Konoha, Hokage Office.
Shimura Danzō sat on a sofa to one side, holding a neatly organized briefing as he turned its pages at an unhurried pace.
After the battle in the Land of Lightning, this dark ninja who had lurked in Konoha's shadows for many years, the leader of Root, seemed finally to have remembered that he also held the position of Hokage advisor.
By coincidence, Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura were both away commanding troops. The gap left in the Hokage Building's daily operations was quietly filled by Danzō. He gradually stepped out of the shadows and into the open, taking on the role of aide and advisor.
The ninjas and staff of every rank now coming and going through the Hokage Building had slowly gone from surprise to familiarity at the frequent appearances of this advisor elder, who had once rarely shown his face.
"The preparations on the Society's side are nearly complete."
Shimura Danzō turned another page of the briefing and spoke evenly. "Not only has the Daimyo sent a formal notice saying he will personally dispatch Elder Zongzheng to attend the ceremony, but the ninja villages of the surrounding smaller countries have also begun moving at the news. Waterfall Village, Grass Village, and Hot Springs Village have all sent representatives. Even that old fossil Hanzo can no longer sit still. He says he'll send someone to witness the Society's founding."
Although the Shinobi World War was still raging, with the great nations fighting one another into a mess, the ninja villages of the smaller nations caught in the cracks had always adhered to an unshakable rule of survival.
Offend no one, and side with no one.
Even if the great nations turned their lands into battlefields and slaughtered one another across their territory, the official stance