Internal Distribution of Meeting Minutes and the Backlash of Interest Groups

The preparatory meeting ended on a sour note.

By the time Namikaze Minato walked out of Conference Room Three, a patch of his clothes across his back had already been soaked through with cold sweat.

The proposal he had put forward was like a bamboo pole probing the way, thrust into two bottomless swamps. Not only had it failed to find the bottom, it had been tightly entangled by two opposing forces, leaving him unable to move.

Sunagakure kept pushing for more, while Amegakure opened its jaws like a lion.

He looked toward Baishi in the seat of honor, hoping to find some guidance on that young face, even if it was only a glance.

There was none.

There was nothing at all.

Baishi merely announced an adjournment in a calm voice, then became the first to leave the conference room. From beginning to end, he did not offer a single opinion on Minato's proposal.

That silence weighed more heavily on Minato than any direct rejection could have.

He felt like a clown performing desperately onstage while the real director watched coldly from behind the curtain.

Hokage's Office.

Daylight had fully broken outside the windows, yet the atmosphere inside was more oppressive than the dead of night.

Shikaku Nara stood before the desk, watching Baishi slowly light a cigarette with a match. It was specially supplied, with invigorating herbs mixed into the tobacco, and its scent was faint.

Baishi did not smoke it. He merely watched the crimson glow at the tip flicker on and off.

"What do you think of Minato's proposal?" Baishi suddenly asked.

Shikaku Nara kept his eyes lowered, his expression composed, his tone utterly even.

"Lord Minato's intentions are good. He hopes to exchange the greatest sincerity for peace and avoid greater internal losses caused