Monday, because it was already exam day, Hagane Kotetsu didn't go to the Ninja Academy too early.
He had been reviewing for two weeks, so he didn't need to fight for those extra ten or twenty minutes in the morning.
On the way, Hagane Kotetsu met Kamizuki Izumo, who was also on his way to school.
"Izumo, good morning." Hagane Kotetsu greeted brightly.
"Good morning, Kotetsu." Kamizuki Izumo responded with a smile upon seeing his good friend.
"How was your weekend? Were you studying all weekend?" Hagane Kotetsu asked warmly.
"Study? Study my ass!" Kamizuki Izumo laughed loudly.
Kamizuki Izumo asked, "Did you study?"
"I didn't study." Hagane Kotetsu shook his head and said, "Who seriously reviews before an exam?"
"Can last-minute cram sessions truly show your real skills?" Kamizuki Izumo nodded in agreement.
The two exchanged glances and then burst into laughter.
"Backgammon is really fun, Kotetsu, you must try it after the exam," Kamizuki Izumo said looking like a hardcore gaming enthusiast.
Thinking inwardly, this time it's certain, Hagane Kotetsu really didn't study, his only rival left is Shisui.
"I'll give it a shot if I have time. The novels I've been reading lately are pretty good too, you should check them out, Izumo." Hagane Kotetsu recommended with a smile, as if he really had read those novels.
"It's certain now, Izumo really didn't study and has been gaming all the time. My only opponent this exam is Shisui." Hagane Kotetsu thought to himself.
"Haha, I'll definitely check them out when I have time." Kamizuki Izumo replied cheerfully, in a great mood.
"What are you two chatting so happily about?" Anko appeared from behind, tapping them on the shoulders.
"Just talking about how we spent the weekend." Hagane Kotetsu explained with a smile.
"Playing? Didn't you study at all?" Anko asked.
"Of course not, did you spend the whole two days studying, Anko?" Kamizuki Izumo asked in surprise.
"No, just studied for a day yesterday." Anko thought for a moment and said.
Actually, she only studied for half an hour on Sunday night, but being asked like that by Kamizuki Izumo, she felt saying half an hour would lose face, so she claimed it was a whole day.
"Oh, studied one day, that's good." Hagane Kotetsu said with a smile.
Just one day, not enough to threaten someone who has reviewed for half a month; Hagane Kotetsu even thought Anko studied too little, as she should have been reviewing for the last two days too.
"If you get rewarded by your family for doing well, don't forget your buddies." Kamizuki Izumo joked with a laugh.
"Hehe, considering your game and novels, it's not impossible." Anko was in a great mood.
The three of them continued chatting and laughing as they walked into the Ninja Academy and entered the classroom to wait for the exam to begin.
Soon, Mokgetsu and Ueda Aya came into Class 1A, this time Mokgetsu was assigned to invigilate her own class.
"Teacher Mokgetsu!"
The students in the class greeted Mokgetsu one after another, and Mokgetsu responded with a smile.
"Is Teacher Mokgetsu the one invigilating this time?" Hagane Kotetsu asked.
Mokgetsu nodded in affirmation.
"Teacher Mokgetsu, can we ask you if there are questions we can't solve later?" Anko asked knowingly.
Tap!
Mokgetsu brought her two fingers together and knocked on Anko's little head and said, "You can ask, but the answer is just this."
"Ouch, that hurts." Anko covered the spot she was hit and immediately quieted down.
"Everyone, check if you have all your exam tools, the exam will start in ten minutes." Mokgetsu reminded.
Some cautious students began their checking after hearing Mokgetsu's reminder.
"Teacher Mokgetsu, you're quite popular among the students." Ueda Aya remarked.
Just a moment ago, she noticed almost all the students greeted Mokgetsu.
It's quite rare, considering there are always some introverted or quiet ones in a class of forty.
Besides, some might feel with so many greeting, they won't be noticed if they do, and wouldn't speak up.
"After all, I am their homeroom teacher." Mokgetsu replied.
After ten minutes, Mokgetsu announced the start of the theoretical exam and distributed the test papers together with Ueda Aya.
The students of Class 1A treated Mokgetsu with great respect, not one speaking during the entire exam, everyone was quietly answering the questions.
Mokgetsu and Ueda Aya took turns patrolling.
While patrolling, Ueda Aya curiously glanced at the students who were concentrating, the quiet atmosphere was rare.
Perhaps because it's a ninja school, the students were usually very lively.
After observing, Ueda Aya was slightly surprised. She casually looked at a few, and all their answers seemed correct at first glance.
"Teacher Mokgetsu, I think this time your class's average score might lead the whole grade again." Ueda Aya whispered to Mokgetsu what she just observed.
"You can't say until the results are out, maybe other classes did well too." Mokgetsu replied softly.
Though good results were a fact, Mokgetsu thought staying humble was better.
When the exam ended and the papers were collected, the atmosphere in Class 1A changed.
"Finally, it's over." Hagane Kotetsu showed a relieved smile.
Every day seriously studying, while also figuring out ways to keep Kamizuki Izumo from studying, was quite exhausting for him.
"Yes, after the practical exam, we finally get a long holiday." Kamizuki Izumo also smiled with relief.
Having finished the theory, he finally didn't have to pretend every day to keep Hagane Kotetsu from preparing.
"Kotetsu, Izumo, how did you guys feel about the exam?" Anko came over to ask.
"It was just okay, the exam felt quite difficult this time." Hagane Kotetsu sighed and said.
"Yeah, there were quite a few questions I had no clue about, I just filled in randomly, no idea how much I'll score." Kamizuki Izumo showed a worried expression.
"Huh? Difficult? I thought it was quite easy, perhaps my studying yesterday helped?" Anko scratched her head and said, feeling this scenario seemed familiar.
"Shisui, how did you feel about the exam?" Anko asked Shisui who was about to leave.
"It was okay." Shisui paused and replied.
He felt it was about the same as last time, nothing much to say.
"Why am I the only one feeling it was easy, could it be that I did really well?" Anko felt the reward dumplings were getting closer to her.
"Tomorrow is the practical exam, everyone needs to perform well, let that female examiner see our ninjutsu skills." Anko recalled their long-ago plan to scare away their Taijutsu teacher.
"Definitely, this time we must ensure the school hires a reliable Taijutsu teacher." Hagane Kotetsu nodded.
"Actually, I think it'd be great if Teacher Mokgetsu taught it, but that'd be too tiring for her, having to teach so many classes." Kamizuki Izumo said regretfully.
Other students also echoed, promising to give their 120% in the performance the next day.
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Brothers, don't hold back books on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday, life or death depends on these days.