"I'm a little nervous. It's the first exam… I wonder if the questions will be difficult."
"I hope not. If I fail, my parents will beat me when I get home."
"It shouldn't be that bad. Didn't Makoto-sensei give us mock exams before? Passing should be easy."
Since this was their first official exam, many students in Class 1, First Year looked nervous.
Some worried the questions would be too difficult. Others worried about being scolded at home if they performed poorly.
"Anko, Izumo, are you guys nervous?" Hagane Kotetsu asked Kamizuki Izumo.
"What's there to be nervous about? It's just a small test," Anko said with a mischievous grin. "Watch me clear it easily."
"Of course I'm nervous. This is different from normal quizzes. The results will be publicly posted," Izumo replied.
"I'm nervous too. I only got 80 points on Hosokawa -sensei's mock exam. The real exam will probably be harder, so I'll probably score around 60 or 70," Kotetsu said, nodding.
"My mock score was a bit higher than yours—87," Izumo sighed. "But I also think I'll only get around 60 or 70 this time."
"Wait… you guys scored that high?" Anko looked stunned.
Her own mock exam score had only been a little over 60, even though she had been feeling confident.
"Mock exam scores are fake. They don't really count," Izumo said with a sigh.
"Let's just try our best to score well. I heard that if the class results are too poor, the school might replace our teacher," Kotetsu revealed a rumor he had heard.
"Replace our teacher? Switching to another teacher is fine—but Hosokawa -sensei absolutely can't be replaced," Anko said immediately.
Although Makoto was their homeroom teacher, he didn't teach every subject in Class 1. Other instructors handled some classes as well.
"Yeah. Other teachers' classes are so boring. Only Hosokawa -sensei's lessons are interesting and easy to understand," Izumo agreed.
"Why don't we tell the whole class about this rumor to motivate everyone?" Izumo suddenly suggested.
He remembered that in novels, people always boost morale before big battles.
Anko thought it was a great idea.
She immediately stood up on her chair and announced the rumor to the entire class.
Her words caused a stir in the classroom.
After all, Makoto was the teacher they admired and liked the most.
"Everyone, study hard! If Makoto-sensei gets replaced and we end up with a boring teacher like the taijutsu instructor, we'll be doomed!" Kotetsu shouted, seizing the moment.
"Study hard! Don't let Makoto-sensei be replaced!"
"I'll say it outright—if anyone fails this time, I'll look down on them! Makoto-sensei already explains everything so clearly!"
Only Shisui Uchiha didn't participate in the commotion.
It didn't matter.
He would simply take action himself.
He would secure first place in the entire grade, and with such results from a student, the school obviously wouldn't replace their teacher.
"Everyone, calm down. The exam is about to begin. Just do your best."
Makoto's voice suddenly came from the doorway.
The classroom instantly fell silent.
Everyone turned toward the sound and saw that Makoto had somehow arrived at the entrance.
"I believe all of you will achieve good results," Makoto said with a gentle smile.
He didn't stay long and quickly headed to the classroom he was assigned to proctor.
Seeing so many students eager to perform well just so he could keep teaching them naturally made Makoto happy.
But in truth, they were worrying unnecessarily.
Even if teachers were replaced, it would only happen based on semester or yearly evaluations, not a single exam.
Besides—
The mock exam Makoto had given them was actually more difficult than the real one.
When Makoto entered Class 2 of the Fourth Year, he walked directly to the podium.
"Everyone quiet down. The exam will begin shortly."
Teacher proctor assignments were random, and he happened to be assigned to this class.
"Makoto-sensei!"
Quite a few students greeted him.
Makoto nodded back with a smile.
Not only were Obito Uchiha and Might Guy his disciples in this class, but he had also substituted here several times before. The students were already familiar with him.
And compared to Hayashi Yu, everyone liked Makoto much more.
"Makoto-sensei is watching this time… I must pass!" Might Guy took a deep breath as if facing a formidable enemy.
If he had to choose between taking a theory exam and fighting a real shinobi, Guy would honestly prefer the latter.
He was graduating next year. In a real fight, maybe he could explode with potential and somehow win.
But some theoretical questions… no matter how desperate he became, he simply had no idea how to answer them.
"Rin, just watch. This time I'll completely change your impression of me," Obito whispered proudly.
"So you're definitely passing this time? I believe you can do it, Obito," Nohara Rin said with an encouraging smile.
Even though Obito had said similar things countless times before—and failed every time—Rin still chose to believe him and offer support.
"Just make sure the questions you know are correct. Double-check your answers. Leave the difficult ones for last," Rin gently reminded him.
As his friend, she truly hoped Obito could shake off the title of Dead Last.
"Mm-hmm!" Obito nodded vigorously.
Soon another proctor entered the room—Kimura Sugito, a teacher from the same office as Makoto.
Each exam room required two teachers to supervise.
When the bell rang, Makoto and Kimura distributed the test papers together.
Afterward, one of them walked around while the other remained seated at the podium. Occasionally both sat there chatting quietly.
"Hayashi-sensei must be having a tough time. His bonus this semester is probably gone," Kimura whispered with a sigh.
"He ended up with two Dead Last students."
"Hard to say. Maybe they'll work hard this semester and actually pass," Makoto said with a smile.
He suspected that Obito and Guy might shock quite a few people this time.
"They've failed the theory exam three years in a row. If they could pass, they would have done it already," Kimura replied.
"The higher the grade level, the harder the subjects get."
Makoto simply smiled.
"Well, at least they'll graduate after this year," Kimura continued. "Otherwise… if students like that landed in my class, it would be a nightmare."
After a short chat, Makoto resumed patrolling the classroom.
He found himself missing regular classes.
Because of the exam period, the entire Ninja Academy had suspended lessons for three days:
Day 1: Theory exams
Day 2: Practical combat tests
Day 3: Final combat rounds to determine grade rankings
For Makoto, these three days meant:
Several missed ninjutsu rewards
Dozens of lost Chakra gains
Fortunately, the disciple reward return system still worked.
After the theory exam ended, Makoto gave Obito a set of shuriken, triggering a reward.
The system returned 50 Chakra.
"Just watch, Makoto-sensei! I'll use the shuriken you gave me to defeat everyone and take first place!" Obito said gratefully.
The practical combat exam was about to begin.
◇ BONUS & SUPPORT ◇
◇ 1 bonus chapter for every 10 reviews — drop a comment!
◇ 1 bonus chapter for every 100 Power Stones.
◇ Read 70 chapters ahead on P@treon → patreon.com/Sagamaster789