Things in the arena continued to electrify with the roars of spectators.
On the outside of the stage, Lars stood silently. He was belying a deep disappointment because, not long ago, the announcer stated to everyone that he was going to advance to the next round by default due to Kitsuchi's withdrawal.
Arthur, who had never lost sight of Lars' actions, understood how this fighter felt. Lars was becoming impatient. A match without a worthy opponent was akin to a day without light for him.
'So,' Arthur believed, 'he wants to fight someone strong that badly...'
Lars had the potential to be a formidable ally—or, in due course, an adversary. Either way, Arthur needed to keep a close eye on him.
As the whispers among the crowd began to die down, the announcer cleared his throat and said, "And now, for the next match, we have Fū versus Margaret Senju!"
Fū couldn't contain her giddiness. She'd seen Margaret in action before, and the delight of facing such a formidable opponent made her overly excited.
The spectators watched as the girls met in the center. Judging from their smiles, they seemed to have made a connection.
"Are they friends?" someone from the audience wondered.
"I think I saw them hanging out during the intermission."
Before the announcer could call the match, Margaret looked at him to ask, "Umm, am I allowed to use my wood style?"
Fū jumped in before they could answer. "C'mon! Let her use it! I want to see what it can do!"
The announcer, like most of the crowd, didn't know what wood style was, so he went to the officials to ask. When he returned, he said, "Due to the nature of wood style techniques, which classifies as a-rank or higher, they are prohibited in this tournament."
Both girls had their excitement doused at that notion. They were very disappointed, but Arthur's interest had been piqued.
'So she really does have wood style...'
"It's alright!" she exclaimed, getting a battle-ready stance. "I have other techniques."
Fū nodded, still looking forward to the fight.
As the announcer signaled the start of the match, Margaret was the first to move. "Earth style: earth dome!" The ground aimed to encase her target, but Fū was quick.
Swoosh!
Insect wings flared from her back as she soared high to the sky.
The crowd collectively gasped at the sight of her gliding skill.
"That's quite the spectacle, isn't it, folks?!" the announcer yelled. "And the best part, sensors have not detected any of her Tailed Beast chakra in use!"
"That was close!" her voice rang down from the heights.
Margaret, undeterred, simply chuckled. "I'm not out of tricks just yet!" With another clap, she unleashed an array of earth projectiles.
The Jinchūriki smiled as she darted to the left, then the right before evading all of the oncoming rocks.
"She sure is nimble," a kid from the crowd marveled.
As Arthur narrowed his focus on Margaret's tactics, he noted a peculiar quirk: 'She's only using one hand sign...'
That's when Fū made her move. "Secret ninjutsu: scaled sneak jutsu!" A luminous powder exhaled from her mouth. But as it continued expelling, she noticed Margaret had shielded her eyes.
Guess Margaret really did know her moves. As such, Fū dove down to strike her head-on. "Hidden waterfall hurricane!"
Boom!
Dust erupted around them, obscuring the scene momentarily. And when it cleared, the crowd was shocked to see Margaret successfully stop such an impactful punch with just her crossed arms. All that was left was a few bruises at best.
"What?! Fū exclaimed. "You blocked that for real?"
"Yeah, I did block that," Margaret smiled with her still shut. "But ya haven't seen nothin' yet!"
Fū quickly recomposed herself by falling back a few paces. "Time to go all out then!"
"Wouldn't have it any other way, girl!"
But before their next exchange could unfold, the officials' whistle cut through. Both kunoichi stopped and looked at them, only to see the announcer being whispered something in his ears.
"In violation of rule number seven," he declared, "Margaret Senju is disqualified!"
Disbelief filled the stands as Margaret stared wide-eyed. "What?!" she screamed in protest. "Why? The match just started!"
The officials conferred briefly before explaining to the announcer, who relayed the verdict: "Margaret has produced an unknown healing technique that has invalidated her participation! As such, she can no longer participate in this match!"
That's when the spectators looked at her bruised arm from Fū's earlier attack. It was no longer present.
"Wait, that's not—!" Margaret interjected. "It's not a technique! I mean, I can't just turn something like that off!"
When Arthur heard that, the pieces clicked into place. He remembered something from the clan selection screen: the player who chooses to be a Senju had a fifty percent chance of having three different abilities inherited.
Natural healing was one of them. To think that same ability would be a passive healing one. Unlike normal healing techniques, like Arthur's, they required focus, chakra, and sometimes hand signs.
Hers did not; it activated on its own without any thought.
"Come on," Margaret tried to reason, "can't ya just make an exception?"
"We're sorry," the announcer replied, "but rules are rules."
"What?! You guys let Will continue to fight when ya thought he was cheating! So why can't ya let me—"
"Rules are rules! You're disqualified!"
Dissatisfaction churned with Margaret as she fumed. Because of her red hair, she almost looked like a volcano, ready to explode.
Trying to reason amicably now seemed pointless, so she stomped her foot down, practically shaking the ground. Almost everyone felt it tremble.
When Arthur activated his Crimson Gaze, he saw that her entire body's chakra levels were gradually increasing. It was incredible. Better than even Chiruku's wellspring of chakra.
"I'm gonna—!" she seethed, unable to contain her frustration or the fiery emotions that pushed her toward the brink.
"It's alright, Marge! Fū chirped. "You're really strong, and I enjoyed the fight." Her aim was to pacify the tempest, but there was no quelling Margaret when she got angry.
"No, Fū! I wanted to show you everything I had!"
After another failed argument against the rule, she finally conceded and returned to her group. They could all see her uncharacteristically raw attitude.
"You can calm down, Marge," Neji tried.
"Yes!" Lee encouraged. "It is quite alright.
Naruto also tried to give her support, but she infuriatingly shook her head. Their sentimental words didn't seem to have any effect on her. Not even Iruka could calm her down.
When Lee tried to comfort her by touching her shoulder, she smacked his hand away and made him fall.
"Don't touch me!" she yelled. "Don't ever touch me!"
No one had expected that sort of reaction. Even Lee, now on the floor, was dazed by how angry and how physically strong she truly was.
"Margaret," Iruka said, a tad annoyed, "that was uncalled for."
"Bite me!" she countered. "I saved your Kage, so give me some slack."
"Ugh-oh," Jada said to herself.
Margaret was clearly upset and was now on the verge of throwing another temper tantrum.
"I don't want to watch the rest of this stupid tournament anymore!" she declared. "I'm leaving!"
The group tried to dissuade her, but what they were met with was a girl whose horizon had already collapsed, consumed by anger. So they watched as she stormed off before ordering one of them to give Fū her regards.
"What's up with her?!" Naruto wondered after she fully left. "She gets more upset than Sakura."
All Neji could do was take a mental note of how she said 'your' Kage and not 'our'.
"There's something you should know about Marge, guys," Jada spoke up. "When she gets like that and her mind's made about something, she'll lash out at just about anyone. Even I can't stop her."
"Wait," Neji wondered, "don't you two live together alongside Alice?"
"They do," William answered for her. "That's the reason Naruto and I don't visit them."
"What do you mean?" Lee asked.
"Marge becomes irate when boys come to their home."
"What about Alex and—" before Naruto could finish, William covered the boy's mouth, knowing that it would only lead to trouble.
A moment later, serenity finally fell back over the arena.
Fū turned her expression to the spectators and received her victory. While there were resounding cheers, the joy of winning felt unearned. Plus, she was a tad burdened that Margaret and her couldn't go all out like they wanted.
"Gee," she said, "I hope she's alright."
When Fū returned to her group, Jada was already waiting for her. She apologized to the Jinchūriki, to which Fū honestly had no problem with it since she enjoyed both the short fight and Margaret's unexpected temper tantrum.
"She told us to give you her regards."
"Oh wow! That's so nice of her! I really want to see her again one day."
After Jada left, the announcer captured everyone's attentions.
"Ladies and gentlemen, we're now set for the following matchup! Next up, we have—" But before he could even say the name, the fighter was already striding with a deliberate strength that drew instant attention. "Ugh... I guess he's just as eager to fight as anyone else!"
The crowd murmured one to another as their gazes were drawn toward him, whose very presence demanded respect. They'd all seen him more than once, unaware of who he was or where he came from.
Dressed in a muscular frame that spoke to his physical prowess, this man was clearly different from the other participants.
Who else could it be other than Arthur himself?
"Ahem!" the announcer continued. "This match will be Hoshikaze versus Chen!"
On the opposite side of the arena, Chen flipped flamboyantly into the spotlight, landing perfectly across from Arthur. The crowd cheered as he confidently surveyed his opponent, impressed by Arthur's muscular build.
"I admire your skills, Mr. Hoshikaze. Make no mistake, I'm taking this fight seriously!"
Arthur's expression remained cool and composed. "As expected, but..."
"But what?"
"Your Leaf Dragon technique won't have any effect on me..."
Chen let out a low chuckle as Arthur's figure reflected off the shinobi's sunglasses.
"You've figured out my Leaf Dragon already?" the taijutsu specialist wondered. "Call me whatever you'd like, but I don't believe for a second that you have."
The announcer listened back and forth as Chen continued. "Just like how you said, my Leaf Dragon won't have any effect on you; your dodging tricks you used last match won't have any effect on me!"
Arthur just scoffed, prompting Chen to keep talking. "Let me remind you that I personally came out of retirement to see what the hubbub was all about in this tournament, and the last thing I'm gonna do is lose to someone with a blindfold on!"
The crowd oohed and laughed at how energetic Chen was behaving. Others, however, like the Raikage, had stoic expressions plastered on their faces.
That's because they knew just how dangerous this 'Hoshikaze' was.