Muruta's judgment

The assassination of Siegel Clyne had not only sent shock waves through PLANT's internal affairs—it would also profoundly upset the political balance of the entire Earth Sphere.

This was more than an isolated political incident. It heralded an immense storm to come.

Xia Ya's gaze deepened. He said nothing, but a clear question took shape deep within him: Could this be merely a sign of the storm ahead?

That reflection brought no answers, only more uncertainty and a hidden anxiety.

Inside Orb Army headquarters, the room used for secret meetings was steeped in a suffocating heaviness.

Uzmi Nara Athha sat at the head of the table, while Muruta Azrael held his arms folded across his chest.

The air in the room seemed to have frozen. The earlier report and the news of Siegel Clyne's death weighed on everyone's hearts like an invisible boulder.

The Orb Army officer had already hurried away with his news. At Uzmi's signal, Xia Ya and the others, along with Captain Ramius, Mu, and Lieutenant Badgiruel, had also left the room for the time being. Only Mr. Muruta, Uzmi, and Kisaka, who stood silently beside Uzmi, remained.

The remaining lights in the room seemed somewhat dim, stretching the three men's shadows across the polished floor.

Muruta's gaze rested on the smooth surface at the center of the conference table. His eyes were deep and weary, and his voice was so low it was almost a whisper. Every word carried an exhausted certainty. "ZAFT will probably attack Panama immediately."

There was no question in his voice, only a statement of an established fact—a clear prediction of what would come next.

He knew that Siegel Clyne's assassination was an unmistakable sign of escalating political struggles within PLANT, and that it would drive ZAFT to take more radical action.