Kazemori Masaki's spirits lifted as soon as he received the report. After issuing those orders, he had still worried about whether they could achieve a favorable casualty exchange ratio. If it proved too difficult, he might have to consider a new approach. But Kagami Uchiha's report contained nothing but good news. Their first engagement with the Sunagakure Ninja Forces had perfectly met their expectations, and they had even taken nearly two hundred prisoners.
The report revealed to Kazemori Masaki for the first time why the Sunagakure ninja possessed such a fierce will to fight, leaving him with mixed feelings. Orders like these could indeed make soldiers fight courageously, but that courage rested on brutal oppression. In a life-or-death struggle, it might not be a bad method for the relatively weak Sunagakure Ninja Village. Unfortunately for them, their opponent was the Konoha Ninja Village.
The Konoha Ninja Village's new approach effectively halted the enemy advance. Operations centered on achieving favorable casualty exchanges further depleted the Sunagakure ninja's capacity to wage war. More importantly, Konoha's humane treatment of prisoners offered a way out to Sunagakure ninja with nowhere else to turn, especially when contrasted with their own village's cruel orders. Those nearly two hundred prisoners were irrefutable proof!
Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura had also read the report. Homura paused thoughtfully before saying, "Masaki, Kagami promised the Sunagakure ninja favorable treatment after the war without consulting us. Do you have anything to say about that?"
Although the Konoha Ninja Village had already settled on a policy of curbing Sunagakure's ability to wage war, forcing it to surrender, and bringing it under control, they had yet to discuss the specific terms. Yet Kagami Uchiha had directly promised the captured Sunagakure ninja positions in their village after the war. Even though Kagami himself was