CHAPTER 167: CHAPTER 167

After leaving the hospital, Hatake Satoru took Naruto and Shikamaru with him to check out the main venue for the Chunin Exams.

But halfway there, Shikamaru ran into his dad at a bar and split off from them.

Hatake Satoru turned his head to look around. With the exams coming up, the whole area had become more lively.

Representatives from every country had already been sent over during the past month, and spending in Konohagakure had gone way up.

A lot of vendors were taking this chance to make some money, so even though it was just an exam, the streets felt more like a festival.

"Ah—this is the place."

"Make sure you remember the way. Don’t be late. You’re up first, after all!"

Hatake Satoru held a quickly printed piece of paper in his hand, looking at the huge building in front of them.

Even though the doors were shut tight, it was easy to see that the place was circular in shape.

Whether it was standard or a reaction to the mess Gaara and Kimimaro caused during the prelims, both the audience stands and the stage looked like they’d been upgraded big time.

"Got it! I’m not Kakashi-sensei—I won’t be late!"

Naruto looked unusually cheerful being with Hatake Satoru. After glancing at the paths on both sides, he gave a quick, obedient reply.

If Hatake Satoru weren’t in the village, no one would’ve brought him to check out the venue.

Kakashi was busy helping Sasuke train and hadn’t shown up at all.

And Naruto wasn’t a kid anymore—Kakashi definitely wouldn’t go out of his way to bring him here.

The people on the streets were mostly out enjoying the lively atmosphere with friends or family before the exams started.

In a setting like this, being alone just made the loneliness hit even harder.

But now, he wasn’t alone anymore. Naruto turned his sparkling eyes toward Hatake Satoru.

"...Huh?"

Hatake Satoru paused and glanced at Naruto, who was once again looking way too excited.

Man, is this kid treating him like a dad again?

Whenever Naruto got this overly emotional, Satoru always had this weird feeling.

Sure, he was good with kids, but that didn’t mean they should start thinking of him as their dad. That’s just awkward.

"Talking behind the teacher’s back while he’s away, huh~?"

"I heard that, you know."

Kakashi suddenly appeared behind Naruto with a little yellow book in one hand and smacked Naruto on the head.

"Ow! What the heck...! I was just being honest!"

"What are you doing here, Kakashi-sensei?"

Naruto rubbed his head with both hands, took a couple of steps back, and turned to complain at Kakashi behind him.

It really was a coincidence running into him here.

Normally, Kakashi wouldn’t be in this area.

Did plans change because Sasuke didn’t have the curse mark?

Hatake Satoru rubbed his chin, thinking. If Kakashi was here, then Sasuke had probably followed him too.

And just like he guessed, no sooner had the thought crossed his mind than Sasuke’s voice came from behind.

"Obviously I came to check out the exam grounds. You think I came just to see you?"

Kakashi, hearing Naruto badmouthing him, had jumped ahead immediately, making Sasuke chase after him.

Sasuke had to run hard just to catch up, and when he finally looked up — boom — there was Hatake Satoru’s back.

Trying to keep his cool, Sasuke calmed down his heavy breathing and put on his usual aloof act.

"I was talking to Kakashi-sensei. What are you mumbling about?"

Seeing Naruto getting all worked up again and about to charge at Sasuke, Kakashi quickly grabbed him with one hand and lifted him off the ground.

"Can you two not start a fight the second you see each other? What’s wrong with you?"

Sasuke, noticing Naruto was now stuck in Kakashi’s grip, didn’t bother replying. Instead, he turned to Hatake Satoru.

"What are you doing here? Don’t tell me you’re actually training him."

"You don’t need to act deep, kid. Why do you care if I train him or not~?"

Just admit you want me to teach you too.

Hatake Satoru pinched Sasuke’s cheek with a smug look that said, "What’s it got to do with you?"

"..."

Sasuke choked on the words and shut his mouth, clearly annoyed.

Honestly, anyone who saw Kimimaro and the Mizukage would probably feel tempted to have Hatake Satoru as their teacher.

Sasuke just didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of looking smug, so he tried to ask in a roundabout way.

Naruto was the kind of guy who wasn’t great with theory but was surprisingly strong in real battles.

If Hatake Satoru really took him on as a student, it might just end up draining him — and Naruto still wouldn’t learn much.

But instead of an answer, Sasuke got hit with a counter-question, which made him even more frustrated.

"Satoru-nii had other things to do, so he didn’t personally train me."

"But he did introduce me to a really amazing teacher. You’d never guess what kind of person he is!"

"I’ve gotten super strong now, Sasuke!"

"You..."

Even with Kakashi holding him up by one hand, Naruto couldn’t stop shouting, words spilling out like a waterfall.

Hatake Satoru looked at the helpless expression on Kakashi’s face and Sasuke’s mildly annoyed look, then let out a snort.

Nice. With the two of them here, Naruto’s machine-gun chatter could finally be split three ways.

And really, the one they were aiming for should’ve been Sasuke, not him.

Sasuke looked up and saw Hatake Satoru smiling in a really good mood. He couldn’t help but feel like he’d been tricked again. Every time he and Kakashi showed up, Naruto seemed to find a new person to pour his heart out to.

While Naruto and Sasuke chatted nonstop ahead of them, Hatake Satoru had his hands in his pockets and turned to look back in the direction Kakashi had come from.

"That’s not the way to the training ground, is it? You came from home, didn’t you?"

"You never used to bring people home like this, huh~?"

Kakashi paused and looked up from his book.

"You’re sharp. Well, the exam’s tomorrow. If I left the two of them alone, they’d probably get too nervous to sleep."

"Hyuga Neji and Gaara—neither of them are easy to handle. And there’s plenty of space at home."

"So I figured I’d let them crash at my place."

If Kakashi was still in a single dorm, he definitely wouldn’t have invited them.

But now that he was back home, fitting two kids in wasn’t a big deal.

Kakashi scratched his head, thinking, then glanced over at Hatake Satoru.

"Wait a minute—how do you even know where our training ground is?"

He’d thought he picked a pretty hidden spot for training. He was even planning to have Sasuke show off Chidori during the Chunin Exam to surprise everyone.

Yet Hatake Satoru was acting like he already knew everything.

"I went and watched. You just didn’t notice. What can I say, you’ve been slacking off with your students lately~"

Kakashi’s face stiffened. Sure, he wasn’t in top form like back in the ANBU days, but calling it "slacking off" was a bit much.

Hatake Satoru made an innocent face and shrugged.

The Chunin Exam was mostly the kids’ business. As for tomorrow, he had something else planned.

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