Since the battle at the grain storage, Sora had been in the POW camp for nearly half a year.
Initially, she expected brutal torture and was determined not to leak any information.
She believed she could withstand physical torment, and her mental world had seals to prevent Secret Technique probes; even members of the Yamanaka Clan could not easily probe it.
If they tried to break it by force, they would have to be prepared to sacrifice her life.
However, the Konoha Ninja did not take such extreme measures against her. Once they realized she would not divulge any intelligence, they simply threw her into the POW camp. This left Sora completely unprepared and at a loss.
Sora guessed that the Konoha Ninja realized it wouldn't be easy to extract information from her and, not wanting to sacrifice her life, abandoned the idea. This was a likely guess in her mind.
Although she didn't have to endure torture, she assumed the Konoha Ninja, as enemies, wouldn't give prisoners good treatment, so she prepared herself for the poor conditions in the POW camp.
As it turned out, she was wrong. The POW camp was indeed not a great place, but it had basic living conditions. The Kumogakure Ninja were not deliberately harassed, and if they were injured, they were even given some simple medical treatment.
In terms of treatment, it was actually very rudimentary, but it was far better than what Sora had imagined. One had to know that the POW camp in Kumogakure was not this gentle.
Sora learned from previously captured Kumogakure Ninja that the conditions in the POW camp were about the same as in Kumogakure, but they had improved recently. As for the timing, it happened shortly after Sora was captured—because her status was not low, she was held in solitary confinement for a while before being sent in, so she didn't know that the environment began to improve only after she was captured.
Sora was somewhat puzzled. She knew that someone like her would not be treated the same as ordinary Kumogakure Ninja; she would either be tortured for important intelligence or used as a bargaining chip. But it was impossible to improve the treatment of other Kumogakure prisoners just because of her.
After some time, Sora learned from the conversations of the guarding Konoha Ninja that all of this was due to the suggestion made by Fūmori Masaki.
Hearing this man's name, Sora felt a stir in her heart. She hadn't expected it to be him. From their first meeting, she had never forgotten Fūmori Masaki. Back in Kumogakure, Sora had become an excellent young Ninja due to her outstanding talent and was valued by the right-hand man of the First Raikage, who took her as a disciple. These were the sources of her pride.
However, after encountering Fūmori Masaki, Sora felt that the power she prided herself on was completely unworthy of mention. She had never defeated Fūmori Masaki once. In their three battles, she was defeated in one move twice. If she could use carelessness to cover it up, the fact that Ginkaku was severely injured by Fūmori Masaki told her that the gap in strength between them was very large.
Living in the martial atmosphere of Kumogakure, Sora also revered the strong. She felt that Fūmori Masaki had strength on par with her senior brother, and because they were enemies, the impression he left on her was even deeper than her senior brother's. She believed she would never forget him.
And such a person had actually proposed the suggestion to treat prisoners well, and that Second Hokage had adopted it, which made Sora feel it was incredible. The reason behind this might have been authorized by the higher-ups, which the guarding Konoha Ninja also revealed—Konohagakure did not want this war and the only reason they participated was to protect their own homeland. They held no malice toward the Kumogakure Ninja. Although there was the issue of opposing sides, they were not madmen and had no need to bully the Kumogakure Ninja. After all, the Kumogakure Ninja were just following orders from the top and were, to some extent, quite innocent.
When saying this, the expressions of those Konoha Ninja were somewhat reluctant. Sora could tell that they didn't necessarily agree with this statement—if it were her, she wouldn't easily accept it either—but at least it proved that the higher-ups of Konohagakure, at least that Fūmori Masaki and the Second Hokage, approved of it, and this ideology of peace continued to spread in the POW camp in the following time.
Although Sora still could not understand the actions of Fūmori Masaki and the Second Hokage, after this propaganda, she couldn't help but think about whether this war was necessary and whether it was worth fighting to this extent. It wasn't just her; other Kumogakure Ninja in the POW camp gradually developed anti-war sentiments, especially other prisoners who were sent in and spoke about the latest war situation, making this sentiment even stronger.
When she heard that the First Raikage had died, Sora realized that the losses in this war were truly too great, and there was no hope of victory for Kumogakure. Now, she also felt that the war should end early. Fortunately, the successor was her teacher, a man with great insight. She believed he would definitely make the choice most suitable for Kumogakure.
Sora's assessment of her teacher was correct. After inheriting the position of Second Raikage, he had been maneuvering for a ceasefire. The Daimyo of the Land of Lightning already had thoughts of making peace, and after striking the pro-war faction, the Second Raikage also smoothed out the voices within the village. Peace between the two countries was imminent.
At this time, Sora was still waiting for new news. Soon, she learned about the recent situation. When she learned that the two countries were making peace, she felt a sense of relief. The war had truly ended.
In the discussions of the Konoha Ninja, Sora heard the name Fūmori Masaki once again. It was said that it was Fūmori Masaki and his squad who held back Kinkaku and Ginkaku, allowing the ambush operation of Konohagakure to proceed smoothly. Sora's mood was somewhat complicated; this person was truly becoming more and more formidable.
As a condition for the peace treaty, Sora and these Kumogakure prisoners would be sent back to Kumogakure, which would happen immediately after the covenant was signed. Therefore, Sora and the others had to be sent near the peace negotiation site first so they could be returned in time, and the person who came to escort them this time was Fūmori Masaki.
When Sora saw Fūmori Masaki, she had an impulse to say something to him. After hesitating repeatedly, she still walked up. The Konoha Ninja on the side saw this and immediately stopped her, but Fūmori Masaki, who noticed it, waved his hand. He looked at Sora and said, "Congratulations, this meaningless war has ended. You can all go back."
"Meaningless? Do you think this is a meaningless war?" Sora asked.
"Of course. Has this war brought any good things? A large number of civilians are displaced, the country has lost troops and officers, and the national treasury has consumed a large amount of money. Besides that, what beneficial performance is there? Hmm, if you want to say the only useful thing, I guess it is to let the world understand what is not worth advocating and what is worth maintaining."
Sora knew that Fūmori Masaki was talking about the "righteous war" theory. She had heard this declaration when she was in the POW camp, so she immediately said, "So you are saying that we are a bunch of bad guys?"
Fūmori Masaki said, "From the results, yes. In the end, why did the Land of Lightning launch this war? Is it because of insufficient resources, overpopulation, and the need for external expansion? None of that. Invading other countries and plundering wealth—isn't this the consistent style of the Land of Lightning and Kumogakure? In the end, it's just because of your own ambition. If we are talking about legitimacy, the Land of Wind and the Land of Water are more suitable than your Land of Lightning. At least they are truly poor and have harsh environments. Does your Land of Lightning have this problem?"
Sora was speechless because, in terms of environment, although the Land of Lightning was not as rich as the Land of Fire, it could still be considered a place with beautiful mountains and clear waters. It was completely fine to support the populace to live a good life. The reason for launching the war was just as Fūmori Masaki said—because the idea of aggression was at work.
"Although our monarch also has some ambition, we also have ways to stop it, but your Kumogakure would probably just go with the flow," Fūmori Masaki said. "You saw the result. Besides dead people, what else can it bring? You might as well imagine what would happen to you and those who died in battle if the war had not been launched."
Seeing Sora lower her head in silence, Fūmori Masaki smiled lightly and said, "Regardless, although the covenant has not been signed yet, it can be considered a reconciliation now. I hope it can continue in the future. We might even have the day when we fight side by side."
"There won't be one!" Sora glared at Fūmori Masaki upon hearing this. "I hate you, and I won't fight side by side with you."
"Not necessarily. Maybe it will happen soon," Fūmori Masaki said meaningfully.
"Absolutely not!" Sora said decisively.