A month later, Yubi led the four of them back to the Village to regroup and take a short break.
Their mission wasn't over yet.
During this time, Arai even came to find Yubi.
Although he spoke very tactfully, Yubi still understood the message he was conveying.
It was... several higher-ups, including Pakura's parents, were stunned when they saw the younger generation returning from the battlefield.
They knew the cruelty of the battlefield and understood how dangerous and harsh the environment would be for a few teenagers fighting away from the Village for the first time... but they didn't expect the state Sakamoto and the others were in to exceed their expectations.
Those who didn't know better... would have thought they were the children of refugees.
They also weren't sure what kind of Hellish training the group had gone through with Yubi.
He had been too heavy-handed.
Of course, the growth of the youngsters made the elders overjoyed... but they were still somewhat heartbroken.
They couldn't help but complain a bit.
Word had it that Sakamoto and Fukushima Taki spent a few days in the Village feasting on meat and fish every meal, as if they were the reincarnations of starved ghosts.
Yubi didn't care about that.
He directly had Arai pass on a message: if anyone was unhappy, they could terminate a person's mission and have them leave the squad.
The result was... as soon as those words were spoken, Arai laughed.
He laughed... because he knew very well that no matter how heartbroken they were, seeing their descendants grow so rapidly, those higher-ups would never let anyone leave the team... at the very least, they returned alive and in one piece.
Not to mention, under Yubi's tutelage, they had already shown results that surprised them.
Furthermore, if word got out, it would somewhat affect the future Ninja careers of Sakamoto and the others.
Otherwise, they wouldn't have just sent Arai to convey the message.
They didn't dare face Yubi directly.
As a captain and teacher, and an influential figure of the new generation in the Village, Yubi wasn't intimidated by them at all.
So, they could only grumble.
Additionally, Arai came to Yubi this time to inform him that his 'evaluation' had passed.
Yubi had not only accepted the Kazekage's assignment but had also worked for such a long time... and had trained Pakura and the other three so excellently. This performance left the higher-ups, led by the Third Kazekage, unable to find any fault at all.
They also considered him'safe and controllable,' completely letting go of their last bit of worry.
The words weren't that blunt, but Yubi understood.
This also meant that from now on, he could completely let loose and do things in the Village.
Do what... he wanted to do, without worrying about too much 'pressure' from the higher-ups.
At the same time, he could truly communicate and interact with the higher-ups without barriers.
His words and suggestions would also carry more weight.
After exchanging pleasantries with Arai for a while, the other party left.
Before leaving, Arai still hesitated but asked Yubi to go a bit easier on the training for the students.
After all, not everyone had the Aptitude of him and Sasori.
Even Yashamaru and Pakura... were far from being on the same level as those two.
Yubi responded with a smile on the surface.
In his view, this level of tutelage was already considered light... there were even harsher methods.
In the future, these students would all become the backbone of the Village. If they didn't have solid skills, how could they command respect and have a say in the Village?
Relying solely on the prestige left by their Family... was far from enough... A few days later, Yubi set off again with the four of them.
Since it was a Village assignment, Yubi decided to finish the mission to completely dispel the higher-ups' suspicions, making it easier for him to launch certain plans later.
At the same time, he wanted to make the Foundation of the four'seeds' even firmer.
So they could better take root and sprout in Sunagakure in the future... not necessarily to be used by him, but at least to help change the face of Sunagakure.
Because he was also intentionally transmitting some of his concepts and ideas to them, influencing their thoughts and perceptions of the Village.
At their age... whether it was character, thinking, or strength, it was the easiest stage to mold... Returning to the battlefield, the squad's actions went off without a hitch; they were already familiar with this environment and atmosphere.
Under Yubi's leadership, they continued to fight against the Hidden Mist who frequently landed and infiltrated.
In the first few months, under Yubi's protection, the four's combat performance and teamwork were still quite clumsy and inefficient.
But in the following months... with Yubi's guidance and the obvious improvement in their individual strength, the squad began to show its prowess.
Their mental outlook was also worlds apart from when they first arrived in the war zone.
In Yubi's view, what truly grew wasn't their strength... but their mindset.
It was their 'understanding' of the battlefield and life-and-death battles.
In less than a year, no matter how he trained them... he couldn't make their strength undergo a complete transformation; at most, it could only be considered a slight 'qualitative' change.
All of this was because his protection allowed the students to experience a high frequency of battles in a short time and accumulate experience... thereby reaping results.
Yubi used his healing abilities to indirectly compress the squad's 'rest' time on the battlefield.
Nothing makes one grow more than actual combat.
The benefits brought by combat are always the most direct and obvious.
All Yubi needed to do... was have a little patience.
By the Late Stage, even Sakamoto in the team stopped calling him for help and stopped constantly calling him 'Teacher.'
Instead, he began to follow Yubi's words, learning to be calm, analyze the enemy, analyze other factors related to combat, and understand how to think.
This also made Yubi's duties as a teacher much easier.
Because the Hidden Mist infiltrating the Land of Wind could avoid the Sunagakure squads guarding the coastal frontlines... their numbers naturally couldn't be too many.
They were all small squads of a few people.
The difference in numbers between friend and foe wouldn't be too obvious, keeping battlefield variables to a minimum.
The Hidden Mist could infiltrate not because they were strong enough.
It was because the terrain in this area was complex, and with a limited number of troops, the monitoring force Sunagakure could provide couldn't cover the entire coastline.
For the current Pakura and the other three, as long as their individual combat power wasn't overwhelmed, they could still handle it.
As they gained more experience... the speed at which the squad repelled the enemy gradually began to increase.
The number of Hidden Mist squads they wiped out... with the accumulation of time, had reached a considerable number by the standards of a 'rookie team.'
Recently, the Hidden Mist active along the coast of the Land of Wind had clearly decreased, and Villages or towns suffering from enemy persecution and looting hadn't appeared for a while... Sasori became a Jonin... and successfully joined the Anbu.
He became a Squad Leader of an Anbu squad.
In this past year, although the Village's mission volume had plummeted, Sasori was still frantically building his resume.
"Twelve years old... to have this kind of achievement in the Village is truly extraordinary."
One day, Yubi looked at the letter in his hand and thought to himself.
This was a letter Sasori had specially sent to him.
The content was simple: to inform him of one thing, that he had joined the Anbu.
The plan between the two of them... was about to begin.
"Needless to say, my appearance has definitely changed the course of Sasori's life... Since he has already joined the Anbu, then my side is also about to end."
Yubi tucked the letter away, his eyes flashing.
He was going to take action personally, quickly clear out the remaining Hidden Mist, and then... go back.
Start to... change Sunagakure.