Hearing Arata's words, Hatake Sakumo had no choice but to accept his identity, no matter how shocked he was.
Arata's voice hadn't changed at all. And his attire was still the same as before—aside from the short blade at his waist, he now also carried a pair of lightning-forged swords on his back. Other than that, there was hardly any difference.
Behind Sakumo, his three teammates were also staring at Arata in disbelief.
They were all old acquaintances of Arata. During those long days at the Land of Wind border, they had seen each other practically every day.
Among them was a particularly familiar face—Inuzuka Hidetaka, the one who had constantly gone out of his way to pick fights with Arata the very first time they met.
None of them had expected that their reunion would happen under circumstances like this.
By now, Arata had already become a symbol of Konoha's peak authority, and his strength stood at the very pinnacle of the ninja world. Naturally, he had no interest whatsoever in an Inuzuka with mere jōnin-level strength.
Who wastes breath arguing with ants?
Hidetaka, meanwhile, was full of shock.
Arata's story had long since spread throughout the Land of Fire, and even into other nations. He was a living legend now—someone Hidetaka simply couldn't reconcile with the young man he'd once met on the border.
Back then, Arata had looked to him like nothing more than an elite jōnin at best. If not for Arata's duel with Sakumo, Hidetaka might have continued to think of him as a loudmouthed nobody.
But now, they were no longer on the same level at all.
Arata had become the deputy captain of ANBU, with countless supporters inside Konoha. Just the loyalty of those three civilian ninja alone had already given him influence surpassing Sakumo's.
And that wasn't even counting Arata's astonishing combat record. The shinobi world had begun calling him the next Asura of the Shinobi World.
There was even a standing directive: if a mission brought one face-to-face with Arata, it could be abandoned on the spot—no punishment incurred.
Hidetaka had never heard of anyone receiving treatment like that.
Seeing that Arata ignored him entirely, Hidetaka didn't dare say another word. Reality trumped pride. At this point, Arata didn't need to spare a glance at someone like him.
In truth, even from the beginning, Arata had never taken Hidetaka seriously—it was Hidetaka himself who'd arrogantly assumed otherwise.
At this moment, Sakumo steadied his emotions and asked with curiosity,
"You've just come back from outside the village?"
As far as Sakumo knew, after repelling the Land of Lightning's invasion force, Arata had been on standby inside Konoha. Why would he suddenly be operating outside the village again?
At the very least, as ANBU commander, Sakumo hadn't been informed of any new mission assigned to Arata. Strictly speaking, Arata was still under his command—Sakumo had the right to know about any missions he undertook.
Arata glanced at him and answered bluntly,
"You didn't know the Uzumaki clan was under attack?"
The Uzumaki clan being besieged by a coalition of twenty thousand had already become major news across the ninja world. Many secretly rejoiced, believing that the arrogant clan of sealing techniques was finally about to be wiped out.
If the Uzumaki fell, their sealing arts would no longer be exclusive to them. Those techniques might spread throughout the ninja world.
Even if other nations couldn't obtain the techniques directly, simply removing a powerful clan from the board would already be a gain.
In the shinobi world's endless struggle, it was always kill or be killed. Fewer competitors meant less pressure.
As ANBU's leader, Sakumo naturally knew this intelligence. His expression darkened immediately.
"Of course I knew. I applied to go reinforce the Uzumaki clan the moment I heard—but the Hokage said the border couldn't be left undermanned and rejected my request…"
When the Uzumaki were under siege, Konoha truly lacked surplus manpower. But Sakumo's unit on the Land of Wind border did have the capacity to redeploy.
With Sakumo's own top-tier strength, plus Uzumaki Mito—the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki—they would absolutely have had a chance to hold the line.
After all, the Uzumaki clan itself wasn't powerless. They didn't need Konoha to shoulder the entire defense alone.
Even if Sarutobi Hiruzen had to remain in Konoha, there should have been at least a few elite forces that could be spared. Yet despite all that, Hiruzen still refused.
Sakumo understood exactly what that meant.
It meant Sarutobi Hiruzen had chosen to abandon the Uzumaki clan—an ally.
In fact, judging from ANBU's internal movements, Sakumo had come to suspect something even worse.
This annihilation of the Uzumaki clan… might have been orchestrated by Hiruzen himself.
ANBU was the Hokage's direct instrument, often tasked with the dirtiest work. As its commander, Sakumo was painfully familiar with Hiruzen's methods.
What he couldn't accept was that the kindly, benevolent old man on the surface could be so cold-blooded and ruthless behind the scenes.
No matter what, the Uzumaki were Konoha's allies. The Nine-Tails' jinchūriki even resided in Konoha itself.
They had taken so much from the Uzumaki clan—yet this was how they were repaid?
Sakumo found it unbearable.
He had always been soft-hearted. Even teammates from civilian backgrounds were treated with utmost care by him. How could he willingly abandon a powerful ally like the Uzumaki?
Hearing Sakumo's words, Arata could read between the lines. This was someone who valued his comrades deeply—there was no way he'd willingly give up on the Uzumaki. He'd probably clashed hard with Sarutobi Hiruzen over it.
Thinking that, Arata patted Sakumo on the shoulder and said with a smile,
"You don't need to worry about the Uzumaki clan anymore. I actually just left the village to reinforce them."
Sakumo's eyes lit up instantly. He stared at Arata in disbelief.
"Really? You're not lying to me?"
It wasn't strange that he doubted it.
That coalition force numbered twenty thousand. Intelligence reported at least five Kage-level fighters present—among them the Third Raikage at his peak, and the Mizukage, supreme on water terrain.
Even if Sakumo teamed up with Uzumaki Mito, he wouldn't have been confident of handling such a force easily.
And Arata was saying he'd gone alone?
There wasn't a single person behind him now—did that mean he truly went by himself?
At this moment, Inuzuka Hidetaka couldn't help but jump in again.
"Arata, I admit you've improved a lot recently—but even bragging needs a draft. That coalition had five Kage-level fighters and twenty thousand elites!"
He had always disliked Arata. Now that he saw an opening, he couldn't resist trying to make his presence felt again.