A's decision was like a boulder cast into a deep pool, the ripples it stirred rapidly spreading to every corner of Kumogakure.
The impassioned declaration of war traveled from street to alley.
In his capacity as a candidate for Fourth Raikage.
In the name of [A]!
This weary old war machine stirred into motion once more. Thousands of ninja rushed toward the front lines with supplies and weapons.
Yet Sora, whom A had called his deputy commander, remained as leisurely as ever, going about his own business.
Eating, striking posts, gnawing on the Five-Tails.
The following morning.
Kumogakure Police Department Headquarters.
This building, which symbolized order and authority within the village, now exuded an indescribable sense of desolation.
The air was filled with the scent of freshly swept dust and old paper.
At the entrance to the hall, Yotsuki Sora stood with Pakura and Samui, expressionlessly looking at the more than twenty members of the Police Department before him.
These twenty-eight people came in all shapes and appearances.
Some wore reasonably neat Police Department uniforms, but their eyes were weary, carrying the numbness born of prolonged pressure and confusion.
Others wore ordinary ninja flak jackets. Some even had grease stains on the hems of their clothes, as though they had just been dragged in from some repair shop or tavern to make up the numbers.
A few looked rather old, their eyes cloudy and their manner steeped in the lifeless air of people merely waiting to die.
As a whole, let alone elites, they did not even measure up to a decent patrol squad. They looked more like a motley force hastily thrown together!
Just as expected.
All the capable people had been transferred to the front lines. Those left behind were either old hands coasting by or hopeless trash!