The air in the meeting room grew thick again at Takahashi's final words.
The mood, which had just brightened under the neatly packaged concept of a "joint flood-control exercise," went dark in an instant.
Everyone's gaze shifted from the "Fire-Rain Bilateral Framework Agreement on Joint Environmental Management" to Defense Minister Takahashi's taut face.
No matter how ingenious the legal framing or how compliant the project's approval, if it collapsed over something as basic as supplies, it was nothing but a joke.
The Tsukuyomi Trading Company.
The name was familiar to the members of Konoha High Command present. Like an invisible net, it covered a substantial portion of the high-end supply market in the Capital of the Land of Fire and even Konoha itself. In the past, that net had lain quietly in place, providing convenience and earning profits without conflict.
But now, it had bared its fangs.
Logistics Minister Morita looked grim. Procurement was his responsibility, and he would be the first to answer for the supply cutoff. He opened his mouth, wanting to offer an explanation-for instance, that they had already negotiated with the Tsukuyomi Trading Company several times, only for the company to keep stalling with one excuse after another. But he swallowed the words before they left his lips. Before the Hokage, explanations were merely cover-ups.
"A shortage of raw materials?"
Baishi's voice was soft, as though he were talking to himself, or perhaps asking everyone present.
He leaned back in his chair, his finger unconsciously tracing circles on the tabletop. His gaze remained calm, as though Takahashi had reported some trivial matter rather than a crisis capable of derailing the entire "flood-control exercise."
"I remember that just last quarter, we approved the Tsukuyomi Trading Company's application to expand its space at the Konoha Storage Center. The