Konoha, Hokage Office.
Morning sunlight streamed through the enormous floor-to-ceiling windows, bathing the room in brilliant light, yet it could not dispel the atmosphere that hung so heavy it almost seemed to drip.
Hiruzen Sarutobi sat in the Hokage's seat, the tobacco in his pipe glowing and dimming. Wisps of smoke curled upward, but they could not hide the deep furrows in his brow.
Several scrolls lay open on the desk before him, apparently urgent intelligence that had just arrived.
Aside from him, several of Konoha's senior leaders were present-Utatane Koharu, Mitokado Homura, and... Shimura Danzō, whose expression was dark and grim.
Tsunade and Shinichi stood side by side before the desk, wearing very different expressions.
Tsunade had her arms folded, her brows slightly drawn with impatience. Shinichi, meanwhile, looked as lazy as ever, as though this discussion that would determine Konoha's fate interested him less than the new dumpling shop down the street.
"So," Hiruzen Sarutobi said, setting down his pipe. His gaze lingered on Shinichi and Tsunade before finally settling on Shinichi, a barely perceptible weariness in his voice. "The 'surprise' you brought back from the Land of Hot Water this time is this... group of visitors from outer space called the 'Ōtsutsuki Clan'?"
He deliberately stressed "visitors from outer space," clearly deeply skeptical of the claim.
Shinichi yawned and rubbed his sleepy eyes before drawling, "Well, that's about the size of it. A bunch of aliens who like planting trees on different planets and harvesting their fruit. The progenitor of chakra, the Rabbit Goddess, was one of them. A few days ago, in the Land of Hot Water, I happened to run into the 'Vessel' of someone called Ōtsutsuki Isshiki, so I took care of him while I was at it."
He spoke so casually that he