 Vanishing odd complete contractions of an antisymmetric matrix

For a real antisymmetric matrix, transpose gives $\mathrm{tr}(A^{2j+1})=\mathrm{tr}((-A{)}^{2j+1})=-\mathrm{tr}(A^{2j+1})$, so this trace vanishes. Every complete pairwise tensor contraction of copies of $A$, using the Euclidean Kronecker delta, splits into closed index cycles. Each cycle is a trace of a power of $A$, up to a sign from index order. An odd total number of copies forces an odd-length cycle, so the whole contraction vanishes. This assertion concerns pairwise index contraction with the metric; inserting additional tensors would be a different claim.