Aside from the well-trained samurai with chakra, ordinary samurai were completely bewildered by the ninjas' special techniques.
The old officer who had previously objected secretly groaned. He had lived for so long, and even though he was just a low-ranking officer now, he had seen a great deal.
For a ninja squad hidden in the forest like this, the best approach was definitely not to lead a large force into it. The complex terrain of the forest was the ninjas' domain, not the samurai's.
Generally, high-ranking officers would choose to send elite teams to investigate, or launch dense long-range attacks on the forest, or even set the forest ablaze to deprive the ninjas of their hiding places.
If none of these methods were to be used, and they insisted on bringing the entire army in, it wasn't impossible, provided the army's numbers were large enough to fill most of the forest, which could also limit the ninjas' techniques and force them into a direct confrontation. But this approach was too clumsy, and smart officers would never adopt it.
The Chakra Samurai were clearly not that intelligent, as they charged directly into the forest. Although many followed out of fear, some stopped midway, moving slowly, seemingly waiting for an opportune moment.
The old officer, having almost been killed by a Chakra Samurai earlier, subconsciously followed them in. But he soon encountered the ninjas' genjutsu guidance. After slowly calming down, he began to consider what to do next.
The old officer had been dissatisfied with the Chakra Samurai for a long time, and the near-death experience completely unleashed his inner fury. Although he was an honest man, even honest men have their breaking point.
"What should we do, Captain?" The ordinary samurai nearby gathered around the old officer. He was the most experienced and oldest person in their squad, their backbone. In this strange situation, they were completely at a loss and chose to follow the old officer's advice.
The old officer's words first brought a flicker of joy to the ordinary samurai, but then they were greatly surprised: "I have a way to deal with this situation… but I don't want to do it."
Seeing the bewildered expressions of the ordinary samurai, the old officer let out a soft sigh. Veins popped out on the back of his hand gripping his katana, showing the force he was exerting. He declared indignantly: "Are you willing to die for those Chakra Samurai?"
The ordinary samurai immediately shook their heads. Why would they be willing to die for those Chakra Samurai? Those Chakra Samurai were neither their direct superiors nor had they ever shown them any kindness. They had even killed their familiar high-ranking officers, and in recent days, they had been executing people as a warning at the drop of a hat. If anyone was willing to die for such people, there's truly nothing to say.
"But if we don't fight for them, we'll lose our own lives first," someone said.
"That was the case before, but it's different now," the old officer said. "Most of us are ordinary people, unable to break Konoha ninjas' techniques. But those Chakra Samurai are different; they are more likely to pursue Konoha ninjas. Do you know what that means?"
"What does it mean?" everyone asked.
"It means that only Chakra Samurai can face Konoha ninjas head-on! People like us, even me, might not be able to fight Konoha ninjas face-to-face," the old officer said with a smile. "In other words, those Chakra Samurai will directly face Konoha ninjas' attacks, and they might all die."
Everyone immediately rejoiced. If all the Chakra Samurai died, it would be good news for them. But someone quickly remembered and asked, "But what about us? Won't Konoha ninjas let us go?"
"I don't think so. Konoha ninjas' declaration states that their target is the rebels in the Daimyo's mansion, which is Iori, including the Chakra Samurai trained by Iori—but what does that have to do with us? We were forced to go to war; we are not the same kind of people as the rebels in the Daimyo's mansion!" the old officer said.
"Even so, will Konoha ninjas think that way?"
"Why don't you think about it? When Konoha ninjas attacked before, how come none of us died? At most, there were minor injuries, and another proof is that we haven't encountered any attacks until now!" the old officer said.
Indeed, although the old officer and others were disoriented by genjutsu, they hadn't encountered any significant attacks so far. Since they could be trapped, the number of Konoha ninjas must not be small. Even if most of them were genjutsu users, they should still be able to launch attacks—if genjutsu users could only trap people and not kill enemies, what would they do when fighting alone?
Everyone couldn't help but discuss. They didn't have as much knowledge as the old officer; they were just ordinary samurai. On this point, they would tend to listen to experienced people. The old officer was also one of their own, so he was even more likely to gain their trust, and besides, what the old officer said made sense.
"Are you willing to trust me?" the old officer asked.
Everyone hesitated for a moment, then nodded slightly. The old officer was usually a good person; they felt he would definitely not harm them. In this situation, the only one they could rely on was the old officer.
"Hey!" After getting everyone's answer, the old officer suddenly shouted loudly, "Konoha ninjas, you must be nearby! If you hear me, I'm leading my team to surrender to you and will no longer be your enemy. You know, we were forced out by those samurai from the Daimyo's mansion; we have no intention of being enemies with Konoha Village."
The old officer's words made the surrounding ordinary samurai turn pale with fright. They hadn't expected the old officer to be so direct, but he had already shouted it out, and they couldn't offer any opinions. Their hearts pounded, hoping that Konoha ninjas were indeed as the old officer judged, and had no intention of killing them.
When the old officer shouted this, he was also very uneasy, because this was his past impression of Konoha Village. Although Konoha Village had no misdeeds until the civil war began, and he thought those rumors might be slander from the Daimyo's mansion, after the civil war began, Konoha Village's attitude could not be determined. This was also a gamble for him.
Cold sweat poured down the old officer's back; he only felt an unusual silence. He didn't have any particularly good solutions now. Fighting Konoha ninjas head-on, he and his men definitely couldn't win. The only way to survive was to surrender, and Konoha Village could protect their rights as he hoped.
After an unknown amount of time, the old officer felt like he was about to faint. This was his most daring act recently. He was originally lacking in courage; otherwise, he would have been taken out by the Chakra Samurai for execution long ago. Now, it was because of his earlier unease about forest combat, coming out to offer an opinion but almost being killed by the Chakra Samurai, a momentary surge of impulsiveness—
Suddenly, the old officer saw a large number of dark shadows appear before his eyes. He was startled, but on closer inspection, he saw that they were composed of countless small insects.
These insects shifted their positions, forming a message in front of everyone, roughly stating that they understood the old officer and his men's needs, and that Konoha Village sympathized with these samurai who were forced into battle. As long as the old officer and his men did not oppose Konoha Village, Konoha Village would never make things difficult for them.
Of course, there was also the most important point: the Chakra Samurai would be dealt with by Konoha Village, and the old officer and his men did not need to intervene; they only needed to wait quietly.
Seeing these words, the old officer immediately breathed a sigh of relief. Konoha Village guaranteed not to harm them, and those Chakra Samurai would also be dealt with, which meant that the old officer and his men had no other troubles. He believed in Konoha Village's credibility—although in the past, ninjas were considered a profession skilled in deception, now, Konoha ninjas had established a good reputation. Those regular ninja squads were no longer like traditional ninjas, but more like samurai squads that could use chakra and ninjutsu.
"It's alright, everyone can rest assured, we will all be fine," the old officer said, and then felt a dizzy spell, his body collapsing to the ground.
The other ordinary samurai quickly rushed to support him. They thought the old officer had been attacked by a Konoha ninja, as ninjas' methods were very strange. Before they could make any other moves that might provoke Konoha ninjas' hostility, the old officer whispered, "No, no, I'm just too excited, it's nothing serious…"