Playing As Gojo Sato Chapter 196

Chapter 196: Chapter 196

Most of Konohagakure’s people were busy repairing buildings, leaving only a not-so-noticeable guard standing at the gate.

"Clink..."

The sound of small bells rang softly as two figures walked through the mist.

The guard couldn’t help but look strangely at the two people who were getting closer.

Their movents looked too natural. With their straw hats and cloaks covering them completely, sothing about them just didn’t seem right.

They’re outsiders, so why are they walking in like they’re coming ho?

Because of that thought, the guard hesitated for a mont.

"Uh... excuse ..."

As the two were about to casually walk into the village, the guard quickly spoke up to stop them.

At the very least, they had to say who they were, whether from inside the village or outside.

"Clink..."

One of the straw hats tilted slightly, the little bells on the brim chiming lightly.

A pair of blood-red eyes appeared from underneath. The mont their eyes t, the guard rolled his eyes back and fainted.

So it really was short on manpower. A small gate like this only had a regular guard standing watch.

Itachi and Hoshigaki Kisa walked straight into Konohagakure. Most of the villagers were too busy with rebuilding to pay much attention to two strangely dressed people.

As the morning mist cleared, Uchiha Itachi and Hoshigaki Kisa had already pinpointed Naruto and Sasuke’s locations.

All they needed now was the right chance.

The two of them went into a dango shop.

It was breakfast ti, but aside from people with a sweet tooth, few would want their first al of the day to be sugary dumplings.

Sothing that couldn’t fill the stomach and was only for snacking wasn’t very popular during Konohagakure’s rebuilding period.

The shop was almost empty.

Uchiha Itachi and Hoshigaki Kisa sat across from each other at a table.

A plate with three skewers of dango was placed between them.

"Oh~ you two ca pretty early."

The shop curtain swayed lightly as soone entered.

Itachi’s hand holding the skewer froze for a mont.

His red eyes narrowed slightly, his thoughts racing.

Too fast. He hadn’t even sensed when the person ca in, and now he was already sitting naturally right beside him.

Only Hatake Satoru could move with such speed.

Itachi had felt this speed before, but never in a situation like this.

Hatake Satoru sat down next to Itachi while yawning.

For a split second, Itachi felt like his heart almost stopped, his hand stiffly gripping the skewer.

What does he an, "you two ca early"!?

Right now, his identity wasn’t Konohagakure’s Anbu captain, but Uchiha Itachi—the traitor who destroyed his own clan and joined Akatsuki.

Akatsuki already didn’t fully trust him, since he still had ties in Konohagakure.

That’s why Hoshigaki Kisa wasn’t just his partner, but also soone tasked with keeping an eye on him.

Now with Hatake Satoru suddenly showing up, how was he supposed to explain this situation!?

In just a few seconds, Uchiha Itachi ca up with several plans in his mind, only to reject them all one by one.

A bead of cold sweat slid down his cheek, and his hand holding the skewer lifted slightly.

For now, he could only try to act as normal as possible.

Across from him, Hoshigaki Kisa sat with the massive Sahada leaning against his hand.

His face was hidden under his straw hat, making it impossible to read his expression.

"Hm? Did you two disconnect or sothing?"

Hatake Satoru rudely snatched the skewer from Itachi’s hand, biting into the dango while giving the two of them a look.

"You showed up pretty suddenly, Satoru."

Hoshigaki Kisa lifted his head slightly, his tone a bit strange.

Satoru’s sudden appearance didn’t just make Itachi’s heart skip a beat, it also made Kisa break into a cold sweat.

This duo wasn’t just about him keeping an eye on Itachi. To prevent betrayal, their "partnership" was really mutual surveillance.

Seeing how naturally Satoru acted, Kisa guessed they might have known each other before, which is why he bothered to respond.

"Well, I do get my hands on news pretty quick~"

"As soon as you heard Konoha wasn’t destroyed, you rushed over just to check if this dango shop was still here, huh?"

Satoru teased Itachi with a grin.

Even though their mission was about the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki and Sasuke, coming straight to a dango shop first really made it seem like dango mattered more than Sasuke.

"That’s not it... no, wait, hold on. How do you two even know each other?"

Itachi rubbed his forehead, already feeling a headache from the situation in front of him.

Right now, he was seriously starting to suspect that Satoru might actually be the real boss behind Akatsuki.

Why in the world would he know Kisa?

"Because the Mizukage canceled the bounty on rogue ninja. Those who defected during the Bloody Mist era are allowed to return."

"The Seven Ninja Swordsn aren’t an exception."

"Well, it’s complicated, but Kisa’s situation is kind of like yours."

Satoru explained like it was the most natural thing in the world, cheeks puffed out as he chewed on dango.

That scroll Hozuki Mangetsu used could summon all seven swords, but at the ti only six ca out.

That’s because Sahada was still with Kisa—sothing the Mizukage had allowed him to keep.

After Kisa joined Akatsuki, it didn’t take long before he reconnected with the new Mizukage.

Since he was already a rogue ninja making a na for himself, Satoru wasn’t about to drag him back to the Mist by force.

Even if Kisa’s power wasn’t a huge loss, Kirigakure’s growth wouldn’t be badly affected.

Kisa kept his ties with the village hidden and minimal, which let him stay undercover without giving himself away.

"...This is starting to get kind of scary. Just how much are you hiding from ?"

Itachi stared at Satoru in disbelief.

That guy still wore the sa calm, natural look, as if nothing in the world could shake him.

Sure, they had t before in the Mist, but who would’ve thought he’d go and plant another spy so soon after?

What ga was this man even playing?

Itachi thought nothing could surprise him anymore—but Satoru’s moves were way too outrageous.

And it wasn’t just him. From Kisa’s reaction earlier, it seed he had been kept in the dark too, honestly thinking they were just monitoring each other.

Everyone looked like pawns on the board, and the only one really playing was Satoru.

Once he made a move, everything else lined up.

Finishing the last bite, Satoru set the empty skewer aside and looked toward the curtain at the back.

Then he patted Itachi’s shoulder and said with a bright smile—

"Mm, I’ll be counting on you for that thing I asked. I’ll get going now."

Before Itachi could say anything back, Satoru’s figure vanished from the chair in an instant.

"...Ah."

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