The stone table stretched long within the council room of the Maya Shinobi Institute, surrounded by twenty-one towering stone chairs. The Spiritual King of the Maya Village, Savi (25, Maya Village), stood calmly at the head.
"So," Savi began, scanning the room, "updates on the villages—did we all get our ninjas through the trials?"
Raizen (18, Kozame Village) grinned. "Yep, no problem."
Lara (24, Rendo Village) smiled. "It was perfect. We've got some strong new ninjas."
Yuuto (26, Taka Village) shrugged. "It was okay."
Lloyd(20, Great Village) spoke next. "We got some strong ones, but… we couldn't finish the trials."
Daizen (27, Nekura Village) raised an eyebrow. "Why's that?"
Lloyd's expression shifted. "Because someone invaded our village."
Hajime (29, Hatsuri Village) leaned forward. "Did you catch who it was?"
"No, we couldn't. But it's okay—we had some of our strongest people decide who passed the second challenge. Mr. Taka was one of them."
Yuuto groaned. "Ugh."
Savi nodded. "At least you got your ninjas."
"Well… yeah."
Savi turned toward the old man sitting quietly beside Llyod. "Oh—my fault. Mr. Taka, how are you doing?"
Mr. Taka (100, no village) gave a calm nod. "Okay."
Savi returned to business. "Are any of the villages under-supplied or lacking resources?"
Lloyd responded, "No, we're perfect."
Toma (22, Togami Village) nodded. "Yeah, we're perfect."
Rina (23, Sunae Village) added cheerfully, "All good here."
Savi scanned the room. No one spoke. Heads shook in agreement.
"Alright, then. Let's move on. What big missions have been completed recently?"
Lloyd raised his hand. "We had to rescue one of our ninjas from an auction."
Savi blinked. "Someone stole one of your ninjas?"
Mr. Taka's eyes sharpened. "What?"
Lloyd nodded. "Oh right, I didn't tell you."
Savi's tone grew serious. "Someone broke into your village again?"
"Yeah."
Yuuto scoffed. "You should really work on your security."
Raizen leaned back slightly, his eyes narrowing as he spoke.
"One of our big missions involved defeating a guy who was taking villagers from the village we own for ransom."
Savi added, "We had to destroy a rogue science lab making explosives."
Ichiro (21, Zukari Village) said proudly, "We haven't had a big mission yet, but we saved a girl who was falling off a cliff."
Savi nodded. "That's still great. Now—the main part of this meeting. Have there been any threats directed toward the Twenty Great Villages?"
Keisuke, (23,Ikato Village) narrowed his eyes.**
"None toward ours," he muttered.
Arata, (27, from Koshin Village,) crossed his arms and spoke calmly.
"Same here. Quiet for now."
Lara raised her hand slightly. "Well… I had spies investigate the Laybirth Kingdom."
Makoto (21, Jinkawa Village) leaned in. "You mean the one south of my village?"
"Yes."
"What happened?"
Lara's tone darkened. "As you know, the late king—Peter—passed."
Savi sighed. "Yes, he was a good man."
Lloyd nodded. "He respected us well."
"He did," Lara agreed. "But not his son. Jinko Maenami."
Yuuto narrowed his eyes. "What about him?"
Naoki (25, Osaki Village) added, "He threatened Jinkawa Village."
Lara clarified, "To be exact, he threatened all of the Twenty Great Villages."
Mr. Taka leaned forward. "What?"
Shiri, ( 21, from Tsukami Village,) frowned with concern.
"Is his army that strong?"
Lara answered seriously. "Yes. He could start a war with any one of our villages."
Mr. Taka smirked. "I could wipe that whole kingdom out by myself."
Lara chuckled. "I don't doubt it."
Kana, 24, from Tenshiro Village, glanced around anxiously.
"Did he say which village he's going to start with so we can prepare?"
Lara looked toward Llyod. "He's going to start with the Great Village—because it's the strongest."
Yuuto scoffed loudly. "Strongest village, my ass."
Raizen leaned back. "I can agree with that. We're the second strongest."
Savi smirked. "And we're the third."
Yuuto crossed his arms. "And we're the fourth."
Lara waved her hands. "Can we stop saying who's strongest? I'm the seventh, if you must know."
Daizen laughed. "And I'm the tenth."
Lara sighed. "Okay, stop. The point is, the Great Village will be hit first. So how will you respond?"
Lloyd's eyes sharpened. "We got it handled."
This will be a great mission to send Team One on, Llyod thought. They'll grow stronger and refine their abilities.
Yuuto raised an eyebrow. "We can handle it, Llyod. You should probably focus on your security."
How can you be the strongest village when people break in so easily? What a joke, Yuuto thought.
"Oh, we're fine," Llyod replied coolly. "And I have the perfect ninjas to send."
Yuuto growled, "No, I'm saying my village should do it because you must foc—"
Mr. Taka's voice cut in. "I believe he said we can handle it."
Yuuto stood up abruptly. "You know what, gramps—you piss me off. You're not even a Spiritual King. Why are you even here?"
Savi raised his hands. "Let's all calm down."
Ayumu, 28, Hanrei Village, sighed and shook her head.
"Yeah, let's calm down."
Kana crossed her arms, her voice steady.
"We should all cool it."
Yuuto stepped away from his chair, walking toward Mr. Taka. "No. This old geezer thinks he rules everything. You shouldn't even be at this table, let alone in a chair."
As Yuuto got close— his body was sliced in half.
Yuuto gasped. "What the—?!"
Then everything rewound. Yuuto was still standing. Unharmed.
What just happened?! Yuuto thought, shaken.
Mr. Taka's voice echoed low and steady. "I suggest you sit down… before that vision becomes a reality."
A heavy silence fell over the table.
Juro, Shidare Village, age 26, stammered,
"What… what just happened?"
Itsuki from Morika Village, 28 years old, said quietly,
"I don't know… but I'm glad I didn't speak up."
Masaki (25, Takari Village) muttered, "Well, this meeting just got crazy."
Yuuto gritted his teeth. "I think this meeting is finished."
He vanished in a flash.
Mr. Taka closed his eyes again. "We'll handle it. Thanks for the heads up."
Savi straightened. "The meeting of the Twenty Great Villages is now adjourned. The next gathering will be held in two months at the Rendo Village."
Lara nodded. "Okay."
Savi finished. "The meeting has ended."