The flames of war between Sunagakure and Iwagakure were different from the previous border friction with the Land of Rain.
During the battles with the Land of Rain, the Hidden Sand Village mostly focused on harassment or sneak attack missions, often using single-soldier squad infiltration as their combat plan.
Both sides were like this.
Therefore... aside from the major battle where Hanzou personally led his army against the Third Kazekage, Grandmother Chiyo, and others, almost no large-scale warfare had occurred.
But for the Sunagakure stationed at the border, even when performing routine missions, there was a high frequency and possibility of combat. Some Sunagakure would even clash with the Amegakure several times in a single day.
However, now at the border near the Land of Birds, the battles between Sunagakure and Iwagakure were almost always on a scale of over a hundred people, with small-scale conflicts rarely occurring.
Thus... in the following days after the initial encounter with Iwagakure, Yubi did not step onto the battlefield for the time being.
The troops on both sides were mainly focused on gathering intelligence on the opponent's war zone and personnel movement routes.
But this did not mean that the Ninjas could get plenty of rest.
Although the battles had not yet fully ignited, the security work here was even tighter than in the Land of Rain.
The area covered by the entire border line was quite large, which meant the Stronghold headquarters had to coordinate and manage the personnel of all Stronghold squads, keeping a close eye on the movements of the enemy forces... it was like a precisely operating machine that dared not rest for even a moment.
As for Yubi... besides learning battlefield rescue experience passed down by his Seniors, he also had to follow the Squad Leader and others to attend regular military training to analyze and understand a vast amount of battlefield knowledge.
Additionally, he went to the Medical Corps to help Saori treat the wounded and teach other Medical Ninja about the knowledge and logic of saving lives, much like his 'preaching' back at the hospital in the Village... more or less.
In short, he was constantly on the move every day.
Extremely busy.
"Mr. Shimizu."
One day, while working at the Medical Corps, Yubi was summoned to the Overall Commander's tent.
Shimizu had something to see him about.
Once outside the tent, Yubi called out, and after receiving a response, he walked inside.
Upon entering the tent, he found Sasori was also there.
Shimizu had only called the two of them.
"Have a seat."
Seeing him arrive, Shimizu gestured with his hand.
Yubi took a seat.
"News just came in that one of our Stronghold squads was ambushed by Iwagakure," Shimizu said in a heavy voice.
Hmm?
Yubi remained calm.
It wasn't the beginning of the war anymore, where the focus was on identifying the enemy's combat deployment. Now, both Villages knew themselves and their enemies and were in a state of mutual attrition. Iwagakure's action of entering the Land of Wind border in squad form to carry out sneak attacks would at most kill a few people and shouldn't have any major effect... but since Shimizu called him and Sasori... it meant it likely had something to do with the two of them.
"The losses at the Stronghold weren't large, but... two people were captured," Shimizu said.
"Alive?"
Yubi realized.
If Iwagakure wanted to capture them alive, they probably intended to interrogate them for information about Sunagakure.
Yubi glanced at Sasori.
"It's about us, isn't it..." He looked at the Overall Commander.
"We also captured an Iwagakure. Although he was tight-lipped, we used some methods to learn their objective," Shimizu nodded. "Because of your and Sasori's brilliant performance in the battles you participated in previously, you've already been noticed by Iwagakure."
"Yubi... many people on the front lines are aware of your situation. While our people might not necessarily leak secrets, we don't know if the enemy camp possesses sensory abilities like Mind Reading or Memory Extraction. Therefore... you two can now consider that information about both of you has been exposed."
Shimizu said seriously, "The enemy risked personnel sacrifices to penetrate deep into our territory to capture live prisoners for interrogation... that's the 'treatment' usually reserved for high-level military officials or key figures."
"This also shows... Iwagakure likely places great importance on you. From now on, when you appear on the battlefield again, you will probably be targeted, and the pressure to survive will be even greater."
"Doesn't matter,"
Sasori said indifferently.
"Haha... as expected of Iwagakure's elite, so sharp... to even notice an inconspicuous Medical Ninja like me."
Yubi rubbed his head and laughed easily.
"..."
Shimizu.
"Anyway... you must act carefully on the battlefield from now on. Iwagakure... shouldn't be strangers to you either."
Shimizu cautioned once more.
Shimizu saw that Saori seemed to know Yubi quite well, so he had specifically talked with Saori over the past few days.
He gained a clearer understanding of Yubi.
Back then, Yubi's three-man squad was active in the Land of Grass, using Iwagakure's intelligence to cause trouble for Konoha.
As a result, even Iwagakure had heard that two very promising juniors had appeared in Sunagakure.
Now their identities were confirmed.
This would undoubtedly make their situation on the battlefield even more dangerous.
Afterward, after a few more instructions, Sasori and Yubi left together... "Sunagakure's Genius Puppeteer... Chiyo's grandson, Sasori."
"This Yubi is actually a Medical Ninja..."
"They are the two kids who caused quite a bit of interference for Konoha back then..."
On the other side, within the Land of Birds.
Within the large Iwagakure force stationed there.
The commander called in the Combat Leader who had previously lost to Sunagakure and handed him the information sent by the Village.
In the battle reports they had sent back to the Village, they hadn't emphasized Yubi and Sasori.
They only gave the reason for the defeat.
They said the efficiency of the Sunagakure Medical Squad was higher than that of their Iwagakure, and the performance of one Medical Ninja in particular was very noteworthy.
Then, they briefly described the situation.
After receiving the reply from the Village, the commander also conducted some investigations.
He sent out a squad and captured two live Sunagakure prisoners.
The commander trusted his friend's keenness for battlefield analysis... a Medical Ninja who could catch his attention, even if just a kid, was certainly not simple.
Because from the start of the conflict with Sunagakure until now, both sides were very familiar with each other's situations.
Now that a variable had suddenly appeared, even a small one... it could not be ignored.
"A Medical Ninja who can perform such dangerous and deep single-soldier squad missions... that alone is enough to show how remarkable he is as a Ninja, not to mention... he's so young." The Overall Commander took a deep breath and looked at his companion, "Your defeat also proves that these two geniuses from Sunagakure are indeed extraordinary."
"Based on your battle report summary and records, this kid named Yubi possesses combat skills far exceeding ordinary Ninjas... therefore, his efficiency in saving people on the battlefield is outstanding. As for his healing ability... it can be assumed to be excellent; he must be very proficient in Medical Ninjutsu. Otherwise... it would be impossible to create a gap on the battlefield far more significant than our army's Medical Squad..."
After the Iwagakure commander finished speaking, he fell silent for a moment, staring at the former, "If another clash of the same scale and strength occurs, based on your experience, with this kid there... what would our chances of winning be?"
"This... cannot be calculated, because if you're talking about the direct battlefield improvement he brings to the Sunagakure forces, it's actually not that obvious..."
The friend frowned deeply, "But what I'm worried about is that the sudden appearance of Yubi and Sasori will bring some changes to the entire Sunagakure army... Sasori is a Genius Puppeteer and belongs to Sunagakure's Puppeteer Unit. It might be fine in the short term, but if the time is stretched, as he gradually adapts to the battlefield and absorbs a large amount of combat experience... being called a Genius, with his ability, what if he brings some improvement to the Puppeteer Unit... or if Yubi makes Sunagakure's medical level progress... it would be very disadvantageous for us."
"We are not fighting a Blitzkrieg against Sunagakure, but a War of Attrition. From this perspective, I suggest... eliminate them as soon as possible, the faster the better!"