Uzumaki Mito, who had already prepared herself to give up her life, was completely stunned at this moment.
She never could have imagined that, just as she had resolved herself to death, Arata would appear at such a critical instant.
After all, this place was nearly a hundred kilometers from Konohagakure.
Even if someone had pursued her immediately from behind, she had been traveling at full speed using Nine-Tails Chakra Mode. Along the way, her movement speed was likely no slower than the Third Raikage at his peak.
Could it be that Arata possessed another technique beyond the lightning-fast movement she knew of—one that could surpass even her current speed?
At this moment, Arata himself was shaken by lingering fear.
He had known that Uzumaki Mito had left the village, but because he understood Sarutobi Hiruzen's arrangements, he hadn't rushed over immediately. After all, he possessed both Kamui-like spatial abilities and lightning-fast movement—if he truly wanted to come, it wouldn't take long.
However, he had been fixated on breaking through to the peak of the Super-Kage level, unwilling to sacrifice even a moment of cultivation time.
Earlier, though, he had sensed an explosive surge of chakra erupting here. At this scale, even from over a hundred kilometers away, his perception—enhanced by the combination of the Mind Net and Uchiha Madara's bloodline—could still detect it.
That said, this only applied to chakra fluctuations of such overwhelming magnitude. Anything slightly weaker, and he likely wouldn't have noticed at all.
It was precisely because of this that he had felt confident letting Uzumaki Mito go on ahead.
But if he hadn't arrived fast enough, then even if he made it here afterward, Mito would have already used the Reaper Death Seal.
At that point, she would have been certainly dead, and even the legendary vitality of the Uzumaki clan would have offered no way back.
Moreover, Arata still had two system options tied directly to Uzumaki Mito—whether it was the lifespan reward or the other system function, neither was something he was willing to give up anytime soon.
The Monkey Sage, who had been shrouded in the shadow of death just moments earlier, let out a long sigh of relief when he saw Arata appear. Not only did Arata refrain from killing him, he even stopped Uzumaki Mito instead.
Seizing the chance, the Monkey Sage struggled violently, trying to break free from the Adamantine Sealing Chains as quickly as possible.
However, this jutsu specifically restrained the soul, not the physical body. Only a few seconds had passed—no matter how powerful he was, it would still take time to break free.
After stopping Uzumaki Mito, Arata immediately said:
"Maintain the Adamantine Sealing Chains. I'll deal with this old monkey myself."
Since Arata had arrived, Uzumaki Mito abandoned her intent to perish together with the enemy. After all, two Super Kage-level fighters working together still had a real chance against the Monkey Sage.
That said, her chakra reserves were already heavily depleted. Maintaining control over the Monkey Sage only worsened the imbalance—before long, she would completely run out.
The Adamantine Chains were incredibly powerful, but their chakra consumption increased exponentially.
The stronger the enemy being restrained, the greater the drain. And she had deployed dozens of chains at once—a far cry from the mere handful Kushina once used to restrain the Nine-Tails.
"Hurry," Mito said urgently. "I can hold him for twenty seconds at most."
Arata nodded heavily.
The Monkey Sage had only been restrained because of a moment of carelessness. An existence that had lived for countless years would never be easy to deal with under normal circumstances.
Just from Arata's perception alone, the Monkey Sage's chakra had already reached an astonishing late-stage Super Kage-level.
While he still couldn't compare to monsters like Uchiha Madara or Senju Hashirama, both at the absolute peak, he was undeniably among the strongest beings in the shinobi world.
If the sages of the Three Great Sacred Lands were all on this level, that reality would be terrifying.
If Arata had to fight this opponent alone, even he wasn't sure he could win. But now that someone was providing crowd control, all he needed to do was unleash his strongest attack.
He had observed the earlier battle between Mito and the Monkey Sage through the Mind Net and immediately identified the Monkey Sage as a taijutsu-specialized combatant.
The sheer toughness of its body was several times greater than Arata's own. Without sufficient penetrative power, no attack would deal meaningful damage.
If one had to compare, its physical strength was likely approaching that of Complete Susanoo.
Whether it matched Perfect Susanoo remained unknown.
As for Arata, his techniques were derived primarily from his Lightning Logia-like abilities and the swordsmanship insights inherited from "Hawk-Eye."
Both excelled at raw destructive power—the extreme heat and penetration of lightning, combined with sword strikes capable of cleaving almost anything.
Compared to Mito, who relied mainly on Tailed Beast Bombs, Arata's attacks possessed far greater piercing force.
So even if his realm was only Super-Kage level, he was still capable of launching attacks that could threaten even strength Super-Kage peak opponents.
With that thought, Arata leapt directly behind the Monkey Sage.
In the next instant, lightning energy surged violently throughout his body, and he said coldly:
"Lightning Armor: Second Gear."
At the same time, Arata's body once again transformed into a Susanoo-like form, this time expanding to nearly eighty meters tall.
After driving back Kumogakure's forces, his strength had already grown noticeably. Then, after obtaining Uchiha Madara's bloodline, his abilities had surged once more.
Now, even standing before the hundred-meter-tall Monkey Sage, Arata was only slightly shorter.
As a sage of the Monkey clan, the Monkey Sage naturally possessed Sage Mode, which beast sages could maintain indefinitely.
Its perception was extremely sharp—it immediately sensed the change in Arata.
When it saw Lightning Armor: Second Gear, the fear on its face deepened dramatically.
Uzumaki Mito, no matter how powerful, still fought within the framework of chakra. Her destructive output was therefore one tier lower.
But Arata, at this moment, was overflowing with natural energy.
In fact, even compared to this ancient being who had cultivated for countless years, Arata's natural energy was even more abundant.
At this sight, the Monkey Sage roared furiously:
"Arata!! You plunderer of natural energy!"
Arata was certain he had never met the Monkey Sage before. Yet the creature's hysterical rage made it seem as though it bore him deep, irreconcilable hatred.
As for the title "plunderer of natural energy"—
Arata could only stare in confusion.
Then suddenly, he remembered something.
Hadn't Jiraiya once said that his entire body was saturated with natural energy?