As soon as Arata spoke, Uzumaki Yūki's expression darkened as well. Fortunately, the rest of the Uzumaki clanspeople had already been settled and had returned to their residences—otherwise, the entire clan would likely have reacted the same way.
Sarutobi Hiruzen, on the other hand, instantly put on a look of shock, sucking in a sharp breath as if he had just heard the news for the first time.
Arata almost believed the act.
If he hadn't known that the old fox had already guessed Mito's death, he might really have been fooled.
Regardless of whether Hiruzen truly knew or not, one thing was certain—
He had long wished for Mito to die.
That expression was nothing but an act.
When Mito rushed out to aid the Uzumaki clan, it had been Hiruzen himself who led the interception force. And that terrifying Monkey Sage that appeared at the time—there was a high chance it had been his summoning as well.
Under such circumstances, claiming he didn't want Mito dead would fool no one.
Moreover, under Arata's sensory surveillance, it had long been clear that Hiruzen had planned this all along—intending to kill Uzumaki Mito as part of the destruction of the Land of Whirlpools.
With open contempt on his face, Arata watched as Hiruzen adopted a mournful expression and said:
"I never imagined Mito-hime would die like this… If only I had stopped her back then…"
Hearing this, both Arata and Yūki felt the urge to kill the old man on the spot.
Unfortunately, Hiruzen's acting was flawless—so convincing that neither of them could openly call him out.
Still, Arata was already certain of one thing.
Sarutobi would never bring up Uzumaki Mito without reason.
And it didn't take much thought to figure out why.
The Nine-Tails.
Now that Mito was dead, the Nine-Tails had become ownerless.
Even if Hiruzen didn't know that the beast was already sealed within Arata's Kamui space, he had clearly coveted it for a long time.
True, Hiruzen was no match for the Nine-Tails on his own.
But hadn't the Uzumaki clan just joined Konoha?
With their help—combined with Konoha's overall strength, plus Hatake Sakumo and Danzō—Hiruzen still had a chance to seal the Nine-Tails.
It just wouldn't be as easy as what Arata had done.
If the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki fell under Hiruzen's control, his power base would be greatly stabilized.
At the very least, he would finally have a Super-Kage–level asset—one that, in his mind, could barely stand up to Arata.
After all, the Nine-Tails was undeniably a Super-Kage–level existence.
Even though Hiruzen himself was only at mid-Kage level, he couldn't help but covet such a powerful trump card.
There was also something Arata hadn't initially considered—
Hiruzen had already offended the Monkey clan.
That meant he had to secure the Nine-Tails.
Otherwise, he wouldn't be able to deter the Monkey clan at all.
Though the Monkey clan wasn't on the same level as the Three Great Sage Lands, aside from the Great Monkey Sage, they still possessed two other sages.
Even if their strength topped out at peak Kage level, two of them working together could easily unleash power comparable to early Super-Kage level.
Without a Super-Kage–level backer, Hiruzen wouldn't even know how he died if he ran into them.
After all, summoned beasts didn't care about human politics.
If they decided to kill him, they wouldn't hesitate—even if it happened inside Konoha.
Because of this, Hiruzen's greatest threat at the moment might not have been Arata at all—but the Monkey clan.
Arata said nothing, simply waiting for the old fox's next move.
He knew this was only the beginning.
Sure enough, Hiruzen pretended to wipe away a few nonexistent tears, then abruptly changed his expression and asked:
"Since Mito-hime has passed… has the Nine-Tails been captured? This is a vital strategic weapon of the Land of Fire—it absolutely cannot fall into foreign hands!"
Hearing this, Arata showed no surprise at all.
"The Nine-Tails has already been captured by me," he said calmly.
"And before her death, Mito-hime had already chosen the jinchūriki."
The fact that Arata had captured the Nine-Tails genuinely shocked Hiruzen.
According to all his intelligence, Arata didn't know sealing techniques.
And with the Nine-Tails' overwhelming power, unless one possessed sealing jutsu—or brute force on the level of the First Hokage—there was virtually no way to subdue it.
Recalling his earlier assessment of Arata's strength, Hiruzen suddenly understood.
Arata must have used the second method—overwhelming force.
Anyone capable of doing that was at least late Super-Kage level… if not peak Super-Kage.
Arata's words were effectively an open admission of that fact.
This made Hiruzen's heart ache even more.
How had such a powerful ally been pushed into becoming his enemy?
If he hadn't allowed Danzō to attempt assassinating Arata back then… would things have turned out differently?
This also confirmed Hiruzen's suspicion—
The one who fought Arata must have been Uchiha Madara.
Only Madara fit the profile: a known peak Super-Kage, still alive, and unaccounted for.
There were very few peak Super-Kage figures in all of history—let alone living ones.
As for the jinchūriki candidate chosen by Uzumaki Mito, Hiruzen had long known about it.
When Mito was selecting a successor, Hiruzen himself had demanded a list of Uzumaki clan members.
The chosen candidate was Uzumaki Kushina—
The same little girl Uzumaki Yūki had brought along when seeking help earlier.
If Hiruzen's memory served him right, Kushina was only five years old.
Yet she had already reached the level of a genin, having begun chakra training unusually early, with considerable talent.
Under different circumstances, she might have become one of Hiruzen's most useful tools.
After all, manipulating ignorant children was one of his specialties.
But things were different now.
After being ignored when the Uzumaki sought help, Kushina likely harbored deep resentment toward him.
Worse still, she was now living under Arata's protection.
With Arata—the Uzumaki clan's greatest benefactor—by her side, Kushina would never again feel any goodwill toward Hiruzen as Hokage.
And if she had to choose a side, Arata's future was clearly far brighter than Hiruzen's.
Taking all this into account, Hiruzen decisively rejected Kushina as the Nine-Tails' host and said to Arata:
"I know Kushina. But she's far too young. And the Uzumaki clan has only just joined Konoha—
for the time being, we cannot allow an Uzumaki to serve as the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki…"