When the townspeople learned that Konoha Ninja Village had come to take over the town, they burst into tears of joy. Ever since the Daimyo Mansion Army arrived, it had been plundering the area, seizing whatever it needed from people's homes like a pack of bandits. The commander of its ordinary samurai had even declared self-righteously, "All of this is for suppressing the rebels. As citizens of this country, you have a duty to contribute."
The Konoha ninja who heard this were furious. Precisely because of the Daimyo Mansion Army's outrageous conduct here, even ordinary people who knew little about the country's situation believed that Konoha Ninja Village were the true good guys, and they cooperated readily.
After entering the town, Hiruzen Sarutobi met with its officials. These civil officials naturally lacked the power to stop the Daimyo Mansion Army's actions. They had effectively been stripped of authority throughout its occupation and had built up considerable resentment.
"We still need to confront the traitors. The earlier fighting caused substantial damage to the town. First, stabilize the situation and calculate the losses. Once the traitors have been eliminated, we will discuss how to handle the aftermath," Hiruzen Sarutobi said.
The town officials approved of Hiruzen Sarutobi's decision. With the Civil War underway, they could hardly ask him and his men to stop and deal with the town's problems. Those matters could only be entrusted to administrative officials like themselves for now. Konoha Ninja Village had always enjoyed an excellent reputation, and once the Civil War ended, it would surely do its best to help restore the town.
After resting for a while, Hiruzen Sarutobi and the others led the main force out again, heading toward their next objective. Meanwhile, the intelligence ninja remained hard at work, gathering as much information on