Playing As Gojo Satoru in Naruto

The moment Hatake Satoru said the word "holding back," Kimimaro stepped on a rock and, together with Killer Bee, quickly covered his mouth.

Things were already tense enough—don't stir things up even more!!

It was rare to see A look like he was about to back off for now since he couldn't land a hit on Hatake Satoru.

Don't make it worse when we're finally getting a break!

Killer Bee had already noticed that Hatake Satoru had a way of speaking that really ticked people off, but this time it felt like it might seriously blow up.

Kimimaro simply realized that if this kept going, things were going to get out of hand fast.

"Menopause?! What did you just say, you little brat? I heard that loud and clear!"

Luckily, A hadn't caught what Hatake Satoru said after that. He just stormed over, looking angry.

Killer Bee and Kimimaro exchanged a look, then quickly pulled their own people a little farther apart.

Man, if those two had really started shouting at each other, this whole place might've been wrecked.

"Well, I wasn't planning on staying here long anyway."

"Just dropping by to show my face, that's all."

Letting someone near the place where the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki is kept already felt super sketchy.

Good thing Killer Bee had trained with the Hoshigaki blade—otherwise, one Tailed Beast Bomb and they probably wouldn't even be talking right now.

Hatake Satoru lazily patted Kimimaro on the head to calm him down, signaling he wouldn't say anything else to cause trouble.

Running into the Fourth Raikage wasn't in the plan, but since this involved the Eight-Tails, it kind of made sense.

These people would be useful allies in the future.

"Teacher?"

After hearing Killer Bee's explanation, A looked at Hatake Satoru with a strange expression.

He hadn't seen Hatake Satoru actually fight, but this guy came to teach rap?

He really didn't look the part!

Even though Hatake Satoru never actually made a move, just seeing how fast he dodged and how far he could move without being stopped—

It was obvious he would be a tough opponent.

"Forget it. No matter who he is, this place is off-limits. He shouldn't have come here."

"Especially since he's an outsider."

The village hasn't even been at peace for that long, and letting an outsider get close to the Cloud and Thunder Gorge? Not happening.

How he even found this place was a mystery in itself.

Cloud and Thunder Gorge wasn't exactly a secret, but anyone coming here from the village would definitely pass through guards.

And yet, not a single guard outside had noticed anyone sneaking in.

This guy's power was impossible to measure. That teleporting ability of his would be a real headache if they didn't find a weakness.

They'd need to send ANBU to keep a close eye on both of them.

After some discussion, Hatake Satoru and Kimimaro were allowed to stay in Kumogakure Village, but they were banned from going near the gorge again.

Killer Bee had been isolated in this area for a while, and now he finally met someone who could vibe with him on rap.

Now that guy was leaving already—it was hard not to feel a bit down.

"Still, this place is off-limits. Just getting in was already kind of a miracle."

"I won't forget you or your rap!"

That rap wasn't anything special though—just something I made up on the spot.

Hatake Satoru muttered to himself in his mind but didn't say it out loud.

He tilted his head slightly, looking past Killer Bee at the Fourth Raikage, who still had his back to them, and gave a small grin.

"Well~ it's fine. We'll meet again sooner or later—"

"And next time, it might not be in this place."

"Whether it's your rap or your sword skills, you've still got some work to do."

Leaving aside Hatake Satoru's strength that always makes people uneasy, this guy is actually pretty interesting.

Killer Bee nodded in agreement.

"See you outside later."

Then Hatake Satoru left the Valley of Clouds and Lightning with Kimimaro, following after A.

The layout of Kumogakure was basically made for Hatake Satoru's teleporting ability.

Those tall, wide-spaced, and unconnected mountains might be hard for others to reach.

But for Hatake Satoru, it was like having a natural advantage.

He could teleport to all kinds of places with ease.

Kirigakure at least had continuous mountain ranges, and Konohagakure was full of annoying forests, but this place had nothing in the way.

Hatake Satoru even found a good mountain near the valley to train Kimimaro in flexibility, reaction speed, and fighting skills.

Even though the main goal was to show him more of the world, right now Kimimaro didn't have a cursed mark.

So he had to level up his own skills even more.

Kumogakure had a good climate, good terrain, and decent people—pretty much the perfect place to train for a while.

Hatake Satoru opened a map in the inn and planned out the next part of their journey.

They still had plenty of time. They could even tour all the major countries if they wanted to.

Besides, the kids still in school needed time to grow too.

…

Land of Earth.

Dim yellow light shone into the rundown house. Deidara grabbed the Akatsuki cloak and threw it over his shoulders. A deep scratch had already been carved across his headband.

To him, it didn't really matter where he belonged. At the end of the day, it was just a different title.

Deidara looked at all the Akatsuki members in front of him and said,

"Just so you know, I'm not giving up on my art."

Pain looked at him without much care, stepped forward, and handed him the ring engraved with the word "Blue."

"Do whatever you want with that. But since you've joined Akatsuki, you'll follow orders and carry out missions."

"Yeah, yeah, I get it."

No matter where he ended up, there would always be missions. That kind of stuff was just how things worked.

But what really bothered him was that guy who almost knocked him out instantly with Genjutsu.

Deidara took the ring and glanced at it, then looked past Pain at Itachi, who was standing not far behind him.

He frowned and pointed at him, clearly still upset.

"But you over there! I'm not falling for your Genjutsu again!"

"Now that we're on the same side, I won't use Genjutsu on you."

Itachi looked at Deidara with no expression. Even though the members of Akatsuki came and went quickly, once someone joined, Itachi automatically saw them as teammates.

Unless things got really out of hand, he wouldn't fight his own allies.

They weren't that far apart in age, but Deidara was clearly more childish.

He always did things his own way in pursuit of his art, so he didn't really get Itachi's whole idea of being teammates.

Deidara just assumed Itachi was looking down on him. Wasn't that the same as saying he could be taken out instantly with Genjutsu?

Deidara got mad and started shouting while pointing at Itachi, even jumping a little.

"I'll show you what real art looks like!"

Pain stepped in front of Deidara and calmly said,

"That's enough."

With Deidara's arrival, Akatsuki was now almost fully formed in terms of future fighting power.

A huge plan aimed at the nine Tailed Beasts—actually woven by countless people hiding in the shadows—was quietly being set in motion by the Akatsuki...

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