Inside an underground secret chamber.
The few remaining Medical Ninja on Sunagakure's side were treating the wounded brought in from the battlefield outside one by one.
Of the original seven Medical Ninja, only three remained.
It could be said that their medical capabilities had been greatly reduced.
Among these three, Yuji was the youngest, but he had now become the captain of the Medical Squad.
Whenever the other two Medical Ninja encountered emergency situations they couldn't handle, they would subconsciously call him for help.
Despite the urgency of the situation, Yuji handled the work with as much ease as possible. He prioritized the patients based on the severity of their injuries, giving simple treatment to those with lighter wounds first... Inside the base, some Ninjas who were unable to fight but still mobile served as assistants for the three of them.
For a time, under his command and management, they managed to cope with the busy situation.
The slaughter within the canyon had reached a fever pitch. As the commander-in-chief, Takuma had already forbidden the Medical Ninja from going out. After all, the three of them were the only medical team the unit had left. If anything happened to them, especially Yuji, the casualties in the battle would likely increase exponentially.
The consequences would be unimaginable.
"Hold on a bit longer... the reinforcements mobilized by the Village will be here soon."
In the underground area, some of the wounded were encouraging each other.
Some with lighter injuries would immediately head back out to fight after a brief rest.
What they needed to do now was buy time.
"Yuji... Commander Takuma asked me to tell you that if you're not feeling well, don't push yourself. You are very important to us."
A moment later, a Sunagakure Chunin approached Yuji. Watching the youth use the Medical Ninjutsu, Mystical Palm Technique, to heal a comrade's wound, he spoke respectfully.
"I'm fine."
Yuji smiled.
It was now the night of the second day; the battle between Sunagakure and Amegakure had lasted a full day and night.
And Yuji hadn't rested for two whole days.
He had already redeemed both the Mystical Palm Technique and the Chakra Scalpel abilities.
However, due to his limited Chakra reserves, Yuji hadn't used the Chakra Scalpel at all, opting to save Chakra by using his own scalpel for incisions... Fortunately, he had long noticed that his enhanced physical fitness helped with his Chakra recovery speed.
Chakra, simply put, was a combination of mental and physical vitality.
But as an A-rank Medical Ninjutsu, the Chakra consumption rate of the Mystical Palm Technique far exceeded Yuji's expectations.
With his current capacity, treating two wounded people at once was a bit of a strain... because the injuries were severe and required a high degree of cell activation.
This also made him realize how important the scale of one's Chakra was for a Ninja.
If he had Chakra reserves like a Tailed Beast, treating these few people would be no trouble at all.
"..."
The Sunagakure messenger hesitated to speak.
The youth before him had already earned everyone's respect with his abilities.
At first, they only thought that as a Medical Ninja, Yuji possessed excellent medical skills and knowledge, but they never expected... that this boy, fresh out of the Ninja Academy, could actually use the Mystical Palm Technique!
One had to know that in the entire Sunagakure, there weren't many people who could use such a Medical Ninjutsu.
A representative example was Grandma Chiyo.
Mainly, Yuji was too young... and the Ninja Academy wouldn't teach a Medical Ninjutsu like the Mystical Palm Technique; the Village would only provide specialized training after confirming one's aptitude for becoming a Medical Ninja.
Though curious about how Yuji had learned it, the current situation made it inconvenient to ask.
It was no exaggeration to say that without Yuji, the Sunagakure front line might have already collapsed. In comparison to Yuji, the remaining two Medical Ninja seemed far less significant.
If not for this youth ensuring that some of the lightly injured Sunagakure Ninjas could continue fighting... the Amegakure forces would likely have broken through their defenses by now.
A genius!
A medical genius!
This was the shared sentiment in everyone's hearts.
The emergence of a highly talented Medical Ninja in the Sunagakure was certainly a good thing.
The current Ninja World War wasn't over yet. New talents from Konoha were emerging one after another, and Sunagakure naturally didn't want to fall behind.
To the Village, Sasori was like a rare treasure, while someone like Yuji was a pure stroke of luck... they had stumbled upon a gem!
Reports of the battle at the border had already reached the Village, so the higher-ups likely knew of Yuji's outstanding performance... In reality, Yuji was exhausted.
Right now, he really wanted to find a place to crash and sleep.
His eyes were bloodshot and his steps were unsteady; he was well aware of his own state.
He kept going not because of some great sense of responsibility or loyalty to the Village... but because in his eyes, these patients were all experience points.
It would be a waste not to harvest them!
This border conflict was a rare opportunity for him to grow stronger.
Once everything was over, who knew when such an opportunity would come again?
"Make way!"
Just then, a Sunagakure Ninja entered the base, drenched in sweat and carrying a familiar figure on his back.
His gaze swept around and immediately locked onto Yuji.
Seeing this, many people around them began to stir.
Because the person on his back was none other than Sasori.
"What happened?"
Someone stepped forward to ask.
"An Amegakure Jonin..."
The former replied in a heavy voice.
The subsequent Amegakure forces that infiltrated were not strong individually, but they were numerous.
And just like on Sunagakure's side, there were bound to be main members or commanders... these characters, like Takuma, were at least at the Jonin level.
Although different Villages have different standards for Ninja ranks, becoming a Jonin means that even if their strength is considered subpar compared to the major Villages... they are still not someone an ordinary person can hope to match. Even though Sasori was a genius Puppeteer with undeniable strength, after fighting continuously for so long and then encountering a Jonin... it was almost impossible for him to win.
It was good enough that he survived.
Yuji knew very well that compared to the Amegakure opponents he had faced, the targets Sasori killed were mostly elites.
"Lord Takuma, in order to protect him..."
The man hesitated.
Yuji immediately checked Sasori's condition. Confirming that he was only injured and it wasn't fatal, he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
He wasn't sure if this friction between Amegakure and Sunagakure had occurred in the original story, during the Second Great Ninja War... Although he knew that Amegakure, Sunagakure, and Konoha were the main forces in this war, Yuji didn't know the details.
Reasonably speaking, even if Sasori participated in the war, he should have been fine. But if his presence caused a butterfly effect that triggered some reaction, that would be bad.
Because in his eyes, Sasori was also a precious asset to the Sunagakure.
He was also the key to Yuji's future plans to change the Sunagakure, so nothing could happen to him.
"He's alright..."
Yuji treated and tended to Sasori.
'Ding! The host has successfully treated a plot character. This is the first time the host has treated this plot character. Bonus unlocked: +200 experience points!'
"Hmm?"
Hearing the system notification, Yuji was stunned.