Sarutobi Hiruzen's meaning was obvious.
The Uzumaki clan had only just joined Konoha, and their loyalty had yet to be proven. Under no circumstances could Kushina be allowed to become the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki.
Of course, this was nothing more than an excuse.
If Kushina had arrived in Konoha and been taken in directly by Hiruzen himself, he would have been more than satisfied.
After all, what he excelled at most was indoctrinating children—convincing them that they were "inheritors of the Will of Fire."
Unfortunately for him, Arata had beaten him to it.
And so Hiruzen could only scramble to replace the candidate.
That said, his reasoning did carry a certain logic.
In the original course of events, the Uzumaki clan had been completely annihilated. Kushina had been nothing more than a lone survivor, and thus making her the jinchūriki had posed no issue.
She hadn't known that Konoha had indirectly played a role in the clan's destruction.
Even after becoming the jinchūriki, she wouldn't have harbored hostility toward Konoha. With no clan left to rely on, she could only become a tool of the Hokage—and, lacking any real care or guidance, might even have come to regard Sarutobi as family.
But the current situation was entirely different.
No matter what Hiruzen's original intentions had been, the moment he chose to destroy the Uzumaki clan, he had already crossed the line.
There was no reason left to allow an Uzumaki to become the jinchūriki.
Because under these circumstances, he could no longer guarantee that Kushina wouldn't eventually rebel.
Moreover, the Uzumaki clan had not been wiped out.
Kushina still had a powerful backing.
If this continued, the Uzumaki could one day grow into a force no weaker than the Uchiha clan.
And when that happened, they would become a serious problem—for the Hokage and for Konoha as a whole.
After hearing Hiruzen's words, Uzumaki Yūki found himself momentarily at a loss for how to argue back.
These were, after all, objective concerns.
No village could truly place complete trust in a newly joined clan. Even if their positions were reversed, he himself would have his doubts.
Arata understood the old man's thinking as well, yet for the moment, he couldn't immediately refute it.
Because Hiruzen's argument did make sense.
The Nine-Tails' power was far too great to be entrusted lightly—especially to someone who might harbor resentment toward the village.
He certainly couldn't just say outright that he had already raised Kushina's favorability to ninety, and that even if ordered to kill the person closest to her, she would obey without hesitation.
No one would believe something like that.
And more importantly, it was one of Arata's trump cards—something he would never reveal unless absolutely necessary.
Seeing both of them fall silent, Hiruzen immediately smiled and said:
"If Kushina cannot serve, then I already have a suitable candidate. Let Sarutobi Naoki take the role instead. Though he is only ten years old, he already possesses the strength of an elite chūnin. His future potential is limitless!"
As expected, Hiruzen seized the opportunity and pushed one of his own clan members forward.
It was clear that he had already made up his mind to bring the Nine-Tails firmly under his own faction's control.
Arata had never heard of Sarutobi Naoki before, but from the name alone, it was obvious that he was a rising star of the Sarutobi clan.
At ten years old, possessing elite chūnin strength was indeed impressive.
Strictly speaking, the jinchūriki did not have to be of Uzumaki blood—Arata knew this well.
And the Sarutobi clan, after all, was a great clan that had existed since the Warring States Period.
Though their bloodline wasn't comparable to the Uzumaki, Senju, or Uchiha, they still possessed five chakra natures and a respectable chakra reserve.
Under such circumstances, becoming a jinchūriki was far more suitable than entrusting the role to someone of inferior lineage, like those in the Land of Lightning.
Arata also knew that he had to speak now.
Otherwise, the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki would be seized outright by Hiruzen.
With his expression unchanged, Arata said calmly:
"Since the jinchūriki candidate has already been decided, it cannot be changed at will. Besides, sealing the Nine-Tails still requires Uzumaki sealing techniques. Or does the Hokage intend to perform the sealing himself?"
This was a perfect counter.
The jinchūriki didn't necessarily need to be an Uzumaki—but sealing the Nine-Tails absolutely required Uzumaki fūinjutsu.
Even among all of Konoha's shinobi, no one else possessed a sealing technique capable of handling the Nine-Tails.
At present, the Uzumaki clan's sealing techniques had not yet been handed over.
Even Hiruzen's own arsenal contained nothing more than the Four Symbols Seal—a jutsu that might be effective against powerful enemies, but was useless for sealing the Nine-Tails.
That seal would simply lock the Nine-Tails' chakra inside a corpse, making it impossible to create a jinchūriki at all.
Sure enough, Hiruzen's brows immediately furrowed.
He had overlooked this point.
Subconsciously, he had assumed that once he gave the order, the Uzumaki clan would naturally cooperate with the sealing.
But they had just joined Konoha—and he had already excluded Kushina from the jinchūriki selection.
If he tried to force the issue now, it would almost certainly provoke an uprising within the Uzumaki clan.
At that point, they definitely wouldn't help him seal the Nine-Tails.
As for doing it himself—that was simply impossible.
He wasn't a sealing specialist.
Back when he obtained the Four Symbols Seal, he had studied it for a long time, only to achieve mediocre results.
And once used, the jutsu guaranteed the user's death.
He wasn't done living yet—there was no chance he would attempt it.
After a moment of thought, Hiruzen tested the waters:
"If the Uzumaki clan were asked to assist with sealing the Nine-Tails, I imagine Clan Head Uzumaki Yūki would be willing, correct? After all, I am the Hokage. Surely you wouldn't disobey the Hokage's order?"
Though phrased indirectly, the threat was unmistakable.
One wrong answer, and the Uzumaki clan would immediately be charged with insubordination.
If Yūki had been alone, he might have agreed out of fear for his clan's safety.
But he hadn't forgotten—
Standing behind him was Arata.
A peak Super-Kage–level monster, one of the strongest beings in the shinobi world.
With such backing, there was no need to panic.
Maintaining a calm and respectful tone, Uzumaki Yūki replied:
"I would never dare disobey the Hokage's orders. However, Arata-sama is also the ANBU Vice-Captain and has the authority to issue direct commands to the Uzumaki clan. In this situation… I truly don't know whose order I should follow."
Arata was quite satisfied with this response.
Seizing the moment while Hiruzen hesitated, he stepped forward and delivered the final blow.
"In that case, let it be Kushina. The dead deserve respect. Mito-hime personally chose that child—does the Hokage not take his own shishō's wife's decision seriously?"
The moment those words fell, Hiruzen's body visibly trembled.
He knew he had lost.
Arata had invoked the status of shishō's wife.
If he continued to argue, the story would spread through Konoha by the next morning.
And that was something he absolutely could not afford.
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