The order allowing missions to be abandoned was, in truth, nothing more than a directive issued from above.
Most people simply had no real understanding of Arata's strength—how powerful he truly was, or where he stood in the shinobi world.
After all, Arata had only risen to prominence less than a year ago. Very few had even seen him with their own eyes, let alone truly crossed blades with him.
Because of that, although everyone was shocked that Arata had one-shot the Third Raikage, most still believed it was nothing more than a sneak attack.
As for Arata's eerie speed, without sufficient insight, it was impossible to comprehend just how terrifying it really was.
After all, even the speed of an early Super-Kage level was already beyond their ability to perceive. To them, Arata at Super-Kage peak wasn't any different.
As for the four strongest people present—the four Kage-level fighters—not a single one intended to retreat.
Even if the man before them was Arata, unless they had personally fought him, no Kage would ever admit that they were inferior to a 19-year-old brat.
Kage-level wasn't an empty title—it represented the pinnacle of ninja combat power. Most of them possessed overwhelming pride.
What's more, the sealing scroll was already within arm's reach. And now that the Third Raikage, a major competitor, was out of the picture, they had even less reason to back down.
The Third Mizukage, who was leading the allied forces, stepped forward and said coldly:
"Arata Itsuki of Konoha! This is a war between us and the Land of Whirlpools. If you don't want to die, stay out of it!"
Seeing that he had already crippled a Third Raikage with a single kick, yet these people still weren't afraid, Arata couldn't help but shake his head.
It was understandable, really. Everyone who had ever truly fought Arata—aside from the freakishly durable Third Raikage—was already dead.
That included even the terrifying Monkey Sage, who had been personally slain by Arata.
Having just finished a Super-Kage-level battle, Arata now looked at these opponents—most of whom were only mid-Kage at best—and found himself completely uninterested.
Turning around, he noticed Uzumaki Suigetsu, who was nearly seventy years old.
In his memory, Suigetsu wasn't supposed to be the Uzumaki clan's leader… right?
But immediately after, through his mind network, Arata sensed the figure listed in the intelligence reports as the Uzumaki clan's true leader—Uzumaki Suikyō.
At this moment, Suikyō had already become nothing more than a shriveled corpse, skin stretched tight over bone. His once-red hair had turned completely white, strands even drifting away with the breeze.
The sight reminded Arata of Nagato from the original story—after forcibly summoning the Gedo Statue, his condition had looked much the same. When he died, his red hair had also turned white.
Although Uzumaki Suikyō was Uzumaki Mito's younger brother, he had no real connection to Arata. And none of Arata's system choices had required him to ensure that not a single Uzumaki died.
So Arata didn't dwell on it.
At that moment, Uzumaki Suigetsu slowly opened her eyes.
She had been waiting for death for quite some time, yet nothing had happened. After hearing a loud explosion earlier, she had even wondered if her ears were playing tricks on her.
Now, upon seeing Arata standing before her, shock filled her eyes.
"Y-you are… Arata Itsuki?"
Even though the Third Mizukage had already called out Arata's name, Suigetsu still couldn't believe he had truly come to aid the Uzumaki clan.
Arata counted the remaining Uzumaki members. Including the elderly, children, and those unable to fight, there were only a little over eighty people left.
Compared to Konoha, this force was honestly pitiful.
But if they became part of Arata's forces, they would still be a solid reserve—and the Uzumaki clan had an incredibly high growth ceiling. In the future, they would inevitably become his strongest combat unit.
Satisfied, Arata said to Uzumaki Suigetsu:
"You should leave first. Mito is over in that direction. Leave the rest to me."
As he spoke, Arata pointed toward the distance.
Hearing that Uzumaki Mito had also come, Suigetsu's eyes immediately welled up.
She never could have imagined that after so many years without contact—and after the Uzumaki clan had effectively abandoned Mito—she would still come to their rescue at such a moment.
Perhaps only at the brink of life and death could one truly see who their real family was.
As for their so-called ally, Konoha, Suigetsu had already engraved that resentment deep into her heart. If Arata hadn't arrived, she would have already cursed them aloud.
She wasn't unreasonable—she knew grudges had their proper targets. The decision to abandon the Uzumaki clan was almost certainly Sarutobi Hiruzen's doing.
After all, back then, she and Uzumaki Suikyō had publicly humiliated Sarutobi and rejected Konoha's offer to merge—twice. A narrow-minded man like Sarutobi would never forget that.
"Are you really going to be okay… by yourself?"
Seeing Arata prepare to face tens of thousands of enemies alone, Suigetsu asked anxiously.
She had heard the legends, but she hadn't seen Arata fight with her own eyes. Earlier, she had even closed her eyes when Arata kicked the Raikage—she had felt nothing at all.
Noticing that he was being underestimated, Arata waved his hand impatiently.
"Just go. Staying here will only get in the way of me going all out."
Hearing such arrogant words, the allied shinobi immediately bristled.
Ignoring even the Uzumaki's help—was he really planning to take on twenty thousand enemies alone?
Granted, Arata had once accomplished the feat of fighting ten thousand enemies by himself. But according to intelligence, he had only killed a few hundred before dueling the Third Raikage.
Whether he could defeat an army of ten thousand was still questionable—let alone twenty thousand.
Uzumaki Suigetsu, however, gradually steadied herself.
Through her perception, she sensed Arata's chakra—so deep it was like the ocean itself.
This level of chakra… in her entire lifetime, only two legendary figures had ever possessed anything like it.
And now, Arata stood among them.
Swallowing hard, Suigetsu stopped trying to persuade him. She turned and began organizing the Uzumaki clan's retreat.
The allied forces immediately grew restless.
After all, Uzumaki Suigetsu was carrying the Uzumaki clan's greatest treasure—the sealing technique scroll.
Among them, Yoshida Eiichi of the Land of Craftsmen reacted the fastest.
Activating his Lightning Blades: Kiba, a blinding blue current instantly wrapped around both swords.
"Lightning Release: Lightning Dragon Tornado!"
The twin blades spun at high speed, crackling with electricity, and in the blink of an eye formed a massive dragon composed entirely of lightning and raging winds!
The lightning dragon stretched over ten meters long—an attack powerful enough to threaten even a Kage.
Moving at lightning speed, it reached Uzumaki Suigetsu in the blink of an eye!