Autumn, Konoha Year 50, Mizukage Building, council hall
In the council hall on the top floor of Kirigakure's Mizukage Building, the atmosphere was heavy. Around the huge oval conference table sat the most powerful figures in Kirigakure. Fourth Mizukage Karatachi Yagura sat upright in the main seat. Though small in stature, his gaze was sharp, radiating unquestionable authority. To his left was chief adviser Genji. The white-haired elder leaned on a snake-headed cane, eyes closed in repose, yet no one dared ignore his presence. Behind Genji stood a girl of about fifteen or sixteen in silence—Mei Terumi. She had rare reddish-brown hair and bright, intelligent green eyes. As a junior Genji thought highly of, she had been permitted to attend this important meeting.
To Yagura's right sat, in order, the clan heads or representatives of Kirigakure's major kekkei genkai families.
The head of the Kaguya Clan, Kaguya Kenichiro, was a burly, rough-faced middle-aged man. His eyes were fierce, and his entire body gave off a combative air. The Kaguya Clan had suffered heavy casualties in the Third Shinobi World War, and the clan's radical, warlike tendencies had not changed. They held an intense resistance toward any policy that might weaken military power.
The head of the Hozuki Clan, Muyue Hozuki, had a comparatively steady bearing, but his deep eyes gleamed with calculation. Behind him stood a white-haired, hedgehog-headed youth with a somewhat unruly expression—Hozuki Mangetsu. This young genius had officially inherited the clan's ancestral ninja sword, the twin-bladed Flounder, and was regarded by the clan as a core figure of the next generation. Bringing him to attend a high-level meeting was meant as grooming. Mangetsu folded his arms across his chest and looked over everyone present with keen interest.
In addition, there were representatives from the Yuki Clan, as well