On the other side.
After collecting Danzo's soul, Sora left the battlefield area and headed towards Kirigakure's controlled territory.
After successively killing Shisui and then Danzo, the anger in his heart gradually subsided.
Subsequently,
The psychological fatigue from the continuous fierce battles also left Sora feeling somewhat listless.
For this cruel world, war was like a web woven from hatred, enveloping all Ninjas, driving them to madly slaughter each other.
Every Ninja was like a pirate's descendant, showing no interest in production or creation, but instead pouncing like raving lunatics the moment death and killing were mentioned.
This was a terrifying vortex that sucked in everyone, whether they desired peace or war; no one could remain untouched.
Not even Sora was an exception.
Plunder, killing, hatred, arrogance, greed, ambition… all sorts of negative emotions, strong or weak, always gave rise to one ambitious schemer after another, easily tearing apart the facade of peace and plunging the world back into the abyss of war.
A thousand years of war had caused Ninjas to abandon thought. Many killed simply for the sake of killing, then became deeply mired in the endless torrent of hatred.
Pitiable?
Perhaps not necessarily.
From Sora's perspective, as long as noble forces like the Daimyo, which is akin to Celestial Dragons, existed, this world would never attain true peace, even if the Otsutsuki Clan suddenly vanished from the universe.
Nobility, class, division…
When Ninjas, possessing great power, inexplicably became the loyal hounds of the Daimyo, the future of this world had already strayed onto a wrong path.
Sora often pondered.
If he were in the Mizukage's position, how should he change this world, and how should he end this endless war.
Interest, hatred, unification, and then peace built upon destruction.
This was Sora's contemplation.
When he possessed sufficient power to ensure that ambitious schemers, including Black Zetsu, Madara, and the Five Kage, could no longer rely on war to seize this or that benefit, then the preliminary conditions for peace would emerge.
The essence of the Great Ninja War was mutual plunder between interest conglomerates, the big fish eating the small fish, the small fish eating the shrimp.
When the expected benefits of war far outweighed the costs of war, ambitious schemers would eagerly launch wars. If the opposite were true, war would not occur.
Just like how Iwagakure, Kumogakure, and Konoha seized benefits from Sunagakure after the Third Kazekage's death, no small village would dare to start a war with a major village like Konoha, because any ambitious schemer with a brain knew such an act would cost them a thousand while losing a hundred thousand themselves, often facing annihilation.
Therefore,
Absolute, singular strength ends disputes over interest.
Because with one dominant power, no matter how greedy other ambitious schemers are, no matter how much they want to plunder others, if their strength cannot surpass that single entity, they will never have the courage to start a war.
In contrast, relatively strong pluralistic opposition only makes the struggle for interests more brutal.
Because the singular power is divided among many individuals, and the power in each person's hands is hard to distribute evenly.
The disparity between strong and weak gives rise to the primitive impulse for ambition and war.
That is, centralization means peace, division means war.
This principle was probably understood by Madara and Tobirama back in their day, which is why both opposed the First Hokage's distribution of the Tailed Beasts in various ways.
When centralization turned into decentralization, the soil for war was already formed.
There is no doubt that Hashirama once stood at the crossroads of history, but due to his shallow vision and limited power, he ultimately led this world into complete chaos.
And now,
Sora also stands at a critical juncture in history. Where the future world goes may depend solely on his single thought.
While pondering, Sora traveled swiftly, soon covering hundreds of kilometers and entering the Kirigakure's expeditionary force's controlled territory.
Along the way,
On small paths, in forests, by streams, traces of clashes between Kirigakure and Konoha's Ninjas could still be seen, though the intensity of the fighting was rapidly decreasing.
Within the Kirigakure's expeditionary force's controlled territory, small-scale Konoha's raids and sabotage still occurred, but large-scale army-level combat had completely ceased.
This was also a testament to Sora's current deterrent power.
As long as Konoha didn't see him fall for a single day, they absolutely wouldn't dare lightly start a full-scale war again.
For this reason, even temporarily ceding territory was something they could endure.
'…No fighting on the Western Front…'
Sora had a general judgment. Konoha had probably completely lost the courage for strategic decisive battles. Future Kirigakure vs Konoha wars might descend into prolonged security warfare and guerrilla warfare.
…
Kirigakure.
Tenfu Gorge Camp.
This was the core location of the Kirigakure's expeditionary force, where high-level command and the most elite troops were gathered.
In the command center,
A large war sand table was placed, and beside it stood several Kirigakure's Ninjas with powerful auras.
Yagura, Fuguki, Meigetsu, Ao…
"Still no news from Sora?"
Meigetsu, with her bewitching red pupils, stared at the map for a long time before suddenly speaking up gravely.
"Not for now."
Hearing this, Yagura shook his head and smiled wryly: "A few days ago, he took Mei, Ringo Kurumi, and Matsunaga Yuzuki deep into Konoha's controlled territory. Because the operation was secret, they haven't sent regular intelligence. Right now, our intelligence regarding Sora's location, what he's doing, whether he's encountered any danger, is completely blank."
"This is too reckless!"
A trace of worry flashed in Meigetsu's eyes: "If Konoha discovers his trail and something dangerous happens, can you take responsibility!??"
As she spoke, Meigetsu's tone couldn't help but become stern.