"This is absolutely outrageous! Why didn't you Anbu stop her?!" Utatane Koharu demanded indignantly, her wrinkled face filled with anxiety.
"My deepest apologies, Advisor!" the Anbu captain answered stiffly, his body still firmly blocking the corridor leading to the Hokage's office. "But Lord Hokage gave explicit, absolute orders: no matter what happens inside, no one is allowed to enter without his direct authorization!"
Mitokado Homura's gaze behind his lenses was grave and severe. He said in a low voice, "Enough, Koharu. There's no point arguing about this now. We need to get inside quickly. If anything really happens to Hiruzen in there, it'll be too late to undo it."
In the corridors of the Hokage Building, where earthquake-like tremors continued to rumble, Konoha's two senior advisors, Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu, were attempting to force their way past the Anbu blockade. Their faces bore obvious anger and worry.
As they spoke, the two moved to go around the Anbu captain and rush straight toward the Hokage's office, from which violent noises kept erupting. The Anbu captain groaned inwardly, but he had no choice but to move again and firmly block the two advisors.
"But, Advisors! Lord Hokage's orders were perfectly clear! Other than a direct summons from him personally, no one is permitted to enter!" His voice was resolute, though cold sweat had already soaked his forehead beneath his mask.
"Move aside!" Utatane Koharu said urgently. "As advisors, our duty is to carefully assess the Hokage's major decisions and prevent him from acting rashly out of personal feelings! Hiruzen's decision right now is far too emotional!"
Mitokado Homura nodded in agreement. "That's right. Konoha is in the postwar period now. The Hokage, as the village's leader, cannot afford any mishap! Not to mention that Jiraiya, the successor to the next