In the open space, although there was a sandstorm providing cover, as long as he remained within the domain he could perform spatial locking and change coordinates freely. Pakura was also very perceptive.

When she spotted the familiar figure waiting in the distance, she gave nothing away to the others and simply called Yashamaru and the other two to follow without explanation.

Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh.

A moment later, the four of them followed Yuji’s figure to a clearing in the desert.

"Lord Kazekage..."

Yashamaru and the others finally understood why Pakura had suddenly called them to leave with her. Meeting Yuji again, all four were visibly excited.

Sakamoto had been about to call him teacher by reflex, but catching himself and remembering Yuji’s current position, he changed his form of address at the last moment.

The four of them had been stationed at the front lines for over a year without returning to the village once. They had only learned about the Fourth Kazekage through news reports reaching the battlefield.

Although they found it genuinely difficult to believe that their teacher had become the Kazekage, they were sincerely happy about it. This was their teacher, the person who had single-handedly killed the Third Raikage of the Hidden Cloud Village, a feat that had shaken the entire ninja world.

As his students, they naturally felt proud and honored to have such a person as their teacher.

"None of that. Just call me teacher," Yuji said with a smile.

His gaze swept over each of them.

"You have all grown up considerably."

The words came out sounding somewhat like something an old man would say. He seemed to notice this himself.

"And you have all become much stronger. I am very glad to see it."

He patted Yashamaru on the shoulder, then looked at Pakura.

In the village’s battle reports over the past year, Pakura and Yashamaru had been the most outstanding performers on this front, to the point where the Hidden Mist Village had taken specific notice of them.

The Hidden Mist had launched several targeted operations with the express intention of eliminating these two troublesome members of the Sand Village squad. They had failed each time and paid a significant price for the attempts.

Of course, this was not because the two were truly invincible. Beyond their individual capabilities, their accompanying squad members were well-organized and genuinely strong, with the captain almost certainly at Jonin level.

Everyone on the Sand Village side of this battlefield knew these four were the Kazekage’s students and future talents the village intended to develop. Therefore, the Sand Village commander overseeing this front had also made a point of ensuring their safety.

But even accounting for that support, the fact that they had drawn the Hidden Mist’s targeted attention as relatively new combatants proved their genuine potential.

"That is right! Teacher, you have become the Kazekage. We absolutely will not let you down!" Sakamoto said with his unchanged personality, rubbing his nose and grinning.

"You have always been a hindrance. And you still have the nerve to say something like that?" Pakura retorted without mercy.

Seeing the two of them on the verge of starting an argument, Yashamaru immediately stepped in to calm things down and mediate, as he always did.

"It is alright," Yuji said.

He sighed quietly to himself as he watched.

During the Third Kazekage’s time, the village’s internal power dynamics had been unstable and the families of Fukushima Taki and Sakamoto had been implicated, both having lost their fathers in the political turmoil.

This would inevitably have caused the two young men, who were considered future successors from common clan backgrounds, to harbor some resentment toward the village.

Although the teacher and student relationship was genuine, now that Yuji had become Kazekage, it would have been natural for some tension to surface.

But looking at them now, it seemed that precisely because he had become Kazekage, and because the Third Kazekage and those senior figures who had targeted common clan members were all gone, their resentment had finally found a place to settle and dissipate.

"I apologize, teacher. I was not able to attend your inauguration ceremony in person," Yashamaru said with a gentle smile. He remained as polite and thoughtful as ever.

"It is fortunate you were not there. I was so embarrassed in that moment that having you witness it would have made it even worse."

"I see. Hahaha." Yuji teased him lightly.

"As a Kazekage, your personality really has not changed at all," Pakura said softly under her breath.

"Teacher, why are you here? Does the village have any specific arrangements for the situation on this front?" Fukushima Taki asked with genuine curiosity.

Although the past year of battlefield experience had been extremely grueling and dangerous for all of them, it should not have reached a point requiring the Kazekage’s personal intervention, should it?

"I was passing through and simply wanted to see how all of you were doing," Yuji said with a wide grin.

"You... came alone?" Fukushima Taki’s eyes went wide.

"Yes."

The four of them stared at him in stunned silence after he nodded.

Not a single bodyguard?

"Do not tell anyone. I am accustomed to moving freely. Having someone follow me everywhere feels quite unusual."

The more he spoke, the more worried Pakura became. She wanted to say something sharp but, considering his current position as Kazekage, she hesitated before choosing her words carefully.

"Do not think that just because you have become Kazekage you can act however you please. Hmph. Give me a few more years to grow stronger."

She continued.

"By then, if you cannot handle the position of Kazekage properly, I will pull you down from it myself!"

"I see. When your strength is sufficient to protect the village on your own, I will voluntarily step down."

Yuji gave Pakura a thumbs up after saying it.

Then he narrowed his eyes slightly, realizing how familiar those words sounded. It was as though he had said something very similar to Rasa once.

"Who wants your charity. I have to earn it through my own strength," Pakura said.

"You have become Kazekage and you treat the position so carelessly, talking about handing it to someone else so easily," she continued, cursing under her breath.

The latter part of her words clearly revealed that she did not actually want to compete with anyone for the Kazekage position, but given her competitive spirit, she might well have said the same thing to someone else entirely.

"How could it be just anyone else. It would be you specifically. I have complete confidence in letting you become Kazekage one day."

The more he laughed and said it, the more Pakura’s face instantly flushed red.

"I... I... I am going back first."

She stammered out the sentence, then threw the kunai she had been holding away. She kept walking, tilting her head away from the group, and did not stop.

The three remaining students watched her retreating back in silence for a moment.

"Teacher is still incredible. Normally she is as cold as ice toward all of us, like someone perpetually short of patience."

"And yet here we are, finally reminded that she is still a woman after all," Sakamoto said, watching Pakura’s back with open admiration.

"Although she rarely mentions it in everyday life, for Pakura, teacher has always been the role model she carries in her heart, and the person she admires most," Yashamaru said with a quiet smile.

They all understood this about her. Pakura was extraordinarily fierce on the battlefield, willing to fight and kill without hesitation. She had almost no feminine softness about her, only a strong and at times intense demeanor.

The reason for this, in truth, was that she had been imitating her teacher all along. His influence on her had gone the deepest of all.

Of course, her own competitive spirit was also a significant part of who she was naturally.

Afterward, Yuji chatted briefly with the remaining three. He gathered some information about the Hidden Mist Village’s activities on this section of the front, then told all of them to stay where they were.

Sakamoto and the others wanted to accompany him on whatever he was heading out to do, but he refused. After instructing them all to be especially careful on the battlefield and to prioritize their own survival above everything else, he disappeared into the night.

The Hidden Mist Village’s infiltration of the Land of Wind was not accomplished entirely by landing directly from the sea. They used the coastal areas of the Land of Rivers as a transit point to break through the Sand Village’s defensive lines.

After all, for the Hidden Mist Village, this Great Ninja War was not purely about harassment. It was also about extending their reach and strengthening their position. Invading from the sea was only one tactical component. In direct confrontations, the main battle still had to be fought on land.

On the other hand, in the sea area between the Land of Water and the Land of Wind, there were also smaller island nations with their own military forces that could potentially be used as staging grounds or temporary hiding places. These could all serve as intermediate stops.

The journey to reach the Land of Wind from these positions would be somewhat longer and would cost additional time, but the security of the approach would be considerably better.

In short, the battlefield between these two villages in this conflict was larger and more dispersed than a simple coastal engagement implied. It broadly encompassed the entire coastal area including the borders between the Land of Rivers and the mainland.

In real warfare, the tactical deployment of any single village was always extraordinarily diverse with countless infiltration plans and routes available. The battlefield situation was never as simple as a clean front line.

And to enter the Land of Water specifically, covert operations and careful camouflage were essential. One could choose from two different approach routes, through the territory of smaller island nations, and land as quickly as possible once the opening presented itself. As long as one set foot on Land of Water soil, entry became achievable.

Even though the Land of Water now maintained coastal border defenses along its shoreline, to Yuji, it was no different from an empty barrel making a great deal of noise.

...

Stones 💎