Hiruzen's intentions were obvious to Arata.
Though he had agreed to let the Uzumaki clan join Konoha, he deliberately refused to arrange housing for them. In the end, that would force the Uzumaki to live outside the village.
After all, land inside Konoha was extremely expensive—far beyond what ordinary people could afford. Those who lived within the village were mostly original residents who had settled there when Konoha was first founded.
Otherwise, they were members of major clans—families that had gradually declined into civilians but still retained their land.
Only a tiny number of people had managed to buy land and homes in Konoha through business success.
The Uzumaki, having just survived a near-extinction event, obviously had no surplus wealth. For a long time to come, they would have to rely on their remaining shinobi taking missions and earning rewards just to survive.
After all, they were no longer a sovereign nation. They could no longer produce resources independently—everything would have to be bought with money.
And once the Uzumaki were forced to live outside the village, they would inevitably follow the same path the Uchiha had after the Third Shinobi War—gradually drifting farther from Konoha's center, becoming increasingly alienated from the villagers.
It had to be said: even a seemingly casual decision from this old fox was filled with calculation. He truly lived up to his reputation as the man who had toyed with the Uchiha clan until their destruction.
The Uchiha—who couldn't even conceal news of rebellion—were never a match for this crafty old schemer.
But Arata didn't care.
Though he came from a civilian background, people often forgot one thing—
He had married the princess of the Senju clan.
Tsunade.
At first glance, Tsunade's status might seem insignificant, since the Senju clan no longer existed.
But regardless of her strength, her teachers, or her elders—
The former Senju residential district alone was located in the most prosperous area of Konoha.
There were dozens of estates there.
All of them were traditional single-story Japanese-style mansions, originally built to house the Senju clan.
Even after the clan's extinction, many of those properties had been reclaimed by Konoha—but dozens of mansions still remained.
That alone was more than enough to house the Uzumaki clan.
Of course, Arata wasn't generous enough to simply give them away for free.
They would still have to repay him over time.
Even if Arata didn't care about money, those properties technically belonged to Tsunade. He couldn't just hand them out without reason.
The moment Arata spoke, Sarutobi Hiruzen immediately guessed what he was planning.
But there was nothing he could do.
Those properties were privately owned. Unless they were public village housing, the Hokage had no authority to redistribute them.
What he hadn't expected was that Arata would be so willing to part with the Senju estates.
Those mansions, if sold outright, would be worth billions.
Tsunade alone could rival Konan in wealth.
Arata knew this well.
But he also knew that if Tsunade's gambling addiction ever flared up again, she might lose everything in a single day.
Seeing no way to block him further, Hiruzen could only swallow his frustration.
He couldn't publicly go back on his word—especially with countless eyes watching.
If he did, by the next morning the rumors would be uncontrollable, and his reputation would take yet another massive hit.
"Since that's settled, let's proceed with registration," Hiruzen said flatly. "Is this all that remains of the Uzumaki clan?"
He knew the Uzumaki well.
Though they had founded Uzushiogakure as a single clan, their population once exceeded ten thousand.
Five to six thousand were combat-capable shinobi, with the rest consisting of elderly, women, and children.
In truth, the Uzumaki were a nation of soldiers—when war came, nearly everyone could fight.
That was the only reason they had survived as long as they did.
Yet the Uzumaki before him numbered barely two thousand.
Had the rest truly perished?
Hiruzen lacked detailed intelligence. At the time, he had only intercepted Uzumaki Mito briefly—and fled the moment his scheme was exposed.
Still, with twenty thousand allied troops and five Kage-level combatants involved, wiping out the Uzumaki should have been easy.
So why were so many still alive?
The answer could only involve Arata.
And then there was that mysterious figure—possibly Uchiha Madara—who had appeared to battle Arata…
It all left Hiruzen deeply unsettled.
Before Arata could speak, Uzumaki Yūki stepped forward.
"Although the Land of Whirlpools no longer exists," he said calmly, "more than five thousand Uzumaki survived. The rest are stationed in Kazama Town, helping care for disaster victims."
Arata nodded in approval.
At least Yūki had presence of mind.
The moment those words were spoken, the surrounding villagers erupted.
After all, the Uzumaki weren't Konoha natives. They had just suffered national annihilation—yet they still went out of their way to aid disaster relief.
Compared to that, the Third Hokage suddenly looked petty and small-minded.
"So the Uzumaki aren't bad people after all… maybe we misjudged them."
"I told you not to blindly believe everything that old man says."
"My relatives are still in the disaster zone… I wonder if they survived."
"I heard Arata-sama saved hundreds of thousands of people. Your family should be safe."
"Really? That's almost the entire coastline population!"
"Of course—it's Arata-sama. A man on the same level as the First Hokage!"
...
Hiruzen hadn't expected this.
The Uzumaki had played a card he hadn't anticipated.
Then he turned—and saw Arata smiling faintly.
In that instant, everything became clear.
This, too, had been Arata's arrangement.
Even if Hiruzen's earlier schemes had succeeded, this final move—having the Uzumaki assist in disaster relief—would have secured the village's goodwill.
With that alone, the Uzumaki joining Konoha was inevitable.
All his calculations before now had been a waste of time.
Suppressing his irritation, Hiruzen said coldly:
"Very well. Follow me. After registration, you'll undergo inspection to ensure no curse seals or genjutsu have been implanted."
With that, he turned and walked away, his expression grim.
The Uzumaki, though inwardly relieved, kept their composure and followed in silence.
As for Arata—
He didn't leave.
He stayed close, ensuring that everything proceeded exactly as planned.