"My Fire Release is so cool, my title must be really impressive."
Words like 'Flame Demon', 'Fire God', 'Konoha's Fiery Tiger' popped into Obito's head.
"What are you thinking? Do you really think the village's official newspaper would give you a title?"
Kakashi speechlessly pushed away the head that was leaning in.
Not to mention the titles; they rarely even appear in the Konoha Newspaper, unless the title is widely recognized.
That "Konoha's Little White Fang" title of his definitely wasn't given by the newspaper; it must have been something people came up with in idle chatter.
"Then why do you have a title, even though it doesn't sound very nice?" Obito asked, puzzled.
"First of all, I never acknowledged that as my title, and secondly, having a title doesn't mean it was given by the village," Kakashi explained.
When they got to the hospital room, Kakashi sat on the bed and opened the newspaper, while Obito and the others curiously looked towards the paper.
Might Guy and Nohara Rin were also curious about how this thrilling battle would be described.
"Defending the homeland, an unprecedented victory at the East Coast Battlefield, with the Hidden Mist Ninja Squad suffering heavy losses!"
At first glance, Kakashi saw that prominent headline, clearly indicating the newspaper was reporting on their battlefield's events.
"The brutal and vicious Hidden Mist Ninja took advantage of the East Coast's weak defense and invaded the East Coast of the Land of Fire. Initially, our ninjas were at a disadvantage for various reasons, but under the leadership of the squad commander, Orochimaru, the East Coast battlefield situation improved, gradually turning from disadvantage to advantage. In this process, the excellent Konoha Jonin Mokgetsu Habu played an indispensable role, like a sharp blade, he killed many strong enemies of the Hidden Mist, obtaining crucial intelligence for our side..."
The opening page barely mentioned Kakashi and the others, mostly describing Mokgetsu and Orochimaru, or photos of the battlefield.
Kakashi, being a regular reader of the Konoha Newspaper, wasn't surprised. The newspaper always prioritized important figures and notable strong persons on the better pages, while other figures involved would appear later.
"Why don't we see our names here? It's fine for Teacher Mokgetsu, but why so much of Orochimaru?" Obito couldn't help but complain.
Clearly, Orochimaru didn't even participate in this skirmish, so Obito didn't understand why his name was there.
What do you mean "under Orochimaru's leadership", he hadn't even spoken with Orochimaru.
Kakashi glanced outside, then signaled Might Guy, who was closer to the door, to close it.
This hospital room had only two beds, so they only had to worry about being overheard by people outside.
"Lord Orochimaru is one of the legendary Sannin and the commander of the Ninja Squad at the East Coast Battlefield. It's better not to say such things next time," Kakashi said, shaking his head.
Of course, Kakashi knew the reason; after all, Orochimaru's role as the battlefield commander couldn't be ignored regardless of their achievements.
But Kakashi knew even if he explained it, Obito probably wouldn't understand, so he just told him not to say it.
Considering Obito's rank and position, talking about Orochimaru like that was quite disrespectful, and if Orochimaru's subordinates heard it, Obito would be in the wrong even if they beat him up.
"Isn't Uncle Toad one of the Sannin too? He doesn't have so much going on," Obito didn't understand.
He had even openly criticized Jiraiya on the Grass Ninja battlefield before.
Kakashi was about to speak, but stopped. Although Obito had indeed offended Jiraiya, Jiraiya clearly hadn't taken it to heart, so there was no issue.
But people are different; even without knowing Orochimaru, just by looking at their appearances and auras, Kakashi felt there was a big difference between Jiraiya and Orochimaru.
"Just don't say it, think of it as an order from your vice-captain," Kakashi said after thinking it over.
"We're not on the battlefield or carrying out a mission right now, your vice-captain status doesn't count,"
Obito thought Kakashi was abusing his authority.
"If you don't want to be assigned chores in the next mission, you'd better listen to me more," Kakashi threatened without restraint.
"You'll regret this, Kakashi!" Obito's face turned dark.
Obito didn't doubt that Kakashi would actually do it, since most of their team was overqualified.
"I'm the vice-captain." Kakashi asserted, having the authority to really do as he pleased.
That silenced Obito, who continued to quietly read the newspaper.
Until they reached the latter part, on the more marginal section, did they find news about themselves.
In the newspaper, Kakashi and the others were described as young but with a firm Will of Fire, facing formidable foes like the Seven-Swords Ninja without abandoning their comrades, fighting valiantly to protect the village, and in Mokgetsu's absence, joining Might Duy to repel the Seven-Swords Ninja, even killing Suikazan Fuguki among them on the spot.
Although Kakashi's entire team made it into the Konoha Newspaper, there was a notable difference in the length of the descriptions.
Might Guy had the most coverage, followed by Obito and Kakashi, who jointly killed Suikazan Fuguki, then Shisui, with Nohara Rin mentioned less, and Ebisu and Shiranui Genma merely named without individual descriptions.
"Now no one will dare look down on my dad, right?" Might Guy felt a surge of pride at the description of his father.
Might Duy's description was only slightly less than his.
"That's quite a bit, but the mission details seem quite brief."
Obito felt a bit unsatisfied with the accolades the newspaper gave him.
"If you were the one who killed Minazuki Kan and four members of the Seven-Swords Ninja, your coverage would be much more," Kakashi said blandly.
With only so much space on the newspaper, getting this much coverage with their current status was a miracle.
"Someday I'll ensure the very best spot in the Konoha Newspaper describes my deeds!" Obito said enthusiastically.
He couldn't believe he wouldn't make it to the Konoha Newspaper's headlines if he became Hokage and brought an end to the war.
"Hope your plan doesn't involve becoming a Konoha Newspaper editor and secretly altering the content," Kakashi said as he put away the newspaper.
Nohara Rin covered her mouth, chuckling, "Kakashi, don't underestimate Obito. Even he wouldn't do something like that."
Though Rin was speaking on his behalf, Obito still felt a bit off.
"That's true; he'd probably just dream of becoming Hokage and getting into the newspaper," Kakashi said, lying back on the bed.
Obito was shocked inside, could there actually be a ninjutsu that reads minds?
As if seeing through Obito's thoughts, Kakashi directly said, "You're just too easy to read."
Obito ruffled his hair; Kakashi could guess what Obito was thinking because Obito's thoughts were all written on his face, making it hard for Kakashi not to know.
In the end, Obito fled the hospital akin to a rout.
"If only there were a ninjutsu that could really read minds," Obito couldn't help thinking on his way home.
The human mind is truly difficult to grasp, especially with girls; Obito often couldn't understand what Nohara Rin was thinking.
If there were a mind-reading ninjutsu, he could make Nohara Rin happy every day.
"Grandma, I'm back," Obito called out loudly upon arriving home.
As soon as she heard the familiar voice, his grandma slowly walked to the entrance, her face showing a comforting smile upon seeing Obito.
"Must be hungry, let me make you something to eat."
After thoroughly looking over Obito, his grandma headed to the kitchen.
"Hehe, I am a bit," Obito chuckled, accepting his grandma's kindness.
Though Mokgetsu's cooking was delicious, he would miss his grandma's cooking if he didn't have it for a while.
"Our Obito has grown up; even the clan leader came yesterday to deliver some things as a reward for you, saying you're an excellent Uchiha."
His grandma's words carried a touch of pride; she had raised Obito all by herself.
Even though she hadn't read the newspaper and didn't know what Obito had done, it was surely something good.
"Also, the clan leader said that if you're back, you can go see him."