Burūi was the only one who still refused to back down.
He had agreed to Shihōin Naraku and Konoha's proposal earlier precisely so he could make an issue of this.
Of course, he had not really intended to do anything.
That simply was not realistic.
Neither Konoha nor Shihōin Naraku was someone he could threaten.
But if he could make Naraku yield a little, that would still count as a success.
He had never expected Naraku to turn hostile and lose his temper outright.
That left him unable to proceed with his next move, and the situation instantly reached a stalemate.
He was the Raikage, after all!
He was no longer that Kumogakure Jonin who could flip the table on sheer reckless courage.
Burūi took a deep breath, his chest heaving twice as he clenched and unclenched his fists on his knees.
In the end, he merely gave a muffled snort, averted his gaze, and stopped pressing the question.
That concession was like releasing one's fingers from a taut bowstring.
Shikaku had remained standing where he was. Seeing the Four Kage's bluster subside one after another, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
To be honest, after growing accustomed to the Third Hokage's amiable attitude toward outsiders, he found the abrupt switch to Naraku's utterly unceremonious approach rather difficult to adjust to.
The crushing silence in the conference room lasted for roughly three breaths before Naraku slowly withdrew his hand from the table.
He silently glanced at Shikaku.
Shikaku nodded and opened the documents in his hands.
"Ahem..."
Only after drawing the Four Kage's attention did Shikaku speak.
"The truth is, Konoha prepared its intelligence on Otsutsuki Toneri some time ago. For various reasons, however, we did not inform the other villages earlier."
"We had intended to share that intelligence