"Teacher Hanyu, please, I'm begging you! Don't tell Teacher Ikeya," Obito continued to plead with Muyue, not giving up.
"That will depend on your performance," Muyue said with a sly smile, giving no concrete answer.
"Teacher, is there something you need?" Might Guy scratched his head, not understanding why he had been called out. He hadn't done anything wrong.
Muyue looked at Might Guy. The man who would one day almost kick open the grand finale of the story, hailed by Madara as the strongest taijutsu user, was still very young and inexperienced. Though he was already wearing his iconic green jumpsuit, his strength, not to mention his convictions, was still lacking.
At this point, while Might Guy believed his daily training would surely make him a taijutsu master, he hadn't yet fully grasped the concepts of "youth" and "self-discipline" that his father spoke of. He still needed to grow, and Muyue was more than happy to give him a push.
"Your theoretical grades are causing Teacher Ikeya quite a headache," Muyue began.
Hearing this, even the thick-skinned Obito lowered his head in embarrassment.
"It's not that I don't want to learn, but the questions are too hard to understand! Why do we have to calculate how many of each animal there are when they're all locked up together...?" Obito tried to argue.
Seeing Obito like this, Muyue was reminded of his own high school days struggling with math. All he could say was that he was glad his major didn't require advanced calculus. However, Muyue knew the problem was still with Obito, as the math taught at the Ninja Academy was the simplest kind, and the curriculum had fewer math classes than history.
"But it's not just math you're bad at. You're failing history and ninjutsu theory too," Muyue said, shaking his head.
"What's the use of knowing all that history? It's all in the past," Obito grumbled. He thought the history class should be canceled altogether. Math might be useful when buying groceries, but what was the point of history?
"I feel the same way," Might Guy nodded in agreement. He really couldn't memorize all that history.
"You'll have to take that up with Lord Third. He's the principal of the Ninja Academy," Muyue said, indicating that he had no say in the matter. "But you can't go on like this. It's not good for Teacher Ikeya, or for you."
"Teacher Hanyu, do you have some kind of secret to passing exams?" Obito asked, looking at Muyue with anticipation.
Might Guy also looked at him excitedly. If it weren't for the fact that they genuinely couldn't do it, who would want to be the dead-last?
"I do have a secret to passing exams," Muyue said. "It's to grind practice questions. Read and drill, side-by-side!"
Given the difficulty of the Ninja Academy exams, he only needed to apply a fraction of his past life's test-taking experience to pass with ease. After all, you only needed to score half of the class average to pass.
"Grind questions?" the two repeated, looking completely lost.
"You can think of this as special training to handle the exams," Muyue said with a smile. "And if you pass your exams, I'll have a reward for you."
"What kind of reward? A dango set?" Obito asked curiously.
"I can teach you ninjutsu or taijutsu. In short, I can give you pointers on your training," Muyue answered.
"Really?!" Both of their eyes widened, unable to believe such a good thing had fallen from the sky.
"The condition is that you pass the exam in one month," Muyue reminded them.
"So this is the power of youth! I'm fired up!" Might Guy exclaimed with excitement.
"I'll definitely pass this time," Obito promised.
Seeing the two of them all riled up, Muyue nodded to himself. A skilled hunter often appears as the prey. They thought they were getting a great deal—a secret to passing exams and a reward of training guidance. Meanwhile, all Muyue had to do was naturally become their teacher during the "special training" and he would profit immensely.
Even if they still failed in the end, it wouldn't matter. Muyue could just say he was so moved by their hard work that he felt bad not giving them a reward, which might even boost their favorability towards him.
The reason he didn't just trick them into becoming his disciples like he did with Shisui was firstly because their backgrounds weren't suitable for a story about repaying a debt, and secondly, he was only a substitute teacher for one day and couldn't maintain long-term contact. If he were their homeroom teacher, it would be much easier to manipulate.
After settling the details of the special training with them, Muyue led them back to the classroom.
"Obito, what did Teacher Hanyu want with you? He didn't punish you, did he?" Nohara Rin asked with concern.
"Punish me? Of course not! Teacher Hanyu is the best! He taught me the secret to passing exams," Obito immediately defended Muyue's honor. If Muyue could help him shed the title of "dead-last," Obito would become the number one "Muyue-praiser" in the school.
"You'd better listen carefully in class too, Rin. Don't let me surpass you in the next exam," Obito added with a smug grin.
"I'd be happy if you really could surpass me," Rin said with a helpless smile, looking at the gloating Obito. While she wasn't first in the class, she was still among the top students.
After the bell rang, Obito adopted an unprecedented level of seriousness. He was determined to pass this time. He was already thinking about what ninjutsu he should learn.
Nohara Rin was surprised to see this. Could Obito be serious this time? she wondered.
Three minutes later, looking at Obito slumped over his desk, Rin could only say that he was still the same Obito she knew.
Just then, a piece of chalk flew in a perfect arc and hit Obito on the head.
Obito looked around in a daze. He saw Muyue's face, he saw Rin's face, and he saw Might Guy furiously scribbling notes. He remembered what he had said just three minutes ago, and his face flushed red, all sleepiness gone.
With the small interruption of Obito's nap out of the way, the rest of the class went smoothly.
[Lecture complete]
[Evaluation: A]
[Reward Obtained: Konoha Hurricane]
This time, the reward wasn't a ninjutsu but a taijutsu, and one that the future Might Guy would develop. The technique seemed simple—just a kick—but Muyue, who had already begun to learn it, found it wasn't as simple as it looked. The kicking posture, the explosion of muscle power, and the burst of chakra all required skill.
Muyue had been worrying about what to teach Guy when the time came, so he was very satisfied with this reward.
After school, Muyue wandered through the forest south of Konoha, looking for a suitable place to train. He still had his identity as a Root member, and Danzo definitely knew where he lived. Given Danzo's hatred for the Uchiha, if he found out Muyue was teaching Shisui ninjutsu without reporting it, he would at the very least suspect him of betrayal.
Although he had Sensory Ninjutsu, he couldn't keep it active all the time; his chakra wouldn't support it. So, Muyue decided to train with Shisui outside the village in the future.
Eventually, Muyue found a nice, secluded spot by a small river that was perfect for training. He memorized the location and headed home.
As it turned out, his caution was not in vain. When he entered his yard, he discovered a ninja wearing an animal mask standing silently within.
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