Even after rescuing people for quite some time, Arata had only managed to complete about half of the operation.
The tsunami covered far too wide an area.
Even for Arata, it required a great deal of time to evacuate everyone bit by bit.
More importantly, if he wanted to secure the reward, he couldn't afford even the slightest mistake. If the death toll exceeded five hundred, the reward would change—
And turning into Wood Style instead.
For Arata, that reward was frankly underwhelming, and he absolutely did not want it.
...
At the same time, the Uzumaki clan was not nearly as fortunate as the refugees.
They were fleeing desperately in the direction of Konoha.
Uzumaki Suigetsu was already dead, and before dying, she had never formally named a successor. Nor did the clan know that she had already decided to join Konoha.
Fortunately, the Uzumaki were once a great clan.
It didn't take long for someone to step forward and assume the role of acting clan head.
Under his command, the clan pressed onward toward Konoha.
Along the way, they had personally witnessed Arata's overwhelming power.
In such circumstances, even if Suigetsu hadn't explicitly said it, everyone understood—
For a homeless Uzumaki clan, joining Konoha was the best possible choice.
Arata was a strong contender for the next Hokage, and Tsunade was his wife. By extension, the Uzumaki were practically his in-laws.
Joining Konoha could only benefit them.
As for why they were fleeing so urgently, the reason was obvious—the terrifying tsunami Arata had inadvertently created.
A disaster of that scale was something even Uzumaki shinobi couldn't hope to withstand. Fortunately, they had already traveled quite a distance, so the wave itself was unlikely to catch them.
Still, for safety's sake, they ran as far as they could.
If the tsunami exceeded expectations, they might not even have a chance to escape.
And since they had already resolved to join Konoha, reaching it as soon as possible was the safest option.
...
After an intense period of nonstop rescue operations, Arata finally finished evacuating every city and village threatened by the tsunami.
Those regions were now completely devoid of human presence.
Meanwhile, his Kamui dimension was packed to the brim.
By Arata's conservative estimate, there were already around three hundred thousand people inside.
At present, the entire population of the Land of Fire barely exceeded ten million. The shinobi world was still plagued by frequent wars, and peace had not lasted long.
Most civilians lived like grass beneath the feet of shinobi, often abused at will. This in turn gave rise to countless bandits—many of them former civilians strong enough to prey on their own kind.
Because of this, despite being the largest nation in the shinobi world, the Land of Fire's total population was less than one percent of that of Arata's previous world.
And yet, its landmass was just as vast.
Saving three hundred thousand people amounted to nearly three percent of the Land of Fire's population.
That alone justified Arata's decision to rescue them without hesitation.
A country already short on people could not afford to lose so many to a natural disaster—it would cripple its future development.
With the disaster relief complete, the tsunami finally surged in full force, obliterating the empty towns and completely submerging low-lying regions.
Those areas would likely become part of the Land of Fire's seas forever.
Arata did not linger.
Turning around, he sped off in the direction the Uzumaki clan had fled.
After traveling some distance, he finally caught up with the group of red-haired survivors.
Their numbers had dropped by several hundred.
Most likely, they had perished in the shockwaves from his battle with Uchiha Madara.
At the time, Arata couldn't risk revealing Kamui while fighting Madara, so he hadn't brought them into his dimension.
After all, he had been facing Madara—who knew when he might need Kamui to evade an attack? If a Tailed Beast Bomb–level jutsu entered the Kamui space…
The Uzumaki wouldn't even know how they died.
Fortunately, while there were losses, the bulk of the clan remained intact—some small comfort amid the tragedy.
As the Uzumaki continued their march, a blinding flash of light suddenly appeared.
A familiar figure materialized at the front of their formation.
Tall, wrapped in crackling lightning, with that unmistakably handsome face—
Arata Itsuki.
Seeing him, the acting clan head spoke first, his voice trembling.
"A-Arata sama!"
His shock was understandable.
To protect them, Arata had gone to battle the legendary Asura of the Shinobi World—Uchiha Madara.
Even aged, Madara was unquestionably among the strongest beings alive. Otherwise, such devastation would have been impossible.
And yet—
Arata had returned completely unharmed.
That alone proved he stood on the same level as Madara.
More astonishing still, Arata showed no sign of exhaustion at all.
In truth, he had been tired after the battle—but the rescue operation had given him time to recover. The stamina he spent evacuating civilians was far less than what he regained.
That was why his breathing was steady, and his presence calm.
Arata raised an eyebrow as he looked at the man before him.
A familiar face.
This middle-aged Uzumaki was the very ANBU member who had once escorted Kushina to Konoha to request aid.
Arata didn't know the man had become acting clan head. He simply asked,
"What do you plan to do next?"
Now that he was here, Arata intended to bring the Uzumaki back to Konoha—but the decision had to be theirs.
If he forced them, there was no guarantee the system reward would still trigger.
Fortunately, after witnessing him return safely from a clash with Madara, anyone with sense would know what choice to make.
In fact, this acting leader was currently the strongest member of the clan. There were other elite jōnin, but he was the youngest and had the greatest potential.
As for Kage-level fighters—both Uzumaki Suigetsu and Uzumaki Suikyō had fallen. The Uzumaki only had those two, and both were gone.
As Suikyō's closest subordinate, he had naturally become the new leader by default.
He turned to look at the others.
They understood his intent and nodded silently.
After making his decision, the man bowed deeply to Arata and said respectfully,
"Arata-sama, we wish to join Konoha.
Please… take in the Uzumaki clan."