In the woods at the edge of Konoha, the sound of thunder rumbled endlessly.
Within a large swath of the forest, trees had been felled and flames burned wildly.
After performing the final sword form of Breath of Lightning, Arima stood motionless in place.
Tormented for what felt like forever, Arima finally heard the heavenly voice he had longed for:
[Simulation of Thunder Breathing complete. All rewards have been distributed. System will now disengage control.]
As soon as Arima regained control of his body, he collapsed to the ground, curling up and trembling.
Pain.
Everywhere.
The pain was so overwhelming that he didn't even have the strength to cry out.
At that moment, he deeply regretted choosing the forest as the location when handing control over to the system.
Because now, he couldn't even move a single finger—and the area around him was engulfed in roaring flames.
If he didn't find a way to save himself, he was going to burn to death.
After lying there for a while, Arima began to feel increasingly hot.
His survival instinct finally kicked in and forced him to move.
Fortunately, the place he had chosen was near a small river. If he could crawl into the water, he'd be saved.
But his crawling was agonizingly slow. Arima could practically feel the fire licking at his back.
Just as he was about to reach the river, several figures dropped down in front of him.
Arima weakly raised his head, and the moment he saw who led them, his pupils contracted.
It was the Third Hokage—Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Arima had expected that someone from the village would come investigate the disturbance, but he hadn't anticipated that Hiruzen himself would show up.
Still, at least he was safe now. Everything else could wait.
As soon as the tension in his body released, Arima passed out.
Hiruzen Sarutobi looked down at him with a frown, confusion evident in his eyes.
The scene clearly pointed to an intense lightning-style jutsu.
And yet, there was only one person present—Arima. His hands showed the burns typical of someone who had used Lightning Release techniques.
But the sheer level of destruction here… even a seasoned chunin would struggle to pull it off.
Could a mere academy student like Arima really have caused all this?
Hiruzen found it hard to believe.
His opinion of Arima wasn't exactly bad—more neutral than anything.
Though Arima's parents had once defected from Konoha, it wasn't truly a betrayal. It was more like an elopement.
Their conflict had been with the Uchiha clan, not with the village itself.
But the Uchiha clan never acknowledged Arima, and the villagers had projected their resentment toward the Uchiha onto him.
Tensions between the villagers and the Uchiha clan were escalating, nearing a point of no return.
And with the current state of the ninja world far less peaceful than it seemed—war could break out at any moment—Konoha still needed the Uchiha clan's strength.
Therefore, Hiruzen couldn't afford to take direct action against the Uchiha for now.
Caught between the villagers and the Uchiha, Hiruzen had simply chosen to ignore Arima's existence.
Now, he couldn't be completely certain that this level of destruction was Arima's doing—but if it was, then he would have to reassess Arima's value entirely.
He narrowed his eyes at the unconscious boy.
Konoha had very few lightning-style ninja. If this devastation was indeed Arima's doing, it meant he had mastered an extremely powerful Lightning Release technique.
Since he hadn't left the village since returning with his mother, he must have acquired this jutsu outside the village.
If such a technique could be taught to other lightning-style users, it would greatly bolster Konoha's strength.
Hiruzen gave an order to the ANBU beside him:
"Extinguish the flames and take him to the ninja hospital for treatment."
At his command, one of the ANBU used a Water Release jutsu to douse the fires, while another carried Arima off toward the hospital.
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At Uzumaki Mito's Residence
Kushina, rejected by Arima, returned to Mito's home in a daze.
Since her arrival in Konoha, Kushina had been living with Uzumaki Mito.
When Mito saw her return, she smiled and asked, "Kushina, how was your first day at the Academy? Everything go smoothly?"
Kushina pouted and whimpered, "Grandma Mito…"
Seeing her so distressed, Mito went over and scooped her into a hug, sitting with her on the tatami.
"What happened?" she asked gently.
Kushina recounted how she was teased and called "Tomato" by her classmates, how she beat them up in retaliation, and how she had tried to befriend Arima—only to be rejected.
"Arima, huh…" Mito murmured to herself.
Kushina tilted her head curiously. "Grandma Mito, do you know Arima?"
"I've heard of him," Mito replied, her voice slightly heavy.
Of course she knew him.
Arima's father was from the Senju clan—the same clan as her husband, Hashirama Senju.
But ever since Konoha's founding, Hashirama had disbanded the Senju clan, encouraging its members to marry into the village and live among the general populace. The Senju name had since faded into obscurity.
When Arima's parents defected, Mito had even pleaded with Hiruzen on their behalf.
But to no avail—because Arima's mother was from the Uchiha clan.
As Konoha's most powerful clan, the Uchiha had to be treated with respect—even by the Hokage.
Later, when Arima returned to the village, Mito had offered to adopt him.
But Hiruzen refused, citing both Mito and Arima's complicated statuses.
Arima's parents were missing-nin and outcasts even within the Uchiha. Meanwhile, Mito, as the First Hokage's wife, wasn't deemed suitable to adopt such a child.
Back then, Mito had lamented how Hiruzen had changed since taking office.
She gently stroked Kushina's hair and asked, "Do you know why Arima didn't want to be your friend?"
Kushina looked down sadly and mumbled, "He said, 'I'm isolated by the whole village. If you become my friend, you might get isolated too.' Then he told me to change seats when I go back to class… and left."
Mito's eyes flickered.
"Isolated by the whole village, huh… Sigh. Hiruzen, Arima didn't do anything wrong."
She let out a long, heavy sigh, her heart aching for the boy's situation.
But there was little she could do now. She couldn't change his fate.
As she looked at the unhappy Kushina, Uzumaki Mito fell deep into thought.
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