The Hidden Sand Village didn't have nearly as many key figures as Konohagakure, and the number of people Yuji could realistically interact with was limited.
Some of Sunagakure's future big names hadn't even been born yet. What surprised him most, however, was that treating important figures actually granted him bonus experience.
'If healing gives positive experience… then would killing someone significant give a huge amount of negative experience?'
The thought crossed his mind, but he didn't linger on it. There were still wounded shinobi waiting for him.
Treating Sasori had given him a clearer understanding of how his system worked.
Time passed slowly.
Soon, Sasori stirred and regained consciousness.
He glanced at the bandages wrapped around his body, then shifted his gaze to Yuji, who was walking toward him.
"The human body is truly fragile…" Sasori murmured.
Yuji's heart skipped a beat.
It wasn't strange for Sasori to say something like that. They were in the middle of the Second Great Ninja War. The major villages were grinding each other down, and Sunagakure's forces were being consumed at a terrifying rate. On the battlefield, it wasn't unusual to watch comrades fall one after another.
'In the future, he'll turn himself into a puppet…' Yuji thought. 'Maybe moments like this planted the seed. Or perhaps it all began with what happened to his parents.'
Outwardly, he only smiled.
"You just overused your chakra. Your injuries aren't serious. Get some rest," Yuji said lightly. "You're Sunagakure's prodigy. If something happened to you, I wouldn't know how to face Lady Chiyo."
"Is it about to collapse?" Sasori asked, changing the subject.
It was already the latter half of the second night.
Inside the underground chamber, aside from the shinobi too severely wounded to move, only a handful remained.
"We can hold out for another hour at most," Yuji admitted, his expression turning solemn. "If reinforcements don't arrive by then, we'll have to evacuate."
The battle raging through the canyon had pushed nearly every Sunagakure shinobi to their limits. Most were fighting through injuries. They couldn't endure much longer.
And for those hiding inside the stronghold, there was another grim reality waiting.
If the intelligence team returned with orders to retreat, there wouldn't be enough people to carry all the wounded.
Some of their comrades would have to be left behind.
That was the cruelty of war. It hardened the heart.
"What are you doing?" Yuji asked sharply.
Sasori had already risen to his feet and was fastening his forehead protector.
Yuji stepped in front of him, blocking his path.
It was obvious Sasori intended to return to the battlefield.
"Move," Sasori said coldly.
"You're my patient right now," Yuji replied calmly. "As your doctor, I'm responsible for your condition. Sorry, but you're not going anywhere."
A soft rustle.
Sasori's hand slipped into his sleeve and withdrew a puppet scroll.
"After fighting this long, you don't have many puppets left," Yuji said with a faint smile. "Even if you return, you won't change anything. You'd just be throwing your life away."
"My Puppet Technique isn't limited to puppets," Sasori said quietly. "If I wished, you could become one too."
"You think that highly of me?" Yuji shot back, grinning as though he hadn't heard the threat in Sasori's voice.
He knew Sasori wasn't exaggerating. Sunagakure had many puppeteers, but Sasori alone would one day perfect the art of Human Puppetry, turning corpses into weapons and embedding chakra cores within them to preserve fragments of their former abilities.
Even now, the signs were there.
Over the past two days, Yuji had noticed Sasori deliberately collecting certain "materials" from the battlefield.
Yuji's shameless response made Sasori frown slightly.
It was the first time he'd realized just how thick-skinned this man was.
"I'll say it one last time. Move."
"No," Yuji replied, still smiling.
Bang.
A puff of white smoke burst from the scroll, and a serpent-shaped puppet slithered onto the stone floor.
At the same time, Sasori's fingers twitched.
He was about to attack.
Swoosh.
Under Sasori's control, the serpent puppet shot through the air like a ribbon of silk, striking toward Yuji in a sudden, snapping bite.
Yuji reacted instantly. He ducked low, letting the puppet skim past him, and used the moment it hung suspended in midair to surge forward. In a blink, he was closing the distance, aiming to force Sasori into close combat.
Most puppeteers dreaded being approached.
Sasori was not most puppeteers.
As Yuji rushed in, Sasori's expression didn't change. The serpent puppet split cleanly in two mid-flight.
The next instant, its lower half twisted and reassembled into a metal collar. It shot behind Yuji's head and snapped tight around his neck.
The constriction cut off his breath. Before he could regain his footing, a violent tug from invisible chakra threads hurled him several meters across the chamber.
Sasori clearly hadn't intended to kill him, just to put him in his place.
He stepped forward, preparing to leave.
Then his eyelid twitched.
He lifted his hand.
The chakra threads trailing from his fingertips had been severed.
The other half of the puppet clattered lifelessly to the ground.
Not far away, Yuji gripped the collar around his neck, wrenched it free with a sharp pull, and tossed it aside.
"So that was it…" Sasori murmured inwardly. "A feint. His real aim was my chakra threads."
He narrowed his eyes at Yuji, who stood calmly despite the red marks circling his throat.
"Chakra Scalpel…" Sasori muttered, recognizing the faint residue of medical chakra still shimmering around Yuji's fingers.
'He knew that technique?'
"Puppeteers are the pride of Sunagakure's combat forces," Yuji said, stretching his neck as if to ease the lingering pressure. A faint smile curved his lips. "If I were an outsider, maybe I wouldn't understand. But I'm one of us. I've made it a point to study puppeteers carefully."
His gaze sharpened slightly.
"Besides… I've been observing you these past two days. Just like you've been quietly observing me."
Sasori didn't reply.
"Under normal circumstances, I wouldn't stand a chance against you," Yuji continued. "But right now? Things are different."
He tilted his head.
"Your wound is on the left side of your abdomen. It grazed the nerves along your lower ribs. That kind of injury sends sharp, spreading pain with even slight movement. Every time you lift your arm, there's a subtle distortion. You've been suppressing it well… but not well enough."
The room fell silent.
"I haven't rested either," Yuji admitted. "To be honest, I'm in terrible shape myself. But even like this… if you can't deal with someone at my worst, do you really think you're fit to throw yourself back into that battlefield?"
His smile faded.
"If that's what you choose, I won't stop you again."
"I'll simply apologize to Lady Chiyo."
His eyes were steady now, the lightness gone.
"And I'll be… very disappointed in you."
The final words carried no mockery, only quiet resolve.
The other shinobi in the chamber remained silent. Though the two standing before them were barely more than boys, Yuji had already earned authority as the captain of the medical squad. And Sasori, prodigy of Sunagakure, scion of Lady Chiyo's lineage, held his own weight.
No one dared to interfere unless things truly spiraled out of control.
The two locked eyes for several long seconds. The air grew heavy, suffocating.
Then, without another word, Sasori turned away.
He walked back to his original place and sat down.