Under Arata's guidance, Kushina trained without slacking off in the slightest. With the boost from Lightning Armor, her motivation was even higher, and her progress was swift.
Off to the side, Shizune couldn't help feeling a little envious as she watched. Still, she trusted that if Arata hadn't helped her activate Lightning Armor, there must be a reason. She didn't make a fuss or demand that he do the same for her.
Arata noticed the faint disappointment on little Shizune's face. He knew that even if she didn't say anything, she must have had thoughts of her own. Walking over, he asked gently,
"Shizune, do you want to activate Lightning Armor too?"
Shizune's eyes lit up instantly, and she nodded vigorously. Arata had always been her goal, so naturally she wanted to master the same powerful—and undeniably cool—Lightning Armor.
She quickly added,
"Arata-nii, I have Lightning-nature chakra! Does that mean I'll be able to train Lightning Armor on my own in the future?"
Arata was a little surprised that Shizune had even figured out why he'd asked Kushina about her chakra nature earlier. On second thought, though, it made sense—he hadn't exactly hidden his intentions.
What truly pleased him was Shizune's talent. She actually possessed Lightning nature. With Arata guiding her in the future, her achievements were bound to be impressive.
After all, a large part of Arata's own strength came from his Rumble-Rumble abilities. Techniques like the Bird-style Lightning-enhanced taijutsu could also be taught to Shizune. In that case, her relatively low chakra reserves wouldn't be such a critical weakness.
If she followed a nin-taijutsu path, chakra quantity wouldn't be everything. As long as her taijutsu was strong enough and her stamina could keep up, she could defeat the vast majority of opponents.
That said, Shizune was still very young. Even beginning proper chakra training would have to wait at least another three years. For now, Arata set those thoughts aside, planning to train her seriously starting next year.
"Very good," Arata said with a smile. "You're well suited to be my successor. But you're still young—let's start your real training next year, all right?"
Shizune beamed with joy and nodded eagerly.
"That's great! Arata-nii, you can't go back on your word. Next year, Shizune will train Lightning Armor!"
Arata laughed softly.
"Go on and keep training now. I still have things to take care of."
Knowing how busy Arata was, Shizune didn't cling to him and quickly ran off to resume her exercises.
Kushina, meanwhile, couldn't help feeling a little envious when she heard that Shizune had Lightning nature as well. Still, she wasn't discouraged—after all, she had already begun taijutsu training ahead of time.
Feeling a subtle sense of pressure, she threw herself into her training even more diligently.
Arata, on the other hand, stepped straight out of the house.
Just as he was about to leave the village, something important caught his attention through his sensory network.
Inside the Hokage's office, Hiruzen Sarutobi was staring grimly at a battle report in his hands.
Through his perception, Arata could clearly see the contents of that report.
It detailed the situation in the Land of Rain, where the battle had reached a critical point.
Danzō Shimura, an elite Kage-level combatant, had been seriously injured and was no longer capable of fighting.
The head of the Hyūga clan, Hyūga Higurashi, had been killed by Ōnoki. Hyūga shinobi on that battlefield had suffered devastating losses and were forced to withdraw entirely.
Even Hiruzen's three disciples had been pinned down by the leader of Amegakure. Both sides had fought continuously for an entire day. Although no victor had been decided yet, it was clear that Hanzō of the Salamander held the upper hand.
Hiruzen's heavy expression was due in part to the fact that many Sarutobi clan members had also fallen in battle.
Despite using his position as Hokage to secure relatively safer missions for some promising members of his clan, most Sarutobi shinobi had still been sent to the front lines.
Originally, the Land of Rain campaign had been intended as a token engagement in Hiruzen's plans. No one expected Sunagakure and Iwagakure to go all out—not only deploying their Kage, but even sending tailed beasts onto the battlefield.
This completely forced Konoha into a passive position. Against rampaging tailed beasts, Konoha's mid- and low-level forces suffered massive casualties.
At the same time, other clans took advantage of the situation, leaking Sarutobi clan intelligence again and again. As a result, the Sarutobi clan had been pushed to the brink of annihilation.
Now, the only Sarutobi left alive were a few dozen elderly, women, and children within the village—and Hiruzen's own son at the daimyo's estate.
Hiruzen Sarutobi was no pushover, however. During this war, while the Uchiha clan remained largely intact, clans such as the Hyūga, Yamanaka, Nara, Aburame, and Inuzuka were all quietly purged by Hiruzen using similar methods.
Leaking allied intelligence to eliminate political rivals in the chaos of war was, after all, one of the most effective tactics.
By the end of this conflict, all major clans had suffered heavy losses. Events were gradually aligning with the course of history that Arata knew.
Though he couldn't help lamenting the darkness of Konoha's internal struggles, Arata had no intention of stopping it for now. Without destruction, there could be no rebuilding. If Konoha didn't undergo this massive purge, power would remain forever in the hands of the great clans, and the village's progress would stagnate under endless infighting.
After the Second Great Shinobi War, although the clans' individual strength declined, Konoha's overall power didn't weaken significantly. The only real loss was the lack of top-tier elites.
In fact, it was after this war that technological development in the shinobi world began to accelerate. Things like early radio technology mostly appeared only after the conflict ended.
In that sense, the decline of the great clans wasn't without its benefits.
Now that Arata had seen information about Tsunade, he could no longer afford to stay in the village.
In the original history, Tsunade hadn't died at Hanzō's hands—but who could say whether someone wouldn't interfere this time?
Failing to save Uzumaki Mito had already filled Arata with guilt. If he were to lose his wife as well, it would be unbearable.
Especially with Black Zetsu lurking in the shadows—the most insidious schemer in the shinobi world—Arata couldn't risk leaving Tsunade on the battlefield any longer.
Besides, this war was nearing its end anyway. It was time for Arata to step in and bring it to a close.
Iwagakure and Sunagakure had gone all out, deploying nearly all their high-end combat power. Under those circumstances, even Konoha at its strongest would struggle to hold the line.
Arata was curious to see whether the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, would personally step forward to end the war.
In the original history, he should have. Otherwise, relying on Danzō and the Three Sannin alone wouldn't have been enough to stop the combined forces of three nations.
The question was—what choice would Hiruzen make this time?
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