Not everyone was as wise as the old officer. Although occasionally others would lead their teams to surrender, the vast majority of ordinary samurai did not make such a decision. It wasn't because they were particularly loyal to the Daimyo's mansion, but because they lacked a leader to help them decide.
The courageous officers were mostly dealt with by the Chakra Samurai. Most of the remaining ones dared not resist directly. The old officer and his group only temporarily burst forth after the Chakra Samurai were led into the forest, relieving the pressure. If the Chakra Samurai had still been nearby, they definitely wouldn't have made such a decision.
However, most of the ordinary samurai had no means to dispel genjutsu. They either circled around in the forest or accidentally stepped on traps, getting hung up by ropes or falling into pits.
The Konoha ninjas could be said to be very merciful. Not to mention new ninja tools like underground landmines, they didn't even use explosive tags. The most severe injury an ordinary samurai suffered was merely falling to the bottom of a pit.
Uchiha Kagami understood very well that these ordinary samurai were all potential allies. Unlike the Chakra Samurai, who were fundamentally tied to the Daimyo's mansion, these samurai could only rely on the influence of the country's monarch. While those local lords who obeyed the Daimyo's mansion were one thing, intelligence suggested that these ordinary samurai came from less willing local lords.
In other words, their participation in this expedition was basically due to the pressure from the Daimyo's army; otherwise, they wouldn't have come here so easily.
Therefore, Uchiha Kagami could not excessively harm these ordinary samurai. Although their ultimate fate would certainly be surrender, their emotions before and after surrendering would affect Konoha's future plans. As a high-ranking official, Uchiha Kagami understood this, so he ordered his subordinates not to use excessive force against these ordinary samurai unless absolutely necessary.
While Uchiha Kagami could treat them so gently, the other two routes might not be so easy. Besides the Daimyo's army, some local lords sided with the Daimyo's mansion. Sarutobi Hiruzen and others would surely have to eliminate some armed forces under these local lords to keep the others in check.
At the same time, the surrender of these ordinary samurai also needed to be guaranteed. Besides Konoha's assurance, it was also important to prevent the Daimyo's army from harming them.
The focus of this operation was to eliminate the Daimyo's Chakra Samurai. Fortunately, the Daimyo's mansion didn't place as much importance on the other two routes, which mostly consisted of ordinary samurai, with only a few hundred Chakra users. Don't underestimate these few hundred; during the breakout operation in the capital that day, Asuna and others, even with their full effort, only eliminated about that many people—of course, at that time, Asuna and the others' goal was to leave the capital, not to stay and fight, so they naturally couldn't focus too much on eliminating enemies.
Although in the forest environment, the Chakra Samurai's formations couldn't be fully utilized, a formation of dozens of people was still very powerful, and it wasn't easy for a ninja squad to eliminate them. These Chakra Samurai not only used chakra but also nature transformation, and they weren't afraid of pain or fatigue, undoubtedly making them formidable foes.
Uchiha Kagami also had no intention of fighting them head-on, as that would incur too heavy losses for his own forces. This was a complex forest, the ninjas' home turf. There was no need to engage them in direct combat; they could completely use the terrain to divide and slowly wear them down.
However, a portion of their strength must be eliminated first, Uchiha Kagami thought. His eyes turned red, displaying the Mangekyo Sharingan. As he silently chanted, powerful ocular power instantly projected towards the Chakra Samurai.
Perhaps because Uchiha Kagami once lingered in the cracks of the underworld, his Mangekyo Sharingan's ability was to simulate the world of the underworld. His left and right eyes respectively possessed mental genjutsu and the ability to materialize illusions as attacks.
However, because the Chakra Samurai were mentally sluggish, the effect of mental attacks might not be particularly good. Uchiha Kagami primarily chose materialized physical attacks. His dōjutsu was to summon the illusory Shinigami from the underworld into this world. Even if it couldn't compare to a real Shinigami, for these Chakra Samurai, it was still a fatal technique.
Uchiha Kagami's Mangekyo Sharingan spun rapidly, and an invisible force swept over the Chakra Samurai. Illusory Shinigami appeared, passing through the bodies of the Chakra Samurai. The Chakra Samurai, who had been moving, suddenly stopped. Their bodies became immobile.
Their sluggish minds couldn't comprehend this situation, and they had no chance to. As the Shinigami passed, their souls left their bodies with them. What remained were merely 'dolls' with empty shells and no souls.
Uchiha Kagami felt the intense chakra depletion and the stinging pain from his Mangekyo Sharingan. He took a deep breath. In his eyes, the souls of the Chakra Samurai were leaving their bodies, following the Shinigami.
The Shinigami summoned by Uchiha Kagami was not a true Shinigami, so the souls it took naturally wouldn't belong to him but would return to the Pure Land. At this moment, he suddenly felt a sense of relief from those departing souls.
Uchiha Kagami suddenly understood. These Chakra Samurai were indeed accomplices of the Daimyo's mansion, but did they willingly become what they were now? Muddled minds, only knowing how to obey their master's commands—no normal person would agree to that unless under duress.
In the normal timeline, among those who sacrificed themselves due to Orochimaru's Impure World Reincarnation, some were forced into reincarnation, and some volunteered. But even those who volunteered did so because of various unavoidable reasons. For example, the young man who sacrificed himself to protect his clan, or Kimimaro, who, though seemingly unburdened, had entrusted his entire being to Orochimaru due to his past experiences. Strictly speaking, Kimimaro no longer had a self.
Uchiha Kagami felt that these Chakra Samurai surely hadn't expected to end up like this. They had their own lives; why would they need to sacrifice themselves in such a way? It must have been Uchiha Koku who deceived them. If they hadn't become like this, what would have happened to the Chakra Samurai?
Perhaps they would still obey the Daimyo's mansion's orders to deal with Konoha, but as long as people could communicate, there would be room for discussion, unlike now, where communication was impossible.
—Although you are enemies, I hope you can live well in the Pure Land in the future, and when you are reincarnated into this world, you will not encounter such things again.
A line of blood slowly seeped from Uchiha Kagami's eyes, a result of overusing his Mangekyo. But looking at Uchiha Kagami's expression, it seemed as if he were shedding tears. He prayed in his heart for the liberated souls.
"Lord Kagami..." a Konoha ninja beside him said in surprise.
"It's nothing, just overused it for a moment." Uchiha Kagami took out a handkerchief to wipe away the blood and said, "The enemy's formation is in disarray. You can split them up and eliminate them one by one. Be swift."
Under Uchiha Kagami's attack just now, nearly two hundred Chakra Samurai were directly lost. Although Uchiha Kagami's chakra consumption was immense, such a battle record was astonishing. Only dōjutsu of Uchiha Kagami's caliber could cause such casualties in an instant.
If it were any other jutsu, facing cautious Chakra Samurai, even with more chakra expended, it might not necessarily cause such losses!
It's not that jutsus that consume more chakra and are more powerful necessarily cause more losses. This must be considered in conjunction with the situation. Some jutsus also consume a lot of chakra but might only be single-target attacks; some jutsus, while consuming a lot of chakra, might also have a large range, but their power might not be enough to eliminate a particularly large number of enemies... Judging the type of jutsu to use based on the enemy's type and ability is also part of a ninja's combat wisdom. If one believes that simply throwing out powerful jutsus is enough, they might not only fail to defeat the enemy but also waste chakra, and in severe cases, even lose their own lives!
Uchiha Kagami understood this. Facing fully armed Chakra Samurai, he chose not to use other methods but directly employed his Mangekyo Sharingan. Even though it would consume a large amount of chakra and reduce his physical capabilities, this jutsu was indeed unexpected and incredibly powerful, leaving no room for defense. The result was such a battle record.
Watching Uchiha Kagami wipe the blood from his face, the nearby Konoha ninjas felt complex emotions. They had heard rumors about the Uchiha clan's past, and Uchiha Kagami's Mangekyo Sharingan was indeed like the rumored 'demon's eye,' directly eliminating nearly two hundred enemies.
However, the Konoha ninjas did not feel fear. Even with such an unpredictable and eerily powerful force, perhaps it was because the Uchiha clan's image had improved in recent years, and those terrifying stories were now mere rumors. Uchiha Kagami's appearance just now made them feel as if he was grieving for the fallen Chakra Samurai, and they could sense his gentleness.
The Konoha ninjas thought, Lord Kagami is indeed very gentle. Although the Sharingan looks terrifying, it is a powerful force that protects everyone!
The Konoha ninjas looked at each other, then nodded to Uchiha Kagami and charged towards the Chakra Samurai whose formation had been broken.