Jada Schmidt.
It all happened so fast—the accusations, his claims, the explosion—and now the village was plunged into chaos. Arthur, the quiet guy. He was the one who was always mysterious. He was a walking contradiction—seemingly clumsy yet resourceful, quiet yet explosive.
Yet there he was, defying the Hokage himself. And strangely, that was kind of cool.
He never made her feel guilty about her own lack of stellar skills, and he was the perfect audience for her endless rants.
To her, Arthur seemed genuinely interesting. He was the only one out of the others who came into this world without any knowledge of the Naruto universe. Jada herself had spent countless hours glued to the screen back on earth while reading all of the latest volumes that were released.
She winced, feeling the guilt settle in.
Arthur, the supposed villain, the one who got stuck with the worst character during the selection phase, ended up being the one who wished to destroy the world?
The irony was almost painful.
Despite the conflicting emotions brewing, Jada looked around at the panicked faces in the crowd. A thrill shot through her.
Here, she was Jada Uchiha, a Genin of the Leaf Village, a part of something bigger than herself. Here, she could be brave and strong and use all the knowledge she had crammed into her head to actually make a difference.
This world had its flaws, sure, but here, being a part of something was exhilarating.
And even though things had gone sideways with Arthur, maybe, just maybe, there was still a way to make everything right.
Jasper Reza.
The acrid smell of smoke stung Jasper's nostrils as the Hokage barked orders, scrambling ninjas into some semblance of defense.
Arthur, a weakling, had managed to pull off a Houdini act right in front of everyone. But that was fine with Jasper. Or rather, he didn't care. Weaklings deserve weak endings.
He glanced at his teammates, Alexander and Alice. Their faces were frustrated at the results.
This whole situation was turning into a colossal waste of time for him. He was here for one reason and one reason only: to secure a place as the Reza Group's future.
Jasper had every advantage, even knowing beforehand what the experiment entailed. Upon figuring this out, he watched and learned everything that had to do with Naruto.
And according to Jasper, Naruto was a stupid series to begin with.
The pacing had issues, especially in Naruto Shippuden; there were too many filler episodes that made up a significant portion of the series; the power levels of the characters escalated too quickly; and there were too many bogus inspirational speeches to defeat the antagonists.
At least now things seemed to be picking up better than he expected.
Orochimaru, the snake bastard, had decided to crash the party. And Arthur, the pathetic excuse for a ninja, had become the unexpected catalyst.
Jasper let out a sardonic chuckle. "Talk about irony."
He didn't care if Arthur wanted to play the villain or not. Villains were just strong people with negative PR. What mattered was that Arthur had become a wild card, a potential complication in Jasper's planned trajectory.
And if Arthur, the bumbling fool Jasper believed him to be, decided to play that role, well, Jasper would gladly kill his character if they ever met again.
Alice.
The embers scattered across the arena, mimicking the war Alice felt within herself.
Arthur. That infuriating, self-important… He was like a little kid playing dress-up in his dad's old villain costume.
All she had heard were his bold pronouncements with a melodramatic flair. And when she remembered how he looked—the glint in his eyes during that speech, the way his voice hardened—she knew he was serious.
Could he truly be capable of such darkness? No, surely not Arthur the Christian. He would never dare to hurt her, Jasper, or any of the other players. Right?
Alice sighed, bouncing from stand to stand.
This entire situation was ridiculous. Here she was, a former Black Ops spy turned reluctant anime character, hired for a mission so bizarre it felt like a fever dream. Her days tailing corrupt CEOs and infiltrating drug cartels were replaced by a secret assignment to venture into a world about a boy with sunshine-blond hair and a penchant for heroic rescues.
She watched as her white-haired lover flew off into the distance.
'Jasper…' She winced. She couldn't deny it anymore; she was smitten. 'He'll be fine. I know he will.'
Jasper was strong, kind, and had a moral compass that rivaled a gyroscope—everything other men in her life weren't.
Yet something worried Alice. Arthur managed to fool her and everyone else. And if he was willing to play the villain, she would hope that Jasper and him wouldn't get into a fight.
To her, Jasper was a chivalrous man who genuinely cared for her. She had to protect him, even from Arthur, a seemingly confused, LARPing villain.
Squaring her shoulders, she scanned the area. This whole thing really was a mess, but at least it was an exciting kind of mess.
William Rodriguez.
He stared up at the smoke-filled sky, hearing the sound of multiple citizens panicking to find shelter.
Arthur. That knucklehead. Declaring himself a villain? It was almost laughable. Almost.
Sure, Arthur wasn't the strongest. But during his taijutsu stint, the way he'd managed to dodge and counter Jasper's attacks—there was a spark there. And when he defeated Chōji with just one punch? He had earned William's respect.
Speaking of Jasper, that smug know-it-all, referring to William as 'Male-Karin.' Ever since William had entered this crazy world of Naruto, Jasper hadn't wasted an opportunity to point out his every misstep.
But things had changed. Thanks to his patient training and his own stubborn determination, William wasn't the same clumsy man.
Maybe that's why Arthur's declaration felt so off. There was no possible way he'd want to play the villain. Not after reading what happened to virtually every antagonist that didn't get redeemed.
To William, only some of the villains were cool. Yet they all had ill intentions. Orochimaru was into boys' eyes, Nagato was being manipulated after a tragic past, the same thing happened to Obito, Madara was a walking cheat code, and Kaguya—well—had alien-like powers.
'I'm starting to see why Arthur wanted to become a villain, but I just don't get why he'd kill Ino and Shikamaru.'
William was still very naïve. He doesn't know if this game has real consequences or not, even if the stakes felt fantastical. Naruto was his favourite anime, and he was living in it. Of course he would never side with Arthur's ambitions.
"Arthur… I can't let you hurt anyone else."
William swallowed the thought of another ninja dying. He may not be the strongest, but that didn't mean he didn't have the potential to be. No, he wouldn't back down. He'd stand with them, fight with them, and protect everyone he cared about in this world.
After all, that's what heroes do. And William, despite his initial hesitance, was finally starting to feel like one.
Margaret Campbell.
She crossed her arms and leaned casually against a wall, not at all bothered by the clatter of weapons racing through the sky.
Arthur. That overgrown toddler. Declaring himself a villain in front of the Hokage himself?
It was enough to make her want to stuff him in an oversized carpet and roll him down a hill. Just for fun. She couldn't help but smirk. There was a certain undeniable coolness to what he had said to Hiruzen.
Still, that didn't erase the anger simmering beneath. He'd tricked her and manipulated them all. And who knew what that madness in his eyes meant, or what that vague declaration entailed?
Margaret pushed herself off the wall.
She didn't care about Arthur's villainous tantrums, as long as they didn't involve any more deaths. Plus, he'd broken the trust she'd so naively extended, and now she wouldn't hesitate to stop him if he went on a rampage.
'I really hope he doesn't get away,' she thought to herself.
The village had a running streak of trusting others so easily. It all started with Madara, then moved down to Orochimaru and lesser characters like Mizuki. At least the former felt inferior to Margaret.
She believed she knew this world better than anyone else and was the strongest in the Leaf Village. And since this was Orochimaru, a Sannin, attacking the village, she—with her unique powerset—had a fighting chance.
'Maybe I could get Jiraiya to fight alongside me,' she thought. 'Na! Screw him. I can take Oro myself!'
The weight of responsibility settled on her shoulders, but this time, it was a fire that burned brighter after Arthur's theatrics.
Suddenly, her hair began to get moist as red liquid gradually dripped down from her follicles. Then black markings snaked their way from her temples to her eyes, covering portions of her face.
As if Margaret wouldn't let Arthur, or Orochimaru, endanger the village any further.
Alexander Costa.
Alex activated his Byakugan to see through the smoke. He was shocked to watch Arthur's body turn into vapour. Then nothing; he just vanished, blending in with the surrounding smoke.
Alex felt various emotions swirling inside him. Arthur, the quiet, unassuming teammate, the one who always seemed a step behind, had just done something no one could: he surprised Alex.
It was a revelation that gave Alex goosebumps like no other.
For some time, Alex had been getting bored. He'd been hoping for some real excitement when he signed up for this whole "new world" business. Since he'd landed in with the others, it had mostly been fetching missions while doing tedious training exercises.
This world lacked something, something to help make it more challenging. But as things progressed all the way to the preliminaries, Alex was about ready to end this whole thing.
That is until Arthur dropped an unexpected bombshell on everyone.
Because of him, the world didn't look so dull anymore. Now there was a sense of danger and unpredictability looming everywhere. A real villain meant real consequences. And for the first time since being pulled into this game, Alex felt genuine excitement.
This new development, this unexpected twist—it was exactly what he'd been craving. A game within the game. How could he not be thrilled? Not after Arthur chased away the boredom.
All Alex ever wanted was someone to play with—a person who could truly test his skills at something. Not a predetermined pawn like Jasper, or a boastful teenager like Margaret, or a mysterious French woman like Alice. Or what about a wannabe fanboy like William and the warmhearted Jada?
No, Alex desired a player worthy to be called a rival. Arthur was that rival, the only one whom Alex had underestimated.
But how had this lanky, awkward guy ended up being the catalyst for his joy? Why him? Was it because he was a Christian? Alex was not the biggest believer out there, so he couldn't relate to Arthur's face.
When looking at it from a ninja's perspective, Alex had also never seen Arthur train with any exceptional flair. Nor had he noticed any hidden depths to Arthur's personality.
Arthur was simply just Arthur, an average man who… 'Didn't seem to want to be here…'
That's where Alex understood his mistake: had he not been so focused on impressing her, he would have noticed that Arthur didn't want to be in the ninja world. Knowing this now made Alex snort with amusement.
A woman registered in his memories. Her face was obscured by shadows, but her voice was all too recognizable.
"Remember, Alexander, this isn't just a game," she coldly declared. "You have a significant role to play."
"I understand, mother…"
"Good," she said, turning with an unimpressed look. "There's a lot at stake here, so don't disappoint me any further."
A sharp voice cut through his musings.
"Alex! Focus!" It was Alice. "Oro's chosen to attack, so what's the plan?"
Alex honestly didn't care because he wanted to track down Arthur. But he remained calm, knowing that trying to track his rival down wasn't going to be easy. Or rather, that's what would make it more fun.
Just where could Arthur run to that wouldn't ultimately lead him back to where the story mainly takes place?
"Alex, are you listening?!"
"I am," he answered, forcing his thoughts away from Arthur.
Alex still had a duty, an expectation to fulfill. He couldn't afford to get too distracted by the mysteries surrounding his rival. At least not now.