Some time later, Alice rose from her sleep and walked out of her room in her pajamas.
She was often always the one to wake up before her roommates. Jada and Margaret were a lot younger than her, so it made her maintain her level of maturity.
She soon found herself standing on the balcony as the morning sun reflected off her face. The air was crisp and clean, something she quite enjoyed about this world.
After closing her eyes, she began to meditate and think about the events of the past couple days.
William revealed to everyone that he had successfully introduced Naruto to his father. On top of that, William had also revealed to Naruto about the boy's true identity as Asura's reincarnation, Kushina Uzumaki, and Obito Uchiha.
It was a rollercoaster of information for the boy, but he managed to accept it in the end. Now Naruto understood his place in the world as the hero. Of course, he was prohibited from leaking these facts to anyone else.
When Jasper had heard William's report, he reprimanded William for his idiocrasy in having said the Nine-Tails' name.
"I'm sorry," William apologized at the time. "It just sorta came out."
Everyone assured him that it was alright and that the script might have still been the same even if he hadn't made that mistake.
In present time, Alice opened her eyes and turned her attention to the village below. It was a beautiful sight. The buildings bathed in the morning sunlight. Had it not been for the others, she might not have known anything more about this world.
After all, she never watched part two of the series.
And much like how Arthur chose to be a villain, she knew that she had her own role to play in this grand scheme of things. She had a clandestine mission that no one else knew about, and she was determined to see it through.
After finishing her morning ritual, she prepared breakfast for the others and then made her way to the Yamanaka clan district.
This clan was renowned for their perfection of mind-based techniques, and she hoped to learn as much as she could from them.
Inoichi, the head, greeted her warmly. He had always been supportive of her after recognizing her potential as a kunoichi. Ever since his daughter's death, he had been treating Alice as if she was now her daughter.
"Are you sure you don't want to move in with us?" he asked after leading her to the clan's training grounds. "Everything'll be paid for, and your friends can still be your roommates."
"I'm sure, sir," she said, respectfully declining for the third time this month. "I promise, I'm happy where I am and am really grateful that you helped us find that apartment."
"Well, if you ever change your mind, the offer still stands."
Alice eventually made it to a secluded area filled with various training equipment, where she began practicing the clan's secret techniques.
She started off with meditation by attempting to connect with the minds of other animals and feel their thoughts. Then she practiced telepathy by sending messages to distant locations. Yet this was unsuccessful.
Hours passed as she was determined to perfect these techniques and become the most skilled Yamanaka clan member at an early age.
Unlike the other players, apart from Arthur, her clan wasn't all that special.
As the sun began to set, she finally ended her training session.
The results were mentally exhausting but satisfying thanks to the significant progress always being made. For instance, she had a great understanding of the spiritual aspects of chakra, as well as expanding the potency of her techniques—something far better than the others could do.
Given more time, she would be able to stand against even seasoned Jōnin.
After she returned to her apartment, she prepared herself to meet with Jasper since they had a date planned.
What made her so reliable was that she knew where everyone was in the Leaf Village. How? Alice was a sensory-type ninja. Her sensing ability was just as strong as a Hyūga's Byakugan. She could see almost every familiar chakra signature within the Leaf Village—all eighty thousand citizens.
This ability was known as "Kagura Shingan: The Mind's Eye," having been acquired only a couple weeks ago. It was the exact technique Karin Uzumaki would be remembered for three years from now.
As long as Alice recognized the person's chakra signature, she could physically pinpoint their location with near-perfect accuracy. But it wasn't perfect yet since it not only greatly drained her of chakra. Plus, her range was limited based on how often she used it.
Right now, she could sense that Jasper was waiting for her in his own apartment. So she finished getting ready and walked out to meet him.
A smile was on his face as he opened the door, unsurprised by her impeccable timing and stunning appearance. He himself looked handsome in his casual attire, and she couldn't help but feel a flutter in her chest.
"You look beautiful," he said, taking her hand.
Alice blushed and replied with a sincere thanks.
Later, the two wound up spending the evening while walking through the village and talking about how construction was still ongoing. It was a moment of romantic peace.
As they continued, she thought about the challenges that lay ahead. Arthur was the focal point of their conversation, but Jasper didn't seem interested in bringing up that name.
"He's another wannabe Obito," he commented.
"I'm sure he has his reasons, don't you think?"
"Ugh… No!"
The two eventually stopped at a small café before ordering tea and dessert. As they sat there, talking and laughing, she felt lively, always impressed by this world's amenities. Things were so real that she often forgot who she really was.
When the food arrived, the desserts were a sight to behold: a tower of whipped cream, chocolate, and fruit that seemed almost too good to be true.
Alice did little to fight her urges as she took a backseat to indulge in her food. And the moment the dessert touched her tongue, it was an explosion of flavour, more delicious than anything she's ever tasted.
The sweetness of the chocolate, the tangy burst of fruit, and the airy lightness of the whipped cream melted together in her mouth. She closed her eyes to savour the experience.
After finishing that delicious bite, she looked at Jasper with affectionate eyes. He returned them, assuring that he did indeed find her pleasing enough to spend time with.
Eventually, they finished their meal and left the café. Outside, the village lights twinkled like stars.
Alice quite liked the Leaf Village. She would make moments like these last, so she held his hand as they walked back to her apartment.
They had spent a pleasant evening together, one that was nothing new. And when they made it up the elevator, they noticed that the building lights were on, signifying the others were waiting inside.
Of course, Alice already knew this in advance. But she had purposefully bided her time to spend more moments with Jasper.
Inside, the others were gathered around the living room. Alex was rummaging through the fridge, while Jada, William, and Margaret were engaged in a random conversation about 'crosses and ships,' which was nerd talk for romantically pairing two characters together from one or more franchises together.
"Naruto and Sakura, easy," Margaret announced.
"No!" Jada disagreed. "Naruto's getting with Hinata whether any of you like it or not."
"What about Naruto and Sasuke?" William suggested.
The whole room gave him a loud "no!"
Their topic ceased after Alice and Jasper walked through the door. Their presence signaled the start of their nightly meetings.
"Alex just got promoted to a Chūnin," Margaret began.
"Congrats," Alice said.
"Thanks," he replied. "And I put in a good word for Jasper so he could get approval to leave the village with Alice."
"I knew you wouldn't forget about me," Jasper grinned with a knowing look.
"Get a room, you two," Margaret laughed. This caused Alice to shove her shoulder. "Ow! I was only kidding, mom!"
The conversation soon turned to the aftermath of the invasion. They discussed the damage to the village and how their current assignments were going.
"I think Will was right about earlier,"
"What was I right about again?" he wondered.
"Tsunade," she reminded. "It wouldn't be so bad to try and bring her to the village now. Plus, she's the only one who can help Rock Lee."
Everyone nodded in agreement. Tsunade was the greatest medical ninja in the world, and her expertise was needed now more than ever. Because of Arthur, they were being forced to trigger the Search for Tsunade arc earlier than desired.
""Since Naruto's already learned the Rasengan," Alex announced, "I think I should go with Jiraiya,"
"But what about Oro?" Alice wondered.
"I ain't worried 'bout him," he answered. "I've gotten strong enough to take him out anyway."
The room was surprised to hear this. To 'take out' a Sannin was no laughing matter.
When Alex first received the curse mark, it was by choice. He had an unruly confidence that he'd be able to control it and turn it in his favour.
"How's that going, by the way?" Margaret wondered.
"Fine, duh," he laughed. "Ya don't see me trying to abandon the village or anything. Haha."
"I'll go too," William added. "I can help with the search."
Alex didn't quite want any company for some odd reason. That prompted the room to escalate into sudden bickering. He wanted to argue that it would be better to have Alice join since it would make the search easier, yet he genuinely didn't want anyone other than Jiraiya for the mission.
Finally conceding, he agreed to have William tag along.
The conversation then turned to Alex's earlier comment about him being strong enough to fend off Orochimaru.
"Where's this confidence suddenly coming from?" Alice wondered with suspicion.
Alex pondered before answering, "Hmm… Come to think of it, I'm not sure that we ever established which of us is the strongest."
'Wow,' Alice thought. 'He totally just avoided my question.'
"I suggest we find out," Alex finished.
"Good," Jasper agreed. "Been meaning to fight Male-Karin."
The comment made William wince slightly.
"I meant without violence," corrected Alex.
Jada soon returned with a drawing board to list everyone's name, including Arthur's.
"Show of hands," Alex said. "Who all thinks Arthur's the strongest?"
Not a single one of them raised their hands. Whether it was by spite or logic, each of them had their own reasons as to why Arthur wasn't even close to being the top ninja among them.
One by one, they cast their votes as Alex went down the list of their names.
Arthur and Alice received no votes. Alex received one vote from Jada. Jada herself received one vote from William, which had prompted Jasper to call him a 'simp.' Jasper received two votes, of which one was from Alice and the other from himself. Margaret received one vote, which was from herself. And lastly, William received one vote from Alex, which shocked the others.
"Okay," Alice said, dragging that word, "we've all got mixed opinions." She didn't at all seemed bothered that no one voted for her. "Let's try to determine what we all have so we can make the right call. Will, you start. Why'd you vote for Jada?"
William explained that Jada's arsenal consisted of having the Mangekyō Sharingan which paired nicely with the Susanoo. Given her Uchiha bloodline, she's got a natural affinity for fire, allowing her to learn all the other elemental natures much faster.
"Simpin' hard!" Jasper commented.
"Jasper!" Alice reprimanded.
"Thank you, Will," Jada said, ignoring Jasper's rudeness. "But I've only recently learned how to activate the Susanoo. I've hardly even trained my Sharingan after I first unlocked the Mangekyō."
"Oh," he said, feeling disappointed and a tad embarrassed.
"Tell us why you voted for Alex, then," Alice said.
"What about me?!" Margaret blurted out. After constantly emphasizing her prowess as a Senju, she wanted to express a valid reason why she was the best. "Come on, mom!"
"Fine…" Alice yielded.
Margaret was happy as she explained that she had finally awakened her Kekkei Genkai, wood style. This was a shocking revelation to many who hadn't already known. Some questioned if she committed the taboo of using Hashirama's or Yamato's cells.
She denied all allegations and boasted, "I'm basically Hashirama and Tsunade combined now!"
Margaret was truly an unparalleled force now that she'd acquired wood style. Imagine a ninja capable of creating vast forests to protect allies while simultaneously healing them and bolstering their strength. Coupled with Sage Mode, that was insanity.
"There ya have it," she finished. "I'm the strongest."
"I disagree," Jasper intervened. "Did you forget I'm an Ōtsutsuki?"
Alice couldn't help but back his claims. This caused Margaret to doubt, wondering if he truly was on her level. So she inquired what exactly he meant, to which he didn't feel like sharing.
Alice knew a lot about Jasper's goals and his hidden techniques. They were dating, after all. To quell anyone's suspicions on why he was the strongest player, she said that Jasper was like Margaret, but that he was a combination of multiple strong shinobi as opposed to just two.
That shut Margaret up.