"These are all the ninjutsu scrolls in the village that you're currently authorized to borrow."
The next day, Yubi went to see Arai and explained why he had come.
Arai was efficient, too.
After all, the Third Kazekage had already given him instructions concerning Yubi's requests.
So Arai soon brought over some ninjutsu scrolls.
The records in the ninjutsu scrolls covered hand seals, chakra pathway diagrams, and the like.
"What do you need so many ninjutsu scrolls for?" Arai asked curiously. "You're a medical ninja. If you want to practice some of these ninjutsu... I'm afraid it won't be that easy. After all, your chakra nature is still fairly limited... you'll probably have trouble using other nature transformations."
"I'm just going to study them and look at how the hand seals and pathways are put together and how the circulation works... even if I can't use those nature transformations, I can still get a feel for the chakra."
Yubi smiled.
"Building up your knowledge of ninjutsu?"
Arai understood.
Even if a seasoned ninja couldn't use a particular nature transformation, they at least needed some understanding of ninjutsu of other natures.
Someone truly powerful could analyze and anticipate a technique to a certain extent within a short time after their opponent used it.
That was the benefit of experience.
"What I'm about to say might sound strange to other people... but you can't be treated like an ordinary case. I think you should study how the different hand seals in these ninjutsu scrolls interact with chakra, because... if you train far enough, you might be able to form hand seals with one hand someday... or even use ninjutsu without seals."
Arai coughed.
Yubi sucked in a breath...
Even Yubi couldn't help drawing a sharp breath at those words.
He stared at the Elite Jōnin before him, his mouth slightly open.
"..."
"You think I'm that good? Aren't you giving me a little too much credit?" Yubi asked.
"As if you haven't already done plenty of bizarre things... that's what you get for being a genius... there's no harm in trying."
Arai scratched his head.
He, too, seemed to feel that his expectations for Yubi were a little too high.
After all, across the entire Shinobi World, people who could form hand seals with one hand... were exceedingly rare.
As for anyone who could use ninjutsu without seals... at least, Arai had never seen one.
Yubi packed the scrolls into his bag and prepared to leave.
He would have to spend some time studying them closely.
It would probably take quite a while again.
Sasori still hadn't returned. Yubi wanted to wait for him to come back before leaving the village together.
He had no idea what mission Sasori was on out there... it was taking so long.
For ordinary missions, the time limit increased with the difficulty, but normally, a short one took around ten days, while a long one took a month.
Some team missions, especially those during wartime, such as border patrols, took even longer.
After packing everything up, Yubi turned to leave, but suddenly paused.
"Arai-sensei... is the village preparing for peace talks with Konoha?"
He looked back as he asked.
As the Third Kazekage's personal guard, Arai was naturally well aware of the leadership's decisions.
Looking at Yubi's face, Arai's relaxed expression grew a little more serious and grim.
"Any decision discussed by the leadership is strictly confidential to the village... don't go prying," Arai warned.
"Something like this... is already plain to see. Even if the leadership keeps quiet, the people coming back from the front lines are discussing it in private. The village's actions have already said it all... I work at the hospital. You can't fool me about this."
Yubi smiled.
"..."
Arai fell silent.
A moment later, his deliberately stern demeanor seemed to deflate.
"You little rascal... you're good in every other way, but sometimes, you're just too sharp... that isn't necessarily a good thing."
"So there really will be peace talks?"
Yubi raised an eyebrow, his smile fading.
"The hatred between us and Konoha is already beyond reconciliation... peace talks are out of the question," Arai said.
"Then what you mean is... we're sending Konoha a signal on the battlefield, and both sides are tacitly agreeing to stop? The village couldn't hold out any longer... when you get down to it, isn't that still a form of peace talks...? Once they see us pull back, Konoha will naturally be happy to stop fighting us, since they still have the other great shinobi villages to deal with." Yubi spelled out what lay beneath Arai's words.
"Lord Kazekage has his reasons... the village can no longer withstand a large-scale war. If we keep fighting, the consequences will be more than the village can bear."
"No one wants to stop fighting... if we could, we would even kill every last person in Konoha to avenge our fallen comrades."
"It isn't quite what you think, either... we aren't stopping completely. We'll still exchange fire with Konoha... but given the current situation, we can only engage in small-scale clashes."
These routine clashes and frictions between the Five Great Shinobi Villages were, frankly, no different from what had happened before this Shinobi World War broke out.
Arai was willing to say so much partly because he knew he couldn't keep it from Yubi, and partly because Yubi was special.
Besides, they wouldn't be able to keep the news secret for much longer.
Yubi was Sunagakure's hope for the future.
There were some things... some circumstances, that he should learn about and accept in advance.
It would also help the boy recognize the true state and balance of power in the Shinobi World sooner.
"I understand."
Yubi smiled again.
He showed no anger or fury, nor did he accuse Lord Kazekage and the others, Arai included, of weakness.
That showed that Yubi truly was mature.
No one wanted things to come to this... but reality was staring them in the face, and they had no choice but to retreat.
"Please tell Lord Kazekage for me that the village will definitely keep getting better. I believe it!"
Leaving those words behind, Yubi walked out under Arai's gaze.
At those words, Arai's eyes reddened... and a look of gratification appeared on his face.
Although they had "lost" this Shinobi World War... Yubi's emergence was undoubtedly a pleasant surprise.
He was also a gift from heaven to Sunagakure.
Their Sunagakure... still had hope.
The village's leadership bore full responsibility for Sunagakure's defeat!
First and foremost was the Third Kazekage.
Because he hadn't known his own limits, he had opened hostilities against Konoha for the sake of the "economy"... his ambitions had grown a little too large.
And he had made the village pay for his arrogance and ignorance.
So, having personally lived through the Second Shinobi World War and witnessed the village's gradual changes, Yubi felt no regret whatsoever over the Third Kazekage's death in the years to come.
Sunagakure could declare war on Konoha!
But it had to have a sufficiently clear understanding of both the enemy and itself.
That included planning its troop deployments, rather than charging ahead mindlessly and sending the people of the village to their deaths.
His experience on that patrol mission alone showed... that the Kazekage's arrangements for combat on the front lines were far from meticulous.
The village's staggering casualties now also indirectly confirmed that such wartime orders and deployments... were probably the norm.
He had improved the Medical Division's capabilities, yet the people they saved... were still ruthlessly sent to the front lines like sandbags in the end.
The Third Kazekage had played his hand terribly.
Even setting aside Sunagakure's puppet masters and kekkei genkai... there was Sunagakure's "poison" alone.
Although Granny Chiyo could neutralize Hanzō's poison gas, Tsunade could likewise counter Chiyo's "poison." That fact alone should have warranted serious consideration in Sunagakure's deployments for every battle against Konoha.
"I believe... the village will keep getting better, but there's no place for you... aboard the ship of the future."
After leaving the building, Yubi looked back at the window of the Third Kazekage's office in the distance and spoke softly.
Then he walked away.