In an underground hidden chamber, the few remaining medical ninja from Sunagakure were treating wounded shinobi one after another—patients carried in from the battlefield outside.
There had originally been seven medics.
Now, only three remained.
Their medical capacity had been drastically reduced.
And among those three, Yubi was the youngest—yet he had become the leader of the medical unit.
Whenever the other two medics ran into an emergency they couldn't handle, they instinctively called for him.
Even though the situation was urgent, Yubi did his best to keep everything under control. He prioritized patients by severity: those with lighter injuries received quick, basic treatment first. Inside the outpost, several shinobi who couldn't fight but could still move served as assistants for the three medics.
For the moment, under Yubi's command and organization, they were barely managing.
The fighting in the canyon had entered a white-hot stage. As the overall commander, Takuma had forbidden the medical ninja from going outside. The three of them were all that remained of the medical corps. If anything happened to them, especially to Yubi—casualties would spike exponentially.
The consequences would be unimaginable.
"Hold on a little longer… reinforcements from the village will arrive soon."
Inside the underground chamber, some of the wounded encouraged each other.
Those with lighter injuries, after a short rest, would return to the fight.
All they had to do now was buy time.
"Yubi… Commander Takuma asked me to tell you: if you don't feel well, don't force it. You're very important to us."
After a while, a Sand chunin approached Yubi. He watched the boy use the Mystical Palm Technique to heal a comrade's wound and spoke with genuine respect.
"I'm fine," Yubi replied with a small smile.
By now it was the second night. The battle between Sunagakure and Amegakure had lasted a full day and night.
And Yubi himself hadn't rested for two full days.
He had already redeemed two abilities: Mystical Palm Technique and the Chakra Scalpel.
However, because his chakra reserves were still limited, Yubi hadn't used the Chakra Scalpel at all. He conserved chakra, relying on his physical scalpel for incisions instead. Fortunately, he'd long noticed that improving his physical conditioning helped his chakra recovery speed.
Chakra, in the end, was a combination of mental and physical vitality.
But Mystical Palm Technique was an A-rank medical ninjutsu—its chakra consumption was far higher than Yubi had expected.
With his current reserves, treating two critically injured patients back-to-back already pushed him hard. Severe wounds required intense cellular activation.
It drove home a brutal truth: chakra capacity was everything for a shinobi.
If he had tailed beast-level chakra, saving these people would be trivial.
"…"
The chunin who delivered the message hesitated, wanting to say more.
The boy in front of him had earned everyone's respect through sheer competence.
At first, they'd only thought Yubi was an unusually skilled medic with excellent knowledge.
But they hadn't expected… that this Academy graduate could use the Mystical Palm Technique.
In all of Sunagakure, there weren't many who could. The most well-known was Lady Chiyo.
More importantly, Yubi was far too young. The Academy wouldn't teach A-rank medical ninjutsu like this. Only after a shinobi proved they had the potential to become a medical ninja would the village train them specifically.
They were curious how Yubi had learned it, but in a situation like this, no one could afford to ask.
Without exaggeration—if not for Yubi, Sunagakure's line might have collapsed already. Compared to him, the remaining two medics felt almost… secondary.
If the boy hadn't preserved the fighting strength of the lightly wounded, keeping them able to return to battle—Amegakure would likely have broken through by now.
A genius.
A medical genius.
It was the same thought in everyone's heart.
Sunagakure producing a highly talented medical ninja was unquestionably a good thing.
The war wasn't over yet. New talent was emerging one after another in Konoha—Sunagakure refused to fall behind.
For the village, Sasori was an irreplaceable treasure. And someone like Yubi?
This was like stumbling across a priceless find.
News from the border had already been sent back. The village leadership surely knew about Yubi's outstanding performance.
...
In truth, Yubi was exhausted.
He wanted nothing more than to curl up somewhere and sleep.
His eyes were bloodshot, his steps unsteady—he knew exactly what state he was in.
He kept going not because he was noble, or fiercely loyal to the village…
But because to him, these patients were experience points.
Not harvesting them would be a waste.
This border war was a rare chance to grow stronger.
Once it ended, who knew when an opportunity like this would appear again?
"Make way!"
At that moment, a Sand shinobi rushed into the outpost, drenched in sweat, carrying a familiar figure on his back.
His eyes swept the room—and locked onto Yubi instantly.
A stir rippled through the chamber.
Because the person on his back was none other than—
Sasori.
"What happened?" someone demanded.
"A Rain jonin…"
The man answered grimly.
The later waves of infiltrators from Amegakure weren't individually strong, but there were many of them. And just like Sunagakure, they would have key forces and commanders—people at least at jonin level.
Different villages judged ranks differently, but one thing was consistent: if someone was a jonin, even if they were weaker than top jonin from major villages, they were still far beyond ordinary shinobi.
Even for Sasori, a prodigy puppet master with proven combat ability—after fighting nonstop for so long, running into a jonin meant he almost certainly couldn't win.
Surviving at all was already impressive.
Yubi understood immediately: compared to the Rain shinobi he had faced, the ones Sasori killed were likely elites.
"Takuma-sama, to protect him…"
The messenger trailed off, as if unable to finish.
Yubi immediately checked Sasori's condition. After confirming the injuries weren't fatal, he finally let out a breath.
He couldn't be certain whether this clash between Amegakure and Sunagakure had occurred in the original story. He knew Amegakure, Sunagakure, and Konoha were key players in the Second Shinobi World War, but he didn't know every detail.
In theory, Sasori would be fine even if he participated.
But if Yubi's presence caused a butterfly effect…
That would be disastrous.
In Yubi's eyes, Sasori was also precious village "capital."
And more importantly, Sasori was a key piece in changing Sunagakure's future.
He couldn't afford for anything to happen to him.
"Thank goodness…"
Yubi treated and stabilized Sasori's injuries.
[Ding!]
[Host has successfully treated a canon character. This is the host's first time treating this character. Bonus unlocked: EXP +200!]
"Huh?"
Hearing the system notification, Yubi froze.