Path Of War-Chapter 356: Lightning Beast Running Jutsu

At the border of the Fire Country, where the land softened into quiet woods and distant mountains, Arthur waited patiently.

The sun was just about to set as he stood there with his arms crossed, disguised as Hoshikaze.

When Jada finally arrived, her steps quickened, and her face lit up with relief. She looked tired but happy to see him. Arthur watched her approach and noted confidence as opposed to her sadness from earlier.

"Sorry I'm late!" she greeted.

"There's no need to apologize," he answered.

"Sorry, it's a habit... I mean, it was just a hard time leaving the village to get here on time."

Arthur remained silent for a moment, observing her, before gesturing for her to walk a little further from the main trail and toward a quiet clearing surrounded by trees.

When they reached the open space, he turned to face her directly and said, "Before we start training, I need you to explain what exactly happened with your friend."

Jada looked downward for a moment before gathering her thoughts. Then she began to recount her recent experiences, speaking slowly as she described the event. And after she was done, she explained the aftermath.

"Alice is really upset with him," she quietly continued. "She's been crying over him, and she keeps asking herself how he could do something like that. I think she's torn between her feelings for him after all that."

Arthur's face remained calm and unreadable. He listened carefully before making the correct call.

"Jasper said he wasn't hurting anyone," she continued. "He claimed he was just trying to make things easier for Sakura, that he was going to put a genjutsu on her so she wouldn't feel anything. But... because I told the truth, Alice slapped him."

Arthur remained silent as she explained, "So there wouldn't be any problems for everyone, Alice used her ability to alter Sakura's memories so she wouldn't remember what happened."

Her voice trembled slightly as she finished. "Alice couldn't believe it. She was trying to trust Jasper, but now she's so confused that she also doesn't know what to do."

"Does anyone else know about this?" he finally asked.

"No, just us three. Well, now you, too."

Arthur had suspected something like this would eventually happen, but hearing her speak of it made it all the more real.

How could he have not seen this coming? Before entering the pods on earth, the expression Jasper made when Dr. Kapoor mentioned the possibility of experiencing pleasure here had been telling. Jasper's own capacity for cruelty and using others was also made clear when Arthur first fought him.

This wasn't just a mistake or confusion; it was the heart of evil, plain and simple.

Yet there was one thing Arthur learned that he hadn't known: Jasper had an impressive new lightning technique. That purple lightning, or whatever Jada explained, sounded close to Madara Uchiha's "Sage Art: Shadow Style Thunder Blast."

That technique shot purple electricity, mixed with Sage chakra, from Madara's fingers. The only difference was that Jasper wasn't in any Sage Mode. How he knew something like that was almost unheard of.

What interested Arthur was how it was able to easily harm a player like Jada.

He finally broke the silence, saying, "Sometimes, friends show their true colours when things get stressful... That doesn't mean they're lost, but it does mean you have to be strong enough to face them if this ever happens again."

She looked at him with a serious expression before agreeing, "I'll do whatever it takes then."

"Good. That's the kind of spirit I'd like you to develop."

She offered a faint smile, feeling a little more confident. Then she thanked him.

"Why thank me now?" he wondered.

"Because I already know that you'll never let me down."

At that, he gestured toward the open space before them. When they settled down, he said, "Let's start with a sparring session. No distractions, no tricks—just you and me."

She was happy that this was how they could start. Truth be told, she'd been eagerly waiting for her chance to show him what she's learned. As such, she immediately activated her Sharingan.

"Smart choice," he commented.

Their first round was light—quick exchanges that tested each other's reflexes. Arthur held back, letting her land a few strikes. She was faster and more precise than before, and her chakra control had definitely improved.

Still, she couldn't land a decisive blow.

"You've improved," he encouraged.

She huffed, trying to catch her breath. "Yeah, but you're still something else. I thought for sure I'd bridge the gap between us by now."

"Oh," he smirked. "So you've been thinking about me that much?" This made her blush, allowing him to break her defense. "Stay focused, Jada..."

As they continued, her movements did become much sharper. She attacked with renewed vigor while he responded with calm defenses.

When they created some space, he said, "If you keep this pace, in a year, you might surpass even me."

Jada's eyes widened with determination. "Then I won't stop; I want to be able to protect everyone no matter what!" At that declaration, she performed a hand sign. Arthur watched her, then performed a quick hand sign. "Lightning beast running jutsu!"

A bolt of lightning surged from her palm, forming into a lightning hound. Then the lightning beast shot straight at him. He raised his forearm instinctively, taking the full force of the attack.

The lightning hit, but he held his ground.

When the dust cleared, he looked down to see a deep bruise where her attack landed. It wasn't quite red, but blood threatened to seep out.

Jada's eyes widened again in shock. "I... I didn't mean to hurt you!"

He looked at her with a faint, calm smile and corrected, "You did good... I let myself be hit to see how well you could control your chakra under pressure."

"Really?"

"Yes," he confirmed. "And you've exceeded my expectations. Keep that focus, and you'll definitely keep growing."

Jada looked relieved. For a second, she wasn't sure if him letting himself be hit was a good or bad thing. But his words eased her worries.

The two would later continue training into the night, pushing each other further. With each exchange, Jada's confidence grew. Arthur saw her potential and knew her progress would be crucial in the days ahead.

Once she finally became exhausted, she held onto her knees and panted heavily. Arthur deemed now was a good time to rest for the night.

Jada collapsed backward. Never had anyone pushed her that far in a long time. Although she hadn't been using her Susanoo or other trump cards, it's the fact that someone would have forced her hand to try.

Ironic to stay since the last person to make her pull out those techniques was the same person she was sparring with.

By the time her eyes looked to see him, a campsite had already been set up. She instantly knew that he had prepared this due to the open scroll by his side.

"You sure do stay prepared," she smiled, trying to get up. But the moment she did, her body gave way and she fell again. "Ow..."

Arthur slowly strode toward and performed the Healing technique, explaining, "Your muscles will recover quicker this way, and you'll be even stronger than before."

"That.... that's amazing!" she commented. "I... I never thought about healing myself after training."

"It's a good method, but it requires a lot of chakra and endless hours of rinse and repeat."

Now Jada began to understand why Arthur was so strong; he had used this method. For how long, she couldn't tell. All she knew was that it had to be more than a year.

While he was still healing her, she looked away.

"Something wrong?" he wondered.

"N... No, it's just your chakra."

"What about it?"

"It's warmer than I expected..."

After she was healed, the two gathered around the fire. Everything was accounted for: pots and pans, canned food, and even tents to dwell in for the night.

"You know," she said, looking up at the bright stars, "there's still a lot I don't know about you, Hoshikaze-sensei."

"What would you like to know?" he asked in a measured tone.

"Well, where are you from?"

Arthur knew this question, and possibly more, would be asked. That's why he thought of answers long before.

"Let's just say you can find me at the Cloud Village if you ever need me."

Jada abruptly stood up, claiming that she knew it all along. Oddly enough, he never said where he was from and dodged the question. Yet her enthusiasm missed this.

When he probed her to wonder why she believed this, she recounted during the tournament how he fought. She remembered it like it was yesterday—how Arthur fought C and prevailed as the former knew all of the latter's fighting style.

"There's also the fact that you never wear a headband," she added.

"Funny," he replied, "I don't recall being in the Cloud ninja's square while the tournament was going on."

"So?" she shot back. "Anko and the others weren't in our square either."

That was a valid point to make. Her intuition also reminded her of how he fought, which was similar to Killer B's fighting style: breakdancing. No other character knew how to move like Arthur, save those that were from the Cloud Village.

"Perceptive as always," Arthur smirked.

"Next question: how old are you?"

Arthur let out a fake laugh and said, "A little girl like you doesn't need to know that."

His answer made her pout. She tried to get the answer out of him, but he remained stagnant, prompting her to enter her tent in frustration. This part of her was always cute to see as opposed to her more dangerous side.

The next morning, Arthur stood a few paces away, having already told Jada what the next lesson was.

"Alright," he said. "Remember, you have until nightfall."

What she was to do was find an item he had hidden somewhere in the forest. Her job was to secure that item and return it to him without harming anyone she might come across.

The only hint she got as to where this item would be was, "In shaded woods I often dwell; with a furry coat, large and well. I may hide in shadow's fold; in hibernation, I grow cold."

Running into the underbrush, she knew this wasn't just about locating the item. What she had to do was also play it smart. And she was smart, for she knew the answer to his riddle: a bear.

Her main problem was that this forest was full of bears! freёweɓnovel.com

It wasn't long until she spotted a large bear lying lazily near a fallen log, grooming itself. She crept forward slowly and tried not to startle it. But the bear simply looked at her with mild curiosity, then went back to licking its paw.

There wasn't anything in its possession as far as she could tell.

Moving on, she saw another bear, smaller and sniffing at some berries. She kept her distance, crouching behind a patch of ferns. She watched it for a moment, but it seemed to have no connection to having anything either.

She continued this slow search—scanning, observing, waiting—hoping to find some sign. Yet as time passed, she began to doubt if the answer truly was a bear.

Her legs ached, and her mind was beginning to tire. So she took a moment to consider the lesson.

"What if it's not a bear?" she asked herself. "No, I shouldn't second-guess myself."

As the sun set further, she noticed that she was spotting the same bears over and over again. As such, she activated her Sharingan to make spotting them easier.

Not long after, she caught a flicker of movement near the inside of a cave. She moved closer, slowly and quietly, and finally saw it—a small, jade rose attached to the cheeks of a bear.

Relieved, she carefully ran toward the animal, reached out, and lifted the delicate object from its fur without disturbing the bear.

"Alright!"

When she finally returned to Arthur, she held out the jade rose with a small, triumphant smile.

"You did well and just in time," he complimented. "But did you understand the lesson?"

"Yes, it was about being patient and not doubting my instincts."

"Not bad for a kunoichi," he said, gesturing for her to keep the rose.

When night came around, she questioned why he had used a jade rose for their lesson. The answer was obvious: because it symbolized her character.

Jada was left speechless afterwards.