In the Elder Council's secret chamber, the air was so tense it seemed one could wring water from it.
The intelligence Scroll in Grandma Chiyo's hand creaked as she clenched it tight. Anger twisted her aged face, the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes carved deep as blades.
"Chiyo Uchiha..."
She ground out the name through clenched teeth, her voice hoarse like sand scraping together.
"He defeated Iwagakure's two Jinchuriki all by himself?!"
"That's impossible!"
An Elder slammed his hand on the table and rose abruptly, the muscles in his face twitching with shock.
"Those are Jinchuriki! Even the Third Kazekage couldn't have fought two Tailed Beasts at once!"
"But that is the truth."
Rasa sat in the corner, golden grains of sand flowing silently between his fingers. His voice was calm to the point of cruelty.
"Rōshi and his fellow Iwagakure jinchuriki have already been driven back. The intelligence from the front cannot be false."
"Damn it!"
Another Elder smashed his fist against the table, overturning a teacup and splashing tea across the floor.
"We had originally planned to send Bunpuku to the battlefield, but now..."
Before he could finish, the entire room fell silent.
Sending their own Jinchuriki to face Chiyo Uchiha?
That would be no different from sending him to his death!
Grandma Chiyo took a deep breath, and a trace of exhaustion flashed through her clouded eyes.
"How is the situation at our front?"
"The defensive line held by Tsunade's forces is as solid as a rock."
An Anbu ninja stepped forward and dropped to one knee, his voice low.
"Our Puppet Force is being countered by the Aburame Clan's swarms of insects, while our Wind Release ninjutsu is being suppressed by the combined techniques of Hiruzen and the Shimuro Clan.
"Even more troublesome..."
He