In the instant Arata evaded the Monkey Clan's attacks, he even had the spare attention to fire off eighteen finger-thick bolts of lightning.
He had used this move before—it was the Thunder God Spear that once helped him counter-kill Zōshirō.
This jutsu had never been about raw destructive power; its true strength lay in speed. Even now, at super-Kage peak level, unless Arata activated the third stage of Lightning Armor, he still couldn't surpass this move's velocity.
As his Rumble-Rumble ability improved, the speed of this jutsu also scaled up alongside it, rather than staying fixed as before.
Under these conditions, killing nine people was trivial. Even if ninety more came, Arata was confident he could wipe them out as well.
After all, these nine were only jōnin. Their durability wasn't high—slightly stronger lightning was enough to take their lives.
Against someone like the Third Raikage this move would be useless, but for harvesting jōnin-level "fodder," it was effortless.
Arata's targets were precise: hearts and foreheads. Once those two spots were pierced, even the most resilient ninja would instantly lose the ability to act and die within seconds.
This was the most reliable method to kill them before they could fire signal flares.
Of course, even without the Thunder God Spear, Arata could have relied purely on speed to kill them—he just would've spent more stamina.
He had already followed Hiruzen for half a day. Unless necessary, he didn't want to waste energy. If something unexpected happened and his chakra ran low, that would be troublesome.
He was always wary of the ever-lurking Black Zetsu. Killing Hiruzen was easy, but he couldn't give Black Zetsu any opportunity.
And beyond Black Zetsu, the existence of the Sage of Six Paths himself made Arata cautious. Previously, Arata might not have been strong enough to attract the Sage's attention—but now he possessed Madara's bloodline. That was like the world suddenly gaining another reincarnation of Indra. The Sage of Six Paths wouldn't possibly ignore that—he'd effectively gained another "son."
Arata had always doubted the Sage's supposed death. A man who could casually appear and hand Naruto and Sasuke power-ups didn't seem truly dead. That felt far too convenient.
In Arata's view, the Sage likely persisted in another form—perhaps his soul had fused with chakra itself. As long as chakra existed in the world, he might never truly die.
Because of that, Arata didn't dare expose all his strength lightly. Staying in peak condition at all times was critical. If one day the Sage of Six Paths suddenly decided to eliminate him like the Monkey Sage had, Arata needed the power to resist.
Back to the battlefield—
The nine ANBU were killed mid-escape, unable even to fire their signal flares. That showed just how terrifying Arata's speed was. In the blink of an eye, the entire situation had been resolved.
Seeing this, the Monkey King understood: Arata's speed ranked at the absolute top of the shinobi world. His fighting style even countered the monkey clan to some extent.
The monkey clan excelled in taijutsu, yes—but they focused on strength and defense. Speed was not their forte.
Against a slippery opponent like Arata, whether they could even touch him once was questionable. Swinging wildly was just wasting stamina.
Worse, Arata's Lightning Release was clearly powerful enough to blast through their muscular defenses.
The Monkey King finally realized Arata hadn't defeated the Monkey Sage by luck. His true strength likely surpassed the Monkey Sage.
With that conclusion, the Monkey King's resolve to fight wavered. Avenging the Monkey Sage was one thing—but they had to weigh their own lives. Charging to their deaths would just be feeding the enemy.
He glanced at his clanmates and saw fear in their eyes. At that moment, he no longer hesitated and barked in beast language:
"Retreat! This kid is too strong!"
Since it was beast speech, Hiruzen's brother couldn't understand it.
Hiruzen himself, seeing all his subordinates dead and only the monkey clan and his brother left, had already lost the will to fight. He immediately bit his finger.
But at that instant, Arata's figure appeared right among them. After killing the nine, he had moved again before anyone could react.
Seeing this, Hiruzen's brother prepared to unleash the ninjutsu he had been charging. As an elite Sarutobi jōnin, his mastery of ninjutsu was exceptional.
What he was about to use was his strongest attack—one that could seriously injure even a tailed beast.
This was the Sarutobi clan's five-nature composite ninjutsu, something only those born with all five chakra natures could perform.
However—
Before he could release it, he met Arata's eyes.
Arata's pupils, once ordinary black, turned into the red three-tomoe Sharingan. In the next blink, they evolved again—into a six-pointed Mangekyō Sharingan.
Hiruzen's brother had never seen this pattern, but he knew the Sharingan could evolve beyond three tomoe into the Mangekyō. That meant Arata had awakened it silently.
Was Arata actually an Uchiha rather than a civilian?
He didn't get time to think further.
A blue skeletal giant formed from Yin-Release chakra materialized around Arata.
The moment it appeared, its two arms swung simultaneously. Two slashes tore through the battlefield. Everyone present felt their vision spin—
The veteran Sarutobi instantly understood his fate.
Before anyone could react, Arata had already beheaded everyone present.
The dizzying sensation came from heads flying into the air.
And the technique Arata used this time wasn't Lightning Armor—
It was the genuine Susanoo.