Ready Player Two Pt. II

"Look who's arrived," Kisame said with bloodshot eyes. "Itachi… I'm wondering if they're gonna send the whole village against us."

Naruto turned around upon noticing his friends and teacher. He was thrilled to see them, but William seemed a tad ashamed. He believed he was going to be yelled out for bringing Naruto, the Akatsuki's target, over here.

Alex stepped forward with a determined expression, saying, "We're here to stop you two."

Itachi's Sharingan focused on Alex, his eyes scanning the young ninja from head to toe. He asked with no sense of amusement, "And who might you be?"

"I'm Alex Hyūga, a sworn member of the Hyūga clan and Chūnin of the Leaf Village."

"My, my," Kisame said, a bit intrigued at one child's boldness. "And here I thought this village was just sending their Genin to the slaughterhouse."

Itachi's expression remained unchanged. Regardless of who he thought Alex was, Alex was clearly not of his interest. Even Kakashi's and Might Guy's arrival didn't faze him.

"We're putting an end to this," Kakashi announced.

The two, Itachi and him, were once teammates in the Anbu Black Ops.

"It's been a long time," Itachi said. "Kakashi, the Copy Ninja…"

The two exchanged sarcastic pleasantries until Jasper chose to step up.

"You there," he said with a confident grin. "Shark-boy… Have Lava-girl next you back down and lets you and I have a—"

"There won't be any need for violence," Alex interrupted, placing a hand in front of Jasper. "Unless you two want to die, I suggest you leave this village."

"And what makes you think the nine of you combined can stop us?" Itachi beckoned.

"Ten," Alex corrected.

Kurenai and Asuma looked at him in confusion. Alice was the most dazed. She could sense everyone in a wide radius. Might Guy, Kakashi Hatake, Asuma Sarutobi, Kurenai Yūhi, Naruto Uzumaki, William Uzumaki, Jasper Ōtsutsuki, Alex Hyūga, and herself—there wasn't any other character close by.

Suddenly, a wave of chakra erupted from the forest. A figure emerged from the shadows. It was Jiraiya, the legendary Sannin!

"I hid my chakra well," he said, walking in sight. "No surprise you were the only one to sense me."

Itachi and Kisame exchanged glances, their expressions turning from amusement to surprise without showing on their face. Nine ninjas against them was manageable. But they were not expecting this level of reinforcement.

Jiraiya alone was enough to match all of their prowess, so the two believed.

"Pervy-Sage!" Naruto cried out, pointing at his teacher. "I thought you said you were going out on a mission!"

Jiraiya smirked and said with confidence, "I was, but I saw these two enter the village. I decided to follow them undetected until I figured a bloodbath was about to happen here."

The two Akatsuki members exchanged another glance, a silent communication passing between them. They knew that they were outnumbered and outmatched. With a shared nod, they turned and fled, quickly disappearing into the forest.

Naruto shouted in frustration, wishing to chase after them.

"Let them go, Naruto," Kakashi ordered, placing a hand on the boy's shoulder. "We can't chase them now."

Guy nodded in agreement and said, "We need to regroup and assess things."

"While you two do that," Asuma said, "I'll put out an APB for their capture if they're still inside the country's borders."

Kurenai approached Jiraiya and said, "Thank you for coming. Who knows what would have happened had you not shown up in time?"

Jiraiya smiled and replied, "It's my duty to protect the village as a Hyūga."

"A what?" Jasper and Alice both questioned.

Suddenly, a puff of smoke erupted from the ground, revealing a clone of Alex! The real Alex stood beside the clone with a smile plastered on his face.

The others stared at him in disbelief. Jasper, however, was not amused.

"Sorry about that," he said, scratching the back of his head. "I didn't want any violence, so I baited those two into believing the actual Sannin was here."

They were all impressed. So much that his acting was flawless.

"Naruto almost gave me away," he laughed.

"Ha! I knew if all along," the main character said. Who knew if Naruto actually did?

"That was very dangerous," Kakashi said.

"Actually," Kurenai countered, ready to praise. "That was a smart tactic. I never would have thought about that."

"But why would you go that far?" Asuma inquired.

Alex didn't spend much time explaining to the two of the Akatsuki's objectives and what Itachi and Kisame were capable of. William backed up his story, to which Naruto felt annoyed that Alex was getting the center of attention.

Either way, the group commended him for his bravery and tactical decision. Even Alice was impressed because she hadn't sensed the clone until it made itself known.

"We need to gather more intel," Kakashi said in a serious voice. The group was then told not to fight if they saw them anywhere in the village.

Only the players were aware that those two members wouldn't be seen for another three years from now. At least, that's how the story went.

After debriefing, everyone was given a task to help handle this situation professionally. Alice, seizing the opportunity, decided to take Jasper somewhere more secluded.

The two were now seen walking together in a forest without others' watchful eyes.

A sense of urgency tugged at her, and as they reached a small clearing, she turned to face him, her eyes wide with intensity.

"Jada saw the whole thing," she exclaimed. The comment didn't seem to spark any interest in Jasper. "She was there, watching us the entire time, and we didn't even notice. Now she's gone—she left the village in pursuit of Itachi."

Jasper shrugged with a smirk and said, "Honestly, I don't care. Good riddance. Fewer players mean less competition. If her character bites the dust, that's just one less hurdle for us, am I right?"

Alice's face fell, but she pressed on, knowing that's what his response would be.

"But that's not all, babe. Earlier, when Alex said we'd be logged out if we die... he was lying!"

Jasper raised an eyebrow, clearly interested at this news. He asked, "Are you sure about that?"

Alice nodded with a resolved expression.

"I felt it back when he first said it," she continued. "Whenever someone lies within my sensing range, their chakra flow distorts a little. Alex's chakra was all over the place when he said it. There's no doubt."

Jasper scratched his head, contemplating these accusations. He asked, "Why would he lie about something like that?"

"I don't know," Alice murmured with a frown. "But it makes me suspicious of him now. I can't stand liars. And we've already made one enemy out of Arthur; I'd prefer if we don't have another in this game."

Jasper's interest sharpened as he said, "But Alex hasn't done anything that's outright suspicious. So, do we call him out on it?"

Alice shook her head, feeling a tad uncertain.

"No, there's no reason to confront him. Not yet anyway. I just... I can't shake this feeling."

They settled into a silence to consider the situation. Finally, Jasper spoke in firm voice, saying, "You know, I think you and I are better off doing our own thing—going our own way, away from everyone else."

Alice nodded in agreement. She knew that going against the likes of another player was simply asking for trouble. More so, she didn't want to end up in the same boat as Arthur.

"Yeah, I think you're right."

"And," he added, "even if Alex turns his back on us, I'll have more than enough power to take him out before it happens."

Alice believed those words. Together, they knew they could accomplish a lot. To him, she had proven herself to be a worthy partner.

One week later.

Jasper stepped out of the Jōnin Station. The sun was high in the sky.

He had finally been approved to leave the village and venture to a new continent with Alice.

A few days ago, in a meeting in their apartment, they had exclaimed their intentions to acquire powers from the Gelel Vein. This particular power was unlike chakra; it was taken directly from one of the franchise's movies.

Gelel is a type of energy source that's imbued within a special stone. Extracted from a hidden vein, it was once the exclusive domain of a certain clan in the far east.

This clan possesses the unique ability to forge and implant the stones into their bodies. Upon doing so, it grants them extraordinary regenerative powers and the ability to manipulate Gelel energy for combat.

Centuries ago, the stone's potential for destruction was equally immense, leading to a devastating war and its subsequent sealing. Fast forward to today, and it has once again resurfaced.

It would soon ignite a new conflict with a sinister organization led by the antagonist of the movie, Haido. This character will seek to harness the stone's power to dominate the world.

In the movie, Naruto Uzumaki, along with his team, found themselves caught in the crossfire of this conflict.

The main character won like he always does in the end, and he also prevented the Gelel energy from falling into the wrong hands.

All the players knew about that movie, so there was no need for Jasper and Alice to explain themselves.

"It's not gonna make you stronger than me," Margaret commented.

"I'm already stronger than you," he countered.

William was a tad skeptical about letting the two venture to an entirely different continent. As much as he disliked Jasper, he didn't want something bad happening to him. Nonetheless, he kept his comments to himself.

Alice hadn't minded their reactions. She believed that they were all past the age of blatantly dismissing opportunity.

As they shared their goals to uncover Gelel powers, the room did have their questions and concerns.

"Are you sure it's a good idea?" Jada had asked at the time. "What if the power changes you like it did Haido?"

"I doubt it will," Jasper had replied, gesturing animatedly. "This isn't about power for power's sake; it's about understanding something that we've only skimmed the surface of."

Alice could tell that he was just looking for a reason to shut everyone up and not worry about their business.

Alex leaned casually against the couch, arms crossed. He said in a calm tone, "If anyone can uncover the Gelel stone and come out unscathed, it's you two. Just remember to be cautious. The world isn't all sunshine and chakra."

Alice hadn't found a single lie in his words, while Jasper himself had appreciated Alex's support.

But amidst it all, Jasper had kept one major detail hidden—a plan his mind had been concocting even before they had agreed on their current quest: seizing the Tailed Beasts.

The Akatsuki wanted these beasts to unleash the Ten-Tails, but Jasper had a different goal. He wanted to rally them, sway them into alliances, and summon them when needed.

Imagine a player who could outright summon multiple Tailed Beast in battle to completely decimate another character or—better yet—another village.

Would he care that he would be compared to Arthur, a player who seemed to constantly be in a relentless pursuit of strength? Hardly. Unlike Arthur, he had a player that would back him up.

Alice's voice broke into his thoughts.

"Jasper, babe! I'm all packed and ready!"

Leave it to the woman he's dating to have spied on him and known about his approval to depart the village.

"Hold on, I haven't even gotten my things," he said, brushing aside his comparison to Arthur.

She smiled and said in a quirky attitude, "Just promise me you won't act crazy on this trip and that we'll be back here when we're done."

"I promise," he answered, clasping her hand. If there was one thing he had learned, it was to always tell the truth to women who could detect lies. "We'll talk, strategize—everything will be fine."

After he finished gathering his supplies, they stopped just outside of the village gates.

Their destination never had a legitimate name in the movie, but it did in this world. It was called "The Empire."

To get there, they needed to travel by ship across the Wani Ocean. After that, they would have to pass through various countries, such as the Land of Money and the Land of Temples.

The journey wouldn't be solely about collecting a major resource. Every process had a step they were going to take together, so the duo would have to tread carefully.

"All set?" she asked, adjusting the pack slung over her shoulders.

"Yeah," Jasper answered with a grin. "Let's get this over with."

With one last look at the village, they stepped forward hand in hand.