The practical exam on the second day was held at the training ground just like before.
After all the students completed the draw, Mokgetsu announced the official start of the practical exam.
"Will Candidate #1, Hagane Kotetsu, and Candidate #2, Mine Koji, please enter the testing arena."
Kotetsu knew that being number one, he would definitely be the first to be tested, so he had already warmed up in advance.
"Let me open the show, remember to cheer for me." Kotetsu bid farewell to his two good buddies and walked into the testing field.
"Kotetsu, don't lose in the first match." Izumo cheered for Kotetsu generously.
Koji and Kotetsu walked into the arena together, and without much conversation, they mutually formed the Seal of Opposition and started the battle as soon as Mokgetsu announced the start.
The idea wasn't to rely on Taijutsu teachers in combat but to showcase their own tangible qualities and let the proctors see the gap between the students' Ninjutsu and Taijutsu levels.
At the start of the confrontation, both sides were probing each other through Taijutsu exchanges.
In the first wave of probing attacks, Kotetsu temporarily suppressed Koji with greater strength.
Then Koji began to play tactics. He used the Substitution Jutsu to mislead Kotetsu and gain distance, then split into two clones to confuse Kotetsu's sight and seek an opportunity for attack.
Koji's Three-Body Jutsu was reasonably well-practiced, but Kotetsu outdid him with more flair.
Kotetsu first created a chair clone, followed by two regular clones.
He used the regular clones to confuse Koji and then canceled the chair clone to create another normal clone, finally using Transformation Jutsu to turn into a chair himself.
Naturally, Koji wouldn't be wary of an odd chair walking around, which allowed Kotetsu to seize the opportunity and defeat him with a single blow.
"Hey, isn't this the famous Hagane Kotetsu, one of the three great talents in Ninjutsu? I didn't expect this Deception Jutsu to have such a clever use." Ueda Aya admired Kotetsu's combat intelligence.
"Moreover, his Clone Jutsu and Transformation Jutsu are already very skillful, even more so than the students in my class." Ueda Aya exclaimed.
She taught Ninjutsu to second graders, yet none in her class could compare to Kotetsu.
Based purely on Clone Jutsu skills, Ueda Aya believed Kotetsu had already reached a level sufficient for graduation.
His Clone Jutsu was truly exemplary.
Kotetsu's opponent, Koji, also performed quite well, able to outperform most of her class.
While praising, Ueda Aya graded Kotetsu, giving him a full score of 10 for the Ninjutsu portion.
Such a level of Ninjutsu in the first grade deserves a full score, while for Taijutsu, Ueda Aya only gave 7.1, which was just above passing compared to Ninjutsu.
For Taijutsu, Koji didn't perform too well either, receiving only 5 points from Ueda Aya.
For Shuriken Throwing, both performed averagely, receiving just 5 points from Ueda Aya.
However, both showed decent skill in forming hand seals, with Kotetsu getting 8 points and Koji 7.5.
In the end, Ueda Aya totaled the scores, and Kotetsu achieved a high score of 30.1 points.
This score was considered very high. The Ninja Academy's scoring system is stringent; generally, scoring over 20 indicates competence, and over 30 is considered excellent.
"Kotetsu studies very hard usually." Mokgetsu nodded and said.
Although he didn't know if Kotetsu practiced at home, Mokgetsu was sure Kotetsu did his homework diligently. A quick glance while collecting papers indicated a high score.
"The second match is about to begin, Candidates #3 Kamizuki Izumo and #4 Koizumi Yuki, please get ready for the exam." Mokgetsu announced after scoring.
"It's my turn now." Izumo said with a smile, giving a high-five to the oncoming Kotetsu.
"Izumo, go for it." Anko raised her tiny fist to cheer for her good buddy.
Izumo's combat style was steadier than Kotetsu's. Instead of transforming into a chair, he seized the moment to use Deception Jutsu, creating a three-meter tall, green-faced monster with sharp teeth, scaring Koizumi Yuki and securing a quick victory.
"Kamizuki Izumo, isn't he also one of those three great Ninjutsu talents? Truly talented indeed." Ueda Aya considered Kotetsu and Izumo true talents in the best sense.
Izumo's demonstrated Ninjutsu skills were also outstanding, earning him a full score for Ninjutsu from Ueda Aya with a total score of 30.5; his hand seal execution slightly exceeded Kotetsu's.
Ueda Aya initially thought it was just that the students in the first two matches were of high quality, but by the fifth match, she realized she was wrong—no student had scored below an eight in Ninjutsu.
All students' Three-Body Jutsu performances were exceptional.
"Candidate #11 Mitarashi Anko and Candidate #12 Shima Keiji, please get ready for the exam."
"Watch closely, you two; I'll show you what true Deception Jutsu looks like." Anko asserted that Kotetsu and Izumo's Deception Jutsu were inadequate.
"What's wrong with being a chair? As long as you win, it's fine." Kotetsu retorted.
"Could anything be scarier than my illusion?" Izumo believed his method was the best.
Anko didn't respond to them; practical demonstration was the best showcase.
Shima Keiji's Taijutsu couldn't match Anko's, and he was suppressed right from the start.
Anko didn't relent, quickly forming seals to create seven or eight clones resembling Shima Keiji, then used Transformation Jutsu to become one herself.
In an instant, the exam field was filled with Shima Keiji running everywhere, and Anko seemingly vanished.
"Teacher Mokgetsu, your student is truly talented." Ueda Aya said awestruck, having been an examiner for many years, she had seen countless exams but never anything like this.
"Her thinking is unconventional." Mokgetsu mused aloud.
Seeing copies of himself running everywhere, Shima Keiji was utterly confused, cautiously watching every version of himself, yet ultimately unable to fend off Anko's sudden attack.
Anko naturally received a score of ten for Ninjutsu. Ueda Aya even remarked that Anko's score was limited only by the maximum score of ten; her Ninjutsu level surpassed even Kotetsu's and Izumo's.
Ultimately, Anko achieved a high score of 36, scoring full marks in every aspect except for Taijutsu and Shuriken Throwing.
Ueda Aya felt as if she was examining third or fourth graders, not first graders.
The students' Ninjutsu levels were beyond her imagination.
She had previously examined a first-grade class, which, despite its excellence at the time, was nowhere near as impressive as this.
Back then, she claimed that the first-grade level was nearing that of her second-grade class; now, she felt her class didn't measure up.
"Teacher Mokgetsu, the Ninjutsu level of your class is exceptional. All the teachers in the whole academy should learn from you on how to teach Ninjutsu." Ueda Aya praised.
While one or two standout students might be attributed to talent, a whole class with remarkable Ninjutsu achievements surely signifies the teacher's excellence—not so many geniuses exist.
"It's all due to the students' own efforts; I just did my best to teach." Mokgetsu humbly replied.
With master-level skills in the Three-Body Jutsu plus his teaching abilities, Mokgetsu noted that nobody in the entire Konoha could surpass him in teaching these three techniques.
"Candidate #38 Uchiha Shisui, please prepare for the exam..."
Upon hearing Shisui's name, Ueda Aya perked up expectantly; Shisui was the student she eagerly anticipated, having previously shown prowess comparable to Kakashi of the same age.