Chapter 18: Chapter 19: Graduating Early?
The third day's exam was much faster since only two students were chosen from each class, and there were eight classes in total for the grade.
Just like the previous day, non-participants could choose not to attend.
However, a lot of students showed up today to watch the exam, eager to see who would take the top spot in the grade.
"Am I seeing things? Isn't that Uchiha Obito? Why is he standing with the exam participants?" one person asked in confusion.
"Did you not hear about what happened in Class Two yesterday?" someone beside them replied.
"No, I was unlucky and got eliminated in the first round by the strongest student in our class, so I went home early."
"Well, that makes sense. Uchiha Obito has become much stronger lately; he even defeated their class' Uchiha Tetsu."
The students around them were lively, discussing the competitors from each class, sometimes even debating who was the strongest.
At this point, even those who had previously mocked Obito and Might Guy were now trying to support them, as they were the representatives from their own class.
"At this rate, the first-place spot will probably go to Shisui," Mu Yue remarked after watching the first round. "Obito and Guy are likely out of the running."
The Hyuga clan's Hinata Kaemon, who had honed his Gentle Fist technique and had the advantage of the Byakugan, made it very difficult for Guy to win. Obito had no chance at all.
Mu Yue could only admit that the Hyuga clan's ninjas had a strong early advantage. The Byakugan was easier to awaken than the Sharingan, and the inherited Gentle Fist technique was also a powerful form of taijutsu.
Obito and Guy had only been training under him for a short time, and right now, their strengths weren't long enough, while their weaknesses were still glaring.
As time passed, they entered the final two rounds. Obito fought against Hyuga Kaemon, and Guy faced a ninja from Class 3, Year 4.
As Mu Yue had expected, Obito was completely outmatched by Kaemon. Before he could even use a single ninjutsu, he was overwhelmed by the Gentle Fist and had no idea where he was.
In the final match, Guy performed much better than Obito, but his moves were easily countered by Kaemon's Byakugan, and he too ultimately lost.
Obito, having lost, was feeling somewhat down. He had hoped to secure first place, but now he wouldn't even make it into the top two.
Mu Yue happened to walk by and offered some words of comfort: "Don't always focus on your failures. Think about how much you've improved since last time and work even harder for the next opportunity."
At this, Obito immediately felt much better. After all, the last time he took the year-end exam in third grade, his class ranked only twentieth. This time, he almost made it to the top two.
Considering that, his progress was enormous. First place was within reach!
Mu Yue then walked over to Guy, who, to his surprise, also seemed a bit dejected.
Mu Yue had initially thought that, given Guy's strong will, he wouldn't be bothered by a win or loss. But upon a closer look, Mu Yue realized the cause.
It was likely because he had given Guy the taijutsu training manual yesterday, and Guy felt the weight of Mu Yue's expectations.
"Failure is a constant companion in life. This is just part of life, and you shouldn't let one failure defeat you," Mu Yue encouraged.
Guy, who had experienced numerous setbacks—barely making it into the ninja academy, being one-shot by Kakashi, failing every subject, and being mocked as the class' worst student—shuddered.
Even at just eight years old, Guy had already gone through so much failure.
Now, he seemed to understand his father's words about youth never fading away.
"I understand now, Mu Yue-sensei," Guy said, his eyes becoming even more determined.
Instead of dwelling on his losses, he would focus on training and winning in the next battle, striving to become the strongest.
Mu Yue nodded in satisfaction and continued on his way to find Shisui.
When Mu Yue found Shisui, he was surrounded by a group of students, answering questions from all sides.
As Mu Yue approached, the students greeted him.
"Mu Yue-sensei, I got second place in the grade. Don't I get a reward?" Akimichi Red Bean asked with a smile, walking up to Mu Yue.
Mu Yue smiled and patted Red Bean's head thoughtfully before replying, "How about I treat you to some dango?"
"Great! Mu Yue-sensei is the best!" Red Bean immediately became all praises for Mu Yue at the mention of dango.
"Shisui hasn't even asked for his reward for coming in first, and you're already so eager, Red Bean," a nearby ninja, Iron Steel, teased.
He didn't really think Red Bean was being too eager; he was just a little jealous.
If his friend did poorly, he'd feel bad, but if his friend did too well, he'd feel even worse. Red Bean was in the latter situation.
Mu Yue laughed and sent the students off, then took Shisui to the shopping district.
"How do you feel?" Mu Yue asked.
Shisui thought for a moment and replied honestly,
"Ordinary, in fact, there wasn't anyone who made me feel like I needed to go all out."
"That's normal. With your strength, there's no one in Year 4 who can really challenge you. Let alone Year 1," Mu Yue praised him without hesitation.
"Do you think I should graduate early, Mu Yue-sensei?" Shisui asked, looking Mu Yue in the eye. Mu Yue's eyes were a unique shade of blue, like the sky.
"Graduate early?"
"Because I heard there have been very talented seniors who felt that they couldn't learn much at the academy and graduated early." Shisui explained.
Mu Yue shook his head. "I don't recommend graduating in Year 1. At least wait until Year 2 or Year 3."
"Your strength may be outstanding among your peers, but outside of school, your opponents won't just be your age group. Especially with the possibility of a great war breaking out at any time."
"If you feel like the academy's lessons aren't challenging enough, you can use shadow clones to attend class while your main body focuses on training according to my guidance," Mu Yue suggested.
Though in the original story, Shisui survived the Third Ninja World War and earned the nickname "Shunshin Shisui," Mu Yue knew that with his presence, there could be a butterfly effect.
He still wanted Shisui to stay at the academy for a few more years. After all, if Shisui couldn't even take down a Chuunin in one strike, what was the point of graduating early?
If it were him, he wouldn't feel safe walking around the streets of Konoha without Jonin-level strength.
Shisui's eyes brightened upon hearing Mu Yue's advice, and he nodded, feeling that Mu Yue's suggestion made a lot of sense.
Mu Yue then treated Shisui to a bunch of dango before heading back to the academy. Before class began, every student in Class 1 received a portion of dango.
Mu Yue certainly wouldn't just give Red Bean a serving, and since he'd promised, he gave Red Bean an extra portion.
"Mu Yue-sensei is number one in the world!" Red Bean exclaimed, thoroughly pleased. If there were a few more servings of dango, perhaps a new cult would form in Konoha called the Mu Yue sect.
The other students also expressed their gratitude, and Mu Yue's favorability with them went up once again.
The ninja academy was highly efficient, and just two days after the exam, the results were all sorted and published, confirming Mu Yue's earlier guess.
(End of Chapter)
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