From the sidelines, Rock Lee stood in an athletic stance, punching the air.
Jada noticed him. "What're ya doin', Lee?"
"I am just mentally preparing myself!" he replied out loud. "I believe that one of these two fighters will be in the finals, and I want to be ready for either of them!"
Quite the ambitious thing to say. Or rather, completely in character.
Jada couldn't help but warmly ask, "You really think one of them will meet you in the finals?"
"Well, of course!" Lee exclaimed as he delivered another slow series of punches.
His enthusiasm soon drew attention from the others.
"No way, Bushy Brows!" Naruto chimed in. "It's gonna be me in the finals against them!"
Jada shot Naruto a teasing grin and giggled.
"That's impossible, Naruto!" interjected Iruka. "You're in the same bracket as them. At best, you might see them in the semi-finals."
"Oh yeah, I knew that," he replied, scratching the back of his head. He then grinned as if he had just solved a complex riddle.
It was moments like this that reminded Jada of the bond they shared, even amidst this unpredictable tournament.
As the energy shifted, eyes returned to the center, where Arthur and Chen stood poised to begin. It felt like the perfect prelude between a veteran shinobi and whoever Arthur might have looked to them.
The moment the announcer yelled, "Begin!" Chen lunged, throwing a punch aimed at Arthur's jaw. Arthur sidestepped, feeling the rush of air brush past him.
Chen then quickly twisted to recover, allowing Arthur to pivot his heel and jam a sharp kick to Chen's side.
Bang!
The impact resounded through the arena as Chen staggered before quickly regaining his footing.
"Not bad for a brute!" he sneered.
Then he charged in again.
The crowd held their breath as he swung wildly. But Arthur danced around him, effortlessly dodging each strike. And then, bang! Another quick jab connected on Chen's face.
"Give an old man a break," he grunted after recovering.
On the sides, Neji questioned just how Arthur was able to match Chen's speed. So he activated his Byakugan, only to see something peculiar about Arthur's chakra. The boy, however, couldn't make out what it was.
Little did he know, Arthur was secretly using his Crimson Gaze.
After Chen charged once more, Arthur dove beneath, once again feeling the air brush past his face.
'So he's using the ferocious fist fighting style,' Arthur knew.
When he sprang back up, he twisted and delivered a knee strike at Chen's midsection.
Bang!
This time, Chen had blocked it with his forearms. The two then circled each other, letting the crowd aah at their performance.
Chen soon launched a series of punches as Arthur weaved through them with grace; he ducked, bobbed, and evaded every strike. Each movement was like flowing through water, dazzling even the spectating Kages.
When he found an opening, he retaliated with an elbow jab to Chen's ribs, driving the wind from his opponent's lungs.
"Ooh!" the crowd said.
Frustration flashed behind Chen's sunglasses as he charged again, surrendering to instinct. Arthur remained agile, dodging and countering once more.
His footwork was like a mesmerizing display of martial prowess that left Jada bewildered. She was watching the whole thing with her Sharingan, and her mouth was agape.
Eventually, Chen began to gain momentum. He closed in with a fist aimed. But Arthur ducked low and spun before executing a lightning-fast sweep of his leg. Then, bang! Arthur had followed up with a heel kick to Chen's side, crashing the fighter to the ground.
"This guy knows how to fight!" someone said from the stands.
Of course he knew how to fight. He was up against a taijutsu specialist that could rival Might Guy. The last thing he was going to do was show such an opponent any kind of mercy.
Panting, Chen pushed himself off the ground, still very determined to continue fighting.
The two squared off again, with neither willing to back down. Suddenly, their moves turned into a blur as punches and kicks exchanged in a frenetic dance of skill and strength.
Each strike from Chen was straight power, while each dodge from Arthur showcased his insane reading agility.
With a shift, Arthur slipped low and landed another spin kick against Chen's temple. The force of the impact sent the man reeling, shock sprawling across his face just as he landed.
Arthur was going to capitalize until Chen quickly backflipped off the ground.
The crowd cheered as things settled.
Arthur neither smirked nor smiled. But inwardly, he was disappointed—disappointed because Chen was on the wrong side. Such a great taijutsu fighter deserved more recognition, more chances to serve under the correct leadership.
Arthur created this tournament for many purposes. One of them was to weed out the best of the best, those who were classified as elite-level fighters. If and when he found such fighters, he would try to use them for his own gain.
Chen, who might have had the skills, did not have the proper background. That meant his only use was to allow Arthur to test the prowess of his taijutsu.
After recuperating, Chen smirked at Arthur. Everyone could tell it was an expression of respect.
"I have to admit," he said, "you're probably the strongest opponent I've faced in awhile."
That was quite the compliment, considering Chen had fought in a war.
Arthur remained silent, prompting Chen to calm his breathing. Things were so quiet that they could hear a pin drop.
Much of the crowd gripped their seats. Then, the moment sweat dropped from one of their faces and splashed onto the floor, Arthur ran forward.
Chen's reflexes kicked in as he fluidly leapt out of range. But Arthur followed him.
The two forces then collided in a fray of repeated movements. Arthur unleashed three consecutive kicks, but Chen blocked all three of them, barely losing his footing.
With one leg raised, Arthur continued his barrage of kicks as Chen smacked them away.
Something had changed; Chen was now smirking with a brewing confidence.
'So,' Arthur mused to himself, 'he's gotten used to this fighting style…'
The rhythm of the combat quickened as each fighter fed off the other's energy.
Chen retaliated with a sudden offense, first targeting Arthur's shin.
Bang!
A kick landed with a thud. Yet Arthur remained steadfast. Sensing an opening, Chen followed up with a nimble spin kick at Arthur's head.
Bang!
A raised forearm absorbed the impact. The force rattled through his frame but hardly budged his ground.
"Just what the heck are ya made out of anyway?!" Chen asked after landing.
"Let's just say it's something you can't break..."
Truly, strength wasn't the only thing Arthur was showcasing here; he had defense as well.
Chen had to change his strategy, so he jumped up and prepared to bring his foot down on Arthur's form. Predicting this, Arthur sidestepped, causing Chen's attempt to miss its mark. But he was quick to adapt and twirled into the air again for another attack.
Boom!
A kick landed square in Arthur's gut. But after such a loud thud, he remained unflinching.
With a quick motion, he reached out and grabbed Chen's ankle, keeping him suspended in the air for a moment that felt achingly long.
"I thought you said you'd take this seriously?" he mocked.
Chen's smile remained intact. "Oh, I will!" His act came just as he transitioned smoothly into his next technique: "Leaf gust!"
Arthur raised his forearm to block a powerful rotative kick. But the force was too strong and sent him careening back a few paces, skidding on the ground until he regained his composure.
"How'd you like that?!" Chen confidently inquired after landing. But when he saw Arthur just brush the dust off from his forearm, it made him furrow his brows. "I'll take that as a 'you didn't like it at all'."
"Actually... I'd like you to show me it again."
There was no doubt about it: Chen's skill level was remarkable. Even enough to impress Arthur. And if anyone knew Chen, they would recognize that his taijutsu was perhaps the strongest in this entire tournament.
Had Arthur not been employing his Crimson Gaze, he would have already found himself overwhelmed in this rapid exchange.
'Time to take him seriously...'
As the crowd roared in approval, Chen's confidence grew brighter; he was feeding off their energy.
"Let's see how you handle this!" he said, launching into a series of acrobatic flips.
The moment he closed the distance, a flurry of hectic exchanges occurred. Arthur deflected every attempt with explosive grace as the sounds of their fists created an orchestra of booming noises.
Arthur adapted by shifting his weight; he weaved more ferociously—each movement more graceful than the last.
'So that's why he's attacking that way,' he deduced while in the midst of dodging.
Needless to say, this was also a learning experience for Arthur. It wasn't every day he could fight someone this strong without getting into trouble.
Group ten stood captivated by the spectacle of the battle.
"They are both amazing!" Lee yelled. "This is what taijutsu is all about!"
In an electrifying moment, the combatants broke apart briefly.
There was no doubt about it: Chen's speed had gotten faster upon seeing that Arthur could read his movements. With every attack, the former would change his pace at the last second to try and throw his opponent off guard.
"Hmph," Arthur scoffed as if unbothered. "That's the best you could do?"
"This old man's still got a lot in him, ya whippersnapper!"
Feeling the gravity of the moment, the tensed crowd wanted more action. They braced for round two of what had already proven to be an exhilarating show.
Yet Chen remained on the defensive. The crowd didn't know this, but that last encounter felt odd to him; Arthur was becoming more and more unreadable as things progressed.
Each time Arthur would throw a punch, it became too hard to tell how forceful or how fast it would be. Afterwards were his kicks; he'd alternate them by taking on different fighting styles that Chen had never seen before.
Of course, this wasn't necessarily something Arthur wanted to do since he had to be extra careful while on center stage. If his moves correlated to what he showed before in the past, those who'd seen him fight in the past might give away his real identity.
There was no room for mistakes!