Kotetsu Hagane woke up early Friday morning and headed to the Ninja Academy.
“Anko, good morning,” Kotetsu greeted.
Despite occasional disagreements, the three of them had a close bond.
“Good morning,” Anko replied cheerfully.
“Hehe, today’s breakfast is red bean soup and sweet bread. It’s great,” Anko hummed a tune as she shared her breakfast details, clearly in a good mood.
“Today is a good day,” Kotetsu remarked.
“We’ll see our exam results when we get to school.”
“Ah, the results are out today?” Anko’s smile began to fade.
Despite her intentions to study earlier, Anko only started reviewing the day before the exam. She felt good about her performance right after the exam, but past experiences made her doubt her feelings.
“Isn’t it good to get the results? You can ask Mokutsuki-sensei for a reward if you did well,” Kotetsu teased, smiling.
While he didn’t match Anko in practical skills, he could outscore her in theory.
“You seem very happy, Anko. You must have done well. Mokutsuki-sensei will probably reward you with dango,” Kotetsu laughed.
Anko couldn’t say anything. She needed to figure out how she had performed. If she had done as poorly as last time, she would not get any dango, but she’d also get a knock on the head.
“Good morning, Kotetsu, Anko,” Izumo Kamizuki greeted as he joined them.
“Sigh, I feel like I might have done well, but my feelings aren’t very reliable,” Anko said, feeling down.
“Don’t worry. I found this exam easier than the last one. Your score should be higher,” Izumo smiled, trying to comfort her.
He was misleading Anko. This exam was more challenging than the end-of-term exam, and he doubted he could maintain a perfect score.
“Anko, I haven’t forgotten your summer training taunts,” Izumo thought.
There were no theory exams during the summer special training, and Anko often mocked them for their lack of strength. Now, it was payback time.
Kotetsu caught Izumo’s hint and nodded. “Yeah, this exam was pretty simple. You might even score in the nineties.”
“Really? Did you guys do well too?” Anko’s eyes lit up.
These two were known for scoring in the nineties or higher, even when they said the exam was challenging. If they found it easy, it must have been straightforward.
“Yeah,” Izumo and Kotetsu both nodded, smiling.
“Let’s hurry and check the results,” Anko said, her smile returning.
“Good morning, Mokutsuki-sensei,” they greeted Mokutsuki, whom they met on the way to school.
“Good morning,” Mokutsuki replied.
“Mokutsuki-sensei, will there be a reward if we improve?” Anko asked, smiling brightly.
“Confident about your exam results?” Mokutsuki asked, smiling back.
“I think I did ten points better than last time,” Anko replied, cautiously optimistic.
“Alright, if you improve by five points, I’ll reward you with one dango. If you improve by ten, you get two dangos. But if you didn’t improve…” Mokutsuki held up two fingers.
Anko instinctively touched her head, understanding immediately.
But she wasn’t worried because she scored seventy-eight last time. Even if the exam was a bit harder, she thought she could score eighty-three and earn at least one dango.
“Why are you two so happy?” Anko suddenly noticed Kotetsu and Izumo smiling more than she was.
“We’re happy for you. Maybe you’ll score in the nineties and get three dangos,” Kotetsu laughed.
“Yeah, Kotetsu and I can’t improve anymore,” Izumo added, smiling.
“Perfect scores can’t improve,” Anko said, considering bragging but decided against it because she was in a good mood.
Once at school, they headed straight to the results board.
Using their agility, they squeezed to the front to find their scores.
“Anko Mitarashi…” Anko muttered, searching for her name.
“Huh, is this right?” Anko stared at her score, doubting herself.
“Can you guys check my score?” Anko rubbed her eyes.
“Seventy-seven,” Kotetsu answered, smiling.
He had yet to check his score first, so he focused on Anko’s. Seeing her score, he knew she was in for a surprise.
“Yeah, I see seventy-seven too,” Izumo confirmed.
“That’s not right. This exam was supposed to be easy,” Anko said, confused.
“No dangos, and Mokutsuki-sensei will definitely knock my head in class,” Anko’s expression turned gloomy.
“Can I take the day off? I feel dizzy and might be sick,” Anko tried to avoid the inevitable.
“I doubt Mokutsuki-sensei will believe that,” Kotetsu said, struggling to hide his laughter.
Thinking of Anko’s boastful words to Mokutsuki-sensei and imagining her reaction in class, Kotetsu couldn’t help but laugh.
Seeing Kotetsu’s strange expression, Anko looked at Izumo and felt something was off. “What did you guys score?”
“Ninety-eight,” Izumo answered.
“Ninety-seven,” Kotetsu said.
“But you said it was easy. Why are your scores lower than last time?” Anko clenched her fists.
They had tricked her.
“This exam covered this semester’s material, unrelated to last semester’s scores,” Izumo tried to explain but saw Kotetsu fleeing.
“Kotetsu, let’s team up against him?” Izumo suggested seriously.
Anko grabbed Izumo by the collar and gave him a few hard flicks on the forehead before chasing Kotetsu.
After exacting her revenge, Anko entered the classroom, trying to act calmly.
But seeing the test papers on the desk, she knew it was futile.
“Mokutsuki-sensei, I’m ready,” Anko sighed.
Smack!
Mokutsuki lightly knocked her on the head.
“Didn’t study again?” Mokutsuki asked.
“Hehe, I did, but not much,” Anko chuckled, feeling better now.
She had only received one knock but had given Izumo and Kotetsu three each, so she felt she had come out ahead.
Izumo and Kotetsu thought Mokutsuki’s punishment was too light. They felt she deserved ten knocks.
The morning was for ninjutsu lessons, so Mokutsuki didn’t discuss the test papers.
Usually, the papers would be distributed in the afternoon’s theory class, but since it was his class, Mokutsuki brought them in the morning.
[Disciple Uchiha Shisui has diligently trained and achieved perfect scores in academic assessments. Reward: Chakra +300, Ninjutsu Proficiency Scroll]
[Disciple Uchiha Obito has diligently trained and achieved excellent scores in academic assessments. Reward: Chakra +250]
[Disciple Might Guy has diligently trained and achieved good scores in academic assessments. Reward: Chakra +200]
The exam rewards were settled, adding 750 chakra points and a Ninjutsu Proficiency Scroll.
Mokutsuki glanced at his updated stats.
[Name: Hanyu Mokutsuki]
[Chakra: 20,030]
His chakra had successfully broken through 20,000, reaching eight kilo-chakra.
After finishing the morning lessons, 20,030 turned into 20,050. Though the increase was slight, such immediate positive feedback motivated him to continue striving.
In the afternoon, Mokutsuki chose to call out names and have students collect their papers.
Normally, he wouldn’t do this as it could make some students uncomfortable. But this time was different. Apart from his class, the other courses had improved scores.
“I scored seventy this time. My mom will definitely praise me. I improved by over thirty points.”
“That’s a big improvement. I only went up by ten.”
“What did you get?”
“Eighty-five.”
“Damn!”
The classroom buzzed with excitement over improved scores.
Only the students in Class A remained calm. They had some ups and downs, but with an average increase of only two points, there was not much change.
It wasn’t due to a lack of effort. Their average scores were already high. Eighty points, rare in other classes, were common in theirs.
“I envy you guys. Mokutsuki-sensei is amazing at teaching,” someone said during the break, chatting with a friend from Class A.
Before attending Mokutsuki’s classes, they didn’t realize how effective his teaching was. Changing teachers significantly improved their class’s overall performance.
This time, Class A’s practical scores were impressive. Every student scored over thirty points out of a possible forty, with perfect scores in ninjutsu.
“Mokutsuki-sensei is great, but it also depends on the students. Some people have regressed twice despite his teaching,” Kotetsu whispered.
“Who?”
“Anko…”
Kotetsu started to answer but noticed Izumo had moved away, and Anko was now beside him, glaring.
“Kotetsu, who told you to run this morning,” Izumo smiled from a distance.
“Actually, I was going to say the red bean soup was delicious,” Kotetsu tried to explain.
“Do you think I’m stupid?” Anko retorted.
Kotetsu thought it wasn’t worth saying, but he didn’t want to escalate the situation.
“Class is starting.”
The bell and Mokutsuki’s voice saved Kotetsu temporarily. Anko wouldn’t dare cause
Trouble during his class.
“Actually, it was Izumo who signaled me…” Kotetsu quickly betrayed his friend.
Anko nodded, planning to deal with them both after class.
“In response to Konoha’s call, the other four great nations’ Kage gathered together for the first time since the founding of the ninja villages. This Five Kage Summit resulted in the distribution of the Tailed Beasts, and the signing of a peace treaty, bringing temporary peace to the ninja world…”
As Mokutsuki finished explaining the content and significance of the Five Kage Summit, the bell rang.
[Completed a major lecture]
[Rating: B]
[Reward: Chakra +40]
Mokutsuki saw his chakra increase to 20,090.
He announced the end of class and headed home to cook before going to the Southern Forest to teach his students.
“Next, you’ll learn how to achieve more concentrated breathing from your regular breathing,” Mokutsuki told Shisui and Obito.
“This is regular breathing,” Mokutsuki demonstrated, forming a basketball-sized fireball in his hand with a fire chakra nature transformation.
Then he canceled the chakra, adjusted his breathing, and formed a fireball twice as a giant.
“And this is total concentration breathing,” Mokutsuki explained.
“Your current breathing can be considered total concentration breathing, but to achieve this, you need to focus even more,” Mokutsuki explained.
“Once you master this, you’ll have truly learned Flame Breathing, significantly enhancing your jutsu and temporarily boosting your physical abilities.”
He reminded them, “Be mindful of your stamina and chakra consumption. Use total concentration breathing only when necessary.”
The powerful boost also meant more significant energy expenditure, and the concentrated breathing would strain their bodies.
Both nodded.
“Mokutsuki-sensei, what happened to your hand?” Shisui asked, noticing the bandage on Mokutsuki’s finger.
“I’ve been practicing something new. It’s nothing serious,” Mokutsuki replied with a warm smile.
(End of chapter)
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