The air in the Hokage Tower's conference room hung as heavy as lead.
The Five Kage sat around the round table, each wearing an expression like a carefully carved mask. Raikage A's fists were clenched so tightly that veins bulged across them, while spiderweb cracks had already spread beneath his elbows. Tsuchikage Ōnoki floated in midair, calculation flickering in his cloudy old eyes. Kazekage Gaara remained expressionless, but the sand within his gourd trembled at an almost imperceptible frequency. Mizukage Mei Terumi rested her cheek on one hand, her lacquered fingertips tapping softly against the tabletop in a steady, oppressive rhythm.
And Tsunade—seated at the head of the table, her hands clasped beneath her chin—swept her gaze across every face before finally settling on the figure standing at the center of the round table.
Hyuga Xiao.
The "rogue ninja" whom the Five Great Shinobi Villages should have united to eliminate now stood before the Five Kage, calmly meeting every gaze with those pale blue eyes glimmering like starlight. His white clothes were stained with traces of fresh blood from his battle with the Urashiki Clone, yet those stains were visibly fading and vanishing, as though devoured by some invisible force.
"So," Ōnoki spoke first, his voice rough as sandpaper, "you want us to acknowledge your position? A member of the Hyuga Branch House, a rogue ninja wanted by Konoha, wants to become a special adviser to the Five Great Shinobi Villages?"
Xiao did not answer immediately.
He raised his right hand, palm up. A mass of pale blue chakra gathered and spun above it, gradually solidifying into a diamond-shaped crystal. Countless tiny runes flowed within the crystal like living things, emanating an unnerving pulse of energy.
"This is not a request." Xiao's voice was calm, yet it carried unquestionable weight.