthur read its array of forbidden techniques. Each entry was accompanied by a chilling illustration, depicting the jutsu's effects in easy-to-read detail.
Now he understood how the dim-witted Naruto was able to perfect a technique from here.
Arthur continued to skim over depictions of mind control techniques and body contortions. Hardly any of them piquing his fascination.
Then, his eyes snagged on a particular jutsu: the Reanimation technique. The caption spoke of summoning the dead back to the mortal realm and binding them with a seal, fueled by the summoner's own chakra.
It was also a complex jutsu requiring a living sacrifice, the DNA of the person being revived, and a special sealing ritual. Once activated, the sacrifice's body becomes a vessel for the soul of the deceased, essentially reanimating them in the physical form they once possessed.
These reanimated ninjas retain all their memories, techniques, and even their Kekkei Genkai. They're also incredibly powerful due to their zombified bodies and limitless chakra, constantly regenerating from injuries.
The true control lies with the summoner, who can manipulate the dead to fight or complete tasks.
Kabuto Yakushi mainly used it to help orchestrate the Fourth War. Without him, Obito's plot to even fight in the war would have had a severe loophole.
A powerful technique, no doubt, but not what Arthur was searching for. So he read more, calming himself.
There was the Reaper Death Seal, the same jutsu Minato sacrificed himself with to seal the Nine-Tails in Naruto. Although potent, it was a double-edged sword because, in exchange for trapping an opponent's soul, the user would die.
Next came the Multi-Shadow Clone jutsu, a stronger variant of the Shadow Clone technique. Great, but not great enough to suffice for Arthur's goals.
Finally, his eyes landed on the section he'd been searching for: the Flying raijin.
The flying raijin was a technique that granted the user teleportation. Users mark targets with a special formula that can't be removed by normal means, allowing them to teleport to that marked location at any time.
By marking an opponent, the user can teleport behind them for a surprise attack or instantly appear next to them if they try to escape. The jutsu can also be used defensively by teleporting away from enemy attacks.
It is extremely dangerous to go against, with only two characters perfecting it in combat: Tobirama and Minato.
This would undoubtedly be the jutsu that Arthur could use to help change everything.
An hour passed by as Arthur absorbed the forbidden knowledge within the scroll. Each minute was filled with feverish concentration. The sheer volume of information was staggering due to the formula, the complex chakra flow needed, and the variations on the technique.
While he couldn't possibly perfect the Flying raijin in a single day, he managed to imprint this critical detail in his memory: the special formula required for teleportation.
Even if he could learn such an advanced technique in a single day, his chakra reserves were far too low to execute the jutsu effectively. Too much chakra and dedicated training would be needed.
Content, Arthur left the room, slipping back to the forest.
It had been more than a few hours since he last saw Jada. That meant he was late for the meeting.
The elevator lurched to a stop on the highest floor. Arthur stepped out, eventually reaching the girls' apartment. He knocked on their fancy door, and a moment later, Alice revealed her irritated face.
"You're late," she exclaimed.
Arthur offered a sheepish smile and said, "Sorry, I lost track of time."
She stepped aside to let him in. William, sitting on the couch, asked, "Where were you? Tonight was your chance to talk to Naruto at Ichiraku's."
Arthur kept his voice casual and answered, "I thought Hiruzen would be at the manor, but it turns out he wasn't."
"Why would you want to talk to the Hokage?" Margaret wondered.
"To find some background info on my character," Arthur said, having the answer prepped just in case.
"Background info?" Alex repeated, relaxing on a chair with a raised eyebrow. "You sure you're looking in the right place? Your name's already on the class register, isn't it?"
"Don't worry about it, Arthur," Jada piped up from behind a stack of books. "You're officially enrolled, so you don't really need to know too much about yourself that wasn't already written."
Arthur's smile faltered slightly. He wondered what they would have done if he had never escaped that prison. Whatever the answer was, he didn't dwell on that thought.
"I'll try not to be late again," he apologized.
"Alright," Alex initiated as Arthur and Alice took a seat, "so we know there are four main Jōnin instructors: Kakashi, Guy, Kurenai, and Asuma. But with seven of us now added, that means—"
"—new Jōnin teachers!" Margaret chimed in, completing the sentence.
The prospect of an unknown Jōnin leading the players was a tad unsettling.
Genin were the lowest rank among active ninjas. They represented a large pool of talent with varying skill levels and typically contributed to the village's economy by taking on D-rank missions, which were risk-free manual labour tasks.
Occasionally, they might be assigned C-rank missions that involved some actual ninja work but with minimal danger. Those missions served as a way for them to gain experience under the supervision of a Jōnin leader in a four-person squad.
Why the players found this part unsettling was because their knowledge exceeded a Jōnin's already.
Each Jōnin had their own teaching style and their own expectations. And in the story, nine of the main characters ended up with three of the main Jōnin (Kakashi, Kurenai, and Asuma). Assuming that line-up wasn't the same this time, it meant the players could end up with one of those aforementioned three.
Who would they end up with? The famous but laid-back Kakashi Hatake, the enigmatic Kurenai Yūhi, or the down-to-earth Asuma Sarutobi?
William tried to ground the mystery by saying, "Look, the Leaf's a massive place. There are hundreds of ninjas, each holding various ranks. We might not be paired with the main Jōnin at all!"
His words were reasonable, but Jasper felt indifferent. "Who cares who we're paired up with? We're practically writing the story, remember?"
Jasper's smugness grated on William's nerves.
It was true, though, and Arthur knew it. They were essentially influencing the narrative, and not all the Jōnin were pivotal to that. At the same time, the possibility of ending up on someone like Naruto's team wasn't low.
Sensing the shift in mood, Alex interjected, "Jasper's right. But hey, who knows? Maybe it'll be someone unexpected. Like a hidden gem of a Jōnin who'll make things a little fun."
His optimism was infectious. They enjoyed the thought.
"Exactly," Margaret added. "I could probably already kick most of their butts and make a name for myself anyway. Know what? I'ma go to the Hokage's office tomorrow and tell him to just promote me already." The others laugh but urge her that it would be a bad idea. "Relax. I'm still playing by the rules."
Many were now curious to know what techniques she could have learned to make her more powerful than a Jōnin.
Margaret, previously lost in her own thoughts, jolted upright upon remembering an important matter. She grinned mischievously, saying, "Wait, let's all thank Arthur for having helped Jada awaken her Sharingan!"
Arthur deflected the praise with a smile, stating that he was only doing what he could.
Margaret, however, wasn't buying it. "Jada told us everything at Ichiraku's. I mean, to truly unlock the Sharingan, someone has to be in love."
"M-Margaret!" Jada said with burning cheeks. "What the heck are you talking about?! That's not how it works!"
"Just teasing," she giggled. "But seriously, Arthur, how'd you manage to help her do it? Did you kiss her?"
Jada's cheeks burned even more as the others chuckled.
When Margaret finally stopped joking, William complimented Arthur's taijutsu skills, asking him to join Naruto and his training sessions.
The conversation continued to flow with a sense of camaraderie. Arthur, however, stayed humble throughout, feeling stupid that he let his physical skills get noticed this early.
As the clock ticked closer to midnight, things started winding down. Alex ended the meeting by reminding everyone to "keep it cool around the main cast tomorrow."
Things came to an end, so all the males left the apartment. William and Arthur walked toward the elevator, the former boasting about how incredible the ramen tasted here.
"You should really try it, Arthur."
"Yeah, maybe next time…"
Just as they were about to step inside the elevator, a hand was unexpectedly placed on Arthur's shoulder, stopping him in his tracks. William gave a curious glance as Arthur turned around to see that it was Jasper.
"You can go, William," said Jasper in a cool tone. "I need to talk to Arthur alone."
"Huh? Oh… Okay, I guess."
William wasn't so friendly with Jasper. He was the only one among the players to never call him by his nickname, "Will." Not wanting to cause any trouble, he disappeared into the elevator, leaving the two on the topmost floor.
The moment felt tense.
Jasper's usual cocky smirk was replaced by a dark seriousness as he leaned closer to Arthur's face.
"I wanna to fight you… Arthur."