When a knock came at the door of the Hokage's Office, Shikaku Nara was filing away an approved document.
His movements were unhurried, almost deliberately slow. The faint rustle of paper against the folder sounded especially clear in the excessively quiet room.
Baishi sat behind the desk without looking at him, his gaze resting beyond the window. Night had fallen completely, blurring the outline of Hokage Rock.
"Lord Hokage, shall I let him in?" an ANBU operative asked from outside, his voice devoid of inflection.
"Show him to the Third Reception Room." Baishi withdrew his gaze, his voice calm. "Chief Shikaku, come with me."
Shikaku closed the folder and nodded.
The Third Reception Room was small, its furnishings simple and formal. There were no soft sofas, only four hardwood armchairs facing one another across a low table. It was a place for formal meetings that were not meant to last long.
When Baishi and Shikaku took their seats, tea had already been prepared: ordinary sencha served to guests, with wisps of steam rising from it.
Before long, footsteps sounded outside.
The man who entered was middle-aged, dressed in fine dark-blue ready-to-wear clothing bearing the Tsukuyomi Trading Company's insignia. The fabric gave off a barely perceptible sheen under the lights. His face was lean, his eyes the distinctive white of the Hyuga Clan, but the wrinkles at their corners and his slightly tense jawline made him look shrewder and sterner than his years warranted.
Hyuga Tokuma.
He belonged to a collateral branch of the Hyuga Main House. He had left the ranks of shinobi early in life to enter business, and through his family connections and his own acumen, he had risen to become the Tsukuyomi Trading Company's Senior Representative.
"Lord Hokage, esteemed Chief of General Staff." Hyuga Tokuma first bowed