The war ended at dusk.
Of course, with nearly one million people invading the Land of Water, there would definitely be more or less some who slipped through the net.
They hid in the inland areas of the Land of Water, concealed themselves in remote villages, and waited for the right opportunity to "counterattack."
There were also those who immediately took off their upper clothing and committed seppuku.
But such idiots were, after all, a minority.
Most of the mercenaries, Daimyo ninjas, and Allied samurai were all people with sharp minds. They knew very clearly the purpose of this expedition, and they also knew very well that the overall situation was now settled.
Even the samurai who were the most foolishly loyal to the Daimyo, upon seeing Ryosuke single-handedly sweep across the Allied Forces, would change their minds,
Rather than throwing away their lives for nothing, it was better to preserve themselves.
This way, even if their own Daimyo got chopped down by Ryosuke someday, they could still go sweep the grave and offer flowers, right?
Thus, a bunch of samurai, mercenaries, and ninjas all threw away the weapons in their hands.
But Ryosuke continued standing in the sky, letting the Water Dragons rampage freely.
Throwing away your weapons, and you expect to survive?
Go ask those who sacrificed themselves, the Anhilation Army and the Kirigakure ninjas, if they agree.
Seeing that throwing away their weapons was useless, the Allied troops completely fell into despair, crying to their parents and shouting to the heavens, begging for mercy.
No one knew who was the first to react, but someone took off their armor and underclothes, and just like that, stark naked, opened their arms, knelt on the ground, not dodging or hiding, like livestock waiting to be slaughtered, leaving their fate in Ryosuke's hands.
Once there was one, there came a second. When the entire crowd was bare, with their butts raised kneeling on the ground, not to mention Ryosuke, even Takeshi and Mayuri, who had been killing these Allied Forces until now, couldn't bring themselves to do it anymore.
Not because they suddenly felt pity, but because...
It felt disgusting.
In the end, the remaining Allied Forces were gathered, reorganized, and escorted to a nearby town.
Letting them go back was definitely impossible.
Since they had voluntarily participated in an invasion war, they had to pay the corresponding price.
"Lord Ryosuke… where will we be sent?"
Before being escorted away, Akatsuchi shamelessly came to ask. This senior brother of Iwagakure had one leg broken, walked with a limp, and had a very deep wound on his abdomen.
These injuries were all sustained to protect Kurotsuchi.
The princess of Iwagakure, Kurotsuchi, was also completely naked, under such circumstances, if she had still worn clothes at that moment, she would have been torn apart by Water Dragons the next second.
She used both hands to cover the key parts of her body, lowered her head, followed behind Akatsuchi, didn't dare look at Ryosuke, her eyes full of fear.
Ryosuke's gaze did not land on the two of them. He only quietly looked into the distance at the setting sun that was about to fall...
"Prison."
"Work five days, rest two days, get up at six, go to bed at nine. The work content is labor, mining, farming… should all be things you're skilled at."
"When you have repaid your crimes, you can leave. As for the standard for evaluating your crimes, experts will judge and sentence later."
Akatsuchi licked his lips, looked around, and said in a low voice, "Lord Ryosuke, our identities… you've probably already figured it out. Could you perhaps, for the old man's sake, "
Akatsuchi's words abruptly stopped.
Ryosuke's gaze fell on Akatsuchi's body.
In his eyes, there was no hatred, no anger, nor hostility, only pure darkness.
Like a bottomless abyss.
For the old man's sake?
Would the current Ryosuke still need to give face to anyone?
Akatsuchi stiffly lowered his head, not daring to meet Ryosuke's eyes, not daring to say another word. He bowed deeply to Ryosuke and followed the other captives toward the horse carriage.
Kurotsuchi lagged half a step behind, covering her body, and was about to follow her senior brother.
"Wait."
Kurotsuchi shivered slightly and turned her head a little.
A large coat was handed to her.
She looked at Ryosuke in disbelief.
Ryosuke did not look at her. He said softly, "This is not special treatment for you. It's just that, even as criminals, one must have the most basic dignity as a human being."
Kurotsuchi turned her head and only then noticed that many staff had gotten off the arriving carriages, distributing cheap hemp clothing to the captives.
Wearing them might feel uncomfortable, but at least they wouldn't be naked anymore.
For some unknown reason, Kurotsuchi asked on impulse, "Why do you want to give us dignity? Clearly we were the ones who invaded the Land of Water and caused this war."
The moment she finished speaking, she regretted it. Akatsuchi broke out in a cold sweat, terrified that Ryosuke would say, "You're seeking death," and beat the two of them to death with sticks.
"You said it backwards."
Ryosuke said, "The reason we have war is because your masters did not want to give you dignity."
"And I do."
Kurotsuchi stared blankly at Ryosuke.
The evening glow shone from behind Ryosuke, as if outlining his entire body in a halo of rosy gold.
His face became dim and unclear under the contrast of light and shadow, but those eyes gazing into the distance carried a certain indescribable, profound charm.
"This is Ryosuke."
In that moment, Kurotsuchi understood why Takeshi would fight unflinchingly, why so many people would follow Ryosuke.
"To follow someone like this, to fight for such an ideal, must be a very blissful thing, right?"
"If not for this war, Father and Ryosuke… might have even become friends."
Kurotsuchi draped Ryosuke's coat over herself, feeling overwhelmed with mixed emotions.
———
Once the staff responsible for arranging the captives arrived, Ryosuke left the front lines.
Winter nights turned dark very early. By the time Ryosuke returned to Kirigakure Village, the smell of food cooking was only just drifting out house by house. From time to time, someone on the street would shout loudly to celebrate the victory in the war.
Of course, more people were still at home or in izakayas, turning on the TV or radio, waiting for the evening news announcer to formally announce the result.
When the announcer lady used a gentle yet powerful voice to broadcast the great victory of the war to the entire Land of Water, an explosive cheer erupted across the nation.
People could no longer suppress the excitement in their hearts. They all poured onto the streets, raising bottles of wine, enjoying the cheers of the night of victory.
They knew that for now, they had only crushed the invaders. The true enemies were still a thousand miles away, lying in luxurious mansions with their pampered wives and concubines. The war had not yet reached its final victory.
But tonight, they only wanted to celebrate.
People sang loudly, and some even held up portraits of Ryosuke.
Sitting on the roof of a building, Ryosuke glanced at the portraits and then helplessly looked away. The artists had embellished too much, and besides, they were treating Ryosuke as the hero who had decided this battle.
Ryosuke knew very well who the real heroes were.
He looked back.
Shingetsu still displayed a foolish expression, hugging his knees, squatting in the corner of the wall, staring blankly at the stars in the sky.
"You really did get it right. Going there and back, you earned the Ascension Star Core."
It was more than just the Ascension Star Core. After this battle ended, Ryosuke had gained a great deal.
If White Snake were still here, Ryosuke could imagine it lifting its chin, hands on hips, with a smug expression saying, "How·is·it!"
"Did I lie to you, brother? Isn't it awesome?"
"It's just a pity… I'll never hear that guy's constant nagging again."
After the war ended, Ryosuke finally had time to look for a way to switch White Snake in the system, there wasn't any.
He wondered if he could draw White Snake again through the gacha.
But the interface representing White Snake in the system was gray, instead of missing. Which meant it had already been drawn from the system pool, and it was impossible to obtain again.
This was the reality.
This was the ending.
Ryosuke quietly watched the cheering, boiling Kirigakure Village, and let out a soft sigh.
Suddenly, footsteps came from behind him.
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