Jasper soon found himself high in the village.
He was looking for someone's specific chakra signature. Just then, when his adrenaline went out, a sudden pain started in his chest. Then it radiated outward to his fingertips and toes.
His throbbing muscles forced him to cease in mid-air as he felt foreign lightning. It was the residue of Arthur's attack. There were no visual effects per se, but the nerves remembered the trauma despite Jasper's chakra being partially restored.
"Gotta find him," he grimaced.
He tried to fly forward, but then his control vanished. The sky tilted as he was falling.
The wind turned from a roar into a scream. Rooftops grew from specks to distinct tiles. He tried to correct his angle to soften the blow, but his body refused to listen.
Crash!
He hit hard. Wood splintered, tiles shattered, and dust plumed into the air as he tumbled through rafters and insulation before finally slamming onto a floor.
"What was that?!" someone screamed.
"My roof! Look at my roof!"
A Jōnin taking a nightly stroll happened to see the whole thing.
Jasper groaned as he rolled onto his side. He was alive, but dust coated his tongue. When he looked, he saw none other than someone's silver hair, wearing a mask with one eye visible.
"You alright?" Kakashi asked, crouching to inspect him. "You've got injuries."
"Get away from me!" Jasper snapped.
He then smacked Kakashi's hand away. The motion sent a fresh spike of agony down his arm. Kakashi didn't flinch. He just leaned back, assessing.
"Jasper, what happened?"
"My roof!" someone yelled. Little had either of the two ninjas known, Jasper had crash-landed in a shop. Merchandise—pots, pans, and dry goods—lay scattered around them. The owner pointed with a shaking finger at the hole in his ceiling. "You broke my inventory!"
The noise grated on Jasper's nerves. So he forced himself up despite the pounding in his head.
"Listen," he snarled, turning to the man. "Just bill me for the damages later!" Without waiting for a response, he turned and bolted out the door. "Send it to the Hokage or something! I don't care!"
"Jasper, wait!" Kakashi called.
Jasper didn't stop as he took to leaping from rooftop to rooftop. Then he heard the distinct whoosh of a high-speed pursuit behind him.
"Stop!" Kakashi's voice was closer now. "You need medical attention."
Jasper looked back over his shoulder. He snickered upon seeing this elite-level Jōnin gaining ground. "This doesn't concern you!"
"You have serious injuries," Kakashi said, biting his thumb behind his mask, "so it does. Summoning jutsu!"
Smoke popped in front of him as three dogs materialized. Bull, the largest of them, slammed into Jasper's back. Pakkun then bit down on his sleeve while the third dog swept his legs. Jasper hit the roof tiles. Before he knew it, the dogs had pinned him down.
"What the heck is your problem?!" he screamed as Kakashi landed close by.
"I should be asking you that…"
Kakashi reached into his pouch and pulled out a spool of metal wire. He then looped the wire around Jasper's wrists, then his ankles, keeping the knots tight. With a collective poof, the pack vanished. Jasper lay on the terracotta tiles, trussed up like a captured target.
"Get them off me!" he demanded.
But Kakashi ignored the order.
Jasper felt both anger and embarrassment. Not because he was caught, but because of the way it looked: just like when Sasuke was tied up by Kakashi after attempting to use the Chidori on Naruto.
"How about we start from the beginning?" Kakashi calmly asked.
Jasper opened his mouth to tell him to go to hell. But before he could voice those words, a cyan glow shone around his body. Kakashi's eyes widened as Jasper began to levitate. Then Jasper's body skyrocketed backward with him screaming.
"Sorry, Kakashi-sensei!" a voice echoed directly in Kakashi's mind.
"Alice?"
"I'll talk to you about it later! I promise!"
Kakashi watched Jasper shrink into a dot in the distance. The rate at which he was flying was too fast to follow on foot. Even for him. Because of that, he gave up on trying and scratched the back of his head.
"I wonder what they're up to…"
Unsure, he sighed and reached into his back pocket to pull out his Make-Out Paradise book. Then he casually jumped down and walked away.
✟
The flight was short and undignified.
Jasper plummeted again, but this time the landing was controlled. He touched down on a patch of soft grass in a park near the river. The wires were still tight around his wrists and ankles as he struggled to sit up.
Alice soon floated down from the tree line. Her feet touched the grass without making a sound. Her hair then relaxed to her shoulders. She did not look happy.
"Jasper..."
"Alice, babe. Listen, I don't have time for this. Where's—"
"Oh no," she interrupted. Then she took a step closer. "You're not the one asking the questions around here. I am." Jasper's breath caught in his throat. He just survived Arthur and Toneri, but between them and Alice's current tone, he would rather choose the former. "And if you don't answer, I'll look myself."
The threat was clear: she would tear the answers out of his mind if she had to. Jasper by no means wanted that.
"Okay. You're right. I'm sorry. I—"
"Where were you?"
"I was on the moon. With Toneri Ōtsutsuki."
Alice gasped. Had the others not told her who that was, she would have never known the premise. "What the heck were you doing there?!"
"Listen, babe, I'll explain everything," he pleaded, pulling at the wires. "I just need to speak to—"
"No! Jasper! I'm one second away from using the Psycho Mind Transmission jutsu on you!"
She was acting crazy, and he knew it. So he closed his eyes to give her the truth: "It's... It's Arthur. He's back."
The wind seemed to stop blowing as Alice's face slowly went pale. "Arthur…?"
"I was fighting him, but then… I lost."
The words tasted like ash. When he looked up at her, he expected judgment—something along the lines of either yelling or mockery. Instead, her expression was one of worry. His bruises, his abnormally low chakra—only Arthur could have caused that to someone as powerful as Jasper.
When she saw the defeated look in his eyes, she asked, "How did he...?" Her voice trailed off, unsure of how to feign her ignorance of his survival in this world. The fact that Arthur had made himself known to another person other than herself was a serious ordeal.
"I don't know the details," Jasper said. "But what I do know is that only one person can help me right now."
"Who?"
"Alex… Where is he?"
Alice turned, scanning the village skyline. "He's... he's at the Hyūga compound. In Hiashi's private library. He's writing something on scrolls."
"Good! Untie me, and follow me there. I'll explain things on the way."
Alice hesitated at first. But because this involved Arthur, it was best to comply. So she flicked her wrist, causing the metal bonds to unravel themselves and fall off of Jasper.
Jasper then stood up and rubbed his wrists. "Thanks, babe."
The two moved, racing across rooftops.
He felt slower than usual, but she matched his pace, hovering just behind his shoulder.
"So," she said over the wind. "Toneri…"
"He's after my Byakugan..."
"Why?"
"I dunno. The kid's crazy. Like everyone else."
"Jasper..."
"What? I promise, I didn't do anything to him. He just summoned a portal in my room."
"And you went inside without telling anyone?!"
"What else was I supposed to do?" Jasper threw his hands up. "I was bored! Nothing happens here anymore!"
Alice shook her head. "I hope you're happy. You got beaten up by Arthur, and now we have an alien from the moon hunting you." Jasper stayed silent. He couldn't argue with the facts. Or rather, he just didn't want to be reminded of much in trouble he was in. Then Alice asked, "What if he comes to the Leaf Village now?"
"He won't," Jasper said. "Not yet at least."
"How do you know?"
"He wants the Tenseigan to fight Arthur. But he can't get it because he can't get me. As long as I'm at full strength, he won't even think about coming from his little hiding place."
It was a bluff. Jasper honestly didn't know if Toneri would or wouldn't attack. But he needed Alice to focus and not think that he was weak.
The two soon arrived at the Hyūga compound. The walls were high, pristine white stone. Guards stood at the gate. Jasper, however, didn't slow down.
"We're not gonna let them know we're here?" Alice asked.
"No time, babe!"
Jasper vaulted the wall as Alice floated over it after him. They then landed in the main courtyard. Several Hyūga members on their nightly stroll stopped and stared. The two couple ignored them as they marched straight for the main manor.
Soon, the doors opened with a bang. Hiashi Hyūga, who was sitting at a table, froze. Next to him was Neji, and they looked as if they were having tea together.
When the head of the Hyūga saw them, his pearly, white eyes narrowed. So he placed his tea down, slammed both palms on the table, and stood up in frustration. "What is the meaning of this?"
"Where's Alex?" Jasper asked.
Hiashi's vein bulged near his temple. "You think you can just barge into my home, dirty my floors, and demand an audience with—"
Suddenly, the side door slid open. Alex stood there, holding a brush in one hand with a calm demeanour. "Alice. Jasper… To what do I owe the pleasure?"
Alice quickly stepped in front of Jasper. She bowed deeply with her forehead almost touching the floor. "Our apologies, lord Hiashi. But this matter is of grave importance. It requires Alex, Jasper, and I to speak in private."
Neji was quite interested in this sudden outburst. Or rather, he was quite interested in what they wanted to discuss. After all, it wasn't every night two famous ninjas like them burst into their home uninvited.
Hiashi looked at her, then at Jasper. He didn't like Jasper. But when he looked at Alex give a simple nod, he let out a small breath through his nose. "Very well…"
Jasper scoffed internally. His influence here was zero, but Alex? Alex owned the room without speaking.
"Follow me," Alex instructed.
He then led them toward a hallway. When the door was closed behind them, Neji asked why Hiashi let them through like that.
"Did you not see the injuries on Jasper?" Hiashi questioned.
"I did, and they didn't look natural."
"Exactly. Although almost every ninja in the village despises him for his disrespectful nature, there's no denying that he's strong."
"I'm aware of that, lord Hiashi… He fought a Sand kunoichi during the Chūnin Exams and surprised everyone with my sensei's Eight Gates."
"I see…" Hiashi said, looking at the door they left in. "And what do you think of him, Neji?"
"I have no shame in saying that he's stronger than me."
"As for Alex?"
Neji remained quiet for a second. Then he took a sip of his drink to really consider how to answer the question. "No one is stronger than Alex…"
At those words, Hiashi relaxed. "Just as I thought…" He then stood up and said he was going out. "Oh, and Neji, spy on them with your Byakugan. I'd like to know what they discussed when I get back."
"Understood."
Down the hall, Alex slid a heavy door shut. They were now inside a study lined with scrolls and a large window overlooking the outside.
"Well, dude?" Alex began, looking at Jasper. "The heck happened to you?"
"Arthur's alive..."
As the words registered within Alex's ears, all his hair follicles slowly began standing up. Then his eyes widened as a subtle smile gradually crept onto his face.