While Arata was still reeling from shock, his perception itself began to change.
In the past, even after combining the Mind Met with Observation Haki, he had only been able to sense chakra, and even then only within relatively broad ranges.
But now—
Within the air itself, he could perceive a pale green energy.
In his senses, that energy was astonishingly pure.
Though it looked like faint wisps of smoke—so thin it seemed ready to dissipate at any moment—every single trace of it contained several times more power than chakra.
Suddenly, through this newly enhanced perception, Arata discovered the true source of his sudden surge in strength.
It was the corpse of the Monkey Sage lying on the ground.
To the naked eye, the ape was simply dead—its body split apart, blood continuing to pour out. Nothing more.
But in Arata's perception, streams of pale green energy were constantly rising from the corpse and drifting into the sky.
Most of it returned directly to nature.
Yet a small portion was being completely absorbed by Arata, slowly drifting toward him.
Seeing this, Arata immediately thought of natural energy.
Perhaps the highest-grade energy in the entire shinobi world was natural energy itself.
Hadn't people always said that his body was filled with natural energy?
Maybe this was the true origin of his Rumble-Rumble ability.
After the System's modification, perhaps his power had become something akin to a Divine Tree Fruit.
Otherwise, how could he possibly possess such terrifying absorption efficiency toward natural energy?
At this point, Arata felt less like a human—
And more like a walking Ten-Tails.
Only the Ten-Tails—the incarnation of the Divine Tree—could manipulate natural energy to this degree.
After all, the Divine Tree itself was born from absorbing the world's natural energy, and its fruit was nothing less than condensed natural energy.
With that realization, a vague conclusion formed in Arata's mind.
Perhaps it was precisely because of his Rumble-Rumble ability that the Monkey Sage had harbored such hatred toward him.
After all—
The moment the Sage died, Arata absorbed a massive amount of natural energy.
If Arata had died instead, wouldn't the natural energy within him have dispersed the same way—either returning to nature or being absorbed by other summoned beasts?
That question, unfortunately, could no longer be answered by the now-dead Monkey Sage.
Arata could only resolve to visit one of the summoned beast sanctuaries someday and uncover the truth for himself.
Once all the natural energy had fully dissipated from the Sage's corpse, a plume of white mist rose from the body—
And the corpse vanished completely.
Arata immediately understood.
The summoning contract had taken effect.
Carefully sensing his own condition, Arata realized that his strength had surged yet again.
Pure taijutsu alone had already reached mid-Super-Kage level.
As for his Devil Fruit—
It had fully awakened.
From now on, he could directly convert surrounding matter into lightning, freely control any lightning-based jutsu he encountered, and even manipulate weather itself.
With a single thought, he could create thunderstorms.
That alone elevated his actual combat strength to the Super-Kage peak.
As for Six Paths level, Arata had never faced such an opponent before, so he couldn't accurately judge the gap.
But even so—
He doubted he'd be utterly helpless.
After all, with his fruit awakening, his speed had increased once more.
This time, it truly became the fastest in the shinobi world, approaching the level of space-time movement.
And let's not forget—
Arata already possessed Kamui.
If both abilities were combined, his speed would likely surpass even Minato Namikaze's Flying Thunder God.
Just as Arata was absorbing the shock of his own growth, the System's notification rang out.
[Ding! Objective completed: Gaining Uzumaki Mito's recognition]
[Reward: Thousand-Year Lifespan Pill ×1 bottle]
Turning to look at Uzumaki Mito, Arata saw it clearly—
Her gaze toward him was now filled with unmistakable admiration.
Given her sensory abilities, she had likely already noticed that Arata's realm had climbed to late-stage Super-Kage.
With Mito still present, Arata didn't dare check the reward immediately.
Instead, he walked over to her and said calmly:
"I'll take care of the Uzumaki clan's situation. You should rest here."
Mito instantly understood—
Arata had agreed to personally rescue the Uzumaki clan.
Konoha shinobi were notorious for disliking the Uzumaki. Only a tiny few didn't discriminate—and even fewer were willing to accept them.
Yet Arata was prepared to face twenty thousand allied troops and five Kage-level opponents for their sake.
Deeply moved, the now fully approving Uzumaki Mito said:
"Thank you, Arata. Tsunade has good judgment—you'll be a fine husband."
Arata was overjoyed.
Looks like once he returned, he could proceed straight to a wedding, not just an engagement.
This time, Tsunade wouldn't have any excuses left.
Seeing that Mito's chakra was nearly exhausted, Arata didn't press further. With her pure Uzumaki bloodline and strength, recovery wouldn't take long, and resting here posed no real danger.
However—
Arata's perception caught something else.
Sarutobi Hiruzen was retreating.
With his subordinates, he was fleeing rapidly toward Konoha.
Clearly, another model student of "cut losses and run".
The moment the Monkey Sage was slain, the old fox turned tail immediately—no trace left of the man who had just been ready to kill Uzumaki Mito.
For Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Monkey Sage had been his greatest trump card—the foundation of the Sarutobi clan's rise.
Back in the Warring States Period, the Sarutobi clan had relied not only on their mastery of the Five Elements, but also on the taijutsu doctrines of the Monkey Clan.
And the Monkey Sage itself was practically divine.
Against someone like Hiruzen, the Sage could've ended things with a flick of a finger.
Yet now—
That same Sage had been cleaved in half by Arata.
How could Hiruzen possibly accept that?
Aside from the Third Raikage, no one had been more shocked than him.
But reality didn't lie.
Once he realized his backing was gone, Hiruzen didn't hesitate—he sold out the battlefield and ran.
With only mid-stage Kage-level strength, trying to confront Arata and Uzumaki Mito now would've been suicide.
As for settling accounts later?
That was no longer within his control.
At this point, Hiruzen had completely abandoned any hope of ruling the Land of Fire.
Two Super Kage-level monsters working together—
And he didn't even have a single reliable ally left.
What was he supposed to do—challenge Arata with Sakumo Hatake and Danzō alone?
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