CHAPTER 166: CHAPTER 166

"Well, I guess now they’re more like former students."

Satoru shrugged like it wasn’t a big deal.

But hey, even one day in class counts as being their teacher. No need to overthink the details.

He turned and looked around at the people in the room. He’d rushed in so fast he hadn’t even noticed how crazy this room’s setup was.

Looking around now, he realized this place was basically a gathering spot for living weapons.

Two Jinchuriki, plus Kimimaro.

No wonder Shikamaru was so tense earlier. He’s a guy who solves problems with his brain, and now he was stuck in a room with three combat monsters.

"..."

Gaara eyed Satoru with suspicion—this guy’s attitude was way too casual.

Anyone who’d seen Gaara’s power usually showed some fear, but Satoru didn’t even blink.

He was still chatting away with Gaara like nothing was wrong. For Gaara, that was a completely new experience.

Gaara honestly couldn’t figure out Hatake Satoru.

Whether it was his strength or just the way he acted.

The guy was like a walking mystery — always talking in a joking tone and never acting serious.

And even though they had only talked for a short time, Gaara couldn’t tell whether Hatake Satoru was messing with him or being completely serious.

If he *was* serious, then how could someone who teaches at Konoha be involved with that guy from Kirigakure?

Ninja from different nations weren’t allowed to interact at all outside of events like the Chunin Exams.

And Kirigakure... that place kept secrets like a vault.

If they didn’t say anything, nobody outside had any idea what was going on in their village.

So how could someone like Hatake Satoru be connected to someone like Kimimaro, a top-tier genin?

"Hey now, even though you’re all weak, touching my student before the exam starts? That’s a big no-no~"

"Besides, this visit of yours isn’t just about that, is it?"

Hatake Satoru leaned forward a little, smiling as he lowered his voice and looked at Gaara.

Then he lightly patted Gaara on the shoulder and gave him a gentle push toward the door.

"Go on back already. Don’t make more work for me."

Gaara was caught off guard by the whole thing — Hatake Satoru’s actions were so natural, like some easygoing teacher.

He was so stunned that he forgot to bring out his sand to block the guy, and even forgot the harsh words he had planned to say.

What was with this teacher?

Gaara turned to glance at Hatake Satoru — but with that eye patch on, he couldn’t read his face at all.

Whether it was the way he talked about the plan, or how he treated him like a regular kid...

This guy was just way too weird.

There was no way to think about him using normal logic.

Gaara didn’t care much about the plan, honestly. People saw him as a weapon, and he saw himself that way too.

He never really thought much about plans or politics.

But this was supposed to be top secret — how did this teacher know about it?

The way he talked was vague and roundabout, and Gaara couldn’t really press him on it. He frowned slightly, paused at the door, and gave Hatake Satoru one last look.

Then he opened the door and left.

"Huh... I thought he’d say something dramatic. He just left like that?"

Naruto looked at Gaara as he slowly walked out, confused for a second.

Just earlier, the guy had been shouting all kinds of threats — kill today, kill tomorrow, anyone in his way had to die.

And now he was leaving without saying a single word? That didn’t make sense.

"What do you want him to say, anyway? Quit stirring stuff up."

Shikamaru pulled Naruto back before he could chase after Gaara, wondering how he always ended up next to someone with zero awareness.

The real reason Gaara left was all because of Hatake Satoru. That guy’s power and personality were just way too strange — he’d honestly freaked Gaara out.

These two weaklings really didn’t need to go adding more problems for themselves.

"Didn’t expect you to have that much energy. I guess you don’t need to stay in the hospital then."

Hatake Satoru wasn’t the type to check on people out of kindness. He had only dropped by because he’d felt something was off on his way home.

He’d been wondering why Kimimaro was still in the hospital. At most, that injury should’ve healed in two weeks.

Hatake Satoru looked Kimimaro over — his body seemed fully recovered, and even when facing off with Gaara earlier, he’d seemed fine.

From the bags and clothes nearby, it looked like Kimimaro was already packing up to leave. Maybe today was his official discharge day?

Hatake Satoru had been thinking about it — Kimimaro wasn’t the type to lie around in bed for two weeks after pulling out a bone or two.

Why had he stayed in the hospital for so long this time? Did sand get stuck in his bones?

Kimimaro’s face showed a strange expression. He looked away, as if he wanted to say something but decided not to.

"The doctor doesn’t really understand my condition, so he told me to rest until the exam."

"But honestly, I could’ve been discharged a while ago. It’s just that Suigetsu kept forgetting to bring me the keys to our place."

"Mr. Mangetsu has been sticking close to the Mizukage. He either forgot, or I just couldn’t get in touch with him."

Hatake Satoru pressed his lips together, not sure what to say for a moment.

Based on how Kimimaro described it, it sounded like the guys from Kirigakure just left him behind at the hospital.

Suigetsu forgetting the key—sure, that could happen. But Shisui? That didn’t seem right.

They were probably trying to get him to stay in the hospital and just came up with some excuse.

"Huh—how could they forget to bring it to you?"

"Were they just too busy training or something?"

Naruto tilted his head, looking puzzled.

It sounded like Kimimaro had been feeling better for a while already, and his Jonin instructor and teammates were just too busy to bring him his key.

Naruto had been training hard this past month too, and from what he heard, Shikamaru had also put in some serious effort. So naturally, he assumed everyone else had been doing the same.

"...No, they were just playing around."

Kimimaro bluntly broke the illusion. If Suigetsu had actually been training, he would’ve dragged Kimimaro out with him for sure.

But once they started having fun, well, that was a whole other story.

"Just playing around."

Shikamaru and Naruto repeated what Kimimaro said.

Then Naruto suddenly sat up straight, eyes wide, staring at Kimimaro.

"They didn’t train at all!? They’ve just been messing around this whole time?!"

"Seriously... don’t they feel even a little nervous about the exam?"

Shikamaru couldn’t help but twitch at the corner of his mouth. Kimimaro didn’t seem like the type to lie about this sort of thing, and training wasn’t exactly something you needed to keep secret anyway.

"Nope. They were having a great time. They even told me to come back tonight to see the photos."

Kimimaro’s face didn’t change at all—it was like he’d already given up.

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