Playing As Gojo Satoru in Naruto

"Anyone who gives Naruto food fails."

While pushing Hatake Satoru away, Kakashi turned his head and gave the two behind them that warning.

Then the two of them disappeared from the area near the training field.

Even though Hatake Satoru had given them some dango earlier, that kind of sweet stuff didn't really fill you up.

As soon as Sakura and Sasuke opened their lunch boxes, Naruto's stomach let out a loud growl.

"…"

"…"

"Don't look at me like that! I'm not hungry at all!"

Naruto yelled and turned his back to them, telling himself that if he didn't see the food, he wouldn't feel hungry.

He was hungry, sure, but not to the point where he couldn't take it anymore.

It wasn't even 5 o'clock yet—he could still hang on until the next bell challenge.

"They probably won't be back anytime soon."

Sasuke handed over his barely-eaten lunch while keeping an eye on the training field.

Hatake Satoru's clingy behavior looked like it was just a distraction to pull Kakashi away and give them a chance.

They had to take this opportunity and finish eating fast.

Sakura paused with her chopsticks. Even though they were all trying to get the bells together,

she hadn't done much to actually help. She hadn't even faced Kakashi head-on.

If she ate more than Sasuke right now, wouldn't that make her seem like a big eater?

After hesitating a little, Sakura also handed over her lunch box.

"I can't eat more than Sasuke-kun—ah, I mean, I'm dieting, so here, take it!"

Hatake Satoru and Kakashi weren't far away at all. They had just hidden behind a tree while chatting.

"They really are good kids~"

Hatake Satoru rested his cheek on his hand, crouched on a branch, chuckled softly—and vanished.

"Well, I guess it's okay."

Kakashi shrugged from behind the tree, then walked over to where the three kids were happily eating lunch together.

Naturally, all three passed.

The students Kakashi had tested before were always obedient and boring. Only kids who could think for themselves were truly worth teaching.

...

Kakashi paused in front of the wooden gate of the Hatake home.

Come to think of it, after Hatake Satoru left, Kakashi did a deep clean of the place.

He hadn't returned since.

When he was in the Anbu, he lived in the dorms, and after becoming a regular jonin, he also had a place to stay.

There was no real reason to come back.

The couple times he did, it was just to pick up clothes—and only because Satoru was still here.

No matter when he came home back then, someone was always there waiting.

Well, that was true, but Kakashi back then would never say that out loud.

For the first few years after Satoru left, this place was just filled with sad memories. Later, life got busy, and he simply forgot about it.

Other than sending money home on time, Satoru seemed like he had vanished. There was no trace of him anywhere.

At one point, Kakashi even thought Satoru had been killed somewhere, and someone else was just sending the money in his place.

So seeing him alive and actually back home was a real surprise.

Just then, the dim light at the entrance flicked on before Kakashi had time to get his expression under control.

*Swish.* The sliding door opened.

"Hm?"

Hatake Satoru stood there holding a bag of trash, his face covered by an eye mask, looking at Kakashi who was just standing outside.

"Why are you standing there like that? Sure, your name means 'scarecrow,' but you don't need to actually stand at the door like one, do you?"

He dropped the trash outside and headed back in as he spoke.

"Come on… don't make fun of people's names like a kid."

Kakashi scratched his head and let out a sigh. It still felt a bit unreal, but the only one who'd talk to him like that was his older brother.

"Just because I'm old enough doesn't mean I have to live like an old man like you~"

Satoru waved him off with a look of disgust.

...Being called an old man by someone older than you… yeah, that stings a little.

The two sat across from each other at the table. Satoru looked like he had a serious sugar addiction, but surprisingly, the food he made looked pretty decent.

As Kakashi used his chopsticks to separate the fish meat, he saw Satoru squeezing condensed milk into the dipping sauce next to the fish.

Kakashi couldn't help but frown a little.

A guy in his twenties still eating that much sugar… wasn't he worried his teeth would quit early?

"It might sound weird for me to ask, but… how long are you staying this time?"

Kakashi was still thinking about their sparring match earlier that day.

Even though they were brothers, he realized how little he really knew about Satoru.

His strength, how he dealt with people—everything about him now felt like a mystery.

"I just got back and you're already hoping I leave? That really hurts, Kakashi."

Satoru smiled with that annoying look on his face, voice flat like he was reading off a script.

"Kidding. I'm not planning to go anywhere yet. Depends on my mood~"

"After all, I'm just a nor-mal-guy."

He said each word clearly and slowly.

"Oh yeah, by the way—don't go telling that old man Sarutobi anything about me, okay?"

"Well, I figured you'd definitely report something like this when you got back."

Hatake Satoru finally put down the condensed milk—he'd already filled half the dish with it.

Kakashi raised an eyebrow.

If Satoru really had that kind of power and didn't report it to the Hokage,

then it would've been his mistake.

Even though Satoru had no chakra and didn't know any ninjutsu,

his strength was clearly above jonin level.

If Kakashi didn't know better, he might've even thought Satoru was Kage-level.

"Well, of course. If someone like you just stays in the village, it'd be a waste."

"And now that you're back, you'll need a job to make money, right?"

Kakashi gave a small, helpless smile.

The money was just an excuse—

with the cash Satoru had sent back before, plus everything Kakashi had saved up from his time in the Anbu,

the two of them could live just fine.

Still, Konohagakure's forces were stretched thin right now.

If someone like Satoru joined in, it would definitely take some pressure off.

On top of that, Satoru didn't use ninjutsu—

his techniques were mysterious and harder to track, which gave them an edge in battle.

"Ah, no thanks. I'm not a ninja, and I don't want to be some regular working stiff like you guys."

--- 

 Read 30 advanced chapters on my patreon

patreon.com/GustinaKamiya 

---