The Nine-Tails had seen the world, so its shock wasn't because Arata killed people—it was because Arata had actually killed the Hokage.
In the Nine-Tails' understanding, that was something Arata shouldn't have done.
But after a moment's thought, it realized that when Uzumaki Mito was still alive, she and Arata had more than once discussed dealing with Hiruzen. Today was simply the day Arata carried out that plan.
As for Arata himself, the Nine-Tails still resented him—but compared to how Hiruzen had treated Mito over the years, Arata had at least found it a decent host.
Of course, Arata hadn't treated the Nine-Tails gently either. It could only hope that if Arata became Hokage, he might improve its "living conditions."
Even sealed inside a jinchūriki, the Nine-Tails disliked dwelling in dark, damp spaces all the time.
Still, judging from how Arata treated Kushina, the next Nine-Tails jinchūriki, he seemed quite protective of the girl. That suggested the Nine-Tails' future days might be a bit more comfortable.
More importantly, after witnessing Hiruzen's actions from within Mito over the years, the Nine-Tails had grown deeply disgusted with the old man.
A person who could harm his teacher's clan and imprison his teacher's wife like that—people like him were exactly the kind who slowly turned the Nine-Tails from naive to hateful. It was humans like this who transformed its early fondness for humanity into pure resentment.
After watching Arata transfer the ANBU and Hiruzen's heads away, the Nine-Tails murmured softly:
"I hope you turn out better than Hiruzen… Who knows when that old Sage of Six Paths' so-called savior will appear…"
After saying that, it closed its eyes again to rest.
Once Arata finished staging the scene, he vanished again and headed toward the Land of Rain.
Although he had dealt with Hiruzen and Danzō, the fallout would take time to spread. He also couldn't be the one to "discover" it—that would look too deliberate.
The discoverers couldn't be Arata or his subordinates. It would have to be border patrol units finding the bodies naturally.
But since this was no longer an active battlefield, few troops remained nearby. It might take a day or two before anyone discovered the corpses.
The border outpost had already suffered many casualties and was short-handed. Most of its resources were focused on treating the wounded.
This only highlighted how important Tsunade's proposed medical system was.
If every squad had at least one medical ninja, wounded soldiers could be treated on-site instead of being transported back and forth for centralized care.
Centralized treatment was risky—if the enemy struck the facility, all the wounded could die instantly. Though such places had defenses, they were usually limited. Enemies often avoided attacking simply because they didn't know the hidden sentries.
Even so, the danger remained high.
Arata knew that after this war, Tsunade's medical system would likely be approved. When that happened, she would gain enormous prestige in the village.
...
While traveling, Arata noticed that some units on the main battlefield had already begun assigning one medical ninja per team following Tsunade's method.
That was one reason Konoha—despite having only half the enemy's manpower—had managed to hold out this long without collapsing.
It seemed Arata had underestimated Tsunade. She had already begun implementing her plans during the fighting.
Most likely Danzō, pressured by manpower shortages, had reluctantly agreed. Still, Konoha didn't have many medical ninja yet, so the effect was limited.
If the system were fully implemented, casualties would drop further and the number of active combatants could increase significantly.
Konoha had sent just over 7,000 ninja to the Land of Rain, yet with partial medical reforms they had held off an assault of over 15,000 enemies. That showed how powerful logistical support could be.
Everywhere Arata passed in the Land of Rain, Konoha ninja showed great respect for Tsunade.
Besides praising her system, many also prayed that Tsunade and the other two would be safe.
The reason was simple:
Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru—the three who would later be known as the Legendary Sannin—had drawn the attention of Hanzō of the Salamander because of their performance.
Rumor said the four had been fighting near Tajima Lake dozens of kilometers away. The battle had lasted nearly two days without a winner.
Other Konoha ninja who initially joined were quickly incapacitated by Hanzo's poison gas.
Since most ninja couldn't counter the toxin, reinforcements hesitated to approach. Still, the Sannin were no pushovers, so the fight dragged on without resolution.
Meanwhile, Konoha still had more manpower overall than Amegakure.
Although Hanzō alone was tying down three elite jōnin-level fighters, Amegakure's main force couldn't ignore the poison either. They stayed on the outskirts and clashed with other Konoha units instead.
Hanzō was powerful—hence his reputation—but that didn't mean Amegakure as a whole could truly compete with the Land of Fire, the strongest nation in the shinobi world.
The Konoha ninja here were elites from major clans. Against them, Amegakure's forces showed signs of defeat after just one day.
It likely wouldn't be long before Konoha cleared the enemy around Tajima Lake. Even if Hanzo defeated the Sannin, he'd end up surrounded by multiple Konoha ninja.
What puzzled Arata was this:
Konoha and Amegakure were already fully engaged and tied down here. So why were Sunagakure and Iwagakure completely inactive?
Those two villages weren't true allies of Amegakure. Even if there were secret dealings, this was the perfect chance to strike a weakened opponent.
Arata didn't believe the crafty old woman of Sunagakure or the sly fox Ōnoki would let such an opportunity slip by.