When the monkeys present heard their leader's words, the way they looked at Arata immediately turned hostile.
The Monkey Sage had been the supreme leader of their clan—not just by seniority, but because he was also the strongest among them.
Now that their strongest pillar was dead, their position in the world of summoned beasts would become extremely precarious. Who knew how other species might bully or suppress them?
The Monkey Clan, which had only just begun to recover, had instantly fallen back into crisis.
They had finally produced a once-in-a-millennium prodigy—the current Monkey King—who had the potential to grow into a powerhouse on par with the Monkey Sage within a few hundred years.
But before the Monkey King could fully mature, their sole pillar, the Monkey Sage, had died.
Without a backer, the Monkey Clan would have to spend enormous effort just to avoid extinction. How could they still find the time and resources to nurture their prodigy?
Because of this, their hatred toward Arata had surpassed even their feelings toward Hiruzen. Among all in the shinobi world, their resentment toward him ran the deepest.
As for Hiruzen, the moment he saw Arata, he began trembling.
He was far too familiar with that aura.
Back in the day, didn't Uchiha Madara carry the exact same presence?
When Hiruzen had been a hot-headed youth, he once clashed with Madara for the sake of his clan's interests. Madara had only given him a single glance, yet it scared Hiruzen into fleeing.
That incident became a personal black mark in his life—something he never dared mention to anyone.
Now, facing a similar aura again, memories of his own weakness and helplessness resurfaced, and his will to fight faltered.
If not for decades of battle experience keeping him steady, he might have already turned and fled.
Even so, his hand never left the Reverse Summoning scroll. It was clear he was ready to escape at the first sign of danger.
The Monkey King waited for a response but got none. When he turned to look at Hiruzen, he saw the man trembling.
At that point, he was basically certain—Arata was the one who killed the Monkey Sage.
Still, he couldn't help but sneer,
"Useless. He's just a brat, and he's scared you into this state?"
Meanwhile, Hiruzen's nine loyal ANBU subordinates looked utterly drained after summoning the monkeys.
It was obvious that calling forth summons of this caliber had consumed a huge amount of their chakra.
Though the Monkey Clan's size wasn't as monstrous as those from the Three Great Sage Nations, their chakra reserves were comparable. Normally, only elite jōnin-level ninja could manage such summons.
The fact that so many had been summoned at once showed these ANBU were almost certainly Sarutobi loyalists.
Sarutobi Hayato looked at Arata with clear fear, but he hadn't forgotten his duty. As a branch-family member, protecting the main family leader's life had been drilled into him for years—it was practically his core belief.
The moment he met Arata's eyes, he saw boundless killing intent.
Arata hadn't come to talk.
He had come to kill.
Very likely, he intended to kill everyone present.
Even though Hayato was shaken by Arata's terrifying strength, he still stepped forward first and shouted,
"Big brother, run! We'll hold him off!"
With that, he charged forward without hesitation, rapidly forming hand seals. In less than a blink, he completed over a dozen seals—his speed was clearly top-tier even in Konoha.
Hearing his brother's shout, Hiruzen snapped back to his senses.
He understood well—Arata appearing here at such a critical moment, brimming with killing intent, could only mean one thing.
Arata was here to eliminate him and seize the Hokage position.
Hiruzen didn't dare hesitate. He immediately opened his scroll and prepared to activate Reverse Summoning.
As for the other nine ANBU, though most of their chakra had been spent on summoning, they weren't fools.
Fighting Arata head-on would just be suicide.
So instead of attacking, they exchanged glances and scattered in nine different directions.
While running, each of them pulled out a signal flare.
Their thinking was clear.
If they couldn't beat him, they would call reinforcements. Whether it increased their chances of victory or simply spread news that Arata had attempted to assassinate the Hokage, either outcome would complicate Arata's plans.
As Konoha ANBU and the Hokage's most trusted forces, they all had excellent Body Flicker techniques. Even elite jōnin couldn't catch all nine at once and stop their flares.
Even a Kage-level fighter would struggle unless they specialized in speed.
As the nine moved, the Monkey King didn't stay idle either. He wanted to see what kind of strength could kill the Monkey Sage.
He led the remaining nine monkeys and attacked Arata from all directions.
The Monkey Clan favored taijutsu. They didn't bother with flashy senjutsu—just raw, direct strikes with their weapons.
Their staffs weren't sharp, but each swing roared with force. The sound of air bursting alone could deafen a normal person. Their strength was explosively powerful.
All of this happened in mere moments after Arata appeared.
If it were anyone else, facing multi-directional attacks while nine ANBU fled for help would be nearly impossible to handle.
Unfortunately for them—
Their opponent was Arata.
The fastest man in the shinobi world.
Known as Konoha's Blue Lightning.
In an instant, Arata read through all their movements. Blue lightning burst around his body as he activated the first stage of his Lightning Armor.
The next moment, Arata—who had been surrounded—vanished.
Then nine screams rang out at the same time.
Hayato turned his head just in time to see it—
The nine fleeing ANBU had, in the same instant, each been pierced through the heart and forehead by streaks of blue light.
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