After Yubi finished treating the wounded chunin, he stepped back and returned to his spot near the cave wall.
But his quick intervention had already shifted how the other Hidden Sand ninja viewed the new arrivals. Before, they'd probably written off the fresh academy graduates as dead weight—kids who'd need constant supervision and wouldn't pull their own weight.
Now, at least, they knew that besides Sasori, there was another genin who could actually be useful.
Yubi leaned back against the cold stone and let his mind wander. After graduating from the Ninja Academy, most genin like him had been assigned relatively safe missions—escorting merchant caravans through bandit-prone routes, hunting down the occasional group of outlaws, that sort of thing. The most dangerous thing Yubi had personally done was intern at the village hospital, treating injured ninja who came back from the front lines.
Except for Sasori, of course. That kid had been on real combat missions almost from day one.
We're lucky with our timing, Yubi thought, watching the shadows flicker across the cave ceiling. If we'd graduated two or three years earlier, we'd probably all be dead by now.
Things were relatively peaceful these days—or at least, as peaceful as they got during a world war.
According to everything Yubi knew—both from his memories of this world and his knowledge of what was supposed to happen—most of the kids who'd graduated from the academy a few years back were already in the ground. The casualty rates had been brutal.
The core combatants of the entire Second Great Ninja War were the Land of Wind, the Land of Fire, and the Land of Rain. Sure, the other major villages had gotten involved here and there, but the scale of those conflicts paled in comparison to the meat grinder that was happening in those three territories.
Yubi had seen the results firsthand during his time at the hospital. Too many casualties. Too many mangled bodies and empty eyes.
Sunagakure's foundation wasn't anywhere near as deep as Konoha's. The village simply didn't have the same population, the same resources, or the same depth of talent. And under the constant attrition of war, the Hidden Sand had suffered the most severely.
The Ninja Academy system was proposed and reformed by the Second Hokage, Yubi mused, his mind turning over facts he'd learned in class. Before that, it was just a schoolhouse. The Second Hokage integrated it into the military-political system, and then all the other villages copied the model.
Even the formalized deployment of medical ninja on the battlefield—something that seemed so obvious now—had only become standardized during this war, thanks to Konoha's combat arrangements. Other villages had watched, taken notes, and realized that having dedicated field medics dramatically improved survival rates.
The entire combat system for medical ninja had been refined and proposed by Tsunade herself.
It's all Konoha, Yubi thought with a mix of admiration and frustration. The entire shinobi world revolves around them. Everything we do is influenced by Konoha in one way or another.
The Will of Fire was powerful stuff. You had to give them credit for that.
"Alright, let's go." Nomura's voice cut into Yubi's thoughts. The chunin stood and gestured toward the cave entrance. "I'll take you three on a patrol of the territory and show you the routes we need to scout."
Yubi, Kenta, and Akira all stood up immediately and followed him toward the exit.
Sasori remained motionless at the cave entrance, still absorbed in his puppet maintenance. He didn't even glance up as they passed.
No one bothered him. That was just how Sasori operated—when he wanted to join, he'd join. When he didn't, trying to force him would be pointless.
"The area we need to patrol is this canyon," Nomura explained as they leaped from ledge to ledge, moving deeper into the labyrinth of stone corridors. "If an enemy force wants to penetrate deep into our country's heartland, this route is the most concealed. It's a natural highway for infiltration teams."
He paused on a high outcropping, pointing toward several other formations in the distance. "Besides us, there are other patrol squads in the vicinity, but they're positioned on more obvious routes. They're the bait, basically—easy to spot, easy to engage. We're the ones who catch anyone smart enough to avoid the obvious paths."
The group continued moving through the canyon, and Nomura would occasionally stop to point out specific landmarks, explaining the terrain and tactical considerations.
The canyon system was massive. With the addition of Yubi's group, the squad would be split into two shifts that would rotate patrol duties. Nomura was thorough—almost obsessively so—making sure to explain every route, every hidden passage, every blind spot within the canyon. He wanted to ensure that if something went wrong, the younger ninja would know how to use the environment to their advantage.
"The border we're adjacent to puts us right between the Land of Rain and the Land of Birds," Nomura continued, his tone becoming more serious. "So the main enemies we'll be dealing with are Amegakure and Iwagakure forces. It's pretty difficult for Konoha's people to penetrate this far into our territory—they'd have to cross through multiple defensive lines first."
He gestured vaguely westward. "The Land of Birds hasn't been heavily affected by this war. They're technically neutral, but Iwagakure uses their territory as a transit point to reach our borders. The main battlefield of this war is the Land of Rain—places like the Land of Birds are just strategic buffer zones. They don't get directly involved in the fighting, but they're being exploited by the Land of Earth whether they like it or not."
Yubi absorbed the information carefully, committing the geopolitical landscape to memory. This kind of knowledge could mean the difference between life and death.
"Patrol and escort missions are good opportunities for you to develop your tracking and scouting experience," Nomura said, his voice taking on a slightly encouraging tone. "These are fundamental skills that every ninja needs to master."
He turned to look directly at Yubi. "Yubi, you're a medical ninja—that makes you an important asset to the squad. You'll patrol with us veterans to ensure your safety. We can't afford to lose a skilled medic to a stupid mistake."
Nomura offered him a slight smile.
"Understood," Yubi replied with a nod.
The other two genin—Kenta and Akira—shot Yubi a look that was equal parts envy and respect.
That's the importance of being a medical ninja, Yubi thought. In a world where people die constantly, the person who can keep you alive becomes invaluable.
Having a powerful healer was effective whether you were talking about small-unit operations or large-scale battlefield engagements. And the difficulty of becoming a medical ninja was exponentially greater than becoming a regular combat ninja.
Medical ninja didn't just have to master ninjutsu and physical training—they also had to absorb a massive amount of medical knowledge, anatomical understanding, and textbook theory. It required a specific kind of talent, a specific kind of mind.
Not everyone could do it. Most people didn't even try.
As they moved through the canyon, Yubi pulled up his system interface, the familiar blue screen appearing in his mind's eye where only he could see it.
Host: Yubi
Identity: Sunagakure Genin (Medical Ninja)
Age: 8 years old
Current Positive Experience Points (Healing): 126
Current Negative Experience Points (Killing): 0
Currently Owned Items & Abilities:
Kageman's Medical Notes and Insights Special Scalpel (From Black Jack)
Kageman—better known as Black Jack—was an unlicensed surgeon with legendary surgical skills and medical expertise. From the moment Yubi's system had appeared, it had essentially decided his path as a medical ninja.
As a doctor, he could gain experience points whether he saved lives or took them. The two types of experience points could be exchanged in the system shop for different categories of medical-related items and abilities.
The reason he'd been able to stand out at only eight years old was simple: he'd used the experience points gained from treating patients at the village hospital to purchase Kageman's Medical Notes. After fully absorbing that knowledge, he'd gained abilities that far exceeded what anyone his age should possess.
That was the "talent" everyone saw.
Unfortunately, Yubi thought with a slight grimace, in Sunagakure, the only person who can really be called an outstanding medical ninja is Chiyo. The village's collection of medical ninjutsu isn't extensive, and the foundation in this area just isn't solid enough. Even if you become a medical ninja here, the environment dictates that your ceiling won't be very high.
It was a frustrating reality. The Hidden Sand simply didn't prioritize medical development the way Konoha did.
Fortunately, I have the system. I don't have to worry about finding resources for growth. Medical ninjutsu can be purchased directly from the system shop.
That thought brought him some comfort as they continued their patrol.
"That's basically it," Nomura said after they'd been wandering through the canyon for more than two hours. He turned to lead them back toward the cave. "I'll arrange your daily patrol routes. For the first two weeks, us veterans will personally accompany you. After that, you'll be on your own."
"Yes, sir," the three genin responded in unison.
By the time they made it back to the cave, the sun had already set. The wind and sand in the canyon had calmed somewhat, and the temperature was starting to drop.
However, as soon as they stepped through the cave entrance, one of the chunin inside frowned and spoke in a heavy voice. "He's overdue. Shimada hasn't returned yet."
The atmosphere in the cave immediately grew tense.
Nomura's expression turned grave. "That's not right. We should have run into him during our patrol loop."
"I'll go take a look," the chunin said, already moving toward the exit.
"Be careful," Nomura warned. "If you run into trouble, prioritize sending back intelligence over engaging. Understood?"
"Understood."
The chunin nodded once, then vanished in a blur of movement.
Yubi felt his stomach tighten. He glanced at Kenta and Akira, who both looked like they'd suddenly realized they were way out of their depth.
Of course, Yubi thought grimly. We arrive on our first day, and something's already going wrong.
"Endo," Nomura said to the remaining chunin in the cave, his voice clipped and professional. "Stay here and look after them. I'm going to the nearby outposts to report this and coordinate with the other squads."
Without waiting for a response, Nomura disappeared as well, moving with the same urgent speed.
Although this wasn't the front line, the scouting network the village had established in the border region was extremely dense. At the first sign of trouble, multiple squads could respond and coordinate quickly.
The cave suddenly felt much emptier—and much more dangerous.
"Hehe... well, kids, are you ready for a fight?"
The voice came from Endo, the remaining chunin. He was leaning against the wall with a nasty smirk on his face, clearly enjoying the fear radiating from the genin.
"You can't become a qualified ninja without being baptized by blood," Endo continued, his grin widening.
There were only two other people left in the cave now: Endo himself, and the injured chunin Yubi had treated earlier—who was still too hurt to move properly.
Endo clearly had a bit of a sadistic streak. He was the type who enjoyed watching people squirm.
Sure enough, as soon as he spoke, Kenta and Akira's faces went pale with terror.
Yubi, by contrast, remained calm. He'd mentally prepared himself for situations like this long before they'd even left the village.
He knew exactly what kind of world this was. He knew what he might have to face.
At that moment, Sasori—who had been sitting cross-legged near the cave entrance the entire time—suddenly packed several puppet parts back into his storage scroll with quick, efficient movements.
Then, without a word or a change in his expression, he stood up and walked toward the exit.
And with a soft whoosh, he was gone.
No one knew where he was going.
Yubi stared at the spot where Sasori had vanished, his mind racing.
Is he going to investigate? Or does he know something we don't?
The cave felt colder now. The wind outside howled through the canyon, and somewhere in the darkness, something was moving.
Something was definitely about to happen.
And Yubi had a feeling that whatever it was, it was going to force him to make some very difficult choices.
The system hummed quietly in the back of his mind, waiting.
[Current Positive Experience Points: 126]
[Current Negative Experience Points: 0]
How long, Yubi wondered, until that second number changes?
Throw Some Powerstones
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