Chapter 252: Konoha: Victory in Sight

On an ordinary day, Mu Yue walked toward his home in the main city after finishing training with his disciples.

On the way, Mu Yue noticed that today there was actually an official Konoha newspaper for sale, so he bought a copy.

Konoha has its own official newspaper, established during the time when Tobirama Senju served as the Second Hokage, but this newspaper is neither a daily nor a weekly; rather, it is a "whenever-there's-news" publication, meaning it is issued irregularly.

Generally, it is only published when major events occur, such as the outbreak of war, a pleasing war result achieved by Konoha, or the appointment of a new Hokage—times when the newspaper's circulation is particularly large.

After returning home, Mu Yue sat on a chair and looked over the newspaper's content. Because its purpose is not to make money, its publication basically indicates that something major has happened, making it worth reading.

"The frontline forces have dealt two consecutive heavy blows to the Iwa-nin forces, victory in the war is in sight!"

The first thing Mu Yue saw was the prominent large characters in the headline, clearly showing that this issue of the newspaper was mainly about the war.

"The Iwa-nin forces carried out an unprecedented surprise attack on our frontline positions in a premeditated manner, simultaneously deploying two jinchūriki—the Four-Tails jinchūriki and the Five-Tails jinchūriki. Among their ninja forces were also elite shinobi like Haku of the Iwa Explosion Corps. Facing the sudden assault, our shinobi fully embodied the Will of Fire. The frontline commander Jiraiya personally led an elite squad to confront the jinchūriki..."

The front part described the surprise attack Mu Yue encountered while executing the food supply mission, focusing on how Jiraiya displayed the Will of Fire to protect the frontline shinobi and successfully inflicted heavy damage on the Five-Tails jinchūriki, with a secondary focus on how the excellent Konoha jōnin Minato Namikaze performed, what achievements he made in the war, and why he was called the Yellow Flash.

After reading the newspaper, Mu Yue learned that not long after they left, Konoha and Iwa fought another battle, and this time Konoha took the initiative, driving the Iwa forces to the border between the Land of Earth and the Land of Grass.

Mu Yue also saw his name in the newspaper, but it was in a later section.

The Mu Yue in the newspaper was also a inheritor of the Will of Fire. Although he only carried out a C-rank supply mission, he resolutely chose to step onto the battlefield and fight. To protect the village, he fought, and in the battle defeated the powerful Explosion Release user Haku, and also participated in the battle to repel the jinchūriki, playing no small role in it.

In fact, Obito and Kakashi were also in the newspaper, but they were not named; the three of them were collectively summarized as members of the squad led by Mu Yue.

"I'm no longer an anonymous Tokubetsu Jōnin," Mu Yue thought to himself as he put down the newspaper.

As Konoha's official newspaper, and with each issue necessarily reporting major events, the paper's sales were decent. Ninjas basically all bought it, and ordinary people who cared about the shinobi world situation would also purchase it.

Although he was only mentioned later on, not many people could have their full name appear in this newspaper. And those in the know could understand the value of his battle achievements. Making a name directly throughout Konoha was difficult, but it could still stir up a wave of discussion within ninja circles.

Becoming famous was a good thing for Mu Yue. Sometimes, to do certain things, one indeed needed that.

However, it was not without drawbacks. For example, Danzō, who had not paid attention to him, might recall that he had a subordinate who was taken away, and that subordinate had now become quite strong.

But fortunately, Mu Yue was very well prepared; he had no vulnerabilities in any aspect. Danzō could not possibly take him back to work in Root again, because Hiruzen Sarutobi would remind Danzō who the Hokage was.

This newspaper did not have much impact on Mu Yue's life, because his main body maintained a two-point-one-line lifestyle—either teaching disciples in the Southern Border Forest or studying sealing techniques or developing a breathing method at his home in the main city.

However, it did have some effect on his shadow clone teaching at the Ninja Academy.

Some teachers who saw the report were shocked to find Mu Yue's name on it. They might not know the strength of Haku of the Explosion Corps active on the Grass Country battlefield, but they could understand the significance of the phrase "played no small role in the battle to repel the jinchūriki."

Jinchūriki are the ace combat forces of the Five Great Shinobi Villages, the most terrifying existence on the battlefield—that was the impression most ninjas had of jinchūriki.

And Mu Yue could actually play a significant role in a battle of that level; for chūnin teachers, that was too extraordinary.

"Mu Yue-sensei, you actually went to the battlefield and helped Jiraiya-sama repel the jinchūriki!" Kimura Sanjin said in shock.

If one day Iketani Isamu told him that he was being pursued by a pretty girl, that might have an impact similar to this newspaper report.

Although Kimura Sanjin knew that Mu Yue was different from them, with strong teaching abilities appreciated by the Hokage, and that he had become the vice-captain of the teaching class within less than a year of entering the Ninja Academy.

But Kimura Sanjin only thought that Mu Yue had strong teaching skills; in his mind, although Mu Yue was a Tokubetsu Jōnin, his strength probably wasn't that much greater than theirs.

Kimura Sanjin once thought it was just a ninja with the same name as Mu Yue—until during the lunch break he casually asked Mu Yue's shadow clone and received an affirmative reply.

"No wonder Mu Yue-sensei, you took leave for a while not long ago. Was it because you were on the battlefield and didn't have time to replenish your shadow clone?" Ueda Aya guessed.

Mu Yue nodded. To prevent too much fatigue from accumulating, he regularly dispelled the shadow clones he kept at the Ninja Academy, generally maintaining a state where any memory influx would not have too much impact. Sometimes if the mission took longer, he had to ask for leave.

"Although it sounds a bit exaggerated, if it's Mu Yue-sensei, it's reasonable," Iketani Isamu said. He was also very surprised at first, but quickly found it unproblematic.

After all, Mu Yue was the tough guy who took on interns while using a shadow clone to teach students.

Although the shadow clone technique is indeed a very convenient ninjutsu, no one would want to use a shadow clone to do twice the work, because it's really exhausting. Not even a plow ox would be used that way.

Mu Yue was so diligent, it was quite reasonable that he was a little stronger. The only point of doubt was why Mu Yue, with such strength, was teaching at the Ninja Academy.

"Actually it's nothing, I just assisted Jiraiya-sama in the fight. The main effort was still Jiraiya-sama," Mu Yue said modestly with a gentle smile.

"And you call that nothing? The opponent was a jinchūriki. The battle must have been extremely dangerous," Kimura Sanjin sighed.

If he had such strength, he definitely wouldn't be a teacher at the Ninja Academy; he would choose to become a jōnin instructor.

"Having achieved such merits, you'll probably be promoted to full jōnin soon."

Witnessing a colleague younger than himself rise from chūnin to tokubetsu jōnin and then to jōnin, Kimura Sanjin felt not a trace of jealousy, because if it were him, he couldn't do it; the gap was too great.

Moreover, Mu Yue had a great personality. Even though he was already a high-ranking figure at the ninja academy, he always stayed in that small office and maintained the same attitude as before with ordinary teachers like them, unchanged by his status. Faced with such a Mu Yue, Kimura Shanjin couldn't even bring himself to feel jealous, only offering his blessings.

Curiosity came and went quickly. After all, Mu Yue was someone they saw every day. The teachers were excited for only a few days, then returned to their usual routine.

Mu Yue's exploits on the battlefield had no impact among the students, because none of them would buy newspapers to read. Even though newspapers weren't expensive, wouldn't it be better to spend that money on some snacks?

Unless it spread widely enough that many villagers were discussing it, only then might the students hear about it.

But Mu Yue's performance this time clearly hadn't reached that level, since even Minato hadn't made it; the main subject of this report was Jiraiya.

Walking down the street, Mu Yue could hear many people discussing how Jiraiya had driven back two jinchūriki. Even non-ninja were seriously debating the strength of the Sannin and the jinchūriki, and some even argued about it — a scene quite reminiscent of how netizens in his previous life discussed the combat power of various characters.

Such an impact could be attributed partly to the report, but also because Jiraiya himself was already very well-known in Konoha as one of the Sannin.

Although the title of Konoha Sannin was given to them by an enemy after a defeat, that didn't mean it was a disgrace, because the one who bestowed it was Hanzō of the Salamander.

Though not a Kage of any of the Five Great Ninja Villages, Hanzō had an extremely high reputation in the ninja world thanks to his formidable strength. He was recognized as a top-tier ninja, and some even thought Hanzō might be stronger than the Kage of the Five Great Villages.

A title bestowed by such a powerful figure could hardly be considered a disgrace; rather, it was an acknowledgment from a top-tier powerhouse of the ninja world.

Compared to someone like Jiraiya, Minato naturally fell short in most people's eyes, being seen as just a promising young man.

"Why is everyone talking about Toad Uncle? I think Teacher Mu Yue is amazing too."

During a training break, Obito, who hadn't read the newspaper but could feel the atmosphere in the village, grumbled.

"Obito, are you talking about Lord Jiraiya? Why do you call him Toad Uncle?" asked Rin Nohara after a moment of thought, finding Obito's words curious.

"Because he calls himself the Toad Sage, but I don't think he's really a sage, so I call him Toad Uncle," Obito explained.

Obito thought that to be called a sage, one must have some ability that others lack — for example, Fukasaku Sage and Shima Sage live very long, and the Sage of Six Paths is a figure recorded in mythology.

"You haven't read the Konoha News, have you? Teacher Mu Yue's report is at the very end. Of course, the level of discussion can't compare to Lord Jiraiya," Kakashi said flatly.

"Konoha News? What's that?" Obito had no idea it even existed.

"It's a newspaper published by Konoha, covering major events in the village. This report is about the battle on the Grass Country battlefield," Kakashi explained simply.

"Then we'll be in it too, won't we?" Obito's eyes lit up, suddenly interested in the Konoha News.

"If you really want to say there is, then I guess there is, but..."

Before Kakashi could finish, Obito asked, "Kakashi, do you have it on you? Let me see."

Seeing Obito's eagerness, Kakashi didn't bother explaining further and simply tossed the folded newspaper to him.

"Rin, you haven't seen it either, have you? Let's read it together and see what they wrote about me," Obito said, quickly jogging over to sit beside Rin Nohara and inviting her.

"Mm." Rin Nohara, curious and also not having read it, nodded in agreement.

Obito placed the newspaper on his and Rin's laps and lowered his head to carefully read the contents.

"As expected of our Konoha!" Obito said with a grin, seeing the largest and most prominent headline about the war being close to victory.

But soon Obito couldn't smile anymore, because he found that most of the front pages were about Jiraiya, then how the Konoha ninja forces persevered through the Will of Fire to defeat the enemy, and then Namikaze Minato. He didn't see Mu Yue's name until the very end.

"Kakashi, you didn't even read it after buying it, did you? There's no mention of our names here!" Obito complained indignantly, having originally planned to show off.

"That's why interrupting others is a bad habit. What I was going to say is that we were mentioned, but not by name," Kakashi said, walking over and pointing at a certain passage.

Obito followed Kakashi's finger and subconsciously read aloud: "Besides Hanyū Mu Yue, the other members of his team also did their part for the war. Their entire team understood and put into practice the Will of Fire."

Obito was dumbfounded. When had he understood and put the Will of Fire into practice? He had no idea. Whenever a test question about the Will of Fire came up, he always lost points.

"Since they wrote about us, why didn't they put our names down?" Obito asked, puzzled.

"Take a careful look at the article. See how many names you can find in it," Kakashi reminded him calmly.

Obito looked carefully and found that in such a large newspaper, only five Konoha ninja names appeared, and two of them only appeared once. Although Mu Yue was placed near the end, the amount written about him was decent — he could be ranked third.

"That's just how this newspaper is. Unless you're an important figure, they generally don't mention names," Kakashi said, folding the newspaper back up.

"Sooner or later I'll have a big write-up in there," Obito thought of how Jiraiya had been described at length, and the idea that he could take that place arose in his mind.

"Train hard, and you'll get anything." Mu Yue, having finished practicing the Great Waterfall Technique, walked over and said with a smile.

"Your graduation exam is coming up. Only two weeks left. There's no theory test this time, so play to your strengths," Mu Yue said, patting Obito's shoulder.

The ninja academy's graduation exam doesn't test theory; instead, it picks one basic ninjutsu to assess.

"As long as there's no theory, I'll definitely be fine." Obito patted his chest and said with confidence.

Mu Yue nodded, feeling that this exam could earn three Ninjutsu Proficiency Scrolls. Those basic ninjutsu were simple to begin with, and with the blessing of the upgraded professor, even Might Guy could master them to a decent level. Dealing with the Ninja Academy exam would be no problem at all.

After finishing teaching his disciples, Mu Yue returned home as usual, but today he met an acquaintance on his way home.

"Mu Yue." Minato, who was talking with his teammates, also noticed Mu Yue, and greeted him with a warm smile.

4k, my stomach seems too fragile. After getting up and taking a sip of the mineral water that was opened yesterday, it keeps giving my belly a very subtle uncomfortable feeling. It's not exactly pain, but it just feels off.

Recommending a friend's book: Konoha: Starting as a Hyuga Experiment Subject

Summary: Konoha Year 54.

The Third Shinobi War has ended, the Fourth Hokage has passed away, and Orochimaru has fled.

And as a Hyuga experiment subject created by Orochimaru out of boredom, who has become a Root enforcer, Shenle Xiuzhe looked at the system quests one by one and fell into deep thought.

A few years later, Danzo let out a soulful cry: "I'm not dead yet, so why are you already mourning me?"