As the last of the golden water spheres dissolved, Tsunami and Inari blinked in shock.
They were standing—alive—at the center of a massive crater.
The ground around them was charred black, smoke rising in curling streams.
The air was thick with the stench of burned earth.
"We… we're alive?" Tsunami whispered, staring at her trembling hands.
"How… how is that even possible?"
Inari looked around, his young face pale and blank with disbelief.
Then, slowly, his thoughts caught up to him—his grandfather's words echoing in his head.
"It was him… It had to be him."
He clenched his fists.
"It was Arata who saved us."
He finally understood.
He had doubted his grandfather's faith, mocked Naruto's words about heroes, and called them naïve.
But now—
He was alive because of Arata.
A boy about his age… had done what grown men couldn't.
If his father had been as strong as Arata—would he have survived too?
The thought stung, and for a moment, Inari's throat tightened.
Then he realized something—
Arata wasn't there.
He looked around frantically.
Smoke, dust, silence.
No golden light.
"Mom… was it really him?"
Tsunami nodded weakly, tears glimmering in her eyes.
"Who else could it be?"
On the other side of the crater, Sakura staggered to her feet, still disoriented.
She looked around anxiously.
"Arata…?"
Her voice cracked.
"Arata! Where are you!?"
She shouted into the haze, her voice trembling.
No answer.
The silence felt unbearable.
Her heart twisted.
She sank to her knees, tears streaming down her face.
"It's my fault… It's all my fault you're dead."
"If I hadn't—"
Her words broke off—
as a shadow fell over her.
"Why are you crying? I'm not dead yet."
That familiar, calm voice.
Her whole body froze.
Slowly, she lifted her head.
Standing before her, back straight, golden sparks flickering faintly along his clothes—was Arata.
Alive.
"A-Arata…! You're alive! You're really alive!"
Tsunami and Inari both gasped.
"He's alive?!"
Even after witnessing the explosion that could have erased a mountain, Arata stood there—untouched.
For a heartbeat, none of them could move.
Then Sakura ran toward him, eyes wet.
But before she could throw herself into his arms, Arata raised a hand, pressing it gently against her shoulder.
"Not now. Stay with Tsunami and Inari."
His voice was calm—but beneath it, a hard edge.
"I need to test something," he said, stepping forward.
"All this training… it's time to see if it paid off."
He turned toward the distant figure of Raiya, whose expression had darkened.
"That guy's an upper-level jōnin," Arata continued. "I don't know if I can beat him—but I'll try to hold him off until Kakashi-sensei gets here."
Sakura clenched her fists.
"Be careful," she said quietly.
She wanted to say more, to beg him not to go—but Arata was already focused.
Tsunami and Inari looked at him in awe.
Inari wiped his eyes, shouting,
"Arata-nii! You can do it! I'll protect Mom, I swear! I won't get in your way!"
Arata smiled faintly.
"Good. I'll hold you to that."
He turned back toward the crater's edge.
Lightning flickered at his fingertips.
Sakura's gaze softened as she watched him from behind.
For the first time, she realized just how safe she felt when he was there.
"Arata… please be careful. I'll protect them—you just fight."
"Got it."
He pulled a kunai from his pouch—
and with a soft crackle, it burst to life with golden lightning.
Zzzzz—!
The air vibrated with raw energy.
Inari's jaw dropped.
"Whoa…! He can make lightning with his hands?! And it's gold! That's so cool!"
Sakura's heart skipped a beat.
She knew how terrifying lightning chakra was—powerful, unstable, deadly.
Most chūnin couldn't even control it properly.
And yet… Arata had summoned it effortlessly, without a single hand seal.
"He's… really on a whole different level now."
Tsunami could only stare.
"So this… this is what a real ninja looks like," she murmured.
"He's stronger than the one who attacked before… stronger than anyone I've ever seen."
On the ridge, Raiya finally spotted him.
A cold smile curled across his face.
"There you are, you stubborn little brat."
He jumped down, landing heavily, thunder rumbling in his wake.
"I used thousands of paper bombs, and you still won't die. You're starting to piss me off."
He lifted his twin blades, their edges sparking blue.
"But fine. If you won't die cleanly… I'll make it slow."
"I'll tear you apart piece by piece until you beg for death."
His killing intent filled the air like static.
The two Mist-nin behind him shivered.
"Use the Hidden Mist Technique," Raiya ordered.
"I want this whole place covered."
The subordinates exchanged nervous glances, hands trembling as they began weaving signs.
"Y-Yes, Raiya-sama!"
Chakra surged, and within moments—
A dense, suffocating mist rolled across the battlefield, swallowing everything in white.
The air grew heavy, sharp, filled with death.
Even the two Mist-nin could feel it—
That strange, golden chakra pressing back against the fog,
like sunlight trying to burn through a storm.
"Wh-what is this pressure…?"
"He's just a genin, but… it feels like we're facing a monster…"
Their voices quivered.
Below, Arata's golden lightning flickered brighter.
He lifted his kunai, eyes cold.
The storm had begun.
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