Chapter 437: Becoming Famous

“We’re finally here. Although the journey was shorter than previous overseas missions, we spent more time on the road,” Obito complained, looking at Konoha’s tall gate.

Previously, they would travel while training, but this time, due to serious injuries, they couldn’t push themselves as usual, so their speed was much slower.

Kakashi looked at Konoha’s gate and instantly felt a great sense of relief.

He might not have exerted the most effort on the battlefield, but he was definitely the one who expended the most mental energy.

He believed that as the vice-captain, he had a responsibility to bring all team members back safely, and he meticulously thought through every action, which was very draining.

“Guy, do you want to go home first, or come directly to the hospital with me?” Kakashi asked Might Guy after they entered Konoha.

Although Lord Mu Yue had Shadow Clones escorting them, the Shadow Clones’ Chakra was limited. If they used Medical Ninjutsu on Might Guy, they wouldn’t be able to maintain themselves, so Might Guy still needed to recuperate at Konoha Hospital.

Kakashi was the same, though he only needed to be hospitalized for a week.

“Let’s go straight to the hospital. My father is still on the battlefield, and no one is home right now,” Might Guy quickly replied.

Kakashi nodded, preparing to go to Konoha Hospital with Might Guy.

“Let’s all go together. Even if you don’t need to be hospitalized, you can still get a check-up,” Rin Nohara said.

After speaking, Rin Nohara looked at Obito.

Looking at Rin Nohara’s gentle eyes, Obito instinctively nodded.

Rin Nohara clapped her hands lightly, a bright smile on her face. “That’s great! We all thought of the same thing.”

It was only then that Obito, realizing it belatedly, remembered he had originally planned to go straight home to tell his grandmother he was safe.

But Obito looked at Rin Nohara’s bright smile and eventually closed his mouth; going to the hospital wouldn’t take too long anyway.

Next, the four of them went to Konoha Hospital together.

“Oh, are you Kakashi Hatake? The Konoha White Fang Jr.”

The Ninja handling Kakashi’s admission looked at Kakashi’s face, then at the newspaper beside him, and showed a surprised expression.

A strange expression appeared on Kakashi’s face. What the heck was “Konoha White Fang Jr.”? It sounded too silly.

“That’s hilarious! What a weird title, ‘Konoha White Fang Jr.’ Is it because you’re not tall enough, Kakashi?”

Obito burst out laughing loudly.

“I am indeed Kakashi Hatake, but not Konoha White Fang Jr.”

Kakashi ignored Obito and calmly answered the hospital Ninja’s question.

Because of Obito’s voice, the hospital Ninja then realized that Uchiha Obito, Might Guy, and Rin Nohara, who were mentioned in the report, were all there.

“You must have just returned from the front lines. Your deeds on the battlefield have been published in the Leaf Newspaper and have spread throughout Konoha. Everyone is saying that you, Kakashi, can become the next Konoha White Fang,” the hospital Ninja said with a smile.

If the protagonist of the latest Leaf Newspaper was Muzuki, then Kakashi was an important supporting character. Coupled with Kakashi’s father’s identity, his discussion rate even exceeded Might Guy’s, second only to Muzuki.

Although Konoha White Fang ultimately committed suicide due to a failed mission, leaving a huge stain, he was still a renowned strong individual. “Konoha White Fang Jr.” did not contain any mockery; it was purely an optimistic outlook on Kakashi’s future.

After all, Kakashi, at only ten years old, had the achievement of killing Suikazan Fuguki. Even if it wasn’t a solo kill, it was still an accomplishment to be proud of.

“Your taste in titles is really bad,” Kakashi said bluntly.

He could tell that the hospital Ninja’s words contained no mockery, but Kakashi still felt it wasn’t a good title.

After a series of events, the current Kakashi had actually let go of a lot, reconciling with his past self and with his deceased father, but this didn’t mean Kakashi would like to be called “White Fang Jr.”

He didn’t need to become anyone else; if he had to set a goal, it was to surpass Konoha White Fang as Kakashi Hatake, not to become the next Konoha White Fang.

“Indeed, Lord White Fang didn’t have such achievements at ten years old back then. Using ‘Konoha White Fang Jr.’ as a title is indeed inappropriate,” the hospital Ninja didn’t feel embarrassed; instead, he continued to speak along with Kakashi’s words.

After all, he didn’t come up with the title, so Kakashi wasn’t scolding him.

“By the way, since you’re back, has Lord Mu Yue returned as well?” the hospital Ninja couldn’t help but ask.

As soon as the latest Leaf Newspaper was released, Muzuki instantly became the most discussed Ninja in Konoha and even the Land of Fire, overshadowing Orochimaru and Jiraiya.

Although Muzuki was not an unknown in Konoha, he was not considered a strong individual like the Yellow Flash in the public’s impression. His achievements this time caused a great stir.

“No, please complete the procedures as soon as possible,” Kakashi reminded him.

There’s a limit to slacking off. It’s inappropriate to openly chat during work hours.

The hospital Ninja then remembered he was still at work. He nervously looked left and right twice and quickly completed the admission procedures for Might Guy and Kakashi.

“Please give me the newspaper as compensation for your work mistake.”

After the procedures were done, Kakashi extended his hand.

“Please, please don’t report me.”

The hospital Ninja very honestly gave the newspaper to Kakashi. He had already finished reading it, so giving it away was fine; a newspaper wasn’t worth much anyway.

“Let me see, let me see.”

As soon as Kakashi got the newspaper, Obito couldn’t help but lean his head over, wanting to see its contents.

“My Fire Release is so cool, my title must be really awesome.”

Words like ‘Flame Demon,’ ‘Fire God,’ and ‘Konoha’s Fiery Tiger’ appeared in Obito’s mind.

“What are you thinking? How could the Village’s official newspaper staff give you a title?”

Kakashi pushed away Obito’s leaning head speechlessly.

Let alone giving titles, titles rarely appeared in the Leaf Newspaper unless they were widely recognized.

His “Konoha White Fang Jr.” title definitely couldn’t have been given by the Leaf Newspaper; it must have been the result of idle people chatting.

“Then how do you have a title, even if it’s not very pleasant to hear?” Obito asked, confused.

“First, I didn’t acknowledge that as my title. Second, having a title doesn’t mean the Village gave it,” Kakashi explained.

After arriving at the ward, Kakashi sat on the bed and opened the newspaper. Obito and the others curiously looked at the newspaper.

Might Guy and Rin Nohara were also curious about how their thrilling battle would be described.

“Defending the Homeland, the East Bank Battlefield Achieves an Unprecedented Great Victory, Mist Ninja Forces Suffer Heavy Losses!”

Kakashi immediately saw the prominent large characters at the top of the newspaper. Clearly, the content of this newspaper described the battles on their battlefield.

“The cruel and ferocious Mist Ninja took advantage of the insufficient strength of the East Coast defense line to invade the Land of Fire’s East Coast. Initially, our Ninja were forced into a disadvantage due to various reasons, but under the leadership of the unit commander Orochimaru, the situation on the East Bank Battlefield improved, gradually turning from disadvantage to advantage. In this process, Konoha’s excellent Jonin, Hayate Mugetsu, played an indispensable role. He, like a sharp blade, killed many Hidden Mist strong individuals, obtaining crucial intelligence for our side…”

The front pages basically had no sign of Kakashi and his team; they were all descriptions of Muzuki and Orochimaru, or photos from the battlefield.

Kakashi, who often read the Leaf Newspaper, was not surprised. The Leaf Newspaper had always been like this; the good pages were always about important figures and famous strong individuals, and only later would there be other people involved in the event.

“Why don’t I see our names? Muzuki-sensei is one thing, but why is there so much about that Orochimaru?” Obito couldn’t help but complain.

Orochimaru didn’t even participate in this skirmish, so he didn’t understand why Orochimaru’s name appeared.

And what was this about being under Orochimaru’s leadership? He hadn’t even spoken to Orochimaru.

Kakashi glanced outside, then gestured with his eyes for Might Guy, who was closer to the door, to close it.

This ward only had two beds, so they only needed to worry about being overheard by people outside.

“Orochimaru-sama is one of the legendary Sannin, and also the commander of the Ninja forces on the East Bank Battlefield. It’s best not to say such things next time,” Kakashi said, shaking his head.

Kakashi, of course, knew the reason. Orochimaru was, after all, the commander of the battlefield. No matter what merits they achieved, it couldn’t bypass him.

However, Kakashi knew that if he explained it, Obito most likely wouldn’t understand, so he just directly told him not to say it.

For someone of Obito’s status and position to discuss Orochimaru like that was extremely disrespectful to an elder. If Orochimaru’s subordinates heard it, they could beat Obito up, and Obito wouldn’t have a leg to stand on.

“Toad Uncle is also one of those Sannin, and he doesn’t have so many issues,” Obito didn’t understand.

He had even openly complained about Jiraiya on the Grass Ninja battlefield once.

Kakashi hesitated. Obito had indeed offended Jiraiya, but Jiraiya clearly didn’t take it to heart, so it wasn’t a problem.

However, people are different. Even without understanding Orochimaru, just by looking at their appearances and auras, Kakashi felt that Jiraiya and Orochimaru were very different.

“If I tell you not to say it, then don’t say it. Just take it as a vice-captain’s order,” Kakashi said after thinking for a moment.

“We’re not on the battlefield now, and we’re not on a mission, so your vice-captain status doesn’t apply anymore.”

Obito believed Kakashi was making a mountain out of a molehill.

“If you don’t want to be assigned to miscellaneous tasks on the next mission, you’d better listen to me more,” Kakashi threatened, without hiding it.

“Kakashi, you’ll regret this!” Obito’s face darkened.

He had no doubt that Kakashi would actually do that, as their team’s combat power was mostly overflowing.

“I’m the vice-captain,” Kakashi stated, implying that having power truly allowed one to do as they pleased.

This made Obito behave. He continued to read the newspaper quietly.

It wasn’t until they reached the lower half that they found a report about themselves in a relatively marginal position.

In the newspaper, Kakashi and his team were described as talented Ninja who, despite their youth, possessed an incredibly firm The Will of Fire. Even when facing powerful enemies like the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, they did not abandon their comrades and fought valiantly to protect the Village. Without Muzuki’s arrival, they teamed up with Might Duy to repel the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, and even killed Suikazan Fuguki, one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, on the spot.

Although Kakashi’s entire team was featured in the Leaf Newspaper, there were slight differences in the length of their descriptions.

Might Guy had the most, followed by Obito and Kakashi, who jointly killed Suikazan Fuguki, then Shisui. Rin Nohara was mentioned less, and as for Ebisu and Shiranui Genma, only their names were mentioned, with no individual descriptions.

“Now, no one should dare to look down on my father anymore,” Might Guy said, a sense of pride welling up as he read his father’s description.

Might Duy’s description length was only slightly less than his.

“It’s too little, isn’t it? The mission process feels very briefly written.”

Obito looked at the praise for himself in the newspaper, still wanting more.

“If you were the one who killed Haku and four members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, then your section would be longer,” Kakashi said indifferently.

A newspaper only has so much space. For their current status, getting so much coverage was already a miracle.

“One day, I’ll make sure the best spot in the Leaf Newspaper describes my deeds!” Obito said excitedly.

He refused to believe that he couldn’t make the front page of the Leaf Newspaper after becoming Hokage and ending the war.

“I hope your plan isn’t to become a Leaf Newspaper writer and secretly replace the content,” Kakashi said, putting away the newspaper.

Rin Nohara covered her mouth and chuckled, “Kakashi, don’t underestimate Obito too much. Even he wouldn’t do something like that.”

Although Rin Nohara was speaking up for him, Obito felt strange.

“That’s true. He’s probably fantasizing about becoming Hokage and then appearing in the newspaper,” Kakashi said, lying on the bed.

Obito was startled. Could there be a Ninjutsu that could read minds?

As if seeing through Obito’s thoughts, Kakashi said directly, “You’re just too easy to read.”

Obito scratched his head. Kakashi could figure out what Obito was thinking because Obito’s thoughts were all written on his face, making it hard for Kakashi not to know.

Finally, Obito fled the hospital as if in a panic.

“If only there really was a Ninjutsu that could read minds,” Obito couldn’t help but think on his way home.

People’s thoughts were truly hard to fathom, especially girls’. Obito often couldn’t understand what Rin Nohara was thinking.

If he had a Ninjutsu that could read minds, he could make Rin Nohara happy every day.

“Grandma, I’m home!” Obito shouted with full vigor after returning home.

Hearing the familiar voice, his grandmother slowly walked to the entrance. After seeing Obito’s face, she showed a relieved smile.

“You’re hungry, aren’t you? Grandma will make you something to eat.”

After carefully scrutinizing Obito, his grandmother walked towards the kitchen.

“Hehe, I guess I am a little,” Obito chuckled, accepting his grandmother’s kindness.

Although Muzuki’s Cuisine was delicious, he would also miss his grandmother’s Cuisine if he didn’t eat it for a while.

“Our Obito has become accomplished! Yesterday, the clan head even specially came to give you some things as a reward, saying you are an excellent Uchiha.”

His grandmother’s words carried a hint of pride. She had raised Obito alone since he was small.

Although she hadn’t read the newspaper and didn’t know what Obito had done, it must have been a good thing.

“Also, the clan head said that if you came back, you could go find him.”