The Hokage Building's lounge.
Shinji sat quietly on a bench.
As captain of the Konoha Military Police Force, he wasn't qualified to enter the conference room and take part in the Kage Summit, but he was allowed to wait for news inside the Hokage Building.
Besides him, the elite jonin waiting in the lounge included Kakashi and Asuma, department heads like Shikaku Nara and Inoichi Yamanaka, and clan leaders from prominent families like Hyuga Hiashi and Kurama Murakumo.
Of course,
the high-ranking attendants who had come to Konoha with the other four Kage but weren't allowed into the conference room were waiting in the lounge as well.
"I wonder how the discussions inside are going!"
"Just wait. We should have an answer soon."
"I don't know why, but I've got a bad feeling."
"What happened to make the Akatsuki Organization turn on itself?"
"Are we really about to see another Shinobi World War?"
People in the lounge chatted in small groups, mostly discussing the ongoing Kage Summit and the current state of the Shinobi World.
Some murmured to themselves, as if praying for something, while others leaned back against the benches and rested with their eyes closed.
Watching them all, Shinji let out a quiet sigh.
He wondered how many of the shinobi before him would die in the coming war, and how many would be injured.
Then he pushed the thought aside.
This wasn't the time to let compassion get the better of him. If he couldn't revive the Ten-Tails and become its Jinchuriki as quickly as possible, he had no confidence he could defeat the Overlord.
And then it wouldn't just be the shinobi who suffered. All life in the Shinobi World would become the Overlord's food!
Just then, the conference room doors swung open, and the Five