Of course, Muzake wasn't a heartless, ruthless leader. By the afternoon, he halted the advance, and the troops began constructing camp to rest. They also built a prison camp to hold the captured prisoners of war.
Today, luck wasn't on their side. This was their first battle day; everyone was too excited and killed too many. In the end, they only captured around 200 prisoners.
Muzak was not pleased and sternly criticized the situation.
"The population in the ninja world is so small, and there are so many orphans because people are too cruel."
"From now on, try to capture them alive whenever possible."
Some of the soldiers were puzzled.
"But what if they resist with weapons?"
Muzake scoffed.
"Then break their hands! If they don't have hands, they can't fight back."
And who knows, maybe with mechanical hands, they'd be even better at digging trenches in the future.
Under this influence, the Sand Ninja army gradually became known as the "army of peace" in the ninja world. They only maimed but didn't kill, effectively reducing the number of orphans in the ninja world.
The Sand Ninja stayed true to their war declaration, not disturbing the civilians of the Land of Rivers and refraining from touching even a blade of grass. Their marching routes and campsites were carefully chosen to avoid villages. After all, they had storage scrolls—just a tap, and out popped refrigerators filled with fresh vegetables, meat, and grain. They didn't need to steal from the locals.
As for Kurotsuchi's threat of attacking their supply lines, it was laughable. There weren't any supply lines. How could you ambush something that didn't exist?
As night fell, Muzake and Sasuke and Gaara went fishing by the river near the camp. Not far from them was the prisoner camp, which the Fifth Squad managed. Muzake glanced over and recognized two of the guards at the entrance.
"Haha," Muzake chuckled, "Looks like you two are in for another tough night."
Dustless and Kiko, two members of the Fifth Squad's third unit, were standing guard at the entrance to the camp. Unlike last time, their captain had already briefed them on what to expect. Both stood there, stone-faced, gripping their swords.
Just then, a prisoner snuck out. He had received orders from his "leader" to scout. His leader assured him everything outside was under control and it was perfectly safe to just walk out the front gate.
He worshiped his leader wholeheartedly, to the point where he would even take his own life without hesitation if ordered. Summoning his courage, he walked toward the gate.
The two guards at the gate didn't even seem to notice him.
He cautiously checked for any reaction but found them standing entirely still.
Seeing the prisoner's slow, hesitant movements, Dustless was almost furious enough for his mechanical eye to shoot sparks. Kiko's face twitched uncontrollably.
Damn it! If you're going to escape, hurry up! Stop dragging your feet!
If you don't move faster, I'll cut you down!
Sensing their killing intent, the prisoner sprinted away in terror. The two guards finally relaxed their grip on their swords.
But just as they did, another prisoner tried to sneak out.
Dustless looked at Kiko's twitching face and said, "Stay calm!"
"Remember, we're city patrol now. We'll have to deal with all sorts of issues in the city later, so we must stay patient and composed."
This was Muzake's instruction for those transitioning into city patrol duties.
The only place in the Land of Rivers they couldn't give up was Flower City, the central hub. To manage Flower City, Muzak created a management unit and gave them the name "City Patrol," which even illiterates could easily understand.
The patrol currently consisted of members from the Fifth Squad and a few from the First and Second Squads. During the war, they were tasked with managing prisoners.
The two guards held back their anger, watching as one prisoner after another slipped away.
Later, Muzake came by, carrying a 20-pound carp he'd just caught.
"Haha, you've worked hard," Muzake said, handing the fish to the two guards. "Here, take this as a reward. It was just shocked with electricity, so if you hurry, it might still be alive."
The two guards were overjoyed.
"Thank you, my lord!"
The next day, the Sand Ninja army continued their march along the river. Small enemy units tried to harass them but were quickly dealt with.
Muzake thought, "Looks like the enemy knows that small raids are pointless against us."
But his satisfaction didn't last long.
The following day, midway through their march, the entire convoy came to a sudden stop. Muzake, who had been sleeping, was woken up.
"What's going on?"
Gaara's face was grim.
"My lord, look at this."
Muzake flew up to look at the situation ahead, and what he saw left him speechless.
Thousands of civilians from the Land of Rivers had gathered in front of the convoy, blocking the road. Among them were older adults with white hair, snot-nosed children in loincloths, and pregnant women.
It looked like there were more than 3,000 people.
What the heck was going on?
How could Momojiro have such popular support?
No, that didn't make sense!
Muzak had thoroughly investigated. Momojiro wasn't just despised in the Land of Rivers—he was practically rotten to the core, hated by everyone, even dogs. So, what was going on with these civilians?
It was the first time Muzake had encountered such a situation, and he hesitated.
Damn, this is tricky.
Gaara grabbed a loudspeaker and shouted, "Move aside immediately and clear the road, or we will treat you as enemy combatants and kill you all!"
Gaara's voice boomed as the tank turrets lowered, pointing directly at the civilians.
Seeing the massive steel beasts aiming their cold barrels at them, the civilians felt an intuitive dread.
"Waaah!"
"Weep, sob."
The elderly, the children, and the women burst into tears, trembling in fear, yet not a single person moved. Instead, they huddled together even tighter.