Arata Itsuki was rushed to Konoha's hospital immediately,
and Tsunade personally took charge of his treatment.
Fortunately, although his injuries were severe,
Tsunade—destined to become the greatest medical-nin in the entire shinobi world—
handled them with ease.
The only complication was emotional rather than medical:
seeing the man she loved so badly wounded nearly disrupted her composure.
Thankfully, she had not yet developed her hemophobia.
Aside from her initial panic, she quickly calmed herself and began treatment.
Most of Arata's wounds, while numerous, were not fatal.
The real concern was his left arm—
the limb had been nearly severed.
A slight mistake in treatment could cripple it permanently,
a devastating blow for someone whose fighting style relied heavily on taijutsu.
So Tsunade spent extra time ensuring the healing was perfect.
When Arata finally regained consciousness,
three days had passed.
During those three days, the news of him single-handedly killing Zōshirō
had already shaken the entire ninja world.
The impact was too great for Konoha to hide.
So the village announced it openly—
both to flaunt its military strength
and, perhaps deliberately, to place Arata on a pedestal.
On the brink of war, if the whole world learned that Konoha had produced such a prodigy,
then that prodigy would naturally become a prime target.
Among all the reactions, Sunagakure's response was the most explosive.
It was said that the very day Zōshirō died,
the old hag Chiyo ignored the objections of Suna's leadership
and personally stormed the border with several shinobi.
If Sakumo hadn't returned in time to stop her,
Konoha's border forces might have been annihilated.
Though he repelled Chiyo,
she still managed to reclaim her son's corpse from Konoha's hands.
Arata had killed Zōshirō only hours earlier—
Konoha had not had time to transport the body back to the village.
But even retrieving the corpse did not calm Chiyo.
She vowed publicly:
"As long as I live, Sunagakure will never rest until Konoha is destroyed!
Arata will repay this blood debt with blood!"
None of the other villages took her threats seriously.
After all, Arata had killed a Kage-level shinobi.
He was now considered an S-rank target.
You don't "just kill" someone like that.
Along with the news of Zōshirō's death,
details of Arata's Raijin Mode and lightning-fast movement
also circulated mysteriously.
This leak made no sense—
Arata's abilities should have been top-secret within Konoha.
To outsiders, it merely seemed like a foreign spy had witnessed the battle.
But Sakumo, who had arrived first at the battlefield, knew better.
There had been no enemy scouts.
Which meant…
the leak came from inside Konoha.
Now stationed on the border, Sakumo set the suspicion aside for the moment.
Looking at the intelligence report, he muttered:
"Konoha's Blue Lightning…
A fitting name."
Just like "Konoha's White Fang" for Sakumo
and the future title of the Three Legendary Sannin,
Arata now had his own epithet:
Konoha's Blue Lightning – Arata.
He himself would never have imagined
earning a moniker before Tsunade did.
When Arata woke up,
the first thing he saw was Tsunade sitting beside him.
Gone was her usual strong, domineering air—
she looked more like a devoted young wife tending to her injured husband.
But the moment his eyes opened, she immediately scolded him:
"Didn't you say you wouldn't get hurt!?
Look at the state you're in!
Do you want to scare me to death!?"
Arata couldn't help admiring the sight—
even angry, she was stunning,
and certain parts of her were… moving rather distractingly.
"I'm back, aren't I? Besides, with you here, how could anything happen to me?"
Tsunade's expression softened instantly.
Though she still blamed him for being reckless,
her voice was full of worry and relief.
"Easy for you to say…
If Sakumo hadn't gotten you back in time, your left arm would've been ruined!"
Arata took her hand and spoke gently:
"You've worked hard. I won't make you worry again."
He meant it—
his strength had surged in this battle.
He now possessed Kage-level power.
From here onward, it would be difficult for anyone in the shinobi world
to wound him so gravely again.
As for evaluating Zōshirō's strength…
Arata could say with certainty that the man had been among the strongest in the current era—
likely close to the peak of the Kage tier.
After all, his masterpiece—the Ten-Man Battalion—
was crafted from ten Senju corpses.
Their taijutsu, ninjutsu, and defenses were all top-tier.
Aside from not modifying his own body like Sasori would in the future,
Zōshirō had practically reached the pinnacle of puppet master combat.