After the Sunagakure forces withdrew, the ninja left behind were like turtles trapped in a jar. Even if the allied forces did nothing, they could not hold out for long. Mindful of the strength people could unleash when cornered, Kagami Uchiha and Hanzō discussed the matter and decided against a direct assault. Instead, they would surround the enemy and wait them out.
During this time, Kagami Uchiha went to examine the bodies of the Sunagakure ninja, particularly those who had chosen death over surrender. He studied their self-inflicted wounds with a thoughtful expression. Seeing this, Hanzō inspected them several times as well, but found nothing unusual. He merely thought the Sunagakure ninja had remarkably strong wills.
"What exactly concerns you, Kagami?" Hanzō could not help asking.
"Well, Hanzō, look at this. Leaving aside those who tried to take us down with them, some had already been captured by our men. Their chakra was exhausted, and they were even bound with ropes, yet they still braved the pain and chose death without hesitation. I keep finding that strange," Kagami Uchiha said.
"There doesn't seem to be anything particularly unusual about it. In the early Warring States Period, weren't ninja who killed themselves immediately after failing a mission everywhere?" Hanzō said.
"That was because ninja back then had no other choice. Once they fell into enemy hands, they would be tortured for every scrap of information, then killed," Kagami Uchiha said. "But things had already changed by the late Warring States Period. Prisoners were still interrogated under torture, but the cruelty had begun to lessen. Only important members of ninja clans received that kind of treatment."
This change occurred because, in the early Warring States Period, ninja carried out missions as individuals. Those sent out were all elites of their clans, and