Uchiha Obito typed three consecutive exclamation marks to express his feelings.
To him, this skirt of Kakashi's held an extremely special significance.
Although Kakashi is one of the few geniuses in Konoha's history, his sense of fashion is a notch below even that of an ordinary person, let alone compared to his achievements in ninjutsu.
That was also one of the few things Uchiha Obito could mock Kakashi about; he had been quite good at dressing himself since he was a child, pairing an open trench coat with goggles that looked very trendy. Between the Akatsuki robes he wore as an adult, the flamboyant purple clan attire, various mysterious masks, he was a man who was always at the forefront of fashion.
As for Kakashi, he looked decent enough when he was little, after all, White Fang Hatake Sakumo could help him pick out his clothes and oversee his style.
But ever since he lost his father, Kakashi's fashion sense began to gradually run wild. He dressed abominably every day, relying entirely on his own temperament and looks to pull it off.
Especially during Kakashi's Genin days, when he wore a gray garment around his waist that looked like a skirt; not only was it impractical, it was also ugly, Uchiha Obito had snickered at it countless times.
Unfortunately, later on, whenever the two of them sparred, he would always try to lift her skirt. Kakashi probably saw through his intentions, so he never wore that piece of clothing again.
And now, this skirt, which carries Uchiha Obito's countless memories, represents his aesthetic superiority over Hatake Kakashi, because it was privately deleted because it didn't suit someone else's taste!
Was it Kakashi's skirt that was deleted!
No! What was deleted was the proof that Kakashi once lost to him!
Thinking of this, Uchiha Obito couldn't help but grit his back teeth, his expression heavy. No, no, no, no matter what, he had to make the other party change Kakashi's skirt back.
[Kamui: I disagree! How can you just change my settings? Add Kakashi's skirt back for me!]
Facing him, Editor Saki gave a cold laugh at those words. It was only natural for an author to want to preserve the integrity of his work, but reality is often disappointing, some things simply have no reason to exist.
An assistant nearby, who had accidentally caught a glimpse of Editor Saki's cold sneer, pulled his neck back and tried his best to minimize his presence, thinking to himself that some guy had gone and provoked Editor Saki, he would likely be torn to shreds in a moment.
Editor Saki was indeed the most famous editor at the publishing house, but at the same time, he was also the strictest. Anyone who failed to meet his high standards would be ordered to revise their work; he had incredibly high standards, he had scolded as many manga artists as he had eaten meals with.
So Uchiha Obito saw the other person reply.
[Editor Saki: I will never allow something this ugly to appear in a manga that I supervise.]
Uchiha Obito frowned. This guy actually called Kakashi's clothes ugly—what does he know? Does he understand Kakashi's pain? So what if the clothes are a bit ugly? It's not like Kakashi can't pull them off.
[Kamui: What do you mean ugly? That's a character's charm point, alright!]
[Editor Saki: I can't understand this kind of charm, I don't want to understand it.]
【Kamui: If you don't like something, you can just delete it. Won't your work attitude like that cause others to have complaints?】
[Kamui: Of course, I'm not saying your work attitude has problems; I'm just worried that people might misunderstand you.]
Uchiha Obito picked up the sarcastic tone he had used back when he was Tobi, directly pointing out that the other's attitude toward work was too casual.
Saki's eyes grew deep as he caught the implication, his mood began to sour. Although he was strict, the quality of the things he made the other person revise would also improve; it wasn't based entirely on his personal preferences, otherwise he wouldn't have attained his current position as Editor Saki.
New authors are always so naive; they'll be fine once they've been beaten down by society a few times, Editor Saki thought expressionlessly, his fingers tapping the keyboard incessantly as he refuted Uchiha Obito's words.
..
As a result, the two of them went back and forth without convincing one another; instead, their tempers flared, the argument escalated into personal attacks.
[Kamui: You say Kakashi isn't good-looking? I think your eyes are broken, hm.]
He was so angry that he had started using Deidara's verbal tic, something he had learned back when they were partners, hmm.
[Editor Saki: Only someone with a mental illness would design something this hideous that offends both gods and men.]
Uchiha Obito gripped the pen in his hand until it creaked. To say he was crazy—no, this outfit was chosen by Kakashi himself; he only wrote it down, which meant the other person was saying Kakashi was crazy.
This was even more intolerable. He had to defend Kakashi's taste. Uchiha Obito rolled up his sleeves and engaged in a heated argument with the person opposite him; he refused to believe that, besides Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Madara, anyone else in this world would dare criticize him.
[Kamui: If you dare call it ugly, I'll just gouge your eyes out for you]
Uchiha Obito began to threaten the other party.
[Editor Saki: You're at it again. How can you do everything?]
Saki showed no fear at all and struck back directly.
Neither of the two gave up; as time passed, they actually reached a point where it felt like they had met their match.
The clattering sound of typing in the leader's room paused and then slowed down. Uchiha Obito tilted his head slightly, diverting a portion of his attention as footsteps approached from outside the door.
"Boss!" The footsteps stopped outside the door, the visitor began to knock.
Uchiha Obito cleared his throat, lowering his voice to mimic Madara's tone,
Come in.
A man wearing the most common Black Suit of the Port Mafia pushed the door open and walked in. His expression was somewhat strange; if it had to be described, it was a mixture of sympathy and gossip.
After the Black Suit entered, he quickly scanned the leader's expression, praying in his heart that the leader would be in a good mood.
Unfortunately, things did not go as he hoped. He saw at a glance that the leader, Uchiha Madara, was typing furiously on the computer screen, an angry expression on his face, as if he were currently furious.
Black Suit's heart skipped a beat. Given the news he was about to deliver, the leader's current behavior was clearly not a good sign. He spoke up nervously:
“Boss, the External Liaison Department just received a statement.”
"Speak." Uchiha Obito didn't even lift his head, completely immersed in the back-and-forth insults with the person on the other end, simultaneously considering the dangerous thought of whether he should follow the internet cable over there to throw a sack over the other person's head.
The letter came from the American ability organization, the Organization.
At this point, Black Suit hesitated for a moment, unsure whether he should say it directly or use a more tactful way of putting it.
"Keep talking. Do I have to ask you every single thing before you answer?" Uchiha Obito, having received no response, grew somewhat impatient, his hands still tapping away at the keyboard.
Realizing that the leader's mind seemed preoccupied with something else, Black Suit realized there was a high chance he could escape trouble by revealing the news about the Organization at this moment. He steeled himself and spoke with a sense of impending doom:
“The leader of the Organization demands that we hand over Miss Hashiko and her daughter.”
Finally, it's out! The bombshell news that was second only to the replacement of the leader this year—the mistress who dared to cuckold the new leader—has arrived!
Meanwhile, the leader, who was supposed to be busy with a million affairs in Black Suit's mind, was actually engaged in a heated argument with someone else over the issue of an elementary school classmate's skirt.
Uchiha Obito's mind was a chaotic mess of Kakashi, he couldn't understand what the Black Suit meant for a moment upon hearing those words. He stared at the computer screen in a daze for a few seconds before repeating what the other had said.
.. Hand over Miss Hashiko?
Damn Hashiko, who would name someone that!
"Yes, but please rest assured, Leader, we will definitely provide protection and will never let anyone else take Miss Hashiko away." Black Suit thought the point of Uchiha Obito's statement was to hand her over, so he hurriedly expressed his loyalty.
Who is this Hashiko, what does it have to do with me if she is taken?
Uchiha Obito's small head was filled with massive confusion. After a moment of blankness, he finally remembered that this Hashiko was the pseudonym Senju Hashirama used after turning into a female.
After figuring out who Hashiko was, Uchiha Obito couldn't help but perform a mental calculation.
The other party's meaning was to have the Port Mafia hand over Miss Hashiko—meaning, hand over Senju Hashirama to them—but since Senju Hashirama was pregnant, it meant they wanted to steal Uchiha Madara's wife and child.
What? Someone wants to steal Uchiha Madara's wife and child, that wife is Senju Hashirama?
This association caused Uchiha Obito's hand to tremble in shock, he accidentally clicked the mouse.
He took a silent glance at the "sent" label on the original Naruto novel file on the computer, typed a sentence: not a single word in this novel can be changed.
Then he turned his head and asked his subordinates exactly what was going on.
It turned out that Francis had finally managed to break away from the Special Ability Department thanks to Sakaguchi Ango's interference. The prolonged stalemate had exhausted his patience, so after emerging, he didn't waste any words and directly issued a statement to the Port Mafia: if they did not accept his terms, it would be war.
As soon as the External Liaison Department heard this demand and saw this man's golden hair and appearance, everyone suddenly understood. It was happening, it was happening—that man who cuckolded the new leader!
Human nature is inherently gossipy, especially with an evergreen combination like two men and one woman. Consequently, this news spread through the Port Mafia with lightning speed.
Senju Hashiko, a woman with the most mundane name, yet one who could make the leaders of two great supernatural organizations bow.
A femme fatale, in every sense of the word.
Black Suit looked up and stole a glance at "Uchiha Madara." Leader Madara's face was calm, showing none of the rage Black Suit had initially imagined.
Of course, Uchiha Obito would not be angry; what did it have to do with him and Uchiha Obito if someone else wanted to snatch Senju Hashiko?
Uchiha Obito nodded to show that he understood, telling Black Suit to go out and inform the External Liaison Department that he did not accept this condition and that if the other party wanted to fight, then they should fight. Once the man had left, Obito immediately called Uchiha Madara to mock him, saying that people were already at his doorstep trying to steal his wife, yet he still had the nerve to sit around at home.
And Editor Saki on the other side of the computer..
In the past, people's evaluation of Editor Saki was that he only saw two types of people: trash who could draw and trash who couldn't draw.
Just a moment ago, a third kind of person appeared in his eyes: those eccentrics who would change the male second lead to a female second lead in a novel if they didn't agree with something.
Editor Saki certainly knew that others called him strict, but he didn't care. What was wrong with being strict? The market would tell everyone who was right; only manga with strict quality control could withstand the test of the market.
So no matter how much the people below protested, he continued to do as he pleased, maintaining a style so strict it drove authors to despair.
Only now, after silently finishing the documents the other party had sent, he suddenly felt that perhaps he was indeed too harsh, to the point that the other party had changed the male lead into the female lead in a fit of anger.
Who has ever seen such a move!
Seeing the subsequent message that not a single word was to be changed, Editor Saki fell silent for a long while.
With a final shred of pity, he asked, "Are you sure?"
Uchiha Obito was busy making a phone call to mock Uchiha Madara, but he took a quick glance at the computer amidst the chaos and replied with a "Of course."
Since it was the other party's request, what could he do? Editor Saki sighed softly, as if mourning the other party's petulance, but the uncontrollable upward curve of the corners of his mouth betrayed his true feelings.
Of course, he wasn't happy because the other party had recklessly altered the work; he still possessed a certain level of professional ethics (?).
Editor Saki had read this novel carefully and found that everything else about it was excellent, reaching the upper limits of what a newcomer's novel could achieve; the only flaw was the handling of the female lead.
The original female protagonist felt like she had been forced in, as if the author had reached the end of the writing process, suddenly realized there was no female lead, then promoted the female character who interacted most with the protagonist. In reality, the interaction between the male and female protagonists was completely unable to convince the audience of the relationship between the two.
And now, the original author's stroke of genius has turned the second male lead into the female lead. Although it might have just been a sudden impulse, you have to admit, once the second male lead's gender was changed, the romance arc instantly became much more well-rounded, making it a rare masterpiece in shonen manga where both the action and the romance are fully realized.
Unaware of the truth revealed by his own inadvertent actions, Editor Saki called the manga artist responsible for Naruto.
I've seen all the images you sent, they're quite good. Here is a revised version by the Naruto author; make sure you follow this one when you draw.
The manga artist hung up the phone, turned to his assistant, said, "Editor Saki praised your drawing. That was expected; I thought the cover you drew for Naruto was quite good back then. Keep up the hard work."
The assistant's face froze. That's right, this assistant was the same one who had originally drawn the cover for the Naruto Anbu card.
God knows what kind of expression he had when the manga artist found out he was going to start drawing the Naruto short manga version.
Who would have thought? He thought he had escaped Uchiha Obito, but the man was waiting for him right here.
The workload for a single manga volume is much greater than that of a cover, the assistant could already imagine the scene of being criticized by Uchiha Obito in the future, especially with the addition of an equally strict manga editor.
What should I do? I suddenly feel like resigning!
After finishing the call, Editor Saki turned his gaze back to the Naruto novel manuscript on the computer, preparing to read it once more to better grasp the general framework of the book.
As he read, his thoughts suddenly veered toward a strange point. If the second male lead were turned into the female lead, it would seem much more appropriate. Was the author depicting brotherhood through the lens of romance, or was he simply projecting his own experiences of brotherhood onto a romantic relationship?