Haimā

Mei Terumi's originally languid posture instantly stiffened when she heard that. She shot to her feet, disbelief and horror filling her captivating blue-green eyes.

That conclusion was far more chilling than hearing how many powerful shinobi Konoha possessed.

" Ao, are you saying that if one day he doesn't want to play anymore...?" Her voice carried a faint tremor she herself had not noticed.

As Mizukage, she understood all too well how fragile and complicated it was to maintain peace. If its foundation was truly this childish, what a terrifying precipice that would be.

Ao slowly raised his head. His ordinary left eye calmly watched the flustered Mizukage as he stated the most frightening deduction in the most objective, emotionless tone possible:

"Then, judging from the level of power he possesses, he might only need a thought—or one emotional outburst—to easily push the entire world toward destruction."

A deathly silence descended over the office.

Mei Terumi helplessly sank back into her chair. Even her exquisite makeup could not hide the pallor of her face.

The path she had always pursued—the path of leading Kirigakure toward openness and peace—

Under Ao's deduction, it now seemed so fragile and laughable. The fate of the entire world in the future would actually hang on one person's mood at one moment?

This was no longer a difference in strength. It was the complete surrender of the right to survive.

An unprecedented chill that penetrated to the bone instantly swept through her entire body.

All the plans of Kirigakure, and even of the entire Shinobi World, seemed feeble and powerless before this cruel possibility.

All their efforts would amount to nothing more than helping that "god" play a game in which no mistake could be made.

Inside the Stone Office, the Third Tsuchikage, Ōnoki, floated