"Sasuke!" Naruto called out.
One could hear his emotions as tears filled Sakura's eyes. The others were just as distraught upon seeing their former academy classmate slipping further away. Alice herself felt regret for having let this happen.
"Quit messing around, Sasuke!" tried Naruto.
But Sasuke didn't say anything. Without a moment's notice, he took off running into the forest.
Naruto sprinted right after him without a thought for the group.
"Stop!" Alice shouted.
Yet Naruto kept going, and as he dashed past Arthur's shoulders, time seemed to slow. Arthur saw the look in the boy's eyes—that determined willingness to rescue his friend no matter the cost.
Swoosh!
Arthur's gaze returned to the others as the boy scurried away.
This was good; Arthur had now placed Sasuke in the right position.
When Chōji began giving chase, chains suddenly erupted from Arthur's cloak and ensnared the boy.
"Chōji!" they cried as Arthur yanked him back.
Sakura rushed to assist her friend, but after reaching him to grasp the chains, she found herself unable to break them.
"Only Naruto is allowed to pass," Arthur hissed.
✟
Inside a hospital in the Land of Waves.
Neji Hyūga leaned against the wall with his arms crossed. Jada and Iruka were nearby, while Lee could barely keep his energy contained. Beside Neji, William lay propped up on the examination bed, covered in bandages.
As the door swung open, a nurse entered with a clipboard in hand.
"William?" she said, smiling. "I've got some good news: you're cleared to leave."
"Thanks," he grinned, quietly stuffing his emotions away.
"I knew you'd be alright," Jada said.
"Yeah, and just in time for us to head back!"
About half an hour ago, Jada had informed the group of the mission taking place in the Fire Country. They were shocked, wishing to return as soon as possible. But William hadn't been discharged.
Naruto, more anxious than the others because it involved Sasuke, begged Jada to use her Flying raijin.
Jada was reluctant at first, wishing to just go herself. But when she saw the group Alice had formed, she knew that sending Naruto (who awakened the Nine-Tails Chakra Mode) would be the better decision.
"How're things looking for Alice?" Iruka asked her.
"Sorry, Iruka-sensei. My chakra's too low to sense anything right now."
"Not even the one you placed on Naruto?" Lee wondered.
"Not even that one…"
Several Flying raijin papers were given to notable ninjas. Including the ones in this room. But the one on Naruto was embedded in the boy's flesh after permission. Sadly for Jada, after Naruto awakened his new transformation, the mark had vanished.
It didn't matter anyway since she wouldn't be able to use the technique until she recovered.
When she looked at William, she noticed how down he looked. "It's okay, Will. Naruto will be just fine. He's got Kurama's chakra now."
"That's not it," he replied, forcing a smile.
"Then what is it?" she asked.
"He is upset because he lost!" Lee shouted.
"I did my best!" William said, faltering a little.
But his tone suggested that he still felt disappointed by the results.
"It's okay, Will," assured Iruka. "Like you said, you tried your best."
"I know," he replied, "just feels like I should have tried harder had I known how strong Hoshikaze actually was."
Neji, observant, knew that William wasn't quite the same. So he opted to keep quiet for now.
"Now is a great time to ask!" Lee inquired. "How was it fighting Hoshikaze?!"
William shifted uncomfortably, wishing he didn't have to relive the memories of that match.
"He was…" he began. "How do I say this?" He looked down at his sheets. "He was different than any ninja I've ever fought. Forget about how tough his skin was or how my clones failed trying to bring him down. It's how untouchable he was."
"Untouchable?" Iruka repeated with curious eyes.
William nodded as he attempted to articulate the feeling. "It was like he was several steps ahead of me. Or like… he was living in a different time than I was, if that makes sense."
"In what way?" Jada asked.
"I guess I'm not doing a good job at explaining things," he said, trying to piece together his thoughts. "During the fight, I kept letting him get to me. Without you guys, it might have been worse."
"You are just being modest!" Lee encouraged.
"I'm not. It felt like he was always two moves ahead. Like... I was just reacting to how he wanted the fight to go."
"You mean like that time you fought Sasuke?" Jada perked up.
The comment made William comically fall back. "No, it's not like that," he quickly corrected. "Against Sasuke, I at least had an idea of what he might do. Even with his Sharingan. But Hoshikaze was like facing a brick wall or something. There were moments where I thought I had him, but then he'd just... disappear. Like I wasn't even in the fight."
"He was strategizing," Neji finally said, straightening himself off the wall. "As much as I don't want to admit it, even my Byakugan was struggling to keep up with his unorthodox movements."
"Exactly," William said before understanding something. "Well, no… I don't mean to give him any credit or anything, but I'm being serious when I say it was like he had planned things from the start."
"Please explain!" Lee begged.
William rubbed the back of his head. "Look, all I'm saying is I'm glad he's not a villain."
Jada kept her eyes fixed on William, pragmatic enough to know that asking any more questions would only cause the others to get concerned. She had, after all, recently became Hoshikaze's student.
"I still don't understand," Iruka said, scratching his cheek.
So William elaborated further, "It's kind of like I was playing chess. And don't get me wrong, I know how to play chess. Only, while I was playing regular chess, he was playing 3D chess."
"What exactly is chess?" Neji mused.
"Oh! Ugh! It's—"
"It's like shogi," Jada answered for him. "Chess requires foresight and an understanding of your opponent's strategy."
"If that's true," Neji continued, "then what Will's saying is that Hoshikaze was manipulating the entire match from start to finish."
"Right," William agreed. "I get that I let the crowd rile me up, but I think that's exactly what Hoshikaze wanted." Then he closed his eyes in shame. "I almost lost the will to fight."
"Now I get it," Iruka said. "You were facing an opponent with strategic foresight."
"What's that?" William asked, looking up.
"Wait, you don't know what that is?!" Iruka asked with a knowing look. That was because William (like Jada) always seemed to know everything. But when he saw William put his head back down, he stopped teasing him. "It's exactly like you described earlier: an opponent staying several steps ahead of the opposition."
Lee gasped as if remembering something. "Guy-sensei taught Neji and me the same thing once!"
How could William and Jada had forgotten? Might Guy had indeed explained what strategic foresight was.
When cornered by your opponent, that same opponent performs moves to force their other target to react the way they want. And if the target can't read their opponent's moves, they've already lost.
"Gosh!" William said, rubbing his hair with both hands. "If only I had activated Toad Sage Mode from the get-go!"
"Will, it's okay that you lost," Jada comforted, placing a hand on his shoulder. "You learned a pretty big lesson, and that's what's important." A flush streaked across his cheeks. "Next time, I'm sure you'll beat him."
"That is right!" Lee suddenly hollered. "I, too, wish to try harder with hopes of one day fighting this Hoshikaze myself!"
"Thanks, Jada," William said in a soft and genuine tone. "I guess it's about time I start training again once we get back."
Iruka and Neji both smiled approvingly.
As William glanced at his friends gathered around him, he remembered that their presence served as his anchor.
That was something Hoshikaze could never break.
✟
Back on the battlefield.
Smoke billowed from the crates roundabout.
Alice stood resolute. Shino himself had been trying to bring down Arthur but found that it was much more difficult than he had expected. Sakura, who had unsuccessfully been trying to free Chōji, was feeling more anxious. Partly due to the fact Naruto and Sasuke were out of their sights.
"Alice!" she called out. "We have to go after them!"
Alice knew that better than anyone. But the situation was far more complicated than it appeared on the surface.
Unlike the Sound Four, Arthur was on a whole other level. For instance, she was at least able to bind both Sakon and Ukon in place while they were in their curse mark level two forms.
But Arthur? He continued to break it every time he got the chance.
"I thought you'd be much stronger than this," he hissed as his chains swerved around him.
The comment made Alice growl. "Shut your mouth!"
Chōji struggled against the chains still binding him before asking Sakura to use her Chakra-Enhanced Strength technique.
"I tried that already!" she said.
"No kidding?!" the boy said in shock.
"Just let them be for now," Alice commanded after sensing the chain's properties. "They're made of some tough chakra."
Of course, she failed to pinpoint their origin since she had never seen Shippuden, where they were first introduced—just as Arthur expected. And even if she knew what the chains were, he had plenty of techniques in his arsenal to keep them at bay.
Alice quickly calmed herself so as not to let emotions cloud her next move.
By the time Arthur knew it, he saw her give one nod to Sakura. The pink-haired girl then stood up with a clenched fist and rushed toward him. Shino, meanwhile, ran toward Chōji.
'Interesting,' Arthur thought as Sakura got closer.
The two quickly engaged in a taijutsu battle.
Bang!
After just one exchange, he sent her sprawling to the ground. She recovered seamlessly, rolling back into a poised stance. Then, she launched herself into a jump kick.
Crash!
It missed, causing the ground to quake.
While she was still in attack position, bang! he delivered a kick that sent her spiraling backward.
The moment she landed, he was already coming down on her with his knee. But to his surprise, she moved out of the way, causing the ground to tremble beneath the force.
'So Alice's using that,' Arthur deduced.
That last attack shouldn't have been dodged because Sakura wasn't at all looking.
Several yards from Arthur, Chōji grunted against the chains binding him while Shino worked desperately to set his comrade free. Not a single one of them was talking like before.
When Arthur's attention turned to Alice, he confirmed his suspicions: her eyes were closed in concentration, meaning she was using a technique to communicate with her team mentally.