Konoha, Hokage Building.
The corridors, once bustling with people and busy vitality, were now frighteningly quiet.
It was as though sand had been mixed into the air, making every breath painfully abrasive.
Occasionally, a ninja hurried past carrying documents, usually with head lowered, eyes averted, and steps rushed, not daring to linger anywhere for even a second.
The reason was simple-there were many more people in Konoha now.
A great many unfamiliar faces.
They wore Konoha's standard green flak jackets or dark combat uniforms, their forehead protectors fastened impeccably. Strictly disciplined, they appeared in groups of three to five throughout the village-at training grounds, the mission assignment office, and even important intersections.
They silently carried out orders such as "temporary security duty," "assisting with public order," and "familiarizing themselves with the surroundings." Their movements were efficient, their eyes sharp, and they carried a menacing air born of extensive training.
At a rough glance, they numbered at least a thousand. And reportedly, more were still being "recalled from secret training bases across the country."
These people all shared one surname-Sarutobi.
Three thousand Sarutobi Chunin. Hiruzen Sarutobi had finally stopped hiding them, or rather, he had been forced to bring this concealed force into the open.
Under the pretext of "strengthening Konoha's defenses to address possible external threats and internal unrest," these Sarutobi elites, previously concealed under vaguely documented designations such as "special mission formations" and "long-term border garrisons," marched into Konoha in organized units.
They were like a silent yet impossible-to-ignore torrent, washing over Konoha's already turbulent balance of power.
The restless atmosphere stirred up by the rumors and that casualty list was forcibly suppressed by this sudden, overwhelming "presence."
When the representatives of many small clans who had been privately coordinating saw those expressionless Sarutobi ninja squads walking the streets