Arata Itsuki's intention was obvious:
eliminate the small fry first.
To him now, Jōnin were nothing more than ants—easy to crush.
Zōshirō realized Arata's goal as well.
But as a puppet master, he had very few options against speed-type shinobi.
And Arata's speed had grown even faster than before.
Even Zōshirō himself struggled to keep up, let alone protect his subordinates.
Still, he wouldn't give up.
He immediately directed his three elemental puppets to fire another combined tri-element beam.
The three melee puppets remained beside the remaining Jōnin, waiting.
As soon as Arata appeared, they were prepared to strike—
even if it meant hitting their own allies—
anything to injure him.
Zōshirō's preparation paid off.
The moment Arata flickered behind another Jōnin, ready to strike, he was immediately sandwiched between the elemental blast and the melee puppets' charge.
If he continued the attack, he would be hit from both sides.
Even with elementalization, he wouldn't survive that unscathed.
As for attacking Zōshirō directly—
that opportunity was slim.
The puppet master was surrounded by four puppets Arata hadn't yet seen in action.
Without knowing their abilities, charging recklessly was far too risky.
Zōshirō's perception really was extraordinary.
If not for his insight, no one would be able to track Arata's speed now.
Puppet masters lacked taijutsu and rarely used ninjutsu—
but if they also lacked situational awareness, they would never make a name for themselves.
Fortunately, Arata had more than taijutsu.
He created distance from the remaining Suna-nin and raised his right hand toward the sky.
Then he spoke coldly:
"Divine Punishment."
Four bolts of lightning shot upward from his hand, piercing the sky.
The Jōnin blinked in confusion.
What was he doing?
Had he run out of ninjutsu?
Only Zōshirō noticed—
Arata hadn't formed a single hand seal.
He looked up.
The four lightning bolts stopped rising and began to rapidly expand.
"It's that jutsu from earlier!"
Zōshirō understood instantly—
this was the same attack that had ambushed them at the start.
Without hesitation, he leapt aside with four puppets.
The Jōnin followed suit, retreating desperately.
Even the puppets guarding them scattered in panic.
Seeing this, Arata smirked.
"Got you."
BOOM—BOOM—BOOM—BOOM!!
Four successive explosions hammered the ground, each bolt carving a massive, bottomless crater.
The weakness of Divine Punishment was simple—
its speed wasn't the greatest.
In the One Piece world, even the early Straw Hats could dodge it.
And Arata's opponents were Jōnin at the very least.
The Suna-nin breathed in relief—
they had dodged it.
But just as they were about to feel safe—
Thump… thump… thump.
Three heavy sounds echoed.
Their three Jōnin—
all of them—
collapsed to the ground, heads severed cleanly.
Arata had struck the moment they dodged, taking advantage of their blind spots.
By the time the blinding electrical light faded, only two remained:
Arata
and Zōshirō.
Seeing his comrades dead, Zōshirō showed no panic whatsoever.
"Who are you? I've never heard of someone like you in Konoha. Are you some secret weapon sent specifically to target me?"
He believed this infiltration mission had been flawlessly concealed—
yet Arata had intercepted them, and at a depth no sensor should detect.
There had to be an insider.
That was the only explanation.
And Arata's terrifying strength…
enough to threaten a Kage-level like himself…
Only deepened his suspicion.
Arata, having cast four Divine Punishments and burst into full-speed mode to kill three Jōnin, took the moment to regulate his breathing.
Against a Kage-level opponent, he needed to be in peak condition.
So he didn't mind answering:
"My name is Arata Itsuki.
Remember it well.
Because on your gravestone, it will say—
Killed by Arata."