Blood sprayed everywhere as the enemies before him fell.
From outside the village, countless Senju clan ninjas charged in. Yukika knew then—the battle was already over. Once again, just like before, the Senju clan had triumphed.
"Weird how your team is always headed in the right direction," Tsunade said, helping Orochimaru tidy the battlefield. Nearby, White Fang—now fully recovered—looked at Yukika with a mix of surprise and admiration, giving a thumbs-up.
"Direction, huh..." Yukika shook his head lightly.
His sensory nerves had already been upgraded to an advanced level. From his perspective, it allowed him to filter out powerful enemies and slowly eat away at enemy forces. It was a detection technique even more advanced than the Byakugan or Kagura's Mind Eye. No enemy could hide from him.
If he could predict the enemy every time and still not win, then he really would be worse than Danzo.
"Everything's been tallied. Identity confirmed," Tsunade said as she walked up, her young face smudged with blood and still brimming with excitement.
"The ones posing as corpses were Iwagakure shinobi. Over five hundred dead. And the Amegakure ninja who came to investigate were completely wiped out—over three hundred casualties."
Yukika remained calm and reached out to wipe the grime off Tsunade's face.
"Nearly a thousand eliminated, huh? What about our losses?"
There's no avoiding death in war—even when Yukika led the Senju personally.
"Twenty-eight dead, seventy-nine injured," Tsunade replied, her expression falling slightly with a hint of sorrow.
But the moment of sadness was brief. She looked at Yukika with encouragement. "If it weren't for you, there'd be more dead. The price we paid was already minimal."
Yukika understood. After all, under Danzo's so-called "brilliant" command, the missions given to the Senju clan had always been outrageous. It was like Danzo wished the entire Senju line would die off. That malice was no longer subtle—it was something every Senju ninja could feel.
And now, the clan's mindset was shifting. They had begun asking why Danzo was targeting them so intensely, and how he even had the nerve to betray his own.
Tsunade wasn't just being polite. Without Yukika's leadership and power, the Senju clan might've truly been ruined by now.
But Yukika wasn't focused on that. The change in mindset was expected. Soon, he'd have subordinates with fully transformed beliefs—loyal allies ready to oppose the village's corrupt upper ranks.
Still, every Senju death was one too many. And their enemies seemed to be endless. It was time to accelerate his plan to transform the clan.
"Let's go. Back to camp."
...
Konoha Camp.
As soon as they saw the familiar figures return, the shinobi at camp instinctively showed their respect to Yukika and the Senju clan.
In just a month, the Senju had shown everyone what true strength in the ninja world looked like. No matter the mission, no matter the enemy—if the Senju came back, it meant they'd won again.
Danzo, in contrast…
His madness had led to reckless attacks. And without the ability to strategize, all he could do was lead his squads straight into disaster.
In that month, Yukika had led the Senju through battle after battle, each time achieving great results. His prestige grew steadily, and people no longer forgot who the clan's leader was.
Whispers began to circle—he reminded them of the First Hokage himself. Conversations about the Senju's accomplishments became the norm.
Meanwhile, Danzo's month could only be described as a series of humiliating defeats. Everyone who followed him suffered.
Without a contrast, no one notices. But when the shinobi began comparing the two...
Unexpected things began to happen.
For example
"Please, Lord Yukika, take up the position of Supreme Commander! I'm willing to gather my comrades and formally petition the Hokage!"
A Konoha ninja, earnest and sincere, approached and knelt before Yukika.
Yukika smiled.
Everything…
Was going exactly as planned.