After the Kumogakure civil war began, the Second Raikage followed Fūmori Masaki's lead and released the Konoha prisoners. Because of the proof provided by Tobirama and their hatred for the Kinkaku and Ginkakus Squad, the Konoha prisoners joined this Kumogakure civil war, helping Kumogakure pacify the internal strife more quickly.
When the two countries were hostile, both sides despised each other, but after fighting against Kinkaku and Ginkaku and experiencing the two battles of the Kumogakure civil war, both sides were surprised to find that the disgust between them had lessened significantly, which felt incredible.
Perhaps it was because they had a common enemy that forced them to join forces, and after turning from enemies into friends, the emotional connection between them became deeper, forming a camaraderie close to that of companions, at least for those Kumogakure Ninja and Konoha Ninja who had helped each other in battle.
In Sora's heart, she felt the same way. Judging from the outcome of this incident, although she had suffered setbacks at the hands of Fūmori Masaki, she was truly grateful to him now, because if it weren't for Fūmori Masaki's caution and decisive action, the evil goals of Kinkaku and Ginkaku might have truly been achieved.
Sora believed that Kinkaku and Ginkaku could not have overthrown the entire Kumogakure, but at the very least, Kumogakure would have paid a much heavier price, and that possibility no longer existed.
Fūmori Masaki is a very formidable person, Sora thought to herself. If only such a person were not in Konohagakure, but in Kumogakure, the Village might not be like it is now, becoming the loser—that's right, although they had made peace, the Land of Lightning had undoubtedly been defeated, they were just ending the war with some dignity.
Behind the failure of the Land of Lightning, Sora was also reflecting on the reasons. Perhaps it was due to inadequate war preparations, and the fact that the Village failed to treat a third-party country like the Land of Rice Fields as its own ally, instead pushing it to the opponent's side. In comparison, the concept of a righteous war and the diplomatic methods promoted by Konohagakure allowed Konohagakure to gain assistance from other countries, becoming an advantage in the war.
While in the prisoner-of-war camp, Sora knew that the concept of a righteous war came from that guy Fūmori Masaki, so she was truly heartbroken, wondering why such an excellent man was in Konohagakure.
This time, she led her troops to the Land of Hot Springs to bring the Konoha Ninja, and seeing that it was Fūmori Masaki who came to receive the prisoners, her heart skipped a beat for a moment; why was it this guy again?
Fūmori Masaki nodded slightly at her and greeted her. Sora responded, and then the two sides began the handover. On the way, Fūmori Masaki asked, "How is your Village now? Since you can safely return the prisoners, it should be considered stable, right?"
"Yes, the traitors have been completely suppressed. There are still some who slipped through the net, but it's only a matter of time," Sora replied. She then hesitated for a moment and said slowly, "I have to thank you. It was only because the Second Hokage brought your Summoned Beast that we received intelligence about the danger at the peace talks site in time."
"I was just worried about Kinkaku and Ginkaku. Although I knew they were crazy, I really didn't expect them to do such a thing," Fūmori Masaki said, half-truthfully.
"Yeah, I really couldn't have imagined it," Sora said.
"It was also your credit to be able to thwart their conspiracy. Relying solely on us would probably have taken more effort," Fūmori Masaki suddenly changed the subject. "Speaking of which, I remember you said you would never fight side by side?"
Fūmori Masaki saw Sora's face turn red instantly. Set against her fair skin, it looked very beautiful. He could almost hear a whistling sound like steam erupting.
Only then did Sora remember what she had said before—perhaps she had already realized it in her heart, but was just selectively avoiding it—this behavior of slapping her own face made her feel so ashamed that she almost wanted to find a place to dig a hole and crawl into it. What made her even more embarrassed and annoyed was that Fūmori Masaki had actually said it directly, without knowing how to beat around the bush or leave her some face.
Sora glanced at Fūmori Masaki, suddenly seemed to think of something, glared at Fūmori Masaki, and said, "Are you doing this on purpose to make a fool of me?"
"No," Fūmori Masaki denied.
"Liar!"
"Think what you want." Fūmori Masaki shrugged. He did indeed want to tease Sora; seeing this cold beauty show such an embarrassed and annoyed look was quite interesting. During these days, his nerves had been tense because of the war, and now that it was finally over—although only temporarily—he should find something to adjust his mood.
Looking at Fūmori Masaki's innocent expression, Sora felt that this person must be doing it on purpose. She couldn't help but think bitterly in her heart, what an annoying man.
"After this incident, your Kumogakure should also learn some lessons." After teasing her a little, Fūmori Masaki returned to the main topic. "The essence of Kinkaku and Ginkaku's rebellion this time is actually that insatiable desire for conquest, isn't it?"
Upon hearing this, the somewhat angry expression on Sora's face gradually became heavy. Looking at the people in front of her who were handing over and counting the list of prisoners, she said, "Yes, our Village used to be like this, but now it seems that perhaps there really is something that was done wrong, maybe."
"Desire is sometimes a good thing. It can promote progress and development, but within an appropriate range. Once it gets out of control, it will cause unpredictable and terrible consequences," Fūmori Masaki said.
Upon hearing this, Sora secretly savored the meaning of this sentence in her heart and felt that it was indeed reasonable. Under the martial tradition, Kumogakure walked the path of strength, and it was precisely because of this imbalance that Kinkaku and Ginkaku could not accept the result of peace and resolutely launched a rebellion, preferring to die rather than start a war again alone.
"You are really not an ordinary person, Fūmori Masaki," Sora said involuntarily. She felt that Fūmori Masaki could always bring up issues she had never considered.
"I am just a very ordinary person." Although Fūmori Masaki possessed Sage Mode, he never felt that he was very special. He just obtained experience from another world. Compared to that world, the current Ninja World was still quite immature. Standing on the shoulders of others, he naturally could see scenery that people in the Ninja World could not see.
"If you are ordinary, what are those who are weaker than you?" Sora was a little unhappy in her heart. If Fūmori Masaki was an ordinary person, then what was she, who had lost to him?
"Even those who are weaker than me might have areas where they are better than me. Some things cannot be defined by pure power." Fūmori Masaki felt that he could at most be considered a warrior. Because he had experience from other worlds, he had some insights into governance, but other things were beyond his reach. He knew at most some general directions, but specific operations were impossible.
And for those who might make huge contributions in these fields in the future, even if Fūmori Masaki could easily kill them all, he still believed that he should respect them, as the fields they could influence were beyond his own capabilities.
Sora was a bit confused and didn't understand what Fūmori Masaki meant. Seeing this, Fūmori Masaki said, "You will understand in the future."
The counting of the prisoner handover was finished, and it matched the list calculated by Konohagakure. Fūmori Masaki then prepared to take them away. Before leaving, he said to Sora, "I hope that in the days to come, our two Villages can maintain a harmonious relationship, so that the next generation can live as much as possible under the dawn of peace."
"Why don't you hope for eternal peace?" Sora asked curiously.
"Eternal peace or whatever has never appeared at any time," Fūmori Masaki said. "The only thing I hope for is that in my lifetime, I can preserve the fruits and concepts of peace. Even if war breaks out again, there will be the next generation to inherit it and continue to maintain this peace. Theoretically speaking, as long as every generation remembers this responsibility and strives for it, even if war breaks out, it will only be a very short matter, and it will soon return to peace. I think this is what permanent peace really looks like."
"Will it be so smooth?" Sora asked.
"I don't know. This cannot be achieved by me alone, but requires people who are willing to support these missions and remember their responsibilities. Sora, I hope you can strive for peace. I think that having tasted the pain brought by this war, you should be able to understand," Fūmori Masaki said.
Sora turned her head away. Fūmori Masaki could not see her expression, only heard her softly say "Hmm," and add, "I know what should be done."
After this prisoner handover, the Second Raikage and Tobirama held another peace talk. This time, an agreement was formally signed. As the party that provoked the First Great Ninja War, the Land of Lightning became the first country to withdraw from the war. Although the Land of Fire signed the peace agreement, the fighting of Konohagakure had not yet stopped.