Hokage Building meeting room
In the brightly lit meeting room, Orochimaru and Konoha's other three elders sat at the front. Jiraiya, who was away from the village, was absent.
Opposite them sat Chihane, the heads of Konoha's powerful departments, and the leaders of the Great Clans. The Jonin under their command sat in rows behind them.
The civilian Jonin with no affiliations all sat at the back.
Rows of matching Jonin vests filled the room with green, a vivid display of the Konoha Ninja's fighting strength.
Before the meeting began, all the Jonin had taken their seats. The air in the meeting room was thick with tension and the stillness before battle.
Notably, the Uchiha and Hyuga Clan had openly seated themselves together this time. Konoha's two great clans had actually put aside their old grievances and joined the same camp.
Meanwhile, the Nara, Akimichi, and Yamanaka clans, which had always clung tightly to Hiruzen Sarutobi, had moved over to Chihane's side and declared themselves neutral.
The other faction, led by Tobirama Senju, gathered several smaller Konoha clans that had long depended on Danzo and Hiruzen Sarutobi, including the Inuzuka and Kurama clans, along with the Aburame and Sarutobi clans, whose strength ranked just below the two great clans.
It also included powerful figures such as the married couple Minato and Kushina, and Maruboshi Kosuke.
With Hiruzen Sarutobi and Tsunade sitting among the elders as well, the former Hokage's faction completely outclassed the Uchiha and Hyuga clans in top-level combat strength.
Fortunately, Chihane and Orochimaru remained neutral, and at Chihane's instruction, the Ino-Shika-Cho Clans had also willingly maintained their neutrality.
Together with the greater number of Jonin in the Uchiha and Hyuga clans, this left the two sides barely balanced.
Seeing that everyone had arrived, Orochimaru announced the start of