The others also heard the Sand Ninja's confession, and their hearts were equally filled with anger. In this era, taking prisoners wasn't an uncommon occurrence, but compared to the past, it was undoubtedly much more lenient. However, the Sand Ninja Village's policy was to revert to the customs of the Warring States period. While it wasn't strictly impossible, for young people living in the present, it was undoubtedly difficult to accept.
Everyone looked at the three Sand Ninjas with a hint of pity. There were no such regulations in Konoha Village. If a ninja was unfortunately captured, the village would do its best to rescue them, or arrange a trade for their return. Their families would also receive preferential treatment according to regulations.
Even the relatively closed Rain Ninja Village, while possibly subjecting prisoners to strict interrogation or surveillance to prevent them from becoming spies, would never execute them without a word.
"Lord Kagami, they should…" A Konoha ninja spoke up at this moment. He didn't know how to treat these three Sand Ninjas. According to the principle of prioritizing prisoners, they should be captured. However, based on their confession about the village's orders, being captured meant death, which rendered the value of taking them prisoner nonexistent.
Uchiha Kagami was momentarily at a loss. He had never captured a Sand Ninja before. He initially thought it was due to their firm fighting spirit; even as invaders, their character aside, Uchiha Kagami at least acknowledged their strength. He never expected such a reason behind their strong fighting will.
—Masaki, if it were you, what would you do in this situation?
Fūmori Masaki's figure involuntarily appeared in Uchiha Kagami's mind. In past ninja wars and village affairs, Fūmori Masaki had always shown a grander perspective and strategic awareness that surpassed his peers, and it had been very effective over the years. He couldn't help but ask himself what method Fūmori Masaki would use if he faced such a situation.
If judged by common sense, prisoners who have lost their bargaining value should be executed directly to prevent them from returning to the Sand Ninja Village to fight again. However, these people were forced to seek death after defeat, and this feeling of powerlessness made Uchiha Kagami feel some sympathy. After all, they fought for their village; it wasn't a crime of war, yet they met such an end.
Wait, Uchiha Kagami suddenly remembered what Fūmori Masaki had told him when they discussed the matter of prisoners in the past. Fūmori Masaki had always advocated for giving prisoners certain preferential treatment and ensuring their basic rights. This was not merely kindness, because if one chose to take prisoners, it meant they would eventually be sent back to the enemy ninja village. Rather than torturing them and forcing them to harbor hatred, it was better to use gentle methods to break their fighting spirit.
Humans are not plants; how can they be without feelings? For ninjas from the Warring States period who underwent closed training and were almost brainwashed, it might not have been as effective. But in the Shinobi Village era, ninjas no longer needed to hide their presence and could appear openly before the world, which gradually loosened those closed customs.
Regardless of the ninja village, the most traditional ninja image was that of each village's ANBU. Only those who received secret training could maintain that cold-blooded and ruthless style, which speaks volumes. Even Sai, who came from the Root, a more ruthless organization than the ANBU, gradually wavered in his will during his time with Uzumaki Naruto and others, eventually betraying Danzō Shimura, who had raised him since childhood.
Combined with some examples from Fūmori Masaki's previous life, it proved to be feasible. During the First Shinobi World War, captured Cloud Ninjas, comparing Konoha Village's kindness, felt their own village's cruelty—although it was mainly anti-war sentiment caused by the brutality of war, it was indeed beneficial to Konoha Village—after suppressing the rebellion of Kinkaku and Ginkaku, these people became an intermediary force for maintaining peace between Konoha and Cloud.
During the process of appeasing those prisoners, Uchiha Kagami vaguely remembered a saying in the propaganda that separated ordinary ninjas from those who initiated wars, stating that ordinary ninjas were merely used by ambitious individuals, and it was not their own fault. Those truly to be blamed were the ambitious ones—
"Wait, maybe we can…" Uchiha Kagami seemed to have thought of something. He glanced at the Sand Ninjas lying on the ground, and after careful consideration, felt there might be some possibility. He then had people help the three Sand Ninjas up, lifting their eyelids to meet Uchiha Kagami's gaze.
"Lord Kagami, what are you doing?" Everyone else was a bit surprised.
"An experiment. If it succeeds, perhaps these prisoners can also have their own value." Uchiha Kagami smiled and slightly closed his eyes. The genjutsu he was about to perform required considerable power; it wasn't something that could be cast with a simple glance.
"I hope you fulfill my wishes. At least for you, this might be your only way out, better than dying so unjustly." Uchiha Kagami muttered to himself, then suddenly opened his eyes, his crimson pupils glaring at the Sand Ninjas.
"Sharingan—" As Uchiha Kagami spoke, the consciousness of those Sand Ninjas was dragged into a world of illusion.
#
Naoto felt his body seemingly fly high into the sky, then was pulled by a great force and plunged to the ground. Next, he felt rainwater Showering down on him, and not just rainwater—the mud on his back was also terrifyingly cold, making him feel as if his entire body was about to freeze stiff.
He immediately opened his eyes, rolled up from the ground, and gripped his kunai, ready for a decisive battle with the enemy, but saw no sign of them. All the enemies were lying on the ground, their blood washed away by the rain, their pupils dilated, and their expressions stiff, clearly having been dead for a long time.
"What's going on?" Naoto froze for a second, rubbing his head. Vaguely, he seemed to recall what had happened earlier.
Just as they were about to go out to investigate, they were attacked by Konoha ninjas. After their desperate resistance, they finally managed to eliminate all the enemies, but his two companions died tragically. Thinking of this, he quickly turned around and saw the bodies of his two companions, feeling a sudden sadness.
Naoto was not from a ninja family, but a commoner who was admitted to the Sand Ninja Academy due to his talent. After training, he showed considerable aptitude and became a Chunin at a young age, which was undoubtedly a source of great pride in the Sand Ninja Village, which primarily focused on an elite force strategy.
Because he was not from a ninja family, Naoto faced some exclusion, but he didn't mind it. As a commoner, being able to become a powerful ninja made him very grateful to the village. He could also accept the exclusion from family ninjas. The gradual rise of commoner ninjas created conflict with family ninjas, and in the Sand Ninja Village, this situation was quite intense.
During the war, Naoto's assigned companions were all commoner ninjas, with only the squad leader being from a ninja family. Fortunately, the captain's character was quite good, only being very strict about village regulations, repeatedly warning that if there was a possibility of being captured, they should rather die than let the enemy succeed.
Naoto remembered this rule, so he fought bravely during combat, and as a result, he survived the enemy's attack. However, his companions were not so lucky. Wiping the water from his face, he didn't know if it was rain or tears. He looked around, confirmed there was no one, and then cautiously snuck away.
Naoto knew that the Sand Ninja troops had already left, and he was alone here, so he had to be careful. He could only pray that because the war had temporarily ended, Konoha Village's alert line was not so strict. If he was lucky, he might even be able to escape. Of course, if he was truly captured, he would have to take the enemy down with him.
It turned out that Naoto was very lucky. Although Konoha Village still had a alert line, its scope was not very large. This alert line mainly targeted large-scale troops. If the scope included infiltration by small squads, the manpower required would be enormous, and it was also for the purpose of saving resources.
Because of this, someone in Naoto's situation might be able to escape. Nevertheless, the ninja village was not foolish. Through a series of refined tactics, they could maximize their efforts to cover every area. Even if it was a small squad, unless they were elites, they couldn't easily infiltrate.
It wasn't until seven days later that Naoto finally left the controlled area of Konoha Village and ran into the territory controlled by the Sand Ninja Village. He didn't know how he had survived those seven days; all his supplies were exhausted, and he had even scavenged the bodies of the dead Konoha ninjas.
Naoto could only maintain his basic physical strength, slowly walking to the Sand Ninja Village outpost. He was discovered by the patrolling guards, and the moment he saw his comrades, Naoto could no longer hold on and fainted.
When Naoto awoke again, he didn't see the medical camp he had imagined, but a dimly lit room. His body was still very weak, and his wounds were only simply bandaged. This treatment was too perfunctory, and what was even more surprising was that he was bound to a wooden frame with chains. He was very surprised and cried out, "Where is this place? Where are the people?"
As he spoke, Naoto's voice was hoarse, but the person at the door still heard him. With the sound of the door opening, a person appeared before Naoto and said, "You're awake."
Naoto looked at the other party, frowning slightly, and said, "It's you?"
The other party was also a member of the Sand Ninja Village, and Naoto even knew him. His name was Sunamaru, a very down-to-earth name. He was a member of a certain ninja family in the village, three years older than Naoto. The reason they knew each other was because they had clashed during the Chunin exam within the village, so they had some animosity between them.
"It's me." Sunamaru smiled slightly and said, "Long time no see. I didn't expect you to end up like this." As he spoke, he shook his head and sighed as if very worried.
"Where is this place? Why didn't you take me to the medical camp?" Naoto glared at the other party. He had a bad premonition.
"Medical camp? Do you think you're worthy of such treatment?" Sunamaru sneered, "Isn't that right, Konoha ninja prisoner, Naoto-kun?"
Upon hearing this, Naoto felt as if his head had been struck by a heavy hammer, buzzing. He couldn't believe what he had heard and instinctively asked, "What did you say?"
"I said, Konoha ninja prisoner, Naoto-kun." Sunamaru actually repeated it again.
"You're talking nonsense!" Confirming that he wasn't hallucinating, Naoto flew into a rage. "When did I become a prisoner? I escaped from Konoha!"
"Do you think that's credible? Only you, and you actually managed to escape from there? Or was someone helping you?" Sunamaru was clearly not referring to Naoto's companions, but rather the Konoha ninjas.
"You're slandering me!" Naoto trembled with anger, the chains clanking. "You're not a rookie either. You know the scale of the alert line before the war. Even if it's just one person, it's possible to escape."
"Perhaps, but we won't believe it so easily." Sunamaru shook his head slightly.
"You're holding a grudge! I want to see Lady Chiyo and the other Jonin, quickly!" Naoto's emotions were very agitated.
Sunamaru looked at Naoto and sighed softly, "Alas, Naoto, the reason we kept you alive until now is to let you die with understanding. Although we had some animosity in the past, we at least had some camaraderie."
"What?" Naoto was a bit surprised.
"Whether you infiltrated as a spy or truly escaped, you won't escape death." Sunamaru looked into Naoto's eyes, "Any squad that separates from the main force and cannot be contacted for a period of time, and then returns to the village, regardless of the reason, will be treated as a traitor and eliminated. We don't have the energy to investigate each of your whereabouts after being separated and the reasons for your return. If we let you live, some might think that after surrendering, as long as they can hide it, they can save their own and their family's lives."
"But I worked so hard to escape!"
"Yes, you might have been lucky to escape, but is that reason so important to the village?" Sunamaru shook his head and said, "Instead of bothering to investigate whether you have defected, it's better to simply execute all of you as traitors. This will directly strengthen the resolve of the remaining people, making them fight even more bravely. Naoto, let me make it clear to you: the current village has no concept of prisoners of war or deserters. All will be counted as traitors, so your outcome is predetermined."
"Wh-why do this?"
"Why? To strengthen the will of the ninjas, to use every ounce of the village's strength to weaken the enemy, and absolutely not to provide strength to the enemy. After all, the village's strength is insufficient, so we can only take extreme measures, even if it might be like drinking poison to quench thirst," Sunamaru said.
"I, I didn't run away, nor did I betray. I fought wholeheartedly for the village." Naoto's body trembled slightly, "Look at my wounds. These were all left from fighting Konoha ninjas!"
Sunamaru said nothing, his gaze carrying a hint of pity. Although they had animosity, they had also acknowledged each other, which was why he was willing to say these things, allowing Naoto to die with understanding. After a while, he said, "Alright, it's almost time for you to go. Lady Chiyo is still waiting for the report."
"Wait, what about my family?" Naoto quickly cried out.
"What do you think happens to a traitor's family?" Sunamaru walked out without looking back, slamming the door shut.
That bang and the final words were like the last straw that broke the camel's back. He immediately cried out, his voice filled with despair and hatred. Accompanied by the words "Sand Ninja Village," he suddenly straightened up from the ground, drenched in sweat that quickly mixed with the rain. He stared blankly at Uchiha Kagami, who had one eye closed, and said somewhat wistfully, "Was it genjutsu?"
"No, it could also be a reality that is about to happen," Uchiha Kagami said.