At this moment, Arata focused his sensory network on Hiruzen, carefully observing his reaction.
After a long while, Hiruzen finally set down the battle report. His expression was extremely grim—his mood was clearly heavy.
Although all of the Land of Fire's authority was now in his hands, the nation itself was beginning to decline. Even his own clan was on the brink of extinction.
In such a situation, talking about power was meaningless. He knew he had to do something. If the Land of Fire fell, then as its leader, he would have no purpose left either.
Thus, Hiruzen sank deep into thought. Several minutes passed before he gradually came back to himself.
"Guards!"
As soon as he spoke, ANBU appeared behind him.
Hiruzen turned, walked to the rack, and took down his black armor.
"We're moving out. We reinforce the Land of Rain."
In the end, he chose to step forward.
He knew Arata could also support the front lines and likely repel the enemy with ease. But this was a prime opportunity to claim merit. He had already missed many chances—he couldn't afford to hand this one over as well.
The enemies from Sunagakure and Iwagakure were no weaklings. There might even be four Kage-level fighters on the field. Still, Hiruzen was known across the shinobi world as the "Professor." While he might not completely overwhelm other Kage, most Kage-level shinobi would still be suppressed when facing him.
He also had his summoning beasts. Although his relationship with the monkey clan hadn't fully stabilized, he already had an excuse prepared. If needed, he could simply redirect their resentment toward Arata.
With powerful enemies ahead, he didn't believe the monkey clan would dare refuse a summon—that would violate the summoning contract. With a single command, he could even force a summoned monkey to die on the spot.
Counting himself—a mid-Kage-level fighter—plus a Kage-level monkey summon and a Kage-level Danzō, they should have a chance to hold off the opposing Kage.
The real issue was the absence of the Nine-Tails. That left Konoha short on top-tier combat power.
On top of that, Sakumo Hatake was busy overseeing disaster-zone reconstruction, removing yet another Kage-level combatant from the board.
After some thought, Hiruzen decided to postpone reconstruction efforts until after the war. Leaving a top-tier fighter like Sakumo off the battlefield was simply too wasteful.
This decision might once again reduce Sakumo's loyalty, but Hiruzen believed that when it came to the survival of the nation, Sakumo would understand priorities.
He immediately turned to an ANBU and ordered:
"Recall Hatake Sakumo at once. Send him to the Land of Rain front."
With that, he wasted no time. After donning his armor, he used a Body Flicker Technique and left the village.
His departure was extremely discreet. Almost no one in the village knew he had left. He didn't even use the main gate—clearly he intended to conceal his movements.
There were virtually no foreign spies in Konoha, so this secrecy was mainly meant to avoid Arata's notice.
After all, if it was about claiming credit, he'd rather go alone. If Arata found out, Arata would likely get there first.
Unfortunately for him, Arata's sensory network had already evolved. Every move Hiruzen made was seen clearly.
Still, Arata hadn't expected that Hiruzen—who usually stayed hidden in the village—would personally head to the front this time.
But on second thought, it made sense. If Hiruzen didn't act now, the Land of Fire's front lines might collapse. If the nation fell, his title of Hokage would become hollow.
So no matter how one looked at it, he had to take action. The current frontline forces alone couldn't stop the aggressive Iwagakure and Sunagakure.
Although Arata gave Hiruzen a bit more credit for this decision, he felt no mercy toward the old man. On the contrary, as he watched Hiruzen's departing figure, a cold glint appeared on his face.
Hiruzen rarely left the village, so Arata had never had a good opportunity to eliminate him.
But now?
Hiruzen had left on his own—and done so secretly. If Arata acted now, there would be no way to investigate his death.
As long as he handled it cleanly and silenced all possible witnesses, no one in the village would ever know the Hokage had died by his hand.
Arata had no intention of letting such a rare opportunity slip by.
He knew Hiruzen would be accompanied by many ANBU, but that didn't matter. At Arata's current level, ANBU were paper tigers. If he wished, he could wipe them out in a single move. Even a mid-Kage-level Hiruzen could be killed by him in one strike.
With that thought, Arata no longer hesitated. He found a deserted corner. Spiral space-time ripples appeared around him—
—and he vanished from the shinobi world.
Konoha was still a considerable distance from the Land of Rain. Even at full speed, Hiruzen would need at least half a day to arrive.
Ten ANBU followed behind him. The weakest among them were jōnin, and one even had chakra at the elite jōnin level.
Clearly, Hiruzen had brought out nearly his entire hand for this battle. He was truly going all-in.
Elite jōnin were not easily cultivated in Konoha—especially those absolutely loyal to Hiruzen. The one accompanying him now was undoubtedly a trusted confidant.
An elite jōnin of that caliber likely had a notable reputation in the shinobi world.
While traveling, that elite jōnin stepped forward and said:
"Hokage-sama, is it really safe for us to leave the village like this? That kid has been watching you closely."
Hiruzen naturally knew who he meant. But at this critical moment, he couldn't just sit and watch anymore. He answered helplessly:
"If we don't act now, all the credit will go to him. Then the Hokage's seat will still be lost!"
The elite jōnin fell silent. His mask hid his expression, but it was unlikely he felt optimistic.
Because all ten ANBU present knew one thing very clearly—
Arata's strength had already reached super-Kage peak level.