Sasuke's mind had finally settled.
After Arata's long talk, the anger that had once clouded him was gone, replaced by quiet determination.
Naruto, too, was convinced.
Arata's earlier words — "Once you master the Nine-Tails' power, your strength will soar beyond imagination" — had burned into his heart.
Both boys stopped pestering Arata for lessons, and for the first time in days, he could breathe easily again.
"Finally," Arata sighed to himself, stretching his shoulders.
"Peace."
He really hadn't wanted to deal with the two of them every day.
As much as he respected their drive, they were exhausting.
Kakashi and Sakura, meanwhile, could only stare at him in stunned silence.
Convincing both Naruto and Sasuke in one conversation? That bordered on a miracle.
The two were notoriously stubborn — impossible to sway once they'd decided on something.
Yet somehow, Arata had done it with a few well-placed words.
Even Kakashi had to admit it: this kid was terrifyingly good with people.
The Calm Before the Next Storm
The rest of the mission went smoothly.
Kado never sent more assassins their way, and the Land of Waves slowly returned to its quiet rhythm.
Still, Kakashi refused to let his guard down until the Great Bridge was completely finished.
During the day, Arata either stood guard with Sakura or trained with Kakashi in sealing arts.
By night, he had a new kind of problem — a small boy named Inari.
Ever since Arata had saved him and taken down Kado's hired ninja before his eyes, Inari had decided that Arata was his hero.
And heroes, apparently, had no right to refuse bedtime games.
"Nighttime hide-and-seek again?" Arata groaned.
But when the boy's big watery eyes looked up at him, he sighed and gave in every time.
Tsunami, Inari's mother, was also endlessly kind to him.
She often cooked his favorite dishes, insisting he eat more after training.
At this point, Arata was treated almost like family — perhaps even better than Kakashi himself.
Of course, part of that was the sheer awe the family had for him.
They had seen his power firsthand; to them, Arata wasn't just a shinobi — he was a legend walking in human form.
Mastering the Sealing Arts
Over the following days, Arata mastered every sealing technique Kakashi knew — the Contract Seal, Evil Sealing Method, Flame Sealing, and more.
Each one demanded precision, patience, and an enormous amount of chakra.
Even his chakra reserves had grown — doubling in just a couple of weeks.
But the growth was slowing.
In the beginning, his power had expanded almost daily; now, each increase required far more effort.
Still, doubling his reserves in such a short time was nothing short of absurd.
By now, Arata's chakra rivaled that of Kage-level shinobi — perhaps even exceeding most of them.
Only monsters like the Nine-Tails, Hashirama Senju, or Madara Uchiha could surpass him outright.
He didn't know that, of course.
But he could feel it — the quiet hum of energy under his skin, far denser than Kakashi's.
Yet his personality hadn't changed at all.
Despite the power, Arata remained calm, detached, and perpetually lazy.
He still preferred talking over fighting, and if a situation could be solved with words, he'd rather not lift a hand.
That's exactly why people found him both baffling and admirable.
Even Inari loved him for it — a hero strong enough to win, but gentle enough to play.
Arata, however, simply called it resigned tolerance.
The Preparation
One night, the group gathered in their shared room.
Kakashi sat cross-legged before Arata, while Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura formed a circle around them.
Arata looked from face to face, visibly uneasy.
"Do we really have to do this now? Couldn't we wait until we're back in the village?"
Kakashi patted him on the shoulder.
"If we do it in Konoha, there'll be too many eyes — and too much risk if something goes wrong."
"Better to handle it quietly, here and now."
Then Naruto leaned forward and bowed his head deeply.
"Arata, please… I'm counting on you!"
Sasuke and Sakura watched in curiosity, while Arata sighed, rubbing his temple.
"All right, all right. I'll try."
What they were attempting tonight was simple in theory — and terrifying in practice.
Kakashi wanted Arata to strengthen the seal holding the Nine-Tails inside Naruto.
He trusted Arata completely — perhaps too much — and believed he was the only one capable of reinforcing it without disaster.
But even for Arata, this was risky.
If anything went wrong… if the seal fractured…
None of them could stop the Nine-Tails from breaking free.
Still, with Naruto's sincere eyes fixed on him, Arata couldn't refuse.
Naruto pulled up his shirt, revealing the complex spiral of symbols etched across his stomach.
Sakura gasped quietly — it was the first time she had seen the seal herself.
Arata knelt before him, pressing his palms together.
"Okay… let's take a look inside first."
He formed a quick sequence of hand signs.
The markings on Naruto's belly shimmered faintly.
"I'm going to dive into the seal," Arata said.
"If something feels off, pull me back immediately."
Kakashi nodded.
Then, as Arata's fingers touched the center of the pattern, his consciousness slipped away.
Inside the Seal
Drip… drip… drip…
A faint echo reached his ears.
When Arata opened his eyes again, the world around him had changed.
Darkness stretched in every direction.
Cold water rippled beneath his feet.
The air smelled of damp stone and iron.
In the distance stood a massive gate — thick, black bars stretching upward into the void, sealed by a single sheet of paper marked with a red "Seal" character.
Arata tilted his head, frowning.
"So this is where the Nine-Tails is sealed, huh? No wonder it's always in a bad mood."
His voice echoed against the wet walls.
It looked less like a sacred prison and more like a flooded sewer.
He stared at the gate for a while, hands in his pockets.
"Yeah… this environment definitely doesn't scream comfort."
If he had remembered what Kushina Uzumaki's or Mito Uzumaki's inner seal spaces had looked like, he would've realized this one was already an improvement.
But right now, all Arata could think was—
"Man, I wouldn't wanna live here either."
And somewhere behind those bars…
a pair of enormous crimson eyes slowly opened.
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