After the prelims ended, a few students stayed to watch the remaining matches.
But the ones who already knew who their opponents were just went off to do their own thing.
Naruto looked full of energy, both mentally and physically, so after a quick check from the medical team, he was let go.
Hozuki Suigetsu wasn't even scratched, so he didn't need a check at all.
As for Sasuke, even though he looked okay while watching the matches, he still seemed really worn out.
But because of his injuries and being overly exhausted, he was taken to the hospital to rest for a couple of days.
Kakashi got scolded by the doctor like an irresponsible dad.
"Well, he insisted on watching the rest of the matches, even though he was clearly overdoing it."
Kakashi scratched his head, a little annoyed. He knew Sasuke wasn't in good shape and should've rested earlier.
But Sasuke insisted on pushing through and watching, and Kakashi couldn't exactly drag him to the hospital by force.
Naruto looked around in confusion—wait, Sasuke was really that badly hurt? He honestly hadn't noticed at all before.
Once the doctor finished lecturing Kakashi, he left the room.
As soon as the door closed, Sasuke sat up in bed.
"Now's not the time to be lying around in the hospital. We've got way too many strong opponents ahead, and we don't stand a chance right now."
Sasuke frowned slightly, his face full of frustration. He still had an IV drip in his hand.
"It's just two or three days. We still have a whole month. I'll train you myself."
"So just lie down and rest, okay? I really don't want the doctor coming back to yell at me again."
Kakashi held his book and lazily looked up with his usual dead-fish eyes at Sasuke lying in bed.
Even though Kakashi had given his word, Sasuke still seemed uneasy. He leaned silently against the side of the bed.
Kakashi glanced over at Naruto, who was standing beside him. Naruto looked deep in thought and, for once, didn't complain about Kakashi playing favorites by only teaching Sasuke.
That was unusual for him.
But to be fair, Kakashi really did have a hard time dealing with Naruto. Compared to Naruto, it was just easier teaching Sasuke.
Still, he wasn't an irresponsible teacher. Even if he couldn't train Naruto himself, he had already arranged for someone who could.
"Hey, Naruto, about your training after this—"
Kakashi reached out to pat Naruto on the head, ready to give him some instructions.
"Huh? You don't need to worry about me, Kakashi-sensei!"
"I already know who I want to train me!"
Naruto suddenly cut him off, squinting with a big confident grin.
"Hm?"
He didn't even call him biased—Kakashi froze for a second, and a bad feeling crept in.
"Who is it...?"
"Big bro Satoru!"
Naruto answered loud and clear.
Sasuke's eyes lit up right away too—clearly, the idea of having Hatake Satoru as a teacher got his attention.
Kakashi could only sigh inside—he saw this coming.
His students always came to him when they needed something, but when it came time to pick a teacher they actually liked, they all ran straight to Hatake Satoru.
He had an older brother who'd made up with him, and adorable students—shouldn't that be double the happiness? So why did it feel like this?
"He can't even teach you Ninjutsu though..." Kakashi tried to talk Naruto out of it.
But Naruto had made up his mind. He chatted a bit with Sasuke and then dashed off in a flash.
Leaving Sasuke with envy and Kakashi in his own corner of sadness.
Satoru had come into the hospital with them earlier, but somehow had disappeared.
Maybe he went to check on that injured guy from Kirigakure?
Naruto pouted as he looked around the hospital, but there was no sign of either Kimimaro or Hatake Satoru.
With no other choice, Naruto went to the front desk to ask a nurse.
But just as he stepped out into the reception area, he spotted Hatake Satoru standing there, writing something at the counter.
The nurse in front of him had a red face and was chatting with him shyly, while pink flowers seemed to float in the air around them.
"Ah! There you are, Satoru-nii!"
Naruto completely ignored the mood and shouted loudly. Then he jumped up to Satoru's side and tugged on his sleeve.
"Hmm? What is it?"
Hatake Satoru turned to look at Naruto.
The nurse, whose conversation had just been interrupted, glared at Naruto—clearly annoyed.
Where did this kid come from? He just ruined her whole chat with a handsome guy!
"Hey hey! Kakashi-sensei already promised to train Sasuke!"
"So I want you to train me, Satoru-nii! After all, your student is that super strong bone guy, and even that young Mizukage!"
"Can you make me that strong too?"
Naruto's bright blue eyes sparkled like stars as he looked at Hatake Satoru, full of hope. He was counting on Satoru to help him become Hokage fast.
But Kimimaro had a Kekkei Genkai. No matter how hard Naruto trained, he couldn't copy something like that.
And Kimimaro's Taijutsu was trained when he was a kid in the Land of Thunder. It was totally different from the kind of training and education you'd get around here.
Even if Naruto trained hard for a month, it probably wouldn't show any results.
Hatake Satoru looked at Naruto's eager face and swallowed back what he was about to say.
"Well... it's not that I can't, but I have someone else who might be a better fit for you."
"And they're really strong too~"
He gave a small, sly smile.
It might seem a bit off, but the truth is, neither he nor his brother was really suited to teaching Naruto.
Like Kakashi said, Hatake Satoru couldn't use ninjutsu directly, so training Naruto would be a bit tricky.
As for theory, Naruto had already crammed a bunch of it with Satoru before the exams, so he wasn't totally clueless.
But even back then, when Satoru was helping him with book stuff, he'd noticed the issue.
Naruto was a hands-on type—he improved faster by doing instead of reading.
Rather than explaining something to him, it was better to let him see it in action.
If Satoru were to train him, Naruto would eventually learn it, but it'd probably be really slow.
Plus, Naruto still had Orochimaru's Five Elements Seal on him. No matter how you looked at it, it made more sense to hand him off to Jiraiya.
"Why do you all keep making excuses... so unfair. I bet you're going to go train that guy from Kirigakure, huh."
Naruto dropped his head and sulked.
"Kimimaro can't even get out of bed yet. Let's not push him."
Satoru paused for a moment, then looked at Naruto and said,
"I've got other stuff to do too. I'll start training with Sasuke around the same time, so come find me at Onsen Izumi in two days~"
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