Sure enough, the moment Arata spoke, the surrounding civilians began nodding in agreement. If it had been anyone else so actively rushing to rescue a clan from another country, these uninformed masses would inevitably have muttered a few complaints under their breath.
But Arata was Tsunade's husband.
And Tsunade's grandmother was an Uzumaki—moreover, her only surviving elder.
So no matter how one looked at it, Arata going to support the Uzumaki clan was entirely reasonable.
"So Arata-sama really did go to support the Uzumaki clan!"
"As expected of Arata-sama —kind-hearted as always. He was even willing to help such a proud clan!"
"You've always been biased against the Uzumaki. Proud or not—that's all stuff the Hokage said. Did you ever see it with your own eyes?"
It seemed there were still people in the crowd with fairly clear judgment, those who understood that what the Hokage said wasn't necessarily always the truth.
"Exactly. The Uzumaki are allies—helping them is only right."
"But wasn't Arata-sama way too reckless? With that many enemies… did he go alone?"
"Who else could it be? Didn't the Hokage himself say there was no manpower to support the Uzumaki?"
"Hmph, something feels off about that. Even if there really was no manpower, they should've at least taken Mito-hime to check things out, right?"
"Yeah! Mito-hime is the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki. I heard her strength is at the very peak of the shinobi world!"
"Don't you know? Mito-hime's been confined for years now. No one's seen her in a long time!"
...
Sarutobi Hiruzen had never expected to take Arata down with a single sentence—but what he really hadn't expected was that Arata's simple reply would turn the conversation back on him, even exposing the matter of Uzumaki Mito's confinement.
This was an absolute secret within the village. Ordinary civilians couldn't possibly know about it. Even within ANBU, only his most trusted confidants had access to that information.
His heart jolted. He immediately turned his head, scanning the people who had spoken the most sensitive lines.
His expression darkened at once.
As Hokage, Hiruzen had a clear impression of most people in the village.
He recognized them. They were indeed civilians, with no chakra at all.
But they all belonged to one group—the families of the three thousand civilians Arata had once saved.
In other words, these people who were exposing his past so readily were all relatives of those three thousand.
Which meant that, nine times out of ten, Arata had deliberately guided them to say these things.
No wonder there had been so much discussion in the village lately, so many voices criticizing him.
So it was them leading the charge.
At that moment, Hiruzen was forced to truly take Arata seriously.
Because Arata wasn't just strong—his political instincts were razor-sharp. He hadn't even become Hokage yet, and he already knew how to wield public opinion.
And the most terrifying part?
Arata was only nineteen.
When Hiruzen had been nineteen, at best he knew how to fight and kill. He had never possessed such depth or restraint.
If Hiruzen hadn't personally provoked this confrontation today, he might never have realized that Arata had long since laid traps—waiting right in the arena Hiruzen considered his strongest.
Seeing the anxiety creep onto Hiruzen's face, a faint smile appeared on Arata's.
In his previous life, he'd grown up in an age of information explosion. He'd seen every kind of tactic imaginable. Manipulating public opinion like this was child's play to him.
Konoha had existed for only a few decades.
Compared to the vast sweep of history Arata had known in his previous life-empires rising and falling over millennia-this was insignificant.
When it came to politics, Sarutobi Hiruzen was practically a little brother in front of him.
The discussion around them grew increasingly wild. Some people even began talking about Hiruzen's alleged role in past clan exterminations. Whether true or not—there wasn't a shred of evidence, not even by Hiruzen's own reckoning—but once such topics were spoken aloud, they spread instantly.
Civilians didn't care whether something was true. If it sounded explosive, they'd pass it on without thinking.
Hiruzen couldn't allow this to continue.
He hurriedly raised his hand and said,
"Disperse the civilians. What we're about to discuss is a matter of state!"
With that gesture, a large number of ANBU appeared at once.
Hiruzen truly couldn't sit still anymore. Letting this discussion continue would only hurt him further—this time, he'd really lifted a rock only to smash his own foot.
Just as the ANBU were about to act, Arata stepped in.
He had finally turned the tables—how could he let the other side shut things down so easily?
"Wait. I don't see what's so unspeakable about this," Arata said calmly. "It's just the Uzumaki clan joining Konoha. They've lost their homeland—there's nothing wrong with us, as allies, taking them in."
As he spoke, Arata gestured toward the Uzumaki elders, women, and children.
Uzumaki Yūki immediately understood.
He stepped forward and began to cry.
"Hokage-sama, please take us in. Uzushiogakure has already sunk into the sea—we truly have nowhere left to go!"
With him taking the lead, the others didn't need to say much. Their expressions all turned bitter, the earlier indignation replaced with grief.
And this wasn't entirely an act.
They really were homeless now.
If not for Arata, they'd already be despairing over where to go. Faced with reality, many of them would've broken down long ago.
And with nothing but children and the elderly present, once they started crying, even the hardest-hearted spectators found it impossible to feel disgust.
No matter how arrogant the Uzumaki might once have been, that was the past. Now they were homeless, reduced to old and young alike. What was wrong with giving them shelter?
Moreover, the two nations were allies. Hashirama Senju, the First Hokage, had even married a princess of their clan. With that history, the Uzumaki joining Konoha was perfectly reasonable.
Seeing Yūki's performance and hearing the surrounding discussions, Hiruzen knew he couldn't remain hardline any longer.
If he did, it would only make him look guilty.
At this point, even moving the discussion to a private location would be useless. Once the result came out, if the Uzumaki weren't allowed to join Konoha, the villagers would be lining up to stab him in the back with their words.
"…I agree to this matter," Hiruzen said at last. "However, Konoha is still in post-disaster reconstruction. I'm afraid we don't have surplus housing for them right now."
Even while conceding, the old fox still tried to make things difficult for the Uzumaki.
Housing wasn't something that could be solved overnight. Konoha land was expensive, and even if the Uzumaki joined, they likely wouldn't have anywhere to live.
Hiruzen didn't believe that refugees who had just fled for their lives would have any spare money to buy land.
Arata merely smiled.
"That won't trouble the Hokage," he said lightly. "I've already made arrangements."