Obito was grinding through a question when the voices nearby drifted over to him.He glanced up—then froze.
He knew that kid.
Shisui of the Uchiha.
The clan compounds were close together; every kid in the same generation at least knew the famous names.And Shisui… well, he was the kind of "other people's child" elders worshipped until your ears bled.
So why… why was Shisui here?And why did he look like he'd known Teacher Hanyū for years?
No way… is Teacher Hanyū some distant relative of his?Obito's imagination went somewhere stupid instantly.
"Teacher, I'm done!"
Guy's voice cracked the air like a morning rooster.
"So fast?" Obito blinked. He hadn't been spacing out that long… had he?
He peeked at Guy's paper.
Three answered multiple-choice questions.Seven completely blank.
The entire exam had only ten questions total.
Even Obito—perpetual bottom-ranker—filled the whole page at least.
Mu Yue checked Guy's answers calmly.
Only one right.
"I'm sorry, teacher…" Guy lowered his head like a wilted flower.
"It's fine. If you already knew everything, you wouldn't need me."Mu Yue's tone was warm, steady—like someone who'd seen the worst but still spoke softly.
"Don't fixate on low scores. Think of it this way: going from 5 to 25 is way easier than going from 80 to 100."
Guy's spine straightened instantly.Years of being treated like dead weight… but someone besides his father had finally encouraged him.
"Teacher! You're right! I have… infinite room to grow!"
Obito swallowed.Was this the same Guy who was always shouting about youth?
When Obito's turn came, things weren't better—six filled answers, only two correct.
Mu Yue treated him exactly the same.Encouragement first, explanation second, no judgment.
Then he handed each of them two more papers.
Obito instantly started looking back toward Shisui—who was already forming seals.
Boom—!
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"
A massive, two-meter sphere of flame blasted toward the river, vapor hissing upward.
Obito's eyes shook.
As an Uchiha, he knew the Great Fireball… theoretically.His own attempt was more like a sad campfire in comparison.
Guy's jaw dropped too.
"Another genius… like Kakashi?"
Kakashi, who graduated before finishing even the second semester.A natural prodigy who lived inside Guy's head rent free.
And now, Shisui felt just like him.
Then Shisui started practicing the Dragon Fire Technique.
Guy made a sound between admiration and despair.
Obito only thought:If I could do that… Rin would be so impressed.
Mu Yue watched Shisui's fire dragon arc across the sky.
"You've improved your form manipulation. Faster compression. Stronger structure. You must've practiced hard last night."
Shisui smiled modestly."Your training manual helped a lot."
"Watch again."
Mu Yue stepped forward.
Hands clapped lightly.
Chakra surged, compressed—
And three enormous fire dragons erupted at once, tearing through the night sky like flaming beasts.
Obito's mouth fell open.
He had thought Shisui's fire dragon was amazing.
But this?This wasn't the same technique anymore.One was a garden snake.
The other… a mythical serpent.
Three dragons streaked across the sky, carving bright trails that twisted into incandescent words:
STOP LOOKING AND DO YOUR WORK.
Obito read it out loud—then stiffened as Mu Yue smiled at him.
"Teacher, I was just… resting my eyes."
Guy instantly picked up his pen, pretending he had never looked up.
Mu Yue raised an eyebrow.
"Have you seen enough now?"
"…Yes!" Obito snapped back to his test.
But after a few minutes, he looked up again.
"Teacher Hanyū… what's your relationship with Shisui?"
"What do you think a teacher and disciple relationship is?" Mu Yue replied, not looking up as he inspected Guy's paper.
"Hehe… yeah… I figured."
A beat.
"Teacher, if I pass the exam… can you teach me that ninjutsu you used earlier?"
Obito was already imagining showing off to Rin.
"Of course," Mu Yue answered without hesitation.
Obito lit up.
Guy suddenly leaned forward too.
"Teacher Hanyū—what taijutsu have you mastered?"
Mu Yue didn't speak.
Instead, he walked over to a massive tree.Chakra focused into his feet—Muscles coiled—
WHAM—!!
A tornado kick hit the trunk like a cannon blast.
The entire tree snapped, crashed to the ground, dust exploding outward.
Mu Yue calmly brushed dirt off his leg.
"Do you like that sort of taijutsu?"His smile held quiet challenge.
Guy's entire worldview cracked open.