The meeting room fell silent for three seconds.
Then Might Guy raised his hand.
Tsunade arched an eyebrow.
"Guy, go ahead."
Guy spoke loudly.
"Lady Fifth! Could the Taijutsu class get a little more funding?"
The corner of Tsunade's mouth twitched.
"That... we'll discuss that later."
Guy nodded vigorously.
"All right! I'll be waiting for your good news!"
Rock Lee nodded like mad beside him.
The others stifled their laughter.
Tsunade sighed.
"Anyone else?"
No one spoke.
Tsunade nodded.
"Then that's settled. Meeting adjourned."
Everyone began filing out.
But every one of them knew
that today's meeting meant Konoha was truly about to change.
The next day, in Konoha.
The sun rose, spilling its light into every corner of the village.
But this was destined to be no ordinary day.
The notice board at the village entrance, the one in the village center, the one outside the Ninja Academy, the one on Shopping Street, and the one at the Training Ground.
Every notice board was surrounded by people.
Dense crowds packed in, row upon row, leaving no room to squeeze through.
"Move over! Let me see!"
"Stop pushing! I want to read it too!"
"Oh my god... this is..."
"How is that possible?!"
Cries of shock rose one after another.
A striking red notice had been posted on each board.
Its title read in large letters: [Konoha Major Announcements]
Below it, densely packed text recorded the contents of yesterday's Jonin meeting...
First: Reaffirming the core principle of the Will of Fire! Protecting one's comrades must always come first.
Second: A statement on the true identity of Naruto Uzumaki, the orphaned son of the Fourth Hokage.
Third: Clearing Hatake Sakumo's name in the Konoha White Fang incident, with an apology.
Fourth: Clearing Hizashi Hyuga's name in the incident involving him,