Inside the Hokage Building, the once-spacious halls were crammed with people. Footsteps mingled with all manner of hysterical shouting, while the civilian shinobi on duty were run off their feet, their faces devoid of any will to live.
An enormous cloud of resentment hovered over the building, almost solid enough to become dark clouds as thick as iron. It was no exaggeration to say that all of Konoha's resentment had gathered here.
On closer inspection, the male and female shinobi at the reception desk all wore identical, rigid smiles. They were polite, but there was not a trace of life in them. It was downright creepy.
A richly dressed, portly man slammed his hand against the reception desk, yelling at the female shinobi attending to him:
"I'm the Daimyō of the Land of Hot Water! Let me see Lord Hokage!"
"Sir, please get in line. We have countless Daimyō and Kage here who wish to see Lord Hokage."
Facing the endlessly shouting Daimyō of the Land of Hot Water, the receptionist's smile never changed. She simply whipped out a numbered ticket and gestured for him to wait his turn.
"Please hold on to your ticket. Let me see... you'll be able to see Lord Hokage in six months."
"I can't wait that long!"
Soon, after the Daimyō of the Land of Hot Water left in indignation, the Kage of a small shinobi village stepped forward:
"Could Konoha send some people to help our village? Money is no issue!"
"For that, you'll need to submit an application to Lord Tobirama."
The politely smiling male receptionist quickly produced an application form and handed it to the Kage along with a pen.
Staring at the pen and paper, the man immediately froze, his eyes full of ignorance and confusion:
"An application... form?"
"Yes,