Since Arata had already torn all pretense with the Third Hokage, he naturally had no reason to save face for him. Seeing that Hatake Sakumo was leading only three subordinates to "support" the disaster zone, Arata gave a soft, mocking laugh and said,
"Just this few? So this is what our great Hokage came up with? Looks like he only wants to go through the motions."
Arata's words cut straight to the point, leaving no room for politeness—and the Uzumaki clansmen standing nearby heard every word.
Immediately, voices of agreement erupted among them.
"He's right! Four people for a disaster zone that size? Is this a joke?"
"Even four hundred wouldn't be enough! And yet he only sends four? As expected of Hiruzen!"
"That old man's getting worse and worse. He ignored our pleas for help back then too!"
"You don't know the half of it! Not only did he refuse to send reinforcements—he even sent people to block Mito-hime!"
"What?! If that's true, he deserves to die!"
"Hmph! If Arata-sama hadn't appeared in time, our clan's sealing scrolls would probably be sitting in the Hokage's office right now!"
"Disgusting snake—pretends to be some kind of benevolent gentleman, but he's rotten inside!"
Listening to the Uzumaki speak so bluntly, even Sakumo was left speechless. He couldn't refute them—because every word they said was true.
He knew about these things. Even the incident where Hiruzen had personally led a unit to stop Uzumaki Mito—he'd heard about it. After all, those who followed Hiruzen then were elite ANBU, and as ANBU commander, Sakumo was bound to receive such intelligence.
He simply hadn't been there because he was stationed on the border at the time.
What he couldn't understand was why Hiruzen would go to such lengths to eliminate someone as powerful as Mito.
Didn't he realize? In the current shinobi world, aside from the recently risen Arata, there were no other super–Kage-level shinobi left. A powerhouse like that should've been the stabilizing cornerstone of the Land of Fire.
Other nations would have killed to have someone like her—yet Hiruzen had tried to get rid of her.
What Sakumo didn't know was that Hiruzen and Mito had been secretly at odds for years.
As the man responsible for the destruction of the Senju clan—and the death of Mito's son—Hiruzen had long earned her hatred.
Even if Hiruzen had wanted to command her, Mito would never have obeyed. That was why the two had ended up in this silent, poisonous conflict.
Meanwhile, some of Sakumo's subordinates couldn't stand hearing the Uzumaki speak ill of the Hokage.
Inuzuka Hidetaka immediately barked out,
"What do you people know?! The Land of Fire has been at war—we barely have enough manpower to defend ourselves!"
The other two didn't argue as loudly, but still tried to defend the Hokage:
"That tsunami was terrifying. By the time anyone could reach the area, everyone was already dead. We're just there to handle the aftermath—sending more people wouldn't make a difference."
"Exactly. And Sakumo-sama did propose sending reinforcements. It's just that manpower's tight, so the Hokage had no choice."
Hearing those excuses, some of the older Uzumaki couldn't help but sneer in response:
"Oh, really? Then why could Arata-sama go? He's only one man—and he even came to save us!"
"Let's be honest—it's not that they couldn't help. They just wouldn't. Don't tell me Konoha can't spare even a few hundred shinobi."
"They've already been brainwashed by Hiruzen. They don't even know the old man's true face!"
"Back then, to make the Uzumaki join Konoha, he used every dirty trick he could. I'd bet my life the elder Ashina's death was his doing too!"
"Yeah! When our clan was surrounded that year, Konoha only sent a handful of reinforcements. If the old patriarch hadn't fought to the death, the Uzumaki would've been wiped out then!"
Even Arata was taken aback—he hadn't known about some of these details.
Apparently, only these older Uzumaki elders—men and women in their sixties and seventies—still remembered such hidden history.
He had heard of Uzumaki Ashina before: the strongest patriarch in the clan's history, who had once fought alongside Hashirama Senju himself.
Back in the Warring States period, it was he who first represented the Uzumaki in forging an alliance with the Senju, even marrying his daughter to Hashirama as a pledge of eternal friendship between the clans.
That was all Arata had ever learned from the records. As someone who had spent most of his life on the margins of Konoha, he had never been in a position to uncover deeper truths.
The Uzumaki, however, knew far more than he ever could.
The more Arata heard, the more he became convinced: Uzumaki Ashina's death likely was tied to Hiruzen.
It all fit. Ashina had died right around the time the Sarutobi clan seized power and Hiruzen first became Hokage.
That was when Hiruzen had been consolidating power—eliminating remnants of the Senju both inside and outside the village.
And since the Uzumaki were bound to the Senju by blood and marriage, they naturally became targets as well.
Conveniently enough, that was also when the Uzumaki clan was "coincidentally" attacked and their strongest patriarch killed—crippling the clan's strength ever since.
It was almost certain: Hiruzen had been involved in that tragedy.
Later, Uzumaki Suikyō's refusal to join Konoha probably stemmed from that same event. The hatred of a murdered father doesn't fade with time—Suikyō's loathing of Hiruzen was perfectly natural.
As for Sakumo, the ANBU captain looked visibly shaken. He had only recently taken command and knew little of those old events.
But listening to the Uzumaki speak—with such clear detail—it seemed very likely that the Third Hokage had, indeed, orchestrated it.
After all, Hiruzen's record made it entirely believable. He'd done things just as ruthless before; this would hardly be the first time.
At that moment, Sakumo's guilt toward the Uzumaki deepened. He hadn't realized that Konoha's crimes against them ran so deep. Their long-standing refusal to join the village suddenly made perfect sense.
Most people in the Land of Fire had probably blamed them unfairly all along.
The Uzumaki weren't arrogant fools—they simply refused to trust the same people who had once betrayed and slaughtered their kin.
Sakumo, realizing this, didn't dare speak further about Hiruzen. He quickly changed the subject.
"You said you left the Uzumaki to look after the disaster victims? How many people did you manage to save? Which areas haven't been covered yet? If I know that, I can avoid wasting time retracing your steps."
After all, the affected zone was vast. Sakumo didn't believe Arata could have covered all of it. He wanted to head for the places Arata hadn't yet reached.
But Arata only smiled faintly and said,
"No need. I've already searched the entire area affected by the tsunami. Just focus on organizing relief and reconstruction."