"Although it sounds a bit exaggerated, if it's Teacher Mokgetsu, then it makes sense," Iketani Isamu was initially surprised, but he quickly thought it was reasonable.
After all, Mokgetsu was known for using Shadow Clones to teach students while also supervising interns.
Although Shadow Clone is indeed a very convenient ninjutsu, no one wants to use it to do double the work because it is truly exhausting; even the plowing ox doesn't work like this.
Mokgetsu's diligence and strong capabilities were quite reasonable, but the only question was why someone as powerful as Mokgetsu would want to teach at the Ninja Academy.
"It's actually nothing much, just assisting Lord Jiraiya in battle, the main contributor was still Lord Jiraiya," Mokgetsu modestly said with a gentle smile.
"That's still something, after all, the opponent was a Jinchuriki, the battle must have been perilous," Kimura Sugihito remarked.
If he had such capability, he certainly wouldn't stay as a teacher at the Ninja Academy but would choose to become a Guiding Jonin.
"With such achievements, I believe you will soon be promoted to an official Jonin."
Witnessing a colleague younger than himself rise from Chunin to Special Jonin and then to Jonin, Kimura Sugihito couldn't feel a shred of jealousy because he knew he couldn't do it—the gap was too wide.
Moreover, Mokgetsu had a great personality. Even though he was in the upper echelons of the Ninja Academy, he stayed in this small office and kept the same manner with ordinary teachers as always without letting his status change him. Facing such a Mokgetsu, Kimura Sugihito felt too embarrassed to even feel bitter; his heart was full of blessings.
Curiosity came quickly but left quickly too, after all, Mokgetsu was someone they could see every day, the teachers were excited for only a few days, then it returned to normal.
Mokgetsu's achievements on the battlefield didn't make much impact among the students because none of them would buy newspapers to read, although newspapers weren't expensive, why not buy some snacks instead.
Only if it was widely spread and many villagers discussed it, would the students might come to know.
However, Mokgetsu's performance this time evidently didn't reach such a level, not even Minato's, as the star of the report was Jiraiya.
Walking through the streets, Mokgetsu could hear many people discussing Jiraiya defeating two Jinchuriki, and even non-ninjas earnestly debating about the strength of the Sannin and Jinchuriki, some even argued over it, resembling the scene of online discussions about various character strengths in his previous life.
Jiraiya had such an impact partly because of the report, and also due to his already high reputation in Konoha as one of the Sannin.
Although the title of Konoha Sannin was granted by the enemy after a defeat, it didn't bring shame because it was bestowed by Salamander Hanzo.
Though not the leader of one of the Five Great Ninja Villages, Hanzo earned a high reputation in the Ninja World through his formidable prowess, acknowledged as a top-tier ninja, some even believe he might be stronger than the leaders of the Five Great Ninja Villages.
The title from such a strong person naturally wasn't a disgrace but recognition from a top-tier strongman in the Ninja World.
In comparison with such a Jiraiya, Minato at that time naturally seemed less impressive, viewed by most people merely as a promising young man for the future.
"Why is everyone talking about Toad Uncle, I feel Teacher Mokgetsu is also quite impressive,"
Taking a break from training, Obito, who hadn't read the newspaper but sensed the village's atmosphere, grumbled.
"Obito, are you talking about Lord Jiraiya? Why do you call him Toad Uncle?" Nohara Rin thought for a moment, thinking Obito was referring to Jiraiya and curiously asked.
"Because he calls himself the Toad Sage, but I feel he doesn't quite live up to being a sage, so I call him Toad Uncle," Obito explained.
Obito believed anyone called a sage should have some unique abilities that others don't possess, like Fukasaku Sage and Shima Sage who live long, and Six Paths Sage who exists in mythologies.
"You didn't read the Konoha Newspaper, did you? Teacher Mokgetsu's report is at the end, so, of course, it can't compare to Lord Jiraiya," Kakashi said mildly.
"Konoha Newspaper, what's that?" Obito directly didn't know of its existence.
"It's a newspaper published by Konoha, documenting various major events in Konoha. The current report is about the war at the Land of Grass battlefield," Kakashi explained simply.
"Doesn't that mean we would also be mentioned?" Obito's eyes lit up as he suddenly became interested in the Konoha Newspaper.
"If you insist on saying so, yes, but..."
Before Kakashi could finish explaining, Obito cut in, "Did you bring it with you, Kakashi? Let me have a look."
Seeing Obito so eager, Kakashi didn't bother explaining; he simply handed the folded newspaper to Obito.
"Rin, you didn't read it either, did you? Let's look together and see what it says about me," Obito suggested, dashing over to sit next to Nohara Rin.
"Okay," Nohara Rin, kind of curious and also having not read it, nodded in agreement.
Obito placed the newspaper on his and Nohara Rin's laps, then leaned down to carefully read its content.
"As expected from us, Konoha!" Looking at the most visible headline, highlighting an imminent victory in the war, Obito chuckled.
But soon, Obito couldn't laugh anymore as he realized most of the front part talked about Jiraiya, then about how the Konoha Ninja Squad persevered through the Will of Fire to defeat the enemy, and then about Namikaze Minato. He only saw Mokgetsu's name at the very end.
"Kakashi, you probably bought it without reading, huh? There's no mention of our names here," Obito disgruntledly asked, initially wanting to show off.
"Which is why interrupting others while they speak is a bad habit. What I was about to say is we're mentioned but our names aren't," Kakashi said coolly, walking over and pointing to a passage.
Obito followed Kakashi's finger and then instinctively read out loud, "Besides Habu Mokgetsu, his team members also contributed to the war, the whole squad understood and practiced the Will of Fire."
Obito was stunned, he didn't remember ever understanding or practicing the Will of Fire; he always lost points on that topic during exams.
"Why didn't they write our names when it's already written?" Obito asked, full of confusion.
"Take a closer look at the content and see how many names you can find in it," Kakashi calmly reminded.
Obito examined carefully and found out that on such a big newspaper, only five Konoha ninja names appeared, and two of them appeared only once. Although Mokgetsu's mention came later, the coverage was decent, placing him third.
"That's the way it is with this newspaper. If you're not a significant figure, your name typically won't be written," Kakashi said as he folded the newspaper back up.
"Someday, I'll be prominently featured on it," Obito thought resolutely, having ambitions of being depicted in long passages like Jiraiya.
"Train earnestly and you can achieve anything," Mokgetsu walked over, having finished practicing the Great Waterfall Jutsu, and said with a smile.
"Your graduation exam is coming up soon, with only two weeks left, and there's no theory test this time. Show off your strengths," Mokgetsu said, patting Obito on the shoulder.
The graduation exam for the Ninja Academy no longer tested theory but instead drew from basic ninjutsu for assessment.
"As long as there's no theory, I'm sure I've got it," Obito confidently declared, patting his chest.
Mokgetsu nodded, thinking he'd manage to get three Ninjutsu Proficiency Scrolls in this exam, as those basic ninjutsu were simple, and with an upgrade in teaching support, even Might Guy could master a decent level, it would be no problem for the Ninja Academy exam at all.
After teaching his disciples, Mokgetsu returned home as usual, but today on his way back, he ran into an acquaintance.
"Mokgetsu." Minato, who was talking with his teammates, also noticed Mokgetsu and greeted him with a warm smile.