"Huh?! Huh huh…"
A few Kumogakure Village guards who had been slacking off suddenly looked up at Hatake Satoru's smiling face.
"When did you even get here?"
One of the guards took the teacher ID and looked around, clearly confused.
They'd been standing there reading the paper together—but they couldn't believe someone had walked up without them noticing.
"Hahaha, what a strange question~ Of course I came up the stairs from over there."
"There sure are a lot of mountains around Kumogakure."
"Ah, this is my little brother. He's not feeling well, so he's kind of out of it after climbing up."
Hatake Satoru moved slightly to show Kimimaro, who was leaning against his leg, looking completely worn out from motion sickness.
Right now, he just looked like a regular person who was tired from climbing too many stairs.
"I see! Your brother looks really weak—he should train with us and get stronger."
The guard smiled warmly as he stamped Hatake Satoru's teacher ID and handed each of them an armband.
Hatake Satoru briefly pictured a super muscular, bodybuilder version of Kimimaro and couldn't help but smile a little.
Nope, turning Kimimaro into a musclehead might be taking it too far.
After all, he has to take off his shirt when fighting. For the sake of everyone's eyes, maybe he should tone it down.
"Thanks, old man."
Hatake Satoru gave the guards a grin, then headed up another staircase.
His civilian teacher ID was from Konohagakure. Even though he had quit, info about a regular teacher wouldn't spread to other countries.
So this ID was basically like a universal pass.
The guards looked at Hatake Satoru's smile and suddenly felt a strange sense of familiarity. They looked at each other in confusion.
Then one of them quickly opened up the front page of the newspaper.
That teacher's smile looked exactly like the one in the photo.
"No way… could that really be him?"
"He seemed pretty low-key... maybe it's not him after all…"
...
Hatake Satoru remembered that in the original story, the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki, Killer Bee, should be training in the Valley of Clouds and Lightning around this time.
It wasn't a secret or anything—it was clearly marked on the map.
It just happened to be a restricted area for outsiders.
"No matter where we stay, it looks like it'll be kind of far from there…"
Hatake Satoru scratched his head and looked around at the mountains that all looked nearly the same. He couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.
There were big gaps between each mountain, which actually made it easier for him to teleport around.
But for now, just figuring out which mountain was which was kind of a pain.
Even though teleportation was basically a cheat move, people still like to live somewhere close to where they want to go.
"If it's too far, I could just make a bridge."
Kimimaro suddenly poked his head out from beside him, and the bone growing from his palm nearly jabbed Hatake Satoru in the face.
Once he got over the motion sickness, he perked up and started looking all around.
The weather, the buildings, and the land here were all completely different from Kirigakure.
To a kid like Kimimaro, who had never seen the outside world, this was all super interesting.
Definitely better than having him pick odd or even numbers and gamble all day out of boredom.
"Even if your Kekkei Genkai is strong, don't just use it in random places like this…"
"That's not what I meant at all."
Hatake Satoru reached out and pushed the sharp, pale bone back toward Kimimaro, telling him to put it away.
"Oh…"
Kimimaro lowered his head instantly, like a puppy that just got scolded.
This kid seriously needs some love!
After just a few days together, Hatake Satoru had already fully figured it out.
Kimimaro had spent so long locked underground that he was starved for affection.
As long as he wasn't doing something with his bones, he'd feel guilty, like he was just a burden.
Orochimaru's place was basically a shady factory—no doubt about it, someone like that would definitely put him to use.
That's why, in the original story, Kimimaro followed Orochimaru so loyally.
"I need you, and not just for your bones."
"So stop always thinking you have to use your bones for something. You're not a weapon anymore. You're a person."
"It's not just about being used or being a tool—you should also have your own choices."
Hatake Satoru grinned and flicked Kimimaro's forehead, then headed into a nearby inn to drop off their bags.
He wasn't sure if saying all that to a kid would do any good.
But whether Kimimaro got it or not, they'd be living together for quite a while now.
He'd have plenty of time to slowly fix that part of his personality.
Otherwise, with that mindset, it felt like people could just take advantage of him all too easily.
"...Hmm."
Kimimaro stood there rubbing his forehead, quietly watching Satoru's back.
"Why did you buy so much stuff?"
Hatake Satoru was standing next to a street vendor, frowning a little as he looked at Kimimaro in confusion.
He was holding a bright red candy apple, with some syrup still stuck to the corner of his mouth.
Earlier, Kimimaro had been sent out to grab a few snacks.
Satoru called it a way to "show your value," and Kimimaro had taken off at full speed.
He was so eager it actually made Satoru unsure whether that was a good thing or not.
Kimimaro came back carrying several bags—at least seven or eight. It was enough to feed a whole group.
"Everyone asked if I wanted to buy something, and I didn't know how to say no… so I just bought it all."
Kimimaro looked away awkwardly. He probably realized buying everything wasn't right, but he just couldn't turn anyone down.
Once someone asked him, he felt like he had to say yes.
And once he heard the price, he felt like not buying would be rude.
After that happened a few times, he ended up with way more than he needed.
Back when Satoru trained Tenzo, that guy's problem was being too blunt—he had no flexibility and couldn't read the mood.
But Kimimaro was the complete opposite. He was too sensitive. The moment someone showed any expectation, he couldn't bring himself to refuse.
"Sending you out alone was probably too much for you."
"Alright, alright, let's go return all this. I've got money, sure, but there's no way you and I can eat all of this."
"If someone asks you for something, you don't always have to say yes. If you don't want to do it, you can say no."
This kind of stuff should've really been taught by your parents.
Hatake Satoru took half the bags from Kimimaro and gently pushed him back the way they came, letting out a barely noticeable sigh.
---
Read 30 advanced chapters on my patreon
patreon.com/GustinaKamiya
---