"Izumo, good morning!"
In the early morning, walking towards Ninja Academy, Hagane Kotetsu greeted Kamizuki Izumo whom he ran into.
"Yes, good morning," Kamizuki Izumo replied.
Hagane Kotetsu put his arm around Kamizuki Izumo's neck, locked him briefly, then released him with a laugh:
"Why do you look so listless?"
Kamizuki Izumo sighed and said, "Kotetsu, did you forget? Today's the day we get the results."
"Oh, did you not perform well on the exam?" Hagane Kotetsu remembered Teacher Mokgetsu had mentioned yesterday that the results would be released today.
"Yeah, I feel like my score might be quite low." Kamizuki Izumo gazed at the sky at a 45-degree angle, appearing somewhat worried.
"It's alright, I didn't do great either, probably just like you." Hagane Kotetsu patted Kamizuki Izumo's shoulder comfortingly.
Soon, the two walked towards Ninja Academy together and bumped into Anko near the school.
"Izumo, Kotetsu, good morning!" Anko greeted them happily.
"Anko, good morning," they responded.
"You both seem in a bad mood, did you have nightmares last night?" Anko asked curiously.
"No, because today is the day the results come out," Hagane Kotetsu sighed.
"We didn't do well on the exam, feel like the score will be low."
"Hehe, is that so? I feel like I did really well, maybe my score is quite high," Anko laughed proudly upon hearing the reason.
"I'll get a reward from Teacher Habu again." Though she hadn't seen her score yet, Anko was ready to celebrate with champagne.
After all, Izumo and Kotetsu's theoretical scores were pretty decent, and she performed even better than them, which must mean a high score.
"Really jealous of you, Anko. Second place in the practical, and also did well on theory," Kamizuki Izumo expressed admiration.
Hearing Kamizuki Izumo's praise, Anko couldn't help but feel even more inflated, strutting with an air of superiority.
Then Anko joined the pair, and as they entered the school, encountered Shisui along with other students from their class.
"Shisui, how did you do on the exam?" Anko asked curiously.
"Just average," Shisui replied calmly.
Anko became more hopeful about her score. If Shisui scored average, maybe she was going to be first.
"Though first place is improbable, but top five should be possible?" Anko hadn't grown so arrogant as to lose her reason; her exam scores were usually just average.
By the time they reached the notice board, a crowd of students had already surrounded it, filled with the noise of discussing scores.
"The scores in this class are too high, lots of seventy and eighty scores."
"There's even a full score, apparently also first place in practical combat, really terrifying."
"No wonder it's a class led by Teacher Mokgetsu."
"Make room, make room." Eager to know her own score, Anko couldn't pay attention to the conversations around her, directly leading Kotetsu and Izumo through the crowd to find Class Two's score sheet.
"Eighty! Yay!" Anko spotted her name with the score of eighty and cheered happily.
Quickly, she noticed something seemed off with the rankings.
"Kotetsu, Izumo, did you find your scores?" Anko asked quickly.
"Yeah, found it. Ninety-two," Hagane Kotetsu nodded.
"How... how much?" Anko doubted her ears.
"Ninety-two," Hagane Kotetsu repeated.
"Konoha curse!"
Anko slapped Hagane Kotetsu's shoulder heavily, her two brown-gray eyes staring incredulously at him.
They said they didn't do well, yet he scored ninety-two?
"You call that not doing well?" Anko couldn't help but ask.
"Just luck, I thought I didn't do well, but turns out it was okay," Hagane Kotetsu laughed, trying to fool her.
"Izumo, what about you, what's your score?" Hagane Kotetsu asked.
"Ninety-seven." Kamizuki Izumo replied with a smile.
"How... how much?" Hagane Kotetsu felt he misheard, it was nearly a perfect score.
"Ninety-seven," Kamizuki Izumo repeated.
This time, Hagane Kotetsu heard it clearly; his smile gradually faded while Kamizuki Izumo's grew wider.
"I comforted you early in the morning, and you scored this well, nearly a perfect score." Hagane Kotetsu locked Kamizuki Izumo's neck with his arm and dragged him away.
Seeing this familiar scene, Anko decisively joined the battle, occasionally sneaking in a punch against Hagane Kotetsu as well.
These two were too infuriating, scoring so well yet lying about it.
...
[After one month of hard study, disciple Uchiha Shisui achieved perfect scores in the academic assessment, receiving a reward: Chakra +300, Ninjutsu Proficiency Scroll]
[Ninjutsu Proficiency Scroll: Elevates any mastered ninjutsu to proficiency level]
[After one month of hard study, disciple Uchiha Obito achieved good scores in the academic assessment, receiving a reward: Chakra +150]
[After one month of hard study, disciple Might Guy achieved good scores in the academic assessment, receiving a reward: Chakra +150]
As Teacher Mokgetsu predicted, the exams indeed came with rewards, and much more generous than those for teaching. In these three days he lectured till his throat smoked and couldn't accumulate six hundred Chakra; a single B-level rating was only twenty Chakra.
This was due to Obito and Might Guy's poor theoretical performance, even though they didn't claim first in practical combat, or else the rewards would be higher.
Teacher Mokgetsu suddenly felt an urge for more exams at the school; Ninja Academy generally has only two exams per semester.
If there were ten exams per semester, he'd be over the moon.
This thought vanished as quickly as it appeared; Teacher Mokgetsu knew even if he proposed it, it might not lead to more rewards.
Exams he organized within the class didn't yield any rewards from the system.
Furthermore, he felt his suggestion wouldn't be accepted by the school, taking ten exams per semester would exhaust not just students but teachers too.
Thinking it over, Teacher Mokgetsu decided to use the Ninjutsu Proficiency Scroll. With three semesters a year each having two exams, it ensured at least six opportunities a year to acquire the Scroll.
He figured it was better to enhance his skills now to prevent unexpected situations.
Teacher Mokgetsu applied the Ninjutsu Proficiency Scroll to Water Cutting Wave; instantaneous memories and techniques for cultivating Water Cutting Wave filled his mind.
Despite mastering many ninjutsus, Teacher Mokgetsu considered Water Cutting Wave as the most powerful.
In the office during noon, Teacher Mokgetsu became the center of discussion.
"Teacher Habu, how did you teach? These students' theoretical scores are unbelievably high, the class average is tens of points higher than others," Kimura Sugihito couldn't help but ask.
"Indeed, Teacher Mokgetsu, do you have any tricks? In my class, those two merely scraped by this time; next time might be uncertain," Iketani Isamu added.
Might Guy and Obito really took him by surprise this time, not only seizing the top two in practical combat, but also passing the theoretical part.
As Teacher Mokgetsu was about to speak, another teacher entered the office and said to him:
"Teacher Habu, the principal wants to see you."