Arata's intimidation was more than sufficient. Not to ntion anything else—every jōnin present lost their will to fight the instant they were enveloped by that pressure.
It wasn't so kind of Conqueror's Haki, but the effect was much the sa.
That said, this only applied to ninja. Ordinary civilians likely wouldn't even sense the pressure, much less perceive Arata's chakra, and might not react at all.
The Uzumaki clansn, anwhile, were filled with admiration for Arata's strength. With nothing more than a single sentence and a glance, he had made those once-arrogant Konoha ninja behave with complete deference.
It was clear that Arata held considerable status within Konoha.
With soone like him stepping forward, their clan's entry into Konoha would be far smoother.
Still, Arata knew that while getting the Uzumaki clan into Konoha wouldn't be too difficult, the real problem lay in the rift between them and Konoha's long-established residents. If that gap wasn't resolved, conflict would inevitably arise sooner or later.
The Uchiha clan in the original history was a perfect example. At first, both sides tolerated one another, but later the Uchiha began suffering discrimination from within the village, eventually preparing to rebel.
That led to the Uchiha purge. Even if leadership changed, the outco likely wouldn't have differed much from Sarutobi Hiruzen's—just carried out without his constant talk of benevolence and morality.
Others might not have had a solution. Take Uchiha Itachi, who slaughtered his own clan—he simply didn't know how to resolve the contradictions and ended up standing with his family instead.
But Arata was different. He had system-granted rewards. Once the Uzumaki clan joined Konoha, their favor toward him would increase at the very least. With him there to diate, it was unlikely serious problems would arise.
As this large group moved toward the Hokage's office, they imdiately attracted widespread attention.
Even though Konoha had just weathered a crisis and there were few civilians on the streets, the tsunami had already passed. People were gradually erging from the shelters.
Many of them spotted Arata and his group.
"Hey, isn't that Arata-sama?"
"Now that you ntion it, why didn't we see Arata-sama during the earthquake earlier?"
"He was probably out on a mission. Soone as strong as Arata-sama can't be staying in the village all the ti."
"What are you all focusing on? Look behind Arata-sama —there are so many red-haired people!"
"You're right! So many redheads—those have to be Uzumaki clan mbers!"
"Wasn't the Uzumaki clan under siege? Why are there so many of them in Konoha? Could it be they were rescued by Arata-sama?"
"Did Arata-sama go to save them? As expected, Arata-sama is kind-hearted—didn't he even save several civilian ninja before?"
"But I heard the attackers numbered twenty thousand ninja! And there were five Kage-level fighters!"
"Seriously? Then how did Arata-sama rescue so many people?"
...
Seeing more and more people coming out and discussing him, Arata couldn't keep a stern face. He offered them a faint smile instead.
As expected, the crowd's goodwill toward him rose noticeably. It was one of Hiruzen's favorite tactics—and undeniably effective.
Arata didn't linger to talk with them, though. Business ca first.
At this point, Hiruzen, who had been observing the situation, could no longer sit still. He hurried over with a group of people and appeared in front of Arata.
He knew that if he didn't show up now, Arata would gain another wave of prestige among the civilians—and his montum would completely surpass Hiruzen's.
When Arata saw the old man finally deign to appear, he gave a cold smile.
Hiruzen, on the other hand, looked as benevolent as ever, even though he wished Arata would drop dead on the spot. On the surface, he looked every bit the righteous gentleman.
The Uzumaki clansn behind Arata imdiately showed open disgust. They knew Hiruzen's true nature all too well—this old fox was nothing but a hypocrite.
He had nearly erased the Uzumaki clan from history this ti. As far as they were concerned, he was an irreconcilable enemy, and they had no intention of giving him a pleasant expression.
Once again, Uzumaki Yūki stepped in just in ti, stopping his clansn from flaring up.
The surrounding civilians, seeing even the Hokage arrive, grew intensely curious and crowded closer.
Ordinarily, civilians would never get to witness affairs of state like this. But this ti, Hiruzen had co precisely so everyone could see.
Because he knew that, at least regarding the Uzumaki clan's entry into Konoha, he could leverage public opinion.
Most civilians in Konoha had long been influenced by him to feel hostility toward the Uzumaki clan. Their conspicuous red hair, in particular, had been frad under his guidance as a symbol of delinquency.
That was exactly why he wanted to discuss this matter in public—to let the civilians voice their opinions. Under the pressure of public sentint, he believed Arata wouldn't dare insist on letting the Uzumaki join.
And this was Konoha itself. No matter how powerful Arata was, he couldn't possibly start killing people openly in the village.
If that happened, the entire village would end up paying the price along with Hiruzen. That was the confidence Hiruzen relied on.
After all, Arata was competing for the position of Hokage—Hiruzen had known that for a long ti. Arata absolutely wouldn't do anything that blatantly went against the will of the people.
That was why Hiruzen hadn't ordered ANBU to disperse the onlookers. He wanted them to speak, so he could use their voices to suppress Arata.
In terms of strength, he might not match Arata—but when it ca to sches and political maneuvering, Hiruzen was a man who had beco Hokage in a village full of powerful figures. There was no way he lacked cunning.
As soon as he appeared, Hiruzen said with a genial smile,
"Arata, what's going on here? I heard the Uzumaki clan was under siege—why have they suddenly co to Konoha?"
With that single sentence, he cleanly distanced himself from everything, implying that whatever Arata had done had nothing to do with the Hokage—and that he hadn't even been inford.
In other words, Arata had left the village without the Hokage's approval.
Arata understood the old fox's intent the mont he heard that opening line. Hiruzen was trying to pin a charge of disobedience on him first. Even if it didn't fully stick, it would still lower Arata's standing in everyone's eyes.
Arata responded imdiately,
"Our allies were in danger—and they're Tsunade's relatives. How could I not go help?"
Right from the start, Arata tied everything to Tsunade. The Uzumaki clan were Tsunade's relatives, after all.
His rescue was entirely justified—both emotionally and logically. Even the average civilian wouldn't be able to find fault with it.
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