Yashamaru didn't seem to have any dissatisfaction with Rasa, his soon-to-be "brother-in-law."
It had to be said that this pair of siblings had truly wonderful personalities.
Perhaps, in their eyes, the matters Rasa was busy with were far more important than Karura, who was expecting to give birth.
And Karura's first child to be born would be Temari.
Over the past few years, Karura had always looked after Yubi. Even though Yubi was very busy and rarely visited her home, she would often cook and have Yashamaru bring him bento boxes, reminding Yubi to take care of his health.
Yubi was deeply grateful for this—because he could feel that Karura treated him like a younger brother out of pure affection, without any strings attached. She simply felt heart-pained for him, having lost his parents at such a young age.
As for her relationship with Rasa—Yubi had always been clear about it.
Karura and Rasa were the same age and had known each other since childhood—and Karura had always harbored feelings for Rasa.
She often asked Yubi about Rasa's activities in the Village.
Regarding this, Yubi didn't want to interfere too much.
Although he always felt that starting a family with Rasa was a bit of a waste for a woman as good as Karura, and he didn't understand what kind of luck someone like Rasa had to earn her favor, Karura simply liked him. Such things couldn't be stopped, even if one wanted to.
Originally, Rasa rarely met with Karura—partly due to his personality, and partly because as one of the higher-ups, he was inevitably busy with affairs and had no time for romantic entanglements.
Even as his fiancée, in Rasa's eyes—she might have been more of a "tool."
A woman as intelligent as Karura couldn't fail to sense this—yet she accepted it calmly.
After learning that Yubi occasionally visited Karura's home, Rasa, who rarely visited her, actually used Karura as an intermediary to frequently create opportunities for private meetings with Yubi.
His intention was self-evident.
Rasa wanted to intentionally contact him—to build rapport and a relationship.
His desire to win Yubi over was plain as day.
Recently, the Third Kazekage had mysteriously disappeared.
The Village sensed that the Third might have perished. For Rasa, who had always coveted the position of Kazekage, this was a heaven-sent opportunity. Therefore, even though Yubi rarely attended high-level meetings, he guessed that Rasa must be busy showing off recently, striving to maximize his "presence" before all the higher-ups.
Even if there was nothing to be busy with—he would find ways to make himself look like he was tirelessly working for the Village, suffering greatly for it.
Under such circumstances, he naturally couldn't look after Karura.
"The fetus is in great condition—and, I'll tell you a secret, it's a cute little girl who looks just like you."
The examination was naturally performed by Yubi himself.
Of course, some of the more private examinations required the help of female colleagues in the hospital.
Nevertheless, Yubi smilingly shared the good news with Karura and Yashamaru.
"A girl, huh—"
Upon hearing this, Karura's expression was one of relief and joy.
It was clear she was genuinely happy and didn't have the slightest doubt about Yubi's words.
After all, Yubi's medical skills in Sunagakure were legendary.
However, Yubi noticed that Yashamaru, who was standing nearby, had a slightly strange expression.
After the examination, Yubi personally saw Karura off, letting Yashamaru take his sister home first.
After a while, when Yashamaru returned, Yubi sought him out directly.
He inquired about the relationship between Karura and Rasa.
"Given Rasa's personality—if it's a girl, he probably won't be happy, right?" Yubi said tentatively.
"————"
Yashamaru scratched his head with a smile, remaining silent.
"Don't worry—as long as I'm here, since Rasa decided to marry your sister, I won't let her be mistreated."
Yubi said.
"Thank you, Director."
Yashamaru looked grateful.
For the sensitive Yashamaru, he could sense Rasa's attitude toward Karura.
But there was a huge gap between them in both status and position.
Furthermore, Yashamaru himself didn't have a forceful personality, but Yubi was different.
Yubi was now also one of the Village's higher-ups, equal in status to Rasa. His words carried significant weight with Rasa.
"Since I've come to Sunagakure, I won't let tragedy repeat itself, nor will I let Karura become a mere breeding tool—especially what happened with Gaara." After Yashamaru left, Yubi sat in his chair, thinking to himself.
With him there, Karura wouldn't die.
After years of contact, he could be certain of one thing: Karura's Chakra was very special, and it seemed that some hereditary Yin Power had awakened in her Bloodline.
She just hadn't noticed it herself.
Because Yashamaru, who shared the same lineage, had shown very keen Mental Energy while following Yubi on missions.
He seemed to have the talent to become a Sensor Ninja—after learning some Medical Ninjutsu from Yubi, he could perceive the condition of injuries in a very short time when treating patients.
This wasn't experience—Yubi could do it because he had the Legacy of Kuroo.
Yashamaru's ability was more like an "intuitive" judgment, a type of feedback provided by Mental Energy.
"Right—that Jinchuriki, Bunpuku."
Thinking of this, Yubi narrowed his eyes.
Sunagakure's first Jinchuriki, the monk Bunpuku who had attained a very high level of cultivation, was still being held by the Village.
This virtuous monk was a perfect Jinchuriki. His Realm of cultivation was admirable, and his moral character was noble. To ensure the Tailed Beast wouldn't come out to harm people, he was willing to be imprisoned by the Village and never stepped out of his cell for the rest of his life.
Even the Ichibi Shukaku said he was very much like the Six Paths Sage.
"He can still hold on for a few more years—if I have time, I should go see him."
"However, once he dies, the Village will have to select a successor for the Ichibi. Will it still be Gaara? Or—"
"Should I do it myself? It would happen to solve the problem of insufficient Chakra. But if I am to become the Jinchuriki, I must possess powerful Yin Power; otherwise, it'll be hard to handle the Tailed Beast—as for Yin Release, I'll use Ocular Techniques to unlock it and improve my perception at the same time. Conveniently, the death of the Third Kazekage provided quite a bit of Negative Experience—"
Yubi pondered.
Of course, these were just his current considerations. What to actually do would depend on future developments.
For now, the most important thing was the upcoming Third War.
"I'll go check on Sasori—"
Not only was he preparing for the outbreak of the Third Great Ninja War, but Sasori was also "working behind closed doors."
According to their plan, this Ninja World War must not let Sunagakure repeat its past mistakes.
Furthermore, they had to ensure their fame was sufficient to match the title of Kage, so they wouldn't be questioned by the outside world.
This would sound the horn for Sunagakure's transformation.
Additionally, they needed to quickly break the conventional thinking of the other higher-ups who chose Rasa to be the next Kage.
They needed to get themselves onto the list of candidates and highlight their importance.
With the Third Kazekage dead, although Sasori remained in the Anbu, there was no longer any point in serving as a Kage Guard. The person currently in charge of the Village was Grandmother Chiyo.
Sasori resigned from the Kage Guard and hid at home, never stepping out.
Even Anbu matters were temporarily put aside.
He was preparing for the outbreak of the war—and he had already shut himself away for nearly a month.
Sasori—wanted to turn his Physical Body into a Puppet!
After all, for him as a Puppeteer, the human flesh and blood had instead become a shackle limiting the display of his strength.
Now, Sasori wanted to shatter this shell and be reborn from the ashes.
And currently, only Yubi knew about this.