Orochimaru set the blast-proof canister on the table. Inside, the dark-purple Core Matrix pulsed like an oversized heart.
Purple light from the conduits bathed the entire underground command room in an eerie glow.
Ye did not even spare the thing a glance.
He was practically plastered against the Holographic Projection Screen, unable to tear his eyes from the image.
He had enlarged the frozen shot of the Four Kage kneeling in the snow until he could count the age spots on Ōnoki's eyelids.
On-screen, Ōnoki's forehead pressed against the frozen ground, while Rasa's shoulders shook like a sieve.
In the huge crater beside them, the Fourth Raikage was pinned down by Black Rods, his body covered in blood. He barely seemed to be breathing, like a ball with a slow leak.
Ye sprawled in his armchair, finished his last sunflower seed, and spat the shell into a trash can three meters away.
"That's it?"
He let out a derisive laugh and tapped the table.
"A few days ago, when they issued that joint call to arms, they were all so tough. Every other word was about the greater good of the Shinobi World."
He pointed at Ōnoki's upturned backside on the screen.
"Minato-sensei, look at that old geezer. He's kneeling more properly than anyone today! This is what the Kage of the old era amount to?"
"He's worse than a stray dog. At least a cornered dog knows how to bite!"
Minato stood before the table, staring at the screen without blinking.
The fall of the Daimyō Mansion had shown him the rot beneath the ruling class.
Now, the Four Kage kneeling had stripped away the old Shinobi World's last shred of dignity and ground it into the dirt.
"Minato-sensei, put the Yamato cannon aside for now. Don't let it