"You two, come with me."
While Yubi and Sasori waited for Endo to return, unrest had already broken out in the canyon outside the cave.
A Sand ninja appeared outside the cave and spoke sternly to the two of them.
Yubi and Sasori exchanged a glance and immediately followed.
By now, signs of fighting and the sounds of clashes were coming from all across the canyon.
Quite a few Sunagakure ninja had also appeared in the canyon, rushing toward the sources of the noise.
"Let me introduce myself. My name is Takuma, and I'm the commander of this battle... as well as your temporary captain. We have an emergency. Enemies from the Land of Rain have broken through the frontline defenses and penetrated this far. Their current objective remains unclear... but based on the intelligence we have, they're very likely trying to investigate the specifics of our border defenses."
"So, no matter what... we must kill every last enemy and put an end to their plans here."
Before long, Sasori and Yubi joined the other Sunagakure ninja at the bottom of the canyon.
There were more than twenty people in total.
These were not all the personnel Sunagakure had deployed in the surrounding area.
Many experienced Sunagakure ninja had already gone to attack the targets that had appeared in the canyon from multiple sides.
Those remaining either had limited combat capabilities and could not participate directly in the fighting, or held a special status.
Yubi also spotted some familiar faces in the ranks.
Like him, they were newcomers who had only recently graduated from the Ninja Academy.
These Genin were all very nervous.
For them, this was a major battle in every sense.
The man speaking wore a white cloth wrapped around his head and was a Jonin.
"Medical ninja, step forward."
Takuma called out.
Seven people, including Yubi, stepped out of the crowd.
This was all the medical support Sunagakure had behind the border lines.
"Logistics and intelligence personnel, step forward."
Takuma spoke again.
Several more people stepped forward.
Then Takuma took out a rough map and pointed at several marked locations. "Based on the combat zones within the canyon, the medical and logistics ninja will split into several groups and head to their respective battlefields... Your tasks are simple. There's no need to engage the enemy head-on. First, minimize casualties. Second, if anything happens, prioritize passing on intelligence... Everyone else will be responsible for protecting the medical teams."
"This is our territory... There are several hidden outposts in the canyon with supplies inside... Even if you encounter the enemy, you can fight a guerrilla battle."
"Yes."
Everyone answered.
Then they began forming groups on their own.
"Sasori..."
Having briskly issued his combat orders, Takuma turned his gaze toward the boy standing beside Yubi.
Among this group, there was clearly... one person who was special.
That was Sasori.
Even though he was only a child, he could still be considered a powerful fighting force on their side.
Takuma clearly had different arrangements in mind for Sasori than for the others.
He wanted Sasori to join the fighting and kill the Amegakure ninja.
"I'll be in Yubi's group."
However, Sasori spoke up directly.
He clearly knew Takuma.
"All right."
Takuma fell silent for a moment, then nodded.
"Move out!"
With that sharp command, issued in a low voice.
Everyone swiftly scattered.
Yubi's newly reorganized squad consisted of five people.
There were two medical ninja, one ninja responsible for intelligence, and, besides them, Sasori and a Chunin responsible for the squad's safety.
This Chunin was also the temporary captain.
Looks like Nomura and the others are probably already dead...
Yubi speculated as he ran.
On his very first day at the border, almost none of his assigned squad members remained.
It was brutally harsh.
Then Yubi glanced at Sasori. Rather than intercepting the enemy head-on, Sasori had chosen to be in his squad.
Does he want to observe my abilities?
Yubi thought.
This was fine too... Whether Sasori was curious or had something else in mind, getting closer to him was something Yubi wanted as well.
After all, in his plans to change Sunagakure's future circumstances and difficulties... Sasori was an indispensable part.
Following their captain's directions, their squad was heading toward a battlefield in the canyon.
Not to take part in the fighting.
Instead, they would use this battlefield as their center to search for nearby wounded and observe the positions of some enemies scattered throughout the canyon.
The five traveled in a spread-out formation, but never strayed too far apart, allowing them to detect any sign of trouble in time.
Whoosh!
Soon, Yubi discovered an injured Sunagakure ninja.
He stopped immediately and crouched beside the unconscious ninja. After a quick look at his condition, he opened his medical kit and began treatment.
For most medical ninja, treating patients in the field was extremely difficult due to the limited resources.
Improving a wounded person's condition primarily depended on Medical Ninjutsu... Relying solely on medicines and tools could only achieve very limited results.
In deadly battles between ninja, there was practically no such thing as a minor injury.
So... once someone fell on the battlefield, it was difficult to recover quickly through external means.
However, Yubi's medical kit and supplies were somewhat special... Besides bandages, scalpels, and other tools, it contained medicines he had prepared himself. Apart from the toxins, most were antibiotics.
Naturally, the overall standard of medical care in the world of Naruto at this point in the timeline could not compare to modern society...
As a transmigrator who had inherited Kuroo Hazama's vast medical knowledge, he could use materials and medicines from this world to extract substances and produce medicines through his own methods.
This was also one of his strengths.
Yubi's treatment was remarkably efficient. In less than a few minutes, he had finished treating the patient's external injuries.
Then he injected him with a dose of antibiotics, along with a nutrient solution he had prepared himself.
Throughout the treatment, Sasori stood a short distance away watching, while also keeping him safe.
What's that?
Sasori stared at Yubi's rather miraculous waist pouch. Even though he was no doctor, some of the delicate instruments Yubi took out were things he had never seen before.
Most were probably homemade.
"Sorry for the trouble. Could you take him to a nearby outpost?"
Once everything was done, Yubi turned to Sasori and said with a smile.
Chakra Threads shot straight from Sasori's hands, and he carried the wounded man away as though controlling a puppet.
Yubi continued onward with the squad.
Soon, Sasori returned.
He was remarkably fast.
Along the way, Yubi kept treating the wounded. Some were unconscious but still breathing... while others had merely suffered injuries to their limbs and lost the ability to fight.
More of them... were corpses.
As long as they were alive, Yubi could handle any condition.
But his currently limited abilities prevented him from helping the wounded recover very well. Even so, his outstanding performance made the others in the squad see him in a new light.
That included the other medical ninja in his squad.
In his eyes, this boy named Yubi... was nothing short of a master physician.
Moreover, he had extensive experience treating patients... At times, his composed presence made people unconsciously overlook his youthful appearance.
However, the person who shone brightest in the squad was not Yubi.
It was Sasori.
While carrying out their mission, they inevitably encountered Amegakure ninja as well.
But almost all these enemies, without exception, were killed by Sasori alone.
It could be said that Sasori alone ensured their squad's safety.
This canyon is good for hiding. Amegakure planned well, but they didn't expect Sunagakure to react so quickly.
Judging by the scale of the fighting, as well as the number and frequency of the enemies we've encountered, at least one or two hundred Amegakure ninja have infiltrated the area.
The battle isn't all that large... but thanks to this incident, it looks like I can earn a substantial amount of experience points.
This is much better than interning at the hospital...
Yubi was secretly excited.