Late at night, the command tent of Kirigakure was utterly silent, so quiet that the sound of breathing seemed almost audible.
After a long while, one of the commanders sitting inside the tent finally broke the silence.
"This battle was a hard-won victory. Don't you have anything to say?"
The second man sighed before continuing, "What is there to say? Will repentance bring back all the Kirigakure shinobi who died?"
As he spoke, he cast a mocking glance at the companion who had spoken first.
The first man's expression stiffened. In a harsh voice, he said, "We are the supreme commanders of the entire Kirigakure force. Our decisions determine the life and death of countless people below us."
"Repentance may indeed not be something we should do, but that doesn't mean we can simply turn the page and leave it at that."
"Learning from our past mistakes, making adjustments, and reducing our losses next time—that is our job!"
Hearing this, the third man sighed. "This time, we underestimated the Uchiha's strength and courage, as well as Konoha's resolve. That was what caused such heavy casualties."
"Next time—next time, we absolutely cannot make such a misjudgment again!"
"Another time?"
The second man immediately shook his head disdainfully. "This one battle alone cost Kirigakure nearly a third of its forces."
"Besides, our village already has fewer shinobi than the other villages. We can't afford losses this great again!"
"Unless something unexpected happens, Kirigakure won't let us launch another offensive of this scale unless we have absolute confidence that we can crush Konoha in a single strike!"
Hearing this, the other two sighed as well.
That was the reality of Kirigakure, and there was nothing they could do about it.
"Since that's the case, we'll remain on the sidelines for now!"
The first