By the time Higashino Makoto brought over the prisoner, the battle here had already ended.
The ninjutsu faded, the lake receded, and the battlefield was left a muddy mess.
Water created by ordinary Water Release Ninjutsu would disappear once the technique ended. But aside from the Red-Eyed Second Hokage, few Water Release users could afford to be so extravagant. They usually gathered moisture from the air with Chakra, or drew on actual bodies of water to boost their techniques.
The lake that had covered the battlefield earlier was an example. A Kirigakure Ninja had drawn water from the nearby river to create it. If he'd tried to produce that much water using only his own Chakra, he could have drained himself dry and still failed.
Earth Release worked on much the same principle.
The Konoha Group had moved to a dry spot nearby and were sitting on the ground to rest. Five bodies lay in a pile beside them. They looked quite dead.
During the War Period, in a battle like the Battle of Kannabi Bridge, when a large number of Iwagakure Ninja were trapped with no way out and faced the Yellow Flash, they could only surrender. A group of prisoners that large couldn't possibly all be killed; they made useful bargaining chips for pressuring the other side.
But in a small-scale battle like today's, Ninja rarely left their enemies alive.
That was why the death rate in the Shinobi World War was so high. Sometimes, even getting injured and retiring was a luxury.
Seeing Higashino Makoto carrying a Mist Ninja, Yugao Gekko asked curiously, "Don't tell me you've caught another one alive?"
"He's alive, but he's crippled now. He's from the Yuki Clan, too, and he's awakened Ice Release. I think he'll be more useful alive than dead."