Genius?

Konoha's support for Mist Shinobi was multifaceted. Nearly half of the intelligence, logistics, and medical personnel withdrawn from the Stone Shinobi battlefield were sent to the Mist Shinobi battlefield in an effort to end Mist Shinobi's landing operation as soon as possible, only because the Sand Shinobi seemed to be making some subtle moves as well.

Ideally, the current situation should be maintained, and the established strategy should be followed to quickly end the Mist Shinobi battlefield and shift the focus of the war to the battlefield against Kumogakure.

"Let's go..."

Kato Osamu, standing at the Konoha Gate, led the three behind him away as quickly as possible, simply because almost everyone's eyes were on him.

Nothing attracts the public's attention more than a living hero, simply because living heroes are generally those with real abilities.

"I knew it! Teacher Xu's name would definitely resound throughout Konoha!"

Kato Osamu looked at Iruka with some surprise. He could keenly sense the subtle changes in the emotions of the three of them. In just one day, Iruka's relationship with Uzuki Yugao had clearly improved a bit.

However... he harbored a slight distance from Itachi Uchiha, a distance that even he himself could hardly perceive.

"Kakashi Hatake, Obito Uchiha, Rin, Itachi Uchiha, Iruka, Uzuki Yugao..."

"Even... Orochimaru, Jiraiya, Tsunade..."

"Like a predetermined fate..."

It's not hard to imagine what kind of emotions would arise under such circumstances. As high-ranking officials in Konoha, they would certainly not be unaware of these things, and might even be doing it intentionally.

When a person leaves school and enters society, the people they meet in their youth almost entirely determine their future life trajectory. You don't even need to investigate; most couples in Konoha are former teammates...

"Let's go..."

Kato Osamu didn't want to think about these boring old people's games. He just looked back at the towering gates of Konoha, which were almost invisible now. He was a little unsure if this was the last time he would walk out of here peacefully...

"Teacher Xu... I'll go scout ahead!"

Iruka seemed very excited, and before Kato Osamu could even respond, he rushed ahead.

"Do we even need to scout ahead here, you idiot..."

Uzuki Yugao glanced at Iruka's retreating figure, gave a soft snort, but her gaze fell on Kato Osamu, who was walking slowly as if taking a stroll, with a hint of doubt in her eyes.

Are you also in a hurry to go and die?

Kato Osamu glanced at Uzuki Yugao. There were some dense scars on the web of her right hand. Although she was still young, she looked like she had been learning swordsmanship for quite some time.

Even so, in Kato Osamu's memory, someone with that kind of strength would at most survive to the second round of Root's training; he couldn't quite recall. Perhaps it had been a long time since he'd encountered such a weakling...

"I..."

Uzuki Yugao never expected that the first thing her handsome, young, older brother-like teacher would say to her would be like this. She was even stunned for a few seconds before realizing that Kato Osamu was talking about her...

"But you're right about one thing: that guy really is an idiot..."

"Whoosh..."

Kato Osamu didn't even look at Iruka; he simply tossed a Kunai that passed through Iruka's cloak and pinned Iruka, who was about to step into the jungle, to a large tree in front of him.

"Go tell that idiot... if he doesn't have Minato Namikaze's strength, he shouldn't try to imitate others by wearing a white trench coat..."

"He'll be the first to die on the battlefield..."

"Yes..."

With a slight pursing of her lips, Uzuki Yugao's impression of Kato Osamu plummeted, and she even felt a little aggrieved. While still angry, she ran to Iruka's side, who was stunned by the shock.

"Teacher Xu... why...?"

Iruka stared blankly at Kato Osamu, his imagined image of a kind older brother like Minato Namikaze completely shattered by this Kunai.

"Hmph, he's just a rude barbarian!"

Uzuki Yugao gave a soft snort and rescued Iruka from the tree. Feeling increasingly aggrieved, she couldn't help but kick Iruka's foot hard.

"Hey! Why did you kick me!"

"It's all your fault, you idiot!"

Kato Osamu ignored Uzuki Yugao Itachi Uchiha, who remained expressionless.

"Itachi Uchiha, did your father tell you why he wanted you to join this team?"

For some reason, every time he saw this child, he could think of Danzo's Root, as if in this group, it wasn't himself who came from Root, but him.

"Understood... While learning Jonin Kato, further strengthen the bond between the Uchiha Clan and Minato Namikaze, because you are someone Minato Namikaze has high hopes for, and you may achieve even greater things in the future..."

Itachi Uchiha stared intently at Kato Osamu, still pondering how he had failed the previous day and why Kato Osamu had been able to locate his true form in an instant.

"Clan Chief Fugaku Uchiha is truly grooming you to be the future clan leader. He's telling you all this at such a young age..."

"It's not what Father said, it's just what Itachi himself thinks..."

"Oh?"

A hint of surprise flashed in Kato Osamu's eyes, but looking at Itachi Uchiha's calm gaze and unwavering emotions, he knew he was telling the truth.

"Um..."

He narrowed his eyes slightly, staring at Itachi Uchiha with a scrutinizing gaze. The last time he had seen a child with such mature thoughts was when he was looking in the mirror in the small bamboo house.

Although she knew it was probably impossible, Kato Osamu still inexplicably said something strange, while simultaneously maximizing her senses and closely monitoring any subtle emotional changes in Itachi Uchiha.

"Heavenly King covers the Earth Tiger..."

"Um?"

Itachi Uchiha glanced at Kato Osamu with some confusion, completely failing to understand the odd remark.

"It's nothing... Go and call them both over..."

Kato Osamu nodded slightly, shifting her gaze from Itachi. It seems that in every world there are people whose thoughts are always ahead of their peers...

He's either a genius or a madman.

"Um..."

Itachi Uchiha nodded slightly without saying anything. With a flick of his right hand, more than a dozen Shuriken flew towards Iruka and Uzuki Yugao.

"Heh, interesting..."

Kato Ou chuckled and watched quietly as the shurikens kept colliding with each other in the air, and finally they were all embedded in the big tree next to Iruka. More than a dozen shurikens formed a huge "hui" character.

"Uchiha Style: Throwing Technique... well, they do have some merit..."

"Get out of the way!"

Uzuki Yugao and Iruka stared wide-eyed at the countless Shuriken flying towards them, quickly hiding behind a large tree, their eyes filled with disbelief.

"Again?!"

Uzuki Yugao Itachi Uchiha glared angrily at Uchiha Itachi. She didn't dare to lose her temper with Kato Osamu, but that didn't mean she was completely without temper.

"Itachi Uchiha! You really are! Very good!"