CHAPTER 162: CHAPTER 162

"Whoa! I didn’t expect to find something this good here! Cheese jelly is the best ever!"

"It’s a shame Kimimaro’s still stuck in the hospital. He won’t get to try this stuff."

"Ah! Give me four more servings!"

Hozuki Suigetsu, holding his empty cup, slumped over the couch and shouted toward the server.

Some customers sitting behind him glanced up at him with annoyed looks.

But Hozuki Suigetsu didn’t care at all. After yelling that out, he just plopped back down on his seat.

"Now that I think about it, it’s been over half a month, and we haven’t really seen Satoru-san go to the hospital."

He was supposed to be Kimimaro’s teacher, but aside from seeing him once or twice right after the exam, he’d basically vanished into thin air.

Now, after so much time, with even the Daimyo and the people from Sunagakure arriving one after another, it was a bit weird that Hatake Satoru still hadn’t shown up.

In front of Haku was a plate of cake, and beside it a cup of coffee with soft ripples on the surface.

Haku and Suigetsu were sitting in a café along with Shisui and Hozuki Mangetsu, who had come out in casual clothes.

Between Hozuki Mangetsu and Hozuki Suigetsu was a small pile of fancy glasses filled with creamy jello.

If you threw those two into a yogurt factory, they’d probably be thrilled.

"The teacher probably has his own stuff to deal with. You can’t even find his shadow most of the time."

"And it’s not like he hasn’t gone at all. Wasn’t he the one always bringing Kimimaro’s medicine?"

"They probably just haven’t run into each other."

Hozuki Mangetsu clearly wasn’t too bothered. With Hatake Satoru, there was no telling what kind of plan he might be secretly working on again.

That guy had always been like this.

Kimimaro’s medicine got delivered regularly, about once a week, usually by a nurse. The kind of medicine he used seemed to be specially made by Hatake Satoru himself.

There was no way to buy it through normal channels.

"After all, only Kimimaro needs something like that~"

"If a regular person takes too much of it, they’d grow extra bone. So of course it’s not sold outside."

That’s what Hatake Satoru said when Hozuki Mangetsu once asked him about it.

"He borrowed a few of my crows a while ago—probably to go find some bodies."

"We didn’t really talk much about it. He only gave them back last night."

Shisui looked up thoughtfully as he spoke.

The others blinked in confusion. Looking for bodies? At a time like this?

Whose body? What for?

Hatake Satoru always seemed to do the kind of stuff no one could figure out.

"When he wants us to know, he’ll tell us! Don’t overthink it!"

"Besides, the exams are coming up. Whatever he’s planning probably has something to do with that."

"This past month is supposed to be our break. If we spend it worrying, it doesn’t really count as a vacation anymore."

Hozuki Suigetsu grinned and raised his spoon.

Even though Suigetsu was just guessing, what he said actually made some sense.

Shisui and Haku exchanged helpless looks. In some ways, these two brothers really did think alike when it came to Hatake Satoru.

"After we finish eating, we should head back. If someone from Konohagakure catches you out, they’ll start lecturing you in circles again."

Konohagakure wasn’t as open as Kirigakure. And during the Chunin Exams, there had already been several strange incidents.

Because Hozuki Mangetsu was the Mizukage, the people here were keeping an especially close eye on him.

But Mangetsu’s hydration jutsu was so good that most people couldn’t stop him anyway.

Shisui rested his cheek on one hand and looked over at Mangetsu with a sigh.

"Is it because that teacher from the preliminaries died?"

Haku had heard a little bit about it, but the people from Konohagakure had kept it quiet.

To keep the Chunin Exams running smoothly, most of the foreigners only knew a few scattered rumors.

"Huh? When did that happen? How come we’re always together and you still know more than me?"

Suigetsu turned to him with a confused look.

"I grew ears."

Haku gave Suigetsu a blank look. He wasn’t trying to be sarcastic—it really was something he overheard while wandering around.

"They think it might be related to Orochimaru."

"They suspect that one of the allied nations is secretly working with Orochimaru to cause trouble in Konohagakure during the Chunin Exams."

"But with so many allied nations here right now, it’s hard to point fingers at any one of them without proof."

"Making a move too soon could backfire, so they’re waiting for a clear opportunity."

Hozuki Mangetsu casually shared what he knew with Suigetsu and Haku.

"Didn’t Konohagakure say they were covering this up...?"

Haku looked at Hozuki Mangetsu with some doubt.

This doesn’t add up. Konohagakure said they were keeping it quiet, but somehow Mangetsu, the Mizukage, already knows almost everything?

Wouldn’t it make more sense to keep this kind of thing from a village leader instead of some exchange students?

Plus, even the people from their own group who’ve been out and about don’t seem to know much, yet Mangetsu, who stays in his room all day, somehow knows everything?

Something definitely feels off.

"Well~ our intel team is just really good at this. Also, there are people in Konohagakure who believe Orochimaru and Kirigakure might actually be working together behind the scenes."

"Can’t blame them. Our village doesn’t have the best reputation, and it’s our first time joining the Chunin Exams."

Mangetsu tapped his empty cup with a spoon, then looked up at Haku, wearing an expression that was basically a complaint — and looked a lot like Suigetsu’s.

"Yeah, I sneak out to have fun sometimes, but I do actually get things done too."

"I am the Mizukage, you know. Don’t treat me like just some regular guy."

The less intel they had, the more dangerous things would be for them.

As the leader of the infamous assassination village, Mangetsu understood that all too well.

So when something suspicious popped up, Mangetsu naturally had to look into it first.

Even though he usually acted easygoing — the kind of guy who could hang out with low-ranking ninja, eat and drink with them, and slack off like the rest —

you couldn’t just assume he was on their level. He *was* still a Kage.

Sure, Hatake Satoru helped out with a lot of the serious work in Kirigakure,

but most of the time, Mangetsu handled things on his own too.

"Sorry... sorry."

Haku quickly waved his hands in front of Mangetsu, a bit flustered.

It was all Suigetsu’s fault for always acting like an idiot.

Anytime Haku looked at Mangetsu — who had the same face — he just automatically expected him to be on Suigetsu’s level too.

"?"

Suigetsu, totally unaware that Haku was roasting him in his head, tilted his head with a confused look.

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