The lights in the Hokage Building stayed on all night.
Shuo sat in the conference room, with Tsunade across from him and Minato, Kakashi, and two expressionless ANBU beside him.
The air felt oppressively heavy. Even breathing had to be kept quiet.
He recounted everything that had happened the night before in full-Obito's plan, Rin's consciousness inside the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, and the seven-day deadline.
When he finished, the conference room fell terrifyingly quiet. No one spoke. Only the clock on the wall kept ticking.
Tsunade stared at him, her brows drawn tightly enough to crush a mosquito. "Are you sure? You didn't see it wrong?"
"I'm sure," Shuo said evenly. "I saw it with my own eyes. The consciousness inside the Gedo Statue is alive."
Tsunade abruptly stood and walked to the window, turning her back on everyone as she gazed out into the pitch-black night.
"The Demonic Statue of the Outer Path is the Ten-Tails' husk."
Her voice was heavy. "If he really pulls this off and the Ten-Tails comes back to life..."
She left the rest unsaid, but everyone present understood.
No one knew better than they did what that meant-the Fourth Shinobi World War was coming.
Minato spoke first, disbelief in his voice. "Obito... is it really him? Not someone impersonating him?"
"It's him."
Shuo nodded. "He took off his mask. I got a clear look. It was Obito Uchiha."
Minato fell silent, his fingers unconsciously rubbing his palm, his eyes full of conflicting feelings.
That was his former student, the boy who had smiled and said he would become Hokage.
Kakashi had kept his head lowered the entire time, his expression hidden, his hair falling over his eyes.
But everyone could see that his hands were trembling slightly, his knuckles white.
"Kakashi."