Playing As Gojo Satoru in Naruto

Just as the two groups split up, three figures quickly landed on the branches and looked in both directions.

"Whoa! Someone actually tried to attack that guy? Now I'm even more interested in him."

Kirigakure headband, short white hair, shark-like teeth, and purple eyes.

Hozuki Suigetsu looked curiously at Gaara with the gourd on his back, revealing a row of sharp teeth.

"Has sensei been here the whole time…"

Kimimaro's eyes paused for a moment on Hatake Satoru, then shifted to Naruto, Sasuke, and the others nearby. He frowned ever so slightly.

He had left Satoru-sensei a long time ago to return to Kirigakure and continue training. It had been over a year since they last saw each other.

Are those his new students? They're probably joining the Chunin Exams too.

"So those two really are entering... the Nine-Tails' Jinchuriki and the last Uchiha."

"That red-haired one is no pushover either. You two better stay alert."

Out of everyone, the only one seriously analyzing the enemy was Haku.

It wasn't that he ignored Hatake Satoru—it's just that he was the only one who had never spent any time with him.

Haku had only heard rumors about the man.

The one who ended the Bloody Mist era, who could fight tailed beasts one-on-one, and take on a Tailed Beast Bomb head-on.

Of course, rumors tend to get exaggerated and more unbelievable over time.

So to Haku, someone like that crushing a kunai made of sand with his bare hands wasn't anything surprising.

If he crushed a person with his hands, Haku wouldn't even bat an eye.

"What's the Uchiha clan? A last survivor? Sounds kinda impressive."

Hozuki Suigetsu, completely out of touch with the world, said something that clearly showed he was clueless.

Kimimaro had a vague impression of the Uchiha clan—he'd heard they used to be a prestigious family in Konoha, but then were wiped out in a single night.

He didn't know much beyond that.

"The Uchiha clan's Sharingan is a Kekkei Genkai. It's the only eye that can see through my secret jutsu~."

"And it gets stronger in battle too."

Haku explained this thoughtfully to the other two.

Even though the Nine-Tails' Jinchuriki was powerful, he didn't really see through Haku's techniques.

He just brute-forced his way through with the power of the Nine-Tails.

As confident as Haku was in his secret jutsu and Kekkei Genkai, he understood clearly that they were no match for a tailed beast.

Suigetsu blinked and looked at the two older guys beside him, who were both deep in thought. Scratching his head, he said, confused:

"Wait... Kekkei Genkai really is that scary?"

"But don't all three of us have that kind of thing?"

"..."

"..."

The three of them looked at each other and realized—yeah, that's kind of true.

Kirigakure is full of people with Kekkei Genkai. It might seem rare to outsiders, but inside the village, it's actually pretty normal.

...

After walking Sakura and the others partway out, Hatake Satoru turned and headed home.

He really did go buy snacks, planning to eat them at home, but ended up finishing everything on the way.

Which made it look like he was just wandering around with nothing better to do.

It was still early. The Chunin Exams were right around the corner, and the people from Sunagakure and Kirigakure had already arrived.

It was better to give the kids some free time to train on their own.

As for written tests or school grades, Kakashi didn't expect much—just don't hand in a blank sheet.

Since even the jonin in charge had such low expectations, Hatake Satoru cared even less. If they learned something, great. If not, whatever.

"Hm..."

He had also noticed Suigetsu and the others, but they hadn't shown themselves or followed him.

Probably because there were others around him at the time. For secrecy and caution, they chose to stay hidden.

Kirigakure always prioritizes staying hidden, and Haku, with his experience, likely brought the other two along with care.

*"Shuu!"*

Just as Hatake Satoru was quietly thinking about Kimimaro and the others, suddenly there was the sound of an attack rushing through the air behind him.

Satoru slightly turned his head and caught sight of a thin, thread-like line, almost like fishing line. If it wasn't for the sunlight, it would have been nearly impossible to see.

Almost at the same moment Satoru turned, the line was already right in front of him.

It was moving pretty fast.

If the attack wasn't aimed at him, it might have gone right through someone.

Satoru quickly vanished from where he was and appeared again in midair.

After an almost silent sound, a tiny, perfectly round hole was drilled right through the big tree behind Satoru.

…Water?

Satoru paused for a moment, then heard the splash of water hitting the ground.

"Great Water Arm Technique!"

At the moment Satoru paused in midair, a low male voice suddenly rang out.

Then, out of nowhere, a huge, almost strange-looking fist dropped down from the sky.

There was no surprise on Satoru's face as he reached out to block the falling fist.

But the moment his hand touched it, the giant fist suddenly turned into a splash of water and melted away right in front of him.

While Satoru was momentarily taken aback, the water that had just broken apart quickly reformed behind him.

One hand made a choking motion toward his throat, while the other held a kunai aimed straight at the side of Satoru's neck.

But no matter how hard the kunai or the arm pressed, they were stopped at a distance that wouldn't let them get any closer.

"The limit between you and me will never change~"

Realizing he hadn't actually hit Satoru, the person behind started to pull back.

But just as Satoru spoke, he teleported away, leaning forward slightly to grab the opponent's wrist holding the kunai.

The person who had just had the kunai pressed to Satoru's neck was suddenly someone else.

Satoru pressed lightly, then let go, stepping aside.

Though the person had grown taller and more skilled, and his face and voice had changed a little,

Satoru still recognized the white hair and shark-like teeth.

The young, unbelievable-looking Fifth Mizukage, Hozuki Mangetsu, whom no outsiders had ever seen before.

"Wow! Satoru-sensei, you're still really strong!"

"I thought after all this time I'd have improved a bit."

But I still ended up getting pinned to the ground.

Mangetsu lay on his back, sighed, then flipped over and stood up.

He showed a row of shark teeth and gave Satoru a cheeky smile.

"You've improved a lot, but you still need a bit more if you want to beat me, Seri."

Satoru flicked Mangetsu's forehead with his finger.

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