"You really didn't hold back, huh."
Hatake Satoru leaned over and looked at Kakashi, who was laid out on the tatami.
To leave Kakashi in a state where he had to be carried back… Itachi had really followed his instructions well.
But with this kind of lesson, Kakashi should finally understand his own limits.
At least he wouldn't keep wasting his days in laziness anymore.
Obito gave him the Mangekyou so early, but he only managed to awaken it now. That's really weak.
"Yeah, I didn't expect Uchiha Itachi to suddenly come back."
"But just when I was about to test myself against them, that guy suddenly retreated."
"So we just brought Kakashi back first."
"Kakashi doesn't have many injuries. It's just that his chakra is drained, and his spirit is hurt."
"Taking him to the hospital won't help much. The best we can do is let him rest at home."
Guy stood to the side and explained to Hatake Satoru.
Kurenai and Asuma were standing nearby too, their expressions a bit complicated.
After all, they had said the three of them faced Uchiha Itachi together, but the truth was that the only one who really did anything was Kakashi.
"It's fine. After fighting, of course he needs to rest. As long as he's not dead, that's good enough\~"
Hatake Satoru leaned his chin against the back of his chair and spoke to them in a light tone.
But they all had this uneasy feeling about leaving Kakashi here…
The three of them happened to be thinking about the same thing.
Asuma pulled out a pack of cigarettes, tapped it in his hand, and took one out.
"But there's one thing that's strange. Uchiha Itachi came back, and he knows what Naruto looks like."
"Wouldn't finding him be really easy?"
As soon as he said that, Asuma put the cigarette back in the pack.
All three of their faces shifted subtly.
Only Hatake Satoru looked around with a clueless expression.
"Hey, Kakashi, didn't we agree—"
Crash! Sasuke pushed open the front gate of the Hatake house, complaining as he walked in.
But when he stepped into the entryway and lifted his head, he saw several jonin standing around.
Sasuke swallowed the rest of his words on the spot.
The jonin avoided his eyes, clearly not wanting to meet his gaze.
They all knew Sasuke's hatred for Itachi ran deep. If he found out Itachi had come back, no one knew what he might do.
So everyone kept silent.
"Why are all the jonin here?"
"What happened to Kakashi?"
Sasuke scanned the room, confused at why everyone looked like they wanted to say something but held back.
"Ah… nothing, it's nothing."
Guy awkwardly tried to cover it up.
Sasuke's eyes then fixed on Hatake Satoru, the only one lying back in a chair with a relaxed smile.
That guy was here—yet Kakashi still ended up like this?
Hatake Satoru seemed to notice Sasuke's stare. He turned his head, smiling at him.
"As you can see—Kakashi won't be able to train you today."
The jonin quietly breathed a little easier, secretly cheering Satoru on.
Yes, that's the way. Just fool Sasuke for now.
It would be best if he didn't start digging into this until later.
Hatake Satoru paused, then, carrying everyone's hopes, continued answering Sasuke.
"It was Uchiha Itachi who beat him up\~ He's gone after Naruto."
"..."
"..."
The atmosphere in the room instantly dropped to freezing point, and the three jonin sitting around almost coughed up blood.
How could he be so reckless, bringing up Itachi's name right in front of Sasuke?
Not only mentioning Itachi, but also saying his purpose—what was this guy even talking about!?
"Hey… wait, you…"
Asuma and Gai tried to save the situation, both of them nervously glancing at Hatake Satoru and Sasuke.
But unfortunately, Sasuke's face visibly darkened.
Sasuke's eyes went wide. After giving Hatake Satoru a deep look, he turned and bolted toward the door. In his rush, he even stumbled once.
Then, with a loud "slam," he slid the door shut.
"How did it end up like this…"
Itachi's matter could only be kept from Sasuke. If he went after Itachi, they wouldn't actually stop him.
After all, this was the grudge of a whole clan's destruction—how could they really interfere?
The three jonin's eyes all turned to Hatake Satoru.
Satoru looked a bit innocent, raising his head and scratching at his messy silver hair.
"Huh? Was that really something I wasn't supposed to say?"
Sasuke ran straight out of the Hatake house, his excitement rushing up inside him.
If he stayed in that room any longer, he was afraid he'd burst out laughing.
Well, it was kind of unfair to Kakashi, since he'd been beaten up so badly.
But to be able to take Kakashi down like that, it meant Itachi had gotten really strong too.
After such a long time, Sasuke could hardly wait to find his brother and prove his own strength now.
But then there was Naruto—what was Itachi coming back to see Naruto for?
Sasuke calmed himself down a little and looked around.
Thinking about it, it was strange. Itachi and Naruto didn't really have any connection before.
Before the coup, Sasuke and Naruto's relationship was basically limited to school. So why would Itachi go to him?
Looking deeper into it, there were a lot of unanswered questions.
That guy Hatake Satoru definitely knew everything, but in that situation just now he probably couldn't say it out loud.
Sasuke pressed his lips together. Itachi wouldn't risk showing himself too openly in the village. He had to follow Naruto's trail to find him.
Naruto's usual hangouts—at this time he definitely wouldn't be at home.
Without slowing his steps, Sasuke quickly thought it through and sprinted toward Ichiraku Ramen.
"Hey, old man! Naruto should've been here today. Do you know where he went after this?"
Sasuke pulled up the curtain of Ichiraku Ramen in one go and asked the shop owner straight from the counter.
"Ah, Naruto… I remember he was with Jiraiya-sama, right?"
"While eating, I think he mentioned heading to the post town near the village."
The two of them together would stand out easily. Sasuke raised an eyebrow, a little puzzled.
"Jiraiya? Who's that?"
"That's Jiraiya-sama, one of the legendary ninja. Though on the outside he looks like a big old man with a head full of white hair…"
The Ichiraku owner clearly wanted to brag more about one of the Legendary Sannin, but Sasuke's mind wasn't on it at all.
"A big old man with white hair—that's enough of a description."
The image of the nearby post town quickly popped into Sasuke's mind, and without wasting a second, he ran off in that direction.
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