The sun was setting.
Taking care of all the bandits encountered during the escort mission didn't exhaust Itachi much.
Even though he was still just a Genin, his prowess was far beyond what a Genin should have.
With sharp combat techniques, extraordinary Fire Style and Shuriken Throwing skills, and now even venturing into Illusion Techniques capable of confusing ninjas, except for not activating the Sharingan, he already possessed everything that the traditional Uchiha ninjas should have.
As long as he continued to hone his skills in this direction, Itachi believed he would become stronger one day, stronger than anyone in the Uchiha.
Seeing the hateful look in his teammate Izumo Tsutama's eyes, Itachi knew what he was thinking.
He was probably wondering why Itachi could be so strong while he had to be so weak.
Most of the attacking bandits were dealt with by Itachi alone; Jonin Minazuki Yuzuki didn't intervene, only he, Izumo Tsutama, and Inari Makoto took action.
Regarding Inari Makoto's strength, it wasn't a concern as she was just a support staff, so combat wasn't her main role. As long as she managed the logistics well, that was her greatest contribution to the team.
From this perspective, Itachi had no complaints about her logistical contributions; instead, he thought this lessened his own burden considerably.
So, the only one responsible for combat alongside him was Izumo Tsutama, a Genin with an exceptionally strong competitive spirit.
The other was five years older than him, theoretically having five more years of training than Itachi.
Yet, there are so-called geniuses in this world. Even with five more years of training, Itachi had far surpassed him. That was a fact.
Itachi, who emerged unscathed from dealing with most of the bandits, and the few resolved by Tsutama took longer.
The disparity in strength was clear and evident.
Regarding this, Itachi didn't want to express anything, considering that this competitive spirit wasn't troubling.
If this competitiveness could make Izumo Tsutama stronger, it would be a good thing.
Given a choice between a companion with ambition and initiative and one without, Itachi would choose the former.
If a companion matched his strength, they'd battle side by side. If the companion was weak and couldn't keep up with his combat pace, then he would protect them. This was a rule Itachi set for himself from the start.
Therefore, even if there was some friction between him and Izumo Tsutama in the team, they generally maintained team cooperation.
"You truly live up to the reputation, Itachi. You are indeed a genius of the Uchiha Clan. Having a teammate like you makes my role as the team leader considerably easier,"
Minazuki Yuzuki walked over, smiling.
"It's nothing, Yuzuki-sensei."
"Alright then, let's proceed with the patrol task. Mako and I will form a team; you and Tsutama will handle the other side."
Given Mako's weakness, pairing her with Jonin Yuzuki was a sensible arrangement.
However... Itachi glanced at Tsutama, who snorted coldly, causing him a headache.
Especially hearing Yuzuki-sensei's praise, Tsutama's dissatisfaction with him probably deepened.
Sometimes, Itachi wondered if Yuzuki-sensei was truly oblivious to such matters or had ulterior motives.
Suspecting his team-leading Jonin out of nowhere, causing rifts, felt quite disrespectful to Itachi.
Inari Mako sighed with regret for not being able to join Itachi's group.
She would have wanted to be with a capable and charming Itachi rather than an unfortunate-looking leader.
Admiring such a strong and attractive man was something most women yearned for.
In Itachi's view, women who had self-awareness and independence were worthy of admiration.
"Don't take Yuzuki-sensei's words to heart; he's just a bit careless,"
while on patrol with Tsutama, walking ahead, Itachi said without turning back.
After he finished speaking,
killing intent arose from behind.
Itachi dodged Tsutama's punch with the slightest movement.
Then casually extending his leg, he easily tripped Tsutama, causing him to fall.
The timing was executed flawlessly.
Even a Chunin might not have such agile skills, which was where Itachi's confidence lay.
And Tsutama's attack was not the first of its kind.
Itachi considered such surprise attacks as part of his training, honing his reaction abilities.
Although he wasn't skilled in Ninja Techniques and Illusion Techniques, Tsutama's Taijutsu was impressive for a Genin.
"Sorry, seems I made you angry,"
Itachi extended a hand, intending to help Tsutama up.
Tsutama ignored Itachi, stood up on his own, dusted himself off, and glared at Itachi fiercely.
"That always-seeing-through-everything attitude of yours is very annoying. It was the same in the Ninja School; what do those girls even like about you?"
Itachi didn't respond.
He didn't know what those girls liked about him during the Ninja School days either.
His looks? Or his talents? A straightforward admiration of strength?
It was a complex question, one that Itachi didn't want to explore, feeling it was a pointless endeavor.
His acquaintance with Tsutama went back to Ninja School days.
Tsutama had often found trouble with him back then.
Because Tsutama's uncle had sacrificed during the battle with the Nine-tailed, and there were rumors in the village pointing fingers at the Uchiha Clan.
This led to Tsutama holding a very negative view of the Uchiha Clan.
It was an unavoidable matter; Itachi couldn't apologize to Tsutama. If the Nine-tailed incident was truly the doing of the Uchiha Clan of Konoha, he would apologize. But since the truth wasn't clear, the only known fact was that Konoha declared the chaos caused by the Nine-tailed was the doing of the rogue Uchiha Ruri.