Using war as a threat, are we?
But your conditions...
Sarutobi regained his calm.
He had indeed wanted to use the Hidden Cloud Village as leverage to pressure the Senju clan. But that didn't mean he'd tolerate someone stomping on his authority.
The Raikage had just destroyed part of his Hokage office. The fact that Sarutobi hadn't ordered the ANBU to surround him on the spot—that was already showing a lot of restraint.
Still, some of the Raikage's demands... weren't entirely unusable.
Hand over Orochimaru? Hand over Senju Yukika?
Return the Two-Tails Jinchūriki and even allow the Raikage to personally pick someone?
Among all of Konoha's Jinchūriki, only Kushina Uzumaki stood out as truly elite.
It seemed the Raikage was aware that one of the last surviving members of the Uzumaki clan was hiding in Konoha after their downfall.
Putting all these pieces together, even Sarutobi could guess exactly who the Raikage intended to pick.
Each of those demands could be used to his advantage.
He could even push Senju Yukika—the rising prodigy—into the public spotlight of the village, forcing the Senju clan to bear the weight of it all, ultimately achieving his long-term goal of suppressing their influence.
But one thing still didn't make sense to Sarutobi.
"Raikage-sama," he said, "may I ask you one question?"
Ignoring the Raikage's domineering presence, the Third Hokage straightened his back.
At this moment, he wasn't yet the tired, hollow man who would one day resign under pressure, his ambition and resolve all but gone.
"What question?" the Raikage asked coolly.
"You say the Eight-Tails went berserk. You say the Two-Tails Jinchūriki disappeared. And you claim these are all Konoha's doing."
"What proof do you have?"
Sarutobi's gaze sharpened.
The aura of a Kage began to rise around him once more.
This was his office—and if anyone was going to act superior here, it would be him.
Even if Konoha had done those things, without evidence it was nothing more than baseless accusation.
Never underestimate Sarutobi Hiruzen's shamelessness. If the Raikage couldn't produce proof, he'd spin the whole situation around and give the Hidden Cloud a lesson in diplomacy.
Even if the Two-Tails was hiding in Konoha right now—he could still keep everything airtight.
Never underestimate a politician.
In a politician's eyes, everyone else is just a pawn on the board.
"Proof?" the Raikage sneered.
He reached slowly into his robes and pulled out a hunk of iron.
At a glance, Sarutobi froze.
That was...
A Konoha forehead protector!
"This is your proof!" the Raikage declared. "It was found right outside the Hidden Cloud's intelligence center! What do you have to say for yourself now?!"
A forehead protector...
Found right outside their intel center?
Sarutobi's mouth twitched involuntarily, and his eyes darted toward Yukika.
No wonder.
No wonder the kid hadn't been killed or captured by the Raikage.
He never even went in.
He'd just lingered outside for a while—and then deliberately left behind a Konoha headband?!
What a cunning move.
It was like he'd known Danzo's trap was coming all along—and flipped the whole thing around!
Sarutobi flipped over the headband to examine the inside.
The engraving was clear.
A shinobi number.
During the war, countless shinobi died on the battlefield, and those who left behind a full corpse were considered lucky.
But this number… was undeniable proof of identity.
888888.
Six eights.
A unique serial number within Konoha's entire registry—there was only one person it belonged to.
Senju Yukika.
You've outmaneuvered me again, boy.
Sarutobi gritted his teeth, eyes burning with quiet fury as he stared straight at Yukika.
Being manipulated wasn't the issue.
What made this truly infuriating was the fact that, despite knowing the headband was Yukika's, Sarutobi still had to clean up his mess—and publicly deny that the headband even belonged to Konoha.
Otherwise, there was no calming the Raikage down now.