"Let them come in."
Ai raised a hand to wipe away the blood at the corner of his mouth, the blood-stained combat report crumpled into a ball in his grip, and the Kumogakure elder outside the door had already pushed the door open and entered.
Dodai, who led the way, placed the official diplomatic notes from the various nations onto the fractured desk, his gaze lingering briefly at the end of the combat report.
"Killer B has been captured, the entire Eight-Tails Squad has lost combat capability, and are the border forces still going to continue assembling?"
Ai braced himself against the edge of the desk and stood up straight.
"Darui will take over command of the border, contract the defensive lines, and prohibit Konoha from crossing the national border."
An elder immediately slammed the table.
"Contraction means showing weakness, the Eight-Tails is already in Konoha's hands, and if you let Sasuke see that Kumogakure's morale is wavering, he will push his demands to a point we cannot accept."
"Then you go bring B back."
Ai hurled the crumpled combat report against that elder's chest.
"Weren't you advocating for firing the Tailed Beast Bomb? Go to Bluestone Gorge right now, shatter Sasuke's Wood Dragon, and snatch the Eight-Tails back!"
The elder grabbed the combat report, his lips moving a few times, but he did not answer.
Dodai pushed another diplomatic note in front of Ai.
"Kirigakure demands the handover of personnel who participated in the plunder of Bloodline Limits over the years, Sunagakure demands the opening of experimental archives, and small nations like Takigakure have already closed trade routes to the Land of Lightning."
"What about Iwagakure?"
"They are withdrawing their troops, and Ōnoki has not responded to our request for reinforcements."
Ai's right palm came down on the desk,