The grain storage site provided by the Land of Rice Fields was a newly built camp. Kumogakure had originally wanted to borrow the existing cities of the Land of Rice Fields, but the Land of Rice Fields refused under any circumstances, firmly stating their neutral position. Willingness to allocate a piece of territory for the construction of a grain storage site was already their greatest concession.
The Pro-war faction, including Kinkaku and Ginkaku, were extremely angry at the reaction of the Land of Rice Fields and suggested plundering their food and supplies. However, because A wanted to conduct a surprise attack, he did not agree to the Pro-war faction's suggestion. If they clashed with the Land of Rice Fields, the Land of Fire would definitely discover their surprise attack plan.
With the Kumogakure offensive stalled and forced into a long-term war, A hoped that the Land of Rice Fields could provide food locally, even if it meant buying it with money. But the Land of Rice Fields still refused. They felt that the Land of Fire would win this war; if they agreed, they might face military action from the Land of Fire for the act of providing food and grass.
A had no choice but to transport grain all the way from the Land of Lightning. At least the Land of Rice Fields was willing to provide a grain storage site as a transit point, which reduced the manpower consumption for the Land of Lightning's grain transport. Although they did not side with the Land of Lightning, as an independent country, their attitude was already decent. A felt there was no need to fight the Land of Rice Fields while facing the Land of Fire, as this might force the Land of Rice Fields to side with the Land of Fire, which was not what he wanted to see.
Now that the Ninja World War had fully broken out and the Land of Fire was facing invasions from three countries, A decided to adopt a strategy of staying put and not venturing out. His only concern was that Konohagakure might launch a surprise attack on the rear and cut off their food supply. Therefore, A ordered a portion of Kumogakure Ninja to protect the grain storage site.
To ensure the safety of the grain storage site, A actually sent Ginkaku, one of the "Lights of Kumogakure," there. Because of the strategy of staying put, troop strength was no longer so tight. Of course, some presence was still necessary, so he kept Kinkaku behind.
To be honest, Ginkaku was unwilling to go to the grain storage site. He preferred killing enemies on the battlefield; the wails of his enemies would make him very happy. Although Kumogakure would not go out to fight in the current situation, he could still abuse those Konoha prisoners, which was also very interesting.
But Ginkaku could not openly oppose A's orders. After all, Kumogakure still respected A as the leader. He and Kinkaku could unite the Pro-war faction to pressure A, but now even the Pro-war faction had to shrink back into the defensive lines. What pressure could he apply to A? He had no choice but to head to the location of the grain storage site.
Upon learning of the arrival of the "light of kumogakure," the Kumogakure Ninja in the grain storage site immediately went out to greet him. Leading them was a blonde-haired, fair-skinned woman, who was none other than Sora—she had been assigned here by her teacher, Da. Da felt it was not good for Sora to meet that Konoha Ninja. Initially, he only limited her mission range to the vicinity of the Kumogakure camp, and later sent her to guard the safety of the grain storage site.
Sora was naturally feeling aggrieved and frustrated in her heart. She was determined to settle the score with Fūmori Masaki, but her teacher did not give her the opportunity. When she finally managed to learn the location of the battlefield where Fūmori Masaki often appeared and was about to volunteer to her teacher, he directly sent her here.
In the grain storage site, Sora often muttered Fūmori Masaki's name to herself—from those Konoha prisoners, she already knew that the Konoha Ninja was named Fūmori Masaki and that he was a disciple of the Second Hokage. Even though no enemies appeared, she still insisted on simulating a duel with Fūmori Masaki. Her teacher was essentially designated as the Second Raikage; this was what A had told all Kumogakure Ninja in advance: if he were to die unexpectedly, the next Raikage would be Da. In other words, this was a battle between the disciples of the two Second Hokage, and she would not allow herself to lose.
In her two battles with Fūmori Masaki, Sora knew that Fūmori Masaki was very skilled in close-quarters combat, which was inseparable from the weapon he habitually used. Because that kind of short blade had such a short attack range, it was basically seen as no different from fighting empty-handed. Sora felt she wouldn't gain any advantage in close-quarters combat and could only use Ninjutsu and the advantage of her weapon's length to deal with that man.
Sora had always been concerned about the situation on the battlefield,
especially regarding Fūmori Masaki. It was said that her senior fellow disciples often looked for Fūmori Masaki but had never met him, which made her somewhat disappointed while also happy that she still had a chance to fight that man.
However, Sora did not know if she would have another chance to go to the battlefield. After all, even Ginkaku, who was considered the leader of the Pro-war faction, had come to the grain storage site.
"Lord Ginkaku," Sora bowed slightly as she saw Ginkaku and his subordinates approaching. The other party was a Jonin of Kumogakure, and both his seniority and status were above hers. Previously, she had been in charge here, but once Ginkaku arrived, the command of the grain storage site would fall into his hands.
"Heh, so you're Da's female disciple." Ginkaku sized Sora up and down and smiled. "You look quite decent. Are you interested in having some fun with this lord?"
People with fair skin like Sora, whether male or female, were exceptionally beautiful in Kumogakure. Ginkaku was not a man of integrity; being of a violent nature, he was also very fond of feminine beauty. Seeing a beauty like Sora, he couldn't help but feel a bit moved. Moreover, having a battle-hungry person like him sent to such a boring place, only a beauty could pique his interest.
"Lord Ginkaku, please do not say such things!" A flicker of anger passed through Sora's eyes. Her teacher Da strongly disliked the brothers Kinkaku and Ginkaku, and as his disciple, she naturally felt the same. If it weren't for the other party's high status and great strength, she would have already taught him a lesson.
"Don't you want to bear an excellent descendant with me, a descendant of the Six Paths Sage?" Ginkaku was not angry but said with a smile.
"I'm not interested." Sora's voice was already somewhat cold, and she thought to herself, "If my child were like you, even if they were a descendant of the Six Paths Sage, I wouldn't want them!"
"Tch, do you think you're worthy of that honor!" Ginkaku heard the coldness in Sora's voice and was no longer polite, sneering, "A woman of ordinary birth—even if you wanted to, I wouldn't let you give birth to a descendant of the Sage."
Ginkaku's interest in Sora was mainly because she was Da's disciple. That man was always opposing him and Kinkaku, so getting his hands on his disciple would be a gratifying thing. However, seeing that she didn't seem like those common women and wouldn't be easily swayed, Ginkaku didn't bother to continue the pretense. It wasn't as if there were no other women in Kumogakure; many had lower status than him and could be enjoyed at his whim, so there was no need to run into a wall with her.
Hearing Ginkaku's arrogant words, Sora also felt a surge of anger, thinking, "Why is someone like this a descendant of the Six Paths Sage?"
Ginkaku looked contemptuously at Sora's face, which was full of defiance yet unable to say anything. He walked straight forward, bumping Sora aside. Sora hurriedly steadied herself, her hand gripping the hilt of her blade, almost drawing it. Her subordinates beside her quickly held her back and shook their heads at her.
Sora slowly calmed down. Putting aside whether she could kill Ginkaku, with her status, it would be a complete act of insubordination. Even if she were killed by Ginkaku, her teacher wouldn't be able to say anything.
Ginkaku seemed indifferent, but he was actually watching Sora's movements behind him. Feeling that she had given up the idea of taking action, he couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed. As the disciple of the future Second Hokage, her strength should be decent, and she could have provided him some amusement; he could have even killed her as payback for her insolence. Unfortunately, she was the disciple of the future Second Hokage, so he couldn't touch her without a reason.
Sora took a few deep breaths, opened her eyes, and entered the camp with her subordinates. Upon entering the camp, she saw other low-level Kumogakure Ninja who hadn't come out cheering for Ginkaku. To them, Ginkaku, known as the "light of kumogakure," was someone worthy of respect. Ginkaku also laughed loudly in response to them.
Sora watched Ginkaku being so popular and thought of the scene where he had humiliated her earlier. She felt indignant; how could such a man be more worthy of respect than herself? It was truly unreasonable!
However, what could Sora do? Kumogakure originally advocated strength, and Ginkaku's current treatment was the tradition of Kumogakure. The strong could gain everyone's respect; even if his character was poor, as long as his strength was great enough, it was sufficient.
Sora thought about how the entire grain storage site would be under this man's command from now on, and she increasingly wanted to leave this place.