Silence fell over the Hokage Office for a moment.
The Anbu was drenched in sweat, his head lowered so far that he dared not look at Hiruzen Sarutobi.
He inwardly wanted to cry but had no tears. Was I supposed to see that?
Hiruzen Sarutobi's face was livid. After composing himself, he looked at the Anbu, his expression becoming dignified again. "I'll speak to the envoy myself..."
"Yes..."
"You saw nothing today, understood..." Hiruzen Sarutobi's voice drifted over.
"Yes, I saw nothing today!" The Anbu's heart skipped a beat.
"Mm..."
The two then arrived at Konoha's embassy reception lodge. The Land of Fire Daimyo's envoy had already grown impatient and was pointing at several Anbu ninja, berating them.
"Useless, all of you! How many days has it been? Not a single word of news! His Highness the Daimyo supports you ninja so you can solve problems, not so you can bleed him dry!"
The Anbu being berated to their faces dared not show the slightest resistance and could only keep apologizing.
"Please calm down, Lord Envoy!" Hiruzen Sarutobi walked in.
"Oh, Lord Hokage. Well? Is the mission complete?"
"Your Excellency, here's what happened..." Hiruzen Sarutobi briefly described the course of events.
"What?!"
"What good is Konoha if you can't even handle that little matter with Kirigakure?!"
"Lord Envoy, the fault doesn't lie with Konoha. Kirigakure broke their word and stabbed us in the back, causing the failure. There was nothing we could do!"
"What do you mean, nothing you could do? You're simply incompetent!" The envoy's expression grew even colder.
"Doesn't Konoha call itself the greatest shinobi village? And what happened? You actually lost to a bunch of backwater ninja from mere Kirigakure. You've utterly disgraced His Highness the Daimyo!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi's face was livid, and he wanted to say