No matter what, yesterday had gone too far!
Accompanied by the patter of rain, Iwama woke from his sleep. Slowly opening his eyes, he sat up in bed. After glancing at the somewhat messy tabletop, he rubbed his aching head, a thought passing through his mind.
Last night, he had originally intended to get some proper rest, but in the end, he could not refuse that highly respected elder's invitation. He had played chess with him for the entire night. And that old man was the particularly serious type when it came to chess—serious enough that there could be no half-heartedness. Every game had to be played with full effort. Winning or losing did not matter, but the game itself had to be taken seriously.
After all, that elder was the person he respected most, almost as much as Lord Third Tsuchikage. To make the elder happy, he had truly racked his brains through dozens of games with him yesterday, all the way until late at night.
Perhaps those dozens of games yesterday had drained too much mental energy. Not only had he slept until nearly ten o'clock, but his head still throbbed faintly.
Still, there was no need to be too nervous now.
Konoha was at a disadvantage, and their own advantage would continue to expand as time passed, until it crushed the last vestiges of Konoha's defensive capabilities.
By then, Konoha's gates would stand open to them.
For now, it was good to take things a little easier.
Stretching lazily, Iwama got out of bed at an unhurried pace. After dressing simply, he began organizing the documents on the table.
To him, sleeping in or having a headache from playing chess the day before was nothing now. Konoha had already shown signs of being unable to hold on.