Outside the Raikage's Office, a heavy metal door stood shut, sealing off the room from the outside world.
A heavy silence hung over the corridor. Even the thunder and howling winds that never ceased in the gorge sounded strangely oppressive.
"Lord Raikage, it's time to eat."
Samui held a tray of carefully prepared food that had already been reheated several times.
She glanced at the motionless door with calm blue eyes and spoke clearly in her usual steady voice.
"Get lost! Leave me alone!"
From inside came Fourth Raikage A's roar, strained to its limit, like that of a wounded lion.
Gone were its usual boldness and thunderous force. All that remained was the fury of a man struck where it hurt most, along with a trace of exhaustion and hoarseness he could not quite hide.
Samui showed neither surprise nor hurt. She merely dipped her head, then turned and left with the tray of food, now cold again.
At the corner of the corridor, she met Darui, whose brow was just as deeply furrowed.
"Lord Raikage still won't eat?" Darui scratched his head. His voice was unusually grave, his habitual laziness long since displaced by worry.
"No. It's been a whole day." Samui set the tray on a low table nearby. Her voice remained steady, though a faint helplessness flickered deep in her eyes.
"Proud as Lord Raikage is, he saw with his own eyes that Kumogakure will become a pawn controlled by Nine Nether, just like the Village of the Bloody Mist once was. It might even become a target of the Allied Shinobi Forces."
"How could he accept such a complete betrayal of Kumogakure's honor?"
After all, Kumogakure's strength and independence were foundations laid by generations of Raikage, especially the Third and Fourth, through sheer force and