At this point, Uchiha Arata was completely exposed.
Although Black Zetsu and Uchiha Obito had yet to uncover his true strength or his hidden trump cards, that did nothing to change the fact that Arata had become their greatest enemy.
Because of this.....and with no certainty that Nagato could be manipulated into confronting him...Arata's highest priority was clear: he needed to strengthen himself as quickly as possible.
After arranging things properly for Sister Mikoto and Sasuke, Arata chose to stay behind.
Even though he knew Obito would not return, he couldn't bring himself to leave Mikoto alone with her worries.
So he spent the night with her, keeping her company.
The next morning, after enjoying yet another generous breakfast at Mikoto's home, Arata finally took his leave.
Once he departed, Arata headed straight for the Hokage Tower.
Today, he needed to replicate the Uzumaki clan's bloodline...specifically, from Uzumaki Naruto.
As the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki, Naruto was constantly watched and protected by personnel secretly assigned by the Third Hokage.
Arata believed this was necessary, so he never requested that the surveillance be lifted.
However, to carry out his plan, he needed to bring Naruto.....along with Uzumaki Xiangling
and her daughter.....to a secluded location. To avoid unnecessary conflict, Arata first had to inform the Third Hokage and request that the monitoring be temporarily withdrawn.
The meeting with the Third Hokage went smoothly.
Yet when Arata explained his request, the old man fell into silence.
Sarutobi Hiruzen stood there quietly, drawing on his pipe.
Because Arata had made only minimal alterations when using Kotoamatsukami on him, the Hokage retained considerable autonomy.
Still, Hiruzen understood that he had no real ability to refuse.
Naruto was the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki, and Arata possessed the Mangekyō Sharingan.
The idea of the two interacting unsettled a man who had always placed Konoha's safety above all else.
If Arata made even the slightest mistake, the village would pay the price.
Seeing the concern in the Hokage's eyes, Arata calmly presented the explanation he had prepared in advance.
"Relax. I'm only studying the sealing techniques on a jinchūriki.
I've been researching fuinjutsu lately, and when it comes to sealing arts, the Uzumaki clan stands unrivaled.
Naruto's seal represents the culmination of both Uzumaki techniques and the Fourth Hokage's mastery.
I have no intention of opening it....this is purely academic."
Hearing this, the Third Hokage took another slow drag from his pipe and nodded in silence.
He knew that even if he objected, his resistance would be meaningless.
Moreover, Arata had already explained his reasoning.
If he continued to refuse and provoked Arata, the outcome would be the same.....only worse.
Nevertheless, after signing the order to withdraw the guards, the Third Hokage voiced one final request.
"Arata-kun… when you study the seal on Naruto, please be careful.
Don't let the child come to harm. He is, after all, the legacy Minato and Kushina left behind."
Arata accepted the order, waved his hand dismissively, and replied, "Don't worry. I know my limits. And even if a jinchūriki were to lose control, with my current strength, suppressing it would take moments."
With that, Arata offered no further explanation.
He waved once more and leapt straight out the window, heading toward Naruto's location.
Right now, acquiring the Uzumaki bloodline was his top priority.
Everything else was trivial.
If it weren't for the inconvenience of dealing with Naruto's guards and disturbing village order, Arata wouldn't have bothered meeting the Third Hokage at all.
If someone asked Uzumaki Naruto when he felt happiest, he would answer without hesitation: these past few days.
If his previous life had been one of darkness, suffocation, pain, confusion, and loneliness
Then ever since Aunt Xianglin entered his life, everything had changed.
His days were now filled with warmth, sunlight, and genuine affection.
As fellow members of the Uzumaki clan, Naruto had instinctively felt close to Xinglin and her daughter.
As time passed, he realized that Xingling treated him exactly like her own child.
She washed his clothes, bought him new ones, cleaned his room, and prepared proper meals before calling him to eat.
The food was nutritious and varied....something Naruto had never known in his entire childhood.
As a jinchūriki, Naruto's senses were sharp. He could clearly feel Xingling's sincerity and closeness toward him.
To Naruto, these days felt like a dream. He had gained an aunt who loved him like a son, and a younger sister who treated him kindly.
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