The representatives of the minor nations' ninja villages in the observers' seats stared at the scene, utterly dumbfounded.
Before coming, they had expected a heated conference, but none had imagined it would grow this explosive.
Some had even assumed that although Konoha, the conference's organizer, was the foremost of the Five Great Ninja Villages, its position as host would oblige it to treat its invited guests with restraint and courtesy, putting harmony first.
It might even concede minor points and accept small losses to secure a Humanitarian Convention as quickly as possible.
Instead, Higashino Shinichi, Konoha's representative, had spoken three times, each time more forcefully than the last, before outright declaring Unrestricted War.
Such a scene was simply unheard of. Never in their lives had they stood at the center of such a tremendous storm.
Some even secretly felt that, should they happen to die on the journey home, witnessing today's spectacle would still have made it worthwhile.
The invited newspaper reporters also quickly recovered from their initial shock. Camera flashes fired incessantly, and they nearly burst with excitement.
For reporters, personally witnessing an event destined for the history books was an unimaginable stroke of luck. They were already drafting headlines in their heads.
"Conference Collapses! Konoha Unilaterally Declares Unrestricted War!" "No Limits Left in the Shinobi World! The Five-Village Conference's Collapse:
The Full Story," "Higashino Shinichi: I Will Bear Every Sin and Every Curse!" And so on...
Once published, the papers would surely sell out, perhaps even unleashing an unprecedented storm of public opinion across the Shinobi World.
After their initial shock, both the observing representatives and the reporters turned their eyes toward the delegations of the other four great ninja villages, curious how they would respond to Higashino Shinichi's earth-shattering declaration of Unrestricted War.
Would they accept his