Knock, knock.
Knock, knock.
The sound of Shinji lightly tapping the round table echoed not only through the mysterious, uncanny Naobi Space, but also in everyone's hearts.
Everyone seated around the table watched Shinji, waiting for his orders.
For children who were, on average, no more than ten years old, the complex situation in Grass Country had already become far too much for them to handle.
And the demons' bloodthirsty cruelty continued to shake them to their core.
The only person they could rely on now was the mysterious yet dependable leader seated at the head of the table!
Shinji paid no heed to what the others were thinking and continued to ponder in silence.
Once the number of players on the board had been reduced to four, he began sorting out their relationships and identifying every point he could exploit.
"I've been operating under the Akatsuki Organization's name all along. That must have misled the demons. That's why they impersonated the Akatsuki Organization and attacked the Five Great Shinobi Villages' ninjas, trying to use the villages to suppress me."
"But the demons don't know that I'm only impersonating the Akatsuki Organization, so they targeted the real Akatsuki Organization and later raided Amegakure."
"I shouldn't have exposed my identity during this time."
"Nagato is committed to deterring the Shinobi World single-handedly and bringing about lasting peace. There's no way he'd secretly make a deal with monsters like the demons."
"So the Akatsuki Organization and the demons should still be at odds."
With that, it made sense why the Akatsuki Organization had appeared in Grass Country. The demons' various actions against the Akatsuki Organization had forced them to respond.
That meant an opportunity had presented itself!
Because of Shinji's initial, casual misdirection, the mysterious Lantern Bearer from the Demon Slayer World