After nightfall, the air in the council chamber had dropped to a lower temperature than during the day. The dark-gold formula patterns on the walls appeared gentler beneath the light of the illumination formulas. Layers of light spread across the stone surfaces, naturally curving around the corners. Five people sat around the round table, each with record scrolls laid out before them. Some scrolls had already been closed, their edges curling slightly, while others remained open, their pages displaying pale lines of text in the faint glow of formula projections.
Tobirama's formula projection floated above the center of the table, displaying a set of organized energy-monitoring data. Three parallel energy signals were steadily crossing a hilly region south of the Land of Fire. At the current moment, the ends of those signals had entered a brief stationary state. The three lines moved in parallel at the same height on the projection layer, showing no signs of diverging or converging, maintaining stable spacing and direction.
Hashirama sat near the eastern side of the round table, both hands flat on its surface, his gaze fixed on the formula projection before Tobirama. His back was slightly straight, and he did not lean against his chair. Naruto sat directly opposite him, leaning forward a little, one hand resting on the edge of the table and the other on his knee. His fingertips lightly tapped against it in rhythm with the dark-gold formula pattern running nearby. Sasuke sat beside Naruto, leaning back in his chair with his hands folded before him, the edge of his robe draping over the armrest. Madara sat on the northern side, one leg crossed over the other and his body angled against the backrest. He was not looking at anyone, but his gaze was focused just left of the table's