Playing As Gojo Satoru in Naruto

"Oh hey, you're that teacher from the Hatake family, right? Feels like I haven't seen you in years."

As Hatake Satoru walked past the shopping street next to the civilian school, an auntie standing by a shop entrance suddenly lit up.

Then she called out loudly like she had just recognized him.

"Yeah, I was out of the village for a while. Just got back yesterday."

Hatake Satoru had a vague memory of this woman. Back when he was a teacher, he liked to stop by for snacks.

She ran a store near the school, and her house was also pretty close to the Hatake home, so over time they got to know each other.

But later on, Hatake Satoru got busy with work and then left the village, so they didn't really stay in touch.

"Didn't expect you to grow this tall! Even back then, I could tell you weren't going to be short…"

Once the auntie started talking, it was hard to get her to stop. Hatake Satoru replied with a slightly awkward smile.

"You're not young anymore either, are you..."

As soon as she said that, Hatake Satoru immediately understood what she meant. Was she trying to set him up with someone?

There's no escaping this kind of thing, no matter where you go.

"Ahh! He's getting away!"

Just as the auntie was slowly working the topic around, a sudden scream came from behind Hatake Satoru, cutting their conversation short.

He paused, thinking the voice sounded kind of familiar.

He turned slightly, and the group of people that had gathered suddenly scattered.

"Move! Move! Watch out! He's got a knife!"

A man stumbled out from the crowd, one hand holding a bag and the other swinging a shiny dagger.

Man, the security in the Hidden Leaf still hasn't improved.

Back in the day, the Uchiha Police would've taken care of a thief like this in seconds. But this guy? He's out here robbing people in broad daylight.

Without changing his expression, Hatake Satoru casually stuck out his leg and tripped the robber.

He grabbed the man's arm and yanked it back hard, pulling the knife from his hand at the same time.

Then he stomped down with one foot, pinning the guy to the ground completely.

Three figures quickly rushed up from behind Hatake Satoru. The same woman's voice from earlier called out behind him.

"Ah—! Thank you..."

"Huh?"

Ino looked at Hatake Satoru as he turned around, blinking in confusion.

"I told you not to let your guard down… ah."

Shikamaru, looking as annoyed as ever, was about to say something else, but then his eyes landed on the tall, slim man standing in front of him.

Chouji's cheeks were full, and it seemed like he hadn't finished chewing, so he just squinted up without saying anything.

"That eyepatch... isn't that Mr. Satoru? Are you back already?" Ino asked, sounding unsure.

The three of them had been forced into extra lessons at a young age. Hatake Satoru used his genius little brother as a selling point to talk their parents into it as a group.

But the lessons didn't last long. Hatake Satoru quit after saying he was going on a trip, and then he completely disappeared.

Even though the tutoring didn't last long, that eyepatch was hard to forget. No one else wore something like that, so it had to be him.

"Oh~ it's you three. Yep~ I'm back from my trip. Planning to stay here for a while."

"But now stuff like patrol duty is your job, right?"

So they were using fresh genin to fill in for the Uchiha Police Department—figures, given how short-handed they must be.

The more skilled people were either off on missions or working as teachers. Everyday patrols had to be left to these newbies who couldn't handle big stuff yet.

Hatake Satoru casually handed the dagger to Shikamaru, who was standing nearby, then lifted the robber off the ground.

Chouji and Ino stepped in to tie up the guy's hands with rope.

"We've all got D-rank missions now. Each team takes turns patrolling, and today just happened to be our turn."

 "Didn't expect to run into someone this troublesome..."

Shikamaru gave the tied-up robber a look of clear annoyance.

Back when they were younger, they used to mess around with Hatake Satoru—and back then, he'd handled all of them easily.

Now, after all these years, they were still getting help from their old class teacher.

It left them with this strange feeling… like maybe they hadn't grown up at all.

It just felt kind of awkward.

"Well, nothing you can do~ But hey, lucky you, running into me when you needed help."

"Alrighty then—since he's caught, you guys should take him in quick. If you wanna thank me, bring me snacks sometime~"

Hatake Satoru gave a goofy peace sign next to the robber, grinning like a troublemaker, and then casually walked off.

The three of them—Ino, Shikamaru, and Chouji—watched him leave with a weird look.

Aside from getting taller, it was like nothing about him had changed. Same attitude, same look.

However he used to be in their memories, that's exactly what he looked like now—down to every detail.

Can someone really travel for years and come back with nothing changed but their height?

...

A few days later.

Inside the Hokage building, people were constantly coming in and out, either posting missions or paying for completed ones.

The Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, sat behind a long table, a pipe in his mouth.

Scrolls with all kinds of missions were piled up on the table.

"No! I don't want to! These missions are all super boring lately—so lame!"

"I'm not some prank-loving little kid anymore, like the old man thinks! Hmph!"

When Naruto heard the next mission was either babysitting or running errands, he instantly threw a fit like a spoiled kid.

He crossed his arms, plopped down on the floor, and made a fuss.

Yeah, he was definitely going to get scolded for this later.

Being a team leader meant dealing with stuff like this.

Kakashi scratched his head helplessly, his usual dead-fish eyes looking tired.

Sasuke was also getting bored with these kinds of missions, but he would never act like a kid in front of the Hokage.

Only Naruto would pull something like that.

But since Naruto had made such a big deal out of it, maybe it was time to give them a real test.

That kid never did things the normal way anyway—getting him to quietly do D-rank missions was never going to be easy.

Sarutobi Hiruzen's gaze fell on the scroll, where C-rank missions were listed. These tasks were low-priced and relatively simple.

They mostly ensured that the mission wouldn't involve encountering other ninjas.

"Alright, fine. Since you've put it that way, I'll give you a C-rank mission."

"You're responsible for ensuring the safety of the bridge builder, Tazuna, as he heads back to his country."

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