Sanlang City, the largest council hall in the Land of Iron.
The hall had a stark, imposing style, built from massive stone blocks and dark timber. Swords and banners symbolizing the way of the samurai hung on the walls, lending the room an air of solemnity and bloodshed.
The high, spacious dome let light stream in through carefully designed windows, illuminating the enormous pentagonal negotiating table at the center.
At that moment, the five factions—representing the highest powers in the Shinobi World—sat around the table.
The atmosphere was so tense it felt as if water could drip from it. Invisible pressure and hostility filled the air.
Uchiha Ling sat at the head of the table, with Namikaze Minato, Might Duy, and Nara Shikaku, the core of his advisory team, standing behind him.
He wore a black Hokage Cloak. His expression was calm as his indifferent gaze swept across the four factions opposite him. He looked less like someone there to negotiate and more like a leader listening to reports from his subordinates. The oppressive presence he exuded so naturally, like a creature at the top of the food chain, made him the center of gravity in the room.
To his left, in order, sat:
Third Tsuchikage Ōnoki, a short man hovering in midair. His face was deeply lined, and his cloudy eyes gleamed with shrewdness and restraint. Akatsuchi and Kurotsuchi stood behind him, one burly and the other young, both wary.
Fourth Raikage A was a towering, dark-skinned man, like a volcano on the verge of erupting. He crossed his arms over his chest, his brows knitted tightly. Neither the humiliation nor the fury on his face was concealed, and C and Darui behind him looked just as grim.
Chiyo, an elder of Iwagakure, seemed the most "calm" of the