A few days later, after several months away, Yuji finally returned to Sunagakure.
As the village came into view, nestled between mountains and endless sand, he felt a strange sense of distance, as though he had been gone for years rather than months.
Sunagakure's architecture was nothing like Konoha's.
Ever since the reforms of the Second Kazekage, Shamon, the village had been redesigned to suit the harsh climate of the Land of Wind. Wooden buildings were rare. Most structures were built from sandstone or compacted earth, their roofs rounded or domed to withstand desert storms. The streets were paved unevenly with rough stone slabs, and in many places, they were nothing more than hardened dirt paths.
It lacked Konoha's prosperity and refinement. It did, however, sprawl widely across the desert.
But now, with the Ninja World War ongoing, much of its manpower had been deployed to the frontlines. Casualties were heavy.
The streets felt hollow.
Too quiet.
Shops stood open, yet few customers passed by.
"It's already like this… and they still insist on fighting," Yuji thought as he walked past rows of half-empty storefronts.
The higher-ups could not possibly be unaware of the situation. The war had drained the village's combat reserves. Trade routes had been disrupted. The economy was visibly strained.
And yet, they continued to clash with Konoha as if pride alone could sustain them.
It was shortsighted.
Amegakure's situation had been different. Hanzo had gambled everything, strike first, expand fast, survive or be crushed. They had nothing to lose.
Sunagakure was not barefoot. It had territory, families, infrastructure. Charging recklessly only meant self-destruction.
Hanzo, for all his aggression, had known when to stop.
Sunagakure had not.
If this continued, the foundation of the village would erode beyond repair.
But Yuji was still only a genin. He could see the trajectory of the future, but he lacked the power to alter it.
"Yuji… you're back."
A familiar voice called out.
It was the owner of a small cake shop. Back when Yuji attended the Ninja Academy, he and his classmates used to stop there after school.
"Yeah," Yuji replied with a faint smile.
The shopkeeper's expression was one of the few still carrying warmth.
He was a civilian. No shinobi in his family.
Most others bore quiet grief behind their eyes.
After exchanging a few words, Yuji headed to the mission office to submit his reports and collect his rewards.
His original assignment had been C-rank.
But due to Amegakure's sudden large-scale operation, it had been upgraded to B-rank. The subsequent raid mission conducted alongside Arai and Sasori had been classified as A-rank.
Although that mission had been initiated by Arai, the village officially recognized it.
As a result, Yuji became the second genin in the village after Sasori, to complete an A-rank mission at such a young age.
The reward structure, however, spoke volumes about Sunagakure's financial strain.
In a Great Ninja Village: A C-rank mission typically paid between 30,000 and 100,000 ryō.
B-rank missions ranged from 80,000 to 200,000 ryō. A-rank missions ranged from 150,000 up to 1,000,000 ryō.
Those were total amounts, divided among participants.
Yuji's patrol mission had been a squad assignment. Even though he was the only surviving member to complete it, he still received only one-third of the payout.
After division, he received 20,000 ryō.
Even multiplied by three, that barely reached the minimum for a B-rank reward.
The A-rank infiltration mission was also split among three participants.
Each received 40,000 ryō.
In total, for both missions combined, Yuji earned 60,000 ryō.
No matter how difficult the missions had been, the payouts were all calculated at the minimum standard, and even then, they barely reached it.
It was obvious.
Sunagakure was short on funds.
Still, sixty thousand ryō was a massive sum for Yuji.
As a war orphan, his parents having died for the village, he received a modest monthly subsidy. It was enough to survive, nothing more.
In ordinary terms, three hundred ryō was enough for a child to spend freely along the commercial street.
But a shinobi's mindset was different. There was no ceiling to expenses.
Explosive tags, kunai, soldier pills, wire, training equipment, none of it was cheap. The village provided a basic allocation, but on the battlefield, that amount was laughable.
Anyone who intended to survive had to supplement privately. And war supplies were luxury goods.
Their prices reflected it.
Since his parents' death, Yuji had been saving carefully. Over several years, he had accumulated just over ten thousand ryō.
Now, in a single mission cycle, he had earned six times that.
It showed how quickly shinobi could make money. It also showed how quickly they could burn through it.
For true elites, tens of thousands of ryō meant nothing. Only someone at Yuji's stage would consider it enormous.
After submitting the mission report, Yuji followed Arai toward the most prominent structure in the village.
The Kazekage's tower.
Sasori did not accompany them.
After turning in his own report, he accepted another mission and left immediately.
He didn't even return home.
Arai led him past the guards and into the building. After a brief knock...
"Enter."
The Third Kazekage's voice echoed from within.
Inside the office, Yuji saw more than just the Kazekage.
Chiyo was present. Ebizo stood beside her.
Two other senior figures, clearly high-ranking officials of the village, occupied seats nearby. Their robes bore the distinct wind-resistant design common among Land of Wind elites.
"Sasori… has already left," Arai said quietly after greeting them, glancing toward Chiyo.
A faint shadow passed through her eyes.
"So this is the child," one of the elders murmured, studying Yuji.
The Third Kazekage regarded him steadily.
"You've changed quite a bit in these few months."
His expression remained stern, but there was a faint trace of approval in his voice.
"To participate in an A-rank mission at your age, even under supervision, is extraordinary," Chiyo added. "Arai's evaluation of you was… generous."
Yuji simply smiled. He understood why he had been brought here.
The Kazekage leaned forward slightly.
"Yuji. Demonstrate the ninjutsu you created."
A subtle stillness filled the room.
"And explain your thought process. Your inspiration. Particularly the hand seals and chakra flow you use to activate it."
His gaze sharpened.
"Creating a ninjutsu is not simple. Having an idea is one thing. Converting it into a functional technique, coordinating hand seals, chakra release, structural logic, that requires deep understanding."
He paused.
"To be frank, it is not something I would expect from a genin. Even for me, developing an A-rank technique in a short period would be challenging."
A faint smile ghosted across his face.
"When Arai's report reached me, I found it difficult to believe."
He held Yuji's gaze.
"Do you understand what this ability of yours represents?"
There it was.
Yuji felt the shift.
Outwardly, he remained relaxed.
"It was a little difficult at first," he said with a light chuckle. "But once I figured it out, it felt simple."
Several eyelids twitched.
Simple?
Did this child understand what he was saying?
To create a ninjutsu required mastery over fundamental principles, not just one category, but an integrated understanding of chakra theory, structure, and application.
The most famous example was Hiruzen Sarutobi of Konoha, renowned for his breadth of knowledge.
Yuji was a medical-nin.
His Academy training consisted primarily of the Three Basic Techniques.
His parents had only been chunin.
There was no plausible source for this level of development.
Learning Mystical Palm through hospital exposure could be attributed to talent.
But inventing an A-rank ninjutsu? That bordered on the impossible.