Mokgetsu smiled and nodded in response, "I'm here to check on the students I'm responsible for during the break."
"Mokgetsu, you've been chosen as an intern mentor too?" Ueda Aya asked curiously.
This wasn't much of a secret among the teachers; most of them already knew.
"Yes." Mokgetsu nodded.
"Which students are you responsible for? It should be Might Guy and Obito, right?" Ueda Aya speculated.
Since Mokgetsu was known for being a great teacher, Ueda Aya felt the school would definitely assign the best students to Mokgetsu.
"In class two, it's those two." Mokgetsu answered.
"Candidate Number One, Nohara Rin, and Candidate Number Two, Uchiha Tekka, please prepare for your exam," the proctor announced.
As the exam began, Ueda Aya took up the scoring sheet, ready to seriously grade, no longer making small talk with Mokgetsu.
"Nohara Rin is unlucky this time. If she hadn't run into Tekka, she might have made it to the top four." Class two students started gossiping.
After the last special training session, Nohara Rin had performed well in class. In the last exam, aside from the unshakable top two, Obito and Might Guy, only Uchiha Tekka could confidently beat Nohara Rin.
So they thought this time would be about the same.
"After all, Tekka was in Group A from the start during special training, while Nohara Rin only got promoted to Group A near the end, right?"
Most students favored Uchiha Tekka, thinking he was stronger than many who participated in the grade-level practical battles, though only two students per class could advance, and Might Guy and Obito were just too overwhelmingly strong.
"Rin, you better hold back later, don't punch that guy to death," Obito said dramatically.
He didn't believe Uchiha Tekka could beat Nohara Rin.
"It's not as exaggerated as you say, Obito." Nohara Rin felt like her image in Obito's mind seemed a bit different.
"Hehe." Obito chuckled without answering and then pumped his fist to encourage Nohara Rin, "Go get 'em, Rin!"
With a gentle smile, Nohara Rin walked to the combat area, forming the Seal of Opposition and waiting for the battle to begin.
Uchiha Tekka also quickly entered the field, getting into position, but he didn't take this fight seriously and was instead pondering his gap with Obito and Might Guy.
"I still don't know how Uchiha Obito trains; it feels like the harder I work, the bigger the gap gets." Recalling his last battle with Uchiha Obito, Uchiha Tekka felt frustrated.
"Begin!" As soon as the proctor's words fell, Nohara Rin instantly disappeared from Uchiha Tekka's sight, appearing at his side.
"What a fast Instant Body Jutsu!" Uchiha Tekka's pupils shrank sharply, feeling very surprised.
But more astonishing to Uchiha Tekka was Nohara Rin's Taijutsu that followed.
Caught off guard, Uchiha Tekka couldn't dodge and had to raise his arms to block Nohara Rin's seemingly frail little fist.
Bam!!
A loud bang rang out as Uchiha Tekka was sent flying by that punch and crashed hard onto the ground, stirring up a cloud of dust.
Feeling the acute pain from his arm, Uchiha Tekka was at a loss, looking at Nohara Rin's slender arm with a puzzled expression.
If it were Might Guy fighting him, Uchiha Tekka wouldn't be shocked, but battling Nohara Rin, he never expected her Taijutsu to have gotten so strong.
Uchiha Tekka wanted to grit his teeth and form seals to unleash Ninjutsu, but his injured arm slowed him down, and soon Nohara Rin rushed up again, forcing him into a scrap with her.
But already in poor condition, how could Uchiha Tekka be Nohara Rin's match? With two more strikes, he was knocked down once more, unable to stand.
The students watching were in silent disbelief, even Obito, watching Uchiha Tekka get beaten back and forth, broke into a cold sweat.
"Is Nohara Rin's Taijutsu really that strong?" The students were dumbfounded; it was nothing like what they'd expected. Uchiha Tekka not only didn't win, he even lost miserably without much resistance.
"Nohara Rin wins!" After completing the scoring, the proctor announced.
"Teacher, please, take me to the infirmary quickly." Lying on the ground, Uchiha Tekka felt like he wouldn't make it.
"You all continue proctoring, I'll take him to the infirmary." Mokgetsu adjusted his glasses and smiled.
He came mainly to see Nohara Rin's performance, and returning for the second round of battles would suffice.
Mokgetsu carried Uchiha Tekka on his back to the Ninja Academy infirmary for treatment.
"Thanks a lot, Teacher Mokgetsu," Uchiha Tekka, now slightly recovered, expressed gratitude to Mokgetsu.
"It's nothing. As a teacher, that's my duty." Mokgetsu replied warmly.
"Teacher Mokgetsu, am I someone without talent?" Uchiha Tekka suddenly asked.
Being so thoroughly beaten by Nohara Rin had left Uchiha Tekka feeling down, though he realized after reflecting on it that even being more cautious would only have slowed his defeat.
He accepted losing to Uchiha Obito, a fellow Uchiha, thinking Obito might have just unleashed his potential.
He even accepted losing to Might Guy, given Guy's almost freakish levels of effort.
But losing to Nohara Rin was something he hadn't expected at all. Although Nohara Rin had good theoretical scores, her practical performance had always been so-so—so ordinary that Uchiha Tekka hadn't even bothered to remember her name.
Going from being the top of the class to now being decisively beaten by Nohara Rin, Uchiha Tekka's confidence was shattered.
"How could that be? Being placed in Group A from the start of special training shows you were already ahead of many," Mokgetsu reassured.
"Don't deny yourself due to a temporary setback. You may have been defeated, but haven't you also defeated them before? Believe in yourself," Mokgetsu said, turning back to comfort him.
With Mokgetsu's words, Uchiha Tekka felt much better. Indeed, Obito and they had only surpassed him for two semesters, while he had outperformed them for three years!
"Have a good rest, I have other matters to attend to." Mokgetsu smiled, turning to leave, heading to the place where the practical exams were held.
Mokgetsu felt if delivering motivational speeches had levels, he'd be close to mastering it; he almost said it instinctively just now.
The first round of battles was the longest; Mokgetsu didn't rush to visit the Year Four Class Two's exam room, checking on his class for a bit instead.
Mokgetsu's class was still much the same; Shisui was unshakably the strongest, Anko was virtually always second unless she met Shisui early, and Kamizuki Izumo and Hagane Kotetsu were in the third tier.
The remaining students weren't weak; it was just that the ones ahead had already surpassed the usual grade level.
"Teacher Mokgetsu, your class's average student level is so high, any random pick could easily be top four or top two in other first-year classes!" praised the proctor.
Every teacher who came to proctor Year One Class One was shocked by the class's average level. Having a few genius students is normal; Konoha never lacks talented Ninjas.
But having an entire class at an excellent level was downright impressive; it couldn't be that the entire class were little geniuses, right?
Mokgetsu gave some humble replies and then came up with an idea—what if he and the Third Hokage suggested modifying the grade-level practical battle rules to compete by entire grade scores rather than just picking two per class?
Then, out of sixteen participants in the grade-level battles, twelve might be from Mokgetsu's class, and after the first round, it would practically be Mokgetsu's class fighting among themselves.
However, it wouldn't mean much to Mokgetsu, just proving his class's strength, but didn't really give any extra system rewards.
The average practical score by class comparison already showed his class's strength; in the last exam, Mokgetsu's class's average practical score was twice that of other classes.
As Mokgetsu's class was wrapping up its first round, Mokgetsu headed to the Year Four Class Two exam room. Nohara Rin was the number one candidate, so she'd also be the first to start the second round.