The meeting was remarkably efficient, moving through its agenda swiftly and decisively.
In less than half an hour, they had reached the final item.
When Naruto announced the final item on the agenda, the atmosphere had relaxed ever so slightly as the preceding matters were settled.
His opening words, however, hit everyone like a bucket of ice water, jolting them awake.
Rather than state the topic outright, he posed a question that seemed simple yet cut straight to the soul:
"Everyone..."
Naruto's voice was quiet, yet it carried a strange penetrating power, echoing clearly through the silent hall.
"Do you want true peace?"
True peace?
The question stunned most of those present, leaving confusion and bewilderment on their faces.
Wasn't Konoha already at peace?
More than ten years had passed since the Third Shinobi World War ended. They might not have enjoyed generations of peace, but they certainly had stable lives.
"Do you think the absence of large-scale war means peace?"
Naruto surveyed the hall like a lion patrolling his territory, his gaze sweeping across every confused, thoughtful, or dismissive face.
"Wake up!"
His voice suddenly hardened:
"Look at the world we live in! Look around the Land of Fire!"
The screen behind him changed to a map of the shinobi world.
"The other Four Great Nations are like four ravenous tigers. They have never stopped coveting the Land of Fire, the richest land of all, or watching it hungrily!
"Beneath those outward agreements lie surging currents of arms races, intelligence infiltration, and ambitions that could tear those treaties apart at any moment!"
He drew Yasohinokami, sweeping its tip across the small countries wedged between the great nations on the map.
"And those small countries are like hyenas prowling at the edges of a battlefield where lions and tigers clash.