After treating the wounded, Yūbi stepped aside.
His intervention, however, had changed several of the village's chūnin opinions toward these kids.
At least Yūbi had proven that—aside from Sasori—he was useful too.
After graduating from the Ninja Academy, although he had taken on some missions, they were mostly escorting caravans, hunting down bandits… or, at worst, interning at the hospital like him. This was the case for most genin fresh out of school—except for Sasori.
They were lucky to have arrived at the right time; it wasn't a couple of years earlier… otherwise, the danger would have been far greater.
Now they were relatively safe.
According to Yūbi, very few of those who had graduated just a few years ahead of them were still alive.
The core participating countries in the Second Shinobi World War were actually the Land of Wind, the Land of Fire, and the Land of Rain.
While the other major ninja villages were also involved in the fighting, it wasn't on a large scale.
In the village hospital, Yūbi had already seen too many wounded.
Sunagakure's resources were far less abundant than Konoha's… and it had suffered the most from the war's devastation.
The Ninja Academy system had been proposed and reformed by the Second Hokage. Initially just a school, it was later integrated into the military and political system, and the other villages began to follow suit.
The role and deployment of medical ninjas on the battlefield became more standardized—largely due to Konoha's arrangements during the war, which demonstrated their advantages to the other villages.
The idea of perfecting the medical ninja's battlefield combat system had also been Tsunade's suggestion.
It was clear… the entire shinobi world had been influenced by Konoha.
The Will of Fire was indeed outstanding.
There was no denying it.
"Let's go. I'll lead you on a patrol of the territory and routes we need to scout," Nomura said after a short while.
Yūbi and the other two got up and followed him out of the cave.
Sasori remained motionless, showing no intention of joining them.
No one paid him any mind.
"The area we're patrolling is this canyon. If the enemy wants to penetrate deep into our territory, this route is the most concealed."
"Besides us, there are other patrol teams in the vicinity… but they're on the surface, making them easy to spot."
The group leaped and ran through the canyon. Nomura occasionally stopped to point in different directions and explain the terrain to the three, including the content of their daily missions.
The canyon was vast, and their team—including the four new recruits—had to work in two shifts.
Nomura was very responsible, explaining almost every route and environmental feature within the canyon clearly so that his juniors could use the surroundings to cope with unexpected situations.
"Our border is adjacent to the Land of Rain and the Land of Birds, so our main enemies are Amegakure and Iwagakure… It's difficult for Konoha to infiltrate here. The Land of Birds hasn't been greatly affected by this war, so Iwagakure shinobi can cross their territory and enter our borders. The main battlefield of this war is actually the Land of Rain… The Land of Birds is just a strategic buffer zone; they don't get involved much, but they're being used by the Land of Earth."
Nomura continued explaining the current situation to Yūbi and the others.
"Patrol and escort missions are a good opportunity for you to hone your tracking and reconnaissance skills."
"Yūbi, you're a medical ninja… a vital asset to our team. You'll be patrolling with us veterans to ensure our safety."
Nomura smiled slightly at Yūbi.
"Okay."
Yūbi nodded.
The other two companions looked at him with a hint of envy.
This was the importance of a medical ninja.
Having a strong healer was invaluable—whether in small-squad combat or on a large-scale battlefield.
And becoming a medical ninja was far more difficult than becoming a regular shinobi.
Besides ninjutsu and physical training, medical ninjas had to master a vast amount of medical and textbook knowledge, requiring a high degree of talent.
It wasn't something anyone could achieve just by wanting to.
Along the way, Yūbi glanced at the system interface in front of him.
**Host:** Yūbi
**Identity:** Sunagakure Genin (Medical Ninja)
**Age:** 8 years old
**Currently stored positive experience points (saving lives):** 126
**Currently stored negative experience points (taking lives):** 0
**Currently redeemed shop items and abilities:** Kuroko's Medical Notes and Insights, Special Scalpel (from Black Jack)
Kuroko—the protagonist of *Black Jack*—was a surgeon without a medical license, but his powerful surgical skills and medical expertise were undeniable.
From the very beginning, Yūbi's portable system had almost predetermined his path as a medical ninja.
As a doctor, whether saving lives or taking them, experience points could be gained… and these two types could be redeemed from the system shop for different medical-related items.
At only eight years old, he had already managed to stand out because he used the experience points earned from treating patients at the village hospital to exchange for the medical notes of the man named Kuroko. After thoroughly mastering that knowledge, he possessed outstanding abilities—what outsiders called "talent."
"Unfortunately… in Sunagakure, there's only one person who can truly be called an excellent medical ninja: Granny Chiyo. And even her collection of medical ninjutsu isn't extensive. Her foundation in this field isn't solid enough, so even if someone becomes a medical ninja here, the environment limits their potential."
Yūbi had that thought.
Fortunately, there was the system.
He didn't need to worry about his future growth.
Medical ninjutsu… could also be exchanged in the system shop.
"That's about it for now. I'll arrange your daily patrol routes. For the first half of the month, a few of us veterans will personally guide you. After that, it's up to you."
Soon, after wandering around the canyon for more than an hour, the group began to head back.
Nomura said.
"Yes, sir."
The three responded.
By the time they returned to the cave, it was already dark.
The sandstorm in the canyon had subsided somewhat.
However, as soon as they arrived, a chūnin frowned and said in a deep voice, "We're past the time limit. Shimada hasn't returned yet."
Hearing this, Nomura's expression turned serious. "Something's definitely wrong… We didn't see him either."
"I'll go check."
The former said.
"Be careful. If anything happens… prioritize relaying information."
"I understand."
The other nodded, and as soon as he finished speaking, he flashed away.
Seeing this, Yūbi and the others couldn't help but tense up.
They hadn't expected that something bad would happen on their very first day.
"Endō… you stay here and look after them. I'll go report to the other squads' bases nearby."
Nomura didn't linger. After instructing the remaining chūnin in the cave, he quickly left.
Although this wasn't the front line of the border, the village's reconnaissance network along the border was extremely dense… at the slightest disturbance, these squads could respond quickly.
"Heh heh… kids, ready for a fight?"
"Without the tempering of blood, one cannot become a qualified ninja."
There were two more people in the cave: one was the chūnin named Endō, and the other was the wounded shinobi Yūbi had treated earlier, who still had difficulty moving.
This Endō was clearly a bit wicked.
Looking at the two bewildered boys, he raised the corners of his mouth, a hint of schadenfreude in his eyes.
Sure enough, as soon as he spoke, the two classmates next to Yūbi turned pale with fright.
Yūbi, however, remained calm; he had already prepared himself mentally and knew what he would face.
At this moment, Sasori—who had been sitting cross-legged at the cave entrance—suddenly stored several puppet parts into a scroll.
Then, expressionless, he stood up and, with a whoosh, disappeared out of the cave.
No one knew what he went to do next.