With no hesitation, he raised a hand and pointed directly at the Third Raikage.
"I am here to formally accuse the Third Raikage of harboring malicious intent—he dared to send his men to attack the Senju clan compound!"
Are you out of your damn mind?!
Sarutobi's eyes widened in disbelief as he stared at Yukika.
Did this kid even realize what he was saying?
The Third Raikage had come to Konoha—whatever his true motives may be—at least on the surface, it was seen as a respectful diplomatic move, a Kage-to-Kage visit.
Whether for negotiations or alliance talks, his presence signaled to the rest of the shinobi world that Konoha and the Hidden Cloud might be working together.
But if Yukika's accusation were to spread, that signal would flip in an instant—it would look like the Raikage came to Konoha to declare war.
And then, the pressure from the outside world would come crashing down like a tidal wave.
As Sarutobi stared at the bold young man who had just shaken the entire room with his words, the Third Raikage's eyes glimmered with a strange light—appreciation.
Was he angry?
No. There was no need.
He simply found it remarkable that the Senju clan had produced such a promising young leader.
If Senju Yukika was here, that meant his men had already been dealt with. Their mission was complete.
But that also meant…
His next move was now compromised.
The reason was simple.
His original plan was to have those two subordinates of his die during their covert operation.
At the same time, he would appear in the Hokage's office to ask Sarutobi for help locating his missing men.
And naturally—what they would find… would be bodies.
Then, using the deaths as a bargaining chip—be it to pressure or to negotiate—he would force Konoha into a corner. It was a perfect setup.
Of course, there was another possible outcome.
That Konoha's security was so poor that his men succeeded in capturing Uzumaki Kushina. That would be an even bigger win.
Either way, the Raikage planned to leverage the situation to his advantage and corner Konoha into submission.
But now—
Everything had changed.
Senju Yukika didn't react like most other clans in the village would have—keeping quiet, letting it go, minimizing the damage.
Instead, he had marched straight into the Hokage's office, flipped the entire situation, and used the Hokage's authority to turn the pressure back on the Raikage.
It was clear from this alone: this young man had seen right through the first two steps of the Raikage's plan—and had seized the initiative.
The Senju clan…
Could they truly still be fading away?
The Raikage understood the implications instantly. Meanwhile, Sarutobi began frantically shooting glances at Yukika, trying to signal him to stop.
He wasn't an idiot.
The Raikage had come to him asking for help finding his missing men… and now Yukika was accusing him of sending attackers to the Senju compound.
It was obvious. Those "missing" shinobi were now corpses. Probably already killed.
Sarutobi knew Yukika would never take the hint—he never listened to him anyway—but he still tried to stop the clash that was clearly about to erupt.
Unfortunately—
Yukika pretended not to notice Sarutobi's subtle looks. He simply turned toward the door and called out:
"Bring them in!"
The next moment, several retainers of the Senju clan entered the Hokage's office, struggling as they carried several corpses wrapped in cloth.
Without any ceremony or hesitation, Yukika stepped forward and yanked the covering away in front of both Sarutobi and the Raikage.
The bodies were mangled, blown to bits beyond recognition. The Raikage instinctively clenched his fists.
"Undeniable evidence! What else do you have to say?!"
"Undeniable evidence! What else do you have to say?!"
Both voices rang out at once—Yukika and the Raikage. Shouting the exact same words in perfect sync.
"Please, Hokage-sama, I ask for your judgment!"
"Hokage, I demand an explanation!"
Again, the two turned to Sarutobi in unison, as if perfectly choreographed, tossing all the pressure, all the burden—directly into his lap.
Sarutobi sat in his chair, took a long, defeated drag from his pipe, and let out a weary sigh.
He was completely, utterly… lost.