Rope Tree's hand trembled around his kunai. His gaze shifted between the villagers cowering in fear and Senior Sakumo's cold stare. His voice was full of confusion and disbelief. "How is this possible? What exactly is wrong? I don't understand!"
Liuxia walked over and gently took the kunai from Rope Tree's hand. Determination and wisdom shone in his eyes. "At first, I thought it was strange too. But the captain's actions made me realize that something really was wrong. After thinking it through carefully, I found the biggest flaw." He pointed at the survivors, his voice calm yet powerful. "Look. There isn't a single child among them. That's impossible for a village."
Rope Tree and Hyuga Suzuran looked closely. Just as Liuxia had said, there were only adults—not a single child. Rope Tree wore a conflicted expression, while Hyuga Suzuran gazed at Liuxia with admiration, her eyes shining with appreciation for his keen insight.
Uchiha Yan clenched his fists nearby, his heart filled with frustration and self-reproach. "Damn it. Why didn't I notice anything? I have the Sharingan—my insight should be better than his."
Hatake Sakumo looked at Liuxia, satisfaction and approval in his eyes. "Liuxia, you observed things carefully. Go on." He encouraged Liuxia to continue explaining his reasoning.
Liuxia took a deep breath. His voice was clear and resolute. "There's only one truth! They really are survivors of the Sand Ninja's attack, but Sunagakure took the village's children and threatened them into leading us into a trap."
The old man's voice trembled, but he stood firm. He pushed past the survivors gathered around him and bravely stepped forward to face the Konoha shinobi.
His face was etched with the marks of age, and his eyes shone with helplessness and pleading. "The young shinobi is right. But I was