The atmosphere in Konoha's Room 3 was even more stagnant than the air in the underground Special Care Unit.
Around the long conference table, the department heads attending the review meeting sat stiffly upright. The teacups before them remained untouched, their steam long since dissipated.
At the head of the table sat Baishi, the Fifth Hokage. He looked at no one, his gaze resting on a single point on the tabletop, as though an invisible agenda lay there.
Tsunade sat to his left, her arms folded, her knuckles slightly white from the force of her grip. Behind her, the Medical Department specialists kept refreshing the readings on their portable monitoring devices with trembling hands. Every change in the numbers made the air in the meeting room heavier.
"Time won't wait for us." Tsunade finally spoke, her voice as rough as sandpaper. "In another thirty minutes, even a god descending from heaven won't be able to stop the underground energy storage tanks from detonating in a chain reaction. I'll say it again: we must perform a physical cutoff immediately."
Her words caused not a ripple in the silent meeting room.
Baishi slowly lifted his gaze from the tabletop, swept past Tsunade's anxious face, and finally settled on the two men across from him.
Logistics Minister Morita, a slightly plump middle-aged man, was repeatedly wiping nonexistent sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief.
Defense Minister Takahashi was lean and sat with his back ramrod straight, but his tightly pressed lips betrayed his tension.
"Minister Morita, Minister Takahashi." Baishi's voice was level, revealing neither anger nor pleasure. "I've reviewed the procurement files for this batch of life-support equipment in the Special Care Unit. The total contract value was twelve million ryo. The Logistics Department handled the bidding, the Defense Department conducted acceptance inspections,