In the Hidden Sand Village, Yubi temporarily stepped down from his position as the Head of the Hospital, handing over all responsibilities to Saori.
This was because he needed to coordinate pre-war deployments and arrangements with the higher-ups.
Therefore, for the past while, he had been constantly buried in the office building, engaging in secret war planning with Chiyo and the others.
It is worth mentioning that with the Third Kazekage dead, Rasa, currently the most likely candidate to succeed to the position of Kazekage and one of the most distinguished individuals in the Village in terms of military achievements, held significant sway over military arrangements.
Because of this, he and Yubi had their fair share of disagreements.
Of course, the disputes between the two were not aimed at each other intentionally; they were purely for the sake of seeking better outcomes for the Hidden Sand Village on the battlefield.
It could be said that both were doing it for the Village.
However, Yubi's position in the Village, as well as his battlefield training and experience, certainly could not compare to Rasa's.
Therefore, most of the time, the execution plans were based on Rasa's, while some of Yubi's suggestions were used to enrich his combat strategies and lower the risks that the Hidden Sand Village might face on the battlefield.
In particular, Yubi emphasized the signs of the rise of Konoha's younger generation.
Although on the surface, with Tsunade and Jiraiya gone, and the White Fang of Konoha dead, Konoha did not have many top-tier combatants available; in reality, based on Konoha's excellent training and growth environment, as early as after the Second Great Ninja War, some young Konoha juniors had already begun to show their potential.
After the Second Great Ninja War ended, Konoha still had some minor skirmishes with other Villages, and skirmishes meant there were battlefields that could be used to train and cultivate newcomers.
Among them, Yubi specifically highlighted one person: Minato Namikaze, Jiraiya's Disciple.
He even stated bluntly that this person was very likely to become the key figure who would determine the outcome of this Ninja World War for Konoha. However, the others from the Hidden Sand Village, including Rasa, did not seem to attach much importance to his warning.
Because their understanding of Minato Namikaze was extremely limited. In their view, although this person was Jiraiya's Disciple, wanting to dominate the battlefield was still a bit of a pipe dream.
Not to mention anything else, just in terms of current reputation in the Ninja World, both Yubi and Sasori were above Minato.
Seeing this, Yubi did not say much, ultimately only proposing that he and Sasori participate in the battlefield against Konoha.
After all, the Third Kazekage was dead, and the loss of a Kage-level combatant was something that could not be ignored on the battlefield.
Not to mention that the Third Kazekage's abilities and his dominance on the battlefield were extremely exaggerated.
Previously, during the Second Great Ninja War, the battles against Konoha were all overseen by the Third Kazekage, Chiyo, and the others. Now, only Yubi and Sasori could fill this gap.
Of course, the Commander-in-Chief for the operation was not them, but Arai. Given Arai's seniority and experience, he was fully qualified for this position.
Because Rasa had rich combat experience against Iwagakure, he remained stationed at the border of the Land of Wind near the Land of Earth, as they had to be on guard against the Land of Earth once the war broke out.
As for some of the others, they were responsible for strictly guarding against the Hidden Mist across the coastline, and up-and-coming juniors like Pakura were all going to the battlefield to gain experience.
There was no other way; the available top-tier combat power in the Hidden Sand Village was truly too scarce.
As for Chiyo, she would temporarily remain behind to manage the Village. The Village's development could not stagnate, and the factories were about to run at full capacity to produce a large amount of medicine, preparing to make a fortune from the war.
If there was no one to guard and regulate it, the Ninja World War triggered by the Hidden Sand Village this time would lose its meaning.
Furthermore, with an old hand like Chiyo overseeing the rear, Yubi and the other higher-ups felt most at ease.
Additionally, using the war arrangements as an excuse, Yubi transferred some of the old-school higher-ups in the Village to the battlefield against Konoha. This suggestion of his was very reasonable and did not arouse anyone's suspicion.
Because on the surface, for this Ninja World War, the Hidden Sand Village was almost entirely relying on the younger generation like him, Sasori, and Rasa to hold the front lines. Furthermore, Konoha was the strongest among the major Ninja Villages.
During the last Ninja World War, there were at least some old-school higher-ups and combatants led by the Third Kazekage. This time, most of them had been replaced by new faces.
In terms of overall combat strength, there was a gap between the Hidden Sand Village now and during the Second Great Ninja War.
It wasn't just that Konoha's top-tier combat power had decreased—
In short, those were the general arrangements.
"For the major Villages, the only good thing is that the interval between the two wars was quite long, and some newcomers have already grown up and reached the age where they can step onto the battlefield. However, in terms of population and the number of fresh recruits, Konoha is undoubtedly still the side with the greatest advantage."
Late one night, after spending an entire day in the secret room, Yubi walked out of the office building and returned home.
On the way, he was still pondering some matters.
The Hidden Sand Village's main combat power was concentrated on the battlefield against Konoha.
It was because he was afraid that he, Sasori, and Arai would not be able to withstand the pressure of the flames of war from Konoha.
It could be said that he and Sasori would face the greatest pressure, and the battlefield Rank would also be the highest.
"Konoha should have a certain level of contempt for the Hidden Sand Village. After all, with one less Kage, in their view, the Village definitely lacks the confidence to fight a major war against them."
"What they should be worried about instead are the other Villages. The troop deployment towards the border of the Land of Wind shouldn't be too large, and it will likely be mainly for vigilance." Yubi narrowed his eyes. The only thing he was worried about now, however, was not Konoha.
It was the Hidden Cloud Village.
Because in the original work, during this Ninja World War, Kumogakure reached out towards the Hidden Sand Village. The Raikage's ambition was immense, and upon hearing that the Third Kazekage had gone missing, he could no longer restrain himself.
Although they, Kumogakure, had the biggest grudges with Konoha and Iwagakure, that did not stop the Raikage from wanting to dampen the spirit of the Hidden Sand Village, thereby proving the power of Kumogakure and profiting from it.
Kumogakure's basic military strength was absolutely not weaker than Konoha's. Their failure in the last Ninja World War was just due to some gaps in top-tier combat power, and the fact that the fighting between Kumogakure and Iwagakure had been too tragic.
Now, there was no telling how many people were secretly jealous of the Hidden Sand Village's pharmaceutical industry. Once the battle started, it would inevitably attract hungry wolves.
The situation for the Hidden Sand Village this time was actually even more dangerous than the last Ninja World War.
Lost in thought, Yubi walked to his front door.
However, before opening the door and preparing to enter, Yubi lowered his eyes, and a flash of light passed through them.
A trace of killing intent flashed in his eyes.
A guest... has arrived.
He curled the corners of his mouth, pretending not to know.
He calmly entered the house, washed up briefly, and then lay down on the bed to sleep.
In the pitch-black room, a venomous snake quietly crawled out from the corner and slowly slithered onto the head of Yubi's bed.
Then, it bared its fangs at him, who appeared to be fast asleep.
The next second, it lunged directly to bite at Yubi's neck.
Snap.
But just as it was about to succeed, a slash swept past—the venomous snake's body was instantly split in two.
The entire snake head was severed, flying off to the side and falling to the ground.
Yubi opened his eyes and slowly sat up, his gaze fixed on a corner not far away. He said playfully, "I really didn't expect that one of the Konohas Three Legendary Sannin, the world-renowned Orochimaru, would actually resort to such despicable means."
"Breaking into someone's home without permission, and not even saying hello."
"Hehehehe—"
"As expected of the Hidden Sand Village's Blood Doctor Yubi, you really aren't that easy to kill. Your perception is not just generally sharp; indeed, you are somewhat different from other self-proclaimed geniuses."
Along with a raspy laugh, under the gaze of Yubi's cold eyes, a figure slowly emerged from the darkness.
It was none other than—Orochimaru!