"Teacher Yubi!"
Soon, the remaining three people Yubi was to babysit had all arrived.
They were Pakura, Sakamoto, and Fukushima Taki.
Among them, Pakura possessed a Bloodline Limit, and Sakamoto's father was the Captain of the Hidden Sand Village Guard Corps; Yubi had met him when he was being assassinated by the men sent by Danzo.
Fukushima Taki's father was the head of the Intelligence Agency.
In short, they all had significant backgrounds.
Including Yashamaru, the four of them bowed to Yubi in unison once again.
Of the four, except for Pakura, whose expression was somewhat intriguing, the other three looked at Yubi with immense respect.
They didn't show any contempt because of his age.
"As expected... war is the best soil for catalyzing heroes," Yubi thought to himself.
He intentionally glanced at Pakura, then smiled and said, "Let's go, we're heading out early!"
Immediately after, he led the group away.
Before leaving the Hidden Sand Village, Yubi gave them a short time to prepare and checked the supplies they were carrying to see if anything was missing.
However, with Yashamaru present, he didn't need to worry about this aspect.
After all, despite being a Medical Ninja, Yashamaru was quite experienced.
Yubi also specifically instructed him to take more care of the several 'juniors'.
On the way to the Coastal Area, the three youngsters were very nervous; it was a feeling similar to when Yubi first went on a border mission—somewhat apprehensive.
Pakura, on the other hand, deliberately put on an air of firm resolve, which Yubi found amusing.
Even if it was just an act... her determination and drive were already worthy of praise.
On the road, Yubi took out a book from his backpack and read while traveling, appearing very relaxed.
He also slowed down his pace significantly so that his three students could keep up.
"As expected of Teacher Yubi, never forgetting to study even while traveling..." The slightly buck-toothed Sakamoto couldn't help but exclaim with shining eyes as he saw Yubi managing both reading and moving.
"Haha... it will take us at least two days to reach the war zone. For now, it's still relatively safe, so don't be too nervous," Yubi chuckled.
It was mainly because the three students' speed was a bit lacking.
Otherwise, they could have basically arrived in just over a day.
"This should be the first time any of you have performed such a mission. If you encounter an enemy, don't think about how to deal with them first; for you, the primary consideration must always be survival. Under relatively safe conditions, remember to observe the opponent and the battlefield environment, and learn to develop the habit of gathering external factors... Then, in the process of engaging the opponent, construct a model of their fighting style and methods, and after that... consider how to defeat them."
"Once you've cultivated these combat habits and they become instinctual... things will become simple."
After a moment's thought, Yubi still offered some advice.
"Understood, Teacher."
Fukushima Taki and Sakamoto both nodded.
Only Pakura remained silent.
Competitive as she was... she probably didn't take it to heart.
Yubi saw through her thoughts but didn't call her out.
Words alone can't teach someone, but experience... once is enough.
This little girl had told him more than once that she wanted to surpass him; she was likely holding her breath now, eager to prove herself.
Then... as their teacher, Yubi learned more about the respective specialties and abilities of his four students and arranged a simplified combat deployment.
Just as Arai had cautioned, the higher-ups had placed these individuals in his squad clearly wanting him to train them; the completion of the mission itself wasn't the most critical thing.
"The Hidden Mist's Assassination Techniques are very famous. Once we reach the battlefield, you must maintain sufficient vigilance... Also, no matter what happens, do not panic; you must learn to handle things calmly. Although there are our defense personnel along the coastal border, because the terrain and environment are complex, if the Hidden Mist doesn't deploy large forces and instead frequently infiltrates in small squads, there's still a certain probability they can sneak into our territory... Furthermore, their goal isn't to engage us, but to destroy the living areas of our civilians, loot supplies, or hijack merchants."
"Therefore, you must also understand the purpose of our mission... Fighting the Hidden Mist isn't the priority; protecting the people and driving the enemies away comes first... As long as they retreat or flee, we don't necessarily have to pursue them, understand?"
As time passed and they drew closer to the war zone, the matters Yubi cautioned them about began to increase.
Although he still wore a kind expression, his tone unconsciously grew a few degrees more serious.
During the journey, Yubi wasn't just flipping through the Cultivate materials and notes he brought; he would occasionally write things down and hand them to Yashamaru.
Indeed, it was some of his medical experience.
These were treatment plans for potential injuries the squad might encounter on the battlefield, and they also included some medical knowledge.
Chiyo letting Yashamaru follow the squad was clearly an attempt to obtain some 'Legacy' from him.
Yubi was generous and didn't mind teaching.
He already intended to improve the Village's medical standards, so it would be a good thing if he could train Yashamaru into a capable medical mainstay.
Moreover, Yashamaru's talent in medicine was indeed quite good.
Yubi could see that.
Later, if there was time, he would also teach him a few Medical Ninjutsu, but whether he could learn them would depend on his own ability... Two days later, the travel-worn five-man squad arrived at a coastal fishing Village.
Don't think the Land of Wind is just endless gravel and desert; after all, it borders the sea.
For the residents along the coast, fishing is their primary livelihood and source of income.
Besides stationing personnel along the border to monitor the Hidden Mist's movements, the Hidden Sand Village's other deployments involved placing Sunagakure squads in a decentralized manner across civilian Strongholds throughout the war zone to protect residents... Every Village or town had basic Sunagakure personnel stationed there, serving as temporary footholds for the Sunagakure.
Although they were facing enemy Ninja, the situation was somewhat like dealing with bandits or mountain outlaws.
Here, the local people and Sunagakure could be seen as one.
"Captain Yubi."
The welcoming Sunagakure Ninja nodded to Yubi and explained the situation, "This is the Hidden Mist's range of activity along the coast that we've observed so far, but their specific location is still unclear..."
Yubi reached out to take the map and then handed it to several students.
"Are the areas marked in red where the situation is more severe?"
Yubi asked.
"Yes... some Villages have already been destroyed and are no longer habitable, but... we have safely evacuated the surviving villagers."
The former replied.
Many littles make a mickle; although looting a single Village might not yield much, the Hidden Mist had been doing this tirelessly for years, clearly accumulating a significant amount of resources.
Furthermore, before coming, Yubi had also gathered some information about this battlefield from Arai.
Previously, Yubi had never paid attention to the disputes between the Village and the Hidden Mist; after all, compared to Konoha and Iwagakure, the Hidden Mist's threat wasn't that great.
However, aside from limited resources, the casualty rate of Sunagakure on this battlefield was very low... but it didn't match the Village's statistics because these Sunagakure Ninjas were missing—not dead, but captured alive by the Hidden Mist.
It wasn't that the Hidden Mist wanted to use these Sunagakure Ninjas as hostages or prisoners to trade with the Hidden Sand Village.
In that case... there was only one possibility.
They were using these Sunagakure Ninjas for experiments or to spy on secrets and information related to the Hidden Sand Village.
Not to mention living Ninja, even the corpses of dead Ninja... are valuable.
A Ninja is a vessel for Ninjutsu, a living embodiment of a portion of a Village's resources... They can be used for targeted research on their Ninjutsu, thereby converting it into their own Village's Ninjutsu resources.
Ninja themselves are also the most suitable for serving as 'guinea pigs' for certain scientific research projects.
The other Villages were truly fighting and killing to win a voice in the Ninja World.
When it came to the Hidden Mist, what they were doing was a bit despicable.
However, it did match their Village's'style'.
"Sorry for the trouble."
After a detailed briefing, the Sunagakure Ninja responsible for patrolling this Village spoke politely to Yubi.
"Mhm."
Yubi smiled slightly.
Then, he turned back to look at the four, including Yashamaru, "Let's go... start the operation."