The summons for Konoha's high-level meeting was issued at four in the morning, more suddenly than ever before.
ANBU Cat Face personally knocked on every advisor's door, delivering only one message: "The Third has urgent matters to discuss. Please proceed to the Hokage Building council chamber immediately." Utatane Koharu had been taking her final sip of tea before bed when she received the notice. Before she could even swallow it, she slammed the cup onto the table, grabbed her cane, and left. When Mitokado Homura put on his coat, his glasses sat crooked, yet he did not bother to straighten them. Shimura Danzō received the notice last—Cat Face went to the Root base last, handed the message to Elephant Face outside the security gate, and did not even enter.
The council chamber doors closed promptly at four-thirty. Konoha's highest decision-makers sat on either side of the long table—the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, sat at the head, pipe between his teeth and none of his usual gentle smile on his face. Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura sat to either side, both advisors still in casual clothes, clearly dragged straight from bed. Danzō sat directly opposite the Third, impeccably dressed, with a mask concealing half his face. A Root guard stood on each side of him, but four people stood behind the Third today—two ANBU, Inoichi Yamanaka, and Shikaku Nara.
Inoichi Yamanaka and Shikaku Nara headed the Intelligence Division and the jōnin corps, respectively. Their simultaneous appearance at a high-level meeting meant that today's topic was neither diplomacy nor budgets. It was internal security.
The Third set his pipe on the table. Documents already covered its surface, each sealed inside a file envelope with wax. He opened the first file and laid it out.
"Danzō," he said, "the original assassination order you