Yubi had been making a conscious effort to get to know Sunagakure's plot characters.
But as the child of civilian shinobi, he found it difficult to approach people like Granny Chiyo or the Kazekage.
And someone like Sasori hardly ever left home... or was always away on missions.
So the only characters Yubi could get to know were people like Pakura.
However, as a descendant of a Kekkei Genkai family, Pakura was also a "tool" Sunagakure placed considerable importance on, and her family played an important role in the village.
Her father could take part in Sunagakure's decision-making.
Strictly speaking, Pakura was different from Yubi.
She did not count as someone from a civilian background.
It was the same in every major shinobi village, including Konoha. Families with Kekkei Genkai could secure a place in the village... their influence was not something civilian shinobi could compare to.
For instance, Konoha's Hyuga, Uchiha, and Kurama Clan. Although the Kurama Clan had gradually declined somewhat, they had held considerable sway in Konoha in earlier years.
Then there were the families that possessed certain secret techniques, with the Yamanaka, Nara, and Akimichi being typical examples.
The family power structure in Sunagakure was not as complicated as Konoha's, but the principle was the same. Among the village leadership, both the Third Kazekage and Rasa, the Fourth, represented the Sand Manipulation Technique; Chiyo's family symbolized the puppeteers... then came the heads of the Kekkei Genkai families, and only last... came a few leaders of the village's civilian shinobi, or rather, its civilian family factions.
Together, these made up Sunagakure's power bloc.
Pakura's family was among them.
Before Pakura had even entered the Ninja Academy, Yubi had recognized her, deliberately approached her, and found an opportunity to make contact, getting to know her that way.
"I heard you successfully completed your mission... congratulations!"
Pakura walked up to Yubi and spoke a little shyly.
"Have you eaten? If not... join me. My treat!" Yubi said with a smile.
"Okay."
Pakura nodded happily too.
Then the two entered the shop and sat down at the counter.
The owner also began enthusiastically attending to the two kids.
Throughout the meal, Yubi chatted and laughed with Pakura, giving her a brief account of his mission. Naturally, he left out some of the more dangerous and bloody parts.
He simply acted as though he had found his first mission outside the village a novel experience.
Pakura listened with great interest.
Still attending the Ninja Academy, she had yet to realize the brutality of being a shinobi... or how dangerous this Shinobi World War was.
Her family and the village had protected her very well... she had not yet become an official shinobi, so naturally, she was very curious about everything outside.
In the future, Pakura would become the "Kirigakure Killer," making a name for herself in the Shinobi World with Scorch Release.
But during the Third Shinobi World War, Sunagakure had antagonized too many powers and came under attack from both Iwagakure and Kirigakure. Because of this, Sunagakure had no choice but to abandon its confrontation with Kirigakure to focus on the battlefield against Iwagakure, and Pakura was sacrificed as a result.
Rasa and the other village leaders even falsely claimed that Pakura had been killed by Iwagakure, stirring up the village's anger toward them... even after her death, she was used once more.
The Pakura of later years had a steady disposition, was extremely cold toward her enemies, and was utterly loyal.
But right now, she was only an innocent, carefree little girl, her personality still retaining its pure side. She was very cute.
"I really want to graduate soon too... staying at school is so boring. I already know everything the teachers teach." Pakura stuffed a skewer of oden radish into her mouth, puffing out her cheeks as she complained.
She really wanted to be like Yubi too, fighting on battlefields outside and serving the village.
She wanted to show those enemies just how formidable Sunagakure shinobi were.
"Don't rush... I'm sure that with your abilities, little Pakura, sooner or later you'll become a shinobi without any trouble and start to shine." Meanwhile, Yubi kept polishing off skewer after skewer of dumplings, thoroughly enjoying his food, with a little broth still clinging to his mouth as he casually reassured her.
Hearing Yubi call her little Pakura,
Pakura blushed. "Tch, you're only a few years older than me... don't act like you're my elder."
"But I am older than you... to me, you're a little sister."
Yubi winked mischievously.
"Hmph! My father said a shinobi's success isn't measured by age... lots of powerful shinobi were very young when they became famous. In a few more years, I'll definitely do even better than you!"
"Yes, yes, yes..."
Yubi nodded along.
"Oh, right, I heard... you went on this mission with that guy."
Suddenly, Pakura's expression changed, and she muttered quietly.
"Sasori?"
Yubi knew whom she meant.
"I heard he has a strange personality... and is really hard to get along with." Pakura was being a little gossipy.
"Hmm..."
Holding a wooden skewer, Yubi pondered for a moment, then waved it. "Not at all. Don't listen to other people's nonsense... Sasori's great."
At that, Pakura's eyes widened. "Stop lying to me. I've seen him... he always gives off this air that says 'stay away,' and it makes people really uncomfortable."
After saying that, Pakura caught on too. "I suppose... with someone like you, you probably don't think anyone's hard to get along with. You're all smiles with everyone..."
"Isn't that nice... don't you like me this way?"
Yubi flashed a dazzling row of little white teeth.
At his sudden question, Pakura's little face immediately reddened at a visible speed.
"Y-you, you, you..."
She even began to stammer.
"Don't get the wrong idea... I'm not confessing my feelings to you. I've been there before. I know little girls like you who've just entered the Ninja Academy are at the age when they start developing crushes. But to me, you're just a little sister..." Seeing Pakura's reaction, the corner of Yubi's mouth twitched, and he coughed. "What goes through your head all day? Don't tell me you have a crush on someone at school? Or does someone have a crush on you?"
It would have been better if he had said nothing. The moment he said that, Pakura's face turned into a bubbling teapot.
"What nonsense are you talking about?!"
Her voice rose several pitches.
She jumped straight off the stool, biting her lip and clenching her little fists.
"Pakura."
Just then, someone suddenly appeared at the shop entrance.
They called out to Pakura, who was with Yubi.
"It's getting late. Time to go home."
The Sunagakure shinobi urged her along.
Then they deliberately gave Yubi a slight nod.
"Hmph!"
Angrily turning her back on Yubi, Pakura walked away.
The person who had come to fetch Pakura was one of her elders.
This was not Yubi's first time seeing them, either.
It looked as though they had happened to pass by and run into them... but in reality, they had come specifically to take Pakura away.
Simply put, they did not want Pakura having too much contact with Yubi.
The reason was simple. Pakura's family held a fairly high position in Sunagakure, while Yubi was merely a civilian shinobi. The two belonged to different classes.
While she was still young, Pakura's family would not interfere too much with her behavior, but as she grew older, her freedom would become increasingly restricted.
This way of doing things also reflected the class divisions that existed within every major shinobi village.
In the past, when this person took Pakura away, they would not even spare Yubi a proper glance.
Now, at least, they nodded to acknowledge him.
They had probably heard something.
This change in attitude was rather ironic.
"Getting that angry... looks like I hit the mark."
Yubi shook his head and went back to eating.