"I can consider your request. However, once the ninja Swords are completed, I want to be informed immediately."
Arata didn't say outright that the blades would belong to him—that would have been far too blunt. If the other party felt dissatisfied later, it might even backfire. By only saying he wanted to know right away, it sounded much less aggressive.
When the time came, as long as he had the information, Arata could simply take them. There was no need to lay everything bare now.
Yoshida Eiichi hadn't expected Arata to agree so readily. His face immediately lit up with joy, and he said excitedly,
"Thank you, Arata-sama! If you ever need anything in the future, please don't hesitate to ask. The Land of Craftsmen will be your most loyal ally!"
Arata briefly considered having Yoshida bring the Land of Craftsmen directly under Konoha's banner, but after some thought, he abandoned the idea. The Land of Craftsmen was simply too far from the mainland—just traveling back and forth would take four or five days. Managing it directly would be far too troublesome. This arrangement was good enough.
That said, the Land of Craftsmen was extremely rich in resources. It was said that the small island possessed the most abundant mineral reserves in the shinobi world, and that most chakra metals used throughout the world originated there.
This alone showed that while the nation's overall combat strength might not be top-tier, its national power was certainly not weak.
Having such a country as an ally would greatly benefit Konoha's supply of ninja tools in the future. Arata hadn't even become Hokage yet, and he had already secured a solid helper for Konoha.
Later on, Arata could even find an opportunity to use the Root of the Hearth he had obtained. Once activated, he could completely control Yoshida Eiichi—at which point the Land of Craftsmen would effectively be in his hands.
The Root of the Heart was something Arata had extracted from Sarutobi Sasuke.
It was a seal developed by the Sarutobi clan based on the Hyūga clan's Caged Bird Seal, refined and improved. This curse mark was implanted directly onto the heart, making it invisible when clothed.
Because it incorporated techniques from the Yamanaka clan, it could even rewrite a person's memories.
However, it required the user's strength to vastly exceed that of the target—otherwise, backlash was possible.
This was its only drawback compared to the Caged Bird Seal.
Fortunately, Sarutobi Sasuke had been at peak Kage-level strength, and none of his subordinates surpassed him, so there had been no risk in using it.
As for Arata, this wasn't even a concern. He was a genuine Super-Kage at the peak. There were very few people in the world stronger than him—let alone among his subordinates.
Still, Arata wasn't in a rush to use it.
He now possessed Uchiha Madara's bloodline, and once he completed the objective of saving the Uzumaki clan, he would also obtain Senju Hashirama's bloodline.
When the two bloodlines fused, his chakra—along with his physical strength and Devil Fruit abilities—would all reach the pinnacle of Super-Kage level.
Using the curse mark at that point would be much safer.
After that, Arata didn't waste any more words with Yoshida Eiichi. They briefly discussed a few logistical details before Arata sent him on his way.
As for how the Uzumaki clan's sealing techniques would be transferred, they had already worked out a plan.
What remained unresolved was the Uzumaki clan itself.
When he thought about it, Arata realized that there weren't many system objectives left unfinished.
One was to defeat the Kage of the Four Great Nations and Hanzō of the Salamander, thereby ending the Second Great Shinobi War—reward: Hashirama's bloodline.
The second was becoming Hokage, which would unlock a system function: Attribute Viewing. Arata wasn't sure how useful it would be, but he felt it was better to have it than not. The stronger he became, the more unfathomable the system seemed.
Any system function, no matter what, wouldn't be useless.
The final objective—the one currently in progress—was preventing the destruction of the Uzumaki clan and bringing them into Konoha. The reward was a 90-point favorability from all Uzumaki clan members, an exceptionally valuable reward.
With that, Arata wouldn't need to rely on any mind-controlling curse marks at all. The entire Uzumaki clan would willingly follow him.
It was precisely because of this objective that Arata had agreed to Yoshida Eiichi's proposal. Since the Uzumaki clan would eventually become his people anyway, requesting a few sealing techniques wouldn't meet any serious opposition.
With that in mind, Arata expanded his sensory perception and quickly located the Uzumaki clan in the distance.
Their mental state seemed to have stabilized somewhat. Most had recovered from the grief of losing their homeland, though deep down, they would surely always miss it.
Arata had spent a considerable amount of time dealing with the twenty-thousand-strong allied army. After all, he had wanted to test his strength rather than end things swiftly.
By now, the Uzumaki clan had already reached Uzumaki Mito.
Seeing this, Arata didn't linger. After a ripple of spatial distortion, he vanished from where he stood.
The beach—once the site of a battle involving tens of thousands—finally returned to silence.
Only the distant direction where Uzushiogakure once stood, now completely swallowed by the sea, testified to the terrifying battle that had taken place.
...
The scene shifted to Uzumaki Mito's location.
After half a day of rest, she still hadn't fully recovered her chakra. After all, she was already over seventy years old—truly in her twilight years.
Even the Uzumaki clan's powerful vitality couldn't change that fact.
Earlier, to fight at full strength, she had exhausted all the chakra stored in her Yin Seal. As a result, she reverted to her aged appearance—wrinkles reappeared on her face, and her skin became dry and slack.
As she rested, Mito sensed the presence of her younger sister, Uzumaki Suigetsu.
Along with her came dozens of Uzumaki clan members—it was clear they were coming to find her.
Sensing this, Uzumaki Mito smiled in relief. It seemed Arata's battle had gone smoothly. He had truly saved the entire Uzumaki clan.
What she didn't yet know was that while the people had been saved, Uzushiogakure itself had been completely destroyed.
Soon after, Mito sensed several people in the group carrying a body. She was very familiar with it—it was her younger brother, Uzumaki Suikyō.
In the end, Arata had been unable to save the Uzumaki clan head.
Still, Mito didn't blame him.
By the time Arata arrived, the war had already begun. And in war, death was inevitable. This outcome had been foreseeable—it was just painful for her, as a sister, to see her brother die before her.
When Mito and Suigetsu finally met, the two sisters immediately broke down in tears.
It had likely been ten or twenty years since they had last seen one another. Reuniting after such a catastrophe made it impossible to hold back their emotions.
As for the rest of the Uzumaki clan, seeing Mito brought them immense reassurance.
She was a godlike figure among the Uzumaki.
Back then, she had been a genius capable of standing shoulder to shoulder with Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara. After marrying, she had gradually faded from public view—but the Uzumaki clan knew well that she was the strongest prodigy their clan had produced in recent decades.
With her present, no matter where the Uzumaki clan went, they would never again be beaten into such a miserable state—like stray dogs driven from their home.
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