“It’s the first exam. I’m nervous. I wonder if the questions will be difficult.”
“Hope it’s not too hard. If I don’t pass, I’ll get scolded at home.”
“It shouldn’t be that bad. Didn’t Sensei give us a mock test? Passing should be easy.”
Maybe because it was their first exam, many students in Class 1A were anxious. They worried about the difficulty of the questions and feared getting bad grades and being scolded at home.
“Anko, Izumo, are you nervous?” Kotetsu asked Shizune.
“What’s there to be nervous about? It’s just a small test. I’ll ace it easily,” Anko replied with a grin.
“Of course, aren’t you nervous? This is different from usual. The results will be posted publicly,” Izumo answered.
“I’m a bit nervous too. I only scored eighty on Sensei’s mock test. The real exam might be harder. I’ll probably only score sixty or seventy,” Kotetsu nodded.
“I scored eighty-seven on the mock test, but I think I’ll get around sixty or seventy this time,” Izumo said with a bitter expression.
“What? You guys scored that high?” Anko was a bit stunned. She had only scored in the sixties on the mock test.
“Mock scores are just for practice. They don’t count,” Izumo sighed.
“Let’s try to do well. If our average scores are high, we might get a new teacher if our scores are too low. And that might not be Sensei,” Kotetsu shared a rumour he had heard.
“New teacher? It’s fine if they replace other teachers, but not Sensei,” Anko didn’t want Mokutsuki to leave.
Although Mokutsuki was their homeroom teacher, he didn’t teach all their classes. Other teachers taught some subjects too.
“Yeah, the other teachers are too boring. Only Sensei makes classes fun and easy to understand,” Izumo agreed.
“Why don’t we share this news with the whole class to motivate everyone?” Izumo suggested, thinking of how novels often had morale-boosting speeches before big battles.
Anko thought it was a good idea and stood up at her desk to announce the news to the class.
Her words caused a stir in the classroom. Mokutsuki was their most beloved and respected teacher.
“Let’s all do our best on this test. If Sensei leaves and we get a boring taijutsu teacher, it’ll be terrible,” Kotetsu shouted to encourage his classmates.
“Do well on the test, so Sensei doesn’t get replaced!”
“I’m just going to say it—if anyone fails, I won’t respect them. Sensei taught us so well.”
Shisui didn’t join in the commotion. He didn’t need to. He was confident he’d secure the top spot in the entire grade. With students scoring so well, they’d stay the same teacher.
“Everyone, calm down. The exam is about to start. Just do your best.”
Mokutsuki’s voice silenced the classroom. Everyone turned to see him standing at the door.
“I believe you all can do well,” Mokutsuki said with a smile before heading to the classroom where he would proctor the exam.
He was pleased to see his students so motivated to perform well and keep him as their teacher.
However, he knew they needn’t worry. Teacher changes were based on the entire semester and school year, not just one test.
In fact, the mock test he gave them was harder than the actual exam.
Mokutsuki entered the Class 4B classroom and went straight to the podium. “Everyone, settle down. The exam is about to start.”
Teacher assignments for proctoring were random, and Mokutsuki happened to be assigned to Class 4B.
“Sensei.”
Many students in Class 4B greeted Mokutsuki, and he smiled and nodded in return.
In addition to Obito and Guy, who were his disciples, Mokutsuki had often substituted in this class, making him quite familiar to the students. Compared to their usual teacher, Ikeda Yutaka, they preferred Mokutsuki.
“With Sensei watching, I must pass this time!” Guy took a deep breath, readying himself as if for a major battle.
Given the choice between a theory exam and a real fight with a genin, Guy would prefer the latter. In a real battle, he might have a burst of strength and win, but with some theory questions, he had no chance, no matter how hard he tried.
“Rin, just wait and see. This time, I’ll prove myself,” Obito whispered confidently.
“You’ll definitely pass this time, Obito. I believe in you,” Rin encouraged him with a smile.
Though Obito had made similar claims countless times before and failed, Rin still chose to believe in him and offer her support.
“Focus on the questions you know, check your answers multiple times, and leave the hard ones for last,” Rin gently reminded him.
As a good friend, she truly hoped Obito could shed his “dead last” title.
“Got it,” Obito nodded earnestly.
Soon, another proctor entered the room. It was Kimura Sugito, a teacher from Mokutsuki’s office. Each exam room had two proctors.
When the bell rang, Mokutsuki and Kimura began distributing the test papers.
The two proctors took turns patrolling the room, occasionally sitting at the podium to chat.
“Ikeda-sensei must be having a hard time. He might not get his bonus this semester with these two underachievers,” Kimura whispered.
“Who knows? Maybe they’ve worked hard this semester and will pass,” Mokutsuki smiled, shaking his head.
He believed Obito and Guy’s performance would shock many.
“Three years of failing every theory exam. If they could pass, they would’ve done so by now. The higher the grade, the harder the courses,” Kimura thought Mokutsuki was too optimistic.
“Good thing they’ll graduate after this year. Otherwise…” Kimura imagined the trouble if such students ended up in his class.
After a brief chat, Mokutsuki continued his rounds.
He missed teaching. Because of the exams, the academy was on a three-day break. The first day was for theory exams; the second and third days were for practical exams and ranking battles.
These three days off meant fewer new jutsus learned and several dozen fewer chakra points refined.
At least the disciples’ returns were still effective. After the theory exam, Mokutsuki gave Obito some shuriken, resulting in a fifty chakra boost.
“Watch, Sensei. I’ll use the shuriken you gave me to defeat everyone and take the top spot!” Obito said gratefully.
The practical exams were about to begin.
(End of Chapter)
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