Thunderclap

In an instant, Arthur launched himself backward and narrowly evaded a spike that shot from a nearby tree branch like an arrow. He landed gracefully on the ground, just in time to bend backward and dodge another spike that would have skewered him.

But Margaret was relentless, and she wasn't going easy.

"Wood style: wood clone jutsu!"

Before he could fully recover, five clones of her exact likeness sprang into existence. Each one was eager to engage him. They moved together and arranged themselves in a circle around him.

When they finally closed the gap, he fought them off by expertly dodging their punches and kicks—until one clone landed a jab to his chest. Another struck high with a kick aimed squarely at his neck, and two more delivered sharp elbows to his sides in perfect synchrony.

But despite their apparent success, each clone felt a sudden disbelief as they spotted the stoic expression on his face.

"Impressive," he remarked after straightening himself.

With a swift motion, he grabbed one of the clones by the wrist.

'Water style: water prison jutsu…'

A sphere of water enveloped all the wood clones and trapped them within. The real Margaret had never seen this technique effectively used like this before. And as her clones flailed helplessly, Arthur vanished from sight, swimming above the surface.

Breaking through the top of the water prison, he twirled mid-air, and in a flash, he revealed that strange long sword glowing in his hand. Margaret's eyes widened in shock—she had never seen anyone using that pulsing weapon before.

With a single swipe, a massive jolt of electricity surged from the sword and cascaded through the water prison. Thunder roared overhead as lightning crackled through the vicinity after obliterating the wooden clones with a deafening crash.

Crash!

As the residual electricity flowed through the air, Arthur landed with cool composure. His eyes then slowly locked on Margaret, who stood amidst the chaos with a peculiar smile on her face.

"Amused?" he wondered.

"How could I not be?" she replied with enthusiasm.

He could tell from her greedy look that, deep down, she wanted his sword.

Without further dignifying her with a response, he dematerialized the Blade Of Chaos, causing her expression to turn into one of feigned disappointment.

"Oh, that's so gonna be mine!" she smirked, clapping her hands. "Wood style: deep forest bloom!"

Suddenly, the trees around them began to sprout flowers. Their petals unfurled as they released clouds of fine, dangerous pollen into the air.

His instincts kicked in as he observed the phenomenon; he was well aware of the potential threat those flowers posed; he needed to act fast.

Instinctively, he began climbing the trees. Each step brought him higher, but with each inch, the forest became denser. The canopy above formed a near-impenetrable ceiling.

The pollen below was pursuing him like a lethal fog. There were only so many defenses against it.

'Ice style: white whale jutsu...'

Using the water from below and in the air, a colossal narwhal made of ice burst from the ground. Its icy form erupted and showered smaller crystals into the air as Arthur leaped from the treetops to the ground.

The rain of ice mixed with the pollen settled around him. Although he was in the icicle mist, he knew that his training had prepared him for all manner of attacks, and his body was uniquely capable of withstanding her environment.

Yet Margaret was currently missing.

He knew he had yet to utilize his Tamashii—doing so risked revealing his true identity. So instead, he closed his eyes and used the Area Sensing technique. It proved futile; her masking skills were just as great as his.

Then came her echoing voice from somewhere deep within the obscured forest: "Did you know something? I never expected to use this on some nobody..."

Suddenly, flames ignited on one of the branches high above him. He knew in an instant what was coming and took off in a sprint.

The forest around him soon ignited, and flames consumed everything in their trail as trees bowed to the inferno.

When the dust from the flames settled and the forest lay brittle and deformed, Arthur stood firm. He fearlessly scanned the charred remains before him.

Finally, one tree remained, standing tall against the devastation. On that tree stood Margaret, radiating an otherworldly presence in front of dark clouds.

She had already entered her Slug Sage Mode!

The aura of natural energy swirled around her like an ethereal veil. And as she raised her palm, Arthur's eyes slightly twitched.

'This is interesting...' he thought.

In her hand glimmered the Chidori. Instead of its blue hue, it was amber in colour.

"My friend, you're the first person to see me use this," she said with a smirk.

Then he understood why she had started off with the Fierce Dragon Flame technique and why she had set fire to her forest: she sought to create thunderclouds to facilitate her next attack just as Sasuke Uchiha had done.

With a tilt to her head, she announced her grand technique: "This jutsu is Kirin!"

The air grew electric, and the storm clouds above responded to her call. Natural lightning crackled downwards, gathering into a massive, amber-coloured dragon. Its body swirled ominously in the sky while showing off her mixed Sage Chakra in it.

"Be gone," her voice echoed, "with the thunderclap!"

As the dragon roared and raced toward Arthur with a ferocity that shook the world around him, he stretched his arm to materialize the Blade Of Chaos again.

When the Kirin struck, a tremendous explosion occurred, erupting in a fiery tempest that carved a colossal crater into the earth and disintegrated all remnants of the terrain. The clouds parted, the flames quelled, and the dust swirled violently in every direction, blanketing the battlefield in pure anarchy!

…

Moments before.

In the cozy warmth of their apartment, three girls shared a comfortable conversation.

Margaret sat with her arms crossed while Jada fiddled with a small trinket. Alice herself stirred a pot quietly in the kitchen.

"Umm…" Alice said, peeking her head in the living room. "I just sensed three guys leaving letters for Jada outside."

"Another round of love letters?" Margaret snapped with irritation. Jada just giggled in amusement. "That's like the third time today, Jada! It's ridiculous."

"It is kinda odd, though," Alice said from the kitchen. "Some of your admirers are over eighteen, Jada, while you're technically thirteen."

Jada shrugged and said, "It's kind of cute when you think about it. That's how it was back then—older men being interested in underaged girls."

Margaret rolled her eyes and added, "Then why haven't I gotten anything yet?"

After setting the temperature to a low heat, Alice situated herself on the couch and smirked while saying, "Maybe it's 'cause you're always so angry?"

"That's not my problem," Margaret retorted.

Their banter continued. Beneath the lightheartedness, they began talking about the main plotline.

"Hey," Margaret said. "Remember that time when Sasuke fought Itachi?"

"I never actually saw that fight," Alice reminded the group.

They often forgot that she never saw part two of the series. But Jada was eager to share what she knew.

"Basically," she began. "Itachi was sick—he didn't even want to kill Sasuke. I think it's safe to say Itachi was the real winner there."

"It doesn't matter who won," Margaret insisted after shrugging off Jada's point. "That fight was epic and definitely one of the top-tier battles in all of anime history."

"Why do you think that?" Alice asked after feeling genuinely curious.

"Sasuke used Kirin," Margaret replied, "and it was, like, his only time ever using it."

"What about that second time during the filler arc?" Jada reminded.

"That doesn't count…" Margaret blushed.

Then something registered in Jada's head as she asked, "Wait, if I know you, Marge, I'm guessing it's because you figured out how to do Kirin, right?"

Margaret smiled slyly, not committing to an answer.

Alice, trying to connect the dots, looked puzzled as she asked, "What even is Kirin?"

"It's a really powerful lightning technique," Jada explained. "It uses natural lightning from the sky to strike someone down, and when I say powerful, I mean even my Susanoo can't fully defend against it."

"How'd you learn that?" Alice asked.

"It's easy!" Margaret grinned. "You just have to learn the Chidori first."

Jada looked impressed as she praised, "Wow, that's amazing!"

"Yeah, yeah. But let's talk about Arthur for a second since you brought up your Susanoo," Margaret suggested. "Seriously, girl, how did you lose to him? You had the Sharingan!"

Jada hesitated after remembering the fight. "Well, Arthur had a Kekkei Genkai of his own."

Alice leaned in to ask, "Which one?"

"The glowing eye one that Ranmaru used once," Jada revealed. "I don't think it had a name."

"How in the world did he get that?" Margaret asked, raising an eyebrow. "He didn't kill Raiga and Ranmaru, did he?"

Their collective silence hinted at their understanding.

"I guess I should go visit them in the Land of Rivers someday," Alice finally said.

"You don't need to," Jada sadly said. "I've already verified that they're dead."

Margaret scoffed, "Seriously, how low did Arthur get?"

"Why are we even talking about him?" Alice asked.

"Sorry," Jada piped up. "That wasn't my intention." In truth, it was actually Margaret who brought him up. "How about we talk about something else then?"

With a burst of pride, Margaret changed the topic by declaring, "So listen! I have wood style, a special Sage Mode, and I can perform Kirin. I'm definitely the strongest around here!"

As if Alice hasn't heard that line before. She wanted to counter, to remind Margaret about Jasper's time travel and the intricacies of their world, but Margaret's conviction was unshakeable.

Dismissing Alice's concern with a wave, she proclaimed, "I'm unbeatable in this world, and I'm gonna prove it!"

She got up suddenly, prompting Jada to ask, "Where are you going?"

"Just off!" Margaret said with a giggle while striding toward the door.

"Wait!" Alice called out, but Margaret was already gone.

Jada looked at Alice to ask, "What was that about?"

Alice sighed, knowing where Margaret was headed. When it came to espionage, Alice knew just about what everyone did and talked about in the Leaf Village.

"Marge," she began, "was talking to herself one day about how she was going to take out the Akatsuki all by herself."

Immediately, Jada became concerned. Taking out the Akatsuki? And by herself? None of that aligned with their plans to help the story. More importantly, what was Margaret thinking?

"We need to follow her!" Jada quipped. "She'll need backup or something!"

Alice shook her head and said, "Let her handle it. Marge knows how to take care of herself, and she's quite strong, you know."

"I know she is," Jada argued, "but this is serious! What if she gets into trouble?" Determined not to abandon her friend, she strode toward the exit. "I don't care. I'm going after her."

"Jada—"

But Jada was already out the door. Margaret may have been strong, but recklessness was an entirely different challenge. And Jada would rather be there to help than to risk losing someone she cared for.

Even if it meant secretly planting a Flying raijin mark on them.